The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab - GBR - Starting January 1st, 2023

[Danique]

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.

[Danique]

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab will be one of our GBRs for January 2023.

Please read at your own pace, and hide any spoilers ☺ You are welcome to join at any time during the month ☺

Happy Reading Everybody!

[Danique]

Pre-Reading Questions -

Anybody got any thoughts on this one before we start?

Has anyone read anything similar to this before?

Anybody read anything else by this author previously?

[Ryn]

So this is on my list because it was a teens top ten selection. I thought it was a YA but it's definitely not.

I've finished Part One and seriously, this is one of the saddest stories I might have ever read...

[Ryn]

Part Two
I really want to know what Henry's (view spoiler)[ secret or curse or whatever is. He must have one, right? There's a reason every single girl and plenty of the guys who meet him are insta-smitten but he can't seen to find any happiness. (hide spoiler)]

[Ryn]

Definitely not YA

[Alexandra]

Part One

(view spoiler)[This is super depressing. When I read the summary, I thought she gets forgotten maybe over time or the next day. But it's actually the instant she's out of sight? That's terrible. I can't even imagine living like that, I wouldn't survive for sure. And yeah, there's some unexpected adult stuff but considering she's 300 years old, I guess that makes sense. (hide spoiler)]

[Alexandra]

Ryn wrote: "Part Two
I really want to know what Henry's [spoilers removed]"

I thought the same, (view spoiler)[I wonder if Henry's also cursed by the same being? He's certainly implying that he's got his own curse. Maybe they will be able to break each other's. (hide spoiler)]

[Ryn]

That is a great thought right there. The thing is, yeah, her situation is super-depressing, but other than Henry's storyline, I don't really have any questions. I'm just sort of going along reading it. It's not super fast-paced but it's like one of those things you can't quite look away from. But I don't have much to say about it. Even though I feel like I should.

I am wondering about the ring. (view spoiler)[ It used to be her most valued possession and now she acts like it's going to be the conduit to steal her soul if she puts it on, so that's new. No idea when it changed yet though (hide spoiler)]

[Alexandra]

The book has that dreamy quality to it which fits the story I think, as Addie goes through life like a dream, invisible to everyone. I don't mind the lack of action because the character work is interesting. I've always been more into characters than action anyway.

And yeah, I'm curious about the ring's significance, too.

Part Two

(view spoiler)[I almost cried when Henry recognized her, can you imagine after 300 years of loneliness to finally be remembered by someone?? The story's definitely keeping me interested and I'm rooting for her to break this curse and be happy. (hide spoiler)]

Something that bothered me, the rules of the curse seems to not make perfect logical sense.

(view spoiler)[So she couldn't drug someone directly, but can put it in a bottle of wine and wait for them to pour it because the action isn't hers? The drug is still there because of her. Stealing counts as an anonymous act, but leaving random marks on the ground doesn't? She can even be painted, just not named? That's still leaving her mark, even if no one knows who she is. The ambiguity of the rules drives me nuts, lol. (hide spoiler)]

[Ryn]

Yes! The whole thing kind of feels like a dream, that's it! And she is so timeless because she has grown and changed right along with history.

I keep waiting for (view spoiler)[ Henry to NOT recognize her or for him to get weirded out by the fact that everyone else forgets her. I mean, sooner or later he's going to figure out that she can't write anything, has no job or income and something's just way, way off. Of course I'm also waiting for her to figure out that everyone sort of gets insta-attached to him upon meeting him. (hide spoiler)]

And yeah, I think you're right about the curse being not quite logical. I feel like with the breadth of time and life the author has to stretch it over, it's hard to really make it perfect, but it hasn't bothered me.

The story is fascinating. Although (Part 3 spoiler ahead) (view spoiler)[ I think the moment in the salon where Luc outed her was his biggest jerk move to date and I wanted to reach into the pages and just choke him. (hide spoiler)]

[Alexandra]

Agreed about that Part 3 moment!

I also finally reached the part where (view spoiler)[they tell each other about one another's curses, and at first I thought they get canceled out because they made the deal with the same being, but no, they actually work complementarily! That's kind of mind-blowing. (hide spoiler)]

I can't stop reading even though not much happened, the story is just that interesting.

[Ryn]

Part 3
I have to wonder how the author wrote this book. Did she write it linear and then rearrange it or really write it back and forth. No idea why that question is rampaging my brain, but it is.

So Addie's told Henry but that's where this part ends. It really is beautifully written. I don't think I've ever read anything by this author before, but I may have to now.

[Alexandra]

Finally finished!

(view spoiler)[So I was totally shipping Addie/Luc for a time, until we saw his possessive side. They seemed to have that perfect love/hate relationship that I like but I guess he really can't know real love. I figured Addie would sacrifice herself to save Henry, but at least she didn't lose her soul. I wonder if this means she'll be mortal and remembered again when Luc finally casts her out? (hide spoiler)]

I loved the book, definitely a five star for me, it really made me feel deeply for Addie and everything she went through. I think ironically this will be a book I remember for a long time, easily.

[Ryn]

Alexandra wrote: " I think ironically this will be a book I remember for a long time, easily."

Ha! Well played. And accurate.

I'm still working on it; it's a slower read than some of the others I've picked up. But it's so good. Finally got through the part about Henry and his situation. How perfectly that worked out. It's like art only in a book.

[Ryn]

Parts Four and Five
Somehow I read right past the part five marker so I'm just going to combine these two. I left the book at work last night when I was meaning to go home and read all evening so that was a disappointment.

I know we've said the curse feels inconsistent but I like the way the author uses Henry and Addie's relationship to explore it a little more and find ways for Addie to leave her mark. I am of course very interested to know what will happen when Luc weighs in (or figures out?) that (view spoiler)[ both of them are happy and have nulled each other's curses pretty much out. I can't imagine he'll leave that alone. It's interesting, too, that he rendered Addie virtually unchangeable, sort of trapped in herself from the moment he cursed her, and yet she really has changed. She's different in so many ways from the girl in Villon begging not to have to marry.

I suppose the fight was inevitable. I kind of thought the same thing when I realized Addie was basically stealing every single thing she needed over and over, but after consideration, I don't know that she has much of a choice. She's become very clever in the ways she finds to meet her needs. (hide spoiler)]

Only one part left. I'm ready to be finished with it, but it's been a great journey.

[Ryn]

So you're right about the inconsistency. I can't figure out (view spoiler)[ how she moved and replanted the yew tree over Estele's grave at all. That should absolutely not have worked. (hide spoiler)]

[Ryn]

Fin (finally!)

I don't even know what to say.

I just want to sit here in the aftermath with this story in my head for a while. At least until I stop crying.

[Alexandra]

That is pretty much how I felt at the end. I cried so much.

[Ryn]

Alexandra wrote: "That is pretty much how I felt at the end. I cried so much."

Same! Like after I'd finished. I don't think I've ever read a book that quite produced that reaction before.