I recieved a free digital copy if the book from the publisher Titan Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I made it 38% through this book and i just cannot finish it.

The time jumping is the main thing i dislike about the book. It's very confusing. And then there's the story... I found it so boring and I just found myself constantly putting it down for something else to do/read.

I decided not to force myself to finish it and life is too short for books i don't enjoy

This is somewhat controversial and comes as a surprise not only to me, but I think to everyone who knows a bit about me. I love Schwab, I consider her one of my favourite authors and I've been lookong forward to reading this for a really long time. I've seen a bunch of great reviews and I had very high expectations for it.

I'll be completely honest and say I don't know exactly what didn't work for me. Addie wasn't a bad protagonist, the writing was very Schwabesque and I was sold on the premise. But... although in theory this was a perfect book for me, in practice it REALLY didn't mesh me with. I think has it been written by anyone else, I would've DNFed it.

Like I said... Addie was a fine protagonist. I didn't love her, but I didn't hate her. As far as heroines go, she was very middle of the road. Same goes for Henry. We don't much know any other people aside from Luc, whom I wanted more of, and so for over 600 pages that's a very slim and average cast of characters and if they're not in any way interesting, it makes it for a dull read.

It could've been saved by a plot of some sort, but alas... it lacked that, too. I'm not saying the book is plotless. I just think there isn't enough plot in it that warrants over 600 pages, and all could've been condensed into a much shorter book. I think it would've made it more enjoyable (for me; it looks like many found the book enjoyable as it is). The pacing was incredibly slow and the book meandered for so long without anything happening, it actually put me in the biggest reading slump ever.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue wasn't a book for me and it's surprising as on paper it ticked all the boxes. I kept wanting and trying to enjoy it, because it's V.E. Schwab, but I found myself bored and frustrated with it. Unfortunately I can't say any more about it other than the fact that I'm really disappointed.

The first 1/4 of the book felt abit slow and it did take me awhile to really get into the story but the latter half was very gripping and got me to feel more involved with the main characters. The writing itself was very enjoyable but overall I do prefer other books by the author. But overall it is well worth a read and I would recommend.

Addie La Rue is unhappy with the idea of marrying an older man with a ready-made family - she wants more from her life. She makes a pact with the devil, trading her soul for immortality. Of course, the devil is notorious for twisting the terms, and for Addie finds she is forgotten by everyone, the instant she is out of their sight.

Addie travels the world, in desperate circumstances, never able to work or even rent a home, repeating nights of passion with men who do not remember her every single time they meet. She cannot impress herself onto the world - any writing disappears, she cannot tell her tale or even speak her own name, everything she owns disappears or is broken. The devil meets her periodically to review if she is ready to give up this life.

But Addie has incredible spirit and for three hundred years she perseveres and makes a life. Then one day she steals a book from a book shop in New York, and when she returns the manager remembers her. How can this be?

This is an amazing book, so well written I would have given it six stars! The time line wanders between Addie's past life, her present and her life with Henry, and the author handles it beautifully. There are no bad notes - the whole thing plays as a beautiful symphony on the human condition. Some of her situations are truly heartbreaking - such as her encounter with Remy. I read the book with tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat, willing her to get the best of her bargain with the devil, and could not put it down. Brilliant.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

VE Schwab is one of my favourite authors and she did not disappoint with this book! Stunningly written, and unlike any other book I've read before. The plot was a little thin in places, and it did feel sometimes like a collection of snapshots rather than a full on story, but the characters and Schwab's writing really captivated me and made this a favourite book of the year.

First off - a huge thank you to @titanbooks for sending me an e-ARC on @netgalley for an honest review. The fact I received it honestly made my year!! I'll be posting this review on my bookstagram account @readerofrivendell, amazon, goodreads and twitter @readerofrivende.

Now, down to the review (I’ve tried to make it as spoiler free as possible but please be wary if you want to go into the book not knowing anything).

This book! Oh my goodness! SO. MANY. FEELINGS. Whenever there is this level of hype for a book, it makes me so nervous and I tend to put it off for a while. Once I received the arc I was even more nervous. This book however was worth the excitement.

I loved Addie LaRue so much. I genuinely don’t remember relating to a character as much as Addie. Her desire for more and the desire to explore the possibilities of life outside out her village hit home and I loved how Schwab explored these feelings and desires. Addie is feisty, determined and craves what life could bring outside the kind her parents want her to have and is expected of her time. Think Belle from beauty and the beast with Slytherin tendencies and you’ve got Addie. She’s the perfect mix of clever, adventurous, and daring. She seeks the stars and follows the patterns of art and the heart and I loved it! Her daring and desires cause her to make a reckless deal with a dark and mysteriously handsome devil, which starts a journey of drama, tension, magic and love.

Enter Luc. Luc gave me total Darkling vibes and I loved it! His interactions with Addie were well written and I loved learning about his history with Addie. If anything I wanted more from this relationship and more of Luc. A brooding, mysterious, cocky bad boy, ehm yes please!! I need to know more and without spoiling anything, I have so many questions of who and what he is.

Henry was a contrasting character compared to Luc. A young university drop-out who sells books in New York could have been so incredible, however I was hoping for more. To be very honest my main issue with the story are with Henry and his POV. This book is split into three different part and the final one brings more of Henry. On one hand I totally related with him. He desires to be loved and always feels like there’s that-something missing. Plus, he’s a cute boy who works in a bookshop - do I need to say more?! On the other hand, I felt somewhat bored while reading his parts. He just couldn’t compare to Luc and his relationship with Addie and I wanted more of their interactions and their history explored. Schwab hints at Addie and Luc’s history so much I was kind of hoping for more and felt like there should be more expanded on. Saying that I do understand what Schwab was aiming for with Henry and she certainly wove the story together so magically.

The worldbuilding was cleverly done, as usual with Schwab. Each character has this magic woven around them and paired with the different locations and time periods; a masterpiece of a story is created. I loved how we journey through Addie’s life as she explores her new life and looks back at her old. The back and forth is well done and the atmosphere held us in suspense. I couldn’t put the book down! Schwab has a unique writing style and you can see this throughout. Whilst I hoped for more from the conclusion, I would happily recommend this book to anyone and everyone! Schwab has once again created a story that punches you in the heart and hugs you at the same time and that is pure magic.

To be honest with you, I was initially going to give this book 4 stars. But while writing this review (and reading some other reviews) I decided to lower the rating to 3.5. I've also decided not to CAWPILE this book, and to just write where my feelings take me.

Writing
Let's talk about writing first. I won't say that I'm a particular fan of Schwab's work. This is only the second book I've read by her, and one thing stands out to me: she writes beautifully, but it's all repetitive. The first 100 pages of Addie are beautiful. The next 300 are more of the same. Eventually, I got bored with hearing about Addie's freckles and how quickly time moves on. Trust me, every millennial is constantly in the throes of existential crisis. We know the dread.

For me, writing works best when it's simple and direct. I've never been a fan of flowery writing or over-used descriptions. Considering the length of this book, nothing of note really happens on-page. We hear about Addie's adventures, but we hardly ever see them play out. It's just 400 pages of existential angst.

Characters
That being said, Addie and Henry are both very relatable characters in this instance. I too feel the march of time breathing down my neck, and I mourn the lives that I will not get to live. Blink and suddenly you're 24 and jobless. Blink again and you're halfway to the grave (millenials will know the feeling).

I liked Henry well enough, and his character motivations were solid. But he felt more like a background character to Addie. A means to an end. I didn't feel like she actually loved him.

I saw Addie as a very self-centred character. Always looking for ways to make her mark, and effectively using people to do it. Instead of her telling the stories of those history has truly forgotten, she only ensures that she is remembered. I'm not sure what Schwab was going for here, but I expected more. You have a 300-year-old woman with infinite memory, yet she doesn't use that memory at all.

It makes me think of all the people history has forgotten or erased (especially women, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people) and it makes me think Schwab missed an opportunity to have Addie play a part in remembering them.

Worldbuilding
Instead, Addie only strives to remember herself. This book is very euro-centric. And there's nothing wrong with that. I think Schwab would have been criticized either way, but I find it hard to believe that Addie would only stick to the western world. She could have travelled to Africa, Asia, Australia, but instead, she stays stuck in New York? I get it, NYC is cool. But so is Cairo, Lagos, Johannesburg, Windhoek, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, the list goes on.

Personally, I'm tired of New York. I haven't even been there and I know more about it than I know about Pretoria (SA's capital). Does the USA know other places in the world exist?

I know I can't judge Addie LaRue for what I wanted it to be. But the synopsis lead me to believe that we would be seeing "adventures across centuries and continents". We only see adventures in Europe (Italy and France, to be precise) and New York. I expected more.

Relationships
The one thing I really did like was the relationship between Addie and Luc. Yes, it's filled with a lot of red flags. But it's still a fictional relationship and I like my fictional relationships to be messy (not my RL ones). Overall I think the relationship is well explored, but I would have loved to see more of it on-page. We get small snippets here and there that give a lot of information, but I wanted more.

I'm just a fan of the hero falling for the bad guy. Sue me.

I absolutely adored this book.
The writing was stunning and lyrical, the characters were well developed and loveable and the settings were so rich and detailed.
I just fell into this world and could not stop reading this magical book!
If you loved Schwab's other books or just want to give this one a try I guarantee you will not be disappointed

The Invisible Life of Addie Larue was an amazing book for me and one of my best reads of 2020. I love Schwab's writing style throughout the book. Intially, I wasn't sure I would enjoy the back and forth through time spanning the 300 years of Addie's life but it happened seamlessly.

Addie Larue is a beautifully melancholic tale that moved me to tears. I loved Addie's character and really could imagine the loss she'd felt or just the sheer frustration about never really having something hers - not being able to have a proper home or clothing and just constantly being forgotten as she moved through life. Her relationship with Henry and Luc was so interesting as they are so different from each other and the reveal of how their deals worked alongside each others was really intriguing. The book really deals with the injustice of life and how things for some people just aren't fair or lucky. How many people just go through life as someone that isn't remembered, that doesn't leave a mark.

I loved that Addie Larue was unapologetically nonbinary. It wasn't a suggestion that the characters were queer but just stated as a part of the characters lifestyles. It showed a variety of queer characters and that type of representation is important.

This was my first V.E. Schwab book that I’ve read. I always thought that it will be Shades of Magic series, but here we are. It turned out to be a great place to start, because this is one magical book. It’s been a few days since I’ve finished it, but I still keep thinking about it even though I wasn’t that enchanted by it when I finished it.

The story starts in early 1700s when a girl makes a Faustian bargain out of desperation and it takes us on a wild adventure through the centuries and beautiful places like Paris and Florence. I won’t go too much into the story, I think it is best that the readers discover it themselves.
The most interesting part for me is definitely Addie’s life through the years, from the events like French revolution to WWII and all the years in between. I flew through the first half of the book; it was so hard to stop reading and all I wanted is to see what will happen next. It just sucks you in right from the beginning. My problems start somewhere in the last third of the book when it becomes repetitive and starts to drag. Another thing that bothered me is that it becomes too much centered around romance aspect of the story. At one point it gives out love triangle vibes which I didn’t like at all.

Schwab’s writing is magnificent, it was everything I expected considering all the hype that surrounds her books. I loved every word of this book, it isn’t to flowery, but it isn’t simplistic either. It is just right and fits with the plot and the mood of this book perfectly. But I feel like the one or two chapters are redundant, it should have been left a bit for a reader to decide and figure out how it ends. That would be such a perfect ending. I was actually surprised when I saw I have two more chapters to go.

If I rated this book immediately after I finished it it would get 3 stars, but now after letting some time pass and feelings to settle, I decided to up it to 4 stars. The deciding factor was the fact that my thoughts kept coming back to Addie and this book, rarely a book is able to do that. I’m even considering buying a physical copy for my library because this is a story that I will definitely want to re-read sometime in the future.

Also, thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc!

Addie LaRue is a young woman in rural France, who wants so much more than this provincial life. To escape the life laid out before her, she makes a deal with the devil, trading her soul for immortality, and the chance to have no obligations whatsoever. But where there’s a deal, there’s a price, and Addie is cursed to be forgotten by everyone who meets her.

Addie’s life starts in 18th Century France, and her life takes her from France, to England, over to the US. Unable to hold onto anything, she learns to live right at the edges of life, hiding when she needs to, forming a relationship with the only person who ever remembers her, the same devil she made the deal with. Until in 21st Century New York, she meets someone who remembers her.

I first heard Schwab talk about Addie at an event for the re-release of The Near Witch, and since then I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book. Luckily for me, Titan approved my NetGalley request, and I think I possibly screamed for joy with that email.

So yes, this is possibly my most anticipated book of 2020. And it really did not disappoint.

My heart broke for Addie, for the situations she found herself in, for the way she kept persisting and trying to make some mark in the world. It’s a terrible thing, to be completely forgotten, and a fear I expect many humans have, one Schwab captures brilliantly.

The emotions here are raw and powerful, as Addie introduces herself to people over and over, as she explores love and desire and relationships in a way others do not have to, and as she watches the world move on and on and on while she remains unchanging.

The main drawback – which other reviewers have expanded on and discussed more elegantly than I – is the complete focus on the Western World. Addie remains fixed in France, UK, and the US, and although she has lived for 300 years there is no mention of the atrocities committed by those three countries in that time, though it does touch upon the French Revolution, briefly. I understand why – the book is already 560 pages, with a timeline split between past and present. But it is a very white lens. Again, I understand the reasonings behind remaining away from these topics, and I get that with Addie’s situation, travelling anywhere will be difficult without possibly being thrown overboard on a ship. Or being stopped at security in an airport, etc. It would have added further complications that there isn’t room for. HOWEVER, it’s important to note this is a Fantasy – Addie could have travelled further afield and still have it realistic.

However (again!) my feeling is that Schwab kept the story in these particular places as they are where she spends most of her time, and are the places she is most familiar with. It’s hard not to get the impression Schwab really did bleed onto the page for this one, pouring a lot of herself into the character of Addie.

This book left me with a killer hangover. It packed a punch, the emotions folded into the pages like blankets, carefully laid out, the romance element strong, and the relationship between Addie and the devil absolutely fascinating. I adored this book, truly, and as always, I cannot wait to see what Schwab comes out with next.

“...it is sad, of course, to forget.
But it is a lonely thing, to be forgotten.
To remember when no one else does.”

What a powerful story, full of love, loss and loneliness. I feel like I’m still gathering my thoughts about this book. I really enjoyed the story but it took me quite a while to get through. This isn’t a bad thing. In fact, I feel like this book needs time to be appreciated - especially as we’re reading 300 years of stories from Addie’s life. I don’t know what I expected but it certainly wasn’t this. I didn’t think of the implications that her deal with the devil (of being forgotten) would have, or the hardships she would face.

I especially loved the nonlinear storyline and how we got to know more about Addie at the same time as reading her life in the present day. I loved how V.E. Schwab did this in her Vicious series, and I feel like it works really well here. It was such an intense and compelling read, which kept me on my toes. I never knew what to expect in Addie’s ever-changing life. One thing I would say is that it’s a slower read but overall I really enjoyed it!

Addie LaRue is a young girl in rural France who wants to see and experience the world beyond her village. But a woman's role is to marry and raise a family. Addie's all consuming need to escape this path leads her to strike a deal with a god - a life of her own, beholden to no-one in exchange for her soul. Addie is given life - immortal life to experience everything the world has to offer but she is also cursed to be forgotten, to be unable to share her life or leave her mark on the world.
Addie's ingenuity enables her to experience the great events that changed the world, revolutions, wars, breakthroughs in technology, and successfully navigate homelessness and lack of resources. Her overwhelming need to leave her mark draws her to artists and creatives who see her as an illusive muse.
Addie's story is one of desire, joy, loneliness and love. It is uplifting and inspiring to be reminded of all the adventures that are available to us. Addie doesn't give up on what she wants, she perseveres and she is fearless. I loved her story and I think this is a truly special book.

Hey, Ms Schwab. Thank you for breaking my heart. Thank you for making me enjoy it.

Addie LaRue did what she was always taught not to. First, she allowed herself to dream and in these dreams she was free and belonged to no man. Second, she made a deal with the things that haunt the moonlit hours. The one led from the other and now Addie is a free thing but also a cursed one. She enjoys immortality and is tethered to no other human, but is doomed to be forgotten by all at the very moment she is removed from sight.

This gloomy, atmospheric, slow-burn, and intensely sorrowful storyline spoke to my whole heart. There were few glimmers of happiness presented, and each that was capable of glowing through the surrounding despondency were still dulled with the promise of future heartache. But whilst little cause for celebration occurred, the good and the kind and the hopeful, that resided in each of these central characters, continued to shine strongly through. These elements were what became the guiding lights when the ever-present sorrow threatening to descend and cover all.

This is definitely one of my favourite read of 2020. This book was so beautiful and poetic.
Schwab writes so beautifully and every quote feels worthy of keeping. I love Schwab’s books because I always fall headfirst into them, she has a way to make you feel everything, to make you live her books. And this one feels so intimate, it makes you yearn, it makes you crave tenderness, it makes you want to be known, to be remembered.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab

I am here today with my review of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, which was one of my most anticipated reads for the whole year. And tbh it has been since I first heard Vee talk about it a couple of years ago. Honestly, I had high hopes for this book! The copy I read for this review was a free e-galley from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Synopsis from Goodreads

My thoughts

Okay, so I forgot to mention above but this is the second time I have read this book this year, and wow, was it worth the wait. The language in this book was super lyrical and honestly gave me major Morgenstern vibes. Anyone who knows me will know I absolutely adore The Night Circus and The Starless Sea (basically I love anything that Erin writes). So for me, this book won my heart instantly. I guess what most people are surprised about is how little happens in this book. We travel through history with Addie, seeing events through her eyes and point of view after she sells her soul to the devil.

Adeline LaRue

Addie has quickly become a character who I see a lot in myself - someone who finds it difficult to make an impact on someone’s life. We learn in those early pages how much Addie wants to see the world, and how she doesn’t want a small-town life to get in the way of that. So, one night, Addie prays to someone that she has been warned to stay away from, and her life is never the same again.

Throughout the book we see Addie become resilient and look for ways to make her survival that little bit easier. However, there are times that we see how vulnerable she is, and how much pain she goes through. We see how the limitations of the deal affect how she is, and we see her grow up as a person.

Luc

Luc is one of those characters that you really dislike when you first meet him, but you realise that he can actually be quite sweet. And then you realise that he is an entity with no human emotions and go back to feeling indifferent about him. I’ve got a love-hate relationship with Luc, but I guess as a creative, I feel somewhat vulnerable when I read the chapters with him in the book. Hell, I can understand why someone would pray for success and infamy.

For me, Luc symbolises how little people care when it comes to making a sacrifice, and that there is always a catch when you are dealing with a creature like Luc. Luc is everything that people want to be, and I think that’s why I am wary about him, because he knows he is powerful, and he doesn’t hide it. I’ve just never really seen the attraction to him because I guess I feel like I’d be one of those lining up to sell my soul.

Henry

I love Henry more than words can say. Henry is kind and thoughtful and really I just want to protect him from everything. The first time I read Addie I cried when we found out his story, because it just hit so close to home. When I was at university I didn’t feel like the storms would pass, and I just wanted so much to tell him that everything is okay.

The most part, however, that resonated with me was the idea that time is going too quickly and we can’t do everything that we want to do. This idea that by X years you need to do this, and Y years you need to do that. Henry makes me realise that I need to sit down and reassess, because time shouldn’t be a measure of when you should have things done by. I don’t know, I guess I’m just sad that we didn’t get more time with Henry.

Time as a theme

I don’t really talk about themes when I write my reviews, but time is such a key part of this book that I feel like I had to mention it. It’s almost funny how Addie almost lives the same day over and over again, feeling like time isn’t passing at all. And Henry feels like time is slipping through his fingers. His fear that he doesn’t have enough time to do everything is a real fear, especially to Millennials, and as Henry is 29, his worries are mirrored in a lot of people around the globe. I just found it interesting that Victoria managed to bring together two people who viewed time completely differently.

Criticisms

With a book like this, which I have praised so much, I need to acknowledge the negatives. Firstly, this book is very euro-centric. Addie has the opportunity to travel anywhere in the world, and see anything, and she sticks to countries who have a majority white population. We could see Addie travel to Africa, Asia, India, so many different countries. I just find it awkward that she speaks about seeing tigers and elephants when they are in captivity, and she could easily see them in the wild.

Her privilege isn’t something she sees. As a white woman who makes her life stealing from innocent people (yes I know she’s invisible), I just feel like this should be something commented on. If Addie was a woman of colour, would she fid it so easy to be invisible? It’s not something that I picked up when reading the first time but reading it the second time it was something that I couldn’t ignore.

Overall thoughts

I know this isn’t a perfect book, and is typically for white people, but I really did enjoy it. Even highlighting the negative aspects, I feel like this is one of my favourite books. For some reason it reminds me of classics like Pride and Prejudice and Anna Karenina, where you go on a journey with the characters, and while not a lot happens, you just want the best for them. I’ll end my review on a final note, and say I keep dreaming of owning a bookshop with a Ginger cat, so if a devil in the dark wants to pay me a visit, I’m listening.

Until next time!

Bee xo

This is hands down one of the best books I’ve ever read. I knew I would love it, being a fan of V. E. Schwab already, but from the story, to the characters, the writing style to the prose, the dialogue to the plot twists, it just… it was everything. Anyway, let’s get into my spoiler free (attempted) review of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab.

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

Content warnings: payment for sex, drug abuse, starvation, alcohol as a coping mechanism, depression, attempted suicide, violence

Firstly, this is not the kind of story you may have come to expect from V. It is much slower paced, with far less fantastical elements, though not completely free of them of course. While there is a conflict and resolution, the majority of the story is simply following Addie through her life.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is told from multiple perspectives, which I didn’t actually expect initially but felt worked really well. The story also follows multiple timelines as we go back and forth from present day at the time of the story (2014) back to the 1700s when Addie first makes the deal. Personally I felt that this approach enriched the story, enabling us to view things three dimensionally and really go on this journey with her.

“Ideas are wilder than memories. And I can be wild. I can be stubborn as the weeds, and you will not root me out.”

Addie starts her life in the remote countryside of France, a young woman at the turn of a century that would bring about a development of technology and life. Not ready to live the life expected of her in this time, often finding herself compared to her more ‘traditional’ peers, Addie decides to pray to the Old Gods. Not realising that night had come, Addie unknowingly reaches a dark God, or, the “devil”.

There were moments of pure joy, but also there were moments of real heartbreak. There comes a point where Addie starts to realise the extent of her deal, when those she held close no longer recognise or remember her, and so she must start to navigate this new world and life as an invisible person. Because of the limitations this deal offers her, Addie has to do things to survive which really did hit me hard.

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

Having only ever ventured to another small town before, this new life bestowed upon Addie grants her the ability to experience everything she may want to. However, for the first large portion of the story, Addie remains in France itself. It was interesting to me to see the portrayal of a character who doesn’t want “The Big Adventure”, as has become commonplace in narratives today. As Sarah Maria Griffin, author of Other Words For Smoke and Spare and Found parts, said in a virtual interview with V, Addie is the “slowest and saddest time traveller”.

While V has discussed how she chose France and America due to familial ties, current and historic, I do think it’s fair to say that in her extended time Addie could have visited more distant places and learned about other cultures in some way, rather than remaining in largely white countries. It does tie in with how Addie just wants to live rather than explore, but I do think it is a valid point to make and agree with other reviewers who have also raised this.

I loved seeing her growth and development through the years, the workarounds she found and the tentative relationships she attempted to form. Despite understanding her limitations more, Addie of the 21st century, 300 years old and hardened almost by time, still doesn’t know everything and that was intriguing to me.

“Do not mistake this – any of it – for kindness, Adeline.” His eyes go bright with mischief. “I simply want to be the one who breaks you.”

The relationship between Addie and Luc, the “devil” who granted the deal was so complex and interesting. I loved seeing their dynamic shift and change as the story developed. He really was the pettiest, which to an extent I had to admire, but also I have a real bad habit of searching for redeeming qualities in evil characters. Tall, dark, handsome? Could I maybe forgive everything for just those three qualities? Am I really that shallow? I mean no, but they help.

Ahh Henry, probably my favourite character but one that I can’t speak too much about because he’s pretty integral to the story. A bookseller with a cat, I knew I would love him right away. But more than this, I related to Henry on so many levels. He felt as though he was living his life way behind all of his peers, saying that “everyone else is a now a mile down the road” and he’s “still trying to find it”. Yep, I feel that.

In a recent online book event, V describes how Henry is lost in all the ways she felt she would have been lost if she hadn’t found writing, which makes his character even more meaningful to me.

“Her grip tightens around his, and his tightens back, and they hold on until it hurts, as if any minute someone might try to pull them apart, as if the other might slip free, and disappear.”

While The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue very much revolves around the three characters of Addie, Henry and Luc, the characters that we meet along the way feel like fully fledged protagonists themselves, another example of V’s exceptional talent for writing. We may only see a snippet of these characters, Addie carries their memories with her forever, again contributing to the tangible feel of the story. While nobody can remember Addie, of course Addie always remembers them.

Another element of the characters that I loved was that so many, in fact more like the majority, of them were LGBTQ+. While I can’t comment on the accuracy, there is pan, gay, bisexual, lesbian and queer rep throughout, including our three main characters.

This book took so many twists and turns that I devoured the book in a short few days, and while it is a fairly long book (around 560 pages) I was gripped from beginning to end. A few friends had already read the book by the time I started reading it and I was just screaming at them in WhatsApp groups and they screamed back.

“He may be a sun, but she is a shining comet, dragging their focus like burning meteors in her wake.”

I realise from reading over my review that this sounds like a sad book. Well yes, there are a lot of deep moments and it definitely made me cry. But it’s so much MORE than that. It’s an exploration of life: the moments and memories that you leave behind, and the impact that you have on people no matter how small or insignificant you might think. Despite not necessarily being influenced massively by all types of art myself, I really appreciated how Addie found ways to be remembered through various mediums and how these were incorporated into the finished copies.

Honestly I fear I will never be able to write a concise and well-worded review of this book? I honestly believe that you should go into this book knowing almost nothing about the plot, and let V take you on a journey. Addie’s journey, and a journey for yourself too as you are opened up to this absolutely breathtaking piece of art.

“And this, he decides, is what a good-bye should be. Not a period, but an ellipsis, a statement trailing off, until someone is there to pick it up. It is a door left open. It is drifting off to sleep. And he tells himself he is not afraid.”

I am in absolute awe of V’s imagination and storytelling, I honestly don’t know what more I can say. Addie is packed with beautiful and lyrical writing, magical storytelling and such thorough and well done world building. I felt as though I was walking the world by Addie’s side.

Thank you so much for reading my review of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab. I know it’s been a long one but I still don’t feel like I’ve done nearly enough. It’s like nothing I have read before and I think it’ll be a long, long time until I read anything like it again. Please, please read this book. I mean, I had five or six pre orders at one point, I think that says it all!

Addie LaRue, a woman who prayed to the Gods who answer after dark. A woman who sold her soul in exchange for freedom.
Addie, in order to escape a forced marriage, asks the Gods to grant her freedom and independence. But all deals come with a price. Unfortunately, for Addie, it meant to be forgotten by every person she ever meets. For 300 years Addie has been living in stolen clothes, borrowed house, and an abundance of memories. And yet, one day she meets a person at a bookstore who remembers her after their first encounter.

Addie LaRue is based on what the character preaches in the story - ideas are powerful than memories. Addie's desperation and pain could be felt, emanating from the very page it was written upon. Her struggles, countless heartbreaks, and survival strategies, it all came together to build a character each of us would feel for.

Other than a few qualms, such as the repetitiveness of the prose, this story is a heartbreaker. Addie's interaction with the people in her life, especially the ones she fell in love with, is pure and raw. Schwab knows how to tap the right emotions. The touch of evil here and there added a texture to the story, giving it a brilliance that doesn't go unnoticed. Henry's story, however, felt forced. I expected something Wicked and cunning, so that's on me.

Addie is loved, used, abused, and hurt, but her determination in the face of it all is fabulous. She stands by her choices despite the pain. And pain? Dear Lord. This book has a lot of that.

'The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue' is sunshine after a stormy night but as a reader, you'll have to face the storm that Addie's life is, in order to come to terms with the hope that is realistic and devastating.

For some reason this book took me a very long time to get through, but don’t let that fool you into thinking This isn't a book for snatching the odd few pages on your commute or lunch break, this book deserves your full attention - I wanted to sit down in front of the fire with my hot chocolate, sink into the author’s writing and escape into Addie’s incredible world. It may be too soon to say, but I think this book has jumped right into my all-time favourites.

Spanning over 300 years and multiple continents, this is the story of Addie LaRue. A fiercely independent young girl living in 16th century rural France, she finds herself forced into marriage at the age of 23 and out of desperation for freedom and more time to discover the world, she stumbles into a deal with the devil to escape her arranged marriage. Granted immortality she gets plenty more time, but there’s a catch. Everyone she meets is destined to forget her, photographs of her never come out, she cannot write or paint or even say her own name - she is visible but forgettable, and unable to leave a mark on the world.

Addie gets by slipping between places, stealing from people who will forget her as soon as she walks out of the door. Until after many long, lonely centuries, she steals a book from a New York book store, but her plan backfires when the boy who works there remembers her.

Three words, large enough to tip the world. I remember you.

He is Henry Strauss, and he seems to be the one mistake in the devil’s deal, her one chance at love. But the devil’s in the detail - and he’s not going to let her off their 300-year dalliance so easily.

I’ve previously ready Schwab’s Shades Of Magic series and loved it, but this book is on a whole other level - the writing differs so much for me it’s hard to believe it came from the same author. It may be because this is an adult release, but the prose is more poetic and impressionistic than anything I’d from the author read before.

The story alternates between ‘present day’ 2014 New York, and Addie’s adventures and escapades across the centuries spanning Paris, Germany, New Orleans, rubbing shoulders with everyone from aristocrats to impoverished artists, witnessing wars, emerging technologies and more. It’s a fun, escapist read, but there are emotional undertones throughout. Through a brilliantly diverse cast of characters, the author touches on depression and substance abuse, and the abstract concept of loneliness explores what it means to be living.

This book spans genres but at its heart it is a romance above all else, and I think it’s important for readers to understand that before they start, or they may risk being disappointed. For me it feels reminiscent of how I felt the first time I read The Time Traveller’s Wife which became a firm favourite of mine back at the time - but now, I think this is better. Read it, get lost in Addie and Henry’s world, and enjoy.

Any quotes used are from the Netgalley eARC (UK) and are subject to change in the final/published version of the book.

“Am I The Devil Or The Dark? Am I A Monster Or A God?”
The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue, by VE Schwab is a sweeping and mesmerising fantasy about life and what it means to belong, what it means to love and what it means to live.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Synopsis: Addie LaRue learned the hard way that you should “Never Pray To The Gods That Answer After Dark.” In a small town in France in 1714, Addie LaRue prayed to the Old Gods, but the sun had set and the darkness answered. In desperation she makes a deal, a deal to let her live, to be free. But the dark is clever and grants her immortality with a consequence – Addie LaRue is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. But how far will she go to leave a trace, an echo of her presence? Addie wants someone to remember her but what is her limit? She has lived for 300 years and in 2014 in a little bookshop in New York, for the first time since she made a deal, someone remembers her.

So, as many of you know by now I have only read one other book by VE Schwab and that was ADSOM Book 1 (I do plan to read the rest of the series – I just haven’t yet!) Now, this book, however, is completely different from ADSOM in terms of audience and writing style and I was completely drawn in.

However, I do want to point out one thing about The Invisible Life Of Addie Larue, by VE Schwab, its marketing led me to misunderstand the plot a little. The book is marketed in a couple of ways: Firstly attention is drawn to the fact that this is a story about a girl who makes a deal with the devil only to be cursed (And it is most certainly that – and I truly loved this part).

But, the second element of marketing was that this is a love story between the Addie and the devil who cursed her – yes this is touched upon but it is far from the core of the story which was a little disappointing because I wanted an antagonist/protagonist relationship. The romantic focus is on a different male character, with the devil and Addie’s ‘romance’ being pushed into hints and flashbacks instead – it is there but not as expected. Now I actually did enjoy the course the story took, I loved it, I was just initially a little dismayed.

So my waffling aside, overall I really enjoyed The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue, by VE Schwab so let’s dive into why.

The Writing Style/Narrative: Right from the start this book grabbed me, and it never let go. VE Schwab’s writing is simply beautiful in this book, it is lyrical and poetic with mesmerising descriptions and a melancholy that just appeals to you. The prose flows very well throughout the book, the pace is slow but doesn’t dawdle or fall flat, and the narrative is engaging – the use of repetition and the flitting contrasts and duality made the story seem magical but also real and something we can relate to.

I loved how the story is told through both the past and the present, I enjoyed how we got to follow Addie just before she makes her deal, and the immediate consequences of it, as well as following her in the modern day as she has learned to live with the deal and its rules. The duality of the timelines was incredibly effective in showing Addie’s development and slowly revealing the full complexity of her deal and its consequences. The development of time allows us to see Addie grow and deal with an ever-changing world in which she is constant – it creates a sense of wonder but also a longing and sadness; it draws perfectly on our need to be remembered, to leave our mark on the world and what would happen if we couldn’t.

We also get, later on in the book, chapters from the main male character’s POV. The inclusion of these chapters is effective and impactful in exploring the theme of wanting to be loved, wanting to be enough. I really enjoyed these chapters and thought they complimented Addie’s well.

The Story/Plot: Addie LaRue is a brilliant story perfect for people like me who adore character driven plots. The story follows Addie after she makes a deal with the devil, with the darkness, to be free from the constraints of her current life so she can truly live – the dark’s price is her soul. The dark is tricky and wants Addie’s soul as soon as possible so he gifts he immortality but with a curse, that she will be forgotten by everyone she meets, and Addie must live with the consequences or hand her soul over. I loved the story which navigates the loopholes and rules that pertain to Addie’s curse – watching how she desperately tries to leave some mark of who she is on the world so she is not truly forgotten – it was a compelling read that played on our deep desire to be remembered even if it is just by one person, by someone we love.

The second part of the story deals with Addie and her love interest, the only person who can remember her. It was captivating watching them fall in love and live life together navigating the difficulties that came with their relationship alongside the curse and the devil’s own interference – this element played on our desire to be loved, to be enough for those around us – complimenting our need to be remembered beautifully. Both elements truly gave this book a deep, emotional element that enthralled and captured you right up until the end.

Finally, we deal with Addie and the dark. I really loved the tricky relationship they had, the tricks and challenges, the ‘game’ they played. I also adored the relationship aspect that came into play, about whether what they had was love or obsession, it was clever, trickstery and enjoyable to watch it play out, to be forced to pay attention to the words they spoke.

I can’t say too much more about the actual story without spoiling it but I also loved the way stories, music, and art came into play as such a core idea of the plot – art, in all forms, is beautiful and outlasts its creators but it also keeps the artist alive, it is an imprint, an echo, and tapestry of their lives, souls and stories and this book beautifully displays this idea. The appreciation for what we create, for how we are remembered in the long run was essential to the story but was also a bewitching idea that runs deep in ourselves and made it all the more relatable.

“…it is sad, of course, to forget.
But it is a lonely thing, to be forgotten.
To remember when no one else does.”
The core of this story was very human despite the fantastical elements because what do we want more than to matter, To be remembered by those we love and those who love us?

Overall, I loved the story, it had a lot of surprising twists and turns, shocking reveals and elements and was, on the whole, a compelling and captivating tale that hit deeply.

The Characters. I absolutely loved the cast of characters present in this book, it is also a very diverse cast with multiple poc and lgbtq+ characters throughout the story. I loved the diversity, and the individuality brought by each character, they are all distinctive with their own personalities, they are all flawed and messy and real, they were all brilliant. Every character came to life, they had strong interests, motivations and beliefs – and they all had believeable and real relationships with each other which was fun and fascinating to read about.

Addie. Our wonderful main character has a lot of development and makes a lot of changes throughout the story, she is realistically written, despite the immortal curse, and is flawed but dynamic. Addie grows and changes along with her story, she is incredibly complex because she grows confident and impulsive but then will begin to be more considerate – she lives life after her initial struggles but still grapples with the fact that no-one can remember her. Her character is complex without becoming paradoxical and her motivations are clear over the course of the story. She makes good and bad decisions, but all within a realistic realm. I really grew to love Addie and her desperation to be remembered, her wit and smarts, her charm – I just loved the character the more the story went on.

The Dark. The devil/God, whatever name you want to give him, I like to call him the Dark (he does have a name later on but I’m not going to tell you it!). Ooh how I loved this evil, manipulative yet charming demon/devil/god! The dark is complex character but his wit, charm and determination is incredibly captivating and watching him play and compete with Addie is intriguing – he is cruel, there is no doubt, but there is something more to him that draws you in. His supposed love with Addie, which may be obsession or possessive behaviour makes him hard to love but there is an element to him that draws on you. His character is mysterious and clever and is a fascinating antagonist to read about.

Henry. The boy who remembers Addie. Henry is sweet, nerdy, charming – again is complex he seems to have little ambition or determination but there is a charm to him. Henry is a great and interesting character that you will fall more in love with as the story goes on. He and Addie have an interesting, dynamic relationship which is sweet, funny and interesting to watch grow and change along with the plot. I won’t say much more about Henry, but his story takes some very interesting turns that I loved to watch play out.

There are MANY more characters I could discuss, all of which are fantastic in their own right but too spoilery to talk too much about. But I loved them and I hope you do too! OI also loved the way they meet Addie, the repetition the feel that ‘there is something timeless’ about her and her constellation of seven freckles.

Overall, The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue, by VE Schwab is a beautifully, compelling and captivating story that is fantastical, but very real and human. It is filled with great characters, an intriguing ending, dynamic relationships and a tricky game of wits and wills between Addie and the Dark. It is a slow character-driven story but it is one that gripped my heart.

*I received an eARC of this from #netgalley #Titanbooks in exchange for an honest review – thank you!*