Name: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Author: V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Titan Books
Date published: October 2020 (this edition 2021)
Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, historical, romance
Pages: 560
Rating: 5/5
When Addie LaRue makes a pact with the devil, she trades her soul for immortality. But there's always a price – the devil takes away her place in the world, cursing her to be forgotten by everyone.
Addie flees her tiny home town in 18th-Century France, beginning a journey that takes her across the world, learning to live a life where no one remembers her and everything she owns is lost and broken. Existing only as a muse for artists throughout history, she learns to fall in love anew every single day.
Her only companion on this journey is her dark devil with hypnotic green eyes, who visits her each year on the anniversary of their deal. Alone in the world, Addie has no choice but to confront him, to understand him, maybe to beat him.
Until one day, in a second hand bookshop in Manhattan, Addie meets someone who remembers her. Suddenly thrust back into a real, normal life, Addie realises she can’t escape her fate forever.
- From Goodreads.
I liked the way that the book told the story, as the narrative jumped back and forth in the timeline. Although I did not know what was going to happen at the end, from the summary of the novel you could tell what the main plot of the novel would be, so the way the story moved back and forth in time definitely added to the mystery and gave a good character driven story an extra suspenseful edge that kept me turning pages.
At first I wondered why we had some parts of the story from Henry's perspective when the book was really Addie's life and story, but the scenes that we did get in his parts of the story were interesting and effective in explaining how he came to be where he was and what his role in the story was. His journey parallels Addie's and he feels invisible in his own way, so it was useful to have his viewpoint as the story went on.
I really enoyed the dynamic between Addie and Luc, the god, or darkness, that she made the deal with. Each moment between them was written so well and perfectly worded. Schwab created the tension of their relationship excellently, creating a situation where they were enemies but not quite, with a connection between them almost like lovers that was glorious to read.
Addie was a very strong character, my heart really felt for her, having to go through everything she did over the course of the book and all the pain she felt, and I was so happy for her when she got to experience moments of real joy. It is just wonderful that we got to spend such a long time with her and came to really understand her and Schwab had the opportunity and took the time to really build her into a complex character. It feels so heartwarming that Schwab created this character who was cursed to be forgotten but then shared her with us and made her completely unforgettable.
The descriptions were so vivid and written in a way that was wonderful to read, the emotional moments all hit me perfectly and overall I would say this was just a very well written book. I also just have to say that the multiple David Bowie and Labyrinth references throughout the book made me very happy.
Overall it was a truly wonderful book to read and I really enjoyed the experience. It is already a new favourite and definitely confirms that V.E. Schwab is an author I am always going to read.
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