Reviews tagging 'War'

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

318 reviews

manyofmae's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: War and Sexual violence

peggy_racham's review against another edition

5.0

"If it cannot be love, well, then, at least it is not lonely."

Angry women, gods you shouldn't pray to and an intriguing answer to the question: what would you do with forever?
The answer is nobody wants to be immortal.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Death, Grief, Misogyny, Mental illness, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, and War

nclausel25's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual content, Death, and Abandonment

Minor: War and Suicide

ghost_cat99's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: War

zypeee's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

3.75

A lonely story of a girl who makes a deal with the devil. Bouncing back and forth across history until history and present intersect. The first half was compelling but as the pages passed I found myself waiting for something to happen. Waiting. Waiting. And nothing ever does. It started sad. It ended sad. 

Still, I’d say it was a pleasant read. Probably some major life lessons about time and relationships and being careful what you wish for, that will linger long after the details of the book fade. 

Reader beware. Big trigger warnings if that’s a thing you look for or avoid. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Suicide attempt

jessicadoom's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I've put off reading this book for so long. Everyone would tell me they loved it with all their heart. That it became their favorite book after they read it. (Except my sister, who simply described it as "okay.) Hearing that kind of praise always intimidates me. I'm worried it won't live up to the hype and that somehow I'm going to disappoint my loved ones if I don't love their favorite books.

(Can you tell I'm a chronic people pleaser?)

But, we're moving soon and I'm trying to work on my physical TBR. With that, I'm trying books that I'm not sure I'll love enough to keep. This fit the bill, and the audiobook was available on Hoopla. So, I dove in.

For the first, oh, three-quarters or so of the book, I was in love. I couldn't wait to see where the narrators took us. How would their stories end? And, with this, I begun writing my own ending to their stories in my hopeful little head. (Writers....)

This is not the ending we received, however. I hit part six and all of a sudden my mood towards this book shifted a bit. Yes, the writing was still beautiful. No one can say that the style of this novel isn't lyrical, poetic, artistic, etc. However, the plot (or lack thereof) took me to a place I wasn't ready to go. So, we ended at a solid four out of five instead of that glorious five stars I planned to issue.

The highlights for me were the blatant queerness of both narrators, the history we were able to witness through Addie's eyes, and the small reveals that really did help to drive the book forward. Would I read it again? Probably not. But I'm certainly not upset that I did give this one a try. It just might not be something I take with me to my next home library.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual content, War, and Stalking

questionable ability to consent, plot? what plot?

eedle_cacleberry's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Death

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Drug use and War

juan_adhd_reading's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I have never cried as much with any book as this one, and this is not hyperbole. This was such a lovely story; beautifully written; and it was fantastic, sad, epic, everything I expected it to be and still managed to surprise me. It is probably one of V.E. Schwab’s best works and the reason she will forever be my favorite author. 
I have nothing else to say for now, as I just have finished the story. Will probably come back soon to write a full review, but for now I feel completely satisfied and very hopeful about the ending. Highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, War, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Grief, and Abandonment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

jourdanicus's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

What... was this book about? So much breath and hardly any depth. There was so much beautiful prose that I started becoming desensitized to the language, and couldn't appreciate it anymore. I couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to relate to or sometimes even understand the characters' motivations, and the lack of depth of the magic/lore of the world left me wanting.

If you are a light reader and this is the only book you read in a year, it could be good. But this one just wasn't for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Minor: Drug use, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War

claire_leibovitz's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Alcoholism

Minor: War and Biphobia