How do I put into words how much I adored this book? I am going to gush I seriously am, V.E. Schwab is just a genius when it comes to writing fantasy books. This book had me hooked from the first page, and might I add that this book is over 500 pages long and I READ IT IN LESS THAN TWO DAYS.

V.E. Schwab has created something special with this standalone book. It just hit all the right placed for me as a reader. I had the romance, the love hate relationship between Death and Addie, the love between Addie and Henry, we had sorrow, loss, growth, anger, laughter - you name an emotion and it was part of the book.

Can I just say the Henry is now a favourite of mine oh and Death as well. He is definitely been added to a new dark and brooding male character that I can't help but want to take in and cherish. Addie herself is strong and grows and adapts throughout her life. Death thought that he could manipulate and outsmart her but she has other plans. I like the game of cat and mouse that they play and that she is strong enough to know what she wants. She fights from start to finish for what she wants and that to me is a great character.

I can only say that this was a magnificent read. Full of hope, love and mystery. Schwab takes your imagination and spins in, she creates a world that if you were to close your eyes you would travel the world and the years with Addie LaRue and seeing the world through her eyes.

100% one of my favourite books of the year..

I had expectations for this book to be one way; to have a similar feel to V.E. Schwab's other books. But it's not like them at all. Addie LaRue is a whole breed of her own that's genre-defying. So much so that I struggled which categories to put her in on my Goodreads shelf, so she's now in most of them.

I made the face that same man in the meme above has a lot while reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. I mean, how could I possibly explain that which you can't comprehend? Not at least until you've read its beauty.

Let's start with the plot, at least.

Addie LaRue lives in rural France in the 1700s. She feels trapped by what will be her unadventurous little life and so makes a deal with a devil-like god, who curses her to live forever but to never be remembered. That is, until 2014, when a bookseller called Henry does.

We follow two timelines, Addie's life from small town France, through the revolution and two world wars, and 2014, when she encounters the first person in 300 years to remember her. This isn't a high fantasy with epic battles or empires to conquer. There's magic, but it's at the fingertips of a god as old as darkness itself. What this book really is is a character study, and they make you question a lot of existential stuff that I wasn't ready to look in the face in the cursed year 2020.

Things like; how time goes by quickly so make the most of it, life is what you make of it, don't sweat the small stuff, and so many other anxiety inducing things! But thankfully, it doesn't give you that horrible feeling you feel when people talk about it in real life. Thinking about these questions through the lense of Addie and Henry however, is really interesting. And of course, I enjoyed reading about the lives of both of them. Their loves, and struggles, and fears, the things that make them happy.

I have not felt this immersed in a story in a long time.

I genuinely cared about Addie and Henry so much. They felt real, especially Addie, who could very easily be real and you just wouldn't know it. Her fearing the small town life and wanting something more, only to not be sure what that is? Making poor decisions? Feeling lost in the world? Holy moly is that relatable, and so human too. And then there's Henry feeling so insignifcant, like he can't do right, and being so sensitive. What an absolute soft boy, the softest. Plus he works in a bookshop, has floppy hair and wears glasses. I mean come ooooon.

Also, bonus points, every character in this book is queer.

This story is a very hard one to pigeon hole. Like I said in the beginning of my review, it ended up on almost every shelf on my Goodreads. But ultimately, it's a story about humanity. Similar to Becky Chambers' books, just without the sci-fi element. Of course, there's the deal with the devil-like god, the curse, the living for over 300 years. But Addie LaRue is about the individual, and what makes them tick.

Trust me, I came out of this book asking, who the hell am I?!

I don't know if there's going to be another book, but I do know that I'll read anything and everything that V.E. Schwab writes. And hey, if it's The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue 2, then I'll be one very happy Schwabling!

So yes, I was nervous about starting this one. Everything I had seen on social media was about how beautiful this book was and how much of a labour (of love?) it had been for the author which…I don’t know it’s something of a red flag for me. Books with similar vibes to them have entered my life in the past and they have been – to put it nicely – very literary, and to put it in a way that I would actually say it – wanky.

In this case, I will say this book is very literary. When I first started it, I’ll confess I did a little eyeroll at the sheer amount of metaphor in the opening chapters. So if you aren’t the kind of person who is ever going to enjoy that kind of writing then maybe give this one a miss. BUT. If like me you can consciously say ‘this is how this book is and I am going to enjoy it’ then it is a great time. Because you do get used to the way the book is written quite quickly, I’d say within the first fifty pages I had got into the rhythm of it and started finding it quite beautiful. I think it also helps that by that point the plot has really started to happen.

I don’t like a literary book where nothing really happens – whereas this book has a great plot that is highlighted by the gorgeous writing that I will confess did make me cry at the end.

So in terms of the writing style – which was probably my biggest fear going in – if you like this style then you will have a great time.

Addie as a character I grew to love, I think I preferred the 2014 Addie to the 1700s Addie – but I think that’s a good testament to how she grows as a character through the book. I liked that both Addie and Henry aren’t straight, and it’s never a big thing in the book. I might have liked a bit more of an exploration of how a woman raised in 18th century France would cope with initially discovering that could be a thing, but that’s more a wishlist item rather than a criticism of the book as a whole. She does have a bit of ‘everyone tells her she’s beautiful all the freaking time’ syndrome but…I mean she’s the main character so…

Henry I actually loved. It has to be said he’s basically 14 year old Judith’s fantasy man – floppy haired sad boy who works in a bookshop? Why yes. But what I thought worked well is that the book sets out why Henry is so ludicrous. I don’t want to spoil it too much so I won’t go into too much detail on that.

One thing that I did start to wonder about during this story was ‘is this just manic pixie dream girl’ on steroids? Because if you cut the story one way that’s what it is, aforementioned sad boy meets mysterious girl and they have adventures. Cut it another way and we have manic pixie dream boy who exists to take sad girl on adventures. But the way that the story is told I suppose the two narratives balance each other out, these are two impossible people coming together and changing each other – it doesn’t feel like either of them only exists to serve the other – which I appreciated.

Is this book conceptual? Yes. Does that make it wanky? I don’t think so. It deals with some big stuff and some ideas about art and ideas that might arguably be a little heavy handed, but I think the root of the story is familiar and fun it never felt like it crossed too far into that literary territory. I think it helped that I loved the ending, I’m not sure how it would feel if you weren’t a fan. There’s something that kind of reminds me of The Night Circus in that ‘this narrative is completely ludicrous but I’m 200 pages in and completely hooked’ kind of feel.

While I don’t think this book will be for everyone – I certainly had a great time reading it and I may now need to go and get myself a copy so I can cry over the pages or something like that…

My rating: 4/5 stars

I received a free digital review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley – all opinions are my own.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is out October 6th

2.5/5 | The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was, hands down, one of my most anticipated releases of 2020. Every single time Schwab has mentioned something about this book in recent years, my excitement only increased. My expectations were so high to the point where I actual thought this could become one of the best reads of the year. Unfortunately, it ended falling flat for me.

The story begins in Villon-sur-Sarthe, France. It’s 1714 and the main character, Adeline LaRue is running away from her wedding. In one last attempt to be free, she makes a deal with the devil: immortality at the cost of being forgotten by everyone she meets. Switching between flashbacks of her life through 300 years and the present, we follow Addie trying to leave her mark on the world and her convoluted relationship with the devil through time.

The premise promised me everything I’ve ever wanted and more. But the truth is that I didn’t get what I expected or wanted. There are too many flashbacks of Addie’s past and I just found those parts boring. I didn’t get to care about that time of her life or the deals the devil makes with famous people through history. I was more invested in the present time-line that takes place in New York, especially when Henry Samuel, a bookseller who is able to remember her, enters the picture. But then I even lost interest in that when the story begins to focus on the insta-love.

That being said, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue shows what is probably Schwab’s best writing to date. I lost count of how many beautiful quotes I ended up highlighting. But that didn’t compensate how lacking and predictable the storyline is. I saw everything coming except for the last couple of chapters.

Summing up, this book was quite a let-down for me. I was hoping to love it, but unfortunately it didn’t deliver for me. The only things I enjoyed were Schwab’s writing and the last 20%, which had some good scenes and a satisfying ending. But overall, this wasn’t my favourite book by Schwab.

Victoria Schwab has nailed it, again.

It's one of those captivating reads that draws you in and makes you feel everything. It has a similar vibe to The Binding - Bridget Collins (which I definitely need to write a review of), in that it's historical, it's quite gentle, but it also has a lyrical quality to the writing.

It's the story of Addie LaRue, a girl who sold her soul to set herself free and live forever. But the catch to selling her soul is that she can never leave a mark on the world, no one remembers her, and she can never tell people her name. That is until she meets a boy in a bookshop. She's lived a life of stealing and getting away with it, taking only what she needs, but once she's out of sight, no one remembers her. She steals a book from the bookshop, and the next day goes back to return it, and the boy says "I remember you". From that moment on, Addie's life changes.

This is a beautiful story about the price of freedom, and what people will give up in their most desperate hour. Addie is an incredibly loveable character, and she yearns for a connection that lasts longer than a night. Schwab excellently deals with loneliness, depression, loss, and love, and she's spun a story so precious that it feels an honour to share in that narrative.

Even before going into this book, Victoria was already cemented as my favourite author. This was a book that I was anticipating eagerly. Clearly, for good reason. This has to be the book of her heart because you can feel the love and the pain on every page. The story of Addie is not always a joyous one, but this book was a joy to lose myself in. The power in the prose and the emotion in this story is truly something to be savoured. Take your time with this book, and allow yourself to revel in each of its beautiful intricacies.

Defiant, stubborn and bursting with life, Adeline strains at the constraints of her everyday life; the small 18th century French town she calls home, the expectation she will live and die within the same small patch of land.

Warned never to pray to the old gods who answer after dark, Addie makes a mistake. A deal with the devil and she floats through history like a shadow. In gaining all the time she has ever wanted, Addie is cursed to leave no mark, be forgotten and lose everyone and everything which matters. Tormented by the darkness, yet still she persists, finding joy in the world and wonder in the beauty she sees. Until one day, she meets a young man who remembers her.

Alluring, enchanting and so readable, Schwab’s writing brims with humour. Addie’s journey a breathtaking dance through history, across the globe and human creativity.

This is a love story to being alive, about memories, time and leaving your mark. Dark, magical, heartbreaking and filled with hope, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is unforgettable.

I can’t even begin to describe how this book made me feel. Understood? Seen? Nothing has ever quite got me like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. I have enjoyed V.E. Schwab’s other books, but they’ve never hit my quite like this. There is something special here, and I am going to treasure this feeling for a while!

So what is this beautiful book about? Addie LaRue, a 23 year old woman from a small village in France, makes a pact with the devil in order to save herself from an unhappy life tied-down going nowhere. She trades her soul for immortality, but there’s a catch – everyone she meets will forget her almost as soon as she leaves them. One day, she meets a boy in a bookstore who remembers her, and everything changes.

I honestly can’t explain why I love it so much. The words spoke to me in a way that hasn’t happened since Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor. I was gripped with Addie’s character immediately and couldn’t get enough. And then along came Henry, a character that I love with all my heart, who I see myself in, who I just want to give the biggest hug. Reading his chapters had me in pieces, and with his entrance to the story the book became the best thing I’ve read.

It’s not just the characters – the plot is intricate, spanning multiple time periods and settings across the world. The writing is absolutely V.E. Schwab’s best work and the standard is already high. I feel like this is a more personal story which elevated it about her others for me. It is deep, I can already imagine the details a second read will reveal.

My heart hurts but I am also so happy to have read this book. Huge thanks to V.E. Schwab for writing this masterpiece that will be very hard to forget. I can’t wait t get my hardback version to really treasure those pages. Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for the advance copy.

I thought the premise of this book was really good, a modern take on the Faust story and for the most part it was a good read.
Personally I would have liked more about Addie's time through the centuries and less about Henry as it would have given a unique view on history. However the glaring historical error regarding the Sacre Coeur jarred and in the end made me glad that there wasn't too much wrong history. The ultimate ending wasn't as trite as I feared and in general a fun read - not 100% sure of readership it is aimed at but as an adult I enjoyed it well enough.

I am eternally grateful to Netgalley and the publisher, Titan Books UK, for gifting me a copy of this book to review. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it didn’t disappoint! This was everything I’ve wanted in a book and more. I found this book so hard to review, because how do you write a review for a book you adored.

There is so much I want to say about this book but I’ve cut it down so I don’t spoil anything. Also it’s hard for me to put into words how much I liked thIs book. It made me speechless. This book owns my soul.

....

Schwab is my auto read author and I will read anything she writes. Her writing style just works for me and I loved the writing in this. The book is spilt into seven parts and each part has short chapters. I love short chapters. The plot itself is great! I loved the story and I couldn’t put the book down, I needed to finish it but at the same time I didn’t want it to end. The story captivated me and it is the kind of book that I didn’t know I needed.

The story follows Addie La Rue a stubborn french girl born in the 17th century who prays in the dark to a god and sells her soul for freedom but of course there is a catch and that is she will be forgotten. The story is mainly in Addis’s POV and I really liked her as a character. I like that we see Addie grow up and we learn about her and with her. Addie is I think bisexual and she loves art, she inspires art. During each part there is a piece of art shown and a description of what it is and where it came from which was interesting and not something I’ve seen in any other book.

The book switches from Addie’s story in the past and then to 2014 where she meets Henry. Henry is another POV in the book and I also really liked him. Henry is pansexual and he works in a book shop. He wants to be loved and I think Henry has become a favourite of mine. There’s also a cat who lives in the bookshop called Book! I love cats.

Another main character is Luc, who is the darkness and the being that made a deal with Addie. I thought he was okay as a god/devil like character. He is the character meets Addie throughout the 300 years and their relationship is complex. There are other characters that show up in the book and I liked them. I don’t want to say too much. I thought the relationships were good and I didn’t mind the romance.

I thought this was a well built book. The world is wonderful and the whole deal of Addis’s is well thought out. There are rules to Addie’s life because of the deal and I liked how they were shown. I enjoyed seeing the brief parts of history through Addie’s POV. One thing I liked was that this book didn’t shy away from the hardships that Addie has faced over 300 years and the things she has been through.

This is a really amazing book. It has a few twists and turns which I won’t say much about and the end. The ending. It was lovely and I didn’t want it to end. If there is at some point another part of Addie’s story then I will happily read it.

Honestly go read this book! I highly recommend it!

I'm not sure I can express how thankful I am to Titan Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read Addie LaRue in advance of it's release. This has been eagerly awaited by me since I heard the author talking about it over a year ago. I'm not sure I will do this book justice whatsoever but it's going to take me a while to move on from this one.

The plot of this one instantly intrigued me, a young girl makes a deal with the devil (or a god or the night or the darkness). Addie wants freedom, freedom from a sad life, a life where she is destined to marry a man she does not love, and live a life she does not want. But Addie doesn't know that freedom comes at a price; she offers the devil a deal, give her eternity and when she's done with it he can take her soul. But the devil plays tricks, and Addie learns quickly that freedom and eternity come with a price. My heart wrenched for Addie when she first realises what she has done, yes she can live forever but if no-one ever remembers her, has she really lived at all?

I honestly don't even know how to describe how much I loved this book. It is so different to all her other stories because it is so much more character focused and driven than action and adventure; yes of course there are adventures because Addie lives for over 300 years but it is so much more than that and I just adored it all. Addie is such an interesting and clever character, she is so stubborn and this is what wills her on through the darkness and the pain and the absolute loneliness of never being remembered. Until she meets a boy who remembers her name.

The writing in this book is incredible, I would gladly read anything Schwab ever writes but there is something about the way she writes in this book that has my soul and my heart absolutely gutted. I fell in love with every page and every chapter and I had to take pauses to just breathe after the chapters overwhelmed me. This book is full of emotion and desperation and love and it made my heart hurt.

This book is a masterpiece and I feel you can really just feel the depth that Schwab put into this book. The characters and the world and the emotion, it all felt seamless and effortless; whether we were in the 1700s or the 2000s I could relate and fall into it. I didn't want this book to end, I guess i'm similar to Addie in that way. But that ending. Whilst this seems to be a stand-alone that ending definitely leaves a door slithered open and just shows you how clever and cunning Addie has learned to be.

I feel like this will be a book you constantly want to return to, you could pick it up and slot into any chapter and just fall into the story. Schwab describes a world of places and yet you feel like you are there with her for every one. I am amazed and not at all surprised at how wonderful and delightful and painful this book is. As soon as I get my hands on my physical copy i'll be reading this again.

I'm going to end this review with some of my favourite quotes from the book (these quotes come from an ARC copy and may be subject to change).

"What is a person, if not the marks they leave behind?"

"Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives - or to find strength in a very long one"

"If no one heard it, did it happen? If a person cannot leave a mark, do they exist?"

"Because happiness is brief, and history is lasting, and in the end, everyone wants to be remembered"

This was one of my most anticipated books of 2020, Victoria Schwab is one of my favourite authors so I had very high hopes for this one, especially with how much it has been hyped up. For that reason I was a little wary going into this as I was worried I wouldn’t like it, but luckily there was no reason for doubt as it is one of my favourite books of 2020.

So this was a pretty slow paced book for most of it and I think that’s because it’s pretty much just a memoir of Addie’s 300 years of being alive and then in parts, a memoir for parts of Henry’s life as well. I’m not usually a fan of slow paced books but knowing, from the blurb, that someone would finally remember her kept me hooked. I only had time in the evenings to read this and because of that I kept staying up until gone 1am because I didn’t want to stop reading. Then once she meets Henry it was a case of ‘what’s going to happen, something is going to happen’ and honestly this story ripped my heart out completely, I was in tears by the end. I really enjoyed the order the story was told in as well, so obviously the book starts off in 1714 when Addie is first cursed and we see the beginning of her new life and then we see her in 2014, but throughout her current life in 2014 when things begin to change, we see snippets of the past 300 years and significant moments that got her to 2014.

I adored Addie’s character, I absolutely loved how stubborn she is where the demon who cursed her is concerned, and watching their unusual relationship grow over the years was really interesting. Although he does underestimate her a lot, especially in the beginning he thinks she’ll break straight away and ask for the curse to be gone, 300 years later and do you think he knows how wrong he was yet? Henry was just adorable and I just wanted to hold him and make him feel genuinely loved, I really liked how he fit into the story, it was brilliantly done.

I just absolutely adored this book and want to just recommend it to everyone, but I do know it would not be everyone’s cup of tea. I do think if you’ve loved Victoria’s other books then you will enjoy this too. I cannot wait to have my finished copies (yes plural, I have preordered multiple editions).

Man, this hurts me to write this.

I love V.E Schwab. I love her imagination, and her writing style, and how she can whisk you away to new worlds. She’s one of my favourite authors, and I was lucky to meet her. She hyped up the book for years and when this was finally released, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.

And I hated it.

This was so disappointing. I thought it was the high expectations clouding my judgement, but after thinking about it there were a few issues this story needed to iron out. As much as I love Schwab, she is not immune to my criticism. So after done deliberation, here are my thoughts.

The major issue of the story was the actual story. Nothing happens. The plot is so paper thin that I couldn’t tell you what the point of the story was. It took the story at least 30% to get any semblance of plot, focusing on Addie’s build up, which would’ve been fine, but Addie isn’t a very interesting person outside of the deal she makes. I was really bored reading her backstory, and it didn’t improve afterwards. Usually, a lack of plot wouldn’t bother me if the characters were interesting and fun, which leads to the second problem.

The characters are not compelling. Addie is our main character, but she falls into the typical Schwab female character; badass and independent. Only that’s it. I couldn’t stand Delilah in the Darker Shades of Magic series, and I didn’t love Kate from Savage Song either, and they all meld into one at this point because they’re so similar. Addie had so much to work with. She’s been alive for three hundred years, has seen everything of history, but what does Schwab focus on? Addie sleeping with random people who never remember her. Really? She’s lived through the French Revolution, the world wars — everything, but it’s her romantic life we focus on? It would’ve been interesting for her to contemplate humanity and immortality, but romance? It was frustrating.

Which leads to the biggest issue I have and just another issue I have with Schwab’s books: she can’t write romance. Not only was my most despised trope, the love triangle, included but there was also instalove. Why? Addie and Henry had no chemistry together. I thought Henry had more personality than Addie, so for him to fall for her didn’t buy me. I was never invested, I never felt the stakes. Just when I thought it was happening way too fast, the bombshell that Luc was also in love with her and Addie with him (kinda) came by. When did this happen? Why was it included at the very end, and not at the beginning to sew in the build up of this revelation? It came out of nowhere, and I got so frustrated with it I kind of gave up on liking the story. Luc was so underdeveloped, I never took him seriously as a threat, let alone a love rival. It would’ve been so interesting to learn how the literal devil fell for a woman he had damned for eternity. That could’ve been so cool to read.

Also that open ending annoyed me. I was so unsatisfied that it left me in a bad mood.

As much as I hate this book, I still love V?E Schwab. She is a talented writer, and her sentences flow like water, but this was this biggest let down I’ve ever had for a long awaited novel. This book had potential, but all it gave me was the promise of potential, leaving me bereft.

I’m glad it works for some people, but this was not for me.

A new novel from V. E. Schwab is always an exciting event; let alone one that has been in the making for a decade, like The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue.

Schwab has been very open with readers, telling us that Addie LaRue's story has been slowly forming over ten years, and there is little doubt that it's special to her. Well, let me tell you that it's now special to me too.

For me, Schwab tells a story like no other. Her writing is rich and beautiful. I savour her words - and that's exactly what I did with this novel - I savoured it, every word.

Spanning three centuries, this is the tale of a young woman who made a deal with the darkness - but you have to be so precise when you exchange your soul - as Addie discovers.

This is a wonderful story - thought-provoking, heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measure. Schwab's characters leap off the page, I felt them beside me as I read their story - memorable characters that I know I will think of for years to come.

This is a novel that will appeal to the masses, you needn't be a fantasy lover to appreciate this book. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a novel I will be forcing into the hands of family and friends. This book will be anything but invisible. I adored it.

Thank you so much Titan Books for an e-arc of this book.

This was one of my most awaited reads of the year, and I understand the writer put in so much work for this story and I respect that. But I am afraid it was a disappointing read. I gave it a try because V.E. Schwab built high expectations and hype around this title over the years. To be honest, I almost DNF’ed this book.

I found it incredibly slow-paced. With all the flashback from both Addie and Henry aside, I felt the plot was almost non-existent. I honestly thought that Henry was a way more intriguing character than Addie, almost overshadowing her. All the big revelations are left to an inconclusive, rather sappy and ambiguous ending. Luc/devil character is the most underdeveloped and confusing character of this novel, and important details of his relationship with Addie are untold until the very end (last 20%), and it just made the story more frustrating.

The writing is still exceptional, I won't argue against that. I can’t help but say I was expecting so much more from this story though, mostly from the ending. It felt to me this story is more of like an outline, or a script for a movie than a novel.

Wow! Seven stars!

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was one of my most anticipated reads of the whole year - ever since I first hear about this book I was desperate to read it. It was worth that wait, and more.

It is everything that I had hoped and yet nothing like what I expected. It is hauntingly beautiful, enchantingly immersive and though it has only been hours since I read that last page, I feel a keen need to start reading it all over again.

It is a book about experiences, emotions and it explores what it means to be human. It is a book in which we get to get to know a character so completely she feels like a lifelong friend, and we accompany her as she learns what it is to be free, what it is to be forgotten and what it is to experience wonder at new and incredible things and as Addie grasps with what it means to be alive.

Addie appreciates every moment because besides her freedom she has nothing else. Only she remembers her past and only she knows that her future stretches out ahead endlessly.

Addie is a testament to the human thirst for life, for knowledge, for freedom and for hope. Addie is a testament to the stubbornness of the human spirit, and that endures when even the rocks crumble to dust, when even mighty trees fall in the storm.

It is an ode to knowledge and art and spirit and the connections that create us and those that break us.

I love V E Schwab's writing and imagination - I have read almost everything she has ever written, and this is by far her greatest work. I tried to read this a lot slower than usual, as I wanted to saviour it, and I managed that for the first half of the book. And then I read the second half of it in one go, so clearly I have no self-control.

We are taught that as our lives are so short, that the only way we can gain immortality, is by our actions. Musicians and artists, scientists and doctors, rebels and thinkers, politicians and criminals, their lives can be brief but their actions can cause ripples that will stay with us for centuries. So to have a character who is quite literally ageless, but is forgotten in a blink of an eye, incapable of making any lasting change to the world, is such an original idea, and one I am a little surprised has not been thought of before.

Addie LaRue drifts through life like a gentle breeze. She can turn heads, but in a blink of an eye, she is forgotten. She is the ultimate muse, she can inspire so much, but can never be granted credit for it, giving new meaning to the phrase that behind every great man, there is a woman.

Half of the book is set in the half, chronicling the events that led to her deal with the devil and flashes of her life upto the late 1900s. The other half is set in 2014 New York, where Addie has become accustomed to her life and meets Henry, a young man with a shocking similarity to her devil, who can remember her. The book is not really plot heavy, it is a study of Addie and Henry, and their development. Addie's story is particularly well told as much of her life is so stagnant; in many stories, personal growth is caused by the impact they have on those around them, so to have a character that can only really grow from the impact of others onto her is both unusual and exceptionally well done.

I really loved this story, and by the time I finished I had a smile on my face, for a story well told and a character well done. I wasn't sure how the book was going to end, but it was a perfect conclusion, and although I know it is a standalone novel, you will have to forgive me, if I secretly wish the author would give us more about the girl who made a deal with the devil, to be free forever but always forgotten.

This is a book to take your time with. I read it fairly slowly just so I could really savour it, and I had an amazing time. The writing is beyond stunning, and having read almost all of V.E. Schwab's books, it's amazing to see how she still gets better with every single one (even though she was always an amazing writer). This book is so different than anything I've read from her before, but it still really feels like a V.E. Schwab book.

In terms of comparisons, I think this is a perfect read for fans of Ninth House and The Starless Sea, which were two of my favourite reads of 2019. I feel like the comparison to The Time Traveler's Wife also really holds up. This one will for sure be one of my favourites of 2020.

I do feel the need to point out that this really is a very slow book, though. I personally really loved it, but I also think a lot of people might not find it fast-paced enough and they might miss some action. So please be aware of that before you go in.

V.E. Schwab has a way of writing characters that means she almost writes them too well. I felt the same way when reading Our Dark Duet: sometimes, characters were introduced that you immediately fell for, and you would hope and hope that they'd be recurring characters in the book, because they spoke to you so much or immediately stole your heart, but sometimes they would just have a very small role in the book.

Overall though, I really loved Addie, and I really loved Henry, and I just felt so invested in this book that I wanted to live in it. I have a feeling this might just become on of my favourite books of all time.

Some books are impossible to capture in mere words. It’s ironic – after all, words are all that form the book in the first place – but no other words can quite create the same brilliance, the same beauty, the same resonance. How do you capture transcendence with twenty-six little letters? VE Schwab has found the answer – but I can’t fathom how to possibly do her work this justice,

‘The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue’ is the best book VE Schwab has ever written. It’s a masterwork – a feat of wordcraft so exquisite it’s hard to imagine creating anything better. Every sentence is gorgeously constructed, every metaphor lands true, and every word is heartbreaking – heartbreaking because it brings you closer to the end. Addie has made a deal with the devil to live forever, and books like this show you why we all fear the curtain coming down.

Adeline LaRue is born in rural France in 1691. She’s a dreamer, a free spirit, always looking beyond the borders of her village – but she’s a girl, and girls are not allowed to dream. Girls must go to church, and obey their betters, and learn to be wives for their future husbands, and look after their households, and bear their children. Bound to a future she doesn’t want, Adeline looks for escape – but every dream has its price, and she doesn’t know the true cost until it’s too late.

Adeline can have her freedom – but only by giving up herself.

Addie is the perfect protagonist. Sharp and quick, she’s the girl who dreams of more – and is also stubborn and determined enough to find it. Forced into dreadful situations, she still manages to find a light in the dark; a reason to go on. More than that – even as her life is treated like the plaything of others, she digs in her heels and wrenches it into the shape she needs. Addie will never back down, never admit defeat, never give up control. She has moments of weakness, of despair, of fear – but she knows that there are many better days to come, and she holds out for them like an old tree, bent and battered by the storm but still standing when the sun returns.

Henry is the opposite – the man who feels too much, and doesn’t know what to do with all these emotions that refuse to let him be. He’s the perfect counterpoint – the racing hurricane to Addie’s steadfast tree, the raging fire to Addie’s cold pool. He’s a dreamer too – but where Addie’s dreams are a tether, his are a maze. Addie’s response to running out of time is to find more of it. Henry’s response is to do more, always more, falling into a panicked spiral until everything falls apart.

Addie’s devil? He’s the dark shadow following you home at night. The menacing maw of the corridor before you flick on the light. He’s endless, timeless, and just when Addie thinks she knows him he demonstrates just how far from a mere human evil he is. She can name him, claim him, blame him – but the darkness cannot be tamed. When everything else fades, the darkness is all that remains.

The plot marches forward like the inexorable march of time. The perspective alternates – Addie now, in New York, versus Addie as she was, learning to navigate her strange half-existence – together weaving a narrative so vibrant, so emotional, you never want to leave. This is a book that could be read over and over and adored more every time. Several of the twists I guessed, but this didn’t lessen their impact – if anything, it highlighted it, their direction as inevitable as the ticking of the clock, the passing of the seasons. Everything comes crashing down eventually – all good things must end.

This story has worked its way into my soul. Calling it a favourite doesn’t even do justice to its impact. It’s less a book and more of an experience – a temporary passage to somewhere greater than here.

If you want to read a story that speaks to your soul, read this book. Read it, and marvel how much beauty can be created with simple words.

I have been waiting for this!! This book is amazing, I was hooked right from the start. I love v.e Schwabs books, and have them all. I now have 3 editions of this book preordered, because it's just that good! Can't recommend enough. You HAVE to read this!!