The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue book review

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Published by Tor Books on October 6, 2020
Pages: 448
Goodreads

A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.
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.

I am a massive fan of V.E. Schwab, in fact most of her books are a five star for me. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was brilliant but just wasn’t up there for me. I gave it 4.5 star review because of some of the issues I had all the way through this one with some of the characters. It feels a little underdeveloped compared to Schwab’s other books. Considering how long it was I feel as though there was a lot of potential missing. I enjoyed the concept, and it reminded me of The Sudden Appearance of Hope, just with different elements. Overall I enjoyed this one, it just felt as though something was missing.

Characters in The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

I think Addie herself was an interesting character, I loved watching her develop through the ‘curse’ and learning more about herself in the process. Especially, seeing her interaction with the Darkness and how that develops so naturally. I did however think the ending of all of this was a little weird and feels a little rushed. I love the idea of them and I think they were a natural fit to the story. What I didn’t understand was the actual love interest. It seems forced at times and without spoiling too much there wasn’t a great number of reasons for them to be together. It was odd for me to be rooting against the planned romance. But hey ho, not everything is made for everyone.

I love the time jumping, the different introductions of the characters are some of the best. I love seeing how Addie interacts with them all. It is one of the best things about The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and I think it was the redeeming factor for me. I wish there was more time spent on the time travelling and the characters within those times. I think seeing Addie in those different situations in more detail would have made me connect with her on a stronger level.

The good and the bad

I think this is the same for all of Schwab’s book but the writing is always phenomenal! The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is not the exception. The writing is beautiful, and the construction of everything blows me away. I adore the time jumping and the insight into history at different points. Reading this book you fall in love with the characters and the different settings. It makes you think about the world you live in and how it would change if you couldn’t leave a mark. V.E. Schwab is a favourite.

My bad point would be how quick everything happens at the end. I feel like it’s a rush to the end and you almost blink and miss it. I think with how long the book it was there’s space to have a little more development at the end especially as it’s impactful moment. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue had so much potential which isn’t reached, especially with the romance and the Gods section. I love the idea of finding out more about the Gods and how the world Addie finds herself in works.

Recommendations

Definitely. I think I will recommend V. E. Schwab until I die. Her books are always fantastic and something unique always draws me in. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is no exception, you’re drawn into the world and with the characters. Pick it up if you haven’t. You won’t regret it.

Have you read this one? What did you think? Let me know!