Spoiler Free Review: The Invisible Life of Addie Larue By V.E. Schwab

Title: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Author: V.E. Schwab

Pub. Date: October 6th 2020

Genre: Historical Fiction/Paranormal/LGBTQIA+

Format: eGalley

Publisher: Tor Books

Pages: 442 pages

GOODREADS | BARNES & NOBLE | AMAZON

🖤ALC & Galley provided by Publisher in exchange for an honest review🖤“𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑗𝑜𝑦𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒”

There aren’t very many books I’ve read that have moved me to tears and introspection, the last one I can recall is 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑆𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝐻𝑢𝑠𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑦𝑛 𝐻𝑢𝑔𝑜. Addie is a very different read but it absolutely broke me in much the same way. I’ve had moments when I’ve felt as if life was passing me by much too quickly. When I’ve asked myself, what am I leaving behind in this world? faced fear of living a life without finding my souls purpose or simply not being seen. Not being enough. To see characters on the page who want more out of life whether by way of experience or human connection is something we can all probably relate to.

For our MC Addie, living a simple life wasn’t something she could commit to. She sought a way to break free of what was traditionally expected of her but it came at a steep price. A deal struck with Lucifer aka Luc, her soul when she tires of it…immortality with a definitive ending. Addie lives many lives in the span of 3oo years, lives that take her across many countries and continents. The subject of many art pieces, songs, and unintentional heartbreak that is at once forgotten. The deal stipulates that she may have this immortality however she will not be able to form long lasting human connections. She will not be able to utter her real name or write her story…she will love a few but will quickly be forgotten. This all changes the day she meets Henry at a bookstore because unlike all the others, Henry does remember her.

Addie Larue-I honestly feel Addie took me by the hand to experience the world through her eyes and make me understand why she would sacrifice so much. At first I just couldn’t…the thought of having my loved ones forget I ever existed and therefore have to let them go seemed too much to even fathom. In truth, Addie was a young woman born in the wrong time period. She was progressive and in many ways a feminist at heart, her soul craved experiences outside of what was deemed appropriate at the time. Domesticity would’ve been a slow death for Addie who is able to flow through the centuries with a sense of timelessness. I wasn’t expecting to love Addie by the end of my time with this story but somehow she managed to steal my heart.

Henry-the cute bisexual bookshop guy who is also in a sense trying to acquire as many life experiences as possible. However, whereas Addie is going about it at a leisurely pace…Henry feels like there just isn’t enough hours in the day. Henry is the guy who you won’t catch living a repetitive life, but this is just what’s surface level with Henry. I connected with Henry on a soul level and I think many readers will find him most relatable.

Luc- Our master of night, the one they warn you about when they tell you not to pray once the sun goes down. Luc is always present even when Addie can’t see him which kind of made me feel like I was waiting with her in anticipation for their encounters. Their relationship is very toxic seeing that it’s very co-dependent because Luc has made it so. We get to know his temperamental ways & I came to fear what new ways he’d come up with to make life all the more difficult for Addie.

Would you trade your soul to live many lives and see/experience what the world has to offer? Would you trade your soul to finally be enough? To be loved simply for being you? these are the exact questions that ran through my mind as I read this book. Personally, that feeling of life seeming like a series of snapshots that capture fleeting moments is something I’ve felt deeply. I’ve at times struggled to connect with V.E. Schwabs other fictional characters but this book gave so much character development & atmospheric writing that I found myself carried away with the story. It’s beautiful and heartbreaking, truly one that will remain imprinted in my soul.

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