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limewheel's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Addie LaRue's unheard of twist on immortality hooked me from the beginning. A life lived forever, in exchange for being erased from history is something wild and exciting, and for most of the book, I was completely invested in her stories through time. Addie's morality warping as the uncomfortable truth of her nonexistence became blatantly clear, all the retries she's had at first impressions and how she took advantage of them, the first person look at history through the eyes of somebody who lived through it but could never take part in it. This is an amazing view of immortality and I was blown away by how far Schwab could take it. It's telling of a very creative mind, and for my first work of hers, this was a pleasant surprise.
My only pitfall with this book has to delve into spoilers, so read at your own risk.The romance and love triangle was corny at best, and teetering on infuriating at worst. It wasn't Henry that was the problem—his and Addie's relationship actually seemed like a natural progression of the story—but rather Luc and Addie's "relationship". It came out of nowhere and seemed annoyingly out of character for Luc. Sure, he'd been trying to whittle down Addie for centuries before, but that was entirely out of spite. Spite is the very basis of their relationship: Addie wants to live forever to prove Luc wrong, and Luc wants her to give up to prove Addie wrong. In any other book, this might make sense for it to take a romantic turn, and I don't even blame Addie for developing feelings towards him because she's human, but the difference is that he's not. Luc is a god with innumerable souls to reap and even more waiting to make deals with him. Why is Addie so special? At the end of the book, she says that she'd spent 300 years learning the ins and outs of his behavior, and that he'd learned nothing of her in that same time, so why did he want her so bad? For having this love triangle between Henry and Addie and Luc take up, like, 1/3 of the book, it was more than enough to taint my enjoyment.
The characters were alright, but most fell flat, even the main few. Addie, of course is wonderfully fleshed out, because, after all, this book is about her invisible life. But I just grew bored with the other two, Henry and Luc. Henry, specifically, I became frustrated with because I want to like his character so bad, but everything about him is just so... insignificant. And that's a big problem for a main character. I truly could not care about his struggles because he's a poorly written coward who wallowed in pity . Now, I have nothing against cowards, or characters who wallow in pity, but being poorly written is where I draw the line. Next to nothing happens with his development for almost the entirety of the book, except that he falls in love, and even that barely changes him. His problems had been solved before he and Addie crossed paths and that's probably what made him so stagnant to me. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Luc, well, he was just a not not evil guy whose only purpose was apparently to torment Addie sometimes. Kinda boring and kinda predictable, but I can barely fault him for it because he is a nonhuman god, and they tend to be like that. Whatever.
There's not much else for me to say about this book. I loved Addie and her circumstances, but everything else was pushed to the sidelines. That about sums up why this is rated 3.25.
My only pitfall with this book has to delve into spoilers, so read at your own risk.
The characters were alright, but most fell flat, even the main few. Addie, of course is wonderfully fleshed out, because, after all, this book is about her invisible life. But I just grew bored with the other two, Henry and Luc. Henry, specifically, I became frustrated with because I want to like his character so bad, but everything about him is just so... insignificant. And that's a big problem for a main character. I truly could not care about his struggles because he's a poorly written coward who wallowed in pity . Now, I have nothing against cowards, or characters who wallow in pity, but being poorly written is where I draw the line. Next to nothing happens with his development for almost the entirety of the book, except that he falls in love, and even that barely changes him. His problems had been solved before he and Addie crossed paths and that's probably what made him so stagnant to me. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Luc, well, he was just a not not evil guy whose only purpose was apparently to torment Addie sometimes. Kinda boring and kinda predictable, but I can barely fault him for it because he is a nonhuman god, and they tend to be like that. Whatever.
There's not much else for me to say about this book. I loved Addie and her circumstances, but everything else was pushed to the sidelines. That about sums up why this is rated 3.25.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Violence
Moderate: Drug use, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
anapthine's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
maddox22's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War
wordrevel's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book didn’t entirely surprise me, yet that precisely was its brilliance — the way the pieces fell into place and there was no question that this was exactly how the story needed to be told.
The reason I decided against a full 5.0 rating is that I found it odd that in her 300 years and with such a curiosity of languages, Addie's nine languages were all romantic or germanic languages. She hadn't learnt any Asian or African languages, even though she lived in New York, which has had a sizeable immigrant community for a long, long time.
The reason I decided against a full 5.0 rating is that I found it odd that in her 300 years and with such a curiosity of languages, Addie's nine languages were all romantic or germanic languages. She hadn't learnt any Asian or African languages, even though she lived in New York, which has had a sizeable immigrant community for a long, long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Alcoholism
lizaleoma's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Torture, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
madmilliner's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I wanted to like this story, especially because the writing is so beautiful. The words, and scenes are a cross between poetry and art.
It is the ultimate manic pixie dream girl vs depressive demon nightmare boy, I felt it was trying too hard and was somehow ¿oversaturated?
It is the ultimate manic pixie dream girl vs depressive demon nightmare boy, I felt it was trying too hard and was somehow ¿oversaturated?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Addiction, Biphobia, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and War
maisierosereads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I impulsively borrowed the audiobook of Addie LaRue from my library (while desperately hunting through their available fiction audiobooks on overdrive late at night, because most audiobooks were temporarily unavailable on Scribd UK)
I haven't read any of V.E. Schwab's other books, but I have listened to other books narrated by Julia Whelan (unsurprising, if you've seen the sheer number she's narrated!) and she did as good a job as always.
I enjoyed the concept behind The Invosible Life of Addie LaRue, and V.E. Schwab's writing style. There were some details in the plot which I particularly appreciated too - though I was able to predict most of the reveals, there was enough mystery to keep me interested.
One of the things I was really excited about was this book having two bi MC's - their sexuality isn't explored in a lot of detail, but it is very much canonical. Although it isn't necessarily a problem, I think Addie's sapphic identity/relationships could have definitely been explored in more detail given the length of her timeline, or at least touched upon more than once or twice since this novel is primarily driven by her as a character. As it is, we are only told (briefly) about one of her female lovers in the contemporary part of the timeline, and this lover had a much smaller impact on her character than any of her on-page male love interests. It is implied that she had slept with other women - surely at least one of them had a significant impact on her life?
It is also worth noting that this book is very white. In a 300 year narrative, only one of the book's original characters wasn't white, and pretty much the only famous historical figures she comes across were white men (some of whom were undeniably racist in reality, though this wasn't touched on in the book). Addie plays a small part in some historical events, e.g. briefly helping to work against the Nazis in WW2, but seemingly only when those events were affecting Addie herself and not when marginalised groups were being systematically oppressed alongside her.
My other issue was understanding the relationship between Addie LaRou and Luc. I understand her need to hear her name and not be forgotten, butLuc literally tortures her at one point in the book and I don't know how she could ever look past that!
Overall, I didn't hate this book and enjoyed several aspects of it, but feel that more could have been done in terms of diversity and character development.
I haven't read any of V.E. Schwab's other books, but I have listened to other books narrated by Julia Whelan (unsurprising, if you've seen the sheer number she's narrated!) and she did as good a job as always.
I enjoyed the concept behind The Invosible Life of Addie LaRue, and V.E. Schwab's writing style. There were some details in the plot which I particularly appreciated too - though I was able to predict most of the reveals, there was enough mystery to keep me interested.
One of the things I was really excited about was this book having two bi MC's - their sexuality isn't explored in a lot of detail, but it is very much canonical. Although it isn't necessarily a problem, I think Addie's sapphic identity/relationships could have definitely been explored in more detail given the length of her timeline, or at least touched upon more than once or twice since this novel is primarily driven by her as a character. As it is, we are only told (briefly) about one of her female lovers in the contemporary part of the timeline, and this lover had a much smaller impact on her character than any of her on-page male love interests. It is implied that she had slept with other women - surely at least one of them had a significant impact on her life?
It is also worth noting that this book is very white. In a 300 year narrative, only one of the book's original characters wasn't white, and pretty much the only famous historical figures she comes across were white men (some of whom were undeniably racist in reality, though this wasn't touched on in the book). Addie plays a small part in some historical events, e.g. briefly helping to work against the Nazis in WW2, but seemingly only when those events were affecting Addie herself and not when marginalised groups were being systematically oppressed alongside her.
My other issue was understanding the relationship between Addie LaRou and Luc. I understand her need to hear her name and not be forgotten, but
Overall, I didn't hate this book and enjoyed several aspects of it, but feel that more could have been done in terms of diversity and character development.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Suicide attempt
caidyn's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
CW: death, grief, mention of torture, and sex
If ya'll know me, you'll know that I'm not Schwab's biggest fan. In the abstract, I love her as a person and her ideas are amazing. I just don't typically love how the stories are written. But this book completely won me over. It's unlike her previous books so, for me, it didn't have the same flaws that usually get to me. The pacing was brilliant, the characters pulled at my heart, and I just loved the story.
Since this book is so hyped, I don't know what else to say. Just that I was on the fence about it but decided to give her one last try. And now I know that I want to own the book and have it on my shelf since I can see myself reaching for it when I need a good book that will pull at my heart.
If ya'll know me, you'll know that I'm not Schwab's biggest fan. In the abstract, I love her as a person and her ideas are amazing. I just don't typically love how the stories are written. But this book completely won me over. It's unlike her previous books so, for me, it didn't have the same flaws that usually get to me. The pacing was brilliant, the characters pulled at my heart, and I just loved the story.
Since this book is so hyped, I don't know what else to say. Just that I was on the fence about it but decided to give her one last try. And now I know that I want to own the book and have it on my shelf since I can see myself reaching for it when I need a good book that will pull at my heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Torture
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