Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

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

217 reviews

magic_multicolored_miracle's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective 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

3.75

Is forever worth your soul?
That is the question at the heart of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. The novel follows a girl who trades her soul, and unknowingly the ability to be remembered, to a man who might be the devil or might be a Old God in exchange for an immortal life of freedom. 
Full of romance and art and clever turns, the novel starts slow but soon builds into a crescendo. Alternating chapters between her modern life in New York City in 2014 where she meets and falls in love with the enigma of Henry Strauss and flashes of the life she lived over the last 300 years, mostly tangled with "anniversaries" with Luc, the being that she promised her soul to, the book does an excellent job of telling two stories twined into one. And though it is a complete piece on it's own, the story coming to a beautifully bittersweet ending, it teases a third at the close, promising that forever goes on and there is still hope yet.
It does not shy away from the horrors facing a woman alone through history, but reminds the reader that Addie is clever and strong and will make it through, and that no matter where and when she is, there are beautiful things to be find when she looks. 
A definite must read for fans of trickster fae tales, doomed love, and the timeless power of art and stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Self harm, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death, War, Alcoholism, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body horror, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Sexual content

Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ericius's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.75

a bit too long, somewhat slow to read and a bit sad, but i forgive it because it was an emotional journey it made me cry and smile and i loved it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Abandonment, Grief, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders

takarakei's review against another edition

emotional 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

Re-read. This remains one of my favorite books of all times. Sobbed just like I did the first time reading it. I also did a combo with audiobook (narrated by the queen Julia Whelan). The ending of this book makes me feral.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Death

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, and Misogyny

Minor: War, Addiction, and Sexual harassment

katbotelho's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

Damn that ending kinda hurt😕

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism and Drug abuse

Minor: Suicide attempt

throwback682's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense

• 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? Yes

5.0

I was so scared to finish this book. I almost quit because I couldn’t bear the idea of the sad ending I imagined.

I’m so glad that I stuck it out. The ending wasn’t what I expected at all (although some might see through it more easily) and it wasn’t happy but it was very satisfying. Henry’s last pages had me near tears.

I think the concept of the plot is really creative, and the author keeps track of a thousand little details of Addie’s curse that could’ve created a thousand plot holes. 

At times it was predictable, but not in a way that spoiled my enjoyment.

I knew almost right away that Henry had also made a deal, but there were plenty of details I didn’t foresee, too.

This book made me  want to savor every moment of life and love. It was entertaining but also thought provoking and heart-fire stoking. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Addiction, Mental illness, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Drug use, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Cancer, Classism, and Dementia

2busyreading's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Death

Moderate: Alcoholism

giulianalb99's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexism, Stalking, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Addiction, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, and War

neogyv's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Addiction, Grief, Death of parent, Death, Mental illness, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Emotional abuse

_rowan_'s review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, War, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Death

aliyachaudhry's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

3.0

maybe the reason people don't remember her is because she's so basic

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and War