From the Bookshelf of Book Nerds Unite…

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

V.E. Schwab,

Victoria Schwab

Start date: July 1, 2021

Finish date: July 31, 2021

Discussion: BOTMs

Why we're reading this: Adult BOTM for July
[close] Adult BOTM for July

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BOTMs

* November 2022 BOTM | Nominations
By Asia | Advent… , Creator, Head Mod, Book Nerd #1 · 4 posts · 27 views

last updated Aug 19, 2022 01:35PM

* July/August 2022 BOTM | Fable
By Asia | Advent… , Creator, Head Mod, Book Nerd #1 · 7 posts · 27 views

last updated Nov 17, 2022 09:25PM

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What Members Thought

Mar 30, 2021 Lulu rated it really liked it

This was a beautiful story and I enjoyed it tremedously. The only reason this is getting 4 stars instead of 5 is because there were parts that were drawn out and seemed repetitive.

8 likes · Like · see review

Aug 16, 2021 Alina Barac ( book_nerd_cafe) rated it it was amazing

Best book of 2021

Can't believe I left it so late. I was sucked in the story and hooked from page one. It is fantastic and I kept thinking how can such an extraordinary and unforgettable girl can be forgotten

Can't recommend it enough ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

May 21, 2022 Whitney Wakefield rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star-reads-of-2022

Wow, my pillow is now soaked with tears. Thanks!

Review will be coming after I’ve taken more time to reflect and put my heart back together

3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 24, 2021 Vicky rated it it was amazing

No está mal. Se me hizo un poco difícil de leer, nunca me terminó de atrapar. La manera en que esta narrado es interesante pero lenta. El final es impredecible y muy bonito.

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 11, 2020 Maria Smith rated it really liked it

3.5*

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 27, 2021 MK rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, book-of-the-month-club, owned, audiobooks, read-2021

Owned TBR Reading Challenge 2/26
A Book Written by An Author I've Never Read Before

I, for one, will not be forgetting Addie LaRue any time soon.

I know, I know. This really is my first Schwab book. It will certainly not be my last. This book was beautiful. The concept was fascinating. The writing feels like taking a long, warm bath. It was lyrical, it was a dream. It deserves every bit of praise it receives.

It was about love, bravery, loneliness, and sacrifice. It is about one girl destined to be Owned TBR Reading Challenge 2/26
A Book Written by An Author I've Never Read Before

I, for one, will not be forgetting Addie LaRue any time soon.

I know, I know. This really is my first Schwab book. It will certainly not be my last. This book was beautiful. The concept was fascinating. The writing feels like taking a long, warm bath. It was lyrical, it was a dream. It deserves every bit of praise it receives.

It was about love, bravery, loneliness, and sacrifice. It is about one girl destined to be forgotten and who deserves to be remembered.

I do not give this book a perfect score because there was one thing I found lacking. Henry's character. It never felt real to me. In a book where Addie and Luc are ever changing, where time passes by and they pass with it, it was Henry's character I couldn't grasp. I still can't decide if there is too much or too little of him in the narrative. Schwab does a good job of making him different than your basic love interest, I will give her this. Indeed, he is shaken and broken in so many interesting ways. But I think Schwab tried too hard to make everyone in this narrative "unique." They all felt unique in all the same ways. Artists and philosophers. In this world colored with witty and unique individuals, it was hard for Henry to stand out, besides in the obvious way that he must. And it is because of this that I couldn't quite jump into Addie and Henry's romance. I have always thought love is when you see a person for what they really are and loving them. Not because they are what you think you need or want but because the whole uniqueness of who they are changes you and effects you. That is the kind of romantic I am. And perhaps this is why Henry's character wasn't enough for me. Because he could've been anyone, been a wildly different character or personality and Addie's feelings for him would've been the same. Not that I think it is Addie's fault but only one thing about Henry really mattered to her.

But perhaps this is by design. Schwab ends this book in an unusual way. It doesn't end up being about their romance, not really. Addie had gone through so much and she had gone through it alone. She was a fighter. She was strong. And you felt that to the last word.

Addie's moments with Luc also get a bit repetitive by the end but I did not mind this much. Addie's life was fascinating in all its color and Luc was her only constant. Dark and cynical and messed up, perhaps, but he was the only thing she could build her cursed life around.

Addie is lonely in a way that is unfathomable to me. Her triumph and resolve over this specific kind of terror was encouraging. Schwab thought through every inch of Addie's curse and I felt honored to spend my time with her. That I could give her my hours and days.

I think what I loved most about this novel was that Addie never held herself back. Ever since the day of her curse, she knew that she would never have true companionship. But her efforts to keep trying, to keep looking for light in the world, to keep living and searching and loving with her whole heart, this is what made her so intoxicating. Even though there would always be nothing but pain, she kept letting people see her and she kept letting herself see them. This is a most special type of bravery.

Please, come to know Addie LaRue. You won't regret it. ...more

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Aug 14, 2021 Meenu rated it it was amazing

Shelves: on-hold

I dnf-ed this book twice. But then something made me pick it up after days and I'm really glad I did. The author is new to me. The writing style is new to me. It was difficult for me to get into the writing style in the beginning and the slow pacing did not help. But once I got used to the style it completely changed my experience.

I don't know where to start and I'm really running out of words. This book made me live a 300 years of life and I don't think I can simply put it into words. It's bee ...more

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