My thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley for providing me with an EARC copy of this book!

I have a sort of love/hate relationship with Schwab’s writing, I wasn’t enamoured by her middle grade novel City of Ghosts, and I thought The Archived was just ok but nothing special, so I was a wee bit apprehensive beginning this novel, but very intrigued by the description!

I am so so pleased that I absolutely adored this book! I raced through it in less than 48 hours and I loved every single page.

The novel tells the story of Addie, who makes a deal with the Devil for freedom from an impending marriage that she doesn’t want. However, in making this deal she is tricked into agreeing to be forgotten by everyone as soon as she leaves their sight or they fall asleep. She doesn’t age, so instead is forced to live everyday knowing that no one remembers her.

Despite this melancholy and sad basis for a novel, the novel is packed full of moments of light and hope, and the joy that Addie finds in the little things makes the novel so uplifting and joyful at times, that it balances out the sadness.

I loved the character of Addie so much. Her refusal to give up and relinquish her soul was so moving, and her stubborn refusal to yield was wonderful to read. She was also witty and funny, and had retained these traits despite her curse, and I loved following her in this novel.

This novel is also a love story to art; to sculpture, to music, to painting and to the power of words. I loved this element of the novel, the love Addie has for art, and the way this love is woven throughout the novel was wonderful. The way Schwab describes the art and writes about the power of art was so moving and awe-inspiring, these passages were some of my favourites to read.

Addie discovers a man called Henry who remembers her even after she leaves his sight, and Henry was such a sensitive and sweet person, he was a source of light and happiness in the novel, and I loved him a lot!

Overall I absolutely adored this novel, it was moving and wonderful and I cannot wait to pick it up again and experience the magic once more.

Absolutely stunning, I was already a Schwab fan but Addie has definitely become my new favourite!

You don't often come across such character-driven stories in fantasy so Schwab has taken something of a risk with Addie LaRue but it has absolutely paid off. I felt so incredibly invested in both Henry and Addie's stories and in all of the different, short (and longer) lived relationships the book showcases.

My heart ached with Addie each time she was forgotten, soared when she met Henry and bounced all over the place during her evolving, unusual relationship with Luc.

I'd highly recommend this one for fans of Katherine Arden and Naomi Novak.

This magical novel is all the things I love about fiction: atmospheric, immersive, emotionally moving, suspenseful, entertaining, unforgettable. Who wouldn't want to spend time with Addie LaRue? My heart cracked open —in just the right way — while I read this amazing work.

As a long time fan of Victoria’s writing and works, I had an inkling that I was going to enjoy this book, and when I say that I was not disappointed would be an understatement. 

In the story we follow Addie LaRue who makes a deal with a so-called Devil, she gets to live forever but at a price - no one will remember her. Ever. Until someone does?!? And we are there for the journey through ups and downs.

It has easily shot to my top books of all time. With it’s beautiful writing, I was there with Addie on her travels, emotional and physical through 300 years of loneliness. This book reminded me of the Faust and The Picture of Dorian Gray, which are both my favourite books, so when I first started reading it, I felt as if I knew where I was and where I was going; it felt familiar like a home. 

Addie, Luc, Henry - these characters have made a mark on me as a reader and a human being. Love, loneliness and grief that are explored in this novel were hard to read as they were so close to heart as I was experiencing grief myself at the time, but there is so much beauty and hope in the narrative, you can’t overlook it.

The only tiny gripe I have with the story is that Addie never travels outside Europe and the US, like surely you would want to go and see what the rest of the world has to offer, but maybe it’s something that never crossed her mind. And following on from there, I will say, that after hearing some readers bring up the “whiteness” of this book (Addie in 300 years hardly meets any people of colour) is an intentional choice, and not to say this is an excuse, but I do understand why V.E. Schwab went that particular route. 

In conclusion, a 10/10 perfect read for me. 

Would I make a deal with the devil? Maybe, for the right price.

This was a very hyped book but it really left me wanting. Addie isn’t an interesting character and she never kept me engaged. I didn’t care that she was forgotten. There is very little plot and I found a great deal of it to be highly repetitive. Neither Henry or Luc were enough to hold my interest though I did like the cat called Book.

I have have been wanting to read a V.E Schwab book for such a long time and I am so glad this is the book I chose to read first! I say first because I am now going to have to read the others.

This was a truly magnificent book told in a mixture of first person and second hand accounts, I was a little unsure of how this was going to play out but I was pleasantly surprised! 

Another worry was that this story spans centuries but again that really wasn’t an issue it was not tedious at all and the story remained captivating while leaving its mark.

If you haven’t yet read it do it’s amazing!

Title - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Author - V E Schwab

Genre - Historical Fantasy

Last year I was introduced to quite a few new authors that has been a rage pretty much throughout the #bookstagram community and V E Schwab was one of them. I had picked up her debut novel which was quite an interesting read and was excited when it turned out that her latest Historical Fantasy was coming out. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was one of my last reads in 2020 and I finally am in pretty sane frame of mind to talk about this book.

The plot revolves around Addie LaRue who in the 18th century was given a gift (or maybe a curse) that she will live on till the time she decides to give herself away to dark being whom she calls Luc. No one seems to remember any encounters with her and she struggles to get herself known somehow across the centuries but fails to do so. Coincidentally one day after almost 300 years, she comes across Henry, who actually remembers her and this changes her whole life forever.

The book was pretty much a surprising read with the concept of time travel across continents and centuries that was unique. Though honestly, it does take a bit of time to grasp the central plot but around the halfway mark, the story moves itself from one central character to two.

Addie LaRue is a character worth to be remembered and the same goes for the dark being that is introduced into the book. The pain of not being recognized does hit the readers in the right spot, but by the time one reaches to the third quarter of the book, the story becomes highly predictable and gets a bit dull.

Eventually when one does closes the book after reading, the character does let you ponder a lot of questions and this becomes the positive aspect of reading this book. A story worth remembering, a story worth taking forward, a story that deserves praise.

My Ratings - 🌟🌟🌟🌟 (4 out of 5 stars)

I very quickly fell in love with this book, I adore V E Schwab’s writing, it’s written smoothly and beautifully that i found it so easy to be swept up and away into this world of Addie LaRue! This has become one of my favourite of Schwab’s books now, it was extremely gripping and easily bingeable! I definitely recommend it :)

This book is one of my favourite reads of 2020. The writing just swept me away as soon as I started reading. I have not read many of VE Schwab's other novels but this did not disappoint. I honestly loved the way there were different cities, time zones, countries. This just seemed so magical. Addie was such a relatable character to me, she felt invisible and forgotten about at times, yet had great friends. The deal with the devil plot made this book ramp up in pace and I adored that. 5 out of 5 stars!

This book has been on my TBR since I first heard about it in 2017; or that's the date my Goodreads tells me. It's a premise that has disappointed me in the past with a completely different book, but I hoped that Schwab's would be beautiful, heart-breaking, and hopeful. Thankfully, I was right because I find the premise of being forgotten by everyone you meet ridiculously complex and intriguing. 
I usually love a more plot heavy book, something with lots of twists and turns and intrigue. This had such amazing characters and emotional journeys that it didn't need a huge sprawling plot full of foreshadowing, and dark villains to battle, to keep me utterly enthralled. One of my favourite series is the Shades of Magic by Schwab, so I know that she can write those kinds of fantasy novels, and write them well. So Addie LaRue just proves how multitalented this author is. 
This book is so impactful in my mind that I forget that there are only really 3 characters that are central to the story; Addie, Henry, and Luc. Although the other background characters are well balanced and feel just as real as the main cast, they don't have the same memorability as the core set. Addie is an engaging and interesting protagonist who story is so compelling I didn't want to put the book down because I cared about how her story progressed. As this book doesn't run chronologically and jumps around the timeline, it was interesting to see the balance of the naïve Addie who made the deal, to the 300-year-old Addie who had figured out the loopholes she could exploit, and who could expertly undermined Luc (or the "devil") with the ease of someone who had been doing so for centuries. Henry's story hit me differently. While Addie's is built around true loneliness, the loneliness of being forgotten, Henry's seemed to hit me more emotionally, probably because it's more real. He's lost in a crowd of people who love him, thinking that they don't care. It's hard to explain why, but here's a quote that has stuck with me. 
"Other people would call him sensitive, but it's more than that. The dial is broken, the volume turned all the way up. Moments of joy register as brief, but ecstatic. Moments of pain stretch long and unbearably loud." 
Henry and Addie's story is beautiful to read, to watch them grow together and experience their soft love story feels life a gift. I'm trying to find another way to say it without sounding entirely soppy but this is exactly how I felt when reading this book back in August. Yet, you can't talk about this book without mentioning Luc. He was such a complex, interesting part of the novel, and he's not even in it that much. And yet, you constantly feel his presence. He hovers over Addie like a rain cloud. I won't say too much because I hate to spoil, but watching him develop was unexpected and wonderful. 
As you can probably tell, I gave this book five stars. I still sit and think about it. I could try and choose a favourite but I'm convinced for me it is impossible. Is it Addie's growth? Henry's emotionally journey? Their love? Luc and Addie's centuries long battle? The beautiful writing that makes you savour every moment? Yes, it's everything. This, to me, is a triumph for Schwab and it was everything I wanted it to be.

Brilliant! I really enjoyed this book. A delightful main character caught in a diabolical situation, Addie la rue makes the best of her pact with devil, and ends up outwitting even him. As well as a breathtakingly original take on the Faust myth, this book is also a touching love story.

Fantastic book! It gives a wonderful heartfelt look at loneliness, love and going after the things you want even when there’s a hefty price attached.

Wow. Just wow.

This book was absolutely brilliant. V. E. Shwarbs only gone and done it again.
I felt all the feels (tears of sadness or joy, you name it), I was there for the entire journey, and I'm still not ready to part with this book. The writing was so beautiful, (and i've probably highlighted over 80% of my ebook), but these WORDS! These words were just.. incredible. You read a sentence and your heart just stops. And I need more fiction like this in my life.

I felt like i'd traveled the entire world alongside Addie. Her weariness, and joy over the most simplest of things were so infectious even through my kindle screen, and all I could do was wish her happiness in the end (even with the feeling of impending doom...)

The only thing I can say is to read this book. Because it is amazing and i'm sure you'll be a changed person, like me, by the end.

I shall never forget Addie Larue.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Titan Books for providing the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Titan Books in exchange for an honest review.
I must admit, I was a little afraid to read this book. Fantasy isn't hugely my genre but I have loved Schwab's writing in the past and the hype for this book was real. Thankfully I was utterly enchanted by The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. This is a romance with a fantasy set up, with the premise being our main character Addie is immortal due to a deal she made with some kind of devil/demon figure long ago. Now she will never age nor die, but she can also never be remembered or leave a lasting mark on the world. Much of the book focuses on her past life and the unique relationship she has with the devil/demon figure, but in the modern day she meets a man who is able to remember her and quickly falls in love.

As I already hinted at, this was much more of a romance than I expected which I am glad of as I'm not the biggest fan of historical fiction. Having said that, I really enjoyed the passages set in the past and Addie was a compelling character so it was good to have so much focus on her. If you enjoy dreamy, slow-paced character explorations then this is definitely the book for you. It did take me a long time to read as it is slow-paced and quite long, but it never felt like a slog or a chore to get through. For a genre of book I don't normally reach for, I was very enchanted.

Overall, I have to join the legions of people singing this book's praise. It is beautifully written, full of heart and manages to be quite unique despite the topic of immortality being nothing new. I fell completely in love with Addie and her story, and I know this is a book which will stay with me for a long time.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This is what love feels like. Those blissful moments of pure adoration and the lingering moments of unforgettable heartbreak, elements this story encapsulates effortlessly. The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue is a timeless wonder that I fell completely and utterly in love with. I envy Schwab, and her beautiful ability to craft memorable and magical masterpieces that readers, like myself, will cherish for a lifetime.

I have a conflicting relationship with time. It is a concept I tend to cherish yet ultimately fear, the idea of running out time and death, sends me spiralling into an endless chasm of fear, so if I was in Addie's shoes I'd probably make the same deal. We're all guilty of wishing time away, but this book isn't about appreciating the little moments, its about embracing them with open arms and setting your own paths. Addie is such a complex character and it was an honour to witness her journey of self discovery and worth, as well as her beautiful and fleeting relationship with Henry. 

Like Addie, we all leave imprints in each others lives, no matter how small they are, and it's these fragments that make our own individual journeys through life so special, you never know what's around the corner. Each page captured so much emotion and adventure and believe me when I say that I cried, a lot! 

I will never forget you Addie La Rue, I promise.

<i>I received and advance reading copy from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. However, this will not affect my review and opinion.</i>

Do you know when you read a book and you neither love it nor dislike it? That weird in between where you think “it was ok, I guess” -which Netgalley rates as two stars-? Once I finished, I waited a little bit, to see if it helped me make up my mind, but truth to be told, it hasn’t. 

Let me start saying that I absolutely love Victoria's writing style. I would say this book is a bit more descriptive and visual than her others, more lyrical and poetic, but that is something that I enjoy. I think it matches very well the bittersweet tone of the main characters story. 

The idea of the book, which was what initially draw me towards it, is amazing: Addie makes an apparently good deal that ends up very wrong. Be careful with what you wish for. She gets to live forever but she will be forgotten by everyone that get to meet her, everyone will forget her name, her appearance and she won’t be able to leave her mark in the world as long as she walks in it. 

I think my problem with the book is that I started to find it slightly repetitive in terms of how the plot evolves, because for me, more than evolving I felt it like it repeated itself over and over, without providing any more information. I have the feeling that, if the book was shorter, I’d have liked it better. The longer I was reading, the more interest I was losing over the main characters so, when I got to the end, it was satisfactory in terms of how the story has been wrapped up and the plot turn, but not in terms of characters. It felt like the characters were doing nothing during so many pages and hence the story wasn’t moving at all. I don’t know if I have managed to explain myself. 

Despite being a big book and having a lot of pages to develop the story, I cannot help to describe Addie and Henry’s relation as rushed. I that context, a crush I would understand. But with so many pages to develop it, I just got the overall feeling that it was not nourished enough and rushed to result. This may be also influenced by the fact that I did not like Henry’s character much. I felt his struggles with depression and anxiety relatable, but I definitely could not see in him whatever it is that Addie saw. 

One of the books that I was more looking forward to in 2020, but probably also one of the biggest let me downs of the year.

It isn’t often that you find a book that truly touches your heart, that you just have to talk about straight away but loved so much you struggle to put your feelings into words, that you (alright, we admit it) pre-order multiple different editions of it. However, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue definitely ticked all of these boxes for both of us.

Today we’re going to try to convey our love for this unforgettable story, even though it left us speechless for a month, by giving you seven reasons to read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. 

1. The Unforgettable Girl

Addie LaRue will live rent free in your mind, which can only make a dent in the years and years she lives with no mark. She will be a character you desire to know, to be, or to love.

    "You said it yourself, Luc. Ideas are wilder than memories. And I can be wild. I can be stubborn as the weeds, and you will not root me out. And I think you are glad of it. I think that’s why you’ve come, because you are lonely, too."

Although Addie is destined to be forgotten by so many, she learns the ins and outs of her deal. To be a more fulfilled version of herself than what was originally in her reach, and she is determined to make her mark on a world that has dealt her such a bad hand. Throughout the years, she becomes a muse to so many artists, she travels, and she connects deeply with numerous people in an attempt that some part of her will remain in their minds. Because how could she not live intensely, when knowing a corner turned means a clean slate? Those brief moments are loud and full of colour, amongst an otherwise lonely path.

Addie feared taking root in one place when she was a young girl, and she definitely manages to escape this fate by instead becoming a fixture in so many places – even if not everybody realises. Of course, in a way, one of these places in which she takes root and writes herself into history is The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue in itself.
2. The dark and brooding villain who you hate to love

    "You thought I would wither without your attention. But I have not."

Who doesn’t love a dark, brooding, definitely more than a bit evil man in their fantasy novels? Luc definitely ticks all of these boxes and more. However, he’s not your usual trope, he is far more complex and has a depth to his character. Luc is the devil; he is the god that answers after dark, he is a monster. Addie experiences his vastness, stubbornness, and darkness throughout her years – sometimes so often it’s hard to think of him as a stranger, other times he’s a cruel reminder of the harshest corners of the world.

After making his deal with Addie to take her soul when she no longer wants it, Luc is determined to collect on his payment, and appears frequently throughout the novel and throughout Addie’s life, always tethered to her. Always provoking her. He tests her, gives her hope and gives her terror, but it’s clear to see he finds her desires for knowledge, for exploring, always for more to start forming into an obsession.

3. The boy full of storms

    "They’ve left his heart too open. Forgotten to close back up the armour of his chest. And now he feels… too much."

Oh, Henry. Where do we start? Henry is the ultimate soft but troubled love interest. He plays a huge role in both the story and in Addie’s life, being the only person who isn’t the devil to remember who she is in 300 years. Henry has secrets of his own which are slowly uncovered throughout the story, and trust us when we say, he’ll break your heart. But he will also make you feel seen, especially if you’ve found yourself struggling this year.

Although it isn’t necessarily made clear, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is told partly from Henry’s perspective, and he’s definitely a character who’s just as important as Addie herself. In fact, you could argue that Henry breathes a fresh breath of air into the story, the reason to explore a city more deeply, to share memories and experiences. We all need a Henry in our lives.
4. The memorable quotes

So we’re definitely considering just sharing some of our favourite quotes here, as they can convince you to pick up The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue more than we could. We’ve already interspersed a couple of little teasers throughout this post, but have another…

   " In this moment, she is holding to the sound of her name, her real name, on someone else’s tongue, and it is enough, it is enough, it is enough."

We find it’s not often that a book demands you to pause and highlight quotes that touch your heart, but what Victoria achieved with Addie surprised us both. We’re existing fans of V’s work but this just felt like something else, you can feel her love for this story and craft, the influence of her own growth and travel.
5. Multiple timelines

    "Déjà vu. Déjà su. Déjà vecu. Already seen. Already known. Already lived."

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue begins at the cusp between the 17th century and 18th century, and continues through to present day. Despite this, none of it necessarily reads as your typical piece of historical fiction, due to the jumping of timelines, both between past and present as well as between places. The brilliance of a split timeline like this, is that you can see so clearly how the past informs the present Addie, how a specific experience has crafted her actions. They bounce off each other, to show us the complexity that is Addie LaRue.

Even during her childhood at the beginning of the 1700’s, Addie clearly reads as a girl born in the wrong era, a girl with the wrong ideas who has a deep need to experience more, to see and learn all that she can. Her choice of companion and teacher is a good indicator of this, but their friendship is the start of everything – we believe everyone would benefit from a friend like Estele. Someone who’d help inspire you to look for doors you didn’t know could be opened.

6. The creation of a muse

As previously mentioned, a key aspect of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is the way that art is used throughout the book. As Addie learns the curves of her curse, she discovers that she can implant herself in people’s memories in other ways. Addie inspires artists through various mediums, from a lost treasure of hers being recreated hundreds of years later, to the appearance of a mysterious, familiar girl in paintings throughout the ages, to her suggesting keys and chords to musicians until the sequences stick in their head long after she has left it.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is truly a book for the aesthetes, with its rich descriptions of art and music, and with the way that the characters react to art throughout.

    "And this is what she’s settled on: she can go without food (she will not wither). She can go without heat (the cold will not kill her). But a life without art, without wonder, without beautiful things – she would go mad. She has gone mad. What she needs are stories. Stories are a way to preserve one’s self. To be remembered. And to forget."

7. Finding Yourself

And finally, it’s hard to read such a profound book and not take away a whole experience from it. There are countless ways people are likely to see themselves amongst the pages, to be filled with desire for a means of escape. Whether that’s with the power of Luc, Henry’s joy in new experiences, or the freedom of Addie’s time to explore every corner of your interests.

We found ourselves reflecting on childhood dreams; for Lauren, this manifested in the dream of becoming a vampire – perhaps this dream wasn’t attached so much to the creature, and instead the benefits of time. For Bec this was more focussed on her lifelong dreams of travelling, of seeing as much as she physically could and exploring the quiet forgotten places of the world. We always have a desperate need for more in our modern lifestyle – more money, more friends, more goals achieved, more items ticked off a bucket list, more books read; all of these cumulate in needing more time. Because of this, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue manages to be an incredibly relatable, timeless book.

We mustn’t forget our other narrator in The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue in this category; Henry’s more manifests in a need for more love, more happiness. Throughout The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, we certainly see Henry’s journey to find himself too.

    "All girls are prone to dreaming. She will grow out of it, her parents say – but instead, Adeline feels herself growing in, holding tighter to the stubborn hope of something more."

Loved the writing, the characters, the world, the stories. A fabulously written book with an ending we can all be happy and sad about.

A stunning, beautiful and remarkable book. I loved every page, every sentence, every word. V. E. Schwab has a way of writing the the most flawed, raw and at the same time beautiful and lovable characters. We waited so long for this book, but the wait was more than worth it. 
Would highly recommend to give this book a read!

I buddy read this with a friend.

DNF @ 30%
I was not vibing with this.

Content warnings in the parts that I read include: homelessness, violence, sex work, forced marriage.

To put it in simple terms, I was bored by this.
Nothing happened.
The little that did happen did not engage me.

So much of the book felt flat. There were a lot of describtions and yet there were barely any details about the historical background setting that I'm used to from historical fiction. I would have been fine with that flat background had the foreground, mainly Addie, not also fallen flat. I can't tell you anything about her personality, despite the book waxing about her at length.

In the third I read there was no plot. I have no idea where the plot is headed, and it didn't make me care about what way it may go. I talked about how the story develops with my friend and that didn't make me care any more. If anything, some of the twists made me want to read it less, and glad I chose to DNF this.

I'm not one who pays a lot of attention to writing, though I purposefully tried to take this one in because I heard from so many people how beautifully it was written. I guess some description were nice? But they didn't stand out to me in any particular way either.

In short, this wasn't the book for me. Given how many other people love it though, I suggest giving it a try if it sounds interesting to you! However, be adviced that from what I've seen and what I've been told this is not a romance in any way.