What an epic journey I just had with Addie LaRue, Henry and Luc. WHAT A JOURNEY! I love that this 448 page novel has a very short synopsis and to be honest.... at first I thought this may be one of those that lulls here and there but I am so happy to have proven myself wrong. Now, we can talk about what an amazing writer this author is and how this book just proves once again that Schwab spins yet another outrageously good tale that you will fall in love with. For me, it wasn't just about that, but more so the fact that humans are complex and we all want to feel loved and have our freedom... but at what price? Always be careful what you wish for.

300 years of Addie LaRue. I thoroughly enjoyed the jumps in time lines as we get to see her through these various journeys. I felt for her so much and couldn't imagine what it would be like to consistently be forgotten... even though at times I've certainly wished I could be invisible in this oh so busy world. She is one tough woman! And then to finally be seen! FINALLY! And then story starts to really soar. I fell in love with all the characters. Even Luc. How could you not? My eyes got a bit misty towards the end and I closed the book fully satisfied but also wanting more. Ahem, Schwab.... do we get to see the next dance? Or has the curtain fallen?

This story will definitely stick with me for a long time. The main storyline is fantastic (as you can probably gleam from this review) but it's really the subtle nuances and the undercurrent of everything else that I truly found fascinating. Like finding that backbeat of a track rather than just paying attention to the loudest one that everyone else is dancing to. Really the perfect story I needed in my life at this moment.

And Addie LaRue, I promise I will always remember you. While I'm obviously rating this 5 stars, I also give it 7 beautifully placed freckles. ❤

I was holding out for the audio of this book because it is narrated by the incredible Julia Whelan. Julia was the perfect narrator to truly bring this beautiful story to life (we stan Julia in this house).

The prose in this book is so achingly beautiful and lyrical that I forgot that I was reading a fantasy at so many points.

Addie is a truly fascinating character. After sealing a deal with devil, Addie is burdened with being forgotten by everyone who encounters her. While this existence is incredibly lonely and isolating, we see Addie fight, manipulate, and steal in order to survive in a world that is oblivious to her existence. We really see the foundation of human need and existence through Addie, which is raw and heartbreaking.

My biggest criticism of the book is that the vast majority is told through Addie lens, so when we randomly get a POV from Henry (the one person who finally doesn’t forget Addie), it felt jarring and unnecessary. Don’t get me wrong, I understand why Henry was integral to Addie’s story, but I would’ve preferred it to be revealed through her lens since all other interactions were.

Overall, this was a solid 4 star read for me, and I look forward to reading more of Schwab in the future.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy. Thank you Tor Books for the review copy through NetGalley. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

A book with a unique premise (as far as I know). Addie LaRue is cursed with immortality, but of a particular sort. She wished for freedom, and her devil's bargain interpreted that as an inability to be remembered. She is invisible because she is unable to make any kind of permanent mark on the world. If she walks into a room everyone there thinks they are seeing her for the first time; if someone walks out and comes back in they will have already forgotten her.

This has enormous implications for Addie's everyday life. She can't have a permanent home, so she can have few possessions. She must steal to satisfy most of her needs, and she learns how to use her "invisibility" in creative ways. About half of the story takes place in 2014, when Addie turns 300 years old. The impossible has happened: she met someone (named Henry) who can remember her, which makes a real relationship possible for the first time since she was cursed. Her life started in rural France, and the narrative describes her childhood and life until she runs away from her wedding in 1714. Her desperate desire to escape leads to her deal with the dark, a being she names Luc (possibly short for Lucifer).

From here the story shifts between the 2014 present (and some earlier events) and Addie's life through the ages. Obviously this has to be done in snapshots, each jumping forward twenty years or so into the future. Schwab waits until almost the end to make crucial reveals about Henry's own bargain, and Addie's intimate relationship with Luc. It makes for an exciting conclusion, which is surprisingly satisfying. A very enjoyable read.

3.5 stars, rounded up for sheerly, unforgettably beautiful prose. And also Julia Whelan.

I have an interesting relationship with Schwab books. This is my... 8th. And I'm always enamored by the concept, engrossed by the writing, and then knocked off balance by an unexpected (and often unwelcome) change around the 50% mark in the story. This has happened in every single book. In this book, it's a change in perspective/focus from Addie to Henry, where he barrels in and tells his entire story in a rush, taking up about 10-15% of the plot. I have a really fun analogy for this, which I'll get back to in a bit.

For now, the good: Addie is a fascinating character. The concept of never being able to leave a mark, be remembered, own things... It's executed brilliantly as we flash through her greatest hits, seeing how she has to steal, how she manipulates the rules of her gift/curse, how her heart is broken, how she continues to make a mark, even though no one knows it's her. Then throwing the wrench in with two characters, opposites in all ways except how they orbit around her, who can remember her from one moment to the next. This is a book whose prose has weight, has rhythm. I actually started reading the ebook but stopped because I knew it was a book best heard (for me) so that the lyricism could really shine through.

Okay, so we're going to go back to the analogy mentioned above, because it sums up my thoughts really well. Recently, there was a new video game launched in an insanely popular, award-winning franchise (I'm not going to say which because spoilers). So we start the game with E on a quest for revenge against A. We follow E through hours of grueling decisions and horrible things - all for the sake of finding and killing A. But then, when they meet, we undergo a jarring shift and suddenly, we're flashing back to the beginning of E's hunt... but now playing as A, with none of the weapon mods, a completely different style of gameplay, and a totally unfamiliar character with different goals. And throwing us in after we've spent so long with E, learning to hate A (not exactly applicable here, because we don't hate Henry, we just don't know him), to then try to build a character from the beginning and make us care at this point that is so late in the story and we're already so invested in our other character E (or Addie). We could have seen all of A's story either as cuts between E's sections or through the lens of what E is doing (same with Addie and Henry).

All that to say... we cared about Addie, not about Henry. Henry was a rock in the stream of Addie's story. Enough to completely change the direction of flow, but we don't know him, we don't understand him the way we understand Addie. And to try to force us to really... interrupts the beauty we get from Addie's story. And we could have learned all about Henry from the way Addie sees him rather than telling us Henry's story.

Part-fantasy, part-speculative, part historical, part-metafiction, part-urban fantasy, and a full-on emotional rollercoaster. This immersive novel is a breath of fresh air.

Okay, just a warning: This novel is heavy on the romance. Just a warning for those who aren’t a fan. Romance is a core element in this novel’s narrative. You’ll see.

Does humanity genuinely want immortality or do we crave being remembered for generations long after we die? How is history made?

V. E. Schwab explores these thematic concerns through the character Addie LaRue. Born in 1691, women aren’t allowed to read, write, leave town, and expected to have babies until they die. As a girl, Addie is fascinated with her father’s travels and grew up playing in Estele’s independent, small hut. Addie is powerless as a girl in the 17th and 18th centuries, but she is stubborn. Addie refuses to follow the path laid out in front of her. So she runs away and makes a deal with one of the old gods, trading her soul away for immortality. There’s a catch, of course, because there always is. No one can remember her.

That is until she becomes an idea.

“The first mark she left upon the world, long before she knew the truth, that ideas are so much wilder than memories, that they long and look for ways of taking root.”

Brilliant!

This marks a shift in Addie’s character development when she becomes less interested in survival and more interest in historical impact/creative inspiration. Her character development echoes humanity’s artistic trajectory, hanging around different artists who work in various mediums. She becomes humanity’s muse.

This turns into an opportunity for Schwab to comment on great art, artists, and its impact. After all, what is art but the reimagination/commentary on events? In other words, art is just history that includes humanity’s biases and emotions. Schwab said it best in this novel:

“History is made in retrospect.”

Schwab continues to play with narrative structure in her latest novel. She has mastered multiple POVs and timelines after playing with that structure that she effectively utilized within the 2013 & 2018 Villains series. Schwab elevates this style by including commentary that is metafiction in nature.

I will end my review by writing this: I’ve followed V. E. Schwab since I got twitter. I’ve read her complain about writing new drafts for this novel. Schwab is not shy when talks about working on this novel for 10 years. She’s published so many books within that time. I’ve watched her start and abandon this novel for other projects that without a doubt paid her bills and flights around the globe. Schwab is the rich, successful White woman I can never be. Even with all of her privileges and opportunities, she still experiences the same imposter syndrome, doubts, fatigue, and burnout that I experience. She pulls the veil down on a romanticized career and exposes the nitty-gritty. I respect Schwab for everything she does and how she inspires writers with various experiences. And I’m proud to have seen the small snippets of Schwab’s journey creating The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. It’s been an honor and it surpassed all of my expectations.

This book was amazing. It was mesmerizing, bleak in parts, and evocative. The writing was gorgeous. The plot and characters were so well done. I can’t think of anything negative to say about this book. It was so good!

On the day of her wedding in 1714 Addie LaRue makes a deal with the devil (literally and figuratively). Addie wants to be free. She wants to grow out of the small French village in which she was born. She wants to explore the world without constraints. Bartering her soul for her freedom, what Addie doesn’t realize is that every word has power.

Addie will come to know that the Darkness (later known as Luc) takes Addie’s choice of words “freedom without constraints” to make her near invisible to the world. She cannot speak her name or tell her story. If someone leaves a room or turns away from Addie, she is quickly forgotten, but she is free. Erased. Invisible.

Then, Addie meets Henry who works in a book store. While trying to exchange a book she lifted from the store the previous day, she’s shocked at realization that Henry remembers Addie, he sees her. For the first time in nearly three hundred years Addie has a voice.

I’m finding it a bit difficult to truly convey my feelings for this book, this story, without giving too much away. There’s so much I want to talk about. V.E. Schwab has constructed a beautiful story that’s full of heartbreak yet is, oddly, also very hopeful and speaks to the strength of the human spirit.

Centering on Addie as she recounts her past and current present, V.E. Schwab fully conveys this suffocating feeling of not being able to speak ones truth. Of being overlooked, or quite literally forgotten. Of any formed relationship being relegated to one-sided and having to be rebuilt day after day after day. It seems so exhausting and there were plenty of times when Addie echoes this sentiment.

The really shining thing about this book is Addie’s perseverance. Visited by Luc on nearly every anniversary of their deal, he repeatedly tries to get her to give over her soul to him, to call it quits. Ever stubborn, Addie will not give him the satisfaction and what begins as a battle of wills between the two, devolves into Addie learning that maybe she doesn’t need her voice, she just needs an idea and she needs time—which she has in abundance.

Seeing Addie thwart the Darkness’s rules in seemingly minute ways, witnessing those small instances having a larger overall impact was absolutely brilliant and beautiful. When Addie meets Henry, the only other being—besides Luc—who remembers her, I had tears of joy for Addie. But I couldn’t in good conscience call their relationship romantic. I think they were each other’s saving graces and while true love could possibly form from that, I don’t think we see such a thing within the pages of this book. Only deep regard and affection.

This contrasts nicely with her relationship with Luc—the only constant in her life for all these years. I think V.E. Schwab played his ambiguity quite nicely. He remains a mystery throughout, one that I really want to crack, but this is Addie’s story and she’s playing her own game where they’re concerned, and honestly I’m 100% Team Addie.

If you’ve read V.E. (Victoria) Schwab, you know to expect wonderful settings, writing, characters, etc. This doesn’t change with Addie LaRue. But having finished I can say with real honesty that Addie is no longer invisible to me. I see her. I hope you will too.

France, 1714: Desperate to escape the fate of becoming a wife and mother, Adeline LaRue does the one thing she has been warned never to do – she calls out to the gods who listen after dark. The dark god hears her and grants what she desires – more time and the freedom to live as she pleases, but there’s a twist she didn’t see coming: everyone who meets her will forget her. Destitute but free, Adeline sets off to make a life for herself but her new reality is full of perils and problems, one of which is that she unable to leave a mark on the world, unable to write or draw or create. The story shifts from 1714 to 2014 in New York City, where Addie LaRue will meet the one person who is able to remember her, and it will change both of their lives.

The Invisible life of Addie LaRue is a decadent literary feast, one to be savored over long evenings and featuring such a range of delights that every reader will find something to enjoy. I was captivated by Addie LaRue and her incredible, unforgettable life. Her tale of going from an ordinary young woman from a small town in France to the accomplished, well-traveled, and always forgotten muse of artists and musicians is extraordinary. Between chapters of her new life in New York are flashbacks to turning points in her storied life, whether meeting influential people or finding the freedom of dressing as a man or her anniversary encounters with the entity that made her immortal and forgettable. I fell in love with Addie and Henry – the mysterious and unhappy young man she meets in a bookshop – and their intertwining story. I fell in love with the writing and the vibrant descriptions of cities, food, people, and art. I also enjoyed the LGBTQ representation!

I would recommend this book to fans of The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern and The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natasha Pulley.

This was a great book. It's slower paced, but definitely one that I look forward to recommending to others.

Deserveth of the hype, for sure.

Perfect tone and writing style? Check.
Schwab has this certain cadence to her writing where it reads like a beautiful lulling poetry. You can fall into this story so easily.

Incorporation of many fascinating places and points in time? Check.
This book takes you from France, to Italy, Germany, England, and a few different parts of the US, at various points between the 1700s and 2010s. It touches on different historical moments, including the French Revolution, World War I and II, and US Prohibition Era, and a few famous figures pop up throughout the story, which was fun.

Hitting all the Schwab points, which is why you're probably reading it in the first place? Check.
There are a lot of similar elements to Schwab's other books: Slytherin girls, Hufflepuff boys, shadows, dark deals, violins, love of the sea, not quite happy endings.
It's like if all of Schwab's previous books had one unforgettable night together, birthed a super baby with all of the best parts of their respective DNA, and that super baby grew up to a become the mature adult that is Addie LaRue.

V.E. Schwab's best book to date? Check, check, check.

What a clever and unique plot this book has! It's unlike anything I've ever read before which makes it equally hard for me to review. Even though it seemed to drag on forever, I see now why some of that was necessary. Kudos to the author for such a marvel and a great accomplishment.

Oh the magic of Addie! How do you write a review for a book you've waited for a long time, that delivered more than you expected, broke you, but also made you want to hug Addie, and Henry, and Luc (yes even Luc). So you clutch to the book with a little smile at the end and go question your own life.

That's it. That's the review.

Ok, I joke. There's more I need to say.

I loved loved LOVED this sad little story. It was lonely, it was pitiful, it was sad. But when a woman plays a game with the devil for 300 years - you know and must understand that there's resilience and hope and love in the grand scheme of things.

Addie's deal with the devil - a lifetime for a soul. And the only quirk to the deal, to make it a torture for Addie, the devil makes it so she's forgotten by everyone. There's nothing to hold her in a place. There's nothing she can hold on to either. No human, no item, no place. And that's where Addie's resilience comes in. How many years would you live if there was no mark left by you? If you lived an invisible life, when would you give up and give in? Does it even matter if you leave no mark in the end?

And then there's Henry. He reminded me so much of myself at a younger age - where you don't know what to do with yourself. What to reach for, what to try and accomplish. Everything is of interest, but nothing of importance. When you fail to please your family, or meet their expectations.. How do you contain all those feelings of self doubt, hate, the rush of trying to accomplish something out of yourself, looking for approval, and love?

The writing is exquisite as always. It's lyrical, poetic. You can feel the pain, the self doubt, the loneliness and the love for life and people from every page. Every word kind of digs deep into you and doesn't let.go.

Addie ended being such a clever character. While you're trying to remember her, you completely forget her in the end. Im glad I got to see and understand Addie and in the end I will remember her.

*Thank you to the publisher for an early copy to read and review. The opinions are my own*

My thanks to NetGalley for making an eARC copy of this book available to me.

Very enjoyable and easily recommendable book about a young woman, born in the 1600's, who becomes cursed to be forgettable. Anybody who has met her before doesn't remember her, to the extent that simply losing awareness of her briefly can make them forget her. The author has a lot of fun describing how she goes about surviving in a world where she can't have a job, can't have a stable location to live, can't have friends, and more. The book jumps back and forth between her earlier life and her story in 2004. Of course, there is a big change that comes half way through the book just to keep things interesting.

Stop what you’re doing and grab a copy of this book 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰. I cannot even begin to tell you how glad I am that I blindly requested this book on @netgalley, simply because of the author, because it is now easily one of my favorite books of all time.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
Never have I ever been more intrigued by a villain, and to be quite frank... never have I ever rooted for a villain so much (definitely not the entire time), but damn... And if you have read the summary and know who the villain is, you’ll understand just how 𝐇𝐔𝐆𝐄 that statement is.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
This is my third 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐰𝐚𝐛 novel, and though I love her writing, I struggled with what I saw as some fairly slow pacing in the other two novels.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
The thing is, I found the 𝘈𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 pacing a bit slow too, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 as a 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩, perfectly paced in the build-up and lending itself to the true 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 and 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞 that this book ultimately is. I honestly don’t know how I’m going to go forth and not compare everything else to 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘦.⁣⁣⁣
⁣⁣⁣
I’ll recommend this book forever and ever!⁣⁣⁣
⁣
Thank you so much to @torbooks and @netgalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review!⁣

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is beautifully written. The story of Addie bounces between the present and her past, weaving a tale of freedom, loneliness, self discovery, and being invisible, both figuratively and literally. This is my first experience with the writing of V.E. Schwab. Her style at times seems almost melodic. I found myself absorbed into Addie's life, her deal with Luc, and her interactions with others. I found the concept of love and relationships interesting especially in the construct that one of the people involved is forgotten. The introduction of Henry brings hope to the story. I think that maybe we all feel invisible, isolated, and alone at some time in our lives. In the end, I think we all want to be remembered or to matter to something or someone. Over all, I really enjoyed reading the book and am interested in exploring other writings from Schwab. Count me a new fan.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was the first V.E. Schwab book I've read, and I was surprised by its leisurely pace. Schwab takes their time setting scenes and creating characters that you can't help but start to fall in love with. Addie and Henry shone through the pages, and the people that surrounded them became memorable and lovable as a result.
Although the book is technically fantasy, I think it would have high appeal for literary or romance readers as well, due to the characterizations and the slower pace. A solid New Adult story for 20-somethings looking for their post-YA niche.

I can say without a doubt this is the book I was looking forward to the most this year. I could feel the hum in my body and the thrill of a new book, but then the concern hit. What if I was too excited? Were my expectations unfair and I was doomed to be disappointed? I’ll let you judge for yourself where your expectations should lie, but I can tell you this book was everything I wanted and more.

Addie knows not to pray to the gods after dark, but when the other gods have ignored her pleas, she desperately makes a deal with the devil. In exchange for immortality and freedom, she is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Everyone that is until she comes across a man 300 years later who finally says, “I remember you.”

Pg 51, “‘But the old woman only shakes her head. ‘The darkness plays its own game,’ she says. ‘It makes its own rules,’ she says. ‘And you have lost.’”

The writing is lush and descriptive. The detail never felt unnecessary but heightens the emotions of the scenes. The prose is not to be rushed through. The languid pacing provides an opportunity to immerse yourself in the world and relish the rich language. The timeline of the book goes between the 1700s and present, but each section further develops Addie and makes me fall more in love with her as a character. The devil character is charming and sinister, which makes his interactions with Addie tense and exquisite.

Pg 191, “‘It would be so easy to forget you. Everyone else already has.’”

This was a story I never wanted to end. I was desperate to keep reading because it was enthralling, but I also wanted to savor every moment. Fans of Erin Morgenstern are sure to love this as well as The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

You’ve met Addie LaRue. You’ve met her a thousand times, and you’ll meet her a thousand more, and you’ll never remember her.

You might hang on to a trace of her. Some faint, lingering tune she hummed in the hours you spent together will come back to you, and you’ll have no idea where it started. You’ll paint a picture of a girl with seven freckles on her face, a constellation that you know you never saw in the night sky, but a pattern that tiptoes around your brain for the rest of your life.

You know Addie LaRue, though you never heard her name. She goes by so many, she can’t even keep track of which one she told you. It doesn’t matter. You’ll turn away from her for a split second, and when you see her again, it’ll be as if she never existed to you before. Out of sight, out of mind.

Addie LaRue can be seen, but not remembered, even by film. Addie LaRue is a living ghost. Addie LaRue… is cursed.

When she was young, Addie LaRue was engaged, but she was not in love. Fleeing from an arranged marriage, Addie pleaded to whatever gods might have heard her. In her desperation, she made a mistake. “Never pray to the gods that answer after dark,” she had been warned. But night had fallen, and her prayer was heard, and a bargain was struck.

Now, three centuries have passed. Addie has traveled the world, learning to survive on her own. Three centuries with no one able to say her name, save for the dark being who came to her on that darker night, and who returns on occasion to see if she is tired of being forgotten. Three centuries to live as little more than a fleeting shadow.

From the fields and cities of France, Addie eventually made her way to New York, a bustling place just perfect for her to blend into. She grew comfortable there, pushing at the delicate edges of her curse to leave seed ideas in the minds of artists. “She has scattered herself like breadcrumbs, dusted across a hundred works of art.” Still, the real Addie was just as easily and quickly forgotten.

Until she wasn’t.

One day, Addie met Henry, a young bookseller. Against all odds, and in defiance of everything Addie had come to learn in 300 years, Henry remembered her. Somehow, he remembered her, and her carefully built world twisted beneath her. Soon, she is falling for Henry, and wondering if this might be what love feels like.

But Addie isn’t the only person in the world to have made a desperate plea, and she’s not the only one to have had it answered in an unexpected way. Now, everything is poised to change forever, and Addie must decide how much she is willing to risk in order to save man who remembers.

Victoria Schwab has crafted another fantastic world, equally as wondrous as the myriad Londons explored by her other heroines. This book has had my heart for months, and now it can have yours as well.

Today, Addie belongs to the world. Go find her. May you never forget her. I know I won’t.

My most sincere thanks to NetGalley for an eARC of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue in exchange for an honest review.

I waited. I waited, and willed, and watched.

Then, I read. And I fell.

Addie will always be remembered as the woman who made a choice, even when it was the wrong one or the one that hurt, and found the beauty in th small moments. The truth was in the honesty and brief bits of life.

Follow her example. Find your joy, what brings you awe. Never stop stopping at the wonders around you.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue follows Addie, over the course of her very long life, slipping away from peoples memories. After a deal she makes, she’s left forgotten, peoples glances slide right over her, forgetting they’ve seen her, or spoken to her. For hundreds of years, she explores the world, staying forgotten but making her own memories as she goes. Until one day, someone notices her. Remembers her, and her name.

The idea behind The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is brilliant, and engaging. I knew I needed to read it the minute I heard about it, not only because of the story, but because of my general love of V.E.Schwab. Yet, something about this one didn’t quite hit for me. The writing is, as usual, fantastic, Schwab knows how to keep you interested and turning the pages. Addie was a good character, one that you’re invested in. But something about this one just fell a little flat for me.

Going back to Addie being a character you can be invested in. Mostly, I was invested in her story before the current day events, before she is remembered. The story of her travels, the experiences she had, what led her to modern New York. The adventure behind that is exactly what I expected, knowing the deal that Addie made, knowing the freedom she wanted. That aspect of the story was brilliant, and I could have read several hundred more pages about what she did over the course of those hundreds of years. Where it lost me was the current story, of Addie being remembered. While that is very much the story we are meant to be interested in, I just wasn’t. It felt a bit slower, it deals a lot more with the romance involved, and the conflict with her concerns just didn’t keep me hooked.

Saying that, I know this is a me problem. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a really great story, a wonderfully written book, and one that so many people are going to adore. I just wanted more freedom and exploration from it, I don’t much care for romance in my books, and it lost the thread of the freedom that Addie had and wanted. Give me more about what happened to Addie before, and I’d be screaming from the rooftops about how much I loved it.. But instead, it ended up being just a middle ground book that I enjoyed, and know others will love, but didn’t wow me the way I hoped it would.