magic_multicolored_miracle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
That is the question at the heart of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. The novel follows a girl who trades her soul, and unknowingly the ability to be remembered, to a man who might be the devil or might be a Old God in exchange for an immortal life of freedom.
Full of romance and art and clever turns, the novel starts slow but soon builds into a crescendo. Alternating chapters between her modern life in New York City in 2014 where she meets and falls in love with the enigma of Henry Strauss and flashes of the life she lived over the last 300 years, mostly tangled with "anniversaries" with Luc, the being that she promised her soul to, the book does an excellent job of telling two stories twined into one. And though it is a complete piece on it's own, the story coming to a beautifully bittersweet ending, it teases a third at the close, promising that forever goes on and there is still hope yet.
It does not shy away from the horrors facing a woman alone through history, but reminds the reader that Addie is clever and strong and will make it through, and that no matter where and when she is, there are beautiful things to be find when she looks.
A definite must read for fans of trickster fae tales, doomed love, and the timeless power of art and stories.
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Self harm, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death, War, Alcoholism, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Violence, Body horror, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Sexual content
Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ericius's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Abandonment, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
throwback682's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Spoiler
I’m so glad that I stuck it out. The ending wasn’t what I expected at all (although some might see through it more easily) and it wasn’t happy but it was very satisfying. Henry’s last pages had me near tears.I think the concept of the plot is really creative, and the author keeps track of a thousand little details of Addie’s curse that could’ve created a thousand plot holes.
At times it was predictable, but not in a way that spoiled my enjoyment.
Spoiler
I knew almost right away that Henry had also made a deal, but there were plenty of details I didn’t foresee, too.This book made me want to savor every moment of life and love. It was entertaining but also thought provoking and heart-fire stoking.
Graphic: War, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Addiction, Mental illness, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Drug use, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Cancer, Classism, and Dementia
cutepatzie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Kidnapping, Blood, Death of parent, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, War, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Misogyny
Minor: Trafficking, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
madmilliner's review against another edition
- 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
It is the ultimate manic pixie dream girl vs depressive demon nightmare boy, I felt it was trying too hard and was somehow ¿oversaturated?
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Torture, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Biphobia, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, War, Violence, Suicide, Sexual assault, Rape, Kidnapping, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Cursing, Confinement, Child death, Blood, Addiction, Abandonment, and Torture
katrinarose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Grief, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Misogyny
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, and Panic attacks/disorders
v171's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Kidnapping
hmatt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The premise and the promise of diverse characters what what led me to the book in the first place - both are stellar. I wanted to like the writing style, but it felt very simple at times. The descriptive writing relied too heavily on similes and metaphors for my taste.
While I enjoyed the arc of the plot overall, I felt like the pacing was skewed. Too much time was spent establishing the boundaries of Addie's curse in her first few years, in my opinion. Like, I got it after the first 2 scenes, let's move on. Because of all the time spent there, I didn't get a sense of what the book was really about until more than halfway through. If this was intentional, I disagree with that choice.
Spoiler
Leaving Addie's relationship with Henry to develop just in the second half of the book made it feel disingenuous and forced, to me.I also didn't feel like the premise was explored or exploited in all the ways it could be have been: You've got this person who lives through hundreds of years and yet
Spoiler
pretty much every historical fiction plot point opportunity is swerved. I'm usually interested in "mundane" histories, too - I didn't need Addie to end up in the middle of a World War, but I wanted the historical settings to be described with more richness.Spoiler
Maybe it was because there were fewer of his chapters and therefore they were more concise, but I really enjoyed Henry's POV. It added some much-needed variety. I fe.el very "meh" about Luc, though. His characterization was all over the place and honestly confused me some of the time. (I kind of get that it was supposed to, towards the end, but still.) Aaaaand I was not into how Addie is somehow flawless - like I get she makes mistakes at the start, but the whole first half of the book is basically a manifesto on how she's perfected all these skills and is this jaded know-it-all who can navigate any tricky situation and LITERALLY OUTSMART THE DEVIL. Sigh. The rest of the characters at least had flaws that were acknowledged as such.I feel like I'm giving this book a very scathing review, even though I enjoyed it quite a lot. I guess I just feel like it had so much potential to be a 5 for me, if only a few things had been different.
So, things I liked:
- Henry's whole storyline
- Bea and Robbie. Please, more of them.
- Some of the "maybe in another life"-style interactions, like with Sam and Remy
- Revisiting Vion time after time
Two things I really really hated:
- The freckles thing. No, sorry, too cliche, cannot
- The complete and unabashed focus on the West. Come on. Do better.
Spoiler
I was expecting this to take me all over the world and I think we got to 5 countries, 4 of which are in Western Europe???
Minor: Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence