Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - Ace of Spades

This was a twisty, Get Out type of read. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. This was a bit of a slow start but as the story continued to unfold I understood why. This author loves a dark academic setting that is full of complex social issues.

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mostlykenny's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This was so moving. I recommend so many people to read this. It’s amazing and twisted. And tells you a lot about our systems today. Warning, check the trigger warnings before reading if you’re pretty sensitive to these kinds of topics. But I still think it should be read since the world isn’t alll good in real life. Fiction mirrors reality sometimes.

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mogojojo1013's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was amazing, I devoured it in two days and could hardly put it down. It was such a wild ride, and really eye opening. I loved the growing friendship between Chiamaka and Devon even if they came from different backgrounds, and the ending swept me off my feet. The queer representation was fantastic as well. I will absolutely recommend this book till the day I die.

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mood_reading_maya's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

When an unknown cyber bully is terrorizing the only two Black students at prestigious Niveus Academy, it’s tough for these MCs to believe that the motivator is racism. The first half of the book has a slower pace, building up the tension, developing the characters, and laying out the plot to break down Chiamaka Adebayo and Devon Richardson. It’s so interesting to see the different approaches each character took. Chiamaka put her trust and faith in existing power structures: the headmaster, the press, her popular friends. Devon maintained such a heavy dose of skepticism, trusting no one after being betrayed by so many in the past. The underlying themes in Ace of Spades: sexual identity, image / presentation, racism, class disparities, are all laid bare as the true terrors haunting these two main characters. It would be easy to complain that the racism these two face is too over the top. But that’s exactly the point. Anti-blackness is pervasive in so many structural institutions that it’s simply accepted as part of how society functions. But Chiamaka and Devon push back against it, take the narrative into their own hands, and ultimately burn it all down. Quite literally.

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I don’t want to write too much about this read, because I fear I would spoil something by accident, and I truly think the best way to experience this book is to go in not knowing much about the plot, so that you’re as confused as the MCs and disocvering the trurth right alongside them. The only reason I’m giving this less than five stars is because of some pacing issues. The first half could have been tightened up more, and more time needed to be spent on the climax. There was also an aspect of one MC that felt a bit shoehorned in and underdeveloped. But other than that, this was a truly phenomenal read, both insightful and harrowing. There were so many layers to the plot and characters that Àbíké-Íyímídé artfully constructed and peeled back for the reader. I can see why everyone raves about this work, and I’m really looking forward to reading Àbíké-Íyímídé’s 2024 release.

Rep: gay Black MC, sapphic biracial Black/white Italian/Nigerian-American MC, bi SC, Black Achillean SC

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the_true_monroe's review against another edition

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dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

When I started the audio book, I did not expect it to go the way it did. Although as I went through, I knew what was coming but not to the degree that it came. Wow.

Definitely a psychological thriller, with similar vibes to ‘Get Out’ (although both are completely different stories focusing on different aspects of horrors related to racism).

4 stars because there was a lot I wish was expanded upon, like a follow-up on characters such a Belle, Scotty, Andre and Jack.

Also, I absolutely love how on the author’s websites there is art depicting the major characters. I have a hard time visualizing things based on descriptions and that really helped! I only found it writing this review since I went searching for one of the character’s names.

I really enjoyed the author’s note, which mentions how the book was written over the course of her college career which is very symbolic to the course of the story.

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lotoblanco's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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cocopeters's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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