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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this latest queer YA #ownvoices romantic comedy by Amanda DeWitt that features an Ace teen boy who hates nothing more than school dances and ends up becoming Student Council President alongside his nemesis, Leo.
Forced to work together to plan a series of events in order to help raise money to fix the drama stage, Leo and Wren find themselves learning to appreciate each other in a new light. There's also an element of You've got mail where both boys match on an anonymous 'friend' app. Mistaken identities abound in this story full of grief, friendship and new love.
Perfect for fans of Pride and Prejudice and great on audio narrated by Mark Sanderlin. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!
CW: death of a parent from cancer, sibling with cancer
Forced to work together to plan a series of events in order to help raise money to fix the drama stage, Leo and Wren find themselves learning to appreciate each other in a new light. There's also an element of You've got mail where both boys match on an anonymous 'friend' app. Mistaken identities abound in this story full of grief, friendship and new love.
Perfect for fans of Pride and Prejudice and great on audio narrated by Mark Sanderlin. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!
CW: death of a parent from cancer, sibling with cancer
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fun and nice asexual representation. It would have been nice to see more of their relationship after they found out about each other.
full review to come but one of the BEST ace books i’ve EVER read, tbh probably the best. i love wren, i love leo i love the chickens, just everything is so good
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a really warm, fuzzy read for a “dislike this guy to friends to lovers” story rife with high school chaos and an ace boy simply trying to live his life. I love this, it was fun, it was sweet, definitely recommended if you need a palate cleanser. My brain feels happy after reading this.
So, so good! Wren is a curmudgeonly high school senior who hates the romance obsessed Valentine's Day dance due to his own asexuality (though he's totally a sucker for romance himself), and after becoming student president due to a series of unfortunate events (which happen off screen), almost commits social suicide by canceling the dance altogether. Luckily he is saved by Leo, a coding wiz who is beloved by all (but hated by Wren) and proposes having a dating/social media app named Buddy sponsor the dance. The rest of the book follows Wren and Leo as they plan the dance and do typical high school senior type things.
During the course of this, Wren secretly signs up for Buddy (despite loudly proclaiming he hates it) and starts falling for his anonymous match (who of course is also a senior at their high school). A lot of the twists and turns are rather predictable, and the drama in this book is pretty mild. It doesn't hit significant highs or lows, any kind of conflict is usually resolved pretty quickly, and nothing is especially high stakes.
Where the book does shine is in the character's voice (the book is single POV so we stay with Wren the entire time), and the bigger non-romance questions that come up throughout, like how to plan for your future when it feels like your world is falling apart, and whether it's worth dating while asexual, and do people actually deserve a second chance after a bad first impression. I really enjoyed Wren's prickliness throughout, hints about Leo's pining, and even the app interactions, which I'm usually not a fan of. The ending is also pretty satisfying - it doesn't tie up everything neatly or answer all possible questions, but we see the characters in a good place and ready to face whatever comes next.
Thanks to NetGalley and Peachtree for the ARC.
During the course of this, Wren secretly signs up for Buddy (despite loudly proclaiming he hates it) and starts falling for his anonymous match (who of course is also a senior at their high school). A lot of the twists and turns are rather predictable, and the drama in this book is pretty mild. It doesn't hit significant highs or lows, any kind of conflict is usually resolved pretty quickly, and nothing is especially high stakes.
Where the book does shine is in the character's voice (the book is single POV so we stay with Wren the entire time), and the bigger non-romance questions that come up throughout, like how to plan for your future when it feels like your world is falling apart, and whether it's worth dating while asexual, and do people actually deserve a second chance after a bad first impression. I really enjoyed Wren's prickliness throughout, hints about Leo's pining, and even the app interactions, which I'm usually not a fan of. The ending is also pretty satisfying - it doesn't tie up everything neatly or answer all possible questions, but we see the characters in a good place and ready to face whatever comes next.
Thanks to NetGalley and Peachtree for the ARC.
✧˖*°࿐5 glowing stars
‘Wren Martin Ruins it All’ follows Wren as he tries to demolish the Valentine’s Day dance, a plan which promptly fails. It was just an overall DELIGHT. If you’re in the mood for an asexual romcom reminiscent of RWRB (because everyone should be), then it is perfect for you. The one-sided rivalry/crush was so first prince coded idc.
This book is such a quintessential romcom I’m actually smiling just thinking back at the scenes. First off, Wren is the most perfect narrator. He’s genuinely funny and it’s very rare for me to find a book where I laughed as much as I did here. Also, this is exactly how you write a flawed character and make them likeable. I was rooting for Wren despite how chaotic and messy he could be.
The writing was so charming, which also ties into Wren’s narration. The romance was also just as charming and had many of the tropes that make stories like this so fun. I’m a sucker for tropes and cheesy plots like this, so this was my stuff right here. I did feel they could have concealed some things better (romance wise) because they were pretty obvious from the start, but that’s spoilery, so I won’t get into that.
Also, I started this because of the ace rep and that was super cool as well! It’s very casual, with the MC already having figured this out and it still playing into the story.
Overall, if you’re looking for a silly queer romcom with an ace MC, this is the book you need in your life. Thank you to Netgalley and Peachtree Teen for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
‘Wren Martin Ruins it All’ follows Wren as he tries to demolish the Valentine’s Day dance, a plan which promptly fails. It was just an overall DELIGHT. If you’re in the mood for an asexual romcom reminiscent of RWRB (because everyone should be), then it is perfect for you. The one-sided rivalry/crush was so first prince coded idc.
This book is such a quintessential romcom I’m actually smiling just thinking back at the scenes. First off, Wren is the most perfect narrator. He’s genuinely funny and it’s very rare for me to find a book where I laughed as much as I did here. Also, this is exactly how you write a flawed character and make them likeable. I was rooting for Wren despite how chaotic and messy he could be.
The writing was so charming, which also ties into Wren’s narration. The romance was also just as charming and had many of the tropes that make stories like this so fun. I’m a sucker for tropes and cheesy plots like this, so this was my stuff right here. I did feel they could have concealed some things better (romance wise) because they were pretty obvious from the start, but that’s spoilery, so I won’t get into that.
Also, I started this because of the ace rep and that was super cool as well! It’s very casual, with the MC already having figured this out and it still playing into the story.
Overall, if you’re looking for a silly queer romcom with an ace MC, this is the book you need in your life. Thank you to Netgalley and Peachtree Teen for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes