Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

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

17 reviews

felofhe's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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jonahroberson's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An intensely personal reading experience for both my fiance and myself, this meaningfully deals with the price women have historically paid for autonomy, the experience of living with anxiety, and other difficult yet important topics. This was one of the most difficult reads of my life, but I'm glad I powered through it.

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dylly_russell's review against another edition

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

5.0


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fernandoodle's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny 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? Yes

4.75


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kelly_e's review against another edition

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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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miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

FRANCESCA- HOZIER

A bit predictable at times but made me cry and felt original plot wise

‘History is a thing designed in retrospect’

‘"It did not feel like courage… it felt as if I had no choice.”’

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giulianalb99's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

No sé ni por dónde empezar con esta reseña, lo que sí quiero decir es que durante toda la lectura he sentido un amor-odio con este libro impresionante. Mientras lo leía, no quería que se acabara pero a la vez no veía el momento de que se acabase (si es que eso tiene algún sentido). Hay momentos en los que el libro es bastante lento pero la autora escribe TAN bien que te cautiva desde la primera página.
He llegado a odiar y amar a los personajes de una forma inexplicable. Addie está durante sus más de trescientos años de vida anhelando un amor que nunca llega, porque el “amor” que siente por Henry y el “amor” que siente por Luc son ambos TÓXICOS. Está con Henry porque es la única persona que se acuerda de ella, así que decide aferrarse a ella al igual que Henry decide estar con Addie porque es la única que no tiene esa “bruma” en los ojos cuando la ve; con Luc, Addie siente una “atracción” y tienen una tensión sexual de la hostia, pero se aferra a él simplemente porque durante tantos años él es el único que la conoce y la recuerda. Eso de “eres mía” me ha hecho 0 gracia por todo el tema de que una persona no es una posesión OBVIAMENTE.
Me hubiera gustado haber visto más de la vida de Addie, como por ejemplo más eventos de su vida, porque, durante 300 años, solo parece importante decir que fue la musa de muchos artistas y pues aunque eso no es nada malo, me parece algo demasiado perfecto (no sabría ni cómo explicarlo😂).
Aún así, el final me ha hecho sentir totalmente vacía por dentro. No sé si 4 estrellas es demasiado para este libro, pero ahora mismo me parecen las adecuadas, y no voy a darle más estrellas porque, como he dicho antes, es un libro bastante lento y también creo que le sobran bastantes páginas.

Conclusión: Ten cuidado con lo que deseas y nunca le reces a los dioses de la noche.

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leannanecdote's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5


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sam_maree's review against another edition

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wasn't catching my attention, unnecessary descriptions, bland characters, good idea bad execution. 

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sbarron0's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense 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? No

4.0


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