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The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

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The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab follows the story of Addie, a young woman who makes a deal with the devil to escape a forced marriage, granting her immortality but with the curse of being forgotten by everyone she meets. Spanning 300 years, the book explores Addie's journey through history as she struggles to leave her mark on the world and be remembered. The narrative weaves themes of love, loss, time, and the desire for recognition, creating a poignant and thought-provoking exploration of the human experience.

The book is praised for its enthralling and creative storytelling that seamlessly blends past and present, highlighting the importance of being seen and appreciated. Readers are drawn into Addie's world, captivated by the lush descriptions of settings, the well-developed characters, and the exploration of complex themes such as loneliness, memory, and the desire for immortality. The writing style is described as beautiful, eloquent, and engaging, with the author skillfully examining the nuances of love, possession, promises, and the yearning to be remembered.

Characters:

The characters are richly developed, with Addie as a strong female lead whose resilience is tested through her long, lonely existence.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is poetic and evocative, filled with rich descriptions that enhance the emotional impact of Addie's journey.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot centers around Addie LaRue's deal with a god that grants her immortality but causes her to be forgotten by everyone she encounters, exploring themes of existence and the search for meaning.

Setting:

The setting traverses time from 17th century France to modern-day New York City, creating a rich backdrop for Addie's journey.

Pacing:

The pacing fluctuates, starting slowly but gaining momentum as the story unfolds across different timelines.
She lies there, perfectly still, tries to hold time like a breath in her chest; as if she can keep the clock from ticking forward, keep the boy beside her from waking, keep the memory of their night a...

Notes:

The story begins in 1714 in a small French village named Villon sur Sarthe.
Adeline LaRue prays to any god willing to help her escape a forced marriage.
She makes a Faustian bargain with a dark god, which has unforeseen consequences.
Addie becomes immortal but is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets as soon as they turn away from her.
She lives as a thief, muse, and spy across Europe for three centuries before arriving in New York.
Addie's life spans over 300 years, encountering different cultures and historical events.
The book explores themes of identity, memory, love, and what it means to leave a mark on the world.
Addie's relationship with Henry becomes pivotal when he is the one person who can remember her.
The narrative captures the poignancy of loneliness and the desire to be remembered.
The book features multiple references to art, with Addie's interactions serving as inspiration for various artists throughout history.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Content warnings for the book include themes of loneliness, existential crisis, and discussion of suicide.

Has Romance?

The novel contains a significant romantic subplot, exploring the complexity of love between the main character, Addie, and others.

From The Publisher:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

USA TODAY BESTSELLER

NATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER

THE WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER

Recommended by Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple, NPR, Slate, and Oprah Magazine

#1 Library Reads Pick-October 2020

#1 Indie Next Pick-October 2020

BOOK OF THE YEAR (2020) FINALIST-Book of The Month Club

A "Best Of" Book From: Oprah Mag * CNN * Amazon * Amazon Editors * NPR * Goodreads * Bustle * PopSugar * BuzzFeed * Barnes & Noble * Kirkus Reviews * Lambda Literary * Nerdette * The Nerd Daily * Polygon * Library Reads * io9 * Smart Bitches Trashy Books * LiteraryHub * Medium * BookBub * The Mary Sue * Chicago Tribune * NY Daily News * SyFy Wire * Powells.com * Bookish * Book Riot * Library Reads Voter Favorite *

In the vein of The Time Traveler's Wife and Life After Life, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is New York Times bestselling author V. E. Schwab's genre-defying tour de force.

A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever-and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.

Ratings (574)

Incredible (143)
Loved It (182)
Liked It (126)
It Was OK (58)
Did Not Like (55)
Hated It (10)

Reader Stats (1178):

Read It (588)
Currently Reading (14)
Want To Read (424)
Did Not Finish (40)
Not Interested (112)

22 comment(s)

Incredible
1 day

Beautiful writting. Poetic.

 
Hated It
1 week

I started this book back in December, and I am officially deciding to not finish it. At a glance, the plot seems interesting, however, I finished almost half of it and I felt like I was still reading exposition, that quite frankly, made a promising premise into a boring chore to read.

 
Incredible
1 week

Oh Addie LlaRue I'll always remember you!

This was such an amazing book. It had me hooked on the life of the characters and their deal with a devil (?) I feelt for the characters in a way I rarely do in books and truly moved me. And the ending! Wow just wow. Don't want to say anything about in case I spoil it. But if your not moved by the ending then I'm sorry to say but your heart is made of stone!

 
It Was OK
1 month

I don't know how I truly feel about this book. It's my first Schwab book, though I have many on my TBR because she makes interesting premises. I started and paused this book 5 times in the lapse of 18 months because it was just boring at times.

I really loved and was surprised by some parts of it, the going back and forth between places and years made me anxious at times, when I was invested and then the narration pulled me away to a different setting, just to go back 2 chapters later.

Some twists were awesome and I think I would appreciate it more on a re-read after knowing the characters better and their struggles/experiencies. BUT the ending felt very underwhelming to me, one that I would understand if there was a sequel but for a stand-alone it feels inconcluse.

After everything Addie and Henry go through, I felt they deserved to go with a blast, not a quiet flame and a nostalgic book. Which, now I talk about them together, I never felt the romance flow. Like I UNDERSTAND we should ship their relationship because they finally found each other and it's everything they ever wanted... BUT it always felt like they only wanted each other because they filled their premade ideal partner, not because of anything in the (short) time they had together.

Then, as a morally grey lover, I WANTED so bad to fall for Luc, he was intriguing, tortured/lonely, misunderstood, bla bla; but it NEVER went deeper than that, we know of 300 years of their time together (on and off) and not a single toe-curling moment where Addie explains her feelings, which are conflicting for obvious reasons but sound shallow/superficial (like everything she tells us).

I wanted to connect with the characters but never found a right fit. Maybe on a future re-read the rating will improve, we'll see

 
Did Not Like
2 months

2.5*

 
It Was OK
3 months

***3.0***

Alert: The writing is not usual V E Schwab style.

Adeline makes a deal with a dark god to give her soul in exchange of her life to be lead on her terms and not others. But the words, meaning twisted makes her forgettable, Adeline wont be remembered by anyone and she can't leave her mark or legacy in this world.

It takes a bit of time to get a hang of this style of living as no one remembers her, Addie is not able to possess anything and she has to live in the moment. Addie lives through different era's and after 300 years she meets a person who remembers her. But is he real? Or is this a game?

The narrative goes back and forth between past and present. The plot was real good and some parts were real real good that I was totally immersed. But other parts especially the middle part felt repetitive and draggy. The story wanders around between poetic prose which a bit more than necessary. Otherwise it was a great read with strong plot and characters.

I would not categorize it under YA or Adult YA, but its sure Adult Fantasy.

Happy Reading!!!

 
Liked It
3 months

I liked this, especially the premise of it, but I did not love it like a lot of my friends. I was confused by the main character. She seemed to be very into traveling and experiencing life as a young child, open to different cultures and religions, but after she makes the deal, she is pretty boring for 300 years. Also, why did she stay in such Western cultures? The entire world is hers! She honestly didn't do much, and the parts of history covered were surprisingly dull....hanging out in Paris salons and showing up at art events and operas. Why was she so scared to move? She is immortal! She only seems to switch countries when Luc drops her off someplace new.

I found the Henry character to be more interesting and sympathetic.

I also didn't understand the romance aspect of the main character and Luc whatsoever. Nor really why the romance with Henry seemed so pure and strong and then just out of the blue seemed to fizzle out?

There was some beautiful prose in this, but I just wanted it to end. There were moments of true emotion at the end with Henry's story and contemplation of his life and upcoming death, but it was too little too late at that point. That being said, I am a fan of this author and preferred her "Shades of Magic" series.

 
Did Not Like
3 months

it did not hold my interest.

 
Incredible
3 months

Just finished and I'm not sure how I feel. The story is beautiful but so sad. Gotta digest a bit.

 
Liked It
4 months

I liked the first half of the book, and then felt that the author lost track of where the story was going. Still good and entertaining, but I found the second half of the story and ending a bit predictable and lackluster.

 
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About the Author:

VICTORIA "V. E." SCHWAB is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books, including the acclaimed Shades of Magic series, the Villains series, This Savage Song, and Our Dark Duet. Her work has received critical acclaim, been featured in the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Washington Post and more, been translated into more than a dozen languages, and has been optioned for television and film. When she's not haunting Paris streets or trudging up English hillsides, she lives in Edinburgh, Scotland and is usually tucked in the corner of a coffee shop, dreaming up monsters.

 
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