Hey all! I'm back with another book review on "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue". I bought the hardcover book on December 26th and finished reading it on the 29th, right before the New Year! This was a thoroughly interesting read for me, and I really enjoyed the writing style as well as the characters. It was the sort of book which made me want to continue writing my own drafts. The hardcover book is extremely pretty as well. If you take off the book cover, you will see birds taking flight etched into the hard cover, an image mentioned later on in the story.
Synopsis: Addie LaRue makes the mistake of calling upon a god after dark, asking him to give her freedom to live as she pleases. The god does as she asks, except she will never be remembered by those she meets in her immortal life. This curse goes on for three hundred years, as the stubborn Addie refuses to give her soul up to the darkness who visits her throughout her life. However, after those three hundred years, Addie finally meets someone who can remember her. But knowing her luck, it is doomed to be too good to be true.
Writing: 5/5
I loved the writing in this book. The scenes, the pain, the characters, they were all wonderfully detailed by the author. I could feel the gut-wrenching fear and despair in Addie's character in the beginning of her journey. The detail of her pain, physical and mental, was well done. A great scene consisted of Addie returning to her parent's house, begging them to remember her, when they hadn't the faintest clue who she was. I also enjoyed the vivid scenery written into the story. Paris on fire, the slums of the cities, the dance clubs of a new world. Another scene which I thought was well done was the scene where Henry Strauss had a panic attack. He tries to hold his breath and make the tears fade away, his chest is heavy and his lips are numb. It was a very accurate description of a panic attack, and I was amazed at how well written it was.
Dialogue: 5/5
Dialogue has always been very important to me. If a book has cringey/cheesy lines, I get uncomfortable and have a hard time reading forward. This novel had great and meaningful dialogue. Whether it be between Luc (the darkness) and Addie, Addie and Henry, or Addie and any of her encounters who forget her, the dialogue was well thought out, rather than flung into the story with no intellect behind it. Addie's common line: "Don't forget me" is a heartbreaking one. You can feel both the hope and the helplessness behind it. Addie's wish to be loved and remembered follows her throughout her life, and her discussion with others proves this. Over the years, Addie's perception of life and herself are hardened by the fact that she will never be in the mind of others for longer than a moment. Also, the dialogue reflects a maturity that Addie gains throughout those three hundred years. She goes from cursing the god who did this, to having conversations with him. She views the world as something to be explored, as it is beautiful. She learns new languages, learns how to defend herself and thrive, all the while finding a sort of peace along the way.
Characters: 4/5
As I said above, I enjoyed watching Addie's character mature over the course of the book. I am amazed by her resolve and stubbornness, especially when comparing it to my own. I can barely stand being alone for a few days, much less three hundred lonely years. Another character which has captured my interest is Luc, the darkness which occasionally follows up with Addie throughout those long years. As I expected, Luc and Addie become close, and Luc even professes that he loves her. My favorite scenes definitely depicted this character. The slight change of emotions flashing in his eyes and demeanor was very interesting to me. As a god of darkness, I would usually assume his few emotions would be all bad--but the author did well at making him seem extremely human. He felt lust, anger, empathy, disappointment, pride. His feelings towards Addie change immensely throughout the novel. At first, she is a silly and stubborn child. Eventually, she is a beautiful and strong-willed woman. Luc sees this change, and is convinced he loves her. It is not terribly clear if this is a true feeling or not (Addie certainly does not think he is capable of love), but I believe that if he is willing to alter her agreement and is able to feel other emotions, he should be able to feel love as well. I liked Estele's character in the novel. Her love for Addie was evident, as she was a sort of teacher to her. I also liked the character of Remy, although his appearance was short. Henry was an interesting character as well. He made the kind of wish where people would assume nothing could go wrong: to be what everyone wanted/to be loved by all. His story proves that love is only worth it if it is chosen, not forced. The awkwardness and grief shown with forced love is evident in Henry's life. The reason I give this part a 4/5 rating is because I did not really care for Henry's friends. They really seemed to try and overshadow him, and I did not care for it. Also, even though Henry's character was interesting and empathetic, I did not like how he wished for everything to be perfect. It made sense, his life was ending and he wanted to give Addie the life she deserved, but him striving for having everything perfect oftentimes got in the way of life being perfect.
Plot: 5/5
I really enjoyed the plot of this book. It was a fantastic read from start to finish. I loved almost all of the characters, and all the foreshadowing and hinting was super well done. The idea was executed really well.
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)
My first 5/5 story so far! This book was, of course, not perfect, but it was definitely close to. I would definitely read this again, and I suggest you read it too! Thanks Noe, for suggesting this. It was super worth it!
What are your thoughts?