A sweet and romantic story in this new book for fans of Casey Mcquiston, with unforgettable characters.

Wren Martin doesn't do dances. Or romance. Or fun. The last one is a joke. Mostly. He has bigger aspirations for his school than hosting the same Valentine's dance. Being elected to his school's office is his chance to make a difference finally. Except that his mortal enemy, Leo, is also elected. And he has a plan that will not only continue the tradition but guarantee that it becomes one of the biggest dances in school history. Underneath his prickly exterior, Wren Martin has his own complicated feelings on the matter and his life plans. A push from unexpected sources could be the driving force he needs to change.

Wren Martin Ruins it All was witty and entertaining. It gives a glimpse into being a teenager who feels like they don't always fit into a crowd and also the importance of being able to reflect on the passing of a loved one and not feel held down by grief. Falling in love while asexual presents its own set of unique challenges for Wren, and the reader goes on a journey with Wren as he explores more about himself and what exactly he desires. The fictitious app Buddy parallels real-world usage (and misuse) of social media and how far it can reach.

The plot here is a fairly obvious one. When characters are rivals it almost always spells romance. The characters are well developed and interesting. And the plot goes beyond the surface. A solid way of normalizing marginalized groups.

This was a book I didn't know I needed, even as a twenty-four year old adult, still struggling with self-identity and the feeling of not fitting in. The book itself was a delight, I loved the back and forth between characters and the relationships between them all. It took me back to high school but not necessarily in a bad way. I enjoyed this book.

A solid ya story with great aro/ace rep. We definitely need more of these kind of stories where everything doesn't revolve around sex.

I really liked the syoryline of the book. We have a saying in Finnish (I don't know if it's purely a Finnish thing or not), which translates as "even a horse kicks out of love", which I think describes perfectly Wren's "hatered" towards Leo. Even though he didn't knew it himself yet.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for an ARC of this title

This is a kind of Ace love story I am looking for in a book. I will admit that it took me a couple chapters to clue in that are main character was male however it did not affect the story at all. As an ace individual I was happy to see the opportunity to read an ace main character, however, I was hesitant because I've been burned before. That is not what happened here. This was a beautifully written story and I was happy to see that the main character did not give up a part of themselves to be in love. I feel like this book was written very well in the teenage perspective. The way the characters spoke and acted match the very well with the way that I see teenagers in my own life.

Wie finde ich das?

Nachdem ich bereits "Aces Wild" von Amanda Dewitt verschlungen und über alles geliebt hatte, war für mich klar, dass ich auch das neue Buch der Autorin "Wren Martin ruins it all" lesen muss, nicht zuletzt, weil auch hier wieder die Repräsentation von Asexualität eine Rolle spielt.

"Wren Martin ruins it all" ist ein Young Adult-Roman, der einige bekannte Tropes miteinander vereint: Academic Rivals to lovers und Falling in love through text (ist as ein Trope? Ich finde, es sollte einer sein!) sind dabei die präsentesten, doch die Liebesgeschichte steht gar nicht so sehr im Fokus. Eher im Gegenteil. Eigentlich ist es Wrens erklärtes Ziel, den jährlichen Valentinsball und alles, was irgendwie mit Romance zu tun hat, abzuschaffen.

Das gelingt natürlich nicht und auf einmal muss Wren - mit seinem akademischen Rivalen Leo - den größten Ball in der Geschichte ganzen Highschool planen und tut dabei so ziemlich alles, um es zu vermasseln. Der Titel "Wren Martin ruins it all" (dt: Wren Martin ruiniert es alles) ist hier alles Programm und manchmal ist das beim Lesen echt nervig, aber meistens auch einfach nur verdammt amüsant.

Ein weiterer wichtiger Handlungspunkt ist der Umgang mit Trauer und wieder in einen Alltag zurückzufinden, nachdem nan einen geliebten Menschen verloren hat. Auch wenn man die Schwere des Themas nicht erwartet, wenn man das Buch aufschlägt, so ist es doch sensibel umgesetzt und hat eine wirklich schöne Message.

Auch Freundschaft spielt eine essenzielle Rolle. Für Wren, der sich selbst als asexuell identifiziert und das Daten aufgegeben hat, weil die meisten potenziellen Partner seine Identität nicht akzeptiert haben, ist Freundschaft wahnsinnig wichtig und das merkt man. Das Bund mit seiner besten Freundin ist sehr stark und mit Sicherheit eine der besten Freundschaften, von der ich seit langem gelesen habe.

Im Großen und Ganzen...

"Wren Martin ruins it all" ist nicht nur die Geschichte zwischen zwei Jungs, die einen Ball planen und sich dabei näher kommen. Es ist auch eine Geschichte über Zusammenhalt, Freundschaft und Selbstfindung. Aber vor allem ist es eine Geschichte zum Lachen, zum Weinen und zum Mitfühlen.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

When his school secures a sponsorship from a friendship app called Buddy for their school dance, anti-dance student council president Wren Martin is surprised to actually find a connection with someone he met through the app. Meanwhile, Wren is struggling with planning for his future, navigating his first crush, and getting along with his student council vice president and rival Leo Reyes.

I really enjoyed this queer YA romance and coming-of-age story. Although I cannot speak to the authenticity of the portrayals, I liked the representation of an asexual main character, and aromantic side character. The concept of using a friendship app to make school dances more welcoming to ace/aro students was refreshing and original. I like the trope of hidden identities and felt that this was done will with minimal miscommunication. The relationships between the characters and their development throughout the book felt natural, and I liked the growth the characters showed. I enjoyed Wren’s snarky narration throughout, it was hilarious, but his voice did not always feel believable as a teenage boy. I recommend this for fans of queer YA stories, and will look for more from this author in the future!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC of Wren Martin Ruins It All.
This book is really fun to read. I loved the character dynamics. It's really fun to read and I enjoyed reading it.

To sum it up: OMG I LOVED THIS IT WAS SO CUTE

My favorite trope (if you can call it a trope?) is when they hate each other in real life, but then they message each other, not knowing who they‘re actually talking to, and fall in love with this person. Is it predictable every time? Yes. But is it the cutest, most romantic thing ever that always has me giggling and kicking my feet? YES!!!!
And in this book we have this trope but queer, with an asexual MC and a gay love interest!!!

I loved the characters - Wren might have been a bit grumpy and pessimistic at times, but I still adored him, and Leo was just the sweetest!!!! I loved reading their conversations so much!!! I also loved Wren‘s best friend Ryan and all the other side characters, everything just fit into the story so perfectly!

I thought the concept with the app to meet people at your school anonymously based on connection instead of looks was great and I would love to have such an app in real life!

Overall, the story and the writing style were very fast-paced and I read it in 1,5 days because I just couldn’t put it down!

If you‘re looking for a cute and queer YA romance with ace representation, I highly recommend!!! <3

I enjoyed this novel a lot. Like, a LOT lot.
After the author's debut, that I liked but was missing something to me, I was quite nervous to start a new title written by Amanda DeWitt, but it ended up being an amazing decision. It might one of the softest and easiest to go through books I have read in 2023.

Being an asexual myself, the representation holds a lot of importance to me, and I really loved what the author did with the main character, Wren. And the romance was everything I needed to read as an ace, as it can be hard to find a good one that stays true to the sexuality of the characters.

I highly recommend this book, that will make you spend a great time for sure. Perfect for the summer or spring season, and for fans of Becky Albertalli and Sophie Gonzales!

Wren Martin Ruins It All was another total Amanda DeWitt win!

In this story we follow Wren, an asexual teenager who after stepping into a role of student council president decides to abolish the beloved Valentine's Day dance at their school and make better budgeting choices. But his nemesis and vice-president, the perfect Leo, has a solution to his budget problems - find a sponsor for the dance! And who else would be a better sponsor than Buddy, the anonymous not-dating app taking over the nation, fixing their money problem and turning Valentine's Day dance into something for everyone, not just coupled teens.
Wren decides to secretly give this hellish app a go and things slowly spiral out of control as he starts developing feelings for his anonymous match while also juggling the biggest dance their school has ever seen and a budding friendship (or something more?) with Leo. What will happen when Wren finally realizes that Leo and his life are not that perfect at all but that he might just be perfect for Wren? And what about his anonymous match that makes Wren drop down his guard and makes him feel understood?

This was such a spectacular YA novel!! Full of all the things I love best - questioning characters that are nowhere near perfect, but wonderful to read about exactly because of that, epic friendship groups, nemesis to friends to maybe lovers trope, anonymous pen pals, and a lot of high school drama! It was a painfully relatable book at some parts and I really wish I had this when I was still in high school.

I loved Wren and his sarcasm and his abject rejection of societal norms in high school that make it all about dating and romance. Mind you, this was a YA contemporary book that had a romantic plotline in its center, but it also refused the allocishet definitions of it and I really wish I could follow Wren and Leo's story onward, into college and then adult life (ya know, after school is over and you have to find a job yada yada hehe).

There was also a subplot about loss that hit hard and while it was a difficult story to read, it was also written with a lot of care and I know it'll mean a lot to so, so many. Because losing our loved ones is always soul-shattering and Wren's feelings, thoughts, and decisions were coloured a lot by that as well.

All in all, Wren Martin Ruins It All is a beautiful YA story about love and sexuality (and asexuality), friendship and looking towards your future while being stuck in the past by loss and hurt. It is a laugh-out-loud-novel while also packing quite a few emotional punches, and I truly can't recommend it enough!

Incredibly cute and wholesome story.

I kinda knew what was going to happen from the beginning and i suppose it would have been even better if i had been surprised but it was still an awesome book. I really enjoyed reading, and the character development was awesome.

I absolutely recommend!

Thank you to netgalley and the author for sending me the book in exchange for an honest review.

Once again, Amanda DeWitt is responsible for one of my favorite reads of the years. I loved everything about this story, from high strung and too intense Martin to adorable Leo and the concept of the app Buddy. Some point were a little obvious to me, but I can totally see how Martin would be oblivious.

“It feels like an asterisk after my name, or a warning label on the back of my head”

“I don't want someone to look at me and tell me my sexuality is a deal breaker. I don't want to be pressured or to be a disappointment. I want to be Wren and I want that to be enough, and that's not going to happen.”

This book was truly precious to me.

This books is a cozy nook for all the queers out there. Not only it does justice with its representation, it also introduces difficult conversations. Mind you, our boy Wren here is not a completely 'right' character - he makes mistakes, he hurts people, but at the same time he realizes his wrongdoings and strives to do better by the person. The aro-ace rep in this book was a treat to my heart and soul.

Amanda DeWitt brings the representation in this book. It is so exciting and refreshing to see young adult books featuring asexual characters and experiences. I am so glad that Wren Martin Ruins It All exists and is such an entertaining read with an amazing cast of characters and an engaging plot.

I just want to give Wren Martin a big hug. I absolutely fell in love with this book and its cast of characters. It examines a lot of deep questions. Wren Martin has lost his mother to cancer, and two years on is still trying to figure out how to live life without her. Wren is asexual, and doesn't date because he doesn't want to be rejected for who he is. And also reconciling who we choose to be online versus who we are in real life - and how those two can intersect.

Despite the fact he may only have become student council president because of a scandal, Wren Martin is ready to take the school by storm. Step 1 - eliminate the Valentine's Dance and spend that budget fixing up the school (starting with the open hole in the stage). That plan is dashed when vice-president (and Wren's nemesis) Leo Reyes suggests having social media app Buddy sponsor the dance - which he somehow manages to pull off.

What follows is Wren's journey of embracing who he is, going along with the sponsored dance, and allowing himself to find his way without his mother.

DeWitt has given us a gift with this book, it was a truly magical read.

I really enjoyed this book. I love ace rep, especially ace rep from a character who already knows it and isn’t ashamed of it.

For anyone who doesn’t like second hand embarrassment give this book a try, I promise that every time he does something stupid it gets resolved pretty quickly.

Thanks to NetGalley, Holiday House and Amanda Dewitt for this ARC

I loved this book. It’s funny, heartfelt, and extremely sweet. Wren, the lead character, is quippy, funny, and flawed in an extremely relatable way. The book is unafraid to admit Wren’s flaws which I really appreciate. The side characters are loveable. The “plot twist” in the book was easy to see coming, but that kind of felt like the point (hence the quotations around “plot twist”). The asexual representation was handled really well, especially showing asexual characters who experience romantic attraction. I definitely recommend this for anyone who loves queer young adult fiction.