Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

207 reviews

elanuruysal's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and Alcohol

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and War

Minor: Vomit

rose_k's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Toxic relationship, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Cursing, Suicide attempt, and War

esme_may's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Misogyny

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, War, Classism, Drug use, Blood, Violence, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Child death and Cancer

mary_stormageddon's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I think this story could have benefited from a few chapters being cut, as it did drag on from time to time. But, in the end, it broke my heart, ensuring that I'll never forget Addie LaRue.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

espressoreader's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

It started off with so much promise and then got stuck with everyone having sex with everyone.  I got bored around half way through and it never recovered.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death of parent, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Stalking, and Toxic relationship

kayceeisbookish's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Gaslighting, War, Terminal illness, Child death, Sexual content, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, Suicide, Self harm, and Grief

Minor: Cancer

margaret_k30's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual content and Death of parent

Minor: Violence and War

brittaneenash's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a beautiful, poetically written novel that had me instantly hooked. I'll admit that I was hesitant to read this book - I never thought I would have much interest from what I had heard about it, until I saw a TikTok that finally convinced me that I just needed to read it. I tell you what, the person who posted that TikTok is now owed the credit for my second five-star book of 2023, & I'll give you a few reasons as to why without hesitation:

• As someone who fears death & the thought of missing out on my life, Addie's choices & actions throughout the book make so much sense to me. She's an entirely relatable character (though there are times where I definitely didn't want her to be relatable), who just felt so real to me despite the epic circumstances she's been thrust into because of the choices she's made. 
• The personification of the devil? Luc? Perfection. It felt so close to the biblical adaption of the devil: charming, cunning, entirely too irresistible for mere mortals. Because of this, his relationship with Addie is portrayed perfectly. 
• Henry Strauss. Henry fucking Strauss. I feel like that's all this point needs to say, but I'll add more. Though I predicted what would happen with his story, I found it just as intriguing as Addie's. I was utterly hooked from the moment we met Henry, until the moment their story together ended. As I've said about both Addie and Luc, he felt so undeniably real, so relatable in ways that you mightn't want him to be. All of the characters in this novel are executed perfectly, but Henry felt particularly so. 
• The entire ending of the book had me bawling. Not a lot of books make me cry in the way this one did. It was equal parts the relatability of not being ready to let something go but knowing that you have to, & the beautiful writing style Schwab seems to have perfected. I don't often buy the physical copies of audiobooks that I listen to, but this one will be an exception to that rule. I will be adding it to my personal collection to annotate as soon as possible. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, and Death

Minor: Death of parent

magic_multicolored_miracle's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• 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

Is forever worth your soul?
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. 

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Content Warnings

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

chasingpages1's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Abandonment, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Stalking, Drug use, and Sexual content

Minor: Confinement, Homophobia, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Self harm, War, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and Religious bigotry