Today on the site, we’re revealing the cover of yet another ace offering by Amanda DeWitt! Wren Martin Ruins it All releases November 7, 2023 from Peachtree Teen, and here’s the story:

From the author of Aces Wild comes a hilarious and compassionate romantic comedy for fans of Casey McQuiston and Netflix’s Love Is Blind!

Now that Wren Martin is student council president (on a technicality, but hey, it counts) he’s going to fix Rapture High. His first order of business: abolish the school’s annual Valentine’s Day dance, a drain on the school’s resources and general social nightmare—especially when you’re asexual.

His greatest opponent: Leo Reyes, vice president and all-around annoyingly perfect student, who has a solution to Wren’s budget problem—a sponsorship from Buddy, the anonymous “not a dating” app sweeping the nation. Now instead of a danceless senior year, Wren is in charge of the biggest dance Rapture High has ever seen. He’s even secretly signed up for the app. For research, of course.

But when Wren develops capital F-Feelings for his anonymous match, things spiral out of control. Wren decided a long time ago that dating while asexual wasn’t worth the hassle. With the big night rapidly approaching, he isn’t sure what will kill him first: the dance, his relationship drama, or the growing realization that Leo’s perfect life might not be so perfect aftfter all.

In an unforgettably quippy and endearingly chaotic voice, Wren Martin explores the complexities of falling in love while asexual.

And here’s the gorgeous cover, designed by Lily Steele and illustrated by Ella!

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon

But wait, there’s more! Behold an exclusive excerpt from Wren Martin Ruins it All!

1: 

THE DANCE

There’s something about decision-making and running full tilt down an empty hallway that doesn’t pair well. I have approximately five seconds to get to the student council room. I can make it in four if I don’t slow down. If I’m lucky, the new faculty advisor won’t be there to see my dramatic entrance. If I’m not—well, I’ll worry about that later.

It’s this overconfident mindset that leads me to believe I can yank open the door and enter the classroom at the same time. Which might have worked. If the door hadn’t been locked. 

Rest in peace, Wren Martin. You will be missed.

I collide with the door, my forehead smacking neatly against a solid inch and a half of lacquered wood with a clunk! that reverberates through my entire skull. I stumble backward, clutching my forehead like my hands are the only thing keeping my head from splitting open.

Well, that’s one way to knock.

The door opens. “Oh,” Leo says, peeking through the doorway like he’s expecting a package to be delivered. I can actually feel his eyes skating downward, taking in the entire scene. “Are you okay?”

Of course it’s Leo, six feet and two inches worth of perfect teenage boy. Somehow it’s always Leo when it comes to my humiliations, like fate arranges to put us in the same place at the same time of disaster. I’m not sure if I was cursed at birth to screw up or if Leo was cursed to witness it. Considering I’m the one who physically hit the door, I suspect it might be me. 

I close my eyes and exhale through my nose. “Why was the door locked?” I say in an exemplary display of patience and restraint. 

A pause. “The door was locked?” I hear its futile clicking as Leo tests it. “Oh, I guess it was. Sorry, Wren. Are you sure you’re okay?”

My eyes snap back open and a vein throbs in my forehead. Or maybe that’s just the cranial trauma. 

Okay, before you think badly of me, it’s not just the door. Or that fact that I made a fool of myself. Or that I was running late in the first place, necessitating the fool-making. There’s more at play here that you need to understand. 

Reasons why I hate Leo Reyes:

1. He’s tall. I don’t trust tall people. Ryan is five eight in her boots, and that’s pushing it. And she’s my best friend. Leo is not my best friend. 
2. He’s a morning person. A morning person who goes for runs. In the morning. Worse than that, he talks about doing it like it’s normal. 
3. One year in middle school, his locker was directly above mine. This is unforgivable. 
4. He’s just . . . too much. Too pretty, too charming, too tall (did I mention that?). Too perfect. Teachers love him, he got elected to student council without even trying, and he’s the MVP coder of the robotics team, which has awards hanging up in the school’s front office. He doesn’t even have to try to be the best person at this school. It’s like looking at a photo that’s been airbrushed to hell and back. People are meant to have flaws. When they don’t, they make your animal brain go feral. 
5. Once I saw him eat a banana without pulling the strings off. Like—excuse me?
6. New: he witnessed me run into a locked door.

So you see, nothing about this situation is ideal. 

“I’m fine,” I say, brushing past him and into the classroom with whatever dignity I have left. Once my back is to him, I probe my forehead gently with a wince. Oh, that’s going to bruise.

Excerpt from Wren Martin Ruins It All / Text copyright © 2023 by Amanda DeWitt. Reproduced by permission from Peachtree Publishing Company Inc. All rights reserved.

Amanda DeWitt (she/her) is an author (Aces Wild) and librarian, ensuring that she spends as much time around books as possible. She also enjoys Star Wars, Dungeons & Dragons-ing, and even more writing—just not whatever it is she really should be writing. She graduated from the University of South Florida with a master’s in library and information science. She lives in Clearwater, Florida, with her dogs, cats, and assortment of chickens. Find her on Twitter @AmandaMDeWitt and Instagram @am.dewitt.