V.E. Schwab

In the vein of The Time Traveler's Wife and Life After Life, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue When Addie La Rue makes a pact with the devil, she trades her soul for immortality. But there's always a price - the devil takes away her place in the world, cursing her to be forgotten by everyone. Addie flees her tiny home town in 18th-Century France, beginning a journey that takes her across the world, learning to live a life where no one remembers her and everything she owns is lost and broken. Existing only as a muse for artists throughout history, she learns to fall in love anew every single day. Her only companion on this journey is her dark devil with hypnotic green eyes, who visits her each year on the anniversary of their deal. Alone in the world, Addie has no choice but to confront him, to understand him, maybe to beat him. Until one day, in a second hand bookshop in Manhattan, Addie meets someone who remembers her. Suddenly thrust back into a real, normal life, Addie realises she can't escape her fate forever.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

In the vein of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Life After Life, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is New York Times bestselling author V. E. Schwab’s genre-defying tour de force. 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.

 she once asked. And when Addie didn't know, the old woman smiled that wrinkled grin, and answered. 

She doesn't know the word just yet, but fifty years from now, in Paris salon, she will hear it for the first time, the idea of the past lotted out, written over by the present, and think of this moment n Le Mans. 

How foolish to think it would stay the same, when everything else has changed. 

But it is a lonely thing, to be forgotten. 

Already seen. Already known. Already lived.

When everything slips through your fingers, you learn to savor the feel of nice things against your palm.

A quiet heaviness flls her chest when the credits roll. For a while she was weightless, but now she returns to herself, sinking until her feet are back on the ground.

“I do not want to belong to someone else,” she says with sudden vehemence. The words are a door flung wide, and now the rest pour out of her. “I do not want to belong to anyone but myself. I want to be free. Free to live, and to find my own way, to love, or to be alone, but at least it is my choice, and I am so tired not having choices, so scared of the years rushing past beneath my feet. I do not want to die as I've lived, which is no life at all.”

Adeline had wanted to be a tree. To grow wild and deep, belong to no one but the ground beneath her feet, and the sky above, just like Estele. It would be an unconventional life, and perhaps a little lonely, but at least it would be hers. She would belong to no one but herself.

letting her go in pieces. selling off his grief.

She knows he is a widower who lives upstairs, knows the books belonged to his wife, Candace, knows that when she died, he packed up all her books and brought them down to sell, and it's like letting her go in pieces. Selling off his grief. Addie knows that he sits down here because he's afraid of dying in his apartment, of not being found—not being missed.

Addie has had three hundred years to practice her father's art, whittle herself down to a few essential truths, to learn the things she cannot do without. 

And this is what she's settled on: she can go without food (she will not wither). She can go without heat (the cold will not kill her). But a life without art, without wonder, without beautiful things—she would go mad. She has gone mad. 

Stories are a way to preserve one's self. To be remembered. And to forget. 

Stories come in so many forms: in charcoal, and in song, in paintings, poems, films. And 

Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives—or to find strength in a very long one.

And when she does look up, her gaze always goes to the edge of town. 

Still, it does not seem such a bad word. 

She breathes life into him with every line. And with every stroke, coaxes out another story. 

Tell me about dancing in Paris. Tell me about sailing across the sea. Tell me everything.

There was no danger in it, no reproach, not when she was young. All girls are prone to dreaming. She will grow out of it, her parents say—but instead, Adeline feels herself growing 

, holding tighter to the stubborn hope of something more.

Adeline is sixteen now, and everyone speaks of her as if she is a 

, something to be plucked, and propped within a vase, intended only to flower and then to rot. Like Isabelle. who dreams of family instead of freedom, and seems content to briefly blossom and then wither. 

No, Adeline has decided she would rather be a tree, like Estele. 

If she must grow roots, she would rather be left to flourish wild instead of pruned, would rather stand alone, allowed to grow beneath the open sky

. Better that than firewood, cut down just to burn in someone else's hearth.

She chews on the inside of her cheek. "How many gods are there, Estele?"

"As many gods as you have questions," answers the old woman.

And Adeline understands—and still does not understand at all—feels as if she's being punished for simply growing up. 

Because she has spent weeks getting to know him. And he has spent hours forgetting her. 

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

lily

Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives-or to find strength in a very long one.

Paige Leitner

If some part of her wavered, if some small part wanted to give in, it did not last beyond a moment. There is a defiance in being a dreamer.

It is the kind of place that takes years to visit, and still there always seems to be another alley, another set of steps, another door.

literally teared up at the end of this book.

Madelaine Jarcew

Addie has said so many hellos, but that was the first and only time she got to say good-bye. That kiss, like a piece of long-awaited punctuation. Not the em dash of an interrupted line, or the ellipsis of a quiet escape, but a period, a closed parenthesis, an end.

That is the thing about living in the present, and only the present, it is a run-on sentence. And Henry was a perfect pause in the story. A chance to catch her breath. She does not know if it was love, or simply a reprieve. If contentment can compete with passion, if warmth will ever be as strong as heat.

Not a game, or a war, or a battle of wills.

Time, and memory, like lovers in a fable.

heartbreaking realizations for addie but i’m always down for a ‘humans are messy and wild and flawed and that’s what makes them human’ argument. love.

Luc scowls. “Henry Strauss wanted to die. You wanted to live. You are nothing alike.”

Addie shakes her head. “You only see flaws and faults, weaknesses to be exploited. But humans are messy, Luc. That is the wonder of them. They live and love and make mistakes, and they 

 so much. And maybe — maybe I am no longer one of them.”

Luc is so good at being a dick, so good at pointing out the inherent flaws of humanity. but i love how Addie, despite everything still questions him and finds value in her humanity.

this book is written so well. i really truly am obsessed

He looks at her. “They made their deal. They knew the cost.”

“Why would anyone trade a lifetime of talent for a few years of glory?”

Luc’s smile darkens. “Because time is cruel to all, and crueler still to artists. Because vision weakens, and voices wither, and talent fades.” He leans close, twists a lock of her hair around one finger. “Because happiness is brief, and history is lasting, and in the end,” he says, “

this book is actually rocking my world right now because i feel like henry. everything henry is saying and going through is EXACTLY how i feel about my life. especially my academics. there is so much to learn, to do, to become and it is so overwhelming. i feel like i’m being written about.

Choosing a class became choosing a discipline, and choosing a discipline became choosing a career, and choosing a career became choosing a life, and how was anyone supposed to do that, when you had only one?

The summary of my experience with this book: I was invested and then ended with 'ugh'.

In terms of writing, Schwab style is actually one of I fancy the most, it just right and comfortable to follow. In term of plot it was promising, with the whole concept of people can't remember you. The thing is, it become to point it's too repetitive, 300 years of life yet it always circling around 'Addie love-life' that also somehow always in Europe.

The concept with Luc is actually interesting with a question about is he depicted as a darkness and sometimes 'God' after dark, but unfortunately it only grazing the surface along with all the God and religion mentioned, and the 'development' of Luc character in my opinion is took turn to the worse and destroy the image of grandiose that I had for him and turn it into impression that 'he had too much time in his hands'.

Oh my God, how we come this far. But again despite of it, Addie' story and the implication of to be free is also means to be lonely is actually a very good depiction of freedom and it twist, and Henry might seems mediocre, because he is and what showed is, alas kind of brief, what it's to be mediocre. Maybe the book will work better if you have the same upbringing and could relate to them.

All for all, I give it 3/5, can believe this book is 400+ pages but sometimes it feel like it could be shorter.

Jermaine.

The summary of my experience with this book: I was invested and then ended with 'ugh'.

In terms of writing, Schwab style is actually one of I fancy the most, it just right and comfortable to follow. In term of plot it was promising, with the whole concept of people can't remember you. The thing is, it become to point it's too repetitive, 300 years of life yet it always circling around 'Addie love-life' that also somehow always in Europe.

The concept with Luc is actually interesting with a question about is he depicted as a darkness and sometimes 'God' after dark, but unfortunately it only grazing the surface along with all the God and religion mentioned, and the 'development' of Luc character in my opinion is took turn to the worse and destroy the image of grandiose that I had for him and turn it into impression that 'he had too much time in his hands'.

Oh my God, how we come this far. But again despite of it, Addie' story and the implication of to be free is also means to be lonely is actually a very good depiction of freedom and it twist, and Henry might seems mediocre, because he is and what showed is, alas kind of brief, what it's to be mediocre. Maybe the book will work better if you have the same upbringing and could relate to them.

All for all, I give it 3/5, can believe this book is 400+ pages but sometimes it feel like it could be shorter.

First part of the book almost made me DNF it bc it was so slow…. The i liked it enough to keep me reading and i loved the ending. 

Angie

Absolutely surreal. This book took me on an immersive journey. With twists and turns, wit and candor, this book showcases everything good and everything bad about humanity. I marvel at VE Shwab's writing and even more heavily envy the ease with which she uses words. 

This novel has been recommended to me like crazy from friends and family members (including this hard cover copy which was shipped across the ocean to me from my dad). I know this is a book I will return to time and time again. 

Absolutely surreal. This book took me on an immersive journey. With twists and turns, wit and candor, this book showcases everything good and everything bad about humanity. I marvel at VE Shwab's writing and even more heavily envy the ease with which she uses words. 

This novel has been recommended to me like crazy from friends and family members (including this hard cover copy which was shipped across the ocean to me from my dad). I know this is a book I will return to time and time again. 

I have to give it to V.E Shwab, her writing is absolutely beautiful and one of the things that kept me reading.

I will say that this had a slower placing up until maybe the last 25% of it. I’m not really sure of what I was expecting overall when reading this but I’m not disappointed. 

I genuinely thought the ending was her coming full circle to live up in a situation she had been cursed to avoid, which was not being able to live as she wanted and belonging to someone, essentially. Idk if the ending was better or worse than what I expected to happen. Overall, beautiful story and pretty relatable (not in a making a deal with a god type of way)

I have to give it to V.E Shwab, her writing is absolutely beautiful and one of the things that kept me reading.

I will say that this had a slower placing up until maybe the last 25% of it. I’m not really sure of what I was expecting overall when reading this but I’m not disappointed. 

I genuinely thought the ending was her coming full circle to live up in a situation she had been cursed to avoid, which was not being able to live as she wanted and belonging to someone, essentially. Idk if the ending was better or worse than what I expected to happen. Overall, beautiful story and pretty relatable (not in a making a deal with a god type of way)



abi a

i did enjoy this book however i found some parts slow and slightly repetitive however i understand why this is. towards the end the book really picked up and i couldn’t put it down. it was really interesting 

Lucy Williams

So different to anything I’ve read, I loved the whole vibe of the book, was slow in places but kept picking up when you least expected it 

Need 300 years to recover from the ending..can’t decide if I loved or hated it!

Ella Williams

So different to anything I’ve read, I loved the whole vibe of the book, was slow in places but kept picking up when you least expected it 

Need 300 years to recover from the ending..can’t decide if I loved or hated it!

I loved this twist on darkness as an entity. Addie has an incredible life (most of the time) and it’s lovely to watch her live through so much history, but the sadness from the beginning never goes away. It’s sweet and beautifully written, but the pacing is slow, so it’s a bit difficult to keep picking up unless you’re just in the mood for this pace. 

Kristen Savage

Samantha Karpovck

Non-linear timeline weaving various pasts and present together. A sense of mystery and timeless like the characters. 

Cassandra Tang

Chloé Dupèré

"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."--Publisher.

Great premise squandered by an uninteresting protagonist with shallow goals. By around page 70, I was hoping for a tragic (in the style of the Greeks) ending for Addie.

The lyrical writing was affecting, but the plot, characters, tension, romance, arcs, and ending were not. 

Margaux Yiu

Great premise squandered by an uninteresting protagonist with shallow goals. By around page 70, I was hoping for a tragic (in the style of the Greeks) ending for Addie.

The lyrical writing was affecting, but the plot, characters, tension, romance, arcs, and ending were not. 

Not for me.

This Book has been sitting on myself for years and I have been daunted about picking this one up after hearing so many people love this one and leaving rave reviews. Take 1 weekend in February and a Buddy read gave me the perfect opportunity to finally pick this one up and dive into the world of Addie & what a book it was! I know that this one will stay with me for many months and years to come and a story was beautifully poetic.

Addie LaRue, a French girl who was born in the 1700s. She was always warned not to pray to the gods who answer when it gets dark. But on a desperate night, she does it and she gets an answer. Addie ends up making a pact with the devil: now she will live forever, but she will be forgotten by everyone once they look away. One day 300 years later, a boy says the 3 words that will simply change everything “I remember You”

What a book this is, Its full of reflections, life and humanity. I felt honoured to be able to get a glimpse into Addie’s life. I know that there was going to be a few twists and turns along the way, but I did not see the final one coming at all, but I can say that it felt right and the perfect way to end a book, Am I going to say more… No, I’m going to say no more  

Now I can only say that Addie LaRue deserves to be read, known and remembered. It is a book so real, but at the same time so full of magic, that you will never forget.

Ian Brakspear

This Book has been sitting on myself for years and I have been daunted about picking this one up after hearing so many people love this one and leaving rave reviews. Take 1 weekend in February and a Buddy read gave me the perfect opportunity to finally pick this one up and dive into the world of Addie & what a book it was! I know that this one will stay with me for many months and years to come and a story was beautifully poetic.

 

Addie LaRue, a French girl who was born in the 1700s. She was always warned not to pray to the gods who answer when it gets dark. But on a desperate night, she does it and she gets an answer. Addie ends up making a pact with the devil: now she will live forever, but she will be forgotten by everyone once they look away. One day 300 years later, a boy says the 3 words that will simply change everything “I remember You”

 

What a book this is, Its full of reflections, life and humanity. I felt honoured to be able to get a glimpse into Addie’s life. I know that there was going to be a few twists and turns along the way, but I did not see the final one coming at all, but I can say that it felt right and the perfect way to end a book, Am I going to say more… No, I’m going to say no more  

 

Now I can only say that Addie LaRue deserves to be read, known and remembered. It is a book so real, but at the same time so full of magic, that you will never forget.

need 3 to 5 business days, or maybe 300 years, to recover from this book. this book brilliantly explains how desperation to fulfill one's deepest desire can blind humans to reason, making them forget that everything comes with a price to pay.

and once again, v. e. schwab makes me fall in love with another beautifully toxic villain

fara

need 3 to 5 business days, or maybe 300 years, to recover from this book. this book brilliantly explains how desperation to fulfill one's deepest desire can blind humans to reason, making them forget that everything comes with a price to pay.

and once again, v. e. schwab makes me fall in love with another beautifully toxic villain

I need 10 to 15 days to recover (or 300 years actually :’))

Sílvia

A gorgeous new collector’s edition, including: - Six new pieces of art from Addie’s story new to North America readers - Designed alternate debossed stamp under the cover - Ribbon bookmark -An exclusive note from the author

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Special Edition

Took me a while to get through but so so so worth it 

Emily Lucie

A wonderfully bright story with a great central character. The life and breadth of it is really fascinating. The story does take a predictable turn at the end, although I'm not sure what other ending it could have had. I liked this book and would recommend it for a fun and relaxing read.

BC Hark

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. 

ending so good it broke my heart and gave me hope but i would have believed in luc, would have fallen in love, so I THOUGHT IT WAS going in that direction, which it did… kind of??

debbie <3

Unpopular opinion : I REALLY hate Addie LaRue

Isidora Vatali

Unpopular opinion : I REALLY hate Addie LaRue
#justice_for_the_devil

irina

This is such a beautiful book, each sentence is pure poetry!!! I cried so much during it and related to Addie on some many different levels, I feel like this book mirrored a part of my soul to myself. I literally can’t stress it enough, everyone should read this beautiful masterpiece!!!!

Yalin Tsikun

This book was absolutely beautiful and enthralling. It has been on my TBR for the last four years and I wish I had read it sooner. Wow. 

Jillian Roberts

Reading this book was a wonderful experience. I wish this story could’ve lasted forever. This books makes me want to cry but I don’t know for which emotion. Truly amazing!

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

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