Reviewed for NetGalley:

I listened to the audiobook version.

Jack, son of a famous casino family, heads home after his mother is arrested. And once Jack plans a heist, after those responsible for his mother’s arrest, things got hazy, plotwise.

Not sure I bought the idea of a highschool kid orchestrating a heist in Vegas. Didn’t really grasp the why, and who, got lost in the shuffle.

I did enjoy the narrator and portrayl of the characters.

This was ok. It's a pretty average, easy-to-read YA book. If you're looking for something with good Ace representation, then I'd recommend this. I definitely wouldn't call this a heist book though.

4 stars.

A fun YA read about a group of wealthy, yet clever, asexually teens plotting a casino heist with twist and turns.

This book will definitely remain on my personal bookshelf, but mainly because of the cast of Ace characters, which was a treat. However, I found that the story itself was slow to get to the good stuff and was also somewhat predictable. I was expecting more action, mishaps, and harrowing escapes more often and earlier on. A little more character development from the minor characters would also be good.

As an Ace person, I can appreciate the conscious effort the author made on minimizing spicy scenes and keeping it pretty vanilla. Kudos.

Even though I was not blown away by this book, I would absolutely give this author another chance and would love to follow their writing journey. Anyone on the Ace spectrum should take the opportunity to read or listen to this book. The narration by Robbie Daymond was great, by the way! A great job.


(ALC received from NetGalley, and ARC received from Penguin Random House Publishing, in exchange for honest review. Thank you so much!)

I went into this book with really high expectations (which I usually try to avoid, so that I can give every book a fair chance), and this book absolutely surpassed even my high expectations. I completely loved it. I am a huge fan of the close friend group trope, and I love heist stories, so this book looked like it would be everything I loved. I really enjoyed the characters, and I really appreciated that the characters read like teenagers. They were all intelligent and creative, but they still made choices that fit with a younger persons lack of experience. I was worried these characters were going to read like adults, but the main characters internal voice and the dialog between characters all matched with who they were described to be. I loved the Ace rep, and I really enjoyed the way it was included in the story. I am not interested in Las Vegas or gambling, and this book revolves around those things, but it did not dampen my enjoyment at all. The MC felt very really, so I just enjoyed listening to his story.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for an advanced audio copy.

Aces Wild is a fun story about lies, gambling, and friendship. The story follows Jack Shannon a 17-year-old that returns home to Las Vegas after his mom was arrested. Jack needs to find out what happened and why his mom was really arrested but Jack can not do it alone so he enlists the help of his best friends. The only problem is his friends are scattered throughout the country and they all never met in real life. They met online through forums and formed an asexual support group. Anything surrounding asexuality is something I’m just not equipped to talk about but Dewitt does a great job at explaining different aspects of asexuality and parts of this book were very educational on the matter.

After Jack and all his friends are together is when the book really started to shine. All the different personalities and how they all play off each other were perfect. The excellent writing and the style of the book really put this front and center. The way Jack would often address the reader, either with a question or just by speaking to us, made you seem like you were sitting down with the group, listening to the story, and just hanging out.

I spent more time than I care to say in casinos. The descriptions of the casinos were spot on. You can really picture every part of it. This was one of those books that when you close your eyes you feel like you are there.

Robbie Daymond's narration is as close to perfect as you can get. He speaks clearly and really gets you into the story. The way he voices other characters you know who is talking before he even tells you making it so easy to follow. I would definitely listen to more with him narrating.

Aces Wild: A Heist by Amanda DeWitt

Jack’s mom, a high powered Vegas business woman and casino owner, has just been arrested. Knowing that his life as casino royalty is a stake, Jack persuades his four best friends that he met in an online asexual support group (and has never met in person) to fly to Vegas for a high-stakes caper.

Aces Wild is hilarious, fast-paced, and easy to follow. DeWitts writing does an excellent job of putting the reader at ease in the mind of a teenager. The central conflict kept me interested, if the heist itself was a bit lackluster.

This is the first book I have read with an asexual protagonist. There was an element that I found a bit misleading and might be upsetting for some readers. But overall, the author has enriched the literary world with this representation.

Robbie Daymond is new to me as a narrator. He did a fantastic job and fit the tone well. I would easily listen to him again.

The banter between characters and the found family aspect made Aces Wild a home run for me.

Plot - 4
Writing and Editing - 4
Character Development - 5
Narration - 5
Personal Bias - 5
Final Score - 4.6

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I really enjoyed this! It was so fun, a unique story, and had such a great range of characters. I thought it was really well crafted as a story and I really loved and was invested in all of the characters. The narrator did a great job with the different voices too.

Thank you to Netgalley and RB Media for sending me an early copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!

From the very first chapter, this book was so much fun! I was absolutely sucked in by the writing style. It was so funny and entertaining and really easy to relate to the characters. It feels like you're watching a comedy heist movie, and I loved those vibes so much.

At first I thought the characters would be hard to keep straight, but they were all so unique and so well written that I had no problem! They are all so loveable in their own ways, and I adored each and every one of them. Not to mention the diversity in this book! There's representation for LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and disability, and it was all so well written in the way that it's so seamlessly written that it all feels absolutely perfect together.

The beginning of the book felt a bit slow to me, but once it really got going, I was hooked! And then the major plot twist at the end!!! When I say that my jaw literally dropped, please believe me. I was not expecting any kind of extra plot twist like this, but it was absolutely perfect.

The narrator was amazing for this book as well. He did such a good job of differentiating the characters and also his performance factor was wonderful!

If you're looking for a fun, diverse read, this is the book for you!

Alrighty, let's chat.

If you say you're going to fix a problem, fix it completely. I'm really hoping that this is just something that is in the advanced listener copy of the audiobook but the supposed fixes for the ableist language was kind of half-assed. Now I went and redownloaded the e-book Arc I had and they did actually totally change the scene to an AirPod with an mp3 player and there's no ADA discussions etc. I need that conversation in the audiobook because then we're good to go. Obviously I won't know if that has been changed until publication and someone can listen to the full audio, but as of now the ALC of this book is not fully changed.

Moving on, I liked this book. This works a lot better for me in audiobook format versus ebook. I think that this is a personal preference of mine and doesn't really reflect on the story itself. The narrator did a great job and I really loved them. I loved the group of five aces and the spy kid ask adventure they're going on to help save Jack's mom, but it was all just a little lackluster for me. It felt like they're promising a heist but it's not really a heist. I also think that the ending was both rushed and tied up a little too neatly for me.

That being said, having five, count them FIVE, asexual characters in a book was amazing. It literally healed my soul hearing them all talk about their aceness. I loves that we got both romantic asexuals and aromantic asexuals. Asexuality is a spectrum!

This is definitely a book that I'm going to recommend on the caveat that the audiobook is fixed upon publication, because I think that having that asexual representation is so important. It isn't my favorite book but it was a fun read for sure.

This is my review for the Advanced Listening Copy of 'Aces Wild: A Heist' by Amanda Dewitt, provided via NetGalley (Thank you to the publisher).

This is written in an easy to digest style, so I don’t see a problem for teens and young adults to enjoy this. It’s fairly high-paced, keeping the readers interest.

Right from the start, Jack (who narrates the book in 1st POV) doesn't sound like a 17 y/o would. But the way he narrates, talking directly to the readers and breaking the 4th wall, gives me Percy Jackson vibes, which is always good. Overall, he isn’t the most likeable and relatable character to me, not that it should always be the case, but it just felt too much to constantly be in his head and hear every train of thought.

I was initially interested in this book mostly for the supposedly a-spec rep, while the rest of the premise given by the blurb didn’t really appeal to me especially. And indeed, after listening to the advanced listening copy, I can say wasn’t that much interested in that aspect of the plot, which isn’t negligible.

I'm not interested in gambling and poker, so I was mostly lost and bord all through the first chapter, were right off the bat there was talk about blackjack. Actual description of the game doesn’t take a lot of page time throughout the entire book, but it serves some key points and has a big part as the catalyst of the story. So unfortunately, the book didn't grip me personally right from the start. Let’s just say that if I was debating whether to pick this up in a bookstore, having read a few of the first pages wouldn’t have convinced me to do so.

But I’m happy to report back that the a-spec part of the book was great. I really appreciate how a-spec friendly this is right from the very beginning, and also the good enby rep. I feel like it could be a good introduction to the subject for teens and such.

Fun dynamics between the friend group, I would categorize it as almost a found family. But still there was room for improvement, such as more page time. Jack always says how much he loves and needs his friend group, but all things considered, he treated them very poorly most of the time. Why did he lie to them so much? It seemed very selfish: he wants to see them badly, but doesn't trust them enough to tell them the truth, even the parts only about his family. I could get why he kept that part a secret up until now, but after being called to Las Vegas, they at least deserve an explanation. Especially now that their lives are in danger. Not telling them isn’t helping in making them safe, only serves as selfishly keeping them in the dark for Jack benefit, they’re taking a risk without even knowing it, and that isn’t fair. Many stories have this kind of trick, where some characters are kept in the dark by another character, while we as the audience know most of it. It adds to the tension, but here it was taken too far, because there wasn’t any satisfying or logical reason for it.

The side characters were a really good part, I found myself by the end wanting to have more about them. Gabe was a goofy but caring older brother figure to the group, Lucky a super hacker who’s older for her age, Georgia a math genius with nerves of steel, the father a helpless case of a man-child that still managed to get the girl and thus has a family he doesn’t know how to take care of, and both sisters were right and interesting enough to warrant me not to get annoyed by them. Rami was also interesting, but I wish there was more about them, so they wouldn’t still feel a bit flat, and so I can also see how special they are to Jack, instead of being told so. Frankly I wish there was more about all of them. But in a way that’s more distance from Jack’s perspective, meaning not him expressing his feelings about/for them, but in line of objective characterization, interaction, or past history/memories. Morgan was mostly a misunderstood character, so I wish that there was more to the resolution between her and Jack. The mother was surprisingly a missing character, except the scene before the last. Building up to it, it felt like a let down in a realistic kind of way. She isn’t an all-powerful and knowing god figure, but a human like all of us, trying to do her best. Although she is involved in shady and illegal business- that aspect wasn’t addressed, so I guess this is a morally grey story?

I appreciate Jack’s emphasizes that this isn’t a love story, meaning this isn’t a romance. And also, he learned that love has many shapes and forms, could be found within many people and acts, there is no one right way, unlike romance movies/books portray it to be. But still, I did miss just a tiny hint or acknowledgement that Jack and Rami are okay, even if they aren’t “dating”. I would be happy to know that they are still close friends who stay in touch and support one another.

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of family drama, which tented many of the interactions between the members up until the conclusion.

Unfortunately, there were many times I wanted to shake someone, with how unrealistic and ludicrous I found most of the scenes, and the entire premise as a whole. You expect me to believe that nobody cares that they’re a bunch of underage teens playing games in a casino, going places they shouldn’t be?! Or to believe that Georgia learned Blackjack just in a few days, to the point she’s already good enough to play against very experienced players, and win?

It's not the first book where kids are forced or expected “to save the day” instead of actual adults, but usually it’s painted as a flaw in the system, or as a criticism of the sick reality, or a warning against such dangerous fate. But here, there isn’t much of that. It’s just blind faith of a 17 y/o that he can be the hero, that he knows better than the rest of them.

The ending was anticlimactic, but for me it was in a good way. It was more realistic and less cheesy than it could have been: no big showoff that resulted in immediate combustion or the authorities/backup knocking down the door. The twist was also done in a good way. I had my suspicions, but it still managed to surprise me a bit by how it played out.

I thought the hearing aid drama I read about it several early reviews should be addressed. *Minor spoilers ahead* In my ALC, Jack repurposes his older sister’s old hearing aid (which she won’t ever need again, she had a surgery and it’s too small by now, but she keeps everything), as a one-way listening device, so Lucky can communicate with him from afar. I’ll put aside the fact that for most of the book, this was only utilized to add some jokes and for Jack to be more of a jerk to his friends. When asked by other parties, he claimed that it’s airpods, if I remember correctly. Just to note, I myself am not an Own Voices person in this matter. From other reviews, I got the impression that Jack lied and presented himself as needing the hearing aid himself- which would have been problematic. But as it was, I didn’t find it very wrong or ableist, but again, I'm not the one who's opinion on the matter should be the final you hear to make up your mind. Please look for more reviews, especially form own voices, after this gets finalized and published.

I was pleasantly surprised finding some gold quotes:, here are some of the more memorable ones:
“Were crushes always supposed to be something you comfort people over? I felt like I was at the funeral for my dignity.” -Jack.
“Don’t look to hard towards the future that you forget the people you want in it.” -Gabe.
“Frankly, I didn’t know when people find time to have sexual attraction”. -Jack. Same dude, same. An absolute MOOD.

The narrator was great, managed to have a distinct voice and tone for different characters, so they wouldn't get mixed up.

Overall, I did enjoy my time reading this, and think other will too. The first half was a bit harder to get into, but it picks up from there. 3.5/5 stars.

Audio Review: I love Robbie Daymond as a narrator. Their voice is just perfect for audiobooks. Daymond is definitely how I heard Jack in my head. They did a fantastic job!

Book Review: While this took a little while for me to get into it, it was definitely worth it in the end. I really loved the entire friendship aspect throughout the book.

Moving on, the heist wasn’t technically a heist. This was a group of modern day teenagers trying to potentially pull of a “heist”, which I felt this book captured very well.

The characters were all great. They are all asexual, hence the title name (along with the whole blackjack thing).. Remy is non-binary and they’re able to read Jack like a book. Gabe is the oldest (18) and constantly teased for being ancient. Georgia is the mediator and very good at handling feelings. Lucky had the most personality and I loved it. Jack needs therapy and maybe some more group hugs.

Overall, I loved this book. It made me laugh and it was enjoyable and amazing to see more asexual representation in such a fun book.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for the early listening copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When I first heard of this upcoming book - it sounded practically custom made FOR me! A sort of found family vibe / heist story - with an all ace/aro cast ?? Sign me up !! Then after hearing some mixed reviews, I wasn't sure what to expect. But after finishing it, I'm happy to say- I enjoyed it even more than I was expecting to !!!

The full cast of characters came together so clearly, in such a short amount of time. I loved the story telling method, where the main character is sort of directly telling us, the readers, what happened.
Packed full of scheming and planning, and somehow perfectly balanced with the details on the card games, (informative without feeling like a Guide to Gambling for Dummies book) - I read this in one sitting because I just didn't want to put it down! Overall, a fun coming of age story with a very understandable and lovable main character and some interesting conversations on privilege and self-discovery.

Perfect for fans of Now You See Me and Loveless!