The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a 2020 fantasy fiction standalone novel written by American author V.E. Schwab. It was published by Tor Books on October 6, 2020. The story follows a young French woman in 1714 making a bargain with the devil that makes her immortal but curses her to be forgotten by everyone she meets. It was heavily praised and nominated for the 2020 Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel.
I picked this book up because it is so popular and gets so many rave reviews, and I was somewhat disappointed. I enjoyed the book, it is sweet and melancholy. But it was also unnecessary long, often slow, the character development wasn't particularly deep or nuanced, and the writing didn't strike me as particularly brilliant.
I don't regret reading it, but I don't get what all the hype is about.
I have not fallen in love this quickly and completely with a book in a good long while. I knew from the first few chapters that I was going to tear through it because I was immediately enchanted by Addie and the intricacies of the way she moved in the world. This was my first time reading Schwab's work and it definitely won't be my last. Her writing is eloquent and so full of brilliant thoughts and ideas. What a treasure this was to experience.
