The Invisible Life of Addie Larue

After about a million (no, not really. I wish!) of you told me that I had to read this book, I finally snatched it up last week and consumed it whole. I might have mentioned before how much I like books that excel at beautiful language, where the images and ideas are presented in beautiful metaphors, this one scratches that itch, and then some.

The Story
Addie LaRue didn’t want to get married. She wanted to be free. On the evening of her marriage, she runs into the woods to plead to the gods to save her from her fate. But, Addie breaks the rules, and as the day sinks into night, she is still praying – and the god of darkness answers.

The price of her freedom? Everyone she encounters forgets she exists when they part company. She can’t leave any mark of her existence with her own hands. Each pencil stroke fades before a sentence can be written. If that wasn’t bad enough, she’s also cursed to live forever until she agrees to surrender her soul to the night god.

It all changes when she meets Henry 300 years later – and he remembers.

My Review
First, this story is not only beautiful, but it’s also fascinating. The reader jumps to key places in the timeline as we watch both the present and the past unfold. The present showing the reader who Addie has become over her long life, and the past to show us how she got there.

So when we hit that moment where someone remembers her after so much hardship and trial, it’s so incredibly meaningful. But, like in all stories, there is a catch. The god of the night hasn’t made a mistake when he allowed the two of them to meet.

I think the most interesting part of this book is Addie’s need to leave her mark and how she’s figured out how to do it through the art and music of other people. She’s learned that she can influence creative minds to capture her ideas and make them into reality. She lives through them and because she’s fated to live as long as she wishes, she can see what happens to this art.

As with all wonderful books, this one has a lesson at its heart. It encourages the reader to do the most they can with the life they’ve been given.

Recommendations
While the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is both transportive and beautiful, it’s also definitely an adult read and the high schoolers they let play. There are mild elements of danger, mild swearing, and plenty of adults in adult relationships. The story is also nonlinear which makes it a more complicated read and sometimes the different pieces don’t come together immediately. What this means for some is that it will read slow for a while as all the different pieces start to come together.

But, it’s a whole different kind of magical, and I loved it.

I give The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue 5/5 stars

Schwab’s prose is simply gorgeous. She is becoming a better writer with every book. In this unique twist on the Faustian tale of a soul sold to the devil, characters leap off the page and into your heart. Even the Darkness has shape and substance in the author’s capable hands. One of the best novels I’ve read this year.

I enjoyed the novelty of the story. The main character, Addie, was likeable and independent. Even that pivotal character of Luke was somehow Likeable? Compelling? Whatever. The author made good use Of switching between to Of switching between to time lines to show Addie’s progress and growth. That was not a happily ever after ending, but I guess there could not have been with this type of storyline.

“But when you live long enough, even madness ends.”

Addie LaRue was born in Villon, France in the late 1600’s. She longed for a life of freedom. Freedom from unwanted marriage. Freedom from being tied down. Freedom to live forver. She learned about the God of her parents and worshipped him in church. But she also learned about the gods of old whi answer prayers in exchange for gifts. But one night, in desperation, Addie prays to the gods for help, forgetting the most important rule: “Never pray to the gods that answer after dark.”

In the heat of a desperate moment, Addie strikes a deal with a dark god. He grants her freedom, but the price is heavy. She is quickly and easily forgotten. As soon as a door closes, or someone falls asleep, as soon as she’s gone from sight, the person doesn’t remember her anymore. She has no home or money of her own. No family that remember her. She’s alone, save for Luc, the darkness that answered her prayer, until one day she stumbles into a used book store and finds a handsome young man who remembers her. And suddenly, after 300 years, she may have finally found what she’s been yearning for.

Words simply cannot describe how amazing this book is. The story is like a river, smooth and coursing, carrying the reader along so easily that soon you’re completely lost in the beauty of it all. The story is unique, every twist and turn new, with unexpected surprises waiting at the turn of a page. The writing is well-done and the plot well-crafted, with the story moving at an excellent pace introducing memorable chracters and moments. This is a must-read book for anyone searching for an epic tale filled with love, loss, and longing or simply anyone who yearns for a good story.

Adeline LaRue will find a way to leave a mark no matter what, even if people never seem to remember her, and Luc(ifer) tries to outwit her, or is it the other way around? Stubborn to the core, Addie will take on a god if she has to (spoiler alert: she does).

Even though this was a slower-paced book for me reading-wise (I love my action), I fell hardcore for the way V.E. Schwab weaved together Henry and Addie’s lives.

Don’t get me wrong, these two main leads have their own emotional (sometimes real) demons to slay, but in the end, love (was it love?) conquers all.

Complicated. Emotional. Magical.

I loved falling in love with this story. If you get a chance, pick this one up.

This was such a slowww burn for me. I started this I January and didn’t find the need to finish until June… I wanted to love this book, but it just couldn’t keep my attention! I was definitely more interested in the 2014 timeline then the past timelines. I did enjoy the dual narratives in the last half and the way this was split into parts.

I LOVED it! Currently recommending it to everyone I know because it is one of the best books I’ve ever read!

What a wonderfully beautiful story. I was moved to tears at points and I found it to be a truly unique way of telling the tale of someone wishing for more time. I found the characters to be well written and very intriguing. I connected with Addie from the beginning and found that I could even understand, if not connect or like Luke.

I love the telling of Addie’s travels and experiences as much as I loved the romance in the story. It was such an all encompassing book and there is not a single part that was boring or lacking in some kind of excitement.

Spanning over hundreds of years of history and lives and loves, I think The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue will charm and captivate audiences for years to come.

I think Victoria is on a mission to ruin all of her readers. This book was so beautiful. Of course, it ripped my heart out and stomped on it a few times, but I loved it. I loved everything until like the last page. I felt like it ended perfectly without those last couple of pages. I was content.

Finally! I finished reading Addie LaRue. It took me a while to truly sink into this book because it jumped around so much chronologically, but once I finally got a grasp on the storyline and where Schwab was going with her plot, I really enjoyed it. I know, without a doubt, that it’s one of these stories that will stay with me for a very long time.

A deal with the devil, and what a devil he was. I’m probably in the minority here, but I really loved Luc. More than I liked Henry. Henry was sweet, like a puppy is sweet, but Luc was a lone wolf, not sweet and with a bite that shreds souls, and yet I found him profoundly more charismatic and intriguing than the man Addie fell in love with.

But I’ve always been a fan of the dark and the creatures that lurk there.