A review by sara_berlin
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad tense fast-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? Yes

5.0

This was such a well-rounded and good book. I was hooked from chapter 1, as a good thriller should do, and I was not let down. Personally I had pretty high expectations, having heard about the representation, and they were more than fulfilled. It tackles so many things from different perspectives, I mean you have two main characters who are black and queer, with pretty different life circumstances. It's fascinating. Also, it's not just the representation that's good (although honestly even if it was I would probably still give it 5 stars) the emotion in the writing was conveyed so well, and the plot was interesting without being convoluted. There's a reason I finished it in three days (would've been two but I fell asleep at ~380 pages, not because it was boring but because I was extremely exhausted). To be completely honest I don't have much to say because I can't think of anything I didn't like about it. Maybe that I found Chiamaka's backstory a bit underdeveloped at first, compared to all the exposition we got with Devon, although that may just be because of their differing personalities. Anyway, highly recommend to anyone who is looking for a diverse, riveting contemporary/thriller book.