Author: V.E. Schwab
Genre: Magic Realism, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Published: 2020
Rating: ★★★☆☆ – 3/5
“What is a person, if not the marks they leave behind?”
– The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a beautifully written, concept-driven novel about memory, identity, and what it means to be seen. The story follows Addie, a young woman in 18th-century France who makes a desperate deal to live freely—but with the curse that no one will ever remember her. She drifts through centuries, forgotten by everyone she meets, until one day, someone finally remembers.
On paper, this book should’ve hit all the right notes for me. It’s literary, lyrical, and has an interesting romantic premise. And I did like it. But I struggled with it, too.
The pacing is slow—very slow—and there were long stretches where I honestly wasn’t sure what was happening, or why I was supposed to care. Addie herself, while tragic and fascinating in theory, felt distant. I never quite connected with her emotionally. She spends so much of the novel fading in and out of people’s lives that it started to feel like I was only half-invested, too.
– Addie LaRue –
Addie is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets, and while that makes for a deeply lonely premise, it also made her feel hard to know as a reader. Her journey through time is rich in detail and beautifully written, but emotionally, I found her hard to reach. She’s clever, stubborn, and often melancholic—but she remained more of a symbol than a fully fleshed-out person for much of the novel.
– Henry Strauss –
Henry is the one character who actually felt vivid and emotionally complex. His struggles with self-worth, purpose, and connection were raw and real. He grounded the story when it started to feel too abstract, and his dynamic with Addie gave the novel its most emotionally resonant moments. I genuinely wish the book had leaned more into his perspective.
– Luc –
The mysterious god of darkness Addie makes her deal with, Luc is charming, manipulative, and enigmatic. He’s an interesting foil to Addie, but like much of the book, he felt more conceptual than concrete. There’s a fascinating, slow-burn tension between them, but it left me wanting more clarity than I got.
– My Honest Review –
I wanted to love this more than I did. The concept is brilliant, and Schwab’s prose is undeniably gorgeous—every sentence feels polished and poetic. But for all the beauty, I struggled to connect. The pacing dragged, the timeline felt scattered, and most of the characters didn’t leave much of a mark.
That said, I have read Schwab’s Gallant, and I loved it—so this isn’t a case of not vibing with her writing. I just think this particular book leaned too far into the lyrical and lost some of the emotional grounding that makes character-driven stories shine. I enjoyed it, but it was a struggle to finish.
I look forward to reading some of Schwab’s other books, I truly believe she has such great potential.
Happy reading!
