A review by brittaneenash
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a beautiful, poetically written novel that had me instantly hooked. I'll admit that I was hesitant to read this book - I never thought I would have much interest from what I had heard about it, until I saw a TikTok that finally convinced me that I just needed to read it. I tell you what, the person who posted that TikTok is now owed the credit for my second five-star book of 2023, & I'll give you a few reasons as to why without hesitation:
  • As someone who fears death & the thought of missing out on my life, Addie's choices & actions throughout the book make so much sense to me. She's an entirely relatable character (though there are times where I definitely didn't want her to be relatable), who just felt so real to me despite the epic circumstances she's been thrust into because of the choices she's made. 
  • The personification of the devil? Luc? Perfection. It felt so close to the biblical adaption of the devil: charming, cunning, entirely too irresistible for mere mortals. Because of this, his relationship with Addie is portrayed perfectly. 
  • Henry Strauss. Henry fucking Strauss. I feel like that's all this point needs to say, but I'll add more. Though I predicted what would happen with his story, I found it just as intriguing as Addie's. I was utterly hooked from the moment we met Henry, until the moment their story together ended. As I've said about both Addie and Luc, he felt so undeniably real, so relatable in ways that you mightn't want him to be. All of the characters in this novel are executed perfectly, but Henry felt particularly so. 
  • The entire ending of the book had me bawling. Not a lot of books make me cry in the way this one did. It was equal parts the relatability of not being ready to let something go but knowing that you have to, & the beautiful writing style Schwab seems to have perfected. I don't often buy the physical copies of audiobooks that I listen to, but this one will be an exception to that rule. I will be adding it to my personal collection to annotate as soon as possible. 
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