The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab - Restarting January 12th 2023

[Ashleigh]

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.

[Dannii]

I'll be starting this one later today, if I complete my three other current reads. Haha!

[Courtney]

Joining in on this one hopefully.

[Dannii]

Courtney wrote: "Joining in on this one hopefully."

Yay! I'm starting it right now :)

[Dannii]

First quarter - (view spoiler)[Oh my gosh, this is already everything I wanted it to be and SO MUCH MORE. The writing is so lyrical, the settings so atmospheric, and the story-line so tragic. I just know this one is going to make me cry, the more I grow to love Addie and the more her grief and loneliness presents itself. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

I started reading it yesterday and it's living up to my expectations... I'm so happy!!!

[Dannii]

Sarah wrote: "I started reading it yesterday and it's living up to my expectations... I'm so happy!!!"

Glad to hear you are loving this one too :)

[Ashleigh]

5% - (view spoiler)[Omg, I love it already. It's so beautiful! I feel like it's gonna make me cry. That chapter with her waking up in the boy's bed and she's been getting to know him for months and everytime she leaves, he forgets who she is. Ugh, that sucks man. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Ashleigh wrote: "5% - [spoilers removed]"

Right!? It made me feel emotional from the very first page!

[Ashleigh]

Dannii wrote: "Ashleigh wrote: "5% - [spoilers removed]"

Right!? It made me feel emotional from the very first page!"

I'm not ready for all the feels hahaha

[Courtney]

Starting this now.

[Courtney]

So I couldn't get my hands on the book, but got the audiobook so my notes are going to be by chapter considering I cant figure out the percentage.

[Courtney]

Ashleigh wrote: "5% - [spoilers removed]"

That part had me on the verge of tears. I wouldnt be able to do it.

[Dannii]

Courtney wrote: "So I couldn't get my hands on the book, but got the audiobook so my notes are going to be by chapter considering I cant figure out the percentage."

No worries, Courtney :)

[Courtney]

Part one finished (view spoiler)[ So far it is keeping my attention, but it is starting to get a little slow. I really like Addie, but feel bad for her not being able to be remembered. I know its technically her fault, but I cant imagine how lonely she gets. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

Not getting much time to read but I'm loving to slowly dive into it. For some reason it gave me shadow and bone vibes??!!

[Sarah]

Also that part where he remembers was so funny yet so sad

[Sarah]

Just finished part three...didn't saw it coming.

[izzy]

I didn't want to buddy read any book

But reading this....

It is too beautiful to ignore

I want to know your thoughts

[izzy]

Part 1
(view spoiler)[Estelle made Addie dream. She doesn't want to have a normal life of every other girl. She wants freedom. She prays to her mother God's. It is Estelle that taught her about the old gods (hide spoiler)]

[izzy]

We all have fantasies
What we want our dream 'guy' to look like

This is scary

[izzy]

Be careful what you tell someone you want because it might not really mean the same thing to the person

[izzy]

Part 2
(view spoiler)[ I am so curious about Henry!. I want to know his story. How come he remember??
Oh Victoria Schwab you have started again (hide spoiler)]

[izzy]

Part 3
(view spoiler)[ Henry made a deal!!!!!! Bloody hell (hide spoiler)]

[izzy]

Part 4
(view spoiler)[ we understand Henry's life and how he longed to meet someone like Addie. Addie is in art. She is not forgotten. I hope that the devil actually made a mistake. Oh Victoria Schwab would you give us a happy ending? (hide spoiler)]

[Ashleigh]

End of Part 1 - (view spoiler)[I'm slightly confused at how Addie wanted to be free and escape an arranged marriage, and how she ended up giving her soul for immortality? She never really said she wanted to be immortal, just free?

(hide spoiler)]

[izzy]

I am done

I'm in tears!

Victoria why???
(view spoiler)[ She made a bargain to save Henry's life. That's all I can say (hide spoiler)]

[izzy]

Ashleigh wrote: "End of Part 1 - I'm slightly confused at how Addie wanted to be free and escape an arranged marriage, and how she ended up giving her soul for immortality? She never really said she wanted to be im..."

(view spoiler)[he said she wanted to belong to no one, also be careful what you say you want. It might mean something else to someone else. English can be ambiguous (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

I put this down for a few days for absolutely no other reason than I was in the middle of too many books and wanted to clear through some so I could dedicate all my time to this. Now I am back reading it I am immediately consumed by the gorgeous writing and evocative atmosphere, again.

Second quarter - (view spoiler)[I squealed when the bookseller remembered her, after she left the shop with a copy of The Odyssey. I wasn't expecting that and I also wasn't expecting for him to have his own perspective, following that. He seems really lovely and Sam also seems really sweet. I wish both could remember her and I hope Sam's character is featured again.

My heart broke for Addie when she set the table for Luc on their sixth anniversary and then he failed to show. This quote really struck me - "he is a hated thing, but a hated thing is still something. The only thing she has." Ugh, MY HEART! (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Courtney wrote: "Part one finished [spoilers removed]"

It is definitely very slow-paced, but this pacing really worked for me here, and seemed to really match the atmospheric qualities and grief-dogged narrative.

[Dannii]

Sarah wrote: "Also that part where he remembers was so funny yet so sad"

(view spoiler)[I screamed at the page. I thought the whole book would have passed without another individual remembering her! (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

izzy wrote: "I didn't want to buddy read any book

But reading this....

It is too beautiful to ignore

I want to know your thoughts"

Right!? It is so tragic and so beautiful and I am in love with every single page of it!

[Dannii]

Ashleigh wrote: "End of Part 1 - I'm slightly confused at how ."

(view spoiler)[I don't want to ruin it in case you haven't reached that part yet, but more rules to their agreement are mentioned later. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

izzy wrote: "Part 3
[spoilers removed]"

Eeeeek! This entire book might be slow-paced but when a major plot point occurs it literally floors me!

[Dannii]

Third quarter - (view spoiler)[Oh gosh, I was cringing when Henry's friends and ex kept forgetting Addie's existence. The truth was bound to come out at some point, as inexplicable as it seemed. I didn't anticipate that Henry had a secret of his own to declare! He had a backstory that was far shorter but tragic, too. And now two lost souls have found each other. One has a lifetime and the other an infinity and so I'm sure this can't end happily, however. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Fourth quarter - (view spoiler)[Luc cursed her but also chose to save her, during the revolution. I wondered from there if we were going to see a late alteration in their relationship. I definitely saw the difference when he seemed pleased at her reaction to the classical music and then we later learnt of their ever burgeoning closeness.

This ending absolutely ruined me and I loved everything about this heart-breaking. I'm feeling pretty speechless right now. I was so heartbroken when Henry traded for a single year of life and this feeling didn't ease up until the book was over. (hide spoiler)]

[Courtney]

Sorry my husband and daughter got sick, and I think I lost the book on Overdrive. If not I will try to pick it back up today.

[Brigida]

Will be starting this on November 3rd :)

[Laura]

Brigida wrote: "Will be starting this on November 3rd :)"

Same!

[Eesh]

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Date changed. Restarting November 3rd 2020. Happy Reading ☺

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[Eesh]

End of Part 1
(view spoiler)[So we've met Henry so we seem to be going somewhere with the plot, beyond the flashbacks. I'm hoping we'll get less of those as the book continues. (hide spoiler)]

[Dee Dee]

I haven't gotten to that part yet but what I've read so far I am enjoying

[Laura]

Chapter 5 (view spoiler)[ Loving Schwab's beautiful writing so far. No surprise there! I have exceptionally high expectations for this book, thanks to the brilliance of Schwab's other works. I am so excited to keep going. I will say that Schwab usually gives her characters very peculiar quirks (Kell's coat in A Darker Shade of Magic and Victor's blacking out the lines of a book in Vicious) and I am looking forward to working out what Addie's as it isn't so obvious in the first few chapters! (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha (semi-hiatus)]

I'd like to join in, if you all won't mind, but I'll be reading pretty slow because I have to study :(

[Laura]

Trisha wrote: "I'd like to join in, if you all won't mind, but I'll be reading pretty slow because I have to study :("

Welcome! The more readers the better! Don't worry I have serious exams coming up in the next two weeks, so my reading is going to be very slow with this one!

[Katie]

I might try to catch this buddy read as well!!! We'll see how the next couple of days go with the books I'm reading right now!! But hopefully, I can get to this one!!

[Eesh]

End of Part 2
(view spoiler)[I didn't know we'd be getting Henry's POV as well. That could be interesting. I'd really like to know what's up with him. Because something clearly is, with the way he behaves. And the fact that he remembers Adeline. (hide spoiler)]

[Eesh]

Part 3 chapter 7
(view spoiler)[I gave up about halfway through this chapter. The book just isn't working for me. The fact that the story keeps going back in time is frustrating. And any hope I had for the romance isn't mostly gone, because Addie and Henry's interactions are boring to me. (hide spoiler)]

[Dr. Andy]

I'm starting today!

[Dee Dee]

Quirks wrote: "Part 3 chapter 7
[spoilers removed]"

I'm sorry to hear that :(