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A review by jelkebooks
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
This is a book that I've seen so incredibly hyped, and that hype has actually scared me off a little bit despite being quite excited to read it. Therefore I am indeed incredibly mad at myself for putting off reading this one for so long, as I absolutely loved it. Now, I don't think it is going to be for everyone. It is a quiet book, a slower moving one, and if it doesn't click I can imagine this one being quite a bore, but I thought it was incredible.
I was just almost immediately enamoured with Addie. I thought she was such an interesting character to follow, and I loved the switches between the present day, and past timelines. Seeing Addie make the deal, and then figuring out her life (how it looks like, how to survive), and that contrasted with her almost 300 years later having learned so much, was incredibly interesting. I also feel like Addie's desires were very simple, and also very relatable. I love how V.E. Schwab added in art, and storytelling into the story. The discussions around creating, and wanting to leave your mark on the world was absolutely incredible, and really well done.
The story does fully kick off however when Addie meets Henry, and I absolutely adored their relationship, and how it developed. They had an incredible meet cute, and I loved the moment Addie realised someone could remember her for the first time ever. Henry was also just a really interesting character, quite different from Addie in so many ways, but ultimately they are also really similair. They just made a really great match. Their love story throughout the book was just so beautiful, it had its difficult moments, but overall it was just so sweet, and pure.
The ending to this book wrecked me. I mean, I did see something emotional happening coming, but it still wrecked me. It's incredibly sad, but there's also something beautiful to it, and overall it just made my heart ache, even hours after finishing this book. So yeah, I adored this book in case it wasn't obvious.
I was just almost immediately enamoured with Addie. I thought she was such an interesting character to follow, and I loved the switches between the present day, and past timelines. Seeing Addie make the deal, and then figuring out her life (how it looks like, how to survive), and that contrasted with her almost 300 years later having learned so much, was incredibly interesting. I also feel like Addie's desires were very simple, and also very relatable. I love how V.E. Schwab added in art, and storytelling into the story. The discussions around creating, and wanting to leave your mark on the world was absolutely incredible, and really well done.
The story does fully kick off however when Addie meets Henry, and I absolutely adored their relationship, and how it developed. They had an incredible meet cute, and I loved the moment Addie realised someone could remember her for the first time ever. Henry was also just a really interesting character, quite different from Addie in so many ways, but ultimately they are also really similair. They just made a really great match. Their love story throughout the book was just so beautiful, it had its difficult moments, but overall it was just so sweet, and pure.
The ending to this book wrecked me. I mean, I did see something emotional happening coming, but it still wrecked me. It's incredibly sad, but there's also something beautiful to it, and overall it just made my heart ache, even hours after finishing this book. So yeah, I adored this book in case it wasn't obvious.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, and Misogyny