三千☀照子 / Shouko Sanzen

I love how Wren's inner monologue is a torrent of simultaneously eloquent and immature ramblings that gets interrupted by the next chapter or text exchanges. It really captures the stream of consciousness someone struggling with mental health (me, at least /lh) has. It's the kind of pretentiousness I would be put off by in real life but feels like home in literature.

The premise of an asexual trying to cancel a school dance is super interesting without making him unlikeable. It's just the right amount of high school antics and learning to take others' opinions into account even though he doesn't think getting rid of it is a detrimental thing at first. Bringing an app based on anonymity into the mix adds mystery as well, which I found very fun.

Ryan's excited inhale when a masquerade is mentioned in Chapter 2 and Wren's increasing sense of dread at her "betrayal" is super charming and such a good way to highlight how they're best friends whilst establishing that there's a pattern of having differing opinions. Like "You know I love you, but this is non-negotiable."

The reveal of Leo having developed the app because he's that interested in Wren got me. I hadn't expected that at all, which may be more of a me thing 'cause I often miss details due to my brain always taking in a bunch of other things all at once, but I think it's still effective even for readers who were able to clock the twist.

I would have liked Wren's asexuality to be talked about more because we need more representation for ace guys in fiction, but I also appreciate how casual it is. It isn't made into a stereotype like certain series that portray aces alone in the corner and rolling their eyes at the thought of sex. Wren is in the spotlight for most of this story and even has the highest position of student council president. It's also wonderful how Leo doesn't pressure Wren to do anything he doesn't want to, and we even get subversions of the "allo initiates affection" trope because Leo is shy about PDA. In fact, Wren is the one to fluster him with surprise kisses, which shows character growth and healing from his grief by way of him being more approachable and mischievous.

The secondhand embarrassment of Wren saying he and Leo are married in order to sample food at a venue should have been too much for me, but the way the plot and characters are set up charmed me so much that I was able to tolerate that type of discomfort I tended to avoid since childhood (sometimes I just wouldn't consume a piece of media because secondhand embarrassment was too draining to process, even if I'd already memorized the plot of movies/books/etc).

Something I feel is a tad too neat is how quickly Leo comes around to Wren being his chat partner on Buddy. He's in the process of getting over him when it's revealed, so I would've liked some more time for him to think over that revelation. However, I personally like how that means it's less for me to process.

Some other things that don't add a ton to the plot but I just like as more personal preferences:

Wren and Leo's names. "Wren" and "Reyes" feel nice to pronounce as someone who struggles with speaking. I finally wrangled my selective mutism in adulthood, meaning I didn't get the most practice making my mouth form sounds despite English being the only language I'm fluent in. Some words tend to make me feel like I have a plastic block in my mouth even though I pronounce them well, so I really appreciate memorable names that are also simple.

The cover art by cherriielle is gorgeous. Wren's posture betrays his insecurity and captures that air of anxiety teenagers have. The colours are also warm and make me feel like I'm indulging in a rich piece of chocolate cake or the softest buttered bread rolls. This art style is particularly scrumptious and I want to eat it because it's simply not enough to only experience it with my eyes.

I like that Wren is brunet. Dark hair is easier on my cataracts and looks lovely in general.

"Wren Martin" being a reference to two animals makes the pun/wordplay part of my brain happy.