Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

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

52 reviews

parfait52's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

3.5

This book barely has a plot. It is almost entirely a character study that then adds an additional smaller character study later on. If the writing were not as effortless and beautiful as it is, I probably wouldn't have finished this book. It was kind of tedious to read through over 400 pages of exposition and flashbacks and ponderings. The plot points that do exist are all very predictable and played out, so there wasn't really anything there to tantalize or excite. And I also can't exactly tell if this banal disappointment betrayed the book's themes or exemplified them. The characters were all fairly interesting and likeable and real (within the setting), with Henry being a personal highlight for me.

If you enjoy reading gorgeous, languid writing that feels almost burdensome at times, with some insightful peeks into the mind of an unfortunate soul, this is the book for you. If you enjoy a clear plot with characters that are revealed through actions instead of long ramblings, this is not the book for you. Ultimately, I am glad that I read this book but I probably wouldn't want to do it again. Kind of like life itself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Sexual content, Grief, Alcohol, Drug use, War, Death, Abandonment, and Stalking

Minor: Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Confinement, and Cursing

skygray's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual assault and Cursing

marissasa's review against another edition

mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I loved the start and central premise of this book - a woman's desperate plea to the gods in search of freedom from a life where she would belong to someone else is only answered by a devil in the dark, and she accepts a deal as her only way out. She receives immortality, for the price of her soul and the catch that no one will ever be able to remember her and she cannot leave her own mark on the world. However, the rest of the book that followed was lackluster to me. V.E. Schwab writes beautifully with rich descriptions and atmosphere, but the plot ached along so slowly and I never found Addie compelling or interesting enough to root for her. She had her clever moments, but that's a bare minimum trait for any person who lived for 3 centuries and remembered and learned from every day of it. I didn't find Henry super compelling either and didn't enjoy them as a couple since the only reason they liked each other was because he was the only one who remembered her, and she was the only one who wasn't already affected by his deal to be loved. The best character in the story was Luc, and we didn't get to see much of him until the last 10% of the book when the plot really picked up. Although I liked the beginning and the ending, the story overall left me wanting more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Violence, Mental illness, Cursing, Suicide attempt, War, Alcohol, and Confinement

bebidocrimes's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

This was the first time I really gave audiobooks a chance and I really enjoyed it! There were a couple chapters I zoned out during and hope I didn't miss anything important, but overall it was nice to be able the multitask while reading. For once, Bookstagram gave me a book worth reading, this was fantastic. I like how Addie looked into the dark and said I Will Cause Problems On Purpose. Bee, please marry me. Shout-out to M/F Bi4Bi representation.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Abandonment, and Suicide attempt

the_books_music_life's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

The invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a love letter to/for artists of every kind. This book holds so much in it’s pages, not just a story of a girl who made a deal; but of grief, guilt, stubbornness, love and loss, power dynamics and struggles of everyday life.

Addie LaRue might be one of my favorite characters ever written. She is stubborn, wise, loves with her whole heart and tries to make the best out of bad situations and has grown stronger because of it. She makes mistakes but she shows growth from those mistakes, she takes responsibility for them and while she may regret them she doesn’t wallow in the unfairness of it all.

The prose in The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is so incredibly beautiful and the many, many, many quotes I’ve tagged in this book that made me feel something or made me think could fill up a whole other book.

Every character -no matter if it’s a main character, a side character, or a character we meet once- is written like a real person. They have wants, needs, problems, passions and you hardly ever see that in a book. Especially one that spans over so much time as Addie’s story does.

I don't think I have the words to express my thoughts on this book, not really. This book touched something in me and broke something in me; if my 10 minute cry fest at the end of the book says anything.

I will admit I’ve restarted this book 3 times, but it has absolutely nothing to do with the story itself, I’ve just been getting over a reading slump and I still have my moments where I don’t read for a bit and I forget and have to start over. Which I honestly don’t mind because I really love what I’ve read (3 times so far 😂) so far. 

I love the narrator of the audiobook, she does a wonderful job and the fact she can speak and can do a french accent is perfect. (I don’t know if the narrator is in fact French or not)

Overall I would recommend this book a million times over and it deserves all the awards in my opinion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Grief, Addiction, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Cursing, Sexism, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Classism, War, Self harm, Violence, Mental illness, and Biphobia

minor prostitution, attempted rape,

bentobookdragon11's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Addiction

Minor: Toxic relationship, War, Death, Torture, and Blood

*the darkness/devil/LOWER CASE G god*

sefab764's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.5

I think this was a great concept and overall it was an entertaining read. It did drag in some places but Adeline's passion for art and the cruel realities she experiences gave lots of emotional depth that pulled at my heartstrings. It glossed over some details I felt should've been explored more over what was brought to the forefront but I read it in one day and would revisit it, perhaps for an anniversary ;) 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism

Minor: Blood, Chronic illness, Classism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, War, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Grief

hannahwhiteyy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious slow-paced

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

4.0

This book, while I think it was overhyped, was a really good read. I loved reading Addie’s history, and was even rooting for Luc in the end.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Cursing

Minor: Sexual content, War, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Biphobia, and Abandonment

cutepatzie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-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

Intresting book with amazing feamale main character. Amazaing book that remind us what is the most important in life. And how powerful can memory be, the name and love in our life.  And how dreaming big is important like also our belive in ourselves and not beiong afraid of trying to be the best version of ourselves. And being afraid of dreaming big.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Kidnapping, Blood, Death of parent, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, War, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Misogyny

Minor: Trafficking, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

aplain's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

2.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Drug use, Death, and Drug abuse