Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

La Vida Invisible de Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab

280 reviews

yilliun's review against another edition

challenging emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Confidently will say this book inspired me to READ again

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Sexual content

boba_n_books's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

This is one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read. 

I love the personification of the devil through Luc and the Faustian bargains that took place. It was incredibly interesting and showed a lot of history. 

That being said, it took me quite a while to get into the story. It wasn't until maybe the last 50% of the book that I really got invested in the characters and their fates. It just felt TOO slow-moving sometimes, focusing on one century over the other, and rushed in others. 

I enjoyed the banter between Luc and Addie and their characters, but Henry is the one character I felt was well developed since we got to see his life played. With Henry, the reader gets a peek behind the curtain at his motivations while Addie's true motivations aren't revealed until the very end. I guess that just adds to the enigma that is Addie LaRue. 

Overall, I did enjoy this novel and will be thinking about the plot for a while. It's one I need to delve into and could definitely reread at some point.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: War and Cursing

thereadinghammock's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

I didn't quite know what to expect when I dove into this book finally. I was surprised, curious, intrigued, satisfied, and wanting more at every stage. I loved Addie's resourcefulness and tenacity, but was frustrated by her hubris and how it took her so long to learn how fickle Luc's moods and inclination to kindness could be. I was nervous for Henry almost every step of the way. I was so afraid Henry WAS Luc or some kind of specific obstacle put in Addie's path to cause her to misstep on her deal. 

Spoiler

While I should have seen it coming, and eventually I did, Luc falling in love with Addie still managed to surprise me. I think the vehemence that Luc fell for her was what managed to surprise me. I thought he would fall in and out of love with her, or once he finally had her, he would quickly grow tired of her. But he didn't. Once he finally had her, he wanted her more. Wanted to keep her for himself. A Persephone to his Hades. And Addie only saw the betrayal of it; the malicious intent behind his actions, to lure her into a false sense of security and make her give up her soul to him before she was ready. 

When I realized that this book was supposed to be a version of Henry's book, telling Addie's story, I loved that plot device. Subtle and witty. I legitimately cried when Addie read Henry's dedication to her in the finished novel, "I remember you." My heart broke and mended and grew and ached for them all at once. It was truly beautiful. And I love that it was perfectly paired with Addie's renegotiation with Luc at the end. She played his game of semantics with aplomb and I'm so proud of her. And Schwab kept us on that string until the very last sentence.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Death, and Toxic relationship

sandwiiche's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• 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? Yes

3.75

this was my first v.e. schwab book, and her writing is exquisite.
however, i predicted the plot twists and the ending was left rather open ended, which i personally didn't like. 
this book also felt more like a slo  paced literary fiction with a dash of fantasy/historical/romance, so if you're looking for a high stakes edge-of-your-seat kinda book then maybe come back when you're in the mood for this

anyway, looking forward to reading her other books, which i've heard are really good 😩

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual content

redheadorganist's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Cursing

Moderate: Blood

raeb's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

i really liked the first 80% of this book, but was not a big fan of the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Sexism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Rape, and Biphobia

Minor: War and Suicidal thoughts

lunep's review against another edition

hopeful slow-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: Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Sexism, Death, Violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Addiction, and War

Moderate: Mental illness and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Pregnancy, Biphobia, Blood, Child death, Sexual content, War, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Death of parent

deductionist's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

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

3.75

Love the writing, but by the end of the story didn’t feel much for the characters. Love the tropes they encompassed though. If I had a shot of espresso every time coffee was mentioned in this book, I think I’d be pretty close to dead… if not dead entirely. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol and Toxic relationship

saturnpersonified's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad slow-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Addiction, Death, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Death of parent and War

jg34's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

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

5.0

One of the easiest 5 star ratings. I might need to lower all other book ratings now bc this is the new standard

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship