Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Beautifully written, but not my cup of tea. It’s a love letter to the arts, and New York, buried between the character’s self reflection on what makes existence worthwhile, tied together with a love story, that didn’t end quite as tragically as I thought it would.
I’d recommend this to the introspective romantic reader who likes flawed characters and literature.

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cassidy_rain's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

“I gave you what you asked for, Adeline. Time, without constraint. Life without restriction.”

I absolutely adored this. I never annotate books, but this is the first time I wished I wasn’t reading a library book, because there were so many things I wanted to highlight!

This novel follows our main character, Adeline. Her life is passing her by and as she desperately prays for change, her life is completely upended when she strikes an unusual deal. It is a story of life, love, and loss as the limitations of this bargain follow her for centuries. It is written in third person, but we do get dual POV from both Adeline and Henry.

“The wonder in your eyes, at the sight of something new. I knew then I'd never win."

This is my first read from this author and I absolutely loved the writing style. I was hooked into the story from the very beginning and the writing is just beautiful. It reads almost like a historical fiction, but with added magical elements. I thought it was really fun and filled with wanderlust.

I really enjoyed the characters. I adored Adeline. She reminds me a bit of myself in the way she wants to see and do everything. Despite her struggles, she never gives up and always sees the beauty in the world around her. I loved the little nods to art/history at the beginning of each part. It was really interesting to see how Addie was able to shape the world in her own way, even when she wasn’t supposed to be able to.
Henry is a really raw character and I love his dynamic with Adeline. I was definitely rooting for him.
Luc is a very interesting character and antagonist. I found myself liking him, even though he is at his core the villain of the story.
“I remember you”.

I had a few theories of the direction the story was going, but they were all wrong. I’ve heard mixed reviews about the ending, but I actually thought it was well done and wrapped everything up nicely. I loved getting lost in this story and would highly recommend!

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jennalerm's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

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pinkparentheses's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective 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

4.75

This book is going to stay with me for awhile. The writing is very poetic, intending to capture a feeling or illustration of human nature. Reads more like journal entries than anything. Plays upon natural human desires and adds a supernatural twist to it.

Ironically, Addie is not really likeable as a character, but that’s also just the nature of her curse. She never forms any deep connections with anyone, and she slowly loses grasp of herself over time. Henry is one of the most heartbreaking characters I’ve read in awhile. Luc and Addie’s dynamic does a good job showing how a toxic relationship can be both electrifying and infuriating, awful and tumultuous but you still find love in it somehow.

I’ve heard many valid critiques of this book, but I think the whole point is feeling the emotions of the characters/scene rather than trying to understand the logic or “adventure” of the story. The whole story feels like a classic fable (Take the example of the Tortoise and the Hare fable, if you’re hung up on why a Tortoise and Hare would be racing to begin with, you’re missing the entire point). People critique how Addie lives her life over 300 years, but this shows the decision paralysis of endless possibilities and how this version of freedom is actually extremely limiting. This is definitely not a straightforward story and you will be frustrated if you take it too literally. The only thing keeping me from rating 5 stars is it definitely could’ve used another round of editing.

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epeolatrist's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

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epellicci's review against another edition

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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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