I love V E Schwab's writing and imagination - I have read almost everything she has ever written, and this is by far her greatest work. I tried to read this a lot slower than usual, as I wanted to saviour it, and I managed that for the first half of the book. And then I read the second half of it in one go, so clearly I have no self-control.

We are taught that as our lives are so short, that the only way we can gain immortality, is by our actions. Musicians and artists, scientists and doctors, rebels and thinkers, politicians and criminals, their lives can be brief but their actions can cause ripples that will stay with us for centuries. So to have a character who is quite literally ageless, but is forgotten in a blink of an eye, incapable of making any lasting change to the world, is such an original idea, and one I am a little surprised has not been thought of before.

Addie LaRue drifts through life like a gentle breeze. She can turn heads, but in a blink of an eye, she is forgotten. She is the ultimate muse, she can inspire so much, but can never be granted credit for it, giving new meaning to the phrase that behind every great man, there is a woman.

Half of the book is set in the half, chronicling the events that led to her deal with the devil and flashes of her life upto the late 1900s. The other half is set in 2014 New York, where Addie has become accustomed to her life and meets Henry, a young man with a shocking similarity to her devil, who can remember her. The book is not really plot heavy, it is a study of Addie and Henry, and their development. Addie's story is particularly well told as much of her life is so stagnant; in many stories, personal growth is caused by the impact they have on those around them, so to have a character that can only really grow from the impact of others onto her is both unusual and exceptionally well done.

I really loved this story, and by the time I finished I had a smile on my face, for a story well told and a character well done. I wasn't sure how the book was going to end, but it was a perfect conclusion, and although I know it is a standalone novel, you will have to forgive me, if I secretly wish the author would give us more about the girl who made a deal with the devil, to be free forever but always forgotten.

This is a book to take your time with. I read it fairly slowly just so I could really savour it, and I had an amazing time. The writing is beyond stunning, and having read almost all of V.E. Schwab's books, it's amazing to see how she still gets better with every single one (even though she was always an amazing writer). This book is so different than anything I've read from her before, but it still really feels like a V.E. Schwab book.

In terms of comparisons, I think this is a perfect read for fans of Ninth House and The Starless Sea, which were two of my favourite reads of 2019. I feel like the comparison to The Time Traveler's Wife also really holds up. This one will for sure be one of my favourites of 2020.

I do feel the need to point out that this really is a very slow book, though. I personally really loved it, but I also think a lot of people might not find it fast-paced enough and they might miss some action. So please be aware of that before you go in.

V.E. Schwab has a way of writing characters that means she almost writes them too well. I felt the same way when reading Our Dark Duet: sometimes, characters were introduced that you immediately fell for, and you would hope and hope that they'd be recurring characters in the book, because they spoke to you so much or immediately stole your heart, but sometimes they would just have a very small role in the book.

Overall though, I really loved Addie, and I really loved Henry, and I just felt so invested in this book that I wanted to live in it. I have a feeling this might just become on of my favourite books of all time.

Some books are impossible to capture in mere words. It’s ironic – after all, words are all that form the book in the first place – but no other words can quite create the same brilliance, the same beauty, the same resonance. How do you capture transcendence with twenty-six little letters? VE Schwab has found the answer – but I can’t fathom how to possibly do her work this justice,

‘The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue’ is the best book VE Schwab has ever written. It’s a masterwork – a feat of wordcraft so exquisite it’s hard to imagine creating anything better. Every sentence is gorgeously constructed, every metaphor lands true, and every word is heartbreaking – heartbreaking because it brings you closer to the end. Addie has made a deal with the devil to live forever, and books like this show you why we all fear the curtain coming down.

Adeline LaRue is born in rural France in 1691. She’s a dreamer, a free spirit, always looking beyond the borders of her village – but she’s a girl, and girls are not allowed to dream. Girls must go to church, and obey their betters, and learn to be wives for their future husbands, and look after their households, and bear their children. Bound to a future she doesn’t want, Adeline looks for escape – but every dream has its price, and she doesn’t know the true cost until it’s too late.

Adeline can have her freedom – but only by giving up herself.

Addie is the perfect protagonist. Sharp and quick, she’s the girl who dreams of more – and is also stubborn and determined enough to find it. Forced into dreadful situations, she still manages to find a light in the dark; a reason to go on. More than that – even as her life is treated like the plaything of others, she digs in her heels and wrenches it into the shape she needs. Addie will never back down, never admit defeat, never give up control. She has moments of weakness, of despair, of fear – but she knows that there are many better days to come, and she holds out for them like an old tree, bent and battered by the storm but still standing when the sun returns.

Henry is the opposite – the man who feels too much, and doesn’t know what to do with all these emotions that refuse to let him be. He’s the perfect counterpoint – the racing hurricane to Addie’s steadfast tree, the raging fire to Addie’s cold pool. He’s a dreamer too – but where Addie’s dreams are a tether, his are a maze. Addie’s response to running out of time is to find more of it. Henry’s response is to do more, always more, falling into a panicked spiral until everything falls apart.

Addie’s devil? He’s the dark shadow following you home at night. The menacing maw of the corridor before you flick on the light. He’s endless, timeless, and just when Addie thinks she knows him he demonstrates just how far from a mere human evil he is. She can name him, claim him, blame him – but the darkness cannot be tamed. When everything else fades, the darkness is all that remains.

The plot marches forward like the inexorable march of time. The perspective alternates – Addie now, in New York, versus Addie as she was, learning to navigate her strange half-existence – together weaving a narrative so vibrant, so emotional, you never want to leave. This is a book that could be read over and over and adored more every time. Several of the twists I guessed, but this didn’t lessen their impact – if anything, it highlighted it, their direction as inevitable as the ticking of the clock, the passing of the seasons. Everything comes crashing down eventually – all good things must end.

This story has worked its way into my soul. Calling it a favourite doesn’t even do justice to its impact. It’s less a book and more of an experience – a temporary passage to somewhere greater than here.

If you want to read a story that speaks to your soul, read this book. Read it, and marvel how much beauty can be created with simple words.

I have been waiting for this!! This book is amazing, I was hooked right from the start. I love v.e Schwabs books, and have them all. I now have 3 editions of this book preordered, because it's just that good! Can't recommend enough. You HAVE to read this!!

Sorry I didn't manage to read this because it wasn't available for reading on Kindle, but look forward to it being published! Thank you!

I honestly think this is V.E. Schwab's best book yet! I adored the complex relationship between Addie and Luc, and just when I thought I understood it, the book took me in a new direction.
The weaving of history was so clever, and I really loved that the book interspersed the history with the present.

I am a husk of my former self and this beautiful damned book is the reason.

It has been a lifetime - or three - since a book has so keenly cracked my ribs open and stolen my heart.

I have never before felt so acutely that a book was written just for me.
Addie LaRue reached into my soul, ripped it out and held it plainly for all to see within its pages.

Words cannot fully express how much this book has imprinted on me.

Addie LaRue, you have made your mark.