5 stars!

Addie LaRue makes a deal in 1714 rural France wanting to live a bigger life than in her village and a life her parents have forced upon her. She gets more life but can’t make a mark in the world or be remembered. The story goes back and forth covering 300 years of Addie’s life and the current world.

The book was so different, truly unique, and just delightful. I highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for this advanced reader copy.

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

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a beautiful, haunting story about a girl who made a deal with an old god to be free. The bargain is made, but there is always a price, and you must be careful what you wish for; Adeline LaRue is free and now has all the time she needs to live, but no one will remember her, and she cannot make a mark on the world around her. Until one day, a boy says, “I remember you.”

Schwab writes an enchanting tale that makes you think about what it means to truly live and to take advantage of the time you have, no matter how long. The story is engrossing and the prose beautiful. You can feel the love and heart that was put into this story.

I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this journey and the pleasure of getting to know this cast of characters. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a story that will continue to live with me for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for an advanced reading copy of this book.

I loved this book. It's amazing and moving and intense. I honestly didn't know what would happen at the end. I wanted the traditional ending, but this one was so much better. I've never read this author before, but I think I will again. They way she sees the world is so much different than I have experienced.

It is exactly as the review stated, it’s like The Time Traveler’s Wife. If you are into a more melodramatic novel from Schwab, you’ll like this one. Personally it just isn’t my style.

This is simply the most beautiful book I've ever read. The characterization is exquisite. The plot is breathtaking and the pace is done really well. I couldn't put this down and it's just as heartbreaking and magical as you would expect.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tor Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

Absolutely PHENOMENAL read. I LOVED this story so much and couldn’t put it down. I didn’t see the ending coming and while I was a little sad, in some ways, it was unexpected in a really great way and not a traditional happily ever after, which I loved.

There are elements of magic, historical fiction, a love story, art, and friendship- a study on the human condition and the resilience of people.

4.5/5

[A big thank you to Macmillion-Tor/Forge for providing an ARC via Netgalley for an honest review - I tried my best not to reveal too much at all at this moment in time because I believe this to be a book that is best read without much prior knowledge. I may come back to update this closer to the release date.]

Where do I even begin? Let’s start with something Victoria Schwab herself said:

“As I do my final read-through on this book, a story nearly 10 years in the making, all I can think is that I've put my heart and soul, my teeth and blood and bones into this one.”

And guess what? IT SHOWS. All those years probably spent dreaming, thinking, researching, writing and rewriting have paid off in creating this masterpiece.

Victoria also said this book is the closest thing to a love story she’d ever write….this holds true. But this isn't just a love story between one human and another, between one human and a god…..it is a love story between one girl and life. A life that offers beauty alongside pain. A life that provides moments of wonder alongside suffering. A life that encompasses both everything....and nothing….all at once.

This is not an easy book. It is complicated and it is raw. It will require patience and it will hold no punches. But I can say for a fact that it is worth it. It is worth the tears, to truly appreciate those moments of happiness, and it is worth the heartbreak, to anxiously look forward to those moments of hope.

I started this book exactly three weeks ago today. 300 years in three weeks. I cried, I laughed, I gasped, I cheered, I experienced a countless number of emotions. I also put it aside many times wondering how I could keep going. If there is one piece of advice I can offer going into this….take your time. Addie's story can be a lot to take in, especially in the first 20%. There were moments where I couldn’t make it past more than 50 pages in one sitting. But it is okay to allow yourself a reprieve to process all the emotions that will bubble up from reading about the harsh realities our mc is faced with. It is a story written over the course of 10 years, it only makes sense to savor it.

Enjoy it while it lasts everyone, you'll definitely wish for more the second it ends.

I remember you Addie Larue.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a phenomenal story. It's such a wonderful concept, and I have been hearing about this book since the Shades of Magic series. I know it took Schwab 10 years to write this book, and it definitely shows with how much love and care she puts into each sentence, each word choice.

This story is about hope and love, two things that we need so much more in the world currently. I fell in love with Addie instantly. She's such an innocent girl when the reader first meets her, and she hardened by time and the human experience. This book is likely going to be my book of the year. I highly recommend you check this out.

According to the author this book took 10 years to write, and the payoff is worth it. Addie LaRue is a book to sink into, to savour. Already a master at fantasy, this book has knocked it out of the park and is a masterpiece from Schwab. The story unfolds across two timelines, the present and Addie's past. It will break your heart and put it together again. I will definitely recommend it to customers and plan on staff picking it- if I don't have to fight my coworkers for it that is.

V. E. Schwab's latest is a beautiful meditation on time and human connection. Highly recommended for readers of Erin Morgenstern.

Addie La Rue makes a deal with darkness to escape the confines of her small life in exchange for her soul. But he can only have her soul when she no longer wants it. She thinks she is making a deal to be able to live her life on her terms, no longer to answer to anyone but herself, and to be able to explore the world. The catch is that no one will remember her. She will meet new people every day for 300 years and once she is out of their sight it is like she never existed. Until one day she meets someone, and he says "I remember you."
This was a really good book. I always love the twisted tales of V. E. Schwab. However, I think there could have been a little more to the story. More history. More character development for the Devil she calls Luc. More development of their relationship. Overall though, I enjoyed this story and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for something new to read.

Parts of Addie’s story captivated me, as she learns to be independent and sufficient over time. However, the love story seemed predictable and I didn’t enjoy the last half of the book as much. The book was okay but didn’t wow.

Every time I picked this book up, I was brought to tears. I genuinely think this is my new favourite book of all time.

The prose is magnificent, with thoughtful metaphors peppered throughout, bringing you closer to understanding the atmosphere of every scene and setting. Though the novel takes place predominantly in France and New York City, places many know very well, V.E. Schwab does an astounding job at taking us on an adventure to the hidden gems of each city. She highlights, in the right amount of detail, what these places look and feel like, while also incorporating the way these impact each of her characters differently based on their life experiences. Speaking of, I think the most magnificent part of this book lies in Addie and Henry. I cannot begin to express my complete adoration for these characters. While in many novels, having three timelines interspersed between chapters may cause confusion, this story does it effortlessly, with the switches in timelines falling perfectly in line with the journey of the characters and our learning of who they are. I also think this greatly influenced how close I felt to Addie and Henry, as I was able to understand exactly where they were coming from and empathize with them to a greater degree than if I had simply been told (rather than shown) how their past came to drive their present. Through this book, I have smiled and cried and laughed and suffered and loved with my whole heart right alongside these two. They are the characters that I have been waiting to find myself in for so long and I honestly think I will carry them with me for the rest of my life.

To V.E. Schwab, thank you for this story about a lonely boy who discovers a passion for life and a forgotten girl that will never be forgotten.

I'm struggling with how to review this book. I adore VE Schwab, and her writing is beautiful and lyrical. It invites you to invest your time and your attention. However, this fell flat for me. I found the story predictable and repetitive, and I couldn't connect to her characters like I usually do. I wasn't invested in the story because it felt like so much build up for very little pay off. I tore through the first half, excited to get to the story but it never came. Addie does the same thing in each flashback and remains her same stubborn self for the entirety of the book. I stopped caring. Schwab has created far more interesting characters with the same motives and done more with their stories in other novels. There have been more interesting villains, more interesting plots, more interesting twists. Schwab's writing is always stunning and I'm excited to see what she does next, but it was a struggle to finish this book.

It’s 2 am and I can’t sleep because I can’t stop thinking about this book. Addie will stay with me for years to come, I know that for sure.

A round of applause for V.E. Schwab! Whenever I pick up one of her books I experience a rollercoaster of emotions! One of my favorite books by this author, and definitely a contender for my best reads of 2020. I cannot wait for the rest of the world to pick this book up.

One of my favorite books so far this year. The pacing was perfect-- the author does a phenomenal job of trickling out information at just the right speed.

This is not a fantasy novel-- it isn't even a paranormal. Like [book:The Time Traveler's Wife|18619684] or [book:Outlander|10964] or [book:How to Stop Time|35411685], there is one fantastical element the reader needs to believe; the rest of the story is just about people.

Romantic without being a romance, with historical elements because of the setting, this could easily be a book for every book club. If it had an earlier pub date, I would put it up as a contender for this summer's "It" book.

If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would. I got this book as an advanced readers copy and right away it grabbed my attention. I am so used to reading romcoms and this book seemed like the breath of fresh air I needed. Little did I know this book was going to be my new favourite. Absolutely extraordinary writing. I can’t wait to put this in the hands of book lovers everywhere in October!

Enthralling and gorgeously-written from start to finish. Addie LaRue is a character in the style of Hob Gadling from Neil Gaiman's Sandman, an immortal by choice, by just refusing to give in and die, because there's so very much to live for, no matter how bleak things get for her. And they get very bleak indeed. The bargain she made with the devil(?) ensures that no one can ever remember her -- so much as leave the room, and they forget she ever existed. This means she never really gets above scraping for survival, as there's no way to *own* anything if no one remembers you from one moment to the next. Over the course of 300 years, she comes to make the most of this condition, but it's still a sad and lonely existence -- until she meets Henry, the first person since 1714 who can remember her. Henry has a story and a tragedy of his own; watching them unfold around each other is heart-rending and powerful.

There are ways in which this feels like a tragic deconstruction of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl trope, since that's what Addie is to so many of the artists she inspires, but the story explores and values her, not the artists whose lives she flits briefly through. Rarely do we see that sort of dynamic from the viewpoint of the muse and what she suffers.

I do wish the latter half of her relationship with Luc had gotten a bit more "screen time", though -- we spend most of the book hearing about Something Dramatic and Paradigm-Altering that happens in New Orleans in the late 20th century, there are so many hints and so much emotional wreckage, but then when we get there, it goes by quite fast. The flashbacks to Addie's life are heavily weighted toward the 18th century, and I could have done with a little more balance.

'The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue' a few world-building holes and missed opportunities, and Schwab also sets off one of my personal pet peeves regarding historical clothing, but on the whole, those issues melt away under the sheer force of Schwab's emotional writing.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue follows Addie through many years after she makes a deal that changes her life and existence forever. With many books, specifically Schwab’s books, I think that it is best to go in not knowing much about the story and that idea really stands with this book. With that being said, there are still a few things worth mentioning that may help draw you in.
With Addie being born in 1714 France I was worried that we may not get to see that time of her life but boy was I wrong. I loved being able to see Addie live through all different times up until our present day. The history that was intertwined with her story was unexpected, but definitely interesting and entertaining.
I also love that Schwab writes characters who are not perfect and that’s what makes the story so wonderful. She writes characters who are relatable and are going through real life issues. While we may not all be able to relate to making deals with the devil, most of us can relate to trying to find our place in life and wanting to be seen by others.
All in all if you are a fan of Schwab and her work you will without a doubt love this book. If you are new to Schwab, there is no wrong book or series to start with. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue will show you Schwab's breathtaking storytelling abilities and her passion for her characters. This is by far one of the best books I’ve ever read (and I do not say that lightly) and I recommend that everyone does themselves a favor and picks up this book.