The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

[Trisha]

This thread is to discuss The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab.

Pages: 489 pages

Length: 1 Month (January)

Participants: Rachael, Chantal, Sunny, Alexxy, Ilona, Tianna, SarahKat, Nusha, Courtney, Chika, Shannon, Alison, Veronica, Desire, Stuti.

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.


Happy Buddy Reading!

[Desiré]

This is my first ever buddy read so I’ll be figuring it all out as I go :) I’m hoping to have an actual copy of the book the first week of January (from my library). I also have a copy of the audio book just in case.

[Alison]

I just received this for a Christmas 🎁...So Happy! Can’t wait to Buddy Read this with You All! Happy Holidays!!

[Stuti]

This is my first time doing a buddy read and I am next in line to get it from my library so I’m excited to read this with you all!

[Desiré]

Stuti wrote: "This is my first time doing a buddy read and I am next in line to get it from my library so I’m excited to read this with you all!"

That’s so funny that we’re both in the same boat. Fingers crossed both our libraries get in back in ASAP lol.

[SarahKat, Buddy Reads]

Welcome brand new buddy readers!

I have the opposite problem. My hold came through early so I have already started on this and have to return it by the 4th. I'll try to post some thoughts in spoilers later today!

[SarahKat, Buddy Reads]

I'm about halfway through this book.
Spoilers up to Part 4: Chapter 3 - (view spoiler)[I'm really enjoying this book. Addie's life is so sad, yet somehow she continues with it for 300+ years. She is either incredibly strong or incredibly stubborn or both. Set aside the fact that she can't have any long-term meaningful relationships with anyone; she can't even have a home! I love how she's figured out how to steal and find places to "live" for a short time.
At this point in the story we've just figured out why Henry can remember her when no one else does. I'm not sure I buy the whole story on that since it seems likely that Luc has made many similar deals for broken-hearted people, but okay. I don't really understand why his deal would cause everyone around him to be so emotional though. Is it just because he is the embodiment of what everyone needs right that moment? Like the woman who said he reminded her of her son? Do people just passing on the street just think he's super hot?
I do wonder how this will end. It seems like it can't end entirely happily. (hide spoiler)]

[Chantal]

Hopefully I will like this book

[Alyana]

Can I possibly join you guys? I'm starting my January reads and I'm hoping I can read this too.

[Gabriella]

I've been meaning to read this for a while, might join in if I get out of this reading slump I'm in.

[SarahKat, Buddy Reads]

Of course Alyana and Gabriella! Welcome! :)

[Alison]

Would love to have you, Alyana and Gabriella! 😊

[Heather]

I received this for Christmas as well and can’t wait to start! Could I join?? I’m new and don’t really have the group logistics down.

[Desiré]

Heather wrote: "I received this for Christmas as well and can’t wait to start! Could I join?? I’m new and don’t really have the group logistics down."

I’m new too! Love how many people are joining with 2021! Of course you can, welcome to the group!

[El]

Hi, I picked this up from my library yesterday, I'd love to join the discussion! This book sounds like a great escapist read for the holidays :)

[Sunny]

How nice to see everyone!

I've had my copy for several weeks and have been tempted to start reading it several times! I'll be starting it over the weekend.

Happy New Year!

[Desiré]

I’m starting this today! Hope everyone has a great New Year!

[Heather]

Desiré wrote: "Heather wrote: "I received this for Christmas as well and can’t wait to start! Could I join?? I’m new and don’t really have the group logistics down."

I’m new too! Love how many people are joining..."

Me too!!!!!!

[Shannon]

Hope everyone has a happy New Year! I am excited to read this with you all! :)

[Jamie]

This is my first buddy read and I’m looking forward to reading this one!

[Daisie]

This is on my TBR for January. Is it ok if I join this group? I don't know if there is a right place to sign up or if I missed it already.

[Ilona]

Happy new year! This book is the first on my list for 2021!

[jackie]

hi everyone!! sorry for being late - just discovered this thread for addie larue, and i’d love to join in the discussion if that’s okay :)

[Chika]

Happy new year everyone! Can't wait to start reading this. It's the first on my list too!

[SarahKat, Buddy Reads]

Happy New Year! Welcome all new buddies!

I actually finished this today. I'll post my thoughts at some point. But I'm still looking forward to discussing it with you all!

[El]

Just finished Part I, here are my thoughts and a comparison (non-spoilery) to The Bear and the Nightingale: (view spoiler)[I must say I am a little disappointed so far. I understand Addie's motivations but the way her behaviour is described paints her like an immature girl acting up and makes her desperate plea to the gods seem like a disproportionate act. This might be due to the writing because The Bear and the Nightingale has almost the same initial set up yet it feels a lot more believable and relatable. Another gripe I have as a native French speaker is that the spelling of French names in this book is just off (a small detail, I know, but this should be easy enough to double-check?). Also, how many more books do we need where the main guy has dark curly hair and green eyes? Ok, rant over, I'll continue reading it though :) (hide spoiler)]

What is everyone else thinking so far?

[Ilona]

SarahKat wrote: "I'm about halfway through this book.
Spoilers up to Part 4."

I just finished part 4 (view spoiler)[ I agree with you, Addie's life is so sad! I can't imagine having to live like that, with no one that knows here and nothing you can call a home. Henry has only been living with his deal for a short while, but Addie has been for so long.
I do fear that there is gonna be an unhappy ending, it is just to perfect now that they have found each other. Luc cannot be happy about this.. (hide spoiler)]

[Chantal]

I started today!

[Sunny]

I read Part 1 on Jan 2nd.

(view spoiler)[How sad to be forgotten -- not to be remembered. I know how she feels from when my grandmother (Dementia) and my aunt (Alzheimer's) didn't remember who I was.

Who is this girl who is not remembered by anyone she sees -- who has no problem shoplifting or living in other people's homes when they're not there? Is she really from 1714? Or is she really from some other place in time?

Is all that's taking place real or is all this stuff simply inside the mind of a girl who has chosen to live inside her own mind rather than deal with her own reality?

She has gotten her wish about not belonging to anyone or has she? Seems to me she belongs to the darkness who answered her prayer.

Whatever is taking place is lovely poetic-like story and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next! (hide spoiler)]

[Alyana]

I started today too!

[Sunny]

El wrote: "Just finished Part I, here are my thoughts and a comparison (non-spoilery) to The Bear and the Nightingale: [spoilers removed]

What is everyone else thinking so far?"

(view spoiler)[Let's face it, there aren't many descriptions out there ... they're either blond and green/ blue-eyed or dark-haired and green/or blue-eyed or maybe red-headed with blue/green eyes. And all of them sometimes feature brown or black eyes and brown hair. Maybe the dark hair with green eyes is the trend at the moment. In a bit it'll be something else.

As to the French spellings of the names ... maybe it's done on purpose for some reason that will be explained by the end of the book? (hide spoiler)]

[jackie]

Sunny wrote: "I read Part 1 on Jan 2nd.

How sad to be forgotten -- not to be remembered. I know how she feels from when my grandmother (Dementia) and my aunt (Alzheimer's) didn't remember who I was.

Who is thi..."

(view spoiler)[ yes i love the poetic prose of the story! i think it worked particularly well for the parts about her life in the past (17th/18th century) - i realised i particularly enjoy those parts, and am somewhat less interested by her life in the present (2014) - does anyone else have such a split preference? (hide spoiler)]

[jackie]

El wrote: "Just finished Part I, here are my thoughts and a comparison (non-spoilery) to The Bear and the Nightingale: [spoilers removed]

What is everyone else thinking so far?"

now i'm tempted to give the bear and the nightingale a go!

(view spoiler)[ i agree that addie seems immature in the beginning, but i actually quite adore her naivety, stubbornness and yearning for life (a complete opposite of who i am!).

i thought the dark curly hair / green eyes combo works quite well for luc, but i've just been picturing henry as blonde / blue eyes .. (hide spoiler)]

[SarahKat, Buddy Reads]

El, (view spoiler)[it may be a disproportionate act. When writing a synopsis for myself to look back on and I wrote something like "she made a deal with the devil because she didn't want to get married," I sort of thought it sounded silly. I do think it's deeper than that though, and she was obviously desperate and in high emotions at the time of the deal. (hide spoiler)]

Sunny, (view spoiler)[interesting thoughts! She definitely belongs to the darkness. Not what she had in mind. (hide spoiler)]

Jackie, (view spoiler)[I did have a split preference actually but it was the opposite. I much preferred her present-day life to her past. I liked the first part of her past when we are first finding out her curse, but in the middle it got dull for me. (hide spoiler)]

[El]

Sunny, (view spoiler)[maybe you're right and it's just a trend! :) and it would be interesting if there was something more to the French names spelling by the end of the book! (hide spoiler)]

jackie, (view spoiler)[I really enjoyed The Bear and the Nightingale, it has quite a few similar elements to Addie LaRue with a rebellious young girl in a medieval setting and magical spirits, and it's gorgeously written and very "wintery". I've been picturing Henry as the bookseller from the Netflix show "You" ;) (hide spoiler)]

SarahKat, (view spoiler)[I think maybe because it happens at the beginning it felt more expository to me, I hadn't had time to really "connect" with Addie yet if that makes sense. (hide spoiler)]

[Desiré]

jackie wrote: "Sunny wrote: "I read Part 1 on Jan 2nd.

How sad to be forgotten -- not to be remembered. I know how she feels from when my grandmother (Dementia) and my aunt (Alzheimer's) didn't remember who I wa..."

I have read up to Part 4, FYI (view spoiler)[ I agree that I loved hearing (I have an audiobook lol) about her 17th/18th century a bit more. Now that we are getting more of the backstory on Henry and their lives are becoming more intertwined, I’m loving all of it. I’m very curious to know what the darkness thinks of them meeting or if he knows at all. I’m so afraid the ending will leave me/us wishing it could have ended different for Addie and Henry. (hide spoiler)]

[Alyana]

I started the book last night and I will reply to the spoilers once I get to it.

[El]

I finished this today but unfortunately I didn't enjoy it :( (view spoiler)[The writing style didn't work for me, the plot felt repetitive and very light on, there was too much foreshadowing with underwhelming resolutions, and some glaring errors with the French elements that could have been easily picked up. (hide spoiler)]

[Niya]

I've also been reading this book and I'd love to join the Buddy Read! I'm about half way through and have mixed feelings about it. There are quite a few things I enjoy a lot. (view spoiler)[ I became especially intrigued by the story when Henry gets introduced. I even find myself caring more about him then Addie from time to time. (hide spoiler)] However, some aspects of the magic system frustrate me quite a bit. (view spoiler)[ The lines between what she can and cannot change seem to blur depending on what would fit the story best. She can steal but can't alter things such as breaking a bottle of wine. But annoyingly enough she can drink that bottle of wine, which from my point of view is again means changing it just with a different outcome, and all will be fine. (hide spoiler)]

[jackie]

El wrote: "I finished this today but unfortunately I didn't enjoy it :( [spoilers removed]"

El, (view spoiler)[ really interesting that you pictured henry as the bookseller from "you"!! for some reason, i've always thought of henry as more of an 'angelic' character in contrast to luc.

sorry the writing style didn't work for you - for me, it was actually one of the highlights of the novel, and i think it helped me overlook how the plot was slightly repetitive, as appreciating the prose alone was an enjoyable experience. (hide spoiler)]

SarahKat, Desire, Niya (view spoiler)[ i was thinking about why i particularly enjoyed the 17th/18th century parts, and i realised it was because they were mainly focused on the character development of addie. i love addie but i'm not the biggest fan of henry's character, so i'm always looking forward to the parts without him haha (hide spoiler)]

[Niya]

Jackie, (view spoiler)[ That's fair enough! I think it's mostly that I didn't particularly enjoy the story set in modern day when it was just her, while now that he's in the picture I find it a bit more interesting. I agree that the story of her past is much more enticing! (hide spoiler)]

[Ilona]

I finished the book last weekend, but haven't had the time yet to write down my thoughts. Coming soon!

[El]

jackie wrote: "El wrote: "I finished this today but unfortunately I didn't enjoy it :( [spoilers removed]"

jackie, (view spoiler)[Maybe it's because I only watched the first couple of episodes so I didn't see too much of his "non-angelic" behaviour ;)

It's always interesting to see how differently readers respond to an author's writing style! (hide spoiler)]

[Jamie]

I finished last night and also have mixed feelings about it. Still getting my thoughts together...

[Stuti]

I just finished the book and I wanted to write something down before moving on to my next book. (view spoiler)[ This book started off really slow for me and I had the hardest time getting through the first part. I really thought it was going to end up being a DNF for me but I'm so glad I stuck through it! Although I felt like it was slow to start it was so beautifully written and I really enjoyed the whole story. I do wish that the story line stuck more with her past and what she went through as the world changed around her rather than coming back up to the present. I also wish there had been more development of storyline between her and Luc, not necessarily in a romantic way but just to know more about them together and their moments. I also felt like the end was rushed--but that may have been because I didn't want the book to end! I found the last few chapters so beautiful and I was rather surprised at her giving everything up for Henry. I wish we knew what happened after she left the bookstore with Luc at the end! (hide spoiler)]

El (view spoiler)[ I kinda like the dark hair, green eye thing even if it's a trend :) and I just borrowed The Bear and the Nightingale so I'm interested to see the similarities between the two. I also was picturing the guy from You! I don't know if it's because he worked at a bookstore or what but that's funny that you did too! (hide spoiler)]

Sunny (view spoiler)[ I agree with you that the writing was very poetic and I really liked the descriptiveness of it. (hide spoiler)]

Jackie (view spoiler)[ I also liked her time in the past more so than her time in the present, I felt like that part was just more interesting than her present time. (hide spoiler)]

Niya (view spoiler)[ That's an interesting point about how the magic differs based on circumstance and is not very consistent. (hide spoiler)]

I hope I did this right all, and if not let me know!

[El]

Stuti wrote: "I just finished the book and I wanted to write something down before moving on to my next book. [spoilers removed]"

Hi Stuti, (view spoiler)[ Haha yes I'm pretty sure I was picturing the You actor because that's the only bookseller I could conjure up in my mind! I hope you enjoy The Bear and the Nightingale! The writing in it is also quite descriptive but the execution is a step above in my opinion :) (hide spoiler)]

[Veronica]

Just finished Part 2, my spoiled thoughts so far: (view spoiler)[ I am really enjoying this book! I agree that the writing style is very poetic and I already have come across a few lines I wanted to remember. I'm more interested in her life in 2014 so far, due to Henry, and I'm very interested to see how their relationship will develop. I'm also looking forward to see if the book will delve into more historical events from the past 300 years from her perspective (hide spoiler)]

[Rachael]

I read a free preview of this a few months ago. I enjoyed that so much that I knew I wanted to read the whole thing.
I hope to start this in a couple of days.

[Ilona]

My thoughts on the book:
(view spoiler)[ I agree with many of you that the 17th/18th century chapters were the most interesting, even though the middle of the book got a bit boring and repetitive. I agree with El that there were some errors that should have been corrected. e.g. Addie mentioned several times that she speaks Swiss, which is not a language as far as I know. People in Switzerland speak German, French, Italian or Romansh.

Halfway the book I was a little scared of the ending, and a sweet happy ending did not seem fitting. Therefore I did like it that Addie ended up with Luc, with the intention of payback and Henry ended up writing the book. I did also like the attention for art and Addie discovering that she can be a muse and give people ideas. It was lovely that we also got pictures of some of the pieces. (hide spoiler)]

[SarahKat, Buddy Reads]

Veronica, (view spoiler)[Glad I'm not the only one who preferred the 2014 story to the past! (hide spoiler)]

Ilona, (view spoiler)[You and the others who have mentioned the errors are right. That is a 2-second Google search and she really should have checked on things. Schwab usually writes about worlds that don't exist right? I don't know for sure, but if that's true maybe she's not used to having to fact-check.

I liked the muse for artists too. What was the quote? Ideas are wilder than memories? I liked that. (hide spoiler)]