The Invisible Rommate by Timothy Janovsky

The Invisible Man meets Love is Blind in this autumnal Gothic love story.
 

Gerard Wells loves music but hates fame —not ideal when he’s the youngest member of the chart-topping band of brothers, We the Wells. Cracking under the spotlight, Gerard runs away to a small, remote island in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. There, he goes by “James” and takes up residence in a crumbling Victorian house on the island’s shrinking shoreline. Little does he know, he’s not the studio apartment’s only inhabitant…
 

Mysterious and moody Emory Griffin never planned to be a test subject for his own groundbreaking invisibility research. He also never planned on sharing a room with a world-famous pop star, but needs must when you’re an unemployed graduate school drop-out who’s wanted by the local police.
 

With nowhere else to turn, the unlikely pair agree to be temporary roommates. Their forced proximity and vulnerability lead to an unexpected romantic spark. As Halloween approaches, their secrets and feelings grow harder to keep hidden, testing the strength of their newfound bond. Could this be a love that neither of them saw coming or an experiment set to go horribly wrong?

This review is based on a complimentary Advanced Reader Copy provided by St. Martin’s Press.

Like a fluffy sweater on a breezy Fall day or a sugar-spiked pumpkin spice latte, take your pick of equally appropriate autumn metaphor, the Invisible Roommate by Timothy Janovsky is a warm-hearted and sweet M/M contemporary romance / queer literature book. Inspired by The Invisible Man genre-swapped, this book crosses boyband pop star music with scientific inquiry and the charm of the rural New England bay islands. A story about self-worth, values, family, and what it means to be seen, the Invisible Roommate is a wonderfully pleasant book that’s the perfect weekend kind of read.

“…life was not about having everyone notice you; it was about finding the one person who would see you and love you even when you were at your most invisible.”

Pitched as the Invisible Man meets Love is Blind, the book follows Gerard Well, a popstar boyband member who has flown to rural Iping Island in the Chesapeake Bay to get away from the mental pressure and stress associated with stardom. Following the lyrics of a childhood favorite song Island State of Mind by a folk duo Hallowitz & Hart, Gerard rents an upstairs cottage studio apartment from the beloved and island choir director Regina for an off the grid escape. The book blurb is an accurate description of the story which some may consider a loose retelling of H. G. Well’s the Invisible Man. However, unlike Well’s novel that’s primarily science fiction with psychological thriller and horror elements, Janovsky’s take retains the base premise with numerous homages but instead tells a romantic character story based on blind conversations without any looks involved.

While familiarity with the inspiration leads to a lot of fun surprises as well as a few quietly hilarious moments, this book can be read and appreciated fully on its own. For those that have read Well’s novel, the Invisible Roommate features some key elements like Emory being nocturnal, pursuing invisibility, burglarizing for supplies, bandaged around his head, and his last name being “Griffin”. The Sussex village of Iping is swapped out for an eroding low-lying island as well as the inn’s ownership being ported over (any more details will include spoilers). Many of the novel’s characters are also reworked or honored by name such as Griffin’s assistant, Dr. Kemp, Colonel Adye now a sheriff, etc. While the musician angle and the book’s back-half diverge from the Invisible Man well outside of retelling territory, this book nonetheless is full of Easter Eggs.

Structured around a forced and unorthodox living arrangement, the Invisible Roommate tells an endearing story that weaves together music and science, Gerard and Emory’s worlds respectively. The story has a few important storylines of Gerard figuring out his future in a career that causes him to suffer and Emory solidifying his scientific theory for invisibility in time for a symposium (on top of fixing his current condition), but the book has a quiet and meandering approach that feels unhurried much like life on Iping Island. While these character aspirations form the base of the story to work off of, much of the book is also of the two discovering their personal worth and values through each other’s company and support. While the book has a satisfying and conclusive ending, this is the type of story that’s not about the end destination but the journey along the way, in this case cohabitation as roommates or possibly something more.

I’ve read a number of Janovsky’s books as they’ve been published over the years, and The Invisible Roommate is perhaps his most confident and polished one yet. While I’ve found his books very sweet and highly entertaining, they would sometimes walk the line of being endearing and just a little bit over-the-top silly. While this book has some great comedic moments, it also feels more mellow and refined with a lovely ease to it that feels like the work of an established and settled author. Written in 3rd person past tense which I believe may be a first for Janovsky, the storytelling feels more grounded than I would’ve expected which was a pleasant surprise. The autumn season and rural island vibes also help to give the book a really comfy feeling, it being a great cozy read for me.

Both Gerard and Emory are well-written and lovable characters. While handsome and popstar styled, Gerard is a musician and singer prone to stress and anxiety made worse by the attention and fame their band has attracted over the years. Feeling restricted, misunderstood, and alone, he longs for anonymity or to be unseen. Emory on the other hand feels that he has everything to prove, longing to be seen and taken seriously. Orphaned at a young age and fascinated by science, he tunnel visions on his scholarly pursuits of biological invisibility having struggled to survive. Opposite in their goals of being perceived as well as music vs science, the two have wonderful platonic chemistry as strangers turn awkward friends through forced proximity. I’ve mentioned it in many reviews in the past, but unless a book is specifically shooting for an enemies-to-lovers arc, I personally love when characters have strong platonic chemistry first which makes the jump to romantic chemistry more natural and easy. Gerard and Emory’s conversations simply flow with good vibes all the time. This book also has nice neurodivergent autistic representation as well as Emory’s fits of spiraling and losing a grasp of life outside of his research.

Interestingly, unlike many M/M romance books, this couple doesn’t have an obvious masculine/femine or dom/sub roles, though Gerard is more conventionally handsome and built than Emory who’s naturally slimmer (outside of his seasonal crabfishing part-time job). While there are a few common tropes used like the one bed trope, they’re incorporated in unexpected ways such as Gerard and Emory swapping the bed, one sleeping during the day while the other at tonight yet being able to smell each other on the sheets; this is both classy and also quite sexy compared to the usual accidental spooning. The book also has a fun and low-key flirty feel but doesn’t get overly passionate and smutty which I personally also enjoyed, sometimes less is more when handled well. A particular scene involving cosmetics is equally funny as it is suggestive, in an unorthodox kind of way.

Outside of Gerard and Emory, their landlord Regina is a highlight every time she pops-in. I’ve noticed that one of Janovsky’s best assets in his books is how he writes his older women characters who often serve as pseudo mentors. I’ve loved Aunt Isla in A Mannequin for Christmas and the aloof Alice Kelly in Never Been Kissed, Regina continues Janovsky’s trend of distinctive and lovable found family maternal figures, this time with a musical and protective role.

While I consider the story to be very cozy by my standards, it also doesn’t shy away from exploring more nuanced topics. Beyond the aforementioned theme of being perceived revolving around the book’s invisibility premise, the story also discusses the complex feelings and relationship many queer individuals have with religion and the church. Originally discovering his love of singing and performing in church and seeing hymns, Gerard’s conflict between fond memories of his childhood vs the hate and potential religious smite against his sexuality is something that many grapple with. Janovsky goes one step further, lightly touching on some of the hypocrisy in the church’s preaching and practices, further exemplifying the potentially uncomfortable dynamics between religion and identity. Other strong topics include strained or absent familial relationships such as the oversight and ignorance of Gerard’s feelings and mental health by his family band members/manager father, Emory’s orphaned childhood and abandonment, and Regina carrying on and choosing to stay on Iping Island after her local husband passed away. The Invisible Roommate doesn’t attempt to provide answers to these difficult and nuanced topics, but shows that life gets better and those that are important will be there for you. On the flip side, while these themes add depth and substance to the story, the book never loses its breezy and comforting feel. The same could be said with the book’s conflict in character development and relationship departments, no unnecessary or forced third act breakup to be seen!

Well-crafted and heartwarming, my only minor nitpicks with this book is that while the use of music as a form of therapy and emotional outlet was good, occasionally the science element felt a bit clunky. While the story is meant to contrast Gerard and Emory’s different worlds together, Emory’s internalized thoughts and character logic sometimes went a little too far, coming off as unintentionally funny and silly when applied to his character logic so heavily. Ordinarily this wouldn’t be as noticeable if not for how smooth Gerard’s music interest is handled, particularly the recurring lyrics and connections to his favorite childhood folk song and choir performance reflections. The pairing of music with science also sometimes felt a little contrived, but the book is so unapologetically sweet that it’s hard to be too harsh on it. While I personally enjoyed the balance between character story/queer literature and romance, I could also see some contemporary romance readers finding the romance to be a bit too light or slow. I really appreciated that this book didn’t fall into the common pitfall of being too thirsty with the eye-candy or spice (Janovsky actually has other books in his bibliography if you’re looking for that) and I thought it was matched appropriately to the story the book was telling.

Roommates to lovers with a lot of shared experiences and heart-to-hearts, the Invisible Roommate is a cozy warm hug of a book. Fans of Janovsky’s previous books like myself already know they’ll be getting a wholesome and relatable story but for those new to his work, there’s a lot to like. This is a great book to pick if you’re looking for queer joy and finding one’s home, a low angst and safe place of a story. Timothy Janovsky’s writing, maturity, and storytelling keeps developing with every book, the Invisible Roommate being yet another success!