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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
slow-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:
N/A
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this one. It is a fairly typical high school romcom but I liked the prickliness of Wren and I liked the addition of asexuality, something you don't often see in anything. I likely rated it higher because of those two things.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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:
Yes
THAT WAS SO CUTE IM OBSESSED it’s giving ted lasso bantr au and i am HERE for it
(could’ve used less references to starbucks and mcd tho remember to keep boycotting, my friends 🍉)
(could’ve used less references to starbucks and mcd tho remember to keep boycotting, my friends 🍉)
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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:
Yes
This was so delightful to read. I wish I had been able to read this book when I was still in high school and could’ve had good ace rep at that age. Even being in my early 20s, this was still great! The plot twists were predictable, as they typically are in these kinds of books for me, but it’s not a bad thing and didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book at all.
I saw a lot of my high school self in Wren, even the moments where Wren was unlikeable. He felt like such a real, fleshed out person who has moments of making poor judgements or being selfish. It made seeing how he grows up to the end of the book feel earned. I also of course really appreciated the ace rep we get through Wren. I do wish more of it could’ve been explored deeper in how it will affect his romantic relationships (which is hinted at a bit). In all honesty though, I don’t think this was the point of the book or Wren’s story, so I’m ok with time being dedicated more to other parts of Wren’s development. His friendship with Ryan was also so sweet! Overall I enjoyed all of the relationships in this book and their varying levels of friendliness with each other. It also helped ground the book in reality to me.
This book got me out of a bit of a reading slump, I haven’t read something this quickly in quite awhile. If I were to be completely objective about my rating, it would probably be around a 4.5 just because of some moments where I wish there had been less ‘telling’ especially with regard to Wren expositing about conversations that happen off page. However, this was a 5 star feeling read for me. Despite those small complaints I had, I enjoyed it so much and that joyful reading experience makes it a 5 star for me.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am bursting from love I have for this story, these characters and gorgeous ace rep. I wanna reread it already, i don’t ready to say goodbye. Also chickens in the backyard are so fucking adorable little thing about Wren.
I love love love it.
I love love love it.
Wren Martin Ruins It All is a sweet and uplifting coming of age rom-com that also provides some much-needed asexual representation and features adorable chickens. The central plot twist is pretty easy to see coming but weirdly this did not negatively affect my enjoyment of the book. I loved the breadth of relationships in the book: in addition to the romantic love interest we also see warm friendships, slightly complex relationships with peers, family dynamics with the best friend’s family, and a loving but frustratingly distant relationship between the protagonist and his father who is obviously struggling in the wake of the mother’s death.
Like other reviewers of this, I would have liked to see a little bit more unpacking of how Wren’s asexuality affects romantic relationships for him, but I think this book will definitely be welcomed by young folks on the ace-aro spectrum who don’t get a lot of explicit representation particularly in romance writing. I also loved the exploration of Wren’s grief journey following his mother’s death. I will definitely be looking to buy this for the school library when it becomes available.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Like other reviewers of this, I would have liked to see a little bit more unpacking of how Wren’s asexuality affects romantic relationships for him, but I think this book will definitely be welcomed by young folks on the ace-aro spectrum who don’t get a lot of explicit representation particularly in romance writing. I also loved the exploration of Wren’s grief journey following his mother’s death. I will definitely be looking to buy this for the school library when it becomes available.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.