A review by melissa_c
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

3.0

It took me longer to get through this novel. The concept of a woman who has eternal life but fails to remain in anyone’s memory is a unique idea. And while I admire that the protagonist’s desire to live is what drives her to sacrifice a lot herself both emotionally and physically to do what is necessary to survive and that a woman’s experience/will to survive/desire to forge her own path in a male-dominated world is of serious importance, I wish the historical aspect had also been explored. In fact, a combination of both the protagonist’s experiences as a woman as well as the historical circumstances surrounding her at the time could’ve been explored to create an even greater dynamic between her and her surroundings. Instead, I felt as if they were mutually exclusive and led to a significantly less involved and stimulating story. Additionally, I felt the places where a deeper historical aspect could’ve been explored was replaced by the complicated relationship and uncalled-for love story between Addie and the god that granted her wish to live forever. I wasn’t on board with the author deciding to engage these two characters in the classic enemies-to-lovers trope as I didn’t feel it rendered anything to the story other than some extra pages, so I wasn’t sold on their storyline.