Aces Wild is a book that I kind of fell in love with immediately. From the get go, I loved the set up and the tone. It felt like a direct conversation to us. Because of that we really get a close sense of who Jack is. Above all, Aces Wild is a story about revenge and (found)family. The stakes are high not only because Jack is trying to save his mom - and his family - but also it can be nerve wracking to meet our internet friends irl. Just from the premise, I adored the queer cast of characters!

This is the first fiction book I've read that had more than one A-spec character, let alone a whole group of them. I loved the representation and the interaction between Jack and his friends. Jack as a narrator was funny and relatable. I thought I knew how the end was going to go but was pleasantly surprised.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review Aces Wild!

When Jack Shannon’s mum gets sent to jail, he knows the one to blame is Peter Carlevaro; crime boss and rival casino owner on the Las Vegas Strip. Determined to take him down, he recruits his best friends, a group he met on an online asexual support forum, on a heist. Together, this group of asexuals work on finding the key to sending Carlevaro to jail too.

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A book I’ve been dying to read since I first heard about it and one I found myself enjoying.

The writing is relatively good, and there were a lot of funny moments that I laughed at, especially between or about Jack and his friends, and Jack’s narration is quite amusing. I loved their friend group and their dynamic, and though I would have loved more about each friend individually, I thought they were pretty fun! There were lots of moments between them that I thoroughly enjoyed, like Gabe and Jack’s ‘guy talk’, and I really liked how Jack made an effort to get closer with Georgia when he felt he wasn’t as close to her as the others. The plot is fairly simple and though the plans did seem slightly juvenile (especially when you consider they’re going up against a crime boss), I didn’t mind it too much. Jack’s crush on one of his friends was also adorable to read.

I did have some issues with the book. One, I personally wish that we’d seen the discussion between Gabe and Lucky about what he said to her, which was disappointing, rather than just being told they were all fine and had resolved it later on. And, I do think there wasn’t as much heisting as I would have liked; it’s not as tense or suspenseful as I would have expected from a book about a heist and it felt as though a lot of the actual important action was done off-page and just mentioned later. As I said earlier, considering they were going up against a crime boss, you would expect a more complex plan than what was presented.

Despite those issues though, I did enjoy the book a lot! I will admit it’s particularly because it’s about a group of a-spec friends heisting together and until I have that myself, I will live vicariously through this book. However, I do think it’s still a fun and amusing read with great asexual reputation as long as you temper your expectations about the actual heisting!

3 stars
i seriously enjoyed the concept of this book (i mean, club of asexuals doing a heist). the characters were all pretty enjoyable although i feel like some of them weren’t all that fleshed out. not exactlyy sure how i would rate this ? 2.5-3 stars. i just wasn’t that into this book if i’m being honest. but the idea was super, super cool and so was the outline of it. side note but it’s just a personal pet peeve of mine when books end with ‘the end.’ - but at least this ‘the end’ wasn’t humongous ! and i don’t know - i just feel like i didn’t enjoy this book that much. i’ve never read a heist book before this or even a book with an asexual main character, let alone entire main cast, so that was fun to see. i just feel like either not much happened or it was the same things happening over and over ? and i found myself skipping some parts.
thank you to netgalley for the arc <3

The plot is basically a group of asexuals doing a heist, so of course I was intrigued.

Jack Shannan’s mom is a casino owner in Las Vegas and was taken into custody for some shady stuff. It’s not a shocking thing, the only problem now is that the police won’t let her out. And Jack is sure that it has something to do with Peter Carlevaro. So he gathers his 4 online friends, brings them to Vegas and plan a heist to prove Peter’s involvement.

I really enjoyed reading this. It was an easy fast read with a fun plot that kept me wanting to know more. The characters were intriguing and each of them felt real. I’m glad that there was only one POV, and I like how it was written as if Jack himself wrote his story. I genuinely enjoyed it more than I anticipated.

While I am deeply grateful for a full cast of asexual characters, I found this story to be a little flat, and not quite the heist that was promised. I look forward to future work from this author!

Aces Wild is an incredible story that unites a group of asexual teens as they try to pull of a heist, with a hint of emtional turmoil mixed in it as well. I loved seeing Jack's journey from a people-stupid gambler to a young boy trying to do better in life. As an aroace person, I also adored the representation, from the insights we got into how they all struggle with fitting in, to the acceptance they show to each other; this book simply aced at making me love it. It was such a quick and enjoyable read, and I want everyone to read it!

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced ebook in exchange for an honest review.

2 out of 5 stars

As the son of a wealthy Las Vegas casino owner, Jack is content running a secret blackjack club at his high school. But then his mother is arrested for shady dealings– but Jack knows that she was set up by the family’s rival, Peter Carlevaro. When no one else seems to be trying to help, Jack decides to recruit his best friends, who make up an online asexual support group. Will Jack and his friends be able to uncover the truth?

I wanted to love this book. I wanted to at least like it. A cast of ace characters??? A heist??? In Vegas??? The potential is astounding! But it just didn’t land for me. I honestly started skimming just so I could get through it.

I loved the ace rep. There is not enough ace/aro rep in YA (or any books). I like that it explored their relationships with each other. But the characters were mostly unlikable or not fleshed out enough. I really just didn’t like Jack very much. I found him very arrogant and annoying.

As for the heist? Can we really even call it a heist? I won’t give away too much, but it was very disappointing. Honestly, I could nitpick a lot of things I didn’t like, but I don’t want to be THAT negative. But you can scroll down to see some of my spoiler-filled rantings.

I keep going back and forth between 1 or 2 stars. On the one hand, I honestly didn’t care too much to finish the book. On the other hand, the ace rep! ACE REP! But take my personal bias out of it, and I just didn’t like it much.

Oceans 12 meets teenagers is exactly what this book is. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing but it is exactly what it is.

The story had twist but they were few and far between a lot of it was very predictable but entertaining. There are a few points that are lacking in my opinion or they were rushed.

Over all good story nothing to write home about but not a bad read.

I definitely think my library patrons would enjoy this book! They are very into the adventure and shenanigans that this story offers. With the Las Vegas setting and fast-paced story, I will consider adding this to our library's YA collection.

I was very excited for this book as a big fan of heist stories, and I'm glad to say it was a very enjoyable read. The pacing was a bit all over the place and some of the twists and turns of the plot fell flat for me, but overall it was a solid heist and felt realistic for a bunch of seventeen year olds to plan. I appreciated that the asexual representation was varied and that Jack's journey to understanding his sexuality and romanticism was still ongoing. Definitely think there is a solid target audience for this read and will pick it up for my library.

I really think this book was made an audience other than myself.

I really enjoyed the plot points of this one, including the gambling, trickster, young adult genre. However, I think the timeline and the way that the story was written was for a much younger audience.

I found the story to tell rather than show, and I couldn’t find myself caring deeply about any of the characters.

rating: 1.5 stars
wine pairing: australian malbec

I loved a lot about this book, although there were some plot points that didn't totally get solved. If you love the Las Vegas life, this book is for you! Jack and his friends are quirky and fun. I kind of hope there is a sequel because there is a lot of room to grow here.

What happens in Vegas when an all-asexual online friend group attempts to break into a high-stakes gambling club? Shenanigans ensue.

Aces Wild is a funny, heartfelt, and slightly ridiculous novel that follows Jack, the son of a Vegas hotel owner, and his group of friends as they plan a heist in an attempt to save his mother from legal trouble.

My Thoughts:

Aces Wild was a ton of fun! @am.dewitt takes the reader on an adventure with a diverse group of lovable characters. I enjoyed the slightly ridiculous/unrealistic storyline of a group o of teens carrying out a heist in Vegas. It was a fun escape and made for a fast read! What I wasn't expecting was that this book also had a lot of heart.

Aces Wild is FULL of amazing representation! Of course, basically every character is Asexual. However, there was also aromantic rep and nonbinary rep! It was awesome to read about a group of young teens discovering their sexuality and finding a group of supportive friends. I also loved the family dynamics in this book as well!

I absolutely adored Jack as a main character. He was a total asexual disaster and I loved him for it! I definitely saw my younger self in Jack in a lot of ways.

I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed. Things just kind of ended really fast. I also wish we got more insight into Jack and Remy's relationship because they were so adorable!

Overall, would definitely recommend!

This was such a fun book, I read it in one sitting. It kept me interested until the very end of the book.
Their friend group was very sweet to read about and I loved Kerry.
I would probably like it more if I had read it when I was younger (maybe about 12/13) because that was when I was really into books like this.
Overall this was a great book

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.
I enjoyed this, but it was not what I expected from the description. The marketing is misleading and anyone who is looking for Kas Brekker, SoC and/or a detailed heist is going to be disappointed. It is a good book but it's really not about the heist (and I would question whether that was in fact a heist), it's really about the friendships and Jack's character and that's where it shines. It was fast-paced and it kept me intrigued throughout, even with continually thinking about how ridiculous and improbable the spying aspects were.

I was thrilled by the ace and nb rep and I adored the friend group and friendship dynamics, as well as the romantic side plot. I do wish it had gone a bit deeper into the character's identities. We know Gabe is ace and aro, but Jack and Remy are ace and demiromantic without fleshing that out.

I had the uncorrected version where hearing aids were used as a spy device, but I understand that changes have been made to fix that (thank god). Don't understand why that wasn't flagged and fixed earlier, but glad it was.

I loved this book. It drew me in from the first page and kept me hooked until the end. I thought the opening of the book was fun and found Jack to have a really solid and consistent voice. I think a lot of queer kids are going to be really excited to see themselves in this book. I love its a celebration of queer identity. Jack might struggle to connect with his parents due to their careers and parenting styles, but he’s very happy to be ace.

My main critique of this book is shared by many other reviewers: a book subtitled “A Heist” should have an incredible heist, and this book does not. While there are heist elements, it doesn’t carry the full sequence of an Ocean’s Eleven or Six of Crows heist story. I’d recommend just scratching the subtitle; the book stands on its own but falls short of a true heist.

I’m really looking forward to reading DeWitt’s future books!

ACES WILD is a fun YA heist novel that's a quick read and a good distraction. While it has the same problems you see in most YA (all the adults are totally oblivious, teens get away with way more than they should, etc.), it wasn't totally unrealistic. The setting was vivid and the characters dynamic, I particularly liked Lucky and how the central group interacted with each other. My only major critique is that Morgan's storyline felt forced and far too short to realistically result in its final outcome. I realise it's an allusion to the Arthurian myth and Morgan le Fay, but it really did not do her justice.

ACES WILD can best be described as hijinks on the Las Vegas strip as a rich boy with gambling experience (and how to win) finds out his mum is going to prison thanks to an ex friend romantically obsessed with her.

This is a book of secrets and lies - and lots of illegal gambling. It was so much fun to read - and the rep!!!

The family relationships in this are so complicated, as the various siblings have reacted differently to the money and rather hands-off nature of their parents. Rebels, following in footsteps, and trying to be substitute parents all comes up, as well as the frictions those approaches cause. However, you can see they love each other and that this is just their way of showing it. Also the dad is very scatter-brained (to say it politely) and the kids' blasé approach to his equally blasé parenting made me laugh a lot.

I loved the range of asexuality portrayed in this book. Asexuality is very much a spectrum and this book showcases that. It also looked at the distinction between asexuality and being aromantic, as some characters were just ace while others were also aro. This is the sort of rep I want to see more of as an aroacespec reader!

The book is very tongue-in-cheek. It's written as if it's Jack's confession, recounting it all later to an unknown audience. And he's very upfront about holding back information for reveals later on, teasing that there is information but he won't say it now. That upfront nature made the deliberate withholding for a few chapters really work for me - usually that sort of thing irritates me, but the way it was done felt like it was poking fun at the trope/usual way it's handled. (Also a lot of the book felt like it was both celebrating and poking fun at heist movies, which was also a lot of fun.)

In all, a great debut and I look forward to seeing what Amanda DeWitt comes up with next.

This was a ton of fun. Growing up as a guy who didn't realize he was asexual it would have been incredible to see a group of teen asexuals who never question their sexuality and feel comfortable with the whole spectrum that that word encompasses.

This book is a story about a casino heist to find information from the head of an organized crime family in Las Vegas so our MC Jack can use it as leverage to free his mom from jail. His ace support group of best friends come to the rescue and join in on the heist.

This was fun. I think I'm rating it this highly because of the ace rep which, I won't lie, was the entire reason I wanted to read it. It wasn't perfect but I think this rep is incredibly important.

Be sure to check this out when it is released on 9/13/22.

Thank you to NetGalley and Peachtree for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.