Warning: The subject of today’s review, Invisible Me by H.M. Irwing, contains sex scenes, sexual situations, and foul language. If you are under the age of 18 or do not wish to encounter such content, proceed with caution.
Happy Friday, everyone! After starting last weekend on a PSA about suicide prevention, I think it’d be best to usher in this weekend on a much lighter note. What better way to do that than to post a new book review? Today’s review will be on the supernatural romance novel—or perhaps it’s more accurately called sci-fi romance—Invisible Me by H.M. Irwing, an author whom I have reviewed multiple times on this blog.
Freddie Lynch, known to many as “Fatty Leech,” has struggled with weight issues for a long time. She’s unused to any attention from boys (or men), and her best—and only—friend is the equally-ostracized Kyle Lykin. Yet there’s only one boy whose attention she really wants: Edwin Carr, Kyle’s “hotter-than-hot” cousin. The problem is that he never seems to give her the time of day, not to mention he’s engaged. In one last desperate attempt to change Edwin’s mind, Freddie makes herself a diet shake, the first step to trying to lose weight quickly. Too late she realizes that she has accidentally mixed her shake with the newest concoction brought home by her father—a chemist—from work. Now, instead of just being invisible to the opposite sex, she’s invisible to everyone. Literally.
Image retrieved from Amazon
After a year of trying one potential cure after another, Freddie has all but given up on ever being seen again, but that won’t stop her from enjoying her eighteenth birthday. She is now legally an adult and can enjoy all the freedom that comes with that status. Or can she? How can she go out in the world when there’s nothing more to her than floating clothes? How can she live a real, normal life outside of the Internet? The answer to her dilemma may just be a day away…but with new opportunities come new obstacles, and love always finds a way to complicate things further.
As a fan of speculative fiction in general, this concept caught my interest immediately and kept me invested in the book until the very end. I’d best describe it as a mix of a coming-of-age story, a romance novel, and The Invisible Man. Many themes could be read into Irwing’s use of invisibility in this story—a young adult establishing their identity, the ugly duckling theme, the soul-sucking anonymity of social media—but I cannot go into any of these without giving away too much of the plot. However, I can say that the obvious lesson that diet shakes are not the way to miraculous (or healthy) weight loss both amuses me and hits especially close to home for me.
With a woman rather than a man becoming invisible, even more humor and risqué moves are available to the protagonist, and Irwing does not disappoint. From Freddie marching around in her birthday suit to the banter exchanged between her and Kyle, this book proved to be very funny at times. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s just some parody or satire; the angst, the grief, the regret, and the love which define both Freddie’s and Edwin’s lives balance the narrative’s tone out nicely.
Edwin, Freddie, Kyle, and even Freddie’s father all prove to be very interesting characters. From a literary perspective, they somewhat play a mix of different stereotypes: Edwin, the borderline-insane and grieving man and unbelievably handsome hunk; Freddie, the sassy but still self-conscious chubby girl; Kyle, the awkward, not-to-hot best friend; and Freddie’s father, the grieving workaholic. Still, they each develop into more three-dimensional characters than I had expected, particularly through their relationships. While the story focuses on Edwin and Freddie’s relationship, I actually grew more intrigued by Freddie’s relationships with Kyle and her father. Their dynamics are real and fun and serve as a good break from the sweet-but-tumultuous romantic interactions between Freddie and Edwin.
Unfortunately, the writing in this book could use a lot of work or at least a lot of editing. I noticed missing commas, missing or misused capitalization, missing words, and some brief moments in which the narration switched between first person and third person. The concept kept me interested in the story, but these errors did serve as a distraction. Still, these mistakes are easily fixed with another round of edits, so this issue might be resolved in future editions.
Overall, Invisible Me by H.M. Irwing is a fun, light read. There are some sexual scenes and certainly sexual tension, so younger readers probably shouldn’t read it, but adult readers who like romance novels will want to check this book out. The writing should be further edited, but otherwise it is a good break from heavier reads which will make you laugh while you also share in Freddie’s struggles. Once you start, you won’t want to finish until you find out what in the world has happened to Freddie Lynch and how in the world it could be undone.
You can buy Invisible Me by H.M. Irwing on Amazon. Also be sure to check out the author’s website for information on this and Irwing’s other works.
Do you know of a book I should read? E-mail me at thewritersscrapbin@gmail.com and let me know!
Designed by Stephanie Hoogstad circa 2011