From the Bookshelf of EVERYONE Has Read This but Me - The Catch-Up Book Club…

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

V.E. Schwab,

Victoria Schwab

Start date: March 1, 2025

Finish date: March 31, 2025

Discussion: MODERN / POPULAR READS

Why we're reading this: March 2025 - Bookshelf Catch-Up
Feb. 2022 - Modern/Popular Selection
[close] March 2025 - Bookshelf Catch-Up
Feb. 2022 - Modern/Popular Selection

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MODERN / POPULAR READS

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What Members Thought

Mar 11, 2021 Michelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2021-books-audio

Bittersweet, romantic tale of a young woman who sells her soul to be free with unforeseen repurcusions.

1 like · Like · see review

Apr 17, 2021 Denise rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Overall, I obviously enjoyed this book. I thought it was really well written and I enjoyed the characters. I appreciated that no matter how long Addie was alive, she still found things to bring her awe and wonder.

In terms of story construction, I liked that so much of it was a cat and mouse game revolving about her relationship with The Dark, and when Addie begins to question if she's still human in the way that other humans are human, it makes you wonder how The Dark started too, and if having Overall, I obviously enjoyed this book. I thought it was really well written and I enjoyed the characters. I appreciated that no matter how long Addie was alive, she still found things to bring her awe and wonder.

In terms of story construction, I liked that so much of it was a cat and mouse game revolving about her relationship with The Dark, and when Addie begins to question if she's still human in the way that other humans are human, it makes you wonder how The Dark started too, and if having limitations is part of what makes us human. However, the one detail that came up over and over again and really affected the premise for me is the idea that as soon as Addie is out of sight she is forgotten and yet she spends entire days with people she has affairs with and that works out fine. So... does no one ever go to the bathroom, or the kitchen to get another beer without Addie trailing creepily along behind them? I tried to overlook this detail. I really tried, but then it actually becomes a plot point later when she is at a dinner party. This is never addressed even though people falling asleep and forgetting her is how we open the novel. If you can avoid thinking about this during her every interaction, I'm sure you'll enjoy this without the constant niggling thought that everyone must have to pee very badly all the time.

The only other criticism I have, and this is small because this book seems mostly dependent upon plot and less so character development, is that the characters do not, in fact, seem to develop very much. Addie, despite living several lifetimes, seems very similar at the end of the book to the person she was at the beginning. She learns that she does want to be remembered and "matter" but her desire to not be tied down persists as she leaves Henry (albeit for good reasons), and ties herself to the Dark in yet another Faustian bargain which is not exactly real commitment. I'd have been more interested to see if Addie got bored of Henry if they'd had a lifetime together. Also, all those years and still willing to deal with the devil, and she still thinks she is more clever than him and that she can eventually "win." Henry still has storms and despite now knowing that he prefers genuine affection to the fake kind, he hasn't learned a lot about how to get it since his entire affair with Addie was orchestrated. I liked the characters, but I wish they'd grown more. Or maybe that's part of the point. No matter what you go through, people are amazing and creative and interesting, but they never freaking learn. ...more

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Aug 30, 2021 Ellie 9218 rated it it was ok · review of another edition

The plot begins in 1714 France, when Addie LaRue makes a deal with the devil in order to get out of an arranged marriage, and escape a life she does not want. Addie is granted immortality, but there is a catch: Not only does she become immortal, she is also instantly forgotten about by everyone she meets.......until she meets one person that can, 300 years later.

A miss for me as I found this book to be incredibly slow, plotless, and overly repetitive.

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