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A review by amandakitz
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This book was intriguing in concept, but it was neither fast paced nor particularly deep. It was enjoyable, but not incredible. There were plenty of themes that could have been explored more deeply, but they were kept to one-liners.
I was pretty surprised that not once in 300 years of life in Europe and the US did any social issue come up other than her gender being a safety concern at times; I'm not counting the few pages where she was a spy in World War II, a scene which existed solely for Luc to rescue her and make him look less terrible. History was a backdrop, not engaged in a meaningful way.
I think the most challenged I felt as a reader was in my desire for our protagonist to be a good person, but her most enduring character traits were stubbornness, spite, and selfishness. Frankly, her lovers were consistently more interesting than she was. Their bisexuality was a welcome addition, but that was where the diversity ended. Her time with Henry was lovely and the ending was heartbreaking, but I could not get behind Luc being a love interest in any capacity. That being said, it did get me invested and I did cry, plus there were some lovely lines and great moments.
So, enjoyable? Yes. Under a critical eye, was it a great book? Not exactly.
I was pretty surprised that not once in 300 years of life in Europe and the US did any social issue come up other than her gender being a safety concern at times; I'm not counting the few pages where she was a spy in World War II, a scene which existed solely for Luc to rescue her and make him look less terrible. History was a backdrop, not engaged in a meaningful way.
I think the most challenged I felt as a reader was in my desire for our protagonist to be a good person, but her most enduring character traits were stubbornness, spite, and selfishness. Frankly, her lovers were consistently more interesting than she was. Their bisexuality was a welcome addition, but that was where the diversity ended. Her time with Henry was lovely and the ending was heartbreaking, but I could not get behind Luc being a love interest in any capacity. That being said, it did get me invested and I did cry, plus there were some lovely lines and great moments.
So, enjoyable? Yes. Under a critical eye, was it a great book? Not exactly.