The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Synopsis
"France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.
Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.
But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name."
My Thoughts
I've had to sit with this one for a while so I could form coherent thoughts. Or at least, I hope it's coherent. I read this as a buddy read with Laura from @myfantasyreads on Instagram which was an awesome choice since this book was so much fun to dissect and theorize after each part. I also managed to stay oblivious of some big plot points that are actually called out in the book description so that was extra fun.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was skeptical as I usually am anytime anything is super hyped. But the writing and the story both were beautiful and tragic and I could hardly put the book down at the end of each part. I loved how casually queer the book was. Both Addie and Henry are bi/pan and it was wonderful how it wasn't a whole a thing, just facts of life. Which I just love to see in books.
“Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives--or to find strength in a very long one.”
― V.E. Schwab, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
The ending took me completely by surprise which I also completely loved. After a while of reading this book, I started wondering how it could possibly end in a satisfying way, but oh it did not disappoint. Do I recommend it? Absolutely! This book was a fantastic trip I did not want to end!
Genre: lgbtqia+, fantasy
Representation: bi MCs, MC with depression, Jewish MC, lesbian, gay
Content Warnings: abusive relationship, alcohol abuse, assault (physical and sexual), death, depression, drugs, sexism, suicide (attempted), war
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