Hello Patrons! 🙂
This was my hundredth book of 2020!!
So as expected I finished The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue last night, and as I predicted I was *gutted* by the ending. There is no way I can talk about this and not be spoiler-y, so if you haven’t read The Mysterious Life of Addie LaRue yet go do that first and come back.
A Brief Synopsis:
Since I’ve talked about this book a lot lately I am going to direct you to my initial thoughts on the book for a synopsis.
“When everything slips through your fingers, you learn to savor the feel of nice things against your palm.”
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
What I Liked:
The character of Addie is fantastic. She is stubborn and determined with tons of agency. (This also made the ending 1 billion times more emotional for me!). She is just a feminist icon for the ages and I stan!
(Speaking of Feminist Icons, Estele is a big mood and I loved her as a character.)
On the topic of characters, the devil (who Addie names Luc) is a fantastic antagonist. He isn’t a mustache twirl-y villain; he has motive and complexity that I enjoyed. I couldn’t have asked for more. He made such a good foe for Addie, there was such tension in their interactions. I loved it.
“Everyone had their fallen foes, their battle scars.”
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
I liked the descriptions of Depression and Anxiety in Henry as a character. V.E. Schwab could have just made Henry (the love interest) one dimensional and just have depression and anxiety but she made him (like the other characters in this book) vividly human. I just wanted to squish Henry in a big hug and protect him from the world.
I liked how Henry’s curse (being loved by everyone because they only see what they want him to be rather than who he really is), was a great contrast to Addie’s curse. I liked the description of the magic of both curses. It felt very believable. A lot of the time in Fantasy books the magic doesn’t make sense to me in the context of the setting, but that wasn’t a problem in this book.
“I do not want to belong to someone else… I do not want to belong to anyone else but myself.”
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
I also loved the setting of New York City! I felt like I was there. Same goes for all of the other settings that Addie finds herself in through out the book.
I love how Henry kept Addie’s legacy. I think it’s very poetic.
I’m putting the ending in the Liked category because it made me cry, which not many books do anymore. The crying was equal parts out of anger and sadness. Addie left Henry to save him because she loved him and she’s just going to hang out with the devil forever?!?! Luc is very possessive of Addie; so I didn’t like that they ended up together because the deal was made that Addie will stay with him until he gets bored, but I don’t see Luc ever being bored with Addie. But I liked it because Addie wanted to save Henry. Like the skill of pulling an ending off like that!
“Adeline is the woman she left in Villon, on the eve of a wedding she did not want. But Addie – Addie was a gift frome Estele, shorter, sharper, the switch-quick name for the girl who rode to markets, and strained to see over roofs, for the one who drew and dreamed of bigger stories, grander worlds, of lives filled with adventure.”
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
What I Didn’t Like:
Very minor things make up the list I didn’t like.
Robbie (Henry’s friend/ex-boyfriend) was the literal worst. He had no redeeming qualities for me, and like I know he was under the effect of both curses, but still he wasn’t a nice dude.
The ending, and this is mostly because I am a happy ending person but I also understand why the ending had to happen.
Addie’s mom was not warm nor fuzzy. Her relationship with Addie is strained. She is traditional. Also past the 150-200 page mark, she isn’t a huge force in Addie’s life any more. Addie had a much better relationship with her dad, who I thought was a sweet character.
Overall Thoughts and My Rating:
To nobody’s surprise I gave The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue 5/5 stars on Goodreads. The book goes over themes of legacy, love, agency, time, and humanity. V.E. Schwab is a fantastic writer and storyteller. If you are intrigued by the premise of this book, I highly suggest you pick this book up. If you are a fan of V.E. Schwab pick this book up.
Reading Update:
I started Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson last night and am liking it. (I ordered the UK edition from Book Outlet by mistake! lol.) I have an hour and forty five minutes left of the audiobook to Murder at the Vicarage. I was distracted when a plot twist happened so I am slightly confused but still having a good time. I’ll finish that tomorrow and let you know my thoughts.
Let me know what your listening to and what your reading in the comments below. Take care of yourselves, wash your hands, wear a mask in public, VOTE ON NOVEMBER 3RD!, and…
Stay Golden! 🙂
-Leila
Leila's Library 
5 thoughts on “Love, Legacy and *Incoherent Sobbing*: My Review of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab”