I don't find the right words to describe how I'm feeling right now. 

Literally one of the most beautiful book I've ever read so far. I'm beyond amazed by Addie's story, her stubbornness and her strong desire to live and be FREE. Victoria again showed how powerful her writing can be. I felt so many things during my reading. I loved every single word, sentence, page.
I had CHILLS so many time.

"After all, how can a thing be real if it cannot be remembered?"

This is a must-read.
This is a 10-years-old-work that bloomed into a poetic and wonderful masterpiece.
This is Addie's story. That won't be forgotten. Forever remembered.

Thank you again, Tor, for giving me the chance to read it in advance ❤

This is a wonderful and inventive story. I enjoyed it immensely. though it was a mixture of historical fiction, the modern  day love story shone though.  I expected a bit more in the historical bits, and that could have been developed a bit more, which would have enhanced my overall experience  - but still the book worked very well as it was.

This is a beautiful, enthralling tale that will pull you in from the first word to the very last.

When Addie LaRue makes a deal with the devil to live forever she did not know she would be cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. The deal has forced her to live the life of a wanderer, always moving from place to place and finding small ways to leave her mark on the world. She lives a lonely 300 years being forgotten until she meets a man who remembers her name and nothing is the same.

The idea of this story feels refreshing and new. It is told with fantastic descriptions, amazing character development and unfolds in ways you won’t expect. I couldn’t put it down and it’s the type of story I know will stick me long after I’ve read it. I can not recommend it enough.

Another absolutely breathtaking and unforgettable reading experience by a genius storyteller! Victoria Schwab has created a stunningly gorgeous narrative once again.

Beautiful. Brutal. Deep. 

Look, this isn’t a sunshine and rainbows story. I didn’t expect it to be. Schwab is a genius. She thought out every piece of the curse and how it’d affect things. 

I loved the historical aspects. 

I love the intensity. The depth. The range of emotions. 

Bottom line: I loved it.

"Do you think a life has any value if one doesn't leave some mark upon the world?"

Three hundred years after selling her soul to a sinister being in a desperate attempt to escape a quaint yet suffocating life in rural France, Addie finds herself in twenty-first century New York City, slowly losing her grip on humanity. In return for this immortality, she is cursed to be forgotten by every person she encounters the second she leaves their sight. Until one spring day, in a dusty used bookstore, when she finds a man named Henry. Henry remembers her, can speak her name and see her -- truly see her. And has secrets of his own. 

What a beautiful, unique novel. Addie LaRue is a remarkable protagonist, a woman who feels familiar and brand new all at once, someone we have the privilege of remembering every time we look away from the pages. Schwab has crafted a compelling, heartbreaking story of loneliness and companionship that transcends lifetimes. 

(4.5/5: For readers of fantasy, historical fiction, literary fiction, speculative fiction, and those that seek a different kind of love story.)

V. E. Schwab just gets better with every book.  This story which in less deft hands could have slipped into stagnation maintained its momentum kept me interested.  I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of nonlinear timelines, but it was successfully managed here.  The secondary characters were all well rounded, which fits this story especially well when our narrator knows them better than one would ordinarily expect.
Addie's relationship with the demon/god is complicated and kind of sexy and fulfilling.
All around I really liked it and will recommend it to customers who like both fantasy and historical fiction.

Thank you to Tor books for this E-Arc OF MY MOST ANTICIPATED 2020 READ. I was not disappointed and you won't be either.

This book felt like floating. It felt like stargazing. It felt like discovering wonder for the first time. You can tell that Schwab has carefully crafted this novel and it's absolutely exquisite.

Synopsis: Addie prays to the gods on the night of her arranged marriage and makes a deal with a devil. She's cursed so that everyone who meets her forgets her. Until 300 years pass and a boy in a bookstore remembers.

Writing:
1. The plot flips between point of view and past and present and I was never bored. I felt like we were discovering little tidbits of information until it all wove together seamlessly in the end. There were actually plot twists that had me breathlessly turning pages. There was romance and yet there was betrayal and hate and humanity and sadness. This is an incredibly raw book.

2. The characters will steal your heart. Addie was beautifully crafted; a girl cursed to be forgotten and as much as this is a fantasy that notion also feels profoundly personal. I felt like I understood her even though she'd lived for three hundred years she felt like a part of me that questions whether what I do matters and will last. It's a profound human question wrapped in magical realism and it's heart wrenching.

3. The writing was beautiful. Some of Schwabs best. In a way it reminded me of the lyricism of her first novel, The Near Witch. It felt like she was born to write this book and I'm a huge fan of Schwabs writing style but this was near perfection. It was poetic without being pretentious and it had me lingering over lines long after I had to set the book down.

I'm so thankful that I got to taste this early although I can't wait for my physical copy to arrive this fall because this is a book I want to hold, treasure, and read again and again. Anything by Schwab is a must read for me and this one didn't miss the mark.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was one of the best books I have a read in a while. Absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking.

This is the first novel I've read from V. E. Schwab, but it will not be the last!  Although the storyline is somewhat similar to that of the film The Age of Adaline, this story is much richer -- and not just because of the medium.  The character of Addie LaRue resonated with me more than the Adaline of the film.  As a young woman in France in 1714, Addie does not want to belong to anyone, so she makes a deal with The Darkness, with the result that anyone she interacts with completely forgets her once she's out of their sight.  Intertwined with Addie's story is that of Henry, the one who remembers. 

I look forward to recommending this book to friends when it's published on October 6.   Thanks to V. E. Schwab,  Tor Books, and Net Galley for providing an early copy for me to review.

This book was absolutely INCREDIBLE. The writing was some of my favorite I've read all year. It completely sucks you into the story, and it only helps that the concept is just so fascinating. Multiple I found myself stopping to say, "Wow, this idea is so COOL." I've never read anything like this it's not often you say that with literature being as expansive as it is.

Then the characters. Personally, I'm a very character based reader and for that this book did not disappoint. Addie LaRue is a BAD. ASS. BITCH. The way she handled her situation, the absolute pettiness she held on to, remarkable. She was so smart and resilient, a character that I can say made me look at my own life and struggles and see how I've handled things, see how hey, maybe I'm kind of bad ass for getting through it, too. Then there's the "boys," the Dark and Henry. Henry was such a sweet cinnamon roll. I want to tuck him into bed and feed him soup. As for the Dark, the Devil, the Monster, whatever you want to call him, I found myself oddly attracted to him. I say oddly because I'm normally not a villain gal at all. But I liked that the Dark never tried to redeem himself, nor did the narrative or Addie try to either. And for once, a villain/protagonist relationship made sense to me. I don't know, Miss Schwab really did something here to get me to feel this way is all I'm saying.

There were a few parts, around the 25% and 70% marks, where things got a little slow. I know we had to establish Addie's relationship with the Dark and her curse, but I think it dragged just a bit a few times. However, those minor negatives are far outweighed by all the positives. I spent the last 10% of this absolutely sobbing. And the way it ended was so bittersweet. But I will say it again, ADDIE LARUE IS A BAD ASS BITCH and everyone needs to read this.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. Beautifully written, it follows Addie LaRue, who made a deal with the devil to live life freely, but it comes at the cost of living in a world where she is doomed to be forgotten. There were moments when the story dragged a bit and there were some things I felt could have been addressed. However, the amount of feels and MY HEART CLUTCHING ITS HEART moments made it memorable.

Hauntingly beautiful. Tragic in places and triumphant in others, a celebration of love and fierce living. I loved this, especially the writing which is gorgeous, but I cried quite a bit at the end and I feel like I need to go read some light adventure fantasy just to clear my mind now! Content warning for potential readers: abusive relationship, suicidal ideation, sexual assault. The ending didn't quite resolve the internal conflict I had about some of those things. Still beautiful and definitely worth reading, but be forewarned.

I loved this book! I loved Addie LaRue and felt for her throughout the book. She epitomizes the feeling of moving through life but being 'unseen'.

1714, Addie LaRue dreams of life beyond her small French farm village.  Her parents decide it's time for her to marry, but she will do anything ....including making a deal with someone who could be the devil to get out of the marriage.  She finds herself living a life where no one remembers her.   As soon as a person leaves a room or the area she is in they don't remember her.  This makes it impossible to find a place to live, make friends, fall in love, etc.    She has lived for centuries this way, always the same age but never remembered.  Every year "the devil" comes to find out if she is ready to give up her soul, but she stands strong against him no matter her quality of life.

A very thought provoking book!  I received this as a galley from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What an absolute delight this book was! I loved every single second of it. If I could give it all the stars in the world, I would. This was only my second time reading a V.E. Schwab book and now I definitely need to go back and read the rest of her work. Addie LaRue was one of those books that I was head over heels invested in. With beautiful writing and lovable characters, it was SO hard to put this book down. I loved the overall message as well. Life may feel long and stormy but it goes by in a blink of an eye. You have to live every moment to the fullest. 

I will 100% recommend The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue to everyone!

Fun, fast-paced and magical, but not without its flaws. With interesting twist on immortality and old gods, this novel follows the life of a young girl who makes a deal more complicated than she realizes. Romance, history and magic are woven throughout the story that more or less falls to a love triangle with some more unusual stipulations. I appreciated the fluid and diverse sexuality of the characters, particularly Addie and Henry, who could've fallen within many labels, but were allowed to just simply like boys and girls  and whoever else without any unnecessary explanation or backstory. 

I enjoyed the author's treatment of the old gods as things that also are just simply what they are without rules or reasons, but it seemed strange to me that two characters have encountered this primordial, powerful being without having any other interactions with magic, folklore, etc of any kind, so that's a hit against world-building for me. The characters even bring up being away of existing folklore, but it never makes its way into the story further. I think this is a fun beach read, but it falls short on the characters, too -- even the main three characters feel a bit stilted, like hand puppets casting too-dark shadows, lacking deeper characterization. I always struggle with characters that are just too likeable, and both Addie and Henry fall into this category. The ending feels more set up for a sequel than anything else; I love an open ending where the author walks out the back door, but this one sort of feels like a cop-out. I also struggled with the god character - I am always here for ancient beings that act more like fickle humans than benevolent gods, but the one depicted here feels more like stereotype of a dark and moody boy than anything else. I'll stock this and I'll probably hand-sell it, as I do think ultimately it's just a fun ride -- and sometimes all you need is to leave the real world behind for a few hours!

I had some mixed feelings about this book. There are parts of this book that are inventive, delightful and intriguing. V.E. Schwab has delivered a novel that sweeps you into its world and carries you off with her imagination and prose. However, it's stalls out for a while on account of too much repetition and some other issues. 

The book's premise is whimsical and likely to inspire curiosity in most fantasy lovers. Addie LaRue makes a deal with the devil, and now she lives an invisible life. She can't be remembered by anyone after she leaves their presence, can't own possessions, can't make new things or even leave marks on the world. However, she can steal to survive and inspire others to do things. (The logistics of how these rules function are a little fuzzy, but Schwab more or less makes it work.) Addie has lived for 300+ years, but all she really wants is to be remembered. 

It's a strong start out of the gate, as Schwab uses vivid imagery and precise metaphors to tell her fantastical tale. However, just as you're ready for the plot to take off, it feels like the book is just <em>stalling</em> for a long stretch. A large bulk of the plot is packed into the first fifty pages and the last hundred pages. And while it's a really interesting plot, there's a lot of filler in the middle. 

By the halfway mark, the plot still hasn't progressed past the point described on the book cover. The first few chapters start with her explaining how she sleeps a man who doesn't remember her the next day, which was good, but then it continues to describes in detail her meeting someone else and then then another, all of whom don't remember her, and I started getting impatient. 

Also, the character of Addie LaRue feels a little juvenile. According to the book, she has lived for over 300 years, but her personality don't reflect it.  There was just a weightlessness to her where I wish she would have had a fuller personality, with more specific interests or desires.  

It seems strangely childish to me that such an old soul spends all her time yearning for familiar embraces with handsome men instead of things like family, children, societal progress or an occupation. She seems to have made peace with giving up all the rest of it, but for some reason can't stop pining after men. She just doesn't seem like an adult, much less someone with the wisdom of 300+ years. 

That all said, I think on the balance, fans of V.E. Schwab will likely be able to see past these things and enjoy this story for what it is -- a tale that is whimsical, romantic and intriguing. Even with some less-than-exciting parts in the middle, the plot is constructed in a way that will make most people curious for what comes next.

<b>Read it or Skip it?</b>

There's a lot to like about this book, but it also seemed like there were easily a hundred or more pages that should've been cut and the story would be basically the same. The repetitiveness of it really dulled my enthusiasm for it early on, but in the last hundred pages, the story gathers a lot of steam and gets good. Of course, the book ends at that point, so you'd have to read the sequel to find out what happens next. 

A part of me is curious to find out what happens next. But I'm also a little resentful that I read through 400+ pages only to find out it ends when the book hits its stride. It's not a cliffhanger, but it feels a lot like one. I'd say I'm a "maybe" for whether or not I'll read the follow-up.

Beautiful portrait of what life means and the time we have. I loved the idea of leaving your mark in the world and how art is such a powerful and amazing part of life.

This is the first book I've read by V.E. Schwab and it went off like a an explosion in my brain. I just get it now. I want to read everything else she's ever written. This book is EXTRAORDINARY. I never wanted it to end. It's surprising and sad and romantic and so full of life and passion and beauty. It makes you want to travel. It makes you want to listen to music at 2 AM and see the stars on a pitch black night and dance until you can't feel your feet. It makes you want to fall in love. I truly felt like I spent years with Addie growing and learning and struggling yet always finding something new and exciting to live for. You fall for each lover as she does and feel each heartbreak. And  then there's Luc. I have made my love of Dark Lonely Boys well known and Luc may be one of my favorites. Their dance throughout the decades wasn't surprising, but it felt real and substantial. I love and fear him in equal measures. This book comes out in October and it's going to be tortue not having anyone to scream about it with until then.