Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

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

76 reviews

epellicci's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

5.0

I'm incredibly grateful to the friend who recommended I read this book. What a story. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is clever and heartbreaking and playful and beautiful. It made me cry, and it reminded me the importance of looking for moments of beauty and wonder every day. An unforgettable masterpiece.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Gaslighting, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Sexual assault

kelly_e's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-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

4.0

Title: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Author: V.E. Schwab
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: October 6, 2020

T H R E E • W O R D S

Imaginative • Quiet • Tragic

📖 S Y N O P S I S

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.

💭 T H O U G H T S

It's quite possible I am the last person to read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, as this book took Bookstagram by storm upon release. Personally, I was glad some of the hype had receded, as it afforded me the opportunity to go at my own pace and develop my own thoughts and feelings free of being bombarded with reviews and hype. And to be quite honest, the whole experience was rather dizzying and don't exactly know how I ended up feeling.

On the one hand, V.E. Schwab's writing was mesmerizing, atmospheric, and haunting. Although I didn't always know what was going on, I was transported into the story so vividly. Addie, herself, is a fairly unlikeable character, yet I could find myself empathizing with the why. There's such a strength in what this unique and clever story attempted to do.

Yet on the other hand, because of the structurally necessary repetitive descriptions I was never compelled to keep reading. I never found myself thinking about the narrative or characters when I wasn't reading. It lacked a depth I craved so badly. This sense of detachment made it feel longer than it actually is.

And finally, I found myself completely satisfied with the ending, meaning I finished on a high note and that's kind of what I focus on when I think back to my time with Addie. Taken in pieces, there are a lot of mixed feelings, yet it is a real testament to making the most of the time we have.

I do certainly understand why The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is beloved by so many. It's such a unique and fascinating idea, yet for me the reading experience was tedious. I am not sure I have been convinced to explore more of V.E. Schwab's work, but you just never know.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife
• readers who like unique stories

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"'Nothing is all good or all bad,' she says. 'Life is so much messier than that.'"

"Live long enough, and you learn how to read a person. To ease them open like a book, some passages underlined and others hidden between the lines."

"And perhaps it is just that happiness is frightening." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Drug use, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Grief, Sexual harassment, Rape, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Sexism, Addiction, Sexual violence, and Misogyny

Minor: Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, War, Violence, Blood, and Cancer

jess_noack's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Gaslighting and Physical abuse

madalina0_0's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Child abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Death

Minor: Bullying and Murder

laurenbaggy's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Addiction, Classism, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, War, and Stalking

mseals's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting

Minor: Classism, Death of parent, Sexual assault, War, Abandonment, Death, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexism, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

assassinsweettea's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Body horror, Death, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, and Sexual content

Minor: War

boba_n_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

This is one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. 

I love the personification of the devil through Luc and the Faustian bargains that took place. It was incredibly interesting and showed a lot of history. 

That being said, it took me quite a while to get into the story. It wasn't until maybe the last 50% of the book that I really got invested in the characters and their fates. It just felt TOO slow-moving sometimes, focusing on one century over the other, and rushed in others. 

I enjoyed the banter between Luc and Addie and their characters, but Henry is the one character I felt was well developed since we got to see his life played. With Henry, the reader gets a peek behind the curtain at his motivations while Addie's true motivations aren't revealed until the very end. I guess that just adds to the enigma that is Addie LaRue. 

Overall, I did enjoy this novel and will be thinking about the plot for a while. It's one I need to delve into and could definitely reread at some point.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: War and Cursing

saturnpersonified's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad slow-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Addiction, Death, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Death of parent and War

msradiosilence's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

TLDR; 4.5 rating rounded up, I love monkey’s paw wishes, I love queer women, and I’m not gonna lie this book almost had me crying.


Full review to come. :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Addiction, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Classism, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cursing, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Biphobia, Sexual assault, Violence, and War

Minor: Kidnapping, Stalking, Cancer, Confinement, Rape, and Religious bigotry