Genre: Fiction; Fantasy

Note: There are NO spoilers in this review. When discussing in the comments, please provide a spoiler warning if needed.

I’ve had this book on my TBR book cart for a while, and every time I went to pick my next read my husband was there pushing me to pick up Addie LaRue. It took months, but he finally won me over (along with everyone else on Bookstagram who is in love with this novel). 

Overall, I have conflicting emotions when it comes to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. I enjoyed the story and the writing is gorgeous, but there are some elements that pulled this book back from a 5 star rating for me. 

I will give V.E. Schwab credit where credit is due – this is one of the best surprise/twist endings I’ve ever read. Even if you generally predict how Addie and Henry’s story is going to end, she throws in a little flare to really move this book high on my list of favorites.

The entire novel flips between Addie LaRue’s early life in the 1700s (progressing through the early 1900s) and present day. We open in France, 1714, where a young Addie LaRue makes a deal with a devil to escape a mundane and normal life in her small village. But her deal isn’t entirely what she thinks. 

Addie is doomed to a life of being forgotten by anyone and everyone she meets. 

We follow our main character across centuries where she learns what it means to sell yourself to survive, plays a role in World Wars, and fights each and every day to live her life – all while trying to stay strong in the face of her devil, who visits her every year on the anniversary of their deal. 

Like all great stories, things change when someone new comes into Addie LaRue’s life – a boy who can remember her. 

The writing throughout this novel is gorgeous – V.E. Schwab is absolutely a talented writer and story-teller. She paints a vivid picture and really gets us into the minds of her characters. I enjoyed every moment I spent reading this novel. I fell in love with the characters show brought to life from Addie to Henry, and even Luc. 

But ultimately, I feel like the flowery and poetic writing was a distraction for a lack of depth in the plot. 

We have a woman who is given immortality and she visits maybe four countries? She has an opportunity to explore the world, meet people from every part of the globe, and experience all the world has to offer – but she stays in France, Germany, Italy, and the U.S.? 

The main character recounts massive-scale world events, when there was an opportunity here to show us something about the world we didn’t know. 

And then there’s the men – Luc and Henry. Every aspect of Addie LaRue’s story, or at least the version she tells us, revolves around the two men in her life. All of her flashbacks, focused on the devil, and all of her present (until they collide), focused on Henry. We know who Addie is in the lense of her experiences with these men. 

A woman’s story is so much more than the man she’s with or loves.

I will take a moment to stop griping and say, I loved the ending and I cried – a lot. So while (over)thinking about this book after I finished, I would recommend this to a friend and hope you take the time to read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. 

It’s a beautiful story about a woman who refused to give up or give in to the darkness. Addie’s resilience is awe-inspiring and worth your time. 

Buy The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab here at Thank You Books (Birmingham, AL) or at your local bookstore!

Have you read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue? Let’s talk about it here in the comments or on Instagram.