The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

audio cd

Published Oct. 6, 2020 by Macmillan Audio.

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (3 reviews)

4 editions

A beautiful new take on a classic fairy tale

5 stars

"Be careful what you wish for" is a common Faustian moral, but Addie Larue expresses this classic story in beautiful new ways without turning into a mere morality tale. Not content with tricky fae folk, or a deal with the devil at the crossroads at midnight, Schwab's "gods who answer after dark" are a much more subtle and terrifying expression of our own misunderstandings, and her story telling across centuries make for an extremely compelling narrative. This is easily one of the best books I've read in a long, long time, and the ending turns the entire archetype on its head in a way that is absolutely inspiring!

Review of 'The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I'm continuously impressed with V.E. Schwab's ability to write such engaging characters AND engaging worlds! She's quickly becoming my favorite author.

Addie's relationship with Luc is such a better telling of a Beauty and the Beast type tale. You're never quite certain of Luc's motivation, or at least I wasn't ever convinced. I do feel bad for Henry, I was always getting the vibe that he was a pawn in Addie and Luc's game. This tale does make you think a lot about what "love" really is. Would Addie have loved Henry any more if he wasn't the exception to the rules? Did she love him any more than her other lovers over time? Or did she just love that she could tell her tale through Henry more so than she ever could through anyone else?

Can't say how much I loved this book!

I didn't ship it

3 stars

This book was fine, I can see why people really liked it. It's well written and the plot is solid, but I found the picture perfect artsy Brooklyn courtship tedious, I didn't find either of the main characters all that compelling, and the tropes it relies on a little uninteresting. I was disappointed by how lacking in oddness or eccentricity it was, how credible but unremarkable the characters are.