Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

La Vida Invisible de Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab

215 reviews

alexlynx's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

Be patient with this book. It follows paths that you feel like you don't want to take. Give it time. I personally have a love-hate relationship with books that jump between time so much that at some point you can barely make out where the plot starts and where it ends. But this book has a very definitive start and end, only the middle is blurred. I got lost in it, and it was beautiful, and sad, and madning, and insane, inspiring, wonderful. Her writing is addictive to a point where I'm almost annoyed at myself for how long it took to finally continue reading this book. And I also want to scream at her for the things these characters have to go through, and for how attached to them I got.
Insanely beautiful.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Death

korikam's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Death, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Alcoholism

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.

---

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

---

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!

---

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

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

---

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

kathrynok's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexism, Alcohol, Death, Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

nineinchnails's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-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? Yes

4.0

this is definitely a no plot just vibes type of book and very slow paced so i can absolutely understand why so many people didn't enjoy this or even manage to get through it, HOWEVER i loved this. i am a sucker for pretty prose though and the prose was gorgeous in this book so i'm a little biased. most of the criticism for this book is warranted but this story and its characters really appealed to me. i wish we got more on addie's time in new orleans though, it seemed like it would have given some more insight into

her and luc's relationship + would've given luc more depth. it feels like we barely got to know him

.

it definitely could have been condensed just a little because "no plot just vibes" isn't much of an exaggeration and i'm not sure how it managed to be 500+ pages long but i can enjoy a slow book when i like the writing. the ending did feel slightly anticlimactic but it was more bittersweet than anything else to me. not sure if i would recommend this because the it really is slow but i definitely enjoyed this!!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Violence, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Alcoholism, War, Biphobia, and Child death

Maternal mortality/Death during childbirth

askmeifikayl's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

ending was weak. still cried though. henry strauss, they could never make me hate you. the archer is in fact his song. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: War

i always say i want to be loved and i want to be happy. i look at henry’s character and see my desires through a lense i hadn’t considered before. wanting to be loved is not a flaw, but it’s by loving yourself that you can be on the path to true happiness. emotionally compelling and an inner look at the human experience.

hazelbcap's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

It’s poetic, and heartbreaking, and inspiring, and I didn’t want it to ever end. A sweet unique read that I’ll cherish forever. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Death, and War