the invisible life of addie larue

Bonjour Bibliofriends,

This review of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab was one of the hardest ones I’ve ever written. I still cannot believe I had the chance to read this as an e-arc from Netgalley and Titan Books (⭐️THANK YOU⭐️ – if I could have written it in flashing neon, I would have done!). It’s my first time reading anything by Schwab and what a way to do it!

*warning: insane bookish declarations of love will follow…*
Reading this book put me into a bookish hangover that lasted almost two weeks – I just couldn’t bring myself to read anything else as I was so sad the book had finished – and the way it finished had me crying into my pillow at stupid AM 😂 And even though that sounds like a terrible thing to say about a book – this is the kind of book that I’m living for –
I want to have those lasting impressions
I want to feel that THIS is a story I just cannot live without
I need to have my heart a little broken by the characters and it needs to inspire such a reaction in me that it leaves an imprint on my bookish soul… *I did warn you it’d be a little bit mushy!*

Book: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Genre: Fantasy
Publication Date: October 6th 2020
Publisher: Titan Books
Pages: 560
Rating: 📚📚📚📚📚 (ALL THE STARS or 7 stars… if you’ve read the book, you’ll know what I mean 😉)

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

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.

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 #1 New York Times Bestselling Author genre-defying tour de force.

My Musings

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue has completely encapsulated and bewitched my heart!

I absolutely love a gimmick, or a motif/symbol/talisman which contributes to a wider plot (especially when they’re birds). In The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, the artworks at the start of each section did this perfectly – so perfectly in fact that I was looking all over the internet just to see if they are actually real world pieces. These additions reiterate the importance of artwork, creativity and the kind of need humans have to leave some sort of impression or legacy of themselves behind, just to let others know of their existence. Identity is such a powerfully resonating theme in Addie LaRue and this was a wonderful way to bind the whole plot of the novel together whilst also driving it forward both through chronological time and the story’s plotline.

The timing in the novel is not always linear and sometimes it does jump a little backwards and forwards. I didn’t mind this at all as it added to the build up and mystery of trying to work out where the story was going, but also allowed for me as a reader to be led through the story at Addie’s pace.

I absolutely adore every single character: Henry, Luc, Estele, Bea – they all have their individual quirks and personalities, but I especially love Adeline. Her rawness and vulnerability are perfectly balanced with her fierceness and determination. I felt like I was going through her rollercoaster of emotions in my own head. Her character goes through such a turning point towards the end of the story and that kind of growth and sacrifice was satisfying to read. I picture her almost like a love-child between Blake Lively in The Age of Adaline and Drew Barrymore in Fifty First Dates.

The whole tone of the book is romantic – and I don’t mean romantic in the kind of ‘romance genre’ sense; I mean it in the pre-Raphaelite painting style sense. The whole book is just beautiful – I can’t describe it in any other way. From the way it has been written, to the way the settings are meticulously crafted and contribute to the plot, to Addie’s personality and her supporting characters, to the structuring of the artwork – it is so clear to see how much this story means to its writer, to feel the heart and soul poured into every part of Addie’s story. It is beautiful, exquisite, beguiling and tons more adjectives that I can’t even get out of my brain.

In short, there isn’t a single thing that I don’t love about this book, except the fact that it ended! And the greatest part of all, particularly considering the fate of our main character, that after closing the final page and putting the book down, even after weeks of reflecting upon this novel and this review…
I still remember Addie. 💙

Favourite Quotes:

If a person cannot leave a mark, do they exist?

“But art,” she says with a quieter smile, “art is about ideas. And ideas are wilder than memories.”

If he could have spent his whole life sitting in a lecture hall, taking notes, could have drifted from department to department, haunting different studies, soaking up language and history and art, maybe he would have felt full, happy.

Why Should I Read This?

For the exquisite, heart-stopping storyline.
For the the way artwork, history and a quest for identity are told seamlessly around a plot.
For the sheer tour-de-force and beauty of The Invisible of Addie LaRue.

This book has officially entered the ‘God Tier’ on my bookshelf; it is one of my favourite stories of not just 2020, but my entire lifetime! Please read this book! ☺️

Find out more about this book here:

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Twitter | Goodreads | Book Sloth: @thebiblioshelf |Email: thebiblioshelf@gmail.com

Hi Bibliofriends,

Normally, I’d be posting a review this week of one of my most recent reads however my reading in September has been all over the place, which is kinda what I was expecting since the start of a new term at school is always hectic and stressful. I’ve also been hooked on a series called Money Heist which I’ve been watching on Netflix and have managed to get my entire household glued to it! We’ve finally worked our way through all of the available episodes and are impatiently awaiting the final season!

So this week, instead of a new review, I thought I’d let you know about some upcoming reads and reviews that will be making their way to you over the next month. Two of them are 5-star reads and are definitely going to feature in my favourite books of the year for 2020.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – V.E. Schwab

The first week and a half of September was spent in an absolute book hangover after finishing an e-arc from Netgalley of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. I had to reread the request acceptance email over and over again as I just couldn’t believe that Titan Books had approved it. It’s my first time reading anything by Schwab and it definitely won’t be the last. I feel like I keep going on and on about this book but it is seriously one of the best books I’ve read for a long, long time – I LOVE IT. It’s such an emotional story and the way art and history are interwoven into the plot grabbed right onto my lil bookish heart. I’ve already pre-ordered my signed copy from Waterstones and I can’t wait until it gets here so I can read it again!
Review coming up on: 7th October
Publication Date: 6^th October

Synopsis from Goodreads:
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.
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 #1 New York Times Bestselling Author genre-defying tour de force.

The Once and Future Witches – Alix E. Harrow

Another 5-star read which I’m definitely recommending to all of my witchy/fantasy loving friend is The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow (thank you Netgalley – again!). The start of this book was like a vortex that just sucked me into the story. Sometimes when I read books, it feels like the authors writing style has an atmosphere which just permeates through the book and jumps off the pages – The Once and Future Witches was exactly like this! The story is so sinister and gripping whilst also featuring a little romance, sisterly bonding and female empowerment. There’s so, so much I could say about how much I enjoyed reading this but I’ll save some of it for the proper review – if you’re looking for the perfect Halloween read, this would definitely be top of my list!
Review coming up on: 14^th October
Publication Date: 15^th October

Synopsis from Goodreads:
In 1893, there’s no such thing as witches. There used to be, in the wild, dark days before the burnings began, but now witching is nothing but tidy charms and nursery rhymes. If the modern woman wants any measure of power, she must find it at the ballot box.
But when the Eastwood sisters–James Juniper, Agnes Amaranth, and Beatrice Belladonna–join the suffragists of New Salem, they begin to pursue the forgotten words and ways that might turn the women’s movement into the witch’s movement. Stalked by shadows and sickness, hunted by forces who will not suffer a witch to vote-and perhaps not even to live-the sisters will need to delve into the oldest magics, draw new alliances, and heal the bond between them if they want to survive.
There’s no such thing as witches. But there will be.

Hag: Forgotten Folktales Retold

My current read (thanks Netgalley again again!) is an anthology of forgotten folktales from around the UK and Ireland called Hag. Originally a podcast series, Professor Carolyne Larrington conjured up a writing experiment which tasked 8-10 inspiring British and Irish women authors to write a contemporary retelling of a forgotten folktale with a modern, feminist twist. The first few stories are particularly eerie and dark – so far this collection reminds me of a fresh uplift on the gothic horror genre (think Angela Carter meets Henry James’ Turn of the Screw with a pinch of Scarlett Curtis thrown in too). I can’t wait to make my way around all of the tales, particularly the one based around the region I live in. Another book perfect for the upcoming spooky season!
Publication Date: 8^th October

Synopsis from Goodreads:
DARK, POTENT AND UNCANNY, HAG BURSTS WITH THE UNTOLD STORIES OF OUR ISLES, CAPTURED IN VOICES AS VARIED AS THEY ARE VIVID.
Here are sisters fighting for the love of the same woman, a pregnant archaeologist unearthing impossible bones and lost children following you home. A panther runs through the forests of England and pixies prey upon violent men.
From the islands of Scotland to the coast of Cornwall, the mountains of Galway to the depths of the Fens, these forgotten folktales howl, cackle and sing their way into the 21st century, wildly reimagined by some of the most exciting women writing in Britain and Ireland today.

The Windsor Knot – S J. Bennett

Anyone remember the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony where HM The Queen jumped out the plane à la James Bond…? Well the next book up on my TBR sounds absolutely like it was inspired by this… well kind of! The Windsor Knot is the first novel in a new series where The Queen goes all Poirot and starts solving crimes. I’m so excited to start reading it as it sounds like so much fun – (another Netgalley read so thanks again x4 to them)!
Review scheduled for: 28^th October
Publication Date: 29^th October / 9^th March 2021

Synopsis from Goodreads:
The first book in a highly original and delightfully clever crime series in which Queen Elizabeth II secretly solves crimes while carrying out her royal duties.
It is the early spring of 2016 and Queen Elizabeth is at Windsor Castle in advance of her 90th birthday celebrations. But the preparations are interrupted when a guest is found dead in one of the Castle bedrooms. The scene suggests the young Russian pianist strangled himself, but a badly tied knot leads MI5 to suspect foul play was involved. The Queen leaves the investigation to the professionals—until their suspicions point them in the wrong direction.
Unhappy at the mishandling of the case and concerned for her staff’s morale, the monarch decides to discreetly take matters into her own hands. With help from her Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie Oshodi, a British Nigerian and recent officer in the Royal Horse Artillery, the Queen secretly begins making inquiries. As she carries out her royal duties with her usual aplomb, no one in the Royal Household, the government, or the public knows that the resolute Elizabeth will use her keen eye, quick mind, and steady nerve to bring a murderer to justice.
SJ Bennett captures Queen Elizabeth’s voice with skill, nuance, wit, and genuine charm in this imaginative and engaging mystery that portrays Her Majesty as she’s rarely seen: kind yet worldly, decisive, shrewd, and most importantly a great judge of character.

They are my forthcoming reads and reviews for across October. Have you read any of these yet or are tempted to add any to your TBR? As always, drop me a comment to chat!

T xx

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Biblioshelf Musings – The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue