1714, France-a deal with the devil leads to a 300 year dance through history with a girl no one can remember, until one day we meet someone who does. I enjoyed this book, especially the ending.

Addie LaRue is a dreamer. She was born in 1691 in a little village in France and she is sure she will be condemned to live all her life in that place, without really knowing the world.. essentially without living. So when a marriage is arranged, she feels as if life is slipping from her fingers and she cannot breath.. she runs into the forest and prays every god there is, but of course it’s the devil who answers. She sells him her soul in exchange for an eternity of freedom, she will never belong to anyone and when she is ready, she will surrender and give him herself. But every bargain comes with a cost and indeed she soon finds out that no one remembers her, not her family, not her friends.. as soon as people ceases to see her, they forget her. Now she is free to see the world, but she is also damned to a lonely life, made of first impressions and stolen nights... the only staple in her life is the devil that returns to ask if she is tired. And of course she is, but she is not ready to give up because even if her life is full of sorrow, it’s full of art and wonder as well. And then, the unthinkable happens, a boy tells her: I REMEMBER YOU, but is it really a mistake, a slip in her curse, or is there something she is missing?!

I couldn’t put this book down because I felt incredibly attached to Addie. I could feel what she felt and imagine myself in her shoes. The feeling you are living an invisible life.. because if you can’t leave a mark, if you are not remembered, do you really exist? Still, she finds a way to leave her mark, far more than people who live without purpose, that do not try to be happy and to take the best from everything. She is such a remarkable girl, probably born in a wrong period, who can’t give up her dreams just because it’s what society wants. The truth is that in the end she finds herself trapped with the very person who condemned her to a lonely life. But how can you be sure you love someone if he is the only choice you have? If he says he is giving you freedom when he is trapping you in a cage? This book is dark, and Schwab’s style is clearly recognizable even if the story is so much different from everything she has written in the past.. and I’m so happy to follow this path with her.

I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have been reading this book for about two months now, simply because I knew that I didn't want it to end. Each page was pure magic and my heart is a little broken now that it's over.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was everything I have ever wanted. A girl makes a deal with a devil to live and her makes sure that everyone forgets her. Addie was an amazing character. I loved her need to live a life, to see more than her small time. Watching her fight against the chains that trapped her for so long and seeing her rage made her an unforgettable character. Seeing her life spill out across the pages of this book made me hopeful and so angry. Angry at the unfairness of it all.

The words of this book are lyrical. There was never a moment that I wanted to miss. Two months and still I'm not ready for the outcome. This is the type of book that I wanted to start over as soon as I finished the last page. As of this exact moment, I can honestly say, this might be my favorite book of all time.

Addie LaRue is restless and trapped. Facing a marriage bed and a child-bed, tethered to a man and a life in 1714 that she dreads, Addie prays to escape. But she prays to the wrong god, a god that answers after dark. There is a price to pay, her soul for freedom and time to live as she pleases. Addie did not want to belong to anyone, and finds that she is present to no one. She is flesh and bone, but forgotten by all as soon as their eyes leave her. She is unable to speak her own name or leave a mark on the world in any way. She cannot be remembered even in her own village, by her own parents. For the god of darkness, this is a game of promise where he sets the rules and the devil is in the details. Addie will be invisible and alone in the world until she surrenders to him. After more than three hundred years, Addie stumbles across a kindred spirit that has made a similar bargain, but they know that the Darkness will soon come calling, as he does every year, and he is a jealous god and quick to anger.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue asks the reader to imagine what they most long for and what they would give up to obtain it. If no one remembers you, are you real? If people only see in you what they want to see, are you truly loved? V.E. Schwab’s novel offers a new take on our human search for happiness, validation, and meaning wrapped in an ominous Faustian veil. This could be an enjoyable October book club read if you are looking for a title that is spooky, but not frightening. Be careful what you wish for in the dark; the old gods might be listening. (I want to thank NetGalley for letting me read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.)

Addie wants to live a large life. When she is threatened with an arranged marriage she begs the gods to change her fate. She makes a deal with a god that is too good to be true. Immortality, a life of adventure until she is ready to move on. What she doesn’t know is the price. Nothing she touches will remain . As soon as someone takes their eyes off her they will forget who she is. And she cannot tell anyone her name, her story.

This book was stunning. It changed my life in so many ways. It was the kind of book you want to both devour and savour. I adored Addie and her stubbornness. Her will to carry on and bend the rules of her curse. And the romance ... slow burning and beautiful and tragic. I loved every minute of this book.

Wow - that’s the only word that comes to mind as I sit here reeling from finishing this book. What an incredible, unique, and beautiful story. I requested this on NetGalley solely based on the hype and being a fan of V.E. Schwab. I only vaguely knew the premise and I did not read the synopsis ahead of time so I went into it mostly blind.

This book reads completely differently than A Darker Shade of Magic series, which is my only experience reading V.E. Schwab. While I really enjoyed those books, they aren’t on my list of favorites. I would honestly, never know this is the same author. There is so much detail, so much nuance and intrigue, that it’s truly captivating in a way I don’t think I’ve experienced in a book before.

I’m not even sure how to articulate the writing style of this book- it’s simple, yet complicated. Personal yet aloof. Happy and yet very sad. I got the same feeling from this book that I did watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind for the first time - it’s something that’s so wonderful and still tinged with an overarching melancholy that you don’t wish to get out of. It left me feeling nostalgic and homesick for things I’ve never experienced and places I’ve never visited.

It’s a book truly filled with lots of juxtaposition. While I usually prefer books solely in chronological order - this one alternates between the (mostly) present and the long-ago past. We see the struggle Addie endured in the earlier years. The sadness, loneliness, and the heart-wrenching desperation that drove her to make a deal with the devil. But most importantly, we see her wildness and her ‘different-ness’. In the present we see how her wildness has turned into resourcefulness and perseverance. We see that while she still experiences sadness and loneliness, it’s broken up by happiness and beauty. There are so many emotions readers will experience in this book and I think having the plot shift from past and present serves to keep the readers from feeling like they were thrown into a pit of despair right along with Addie (thank you for this).

Overall, the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is anything but invisible or forgettable. It’s one of those books that just sticks with you and I’ll be thinking about it for a long time. I’m confident it will become a staple in my collection and I see myself re-reading it when I feel reflective of my own life. Thank you for such a special and beautiful book.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

This gets five full stars from me, and I'd give it more if I could. It has been a while since I have enjoyed a book this thoroughly.

Addie LaRue is set to be married off to a widower at the age of twenty-three in a small French village in the early 18th century. She cries out to the gods for help, and a dark one answers. He gives her what she asks for - freedom and time - but at a huge cost. Addie is immortal, and the instant one turns away from her, they forget she exists. She is unable to tell people her name, and she cannot leave a tangible mark on the world.

And so, she lives this way for three hundred years, stealing food and clothing and sneaking into places to sleep. She has sprawling relationships with people that, for the other person, is a one night stand that they don't remember bringing home.

All of this changes when she returns to a bookstore where she was caught stealing a book the previous day, and heard three words she never thought she'd hear again: "I remember you."

This novel is a sprawling story of a woman who made a deal with a devil. He wants her soul, so he creates an environment that would wear down the strongest of us. Addie lives through wars and famines and technology booms, all the while accepting her invisibility and refusing to acquiesce and relinquish her soul. They dance around each other for centuries, her relationship with this dark god dancing between love and hate, between lust and loathing.

It is part historical fiction, part fantasy, part romance, and all incredible. The thread that was woven throughout the story was beautiful - this unknown and unknowable girl with a constellation of stars across her face appearing in art throughout centuries and all around the world. The ending was not what I expected, and not what I would have originally hoped for, but it was perfect.

This is the kind of book I would happily recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the advanced e-copy to review.

Wow! As a big fan of V.E. Schwab I expected this to be good, but it exceeded my expectations. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue tells the story of a girl who makes a deal with the devil to be able to live freely. As you'd expect, the devil has his own agenda and doesn't grant the wish without a few unfortunate twists. Addie is forgotten by everyone she meets until one day, someone remembers her. The book alternates between the past and the present to learn more about Addie, Luc, and Henry, and the consequences of their deals.

I enjoyed every aspect of this book. Schwab is an incredibly talented writer and has me invested in every single character she introduces. I especially loved the art references and Addie's interactions with different artists throughout history. I've always recommended Shades of Magic to anyone looking for fantasy, but this one I will be recommending to everyone!

I was so excited to have the opportunity to read this book and it did not disappoint! I loved the horrible internal logic of Addie's curse and the idea of being cursed to be forgotten. The ways Addie learned to circumvent her curse were nothing short of brilliant. I will be recommending this book to just about everyone in October.

Brilliant, beautiful and so well written. Captivating and poetic and so human in the end. Addie was an incredible character, like none I had ever seen... my only regret is her name that -as a French person- think is not truly French haha.
Full review coming later on!

This was such a beautifully written, magical, tense and heartbreaking story. In true Victoria Schwab form, she builds a gorgeous world full of magic and intrigue with this one and I honestly couldn't put it down! Please pick this up in October!

It is hard to articulate my feelings about this novel, but I’m going to give it my best shot. I am in love with The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue; pure and simple. This book made me cry and broke my heart while also lifting my spirit. Every word that Schwab wrote in this book feels like it serves a purpose; thoughtfully put on the page in such a beautiful manner.

This novel is about Addie, a girl in 1700 France with a free spirit who wishes to be free, but is being forced to marry because of the time period she lives in. She frantically prays to the spirits in the woods, but she prays to the wrong spirit and makes the wrong type of deal- her soul in exchange for freedom, but she does not phrase her wish right and ends up making herself unable to be remembered by anyone once she is out of eyesight. This includes her parents and friends that she has known her entire life. After 300 years without being able to make a home for herself or to be remembered by anyone but the devil she made a deal with, she meets a young man that is somehow able to remember her.

Addie is such a fierce character- she has survived in a world that is unable to remember who she is. She doesn’t turn her back on the world and become bitter- though there are times throughout her invisible life that she comes so close. She ultimately tries to make her mark in any way she can, through other people. Addie’s character is not perfect though- she definitely has her faults, she has to survive somehow in the world. I also really enjoyed the way that even Luc, the devil that Addie made the deal with, can become a gray character throughout the story. He sometimes seems to really care for Addie, while other times he is trying to break her. You so want him to be good, even knowing that he probably won’t be.

I love that the novel switches back and forth in time from the past to the present and then back again. It helps understand some of that characters behaviors and their actions throughout time. It really builds up a climax as to why all of a sudden someone is able to remember Addie and what that means for her exactly.

I can honestly say that this is now one of my favorite books and I am planning on buying a copy to re-read once it is published. I just can’t stop raving about this novel!

ARC provided by Publisher via Netgalley.

This is, by far, one of the most beautiful book I have ever read. It’s pure poetry for 448 pages. I adored every single book Victoria ever wrote, but you can feel the years of work this book took. It’s a masterpiece.

Thank you to Netgalley for the E-ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wow. What a book. I feel like I highlighted at least a quarter of this book because I loved the quotes so much. I absolutely love the way Schwab writes, and this book certainly was no exception. This book was incredible.

The description throughout this book sucked me in right away. I loved seeing the centuries play out, seeing different well-known people sprinkled throughout in their respective times, and the world moving around Addie like water around a rock.

It's a slow burn, for sure. It's not action packed, but the world that Schwab created is absolutely stunning, because it's so simple: I girl living her life as best she can given the circumstances. It was so great to watch Addie grow both through the centuries and as she was at "present" time.

I'm such a sucker for books that jump around in time, as everything comes to fruition and the pieces fall into place. It can either play out beautifully, or fall apart; luckily, this book was the former. I am so glad I got to read this, and absolutely cannot wait to have a physical copy in my hands.

Rock bottom. No way out. Those Gethsemane moments, sweating blood, crying out to God for any kind of help. Have you been there? What if, at that very moment, someone actually answered? But it wasn’t God who stepped up.

That’s exactly what happened to young Adeline LaRue at her darkest moment. It is 1714, and she was about to be forced into a loveless marriage with an old widower, so she prayed, and prayed. But she prayed for so long that she didn’t notice that the sun had gone down- even though she had been warned not to make offerings to those that might answer after dark. She felt that her life had been too sheltered, too short- she wasn’t allowed to live the way she desired. All she wanted was more time.

And so it was that she was given her wish. But you and I both know that when you bargain with the devil, it comes with a price- and also with quite a bit of fine print. Of course the price is Addie’s soul, and the fine print is that she will live as long as she likes, but she will never be remembered. And what is a life, if not the traces it leaves behind?

We follow Addie’s story through 300 years of detailed history and art- all beautifully rendered and interspersed with Addie’s present-day life. A life that has been lived in fleeting moments, captured occasionally on canvas or in sculpture, but never in memory. She cannot even speak her real name. Until one day, out of the blue, a young man says the words she has been waiting to hear, “I remember you,” and everything changes….

I loved every second of this book! It felt like an artful blend of historical fiction and fantasy and it seriously surprised me. I did not expect where it ended up, and it was a delightfully dark twist.
I absolutely give this book all the stars!

How do I even put into words how much I loved this book?! A simple this book is great or amazing is just not enough. This book is SPECIAL! This is a book that every time I see it on my shelves I’m going to get all the feels and want to pick it up and reread it all over again.

I want the audiobook and all the editions! I want to wrap this book up and give it to all my friends! It’s that kind of BOOK!

I went into this book only knowing it was written by V.E.Schwab (I mean do you really need anymore reason?) and I’m so glad I did.

From the very start the pages were magic! I slowly savored the beautiful words and felt transported in time while following Addie Larue in one of the most heartfelt, draining and amazing journeys I’ve ever been on!

Trust me! Just read the book!

I’ve been sitting on this review for about a month now because I’ve been having so much trouble processing my thoughts and emotions about the book. It’s such a complicated story so it comes as no surprise that my thoughts and feelings about it are a complicated, tangled mess. As I write this, I’m still unsure of the rating I’m going to give it so I’m hoping writing out the review itself will help me figure it out. I did enjoy the book overall though so we’ll see. Content warnings that I noticed will be at the end of the review. Let’s dive in!

The characters were incredibly well developed, though there were a couple times in the story when I thought, at the time, that something went against a character’s “regular” behavior. However, later in the story I learned things about those characters that would have put those actions solidly within the realm of their “regular” behavior. The character development is artfully done, which pairs perfectly with the story itself. We’re able to get to know each of the characters individually, but also by how they are perceived by others. It’s truly a thing of beauty.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is set in a variety of locations and time periods, all of which seem to have been thoroughly researched and built up meticulously. Whether the story takes place in 1700s Paris or 2010s New York City or anywhere in between, there is almost always the feeling of being fully immersed in the world. Each different location is built up individually as if by magic–without being info dumpy at all–and the rules of the world and how the characters interact with it are laid out beautifully throughout the story parallel to the characters being developed so there is little room for confusion.

The beginning of the story seemed quite chaotic to me, going back and forth between the past and the present while still always moving forward in each of the timelines. It isn’t until around halfway through the book that it begins to become obvious that the chaos was intentional, though at that point of the story the intention itself was entirely unclear to me. However, the chaos is filled in with details that spiked my curiosity. I had a lot of trouble putting the book down so I don’t think even my “if I’m not hooked by chapter 2 I throw the whole book away” friends will have trouble enjoying this one. The story flows in such a way that puts me in mind of a rose–slowly blossoming before it explodes into bloom and leaves you in awe of its magnificence. It is complex and beautifully written.

While The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue works very well as a standalone, I would not be upset if there ends up being a book #2. The ending wrapped up all of the loose ends left from the story while also leaving me wanting to know what happens next. It’s such an amazing story. I went in with quite high expectations and came out having each of them fulfilled and surpassed. This is exactly the high level of quality I’ve come to expect from Victoria Schwab’s writing.

Overall, I rate The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue 4.5 out of 5 bookworms.

AHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHH!!!! *screams forever because my Netgalley request was approved!!!!!* (psst... thank you Tor Books, I love you <3)
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I finished this book a week ago and I keep thinking today's the day I'm going to write my review for Addie! And then... I don't. Because this book is so emotional, so powerful, so rich, so everything that it feels like nothing I write about it will ever adequately encompass the masterpiece that is Schwab's newest novel!

Today, I finally accepted that I'm never going to feel up to the task of reviewing such an incredible book, so I might as well stop delaying and give it my best shot.

Reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is... an experience. I'm a frequent book binger. Someone who often finishes books in one sitting. I've done so with plenty of Schwab's books -- and it's usually a sign that the book is riveting. It's a good thing!

Yet, with Addie, I found myself wanting to savor the story. I read Addie the way I'd eat a bar of rich, premium dark chocolate: one square a night, letting each morsel dissolve on my tongue, desperate for the beautiful, complex, bittersweet taste to last as long as possible.

And when I speak of savoring the story, it wasn't just a matter of spacing out reading the story over the course of a week, reading a few chapters at a time. It was the act of reading itself. As a natural speed reader, I often subconsciously end up skimming parts of many books. With Addie, I deliberately read every single word, every single line. Let the words soak into my skin.

Okay, enough waxing poetic (fun as it is)! Why should YOU read Addie?

Read it for the emotional beats. For an immortal / long-lived being, the events of Addie's life are surprisingly relatable. We feel the heights of her happy, free explorations, the depths of her deepest despair, and everything in between. We feel her desperation for escape, for freedom at any price. We feel her hopelessness. We feel the fear of being trapped when she's confined in dark, dangerous spaces. We feel the giddy joy of being the only person in the world to be able to experience what she has. We feel the satisfaction of finding a way against all the odds. We feel the grief of immortality. We feel like we're discovering the world anew when Addie finds something she hasn't seen before. Addie is so unlike us, and yet, somehow, she's also every one of us, and she's written to connect so powerfully with the reader.

Read it for the magic. The magic of Addie's world is subtle and it comes with a price. It's nothing entirely new. In fact, it comes from stories we've all heard many times before. A deal with the devil? Classic. But the way the magic is written? I still can't wrap my head around how beautifully it's incorporated into Addie's story.

Read it for the writing. Look, I knew Schwab was an incredible writer before this book. Other than her Steel Prince comic series and work-for-hire books, I've read all of her novels. But this? This blew me out of the water, even knowing how much I love her writing already! This book accomplished a feat I thought virtually impossible: it dethroned the Villains series. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is now my favorite Schwab book of all time, and that, my friends, is something I didn't know could happen. Every turn of phrase in this story is absolutely perfect. And she makes three words -- three words -- such a powerful, soaring, beautiful thing in the story. Read it and you'll know which three I'm talking about.

Read it for the love story. This line might be a surprise, if you know me and my reading preferences. I'm not big on love stories. I often find them boring or, sometimes, just plain unbelievable. I want love stories with complexity and without angst. This is one of those stories. It's a love story, yet it's not. I won't say anything more, lest I spoil something.

Read it for the wanderlust. As it turns out, I really love wanderlust books (case in point: my favorite book of 2019, The Ten Thousand Doors of January). This one will make you simultaneously feel like you've already explored the world... and also wish you could go out, right now, on an adventure.

Read it for the themes. The way Schwab writes Addie's experiences as a woman and the way she's treated throughout the centuries has to be one of the most wonderfully subtle commentaries on being a woman in this world. I am in AWE. Of course, that's not the only theme. Loneliness and ambition and the desire to leave a mark upon the world are major too.

And, of course, read it for Addie. She is one of those characters that would've been much easier to write from afar. Mysterious side characters or villains characters intrigue us. We want to know them better, want to know how they work, what drives them. Yet get too close to a once-mysterious character and they often lose that mystique that drew us in the first place. In that sense (and in many other ways), this book is an incredibly ambitious undertaking. We aren't just getting up close and personal with Addie, getting to know every major moment of her long, long life. We're in her head. We feel her emotions, her shame, her triumph, her desires. We know everything about her and yet she's somehow still mysterious. She's still fascinating, intriguing, surprising, formidable. She's still just as interesting once we get to know her -- maybe more so. And that? THAT is such an incredibly difficult thing to pull off. That is why (if I hadn't already known this from previous books), Addie would have solidified my love for Schwab's storytelling and guaranteed that I will read everything she ever writes.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is one of the best books I've ever read and a new all-time favorite. Halfway through the book, I was already planning my re-read. I raved about Addie so much that my husband says he'll listen to the audiobook when it's out in October. He'd better listen fast, because I plan to re-read via audiobook then as well!

Thank you so so SO much to Tor Books and Netgalley for a free digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

1714, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain with the devil to live forever but she will leave no trace and no one will remember her. Until 300 years later a young man cannot forget her. A wonderfully sad heartbreaking story about
the choices we make and their consequences.

V.E. Schwab has spoken quite often on social media about the personal dimensions of writing Addie LaRue, and having read the book, I can see how the character of Addie can reflect the greatest fears and desires of an artist. This bittersweet-yet-hopeful story captures the power of art and its ability to grant creators—and muses—a sort of immortality. The love story at the heart of the book is both lovely and sad, but the real love story is between Addie and life itself. I adored this book and its perfect shading of darkness and light.