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

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

5 reviews

ivi_reads_books's review

adventurous sad medium-paced

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

3.0

I was intrigued by the concept of living forever at the cost of being remembered by anyone one meets. I imagined the book would focus more on how the protagonists feels being isolated and without connections to other human beings.
Instead it focussed more on the practicalities of getting by at various stages in history if no one remebers you after you leave their sight. The protagonist seemed distant to me.
Julia Whelan, the audio book narrator, did an amazing job giving the characters distinct voices.

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abbygdickerson's review

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

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kathyovalle01's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

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avisnoctua's review against another edition

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2.0

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sarahsbooklife's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

Now I’m going to try to write a review that does justice to this book and how amazing it is.

I think that this book could be summed up by simply no one is straight, they are all at least mild disasters and no one is great at making deals. But that is only if you want the briefest of information about this book. This is a story about a woman that makes a deal that both ruins her life and gives it a whole knew meaning. She might never be remembered but that doesn’t mean that she hasn’t left a mark, a few impressions, in people’s minds over the centuries.

Firstly, there’s Addie herself. She made a deal without thinking that caused her to life forever, giving her the time she wanted, but to never be remembered. When I read the blurb for this story I was instantly intrigued by this book and how Addie came to live an invisible life. As Addie moves like a ghost throughout history, always forgotten, she finds little ways to be remembered, to leave an impression, through the work of artists and musicians. She might not be able to create it herself and be remembered for it, like she would want, but she has found a way to be remembered. If only as a shadow, a ghost, nothing more than a fleeting idea.

Being forgotten, she thinks, is a bit like going mad. You begin to wonder what is real, if you are real. After all, how can a thing be real if it cannot be remembered? It’s like that Zen koan, the one about the tree falling in the woods.

If no one heard it, did it happen?

If a person cannot leave a mark, do they exist?

Part II, II

Haunt – it is the right word, for someome living like a ghost.

Part II, X

I loved reading about both her past and present self, going from being a girl that lived in a small town in the French countryside in the 18th century to a modern woman in New York in 2014. Usually when I read a book that’s set in both the past and the present I tend to prefer one over the other and find one to be much more interesting than the other. But I found that because it’s all Addie’s story I found both to be super interesting. Also they flowed together really well. Each part linked together, so there might be something that happened in the past that still effected her in the present. Or something in the present would crop up and then also be explored in the past. The swapping of time periods and years between chapters, it didn’t switch every chapter, flowed seamlessly to me. I think that this might be the best book I’ve read that does this.

One thing that I like about this book is that when you first met Addie she’s in 2014, she’s been living her invisible life for centuries by this point and has figured out how to survive and make a game out of it. She’s learnt how to read people, how long she can be remembered for and how to get what she needs to live. She might not have money, a job, friends, family, anyone or anything but than the clothes she wears, the knowledge she’s collected and her determination to survive. I liked that Addie was shown as being a very confident and capable women despite her circumstance in the present before learning why she made this deal and how she had to learn to survive everything.

Addie’s a very clever character. She’s witty, imaginative and loves her life. Her deal is both a curse and a blessing; she’s always forgotten but she can live a life of her own making. Mostly.

This book deals with how women were expected to grow up to marry, be mothers and housewives even when they didn’t want to. Many didn’t have any other choice or opportunity to do anything else. It’s something that often crops up in the chapters set in Addie’s past. Through friends, family, and having to navigate a world designed for and by men when women had little to no autonomy. I really liked that Schwab delved into this as I think way too many historical stories ignore or barely mention this struggle.

She is at odds with everything, she does not fit, an insult to her sex, a stubborn child in a woman’s form, her head bowed and arms wrapped tight around her drawing pad as if it were a door.

And when she does look up, her gaze always goes to the edge of town.

“A dreamer,” scorns her mother.

“A dreamer,” mourns her father.

“A dreamer,” warns Estele.

Still, it does not seem such a bad word.

Until Adeline wakes up.

Part I, V

One thing that I liked about this book is that there isn’t a bad guy or a fight between good and evil which tends to crop up in fantasy a lot. Sure the devil that Addie makes her deal with isn’t a good being but it’s also in his nature to be wicked and a bit of a trickster. The only fight there is is the fight over Addie’s soul. As you might imagine she doesn’t want to give him her soul and he can’t just take it either. There’s a struggle between them that’s very entertaining to read.

I actually really liked the devil, the shadows, the darkness, whatever you want to call him. And I really liked that him and Addie had a bit of a weird friendship if you can call it that. He’s the only one that remembers Addie and his visits on the day of their deal is the only constant in her life.

There is one more character that I’d like to talk about too. But I’m going to try to keep it as vague as possible because I don’t want to spoil anyone. This is the person that Addie meets that remembers her. A normal human that isn’t a devil, who manages to turn Addie’s life upside down. Addie has gone three hundred years with no human ever remembering her up until she meets them. It’s a mystery as to why they can remember her that I enjoyed reading but I’m also glad that the reason why wasn’t dragged out.

The two of them came into each other’s lives at the right moment, they had a bit of a fling and they each got to learn something new. I thought that their romance was very sweet. But I also liked reading about the romances and relationships that they’ve had in the past. They are both kind of sad and in need of someone that can understand them, which I think that they found in each other. Addie finally got to experience all the sweet and wondrous moments that she’s wished for for years, and not having any of the awkward morning afters when the person doesn’t remember her. And they also got to be seen by someone as purely their self and not feel like they aren’t enough for the other person.

This book definitely had a lot of bittersweet moments that made me sad but it also had a lot of happier, uplifting moments that made me smile and sometimes laugh.

While reading this book I felt the world melt away. I often found myself reading this book and being completely immersed in the story. For me time flew past while reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and this is the first book in a long, long time that has done this. V.E. Schwab’s writing is beautiful, romantic and gripping as she tells the story of Addie LaRue set over three centuries. This was an absolute delight to read and I’m so glad that I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book.

I would definitely recommend reading this book. This was one of my most anticpated releases of 2020 and it didn’t disappoint me. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue defied my expectations and was so much more than I could have imagined. Schwab is an amazing storyteller and this book really showcases that.

I decided to give this book 5 stars because I was absolutely blown away with this book. I thought it was truly amazing and had that 5 star spark for me!

If you’ve read and enjoyed any of V.E. Schwab’s other books then I would highly recommend reading this book. Now, I struggled a bit trying to come up with other books that weren’t by Schwab, as this book just feels so unique and unlike any other book I;ve read, but I did come up with a few. So if you read and enjoyed The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang, and Stardust by Neil Gaiman I would recommend reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

Until next time stay safe and keep on reading

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