Wren Martin Ruins It All – Amanda DeWitt
Summary: Wren Martin ascends to student council president with the chance to finally cancel the stupid heteronormative big dance, but his vice president has other ideas that are (unfortunately) not terrible.
I carefully pull the cupcake out of my backpack. I made it myself, which is unbearably embarrassing, but I swear it’s more arrogance than romance. My cookie bars didn’t get much of a chance to shine at the bake sale, so it’s time for a redemption arc: lemon-lavender cupcake with cream cheese frosting, but I like to call it perfection. The fact that I had to put it in an old plastic Chinese takeout container is a little less elegant.
p. 315
Perhaps, as the name of the book suggests, Wren Martin is not the nicest nor the most savvy, but it’s still pretty easy (for me, at least) to fall for someone so clueless and mostly well-meaning. From the introduction of Wren hitting his head on a locked door to the [redacted] at the conclusion, the audience (me) is a bit ahead of where he is in terms of where everything is headed, but the joy is in the journey not necessarily the destination.
I picked this book up both because I’m always a sucker for a good enemies-to-lovers type plot, and the cover blurb sort of hints at such a story, but also because I’ve been interested in reading more ace/aro stories to read more widely in the vast alphabet that entails LGBT+ and this one sounded entertaining enough.
Boy, I was in for a treat, not unlike the perfection that makes up the cupcake described in the quote. I’m not sure if I can explain exactly why this hit all the right notes for me—I’m decidedly not in the ace/aro category, but otoh am a bit of an oblivious asshole that may help me feel seen—but I can say that Amanda DeWitt is going to be one to watch (at least for me, and she has one other book I plan to get to soon!).
Unlike “Imogen, Obviously,” Wren is not unsure of his sexuality; he describes himself early on as asexual (as does the blurb). But, like that other book I loved, Wren is still new to understanding and processing his feelings when they don’t jibe with a pre-ordained idea he has of himself, and the book (both books, tbh) is a good exploration of finding yourself as you find yourself interested in another person who doesn’t necessarily factor into that idealized person.
Both also work really well in demonstrating, at least to me, how easy it is to be yourself behind a screen, when there’s some distance (and in this case, anonymity) between you and the other person you’re vibing with (in whatever way). It’s both freeing to be able to flirt/chat/be more open but also limiting in terms of being seen and experienced at your worst, or as a whole of a person. Maybe that’s just the older millennial in me reckoning once again with the disconnect I feel between online and “real life,” but I think the exploration in Wren is well explored and an interesting contrast between Wren’s feelings for his anonymous friend and his new-found frenemy.
Like Wren, the cupcake he describes is more complicated than it first appears. But I couldn’t resist showing within the quote his arrogance but also his joy at a job well done, as well as a little bit of awkwardness.
Here’s hoping I did his story and his cupcake justice with this attempt at mashing up a handful of Food Network cupcake recipes, and how I did it:
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 ⅓ c. all-purpose flour
- 1 t. baking powder
- ½ t. salt
- 10 T. butter
- ¼ c. lavender flowers
- 1 c. sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 1 c. milk
For the frosting:
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- ½ c. (1 stick) butter, softened
- 3 c. confectioners’ sugar
- 2–3 T. lemon juice or whole milk, as preferred
- Purple food coloring, if desired and available
Directions
- Step 1: Heat the oven to 350 degrees, and line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liner.
- Step 2: Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
- Step 3: Melt the 10 T. of butter with the lavender flowers on low heat, and cook for 5 minutes. Strain the lavender flowers from the butter, discarding the flowers and placing the butter in a large mixing bowl. Let the butter cool slightly.
- Step 4: Beat together the butter and sugar, and then add the eggs, one at a time until mixed in. Then, add the lemon zest and juice.
- Step 5: Slowly add in the flour mixture and then the milk until a smooth batter is formed.
- Step 6: Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until the tops spring back, 20 to 25 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, remove cupcakes from the pan and let cool completely on a rack before adding frosting.
- Step 7: For the frosting, use an electric mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment to beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar. Add in the lemon juice/milk. Continue mixing until combined, adding a little more juice/milk or sugar until the consistency looks correct.
- Step 8: Use a knife or a decorating pipe to add the frosting to the cooled cupcakes.