Book Review: Aces and Eights (Aces High, Jokers Wild Book 4)

Aces and Eights
Book #4 – Aces High, Jokers Wild Series
by O.E. Tearmann

Imagine this scenario: You meet a group of people you aren’t sure about – they’re kinda weird, but interesting enough that you decide to stick around. You run into them a few more times, and soon you start to realize that yeah, they’re still weird, but just maybe you’re weird, too. And then one night you’re home alone, bored, wondering what to do with your evening, and then it hits you. What you really want to be doing is hanging out with your weird friends. So, you call them up and invite them over for movies and snacks, and when they arrive? It feels like a family reunion. The phrase ‘chosen family’ suddenly makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?

That’s how I felt reading the Aces High, Jokers Wild book series. Book four, Aces and Eights, releases May 16th, 2020. It’s time to make the popcorn again for another family reunion!

Now, at first glance, my chosen family doesn’t have a lot in common with me. After all, I live in a house, and they live in something called the Democratic State Force Base 1407, in the year 2157. And they aren’t working retail or slinging fast food. Nah, they’ve decided to, oh, you know, save the world.

In Aces and Eights, the Wildcards catch wind of the possibility that one of the seed banks established before America collapsed might have survived. If they can find it, and start growing their own food, they can take one more step away from the control of the seven corporations that are running the country.

Now, that’s a lofty goal. But it’s not just about the work. They still find time to agonize over how to ask someone for a date, take time to find just the right birthday presents for each other, share songs and movies from the old days, cry on each others shoulders, confess secrets, share a joke, fight and scream and ultimately figure out how to co-exist. And for me, that sounds like family.

A note for potential readers: this series deals (wonderfully) with human sexuality and LBGT themes.

Aces High, Jokers Wild Four Book Series
available at Amazon

About the Author: O.E. Tearmann lives in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, in what may become the Co-Wy Grid. They share the house with a brat in fur, a husband and a great many books. Their search engine history may garner them a call from the FBI one day. When they’re not living on base 1407 they advocate for a more equitable society and more sustainable agricultural practices, participate in sundry geekdom and do their best to walk their characters’ talk.