BOOK REVIEW: Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

4/5⭐

I love series like Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars and books like One of Us Is Lying. This book really reminded me of those types of story lines, so I loved it. It kept me on the edge of my seat. It was full of twists I did not see coming at all and got me to a point where I did not know who can be trusted any longer.

Thank you to the amazing @usborneya for providing me with a early Netgalley copy of this debut book in exchange for an honest review.

This book starts off where we follow Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo as they start their first day of their senior year at Niveus Academy, an elite high school where all the students are perfect, rich and on their way to the best Ivy League schools and careers.

Devon and Chiamaka have nothing in common at all, except that they are the only two black students in the entire school. Devon is a scholarship kid who shares a room with his two younger siblings in a bad part of the neighbourhood - his mother works hard to make ends meet and his father is in prison. He dreams of getting into Julliard and his biggest passion is playing the keyboard. He does not really have friends, except his childhood friend, Jack, and is someone who is generally very under the radar and goes unnoticed, and so it comes as a big shock when he is elected as a Senior Prefect.

In contrast, it comes as no surprise when Chiamaka is elected as Senior Head Prefect. She has been working hard towards it for years. She ensures that she keeps her grades up, only associates herself with the right people and always looks the part in order to ensure her popularity and that she stays on top. Her father is Italian while her mother is Nigerian. Her best friends include Ruby, who seems to always be competing with her, Ava and then Jamie, who is also her crush. She is determined to make Jamie hers during their senior year.

Devon's joy is short-lived when an unknown person, known only as Aces, sends out a text to the whole school, which exposes Devon's secret, which could affect his life at school and at home. Not long afterwards, Aces starts spilling some of Chiamaka's secrets as well and it seems like they might know some of her deepest darkest secrets. Aces seems to become more and more dangerous as time goes on and Chiamaka and Devon need to work together to try to unmask who is behind it all, before they lose everything they have worked for.

I absolutely loved the protagonists in this book. I loved that we get to read both Devon and Chiamaka's POVs seeing as their personalities and lives are so different. Chiamaka is so badass and such a fighter while Devon is so loving and caring. I also loved Devon's mother. I loved the LGBTQ+ representation in this book and the fight against systematic racism.

There was never a dull moment in this book - there were so many twists and turns I had not anticipated at all and I found myself constantly questioning every character's motives by the time I was halfway through the book. There were so many moments that left me in shock and I did not expect the plot twists at all when I started reading this book.

I definitely recommend this for anyone else who loves Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars and the One of Us is Lying series.