DNF @50%

Reading the premise I thought this book would be perfect for me. But boy was I wrong. I thought it was going to be a fun heist with a group of diverse characters, something like The Gilded Wolves but with a modern setting. And it was, in a way, but it was so boring. I'm sorry, but this book just couldn't make me read more than a single chapter before putting it down. And guess what, after I put it down I didn't want to pick it up again. So I decided, after reading more than half of the book, to give up on it.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

dnf @ 35% Honestly I just don’t think this book was for me. I was so stoked about the premise and a whole cast of characters on the ace spectrum but the plot is where it lost me. I didn’t find the familiar gambling/ mafia involvement and vegas setting enjoyable or intriguing, which made the heist or goal of the story uninteresting. Sadly, this book was just not my thing.

I was so excited for a book filled with asexual rep! But I made the mistake of trying to read too much outside of my comfort zone. I don’t normally read contemporary books by non-BIPOC authors, but since there’s so little asexual rep in books, especially books by BIPOC authors, I wanted to go outside my comfort zone. But, I’m just not connecting to the story like I would’ve liked to. I’m just not interested in reading about a rich, white teenage boy. I’d rather give my time to a book by a BIPOC author. So, for that reason, I had to DNF the book. But I may give this another try in the future because I still want to read more asexual representation!

Giving it 3 stars because I think it’s just a me thing!

Thank you Peachtree and NetGalley for this arc!

Finally, a book about asexuals without talking about sex!

A heist novel with a bunch of smart young adults in the setting of the Las Vegas Strip already had my attention. Learning a bit more about Jack Shannon, his family, and especially his powerful mother, drew me in. There’s secrets, planning, betrayal, and comic relief all rolled into one book. This was a fun, quick read with respect to the characters, who each had their own unique identity and personality. Like I said before, a book with asexuals without making sexual attraction a defining feature for the characters feels like a breath of fresh air.

A very fun, light read. The characters are very human, the plot is fast-paced so it's a quick read and there's plenty plot twist to keep you invested. Great book to get you out of the reading slump.

The book itself was fine. I liked a lot of the characters and the writing style was alright, but I feel like I thought this book was going to be something else entirely. I was expecting a /Heist/ and did not really get one. I assumed there would be a lot of compelling action, but I've had a number of book assumptions be incorrect this past year so maybe that's on me

3.5 stars

I loooooved the ace rep in this book. Definitely not enough rep for it and we need more. However, the heist plot lost me. It didn't move fast enough but that might just be a me thing.

DNF -- 2.5 stars?
Gambling was way more of a topic than I was expecting and that made me a bit too uncomfortable. Plus my copy was missing pages, so it was difficult to understand what was going on in even the first 30 pages...
Plus I read in a review by a deaf person that the deaf character in the book wasn't written that well, so yeah not interested in finishing this.

i absolutely loved this book. it was everything i wanted it to be—funny, heartwarming, a good balance of serious issues and wild plot. i loved our main friend group so much, their dynamic felt so relatable and made me so happy. i read this book in two sittings, and i would have read it in one if i could have.

Amanda DeWitt's novel not only brings us a delightful Scooby-gang of complex characters in a thrilling high-stakes heist, but it also provides the best asexual representation I've encountered in any novel. I am grateful that the characters accurately represent the diverse spectrum of asexuality that exists in life without making their asexuality the main focus of the book.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Review based on final copy. All opinions are my own.

My attention was drawn by the premise of Aces Wild: a heist run by an entirely asexual group of friends?! Yes, please! I also love the pun with “aces,” given the Las Vegas casino setting.

As someone who only really began to understand my asexuality through online interaction with other asexuals, I love the setup of the book. It’s super sweet to see Jack forming these bonds with people, especially as they are so comparatively affirming and positive compared to his family’s ties to organized crime. But while there are some lovely sentiments about ace identity and the varied expressions among those within the ace spectrum embedded within, I love that it’s not only about the affirmation of being seen when you’re part of a marginalized group, but also about the richness of online bonds for anyone whose interests may be niche or for some reason who they are may not be accepted. With Twitter’s downfall seemingly becoming more likely every day, it’s lovely to have a book that celebrates that.

And while the book boldly declares on page one that it isn’t a romance, that’s not to say there aren’t romantic relationships, with all their complications that form. I loved the exploration of Jack’s crush on Remy, especially as they’re meeting for the first time.

And with a lot of Jack’s motivations for wanting to pull off the heist being motivated by his family, I appreciated the way those relationships were fleshed out as well. His mom has been arrested, and I found the way he and his sisters clashed in the wake of that to be very poignant and real.

While it is billed as “A Heist,” it is a much slower and introspective book, with the actual heisting taking place in the last few chapters or so. However, the characters and their personal issues are compelling enough that I didn’t feel it moved too slowly.

While I feel the marketing is a bit misleading, I did end up enjoying this book once I realized what it really was. If you’re looking for a fun slow building YA thriller that culminates in a heist and/or a heartwarming and affirming story about Internet-to-IRL friendship among asexuals, I would recommend checking this out!

If nothing else, I'm a sucker for a good pun, and the title and concept of this book alone was enough to delight me. 17-year-old Arthur "Jack" Shannon, asexual blackjack dealer and son of a rich casino owner teams up with his ragtag group of online-turned-IRL friends to commit just enough small-scale crime to be entertaining.

Of course, I picked up this book for the promise of asexual rep, and while there wasn't a lot of deep thought and discussion on the topic, I loved how it was handled in this book. It's a simple fact of life, like anyone else's sexual identity, as well as the commonality that bonded our main cast of characters as friends. It's sweet and simple and Jack's internal monologuing about his lack of knowledge and experience when it comes to crushes and romance is hilariously relatable. There's also the bonus of having aromantic, sapphic, and nonbinary rep as well.

The actual "heist" itself is more of a mystery-solving adventure, and it gave me Scooby Doo gang vibes. Each of our characters falls into a certain archetype role that they play, which makes the unfolding plot a bit predictable, but doesn't subtract from the fun of it all if you aren't taking it too seriously. I guessed each plot twist before they happened, but the writing style and Jack's voice still made it enjoyable to read the reveals.

Overall I'm very happy that this book exists. It's a fun ride all around and I'd love for more out-there concepts like this to be put out into the world!

Aces Wild by Amanda DeWitt was such a fun read and I loved the premise so much. Jack and his friends were so cool to read about and each of their personalities were so unique. It was great to read a book with so much ace rep and I loved that there were other identities represented as well. Reading about Jack's family life in Las Vegas was a blast, and I enjoyed all the twists and turns! The only thing I thought could have been a little better was the pacing, as the plot seemed a little slow toward the middle and then wrapped up fast, but I was having too much fun reading for it to genuinely be an issue!
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

I really wanted to love this one. I really, really did. Finding asexual representation is difficult enough, but a full crew of asexuals? I've never found one before. And the representation was great. Sadly, the plot just didn’t catch me.

This book was the ace heist of my dreams! For every ace person looking for an entirely ace cast of characters, look no further than this book right here! I loved every second of this, and I think it delivered on every aspect of the story I was hoping for.

SO GOOD. SOC WITH MODERN AND EVERYONE IS ACE. I cannot believe how not lower down I feel! YES YES YES SOC FAN UNITE!!

I'm so sorry but I couldn't finish this book, so I'd put a 3-star just because I can't leave feedback without giving a star rating!

Why I couldn't finish? Well, I was promised a heist bust at 46% I didn't see so much of a heist. Maybe it's not for me, maybe I am impatient, but I expected they started the plan for the heist at least at 30%.

I really loved the concept, but all this introduction bored me. I imagined this book like some version of the movie Swindle (the one with Noah Crawford, Chris O'Neal, Jennette McCurdy, Noah Munck, Ariana Grande, Ciara Bravo, and Fred Ewanuick) but with a casinò.

I loved the ace representation, I think that if there were less description, and more action from the start I would have loved this book!

this was a super fun read! the representation was amazing, the characters were well written, and the plot was just so fun! this was more character driven but the heist plot was well executed and so entertaining. I cared about the plot and characters which was a good balance! definitely recommend

I was very excited for this book due to the asexual rep as that makes it an own voices read for me, however I didn't enjoy this as much as I'd been anticipating.

The representation alongside the synopsis and the prospect of a heist being carried out served to make this an anticipated read for me, one of my most anticipated for the year in fact so I eagerly dove into it.

I loved all of the representation, truly I did because we have an all asexual cast and there are very few books with ace rep. Trust me, I know, because I've been looking and eagerly pouncing on any book that has it! I also really loved the way Arthurian legend was brought into it because I'm a huge sucker for a bit of Arthurian legend! The twist was also quite brilliant towards the end and I can't say I saw it coming, in all honesty, not to mention it was quite well paced and I do love a bit of found family!

However, I found the characters fell a little flat and didn't have distinct personalities. They were very one dimensional and I found it quite hard to remember who was who as none of them really stood out to me. I just didn't connect to them or really enjoy them, if I'm being honest. I also found my attention wandering because I was promised a heist and I wouldn't really say anything within this book served as a heist. It certainly doesn't deserve the comparisons to Six of Crows given that despite the cuss words it's actually quite juvenile and a few times I did wonder if this was supposed to originally be a middle grade novel.

Ultimately, this book fell flat for me which is a shame given I was so excited for the asexual representation and I pretty much only carried on with it as I needed something to listen to while doing a few bits around the house.

Aces Wild by Amanda DeWitt is a book where romance isn’t the main plot driven device. Jack and the other characters are asexual and get into other shenanigans in this novel about friendship and gambling. There are secret rooms but not much of a heist. Read this if you like found families and if you think friendship is the best kind of relationship. Thanks to NetGalley and Peachtree/Peachtree Teen for the ARC.