From the Bookshelf of Challenge Corner…

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

V.E. Schwab,

Victoria Schwab

Start date: August 1, 2022

Finish date: August 31, 2022

Discussion: Book of the Month

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 8 topics — 675 comments total

Book of the Month

This topic has been closed to new comments.

* Previous BOTMs
By Felicia · 11 posts · 738 views

last updated Dec 27, 2024 06:25AM

* BOTM Polls!
By Alaina · 25 posts · 225 views

last updated Oct 21, 2025 05:28AM

showing 10 of 57 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Feb 14, 2021 Vicki rated it it was amazing

Shelves: audiobook, fantasy, historical-fiction, lgbtq, romance, pages_401-500

I'd heard really good things about this book and I know how good V.E. Schwab is, but this one blew me away! I thought this story was amazingly beautiful, both in its writing and the storyline. This book brought out all my ugliest emotions but also the best. I have some kind of connection with any character that talks about books and that normally draws me in because of my love for books! I do everything I can to foster a love of books in my grandchildren.

Historical fiction is one of my very fav ...more

13 likes · Like · see review

Apr 07, 2021 Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, historical, romance, stand-alone, fantastic-heroine, adult, lgbt, 2021, annoying-hero, from-my-shelf

“What is a person, if not the marks they leave behind?”

4 stars. Beautifully written. I adore Schwab’s writing. I don’t always jive with her plots/characters but her writing is always the highlight of her books for me. The plot in this one though did hit for me. For the most part. Everything worked for me except for the romance though. I just…no.

I blame my disliking the romance in this on how much I just didn’t like the character of Henry. I couldn’t connect with his character at all. And I t ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Dec 17, 2020 Jessica Guthrie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-of-2020

WOW. I'd give this book 10 stars if I could. Because I am not usualy a huge fan of fantasy, I let this book sit on my shelf for weeks before I finally started to read it and once I started, I couldn't put it down. I connected to Addie in a way that I have been having a hard time doing with the main characters of recent books. This book managed to be plot-driven AND character-driven and the result was spell-binding.

Addie LaRue is a free-spirited teenager in the 18th century who, in an attempt to WOW. I'd give this book 10 stars if I could. Because I am not usualy a huge fan of fantasy, I let this book sit on my shelf for weeks before I finally started to read it and once I started, I couldn't put it down. I connected to Addie in a way that I have been having a hard time doing with the main characters of recent books. This book managed to be plot-driven AND character-driven and the result was spell-binding.

Addie LaRue is a free-spirited teenager in the 18th century who, in an attempt to avoid an arranged marriage, sells her soul to the devil in exchange for FREEDOM. The devil, being the devil that he is, gives her the freedom she so craved but at the expense of total isolation for no soul on Earth can ever remember her after she leaves their sight. This leads to a rough existence for Addie who can't rent a home, or work or do anything to survive really and since she has also been given immortality, Addie spends the next 300+ years in almost complete isolation. Then, she meets a man who remembers her and suddenly the game changes for Addie.

**SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT FORWARD** The devil's never-ending fascination/obsession with Addie was so believable because even though the author showed us some other characteristics of the devil, she still doesn't break from his true, self-serving nature so the reader truly doesn't know what to expect from him. Would he really hurt Addie? Does he care enough about her to let her "win" and to keep his promises to her? Is it possible for him to actually care? Addie's struggle with surrendering to him or resisting him throughout the entire novel becomes something else entirely when their relationship starts to slip towards romantic/sexual. HOW in the world can I be wrapped up in a novel about a woman in a love triangle with the devil?? Because it's so "believable" in spite of how fantastical it is. This is a talented author to be able to toe the line between reality and fantasy in the way that she does.

I hope and PRAY there is a sequel that chronicles the rest of their relationship and its inevitable end that is hinted at in the end of this novel. ...more

Like · see review

Feb 11, 2021 Lisa rated it it was amazing

Oh my heart. This is one of those stories that speaks to your heart, breaks it, and then puts it back together again. Its characters live out the longings and fears of its readers: the desire to live outside the limits; to find love that is bigger than themselves; the fear that they will never leave a mark. I came to this book with no expectations, and left with a new favorite.

Like · see review