The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: Review

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue Published by Tor Books by V.E. Schwab
on October 6, 2020
Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Magical Realism, Paranormal, Romance
Pages: 442
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Find the Author: Website, Twitter, Goodreads
Find the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

ISBN: 0765387565
Rating:

A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.
France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.
Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.
But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.

There is no arguing that V.E. Schwab is a fantastic writer. Her writing is concise, yet eloquent–and she can evoke emotion in one sentence so easily. So, of course, this story of a young woman who lives life, completely forgotten, was one that I was extremely eager to read.

I read this one with a group of close friends for book club this past month. And the reactions were varied over certain parts of the book.

I will say, personally, that the story, itself, was beyond intriguing. Addie LaRue, in a state of panic over a marriage that she doesn’t want, sells her soul to darkness. And in the aftermath, is forgotten every time she leaves someone’s presence–until one day she’s not.

There’s only one exception to this rule and that’s Henry, centuries after Addie is cursed.

Delving into Addie and Henry’s story and what makes Henry the exception was invigorating. Schwab was brilliant in her storytelling. The plot was brilliantly laid out and I’m so glad to have read this story.

The only issue that I had was that I tend to love stories that are more character-driven. And while the plot was great in this one, I had so much trouble connecting or feeling for any of the main characters. In fact, I felt so often that their choices that led to their problems, left me feeling more irritated with them, rather than feeling any amount of sympathy.

This only distracted me towards the middle of the book, however. Because by the end I was so caught up in how the story would end that I let go of any disappointment that I had.

This is definitely a book I’d recommend to anyone looking for something with depth and a well-thought out plot.

 

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