This book was so different than anything I've ever read. It was magical, heartbreaking, intriguing. I can't get over how much I loved this and I can't wait to tell everyone I know to read it too.

Rating: 4.5
Thank you to Macmillan and Net Galley for providing an ARC.
In a small village in 1714 France, 23 year old Adeline LaRue makes a deal with the devil/old god/monster/darkness. The deal is also a curse (because nothing is free). Spanning over the next 300 years we see the impact of Addie’s selling her soul to the devil.
This story is much more than the deal. We see what leads Addie to make the deal. I feel her horror when the full implications of what she’s signed up for become clear to her. No one will remember her. Over decades and even centuries Addie survives and learns and grows strong.
I cheer when she finds loopholes that lets her leave little marks in history. I became invested in Addie’s life, not life. I enjoyed her small victories & know she will make through the hard times.
Ms. Schwab writes a beautiful tale. I liked that this didn’t become a catalog of innovations and wars through the centuries but a story of Addie’s growth under tough circumstances.
Yes, I will recommend this beautiful & haunting story.

A wonderfully woven tale of life and love that alternates throughout 300 years of history as we explore the present and past of Addie LaRue. A rich story and world that drew me in and captivated at every turn.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a contextualization of every emotion that I've never been capable of describing in my life. Gorgeous and raw.

This book was truly addictive! Schwab's lyrical style and gripping plot hooked me in until the very end.

V.E. Schwab has an amazing talent that leaves me not only in complete tears at the end of books but also questioning and thinking about them days after. I was blown away by The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Adeline LaRue is a young girl who is born in 1698 in a small village in France. She does not want an ordinary life, where she lives, marries, and dies in this town. She wants adventure and learning. Addie soon meets Estele who teaches Addie about the Old Gods. The one rule Estele tells Addie to follow is "no matter how desperate or dire, never pray to the gods that answer after dark." Addie follows this. Yet when she finds out she is forced to marry Roger, she runs away to pray in the woods, before the wedding, and before dark; yet while she's praying the sun goes down and a Dark God answers. Addie is granted her wish to be free, to have her own choices. In exchange, the Dark can have her soul when she doesn't want it anymore. The one hitch, no one remembers Addie nor can she make her mark on anything.

So, Addie lives and the Dark, she soon names him Luc, comes yearly then sporadically to ask her to give him her soul. She refuses each time. She learns the limits of her curse and how she can make her mark, through art. It isn't until 2014, that she finally meets someone who can remember her. Who is Henry Strauss? And why can he remember her?

This book is beautiful and extremely thought-provoking. What would we do with more time and how would we spend it? How would it feel to live forever but for everyone we know to automatically forget us once they leave the room, go behind a door, fall asleep? I was mesmerized from the first page.

The characters that Schwab creates are breathtaking and beautiful. Addie with her free spirit, willingness to learn, and her independent streak is reminiscent of Elizabeth Bennet and Jo March. I was especially drawn to Luc though. His devil may care attitude, but with a soft spot for this girl who continually defies him. There were also moments when he seemed to have a conscious. Luc wasn't exactly like Death from The Book Thief but there were definitely shades of that as I read. The one character I didn't really like, and this may be controversial, was Henry. I thought he was boring. He felt like most whiny, white boys today and I wanted something more from him, especially with how it ended. Even with that I still give this book a full 5 stars and definitely will buy my own copy once it's out.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

On the cusp of an ordinary life, a girl sells her soul for a chance at something more. Addie is about to get married to a man she doesn't love and start a family in a town she is desperate to leave. Staying in this place will crush everything that she is, and in her desperation she makes a deal with the gods who only answer after the world gets dark. When you deal with the devils of the world, your bargain no doubt will serve them more than it serves you, and while Addie finds herself living forever, she is cursed so that no one can remember her. Then finally, after living hundreds of years and multiple lifetimes, Addie stumbles upon someone that remembers.

This story is beautifully told. Despite the fantastical elements, it is at its core a human story about our need for life to have meaning, of realizing our potential and making our mark. We all have an Addie inside of us that fights for our potential in a world that wants to forget us. Addie finds small ways to leave her mark, to create something beautiful and lasting despite the forces at work against her. I can remember that feeling of being on the edge of my future - terrified to move forward and terrified not to - and this book captures that urgency so well. I appreciate the look at mental health - we see characters struggling with anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Addie and Henry are both so lonely, and I appreciated the exploration of that profound loneliness we can feel even as we are surrounding by multitudes of people. VE Schwab is one of my favorite authors and this is my favorite from her thus far.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review and feedback.

Schwab's "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" is a piece of wonderful storytelling that I am eager to recommend to customers in our store. Addeline LaRue simply wants to break free of the mold she is being pushed into as a woman in France during the early 1700's. The last straw was being forced into a marriage she did not want at 23 years old, so she runs off into the woods to pray to the Old Gods and ask for their help... little does she realize that the sun is setting and you don't know which Gods are listening when the light fades away... After striking a deal Addie thinks she will finally be free, but she does not quite realize the implications of the deal she has struck until she makes it back home and no one remembers her. A door shuts, a memory wiped clean of Addie, and we start again. Addie's life has become an insect frozen in amber. Unchanging, undying, and free.

The year is now 2014 and Addie, still an unchanged 23 year old, has spent the last severl hundred years learning the rules of her curse and what she can and cannot do. Things seem to change in a bookstore, with a young man, and a copy of The Odyssey. This is a magical, suspenseful, and page turning story from Schwab.

No one wants to be forgotten. Yet none of us can truly decide how we are remembered, in the end. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a work of art. This beautiful book spans decades, following the life of the titular Addie LaRue as she trades one unbearable fate for another. Addie is independent, spirited, and curious. Readers are sure to fall in love as they travel alongside this new literary heroine. The novel is as spellbinding as it is haunting, and it will stay with you long after you've turned the last page. In a world filled with uncertainty and doubt, Addie reminds us that all we need is a little bit of hope, and a heap of defiance. V.E. Schwab has outdone herself with this new tale of love, magic, and adventure. Pick up a copy in October and allow yourself to be swept away.

This is another absolutely stunning book from V.E. Schwab. I sobbed my way through the end, and found myself copying down passage after passage. The themes struck me as particularly profound given the challenges we're facing as a world at the moment—the enduring power of art, the importance of meaningful, authentic connection, the way that hope helps us to endure. Addie and Henry are characters who will live in my heart for years to come.

I told myself I had to finish the book I was already reading before starting Addie Larue, but that obviously did not happen. I immediately fell in love with this book, as it mirrored my own fears of adulthood and sacrificing my freedom to insure that my dog can go to college. V.E. Schwab weaves a beautiful tale of our lovely ghost of a woman, Addie Larue, and captures the reader's attention within the first few pages.--"Why? Who? What? WHAT IS HAPPENING?"--I was already a Schwab fan, but learning that this book took her 10 years of development has instilled a greater appreciation for her work in me. I cannot recommend this book enough, and I cannot wait to see what comes next.

**Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC. You saved Quarantine!

Literally how do I even start this review oh my god.

This was one of the EASIEST 5/5 rating I have given a book oh my god OH MY GOD.

V. E. Schwab has literally done it again and I want/wish everyone (could) read it right now. I cried I laughed I gasped I yelled. God V. E. Schwab does such a good job in not only making us connect with her characters but also transports us entirely into their worlds. Her themes on the triviality of time and the looming presence of loneliness woven throughout her words has such a lasting impact, I already know this book will stick with me for a really long time. I connected with Addie LaRue in a way that I haven’t been able to with another female protagonist in a really long while and that just proves V. E. Schwab’s talents. I loved all the moving parts that she included and the fleshing out of Addie’s story, and that of Henry’s and the characters in their stories. There were happy moments and sad ones and exciting ones and loving ones etc. It is a tale of hopefulness and despair but above all the silver lining that the idea of time basically is non-existent. And it is up to the reader to do with that as they wish. There were no confusing moments and the ending left me quite content if not a bit nostalgic and melodramatic but hopeful at the same time? The fact that V. E. Schwab could accomplish all of this speaks volumes about her work in The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

I wish I could post spoilers and just rant with everyone about this book but sadly not yet. But I will be shouting to everyone I know that they NEED to pick this book up. I absolutely cannot wait until I have the hard copy in my hands. Easily one of my favourite books of 2020 and may even be one of my favourite stand alones ever.

Knowing that Victoria has stated that this is "the book of her heart" and one that she had the idea for more than a decade ago but waited until she was "good enough" to write it set my expectations very high. And she totally came through! This book has just about everything readers have come to love from V. E. Schwab and shows her increased strength and talent as a writer, too. Excellent author, fantastic book!

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab is an amazing and colorful adventure! I would highly recommend it to young adult and fantasy readers and anyone who is a fan of V.E.!

V.E. Schwab has such a way with words and worlds. I loved everything about this book, I am in awe of the story of Addie LaRue. It showed us the true cost of having all the freedom you thought you wanted. Beautifully written story about a girl who wanted freedom and adventure, but this adventure came with a price. She was cursed to be forgotten by all that she meets until she meets the one person who says the words she'd longed to hear 'I remember you.'.

Thank you NetGalley and McMillan-Tor/Forge for a gifted copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my opinion.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
By: V.E. Schwab


REVIEW ☆☆☆☆☆
I love unique, bizarre, unusual, weird stories, and The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue was all of these things and more. Never make a deal with the Devil because there will be some kind of caveat that you didn't even consider in the transaction. This fine print will be your misery. Addie wants freedom, not a husband, so she flees from her own wedding. Her wish comes true, and the Devil grants Addie freedom and immortality. Addie realizes too late the trick of it all is that no one remembers her. It's like she never existed. This is so sad and depressing. For centuries Addie exists as nothing. She has nothing but herself. It's hard to imagine just watching time pass you by with deaths of loved ones, progress and change, natural disasters and destruction, knowing you should have been part of it. Then, Addie meets one person who remembers her name. How is this possible? I'm not going to tell you. This story is moving in heartbreaking ways and brilliant with the subtle complexities woven throughout the story. You might take a step back and look at your life differently because it's just that kind of book. I can't recommend reading this story enough!

It starts a little slow but wraps you up in it's fascinating story pretty quickly. I loved the characters and the plot line. What a fun adventure!

WOOOWWWWW! This book is incredible! The story is beautiful and beautifully told. I don't really know how to properly review this book because nothing I say can do it justice. It's exquisite.

This book was one of the more unique books I have ever come across. I have never read anything by V.E. Schwab, but this book makes me wish that I had. A 300+ year relationship with the devil, the elusiveness of one forgotten in the time, and a love like nothing we've ever seen - that is what this novel is about. Addie la Rue is forgotten by everyone she ever meets... until Henry. How does her story go from here? Read this amazing novel and find out.

Well well well. She’s done it again. I AM IN LOVE! I freaking love this book. V.E. Schwab you’ve gotten me to fall in love with another one of your stories and I couldn’t be happier. This is a story of time and the complexity of being remembered and leaving a mark. What it means to be seen. While reading this I felt so many emotions, I understood Addie’s yearning to choose her own life but her fear of not being remembered. I felt Henry’s wanting to be enough and to just be seen and loved. Heck I even loved Luc. This book has so much to offer and I can honestly say reading this was like drinking a fine glass of champagne. It was sparkling, it was wonderful, and it left a warm sensation in my heart. The story goes back and forth between the past and present and changes between Addie and Henry’s POV. I loved the journey of both characters and can I just say that ending had me cackling. I loved the complexity of the relationships between all the characters. Their reasons for their actions and decisions were understandable. This book was like a night sky filled with stars, leaving me in awe and wonder.