Reviews

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

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valeria14vq's review against another edition

3.0

I loved the story, although the pace of it wasn't my favorite. The start was slow and there were parts of 1714 that didn't add much to the plot. Although there were some that were incredible like when they put her in the car with the bodies of people who died from the cold of winter. Also when she's in the middle of the French Revolution or when later she and Luc dance to Sinatra's music, so classy. Still, I would've liked to connect more with Addie, but she wasn't a memorable character for me despite being the protagonist.

“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.”

I loved Luc as the antagonist, always waiting for Addie to give up and give her soul to him. He was the darkness and he was always everywhere, he was always so aware of her that he ended up loving her. Or maybe it wasn't love, but he did want her.

“Do not mistake this kindness. I simply want to be the one who breaks you.”

My favorite among all was Henry. At first, I didn't understand why he was kind of sad when he met Addie, like something was wrong. But discovering the truth was shocking, the whole explanation of the curse and how people treated him afterward was so good. I really enjoyed everything about him. To call the old gods, I think I would've fallen into Henry's mistake. Deals play on your words, and you end up paying a higher price than you were willing to give. I liked the whole idea.

Favorite character: Henry & Luc.

ellascoven's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

annalisah's review against another edition

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3.0

I just finished this book and I don't know how feel about it. It was phenomenal--don't get me wrong. I was hooked from the start and it unfolded so beautifully. The elegant writing was truly the best part of the novel though. Schwab's writing style was breathtaking. The imagery and metaphors were just incredible and I was truly captivated by it. The way Schwab flawlessly integrated art into the novel was great to see as well. There indeed was tangible evidence of Addie in the world. There were some points where the plot became a bit repetitive, rushed, and vague as the novel progressed and I am in general not a huge fan of the

Spoiler

story within a story

trope. They rushed through major historical moments and only paused for the French Revolution (to escape), World War I (to escape again), and World War II (thrice, now she has escaped). I would have loved to hear more about how Addie specifically "fought" in the wars she claimed to have fought in and even how she participated in different social movements. Instead she focused the narrative on how unhappy she was with her life (poor Addie who can fight in a war or freeze "to death" and come back unscathed). Addie became so obsessed with Luc--he was her drug and it took away from her telling her true story. It became more of "I'm so sad that no one remembers me" instead of "look at this incredible life I had and all the people I touched along the way." I also felt that the whole ending where

Spoiler

Addie decided to take slow revenge on Luc for as long as it takes to conquer him was unnecessary. She will never win and will always be at a disadvantage. There is no possible way for her to be successful. She has no power in this arrangement. She claims Luc never really got to know her but he clearly does. He knows everything about her and how she thinks which is evident through THE WHOLE BOOK and she completely negates all of that in the final chapter of the novel to just highlight how dumb she really is. The ending where the novel we are reading gets published in the context of the book wasn't my favorite either because you could see it coming from the time it was revealed that Henry was writing down her stories. Like wow, I wonder what's going to happen now that we know our dead-end bookshop guy with no prospects is recording her stories.

I also do believe that Addie loves

Spoiler

Luc

. It just makes sense and I believe that Miss LaRue is in denial. She is CONSTANTLY thinking about him--not out of fear but out of desire. She gets so worked up over him--of courses she loves him. I also don't have much sympathy for "woe-is-me" characters especially when they are the reason for the issues they are facing (very much Victor Frankenstein haha). But overall, this book was a beautiful read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and couldn't put it down. I loved traveling through time alongside Addie and seeing her have no character development for 300+ years worth of story (but hey, it is what it is I guess).

rachel_faerie's review against another edition

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5.0

PERFECTION. One of my new favorite books of all time.

I remember Addie.

*crying intensifies*

aleksandrareading's review against another edition

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dnf 37%

I can't do this to myself, I'm sorry but I can't. This book bores me to death. The writing is beautiful, I must admit, but when I read it I feel nothing. The story and the characters, lack some flavor for me.

I don't know why, but it seems to me that a lot happened, but at the same time nothing interesting happened at all, some chapters were unnecessarily long or simply boring and unnecessary. If I have to read about Addie hooking up with another person, I'm going to throw my Kindle out the window, so I'll stop here.