To escape an unwanted marriage, dreamer and artist Addie makes a deal with the god of darkness for freedom and immortality. The darkness grants her requests, but Addie is also saddled with total anonymity—no one knows her, remembers her, loves her. She wanders through three centuries alone until a single encounter alters her whole existence: someone remembers her name.

Though it starts slow and sad, Schwab’s narrative picks up steam as Addie learns the boundaries and allowances of her fate until the story roars with momentum when her worlds collide in the final act. This novel is a deft balance of a love triangle that’s both as old as time and wholly original, as well as an intricate examination of the nature of identity and belonging. A fascinating, absorbing read.

Full review to come in October. Many thanks to MacMillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for the eARC.

In a small town in France in 1714 , Adeline LaRue is running - away from a marriage she doesn't want, a life she doesn't want. In a moment of desperation she makes a foolish bargain, and gets the escape she wants, but at an immense cost. She will live forever and explore the world, but no one will know she is there, forgotten the second she walks away. And three hundred years later, a boy stops her, saying "I remember you."

This was AMAZING. Beautifully written, heart-breaking and hopeful at the same time. The Faustian bargains at the heart of the story aren't new, but Schwab does a fantastic job of using them to explore different questions - what does it mean to love someone, to make your mark on the world, to be free?
I could have read this one cover to cover in one sitting, but I actually slowed myself down and put it aside every day, so I could savor it, and spin the story out longer.

I loved this and I wasn't sure I would going into it. This won't be for everyone, but those that love it will adore it. I loved the plot and the setting. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, and the undone ending felt perfect. (Not everyone will agree). V.E. Schwab is an amazing writer who can craft a story and a plot wonderfully and I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.

Fabulous. The dualities of love & hate, life & death, hope & despair, and many more are masterfully explored in this tale of a 300 year Faustian bargain with a completely unexpected outcome. Absolutely, unequivocally, recommended.

Schwab has said in the past that she's been working on this book for 10 years, and it is so obvious to tell that it's the labor of love. It is beautiful and tragic, and a slow building story that is really just a bunch of smaller stories. It is a love story between a girl and the devil, but it is also a story about how fleeting life can be and how much more we appreciate life because of that. Addie was a character I felt I knew extremely well, that I understood all of her decisions and why she made them. Highly recommend!

Just thinking of this book makes me want to wistfully re-read the tales of Addie LaRue until my eyes burn. Until I eventually wither back into bed. I read this all in one sitting, reading until 4 am, time melting into the pages on my screen. Hours shrunk into minutes, and I was encaptured by the lulling language. Time fading into something that didn't exist— into anything but a number. I found myself wanting to get to the end, yet never wanting the tale to end. I actually read this book twice, wanting to absorb as much as I could, fearing that my review wouldn't do it justice if I had only read It once.

This is a story of growing up, kept promises, and facing the truth. What is the true price for freedom and independence? Words she longed for, but now find fearing. Some would say being forgotten is the way to truly be free, never be entitled to anyone. But is it as great as Addie had thought? Rash decisions in the face of growing up, being a mother, raising children. In the face of fear, in the longing, any deal seems rationable.

The day before her wedding, she does the only thing that makes sense to her at the time. Dreading the feeling of being chained to a husband, not wanting her happiness to wither like she saw Isabelle. She runs. She prays to the new gods, not the ones her mother and father pray to, but the new ones that Estelle prays to. In the rash moment, she doesn't care about Estelle's former warnings. Never pray to gods who answer after dark She doesn't care, because, he's the only one that listened. The only one who offered to help. She begs for freedom, for eternal life, saying she'll give him anything. They come to a bargain, he'll take her soul when she doesn't want it anymore. She doesn't know, however, that no one will remember her. Not even her parents, or Estelle with her crow-like laugh.

So she became immortal, with the cost of not being able to love, not being able to form relationships. She can no longer leave any marks, she cannot harm someone permanently, cannot draw, cannot write. Can not say, write, or trace her name.She learned to steal, nothing else worked for her. Relying on candy spun lies, ones that melt in the sun, leaving nothing but the echo of something. Dissolving in the midst of destruction.

You could call him the devil, but he likes to call himself the god of promise. He is the shadows.

Throughout her life, she's been forgotten, hurt, lied to, abandoned, lost, and longing. Standing as a wandering ghost, in the midst of history. Seeing people, places, fade as she stays. Never the same, her mind recollects every memory, ready to call upon each tale from her second life. It's a shame she can't seem to remember her father's smiles, only the aghast shock on his face the last time saw him. Her mind stays forever imprinted with memories, emotions, a flurrying scatter of scenes that she can recall on.

She's stood and watched as the world imprinted on itself, observing love, moments of passion, and art. Although she can no longer draw with the bonded parchment and graphite that she used to trace with. She can be drawn. Because each portrait is only an idea , an idea of her. Every piece of art portrayed in their own art styles, each stroke, not hers. But theirs. Addie was captured in many famous portraits, the girl with seven freckles. She cannot imprint the word, but they can. Each footprint brings her comfort—an echo in the chamber of life.

Addie is about to exchange a book she stole with another, when she realizes, the boy at the library can remember her. He's heartbroken, misunderstood, and longing for love. To be enough. Addie thinks that this is a coincidence, clinging to the idea of love with memory. A memory of every moment, even if it means the bad ones too.

I loved following Addie, and her stubbornness toward giving up. Surrendering. Every moment caught my breath, especially with VE Schwab's enchanting writing style. If I had to count the numbers of sentences I annotated, I'd be counting all day.

The ending was so fulfilling, a hollow in my chest filled with golden warmth.

Big thanks to Tor and Netgalley for allowing me to read this incredible ARC. I'm so thankful to be given this masterpiece.

I was planning on rereading this title before giving feedback on Net Galley, but I didn't want to lose the feeling of joy I've been holding in my heart since finishing THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE.

A disclaimer before we begin: Victoria is my favorite author, both her books and advice have gotten me through some difficult times, and Addie is no exception. I read this book over the course of a rapidly changing world, mid-pandemic and revolution, and found myself identifying with Addie in a way unlike other Schwab characters. She’s a girl trapped in a life she doesn’t recognize, a girl who wants more, and she doesn’t settle for the status quo. Addie creates her own, making a deal with darkness for her soul—but the price is a curse: no one remembers her. Yes, for some that might be a problem but she refuses to surrender, creating her own patch of joy where she can find it. She survives through centuries, watching the world move around her, making her mark on the world, alone, unremembered.

And then she meets Henry.

I think that’s where I’ll stop with the synopsis part of the review and go straight to the good stuff. The writing is beautiful, the voice pure Schwab, and like her other books, the story teeters on the knife’s edge of genre, part speculative part historical part literary. Readers looking for queer representation will find it normalized and casual, the characters are pansexual because that’s just the world. I’m not the sort of reviewer to go on about themes and symbolism, but love, acceptance, identity, and defiance all fuse together brilliantly in the incredible Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

#IRememberAddie

*Review will be posted to Goodreads and Instagram closer to release date. Thank you for approving me for this title.

Victoria, why do you like to break my heart?! I have a rule of thumb that if a books makes me cry, it'll get five stars. And this 100% gets five stars.
I went into this book thinking it would be a love story between a French girl and the Devil. While that's not exactly what happened, it was so much more. I will definitely be rereading Addie when it is officially released.
Thank you to NetGalley for this early digital copy!

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Books for providing me an advanced reader copy of V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. Below is my honest and spoiler free review.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is one of those books that comes along and changes your outlook on life, leaving its mark on you. Schwab’s writing, as always, is brilliant. She has such a talent for storytelling and painting vivid scenes for her readers to follow along like they’re watching a movie, while also leaving enough open to interpretation for them to add in details of their own. I had such an immediate connection to Addie. Even though I didn’t know her story yet, Schwab had me in tears in the first chapter simply through a scene that lays bare the importance of human connection. Schwab pulls from moments we’ve all had of self-doubt, of loneliness… these moments where we live in our heads and have an internal dialogue about who we are, if we’re leaving a positive mark on society/on others, and the ideas of acceptance and love.. and plays those moments out in Henry and Addie’s stories. I really enjoyed the flow Schwab set up to this book - we’re given snap shots of the main character’s lives.. key interactions and moments that have helped define who they are, like puzzle pieces scattered around the novel. Additionally, Schwab doesn’t box her readers in, rather she leaves some moments, especially what occurs between moments, open for interpretation for her readers. The concept for the story line is such an interesting and fun plot line to follow - a love affair with the devil. It did not play out how I expected it to at all, and I loved that! I have to say, I found the ending so absolutely satisfying. Schwab kept me guessing until the last line of the book. I loved every part of this novel and wouldn’t change a thing about it. It is such a breath of fresh air and very timely with everything that is going on in our world.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is filled with life lessons. The biggest take aways for me were (1) you deserve love and acceptance for being who you are - lean into who you are and find a network of people who support and uplift you, and (2) every interaction matters, and treat each one like it does - from ordering a coffee to checking out at a store and speaking with the cashier. I think readers will be left amazed at the resiliency of the human spirit after following Addie and Henry’s stories, and will see parts of their own lives reflected in what drives the main characters choices.

So at this point I’m pretty sure that Schwab is a goddess disguised in human form because everything she writes is so damn beautiful and flawless! I’m convinced that she has reached down into my soul and discovered exactly what I love to read about and takes pleasure in destroying me with each book she writes. This book is dark and gritty and gruesomely romantic and I lapped up and adored every damn second of it. Schwab has a brilliant imagination and she uses it to the full when she is creating her stories.

The SUPER BASIC premise of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue follows A French girl from the early 1700’s France who sells her soul to the devil for immortality so she can leave her mark on the world, but she also falls in love with him.

The plot was insanely good, had me on the edge of my seat and unable to stop reading (I did read the whole book in one sitting minus a small break to get something to eat), the characters were just as fully fleshed out and perfectly broken and HUMAN. In conclusion, V.E. Schwab might be some kind of genius when it comes to telling a story. I was hooked from start to finish.

This is a sweeping epic saga with a compelling and magnetic voice. I couldn’t read it fast enough and I was simultaneously reading too fast. VE Schwab has woven together a magical world that I almost wish I could step into. Five stars is an insufficient amount - it should be seven,

This was pretty wonderful. I have been meaning to read something from V.E. Schwab for a while so this was a wonderful introduction! Overall I loved the story of Addie and also Henry. I would say the ending was just a little bit heart breaking and I'd love to see what happens next.

A beautiful lyrical novel about the power of memory and what it means to be forgotten. Addie LaRue is a girl who has been cursed by an old god to live forever, but be forgotten by everyone she meets. The novel follows her journey across the centuries as she attempts to influence the world in small ways. Then one day she meets a young man who remembers her, who has a secret of his own. And their lives are changed forever.

Schwab is excellent at building complex characters and relationships. The non-linear narrative works well, and the way the strands of the story weave together feels seamless. There is a love story at the heart of this novel, but it is truly a story about finding one's identity and struggling to be seen in a world that dismisses young women like Addie. A beautiful poignant novel that lingers long after the story is done. It is hard to forget The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue.

A longer review will be coming on comicyears.com closer to the October 2020 publication date.

This ARC was received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

3.5 stars

First off, I'm a massive Schwab fan- Shades of Magic, Monsters of Verity, Vicious- love them. And perhaps because I was such a fan and was so incredibly sold on this premise, my expectations were too high.

It's a good book. I like both POV's (a rarity) and I really liked the concept, but the first half of this book drags. It is slow- at times plodding. The entry point for me into a narrative is character, and often character is revealed through the dynamics of relationships- friends, enemies, partners, whatever. But largely due to the way the story is structured, that dynamic is mostly absent from the book. Not entirely, but for the most part it can't really exist and so you spend a lot of time with the main character, and while time passes, it feels like nothing is happening and is frankly a bit dull.

Things start to pick up in the second half when a new character is introduced with a tantalizing little mystery and some romance and that's where the 3.5 stars come in. I thought this is when the book really took off and became much more absorbing. However, for this kind of concept, I personally prefer The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, which I think was more entertaining and better executed.

Still here for Schwab, will definitely read whatever she wants to write, but this is not one of my favs.

5 stars!

I love when I can rate a book 5 stars! I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed reading a book from V.E. Schwab but I’m so glad I loved it.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is the story of a young French woman who makes an imprudent deal with the Dark (or Devil, whichever you like). The consequence of this deal is that she will live forever but no one will ever remember her. Once a person has walked away from her or has a door between them, she is forgotten. This is Addie’s life until one day she walks into a book store for the second time and is remembered by someone.

I won’t tell you any more because it really is such a good premise that most people will want to read it just from that small amount of info. But man there is so much more.

Schwab just really knows how to write characters! They are so real and fleshed out. They are flawed and make mistakes. I love that Addie is not perfect, she has to steal to survive and she makes no excuses for it.

I want to say more but I also really don’t want to give anything away. I knew very little when I started the book and I love it when I’m surprised.

I can’t wait for the book to come out so that I can discuss it with other people!

I just finished The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. I have never read a book that hit so close to home. I have never met a character that I saw myself in. But that was Henry for me. Overwhelmingly so. And all I can say is thank you to V.E. Schwab for writing this and sharing it.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a story about overcoming the darkness of life, finding acceptance in circumstance, and making the best of situations that are out of our control. Schwab’s passion for her characters and her story is threaded throughout every page as the narrative reads as a love letter to those who struggle to overcome loneliness, mental illness, differences, and stagnant societal norms. For those that feel as if their voice is slighted, Addie’s story is one that provides hope in the dark and leaves the reader with an ache of longing as they identify with the plights of the characters.
The storyline is rich with metaphor and deep in the manner that you will find yourself thinking and analyzing hours after taking a break from the pages. The narrative is unique in that few books have been written along a similar vein that makes the hero’s journey feel like a slice of reality hidden in fiction.

Fans of V.E. Schwab will recognize her creative voice in the pages of this book with the way she weaves through timelines and settings but be lost in Addie’s narrative as something that is wholly new to the characters introduced within the pages.

Those that are new to Schwab’s writing may find trouble with the skip in timelines but bear with it and pay close attention to the details. It is worth the read.

Glorious, compelling, and beautifully crafted, Addie’s story is one that is meant to join the ranks of the modern classics.

Many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan-Tor/Forge for making the quarantine a lot more bearable by providing me with an advance copy of this book.

I’ve been dying to read this book since I heard V.E. Schwab speak about it at the Bookmarks Festival of Books and Authors last year, and I was thrilled to get my hands on a galley, because I just couldn’t wait any longer. Fortunately for me, my impatience paid off, because this book is a masterpiece.

In 1714, Adeline LaRue sells her soul to the Darkness in exchange for escape—escape from a life prescribed by her parents and her social standing, from a marriage she didn’t choose—and freedom. This deal grants her immortality, but costs her more than she could ever have imagined. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue follows Addie’s life over three centuries, and through its pages we learn, as Addie does, just what it means to be forgotten, and the incredible power of being remembered. At its heart, this book is a fable that places memory at the center of the human experience and reminds us of the power that we wield through our ability to leave our mark upon the world.

V.E. Schwab has done it again with this one. Addie’s world is our own, recognizable and familiar, and the way that Schwab has deftly woven magic into the fabric of our world makes it easy to believe that Addie’s story is true. For the rest of my days, I’m going to be searching every painting I see for a woman with a pattern of seven freckles across her face, just in case maybe, impossibly, I can find Addie LaRue.

My one critique is actually not related to the book itself, it’s that the blurb revealed to me that she would meet a man who remembers her name. I wish I hadn’t read the blurb, so that the reveal of that twist would have carried more weight.

It's been a few days and I am still floored by this book. Absolutely masterful. Schwab once again leaves me in awe. This is a book that begs to be re-read.

THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE broke my heart so many times I lost count. Addie herself is an incredible character, stubbornly choosing life even as the centuries wear on her. Her infuriatingly complicated dynamic with Luc, a primal god of darkness, is equally compelling. The terms of her curse make her forgettable--so much so that people forget her as soon as she leaves their sight. Addie lives through the centuries remembered only by the god who cursed her, unable to form true attachments until she meets Henry, a sad, sensitive bookseller who calls her out for stealing a book. To say anything further would spoil this wonderful novel, and its unraveling is well worth your time. This is not one to miss!

I truly enjoyed this book! I'm usually not a fan of this genre, but I heard the author talk about this book in a webinar. I enjoyed the split format of the chapters going from one time period to the next and I loved the character, Addie. I will definitely be recommending this one!