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erebus53'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
I have found it really hard to sit down and write a review about it. I really enjoyed the book. I'd recommend it to anyone who likes curses, prophesies, the movie Labyrinth, pansexual characters, book shops, art and music, and croissants. (if that's you, don't read the review, just go and get the book)
Addie La Rue is a semi-mortal person who has been gifted and cursed by an old god, to have all the time she wants, but never be remembered by anyone longer than she is in contact with them. This includes writing anything down, breaking things, or appearing on cameras, but does not include people drawing her or writing down things about her. It's a really cool premise for a story and provides a lot of scope for her interactions over the centuries. The story is not told in fully chronological order, but you don't get lost.
How would you react if you ordered a coffee but couldn't get it unless it was delivered to your table number, rather than you personally, because you are literally "out of sight, out of mind"?
Addie develops a perverse relationship of sorts with the one entity who can remember her; the one who cursed her in the first place. This creature of Darkness who she names Luc, has a definite Goblin King vibe and much of the feel of their relationship, and the crap he pulls, could easily have been straight from the movie Labyrinth.. the parallels are not lost on me.
Running into someone who can remember her is incredibly emotional and goes against all the things Addie has learned in her last centuries of life. They spend time figuring out the limits of her curse, and why it is that it doesn't work on him.
Honestly, the story, the growth, the recurrent nature of having to go through first-time meetings (over and over again) is a captivating puzzle. My son who is interested in SCP found himself spending time pondering about the limits of such magical restraints, what she can or cannot do, and what might happen if she encountered someone else with different powers or limits.
I really love this book.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
esme_may's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Alcohol
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Cancer and Child death
espressoreader's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
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, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic
chasingpages1'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: Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Stalking
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
analenegrace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was a beautiful read that made me feel many complicated feelings. Addie, as a character, was not the perfect heroine, she didn't always make you feel like she was doing the right thing, but her motivations were fleshed out, thought out, and clearly based in the character. She felt real. As a character, Henry was also thoughtfully written, although I wish his obvious lifelong depression had been called that because I think naming things takes some of their power, but still, his was a beautifully written tale.
Together the two characters created this beautiful love story with Addie's 300-year-long invisible life that intertwined so well with the history around her. She wasn't the main character in the history, my pet peeve in anything historical, but was, instead, a piece of many parts of history on the sidelines.
I loved the ending, I enjoyed that we didn't see Addie
This type of fantasy, especially women-led and woman-written fantasy, is always so wonderful, I only wish it wasn't reduced to tropes. I've seen this called a romance novel many times, and at the end of the day, it is many, it is everything, it is wonderful.
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual content and War
Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, and Alcohol
sarahbiegelsen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Torture, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Cancer, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War
amre23'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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, War, and Classism
Minor: Cancer, Confinement, and Fire/Fire injury
parfait52's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
If you enjoy reading gorgeous, languid writing that feels almost burdensome at times, with some insightful peeks into the mind of an unfortunate soul, this is the book for you. If you enjoy a clear plot with characters that are revealed through actions instead of long ramblings, this is not the book for you. Ultimately, I am glad that I read this book but I probably wouldn't want to do it again. Kind of like life itself.
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Grief, Stalking, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Torture, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
marissasa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War