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)
⇊
😭😭😭😭😭
⇊
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.

Thank you, thank you so much, Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. Victoria Schwab is one of my favourite author and this book is one of my most anticipated reads!

I remember you

The invisible life of Addie La Rue is an unforgettable (sorry for the pun!) book! It's everything I've never thought I needed in a story.

In 1714 young Adeline La Rue lives in Villon-Sur-Sarthe and she feels trapped in this small city, forced to be a wife, a mother, to live and die in the same place, like so many others like her. Desperate to escape a forced marriage, she makes a Faustian deal. She will live forever, but she's cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. So starts her extraordinary life, than spanned through centuries, across music, art, wars, love, friendship and with the darkness, the devil, the god, as the only one who could remember. Until, in 2014, after almost 300 years, she meets Henry in a bookstore in New York. And he remembers her.

The invisibile life of Addie La Rue is phenomenal, intense and heartbreaking. The story swings between past and present, following Adeline becoming the cursed Addie from 1714 to 2014 and the present Addie and her life in 2014. Through memories and flashbacks, through stories and people met, war seen, art inspired, the reader gets to know the stubborn, defiant and free Addie, the limits of her curse, her deal, her relationship with the god that cursed her, in a battle of wills, traps, deals and love and hate.
At the same time the reader knows Henry Strauss, his restlessness, his secrets, his being bottled lightning, his past and the uncertain future.
Addie and Henry meet, they become friends, lovers, they connect, finding in one other exactly what are they looking for, love, friendship, being seen. Being remembered.

I felt really connected to Henry, because I could totally understand his fear of time, his restlessness, his uncertainty about what to do in life, what the future could and would bring.

I won't say anything more about this book, even though I wanted to ramble about every single page, because it's the kind of book that is able to stay with you for so long. I cried, I laughed, I marvelled reading about love and humanity and the messiness of being human, the need to have more time, to find reason in living, to find one's place and be loved and happy with it.

Wonderful, intense and heartbreaking. Victoria Schwab did it again. This book is unforgettable.

Victoria/VE Schwab is one of my all-time favorite authors, but, I hate to say, I didn't love this one. Schwab's made some interested choices with the format she told this story in that make it, without spoiling any of the very thin plot, unnecessarily complicated and sadly doesn’t contribute to the resolution, if you want to call it that. My thoughts are that she had to carefully orchestrate the order she told us information in order to keep it compelling, because the plot wasn’t doing that on its own. Everything led up to an intense confrontation and, to be completely honest, this confrontation was given as much attention as a stray cat hair on your shirt. I'd recommend it for the great writing and interesting characters (I'd call this is more of an in-depth character study and less a story) but the plot was very bland and had very little resolution. One thing I will always praise with a Schwab story is her ultra realistic characters, and this book is no different. Their plights are always completely understandable, and these are no different. I could feel Addie’s fatigue at having lived so long but still the fervor she had to live life to its fullest, and Henry’s urgency, and even the villain’s childlike temper and games were relatable. These things massively outweighed my critics of the book and are the main contributor to the 4-star rating. Alongside those lines, the writing is rhythmic and feels like dancing, poetic in a way that is perfectly painterly yet still readable. All in all, not a winner in my book, and not my favorite Schwab story, but I definitely didn’t hate it.

I enjoyed the historical sections of this novel set in 1700s France than I did the flashes forward in history. Nonetheless, the writing is gorgeous here, and the tension increases as the novel goes on. I think fans of V.E. Schwab will definitely enjoy this latest offering, and it has a lightness about it that's a refreshing change from too much grimness, depending on the section. I think it's suitable for adults but also older teen readers. The book is like a fusion of Theodora Goss and Neil Gaiman, and definitely has elements of the adult fairy tale theme.

I was able to lose myself in this story. It was well written and flowed smoothly, even though it jumped back and forth in time. There were a lot of beautifully written sections that I found myself re-reading. Although it’s categorized as science fiction/fantasy, it reads like great fiction. It was a beautiful love story without being pure romance. The story of Addie and Henry is not one I'll forget any time soon. This was the first book I've read by V.E. Schwab but it won't be the last.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan - Tor/Forge for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

It isn't that I tried to dislike the book, but I did cultivate my own disinterest. It was taking too long, the small sips I allowed myself were not amassing to anything substantial. It was occasionally more interested in effervescence than substance. It was, in short, quite long. Nevertheless, and despite my inclination, it was actually quite brilliant.

This book... Damn. There is so much to say because of its unique wonderfulness; but, yet, nothing to say so that you can savor it all by yourself. There's everything-- historical fiction (1600-2015), feminism, LGTBQ romance, mental health issues, self discoery of religious devotion, and most importantly is discovering how to live life to the fullest without love. However, it is first and foremost Addie LaRue's coming of age over a coming 300+ year history. As the novel opens she is (like most women in the 1600s) pushed into a marriage that was chosen by her parents; and most definitely not what she wants. So, she makes a deal with the god of darkness (who just happens to look like the man of her literal dreams). She gains immortality and her freedom from ever being controlled by anyone, but loses her identity.... No one will ever remember her once she is out of their sight. Oh, and when she tires of it, the god of darkness owns her soul. He is the only constant she has throughout the book since he visits her almost yearly for their "anniversary". Their relationship goes from hate, to appeasement, to something much more sultry and physical. That premise makes for an interesting modern day vs flashbacks throughout the book. As far as I know this is a one and done.... But, that ending will have you wondering (and really hoping) for Addie's next story.
*I assign 5 stars RARELY... But this book has truly earned it. Still thinking about it days later.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is the story of a woman "cursed" to live a long life of anonymity after she makes a deal with a dark entity. She survives a number of lifetimes and we watch her struggle with her immortality as she learns how to manage its advantages and its (often heartbreaking) disadvantages. The story is a skillful examination of what it really means to be alive. At various times in her life, we watch Addie simply exist, we watch her thrive, watch her discover things and ideas to believe in, things and ideas worth fighting for. Taken at face value, it is a fantasy novel about immortality. Looking at it more deeply will prompt self-reflection about the choices we make and what value we place on the time we are given.

How can someone live for 300 years? Addie makes a deal with the devil to escape an unwanted marriage but in doing so she becomes invisible, seen but not remembered by anyone. That is until she meets Henry. Why does Henry remember her when no one else has in centuries? Is it magic or has she thrown off the bonds of the devil? An excellent read you won't want to put down.

Schwab has once again created a masterpiece unlike anything I've ever read. Her stories are always unique and always their own.

It is impossible not to see yourself in Addie or Henry and this book peels it all back. It prods and tip toes around before throwing the door wide open to expose deep and complicated emotions all the way to their core. The story is wound together through Addie's history and present and let me tell you that you will laugh, cry and at times you will be so mad you won't be able to speak.

This is a book I didn't know I needed. I've never felt so seen in a book before, never knew how to put words to the feelings this book examines so closely.

Schwab has done it again but this time she has given us something so unforgettable in Addie LaRue. She has given us something that will stick with you long after it's finished. This will be remembered.

Addie LaRue made a desperate bargain with a dark stranger, and now she can't leave a mark on the world, though she's lived on it 300 years. No one can remember her - until she meets someone who can.
This book is an intimate epic, full of charm and tragedy. Its prose is very much like Addie herself; witty, sensitive, and poetic without pretense.
Skipping back and forth through the timeline of Addie's life (and dipping it's tires into other lives), the plot is revealed deliberately, spiraling outwards and pulling together again in ways that feel both unexpected and inevitable.
An easy recommendation to contemporary fantasy readers, with potential to pull in readers from outside the genre with its emotional realism and subtlety.

I have been a fan of V.E. Schwab's books for several years now, and one of the things I love most about her writing is how different all of her novels feel -- and yet, how similar they also are. Each of her worlds are fully realized, with excellent world-building, gripping plotlines, character-driven narrative work, and flawed yet authentic characters. And running through them all is her recognizable writing style -- lovely, lyrical prose that makes reading her stories effortless (and effortlessly inviting).

All of that is true for The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. I came into the novel with high expectations because I've heard the author talk about this book for several years now. Somehow this novel exceeded my high expectations. It's been described as "a girl makes a deal with the Devil," but this story is SO MUCH more than that -- and that's where my favorite parts of this novel are, in the other lives that entwine with Addie's. In the stories that take place alongside hers. This is more than just a story about Addie LaRue. Schwab continues to surprise me with her work, and I continue to delight in being surprised.

Wow, wow, wow. At this point, I've read everything by V.E. Schwab, I know I love her stories and her characters, I know I'm going to be in a for a good time, so no surprises there. Despite knowing that, she still surprised me with this one.

The story of Addie LaRue begins in a small French village during the 18th century. Addie has always wanted to see the world and to have experiences outside of her village. Being a young woman in the 18th century, her life was not her own. There were expectations on her that she just couldn't force herself to conform to. In a moment of desperation, she prays to her gods to save her from a life she doesn't want, and, unfortunately, the devil answers. She ends up making a deal that will allow her to essentially live forever, with the terrible condition that she can't leave a mark on the world. She can't have meaningful connections with people because they will immediately forget her. She can't write, create art, have possessions, or even say her own name. She has been effectively erased from the world - but she has her freedom. She wanders the world for over 300 years, basically living as a ghost, until the day she meets Henry.

I couldn't put this book down. I was so invested in Addie's beautiful, heartbreaking story - I didn't want it to end! V.E. Schwab's writing was so GORGEOUS. There were countless lines that were so striking that I had to pause in order to read them again or just ruminate on them. I haven't had a reading experience like this since absolutely anything by Laini Taylor.

NetGalley, thank you so much for letting me read this beautiful work of art. I loved every second of it.