Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.
But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.
I have to say, this is the fourth book I have read of V.E. Schwab’s. This was a completely different read than her Shades of Magic trilogy I read last year. I love it! The pacing fits right with this story. Unlike the fast pacing of Shades of Magic, this one was more of a medium pacing. V.E. Schwab wrote this story beautifully, and I cannot wait to read more books from her. She has become one of my new favorite authors.
Addie LaRue has an interesting life. A girl from 18th century France, she becomes immortal and forgettable. Addie is a well-written and interesting character. Throughout the years (three hundred to be exact), she has adapted through trial and error. Learning what she can and cannot do, it became second nature. What she ends up loving throughout life is art. Through artists, Addies learns how to leave her mark on the world, breaking no rules of her curse.
Henry is a character, you know as a reader, there is something off about him, but you do not know what. He works at a bookstore, and everyone seems to love him. He is an interesting character and has a well-written background. One of his friend studies art and the other is in theatre. What we find out is, he is the only one who can remember Addie. With this shocking information, Addie sticks to him like another type of lifeline. This was a shock from both and hard to grasp when Henry learns and observes how Addie lives.
Luc was a weird character for me. I try, and am still trying, to compare him to other characters, I feel influenced him. Maybe it was Loki lol. His background story works, but I feel he was the one that was lacking more depth. I did like him, but he was not my favorite.
This story hops around by time. This was not shocking to me. In fact, I liked how Schwab did this story. It worked for the character build ups, arc stories and the story arc itself. The time hops did not feel like flashbacks, like in some stories. I do not think this story would have turned out as well if it was written differently. This story kind of reminded me a little about the book How to Stop Time by Matt Haig, which could be why the time hop did not bother as much as some readers.
I loved this book. It was an amazing story and beautifully written. I would recommend this story for anyone who likes historical fiction and fantasy.
I give this story a 5/5
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I’m reading (well, listening) this one right now and I am really loving it. It’s a new to me author and I will definitely pick up more of her books. I’m almost done with it but I don’t want it to be over!
I didn’t want it to be over too and when it was I wanted more 😂. I loved this book and will probably read it again sometime.