Review: Me & My Invisible Guy by Sarah Jeffrey

Me & My Invisible Guy by Sarah Jeffrey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Goodreads summary:

The cheerleader who has everything . . . ? Mallory Dane has a great family (at least on the surface), is popular at school (as long as she doesn’t make waves), and dates an amazing boyfriend, Todd (who happens to be completely made up). Boys—and sex—are something Mallory just can’t deal with, so she created her “invisible guy” to avoid it all. But when Liam Crawford comes along—a real guy, flesh and bones and strumming his guitar—Mallory starts questioning her fictional relationship. Is she really willing to give up Todd for Liam? And can she make amends for the lies she’s told—even to her best friend, Tess? What if your biggest, most embarrassing secret was broadcast to the whole world? Letting go of her secret will be easier said than done, and Mallory will risk everything—her family, Tess, cheerleading, her reputation, and most of all, her heart.

My review:

Another recommended to me impulse buy (starting to think I need to make a shelf for that, tbh.)

Another story that didn't really know what it wanted to be, so it tried to be everything. It almost succeeded. The almost is what kept me reading despite the issues - because even if it kept going from theme to theme, they were still brought together to a logical and fulfilling resolution. I was still cheering for Mallory, and her sister, her friends, her family, and I wanted to see if everything tied up. Surprisingly, it did.

I should put a warning on - if you're turned off by books that mention God, or have characters whose faith is a strong part of their character makeup, this probably isn't for you. I didn't find it overly preachy at all - and it could have been. Just putting that out there.

Still trying to figure out what the underlying theme was supposed to be. Lying is bad and will mess things up faster than you can blink? Premarital sex is bad and will mess things up exponentially, too? Lack of religion in your life can leave you empty/not all religious people are fanatical? Standing up for what you believe in is more important than being popular? Making the right decision is more important than making the wrong one for the right reasons?



Those are the main areas of the storyline as Mallory's story moves through a few months of her life that upend a life that's about as stable as lake ice in November. Sure it looks frozen solid, but one wrong move and it all goes to hell fast. The first crack splinters and leads to more and more until she's drowning in it.

The synopsis is pretty spot on for the story - the plot doesn't center around Mallory's relationship with her fake boyfriend, but on the fallout of what happens when she "breaks up" with him and still the truth gets out. One truth, then another, and another. Crack, crack, splinter, splash.

I did like the way Mallory stood up to every crack in the ice. Once she had made her decision, and her 12 steps, to stop lying - she really did stick to her plan. She did backslide once (which, to my mind, made it more realistic) but rectified it almost immediately. And though she kept trying to be everything to everyone, and sometimes did the right thing only because her hand was forced...once she did, she stuck to her reasoning. Even when it meant losing everyone.

Even then, she didn't back down. She owned it.

The love story was more a secondary thing - important, and even adorable - but this was more Mallory's story than it was Mallory and Liam's. And it really was a good one, even if it had a little trouble staying on course at times.