Snag Your Copy Aces Up Conceived By Lauren Barnholdt Issued As Manuscript

a big fan of Lauren Barnholdt's sitelinkTwoWay Street and sitelinkOne Night That Changes Everything so I was surprised this book turned out to just be okay for me.
It was a good book, but I dunno, something just felt off with Aces Up,

While the characters were all uniquely written I don't think I liked any of them to be honest, Shannon seemed a bit all over the place and her inner thoughts was a little to hyper and scattered while the dialog was spazzy and repetitive.
I though that Cole was nothing but a shark with a sexy grin and Max was cool, but I didn't feel enough of a connection to his and Shanon's history as friends and or relationship.

The card playing was pretty neat, but for some reason it didn't work out like I imagined it would have, I think I was expecting something cutesy and fluffy and something closer to what the cover feels to me when I look at it, but instead the tone felt scandalous more then anything.
Not that I mind scandalous, I guess I just didn't expect that concept in this particular read,

Still, Barnholdts signature style for writing storylines that are unique and fresh is still very much alive in this book, the characters were different and the plot interesting.
I think this was just me, any fan of Barnholdts still should enjoy this one,
I just wish I could have loved it more:
This review was originally published at sitelinkFluttering Butterflies

Aces Up by Lauren Barnholdt is not at all like I'd expected it to be.
From

the cover, I really expected some light, flirtiness playing poker, And while there is poker, and there are relationships in this book, I found both aspects to be quite surprising,

Our main character in this story is Shannon Card, She'sand she's just been accepted for early admission into Wellesley College, It's a huge thing for her, she's been working so hard for this for such a long time, But, in order for things to work out with the college of her dreams, Shannon must stockpile a lot of money, And quickly. Her dad has just lost his job and there is no way that her parents could cover the cost of tuition, In desperation, Shannon makes some very iffy decisions,

The thing about this book, was that even though inwardly I kept shouting at Shannon 'NOOO, don't do THAT' I could still really believe in her as a character and felt like the choices she made were done in a way that I could relate to and sympathise with.


So, with a tuition bill of nearly,dollars, what would you Would you buy a fake ID and birth certificate from the shady guy at school Would you get a job waitressing at the local casino Would you agree to be a member of this secretpoker group, Aces Up Would the fact that the person asking, Cole, is super hot make the decision easier or harder to decide, do you think Shannon is all set to say no to Cole's offer.
The quick and easy money seems a pretty big tempation, but it is only after Shannon is rejected by her longterm crush, Max, that she seems keen to try Aces Up.
And soon everything seems to spiral out of control, as her lies start building up, and Shannon gets into a bigger mess than she'd realised.
Both in her love life and in the choices she has made regarding school, her family, her job and with Aces Up,

The thing I think I loved the best about this book were the relationships that Shannon has with the people in her life.
Her sister, Robyn, was really great and supportive, I found Shannon's almost frenemiesstyle relationship with Parvati to be interesting and fun to find out more, Mackenzie was an absolute gem of a character, I love people who are very surprising and outspoken and fun like Mackenzie is! Of course, Cole is one to watch out for, But it was Max who is was the surprise of the book for me, I was desperate to unravel more of the history between him and Shannon and find out how everything went so horribly wrong between them!

All in all, this was a very surprising read! I shall be picking up more books by Lauren Barnholdt in the future.
That was really awesome. But i was so confused about how is the bad boy here, is a really funny book and the thematic is great, I enjoyed so much! This was an enjoyable quick read, essentially a first person narrative of a smart girl's stupid choices, Those include a crazy fling with poker playing, hooking up with a sketchy guy, and losing touch with her friends, family and the guy she actually likes and deserves.
So, put that way, it doesn't sound so funny, but it really is, due almost exclusively to her quirky and characterful narrative voice, which makes her bad decisions seem comprehensible, if not wise, and give her choices a surface plausibility, even if they are kooky and selfdestructive in the short, long and medium runs.
So, I liked this book, just not loved, loved, loved it like I did Two Way Street, or One Night that Changes Everything which it was more like, I'd say.
Shannon's unlikely friendship with McKenzie, the tough cookie waitress who inducts her into the casino world is an especially charming and unexpected element, So, a fun read, benefiting from lowered expectations, It was an okay book, quick read, In the middle it gets pretty boring, I thought it would be a little bit like '' The movie but its very different, Anyway, if your in a mood for drama and romance and comedy, then this is it When I found out that Lauren Barnholdt had an upcoming YA novel about a love triangle mixed in with a bit of poker, I knew it was going to be right up my alley.
I really enjoyed reading TwoWay Street, also by Lauren Barnholdt, so I knew I had to read Aces Up,

Seventeen year old Shannon Card I like how her last name fits with the theme of the book needs to get a job to pay for college.
Her father recently got laid off from his job, his car got repossessed and he had to sell his beloved boat, Needless to say theres no college fund waiting for her, Shannon doesnt just get any job, she gets a job at a casino as a cocktail waitress where she can make the big bucks, And because one would have to beyears old or older to work in a casino, Shannon has to get a fake ID,

Soon after starting her job, she gets an invitation to an exclusive club Aces Up, She is sought out by Cole, the leader of the secret club, because of her amazing math skills, Shannon doesnt know how to play poker but Cole teaches her the basics and hones her craft using mathematical strategies,

Then theres Max, Shannons best friend since they were little but the two have been divided after an awkward almostkiss moment, Max has moved on with another girl and the friendship between him and Shannon is on hiatus, Then Max asks Shannon to tutor him in math but chemistry seems to be the topic at hand, if you catch my drift,

Shannon is making loads of money from gambling in the casino using her newly acquired skills but its still not enough to get her into college.
Cole wants her to join him and his crew in a poker tournament, where they will basically need to cheat in order to win, Shannon is caught between a rock and a hard place and has a decision to make either go with Coles plan or do the right thing and rat him out.


Aces Up reminded me of the movie, except in this book the game is poker Texas Holdem style, I think one of the reasons I liked this book so much is that I love playing Texas Holdem even though the hubs beats me most of the timealthough I can pull off a good bluff every once in a while.
Barnholdt does a great job at setting up the game rules for the reader, however, the storyline doesnt center around poker hands,

I liked the ending it wasnt what I had expected but it played out well, Aces Up definitely lived up to my expectations, From the beginning, all the way to the end, I was drawn into Shannons world, I swallowed this book down in one gulp, Barnholdts books do that to me they capture me and reel me in, She has mastered the art of tapping into a young adult mind, Reading her books make me feelagain, which in essence, is why I enjoy reading YA,

Most of us read books to escape and Aces Up was a great escape, This book is a perfect fit for a summer read, Its a fastpaced, fun and entertaining read that will leave you wondering how everything is going to play out, Aces Up gets your adrenaline going like when youre holding pocket rockets and the flop is laid down with a pair of hockey sticks and a deuce.
Youre sweating it out, waiting for that boat to come your way and it all comes down to that river card, Like with any of Barnholdts books, Im all in baby!,

I'm a fan of Lauren Barnholdt's work, but this one fell flat for me, The main character was painfully naive and I just couldn't enjoy it like I have her other books, I liked this book. The subject of the book was great, It's fast paced and I like how I never really knew what was going to happen next, Aces Up was just an ok read for me, As hard as I tried, I just really couldn't get into the storyline, The main character, Shannon was funny and likable, the friend she had a crush on, Max, was cute and endearing, Shannon's sister Robyn and fellow waitress and new BFF Mckenzie added a lot of humor to the story, And the Aces Up ringleader, Cole had just enough mystery to pull you in and was just enough of a jerk to have you rooting for Shannon at the end.
All in all not one of my favs of Barnholdt, Shannon Card, seventeenyear old senior needs money, Lots of it. Not for anything bad but for college, After her father loses his job, she must find a way to earn money, And so, she finds a job at a Casino working as a waitress,

A couple of days into her job, she receives an invitation to join Aces Up, a group of college students who has an extreme talent and luck in playing poker.
At first she was skeptical because she has enough to worry about: keeping her job, winning the coveted math scholarship at school, and tutoring her secret crush, Max.
But when Shannon musters up the nerve to kiss Max and he doesn't react at all, the allure of Aces Up and its sexy eighteenyearold leader, Cole, is suddenly too powerful to ignore.


Soon, she was caught up in a web of lies and deceit, She must decide if the money she get from poker is worth the hurt on her family, friends, love and going to her dream college.




I really enjoyed Two Way Street also by Lauren Barnholdt and I'm really
looking forward to this novel of her.


It was fun, fast, sweet read with an excellent moral story, I really loved that Lauren Barnholdt comes up with stories that has great plot like this one which is about a secret society of poker players, its just very unique.


The characters are all very much likeable, They are all very relatable,
Shannon, is extremely smart and I find her quirky and hilaious, Cole is so hot and I can't help but compre him to Cato of THG, Anyway, given that he is hot and all he still carries a msyerious vibe around him that's very unsettling, Now, Max is the one that I like, He is achingly sweet and charming and genuinely nice though he may seem confused and doesn't know how to handle things and his feelings at times.


The plot of the story is pretty fast, It moves quickly and you would definitely not notice you're already half way reading it, I didn't encounter any dull or dragging moment while reading it,

It was a delightfully fun read and I wished it coud have been longer, I wanted to see more of each one of the characters and see what would happen next to them, This book would definitely makes you laugh, swoon with sweetness and romance and leaves you with a great moral by the time you finished it.
Don't miss this one out!,