Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

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

211 reviews

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

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

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

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

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

mrsdragon's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

3.5

I like magical realism, pretty prose, and slow burn stories so this one has popped up in a lot of places as I book I might like. And I did greatly enjoy the pieces of it, but it just didn't quite live up to what it could have been.

The author uses flashbacks and dual story lines to slowly dole out information and uses that mechanic well to up the intrigue and the mystery of the book.  Unfortunately, sometimes she got so wrapped up  in the details that even I started to wish she would move it along already. There were also "mysteries" that were so obvious it was painful how long it took for the truth to be recognized/explained. 

I was here for the "dark mysterious god of the woods, maybe devil, kinda conjured from your drawing" trope, but aspects of Addie's relationship with the dark seemed forced, illogical, or contradictory. Despite the prose, there was a heavy-handed bit of "telling instead of showing".

And then there's the fact that while the main story follows Addie, a large chunk of the story follows another main character who is never mentioned in the jacket descriptions which...isn't really *wrong* but did seem weird. 

The author also sets up a narrative device within the story that mimics the structure of the book (clever!) but which makes the first couple of chapters in the last section seem weirdly navel-gazey and self-referential. And the final chapter left me...sad.

Addie, saves Henry and instead give herself over to tormenting Luc. And yes, I get the "finally free!" arc, but there is nothing that says that counteracts her first contract, she didn't renegotiate for her soul, so she will still be cursed to be invisible?

I also just, generally had a lot of questions about

Addie + Henry (300+ year old + 29 year old find love because...they are curse compatible?), Addie's humanity (is she turning into a god? If that's true, how does the whole Henry thing square?), Luc's nature (he's a god not a human! No, but he loves her! No but he's incapable of love!).

I can squint and see answers, but I think it could have been handled more gracefully in the story.

That said, the conceit was a fun one, the "holes" the author found in the curse, she did a fabulous job with how the dark both granted and twisted wishes in a way that felt both natural and inevitable once the downsides were understood. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Drug abuse

Minor: Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Child death, War, Death of parent, Addiction, and Sexual content

laurenology's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

This draaaaaagged. I know it took me six months to finish it, but still. Felt like a chore to listen to sometimes, even though Julia Whelan is always a good narrator. The last quarter or so was great and kept me interested the whole time. Not bad, but not great. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Grief

thirza_joy's review

emotional inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: War, Drug use, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Violence, and Addiction

victoriakerr131's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Oh my God, the feels. What a great book. 

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Suicide attempt, and War