Unpopular Opinion: I didn't love The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- I'm sorry guys! I just didn't love The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab. It's been on a lot of people's top books of the year, so I know this opinion won't be popular. Drop into my comments to tell me what I didn't understand about this book.
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I totally agree. To me, it felt like a book about how to waste 300 years.
Well it seems like she didn't waste it...but we didn't get to read any of that part, so apparently as far as we know she did lol
Yes . exactly
Because so many women who actually made a huge difference are a part of history books. lol.
Finally someone who agrees with me! I wanted so much more details about the 300 years of Addie, I loved to read about the struggles she got through dealing with her curse. I actually wasn't interested in Henry's story and (unpopular opinion) I think he and Addie had great chemistry as friends and not as lovers. New to the channel but love your work already!
I would have been SO down for a friendship story between Henry and Addie, maybe they could've worked through their romantic issues together and found other people or something. I figure Henry must be one of the most uninteresting blips of a 300 year life lol
I was bored out of my mind reading that book.
I can see that. I had a hard time wanting to pick it up when it kept going into Henry's backstory.
Same!! I skipped most of it.
I thought it was just because I’m a guy or something, idk....
I finished it in a day ( i skim read the whole book) lol really nothing happened
She writes beautifully but the whole time I couldn't wait to finish it so I could start reading something else. The book is at least 200 pages too long for me. I am glad I wasn't the only one who didn't get it, I thought it was me.
You described it perfectly. Like it was a fine book but I was just dreaming about when I could start something else.
Riighht. I was thinking ... something needs to happen
1000% agree with your opinion about v.e Schwab going deeper into the relationship between Addie and the darkness. I think it might even be interesting to have read a chapter from the darkness's point of view during one of the anniversary days between him and Addie.
I also was not feeling Henry's character. For me personally, I think the story would have been more interesting if it focused more on Addie throughout the centuries, what struggles she had to go through as the times changed, and seeing how the relationship between her and the darkness change.
You just wrote the synopsis for the book I wish I read lol. I agree, Henry bored me and Addie's life would've been so interesting...seeing how she developed over the centuries.
Can we talk about how Addie thinks she’s so much smarter than Luc? How she thinks she’s been studying him for 300 years and she really thinks he hasn’t been studying her?? He told her several times that he was there more often than she thought, even when she couldn’t see him. Yet, she thinks she’s gonna “fake date” him and not fall for him😂
She really believes this master plan of hers isn’t gonna backfire and that he won’t suspect it whatsoever even though they’ve been playing cat and mouse for 300 years?
If she thinks he’s not gonna expect this from her, she’s honestly just dumb. 😂
Honey.😂
lol I didn't even really think of that. Perks of it just being a "plan" and not having to see it play out on-screen, so to speak. Yeah, overall people just didn't age/act like I would have expected them to...
I was annoyed every time she was surprised he was there or asked how long he was there! Girl was it dark? Than assume he is been there since the sun passed the horizon!!!!! He literally said so many times that he is darkness
Right? Luc is maybe older than God and he says he wants her what reason does she have to think otherwise? And they were together for 30 years and Addie said herself "I am happy" with Luc and now is "You are not capable of love and I'll prove it" ?? They are toxic for sure but I do believe Luc cares for her and deep down Addie does too... honestly I still don't know what I'm feeling
@@aNa-oo1xb She doesn’t deserve Henry OR Luc honestly, tbh they should have run off together and left her behind😂
@@katelynharrison3779 someone reads way too many smuts to keep count 👀
I just finished it and I didn’t like it either! So sad because I wanted to love it! Thanks for making this! I’m glad I’m not losing my mind!
lol! I'm always glad to hear someone else that just didn't...get it.
Yeah this novel wasn’t very good. The writing was poor, Addie never felt like she was actually 300 years old trapped in a 20 some year old body. She simply felt like a 20 year old. The plot beats were very predictable. The relationship between Luc and Addie was also cheesy. The flashbacks were complete misses for me too. I never felt like I was actually in the 1700s etc. the book reads very modern and felt more YA than I wanted.
I am selling my book away.
Just finished the book today and I can’t agree more!!! Addie and Luc is the most interesting part of the story to me and I wish we can see more of their romantic relationship earlier in the book rather than focusing so much on Addie and Henry (who I don’t care about :”))
Yeah I don't even really like romances but if there was ever a compelling story in there it would be with Addie and Luc!
OMG YES I COULDNT AGREE MORE
I also wished that the author focused more on Addie and Luc. If only we were given Luc's POV or a scene where we got to know how much Luc truly wanted her. The way it was executed felt really off for me. I was also hoping for Henry to die too since it would have made the book more interesting, and I was really disappointed when Addie offered a deal instead. I liked Henry and related to him not knowing what to do with his life, but he felt more of an acquaintance than a friend. His and Addie's relationship was cute but personally the chemistry was unbalanced. I wish the ending stopped at 'I remember you.' It's impactful.
Overall, I liked the pacing and the writing style of the book, but the ending didn't really do it for me. I'd give it a 3 or 4 though.
YES about the ending! I thought it was actually going to end there!
And I think you also nailed it with Henry feeling more like an acquaintance. We were TOLD more than SHOWN their love, which never really makes a connection to the reader.
I think there were 2 times when they had conflict, about her stealing and something else. This is not how real r/s works. VE Schwab also seemed afraid to dig deeper into those conflicts, thats why the chars never grow.
I also predicted everything that was going to happen. Everything except Addie giving herself to the darkness instead of sacrificing her soul to the devil. Just giving herself to the darkness is not a sacrifice at all, since the “love” she feels for Henry is solely based on the fact that he remembers her. In fact, I don’t think she loves Henry or Luc, but she definitely cares for herself. I would have been happy if she would have made the ultimate sacrifice at the end of the story (if she or Henry gave their soul to the darkness), but she wants to continue this game she’s been playing with the darkness. Addie hasn’t changed from the beginning to the end. The only character growth we see in this book is with the darkness who, despite Addie’s assertion that he is fickle and will get bored with her, genuinely seems to care for Addie.
That's the heart of the issue that I didn't touch on. Addie doesn't grow AT ALL in 300 years. She's the same person from beginning to end which...is sort of crazy
What makes the whole 300 yr old person in a relationship w/ young person even worse for me was referring to him as a boy. I started to question how old he was 🥱
I will never understand why this is such a popular trope!
Addie's lack of development it's what bothers me the most(plus de lack of story about Luc and Addie's relationship) she feels really contemporary, other than that I like it, I guess it's because I typically never read this genre, the book filled my expectations
I totally agree that she feels SO contemporary. It would even be okay if it was explained away in some sort of scene; here being really awkward and old fashioned and realizing she needed to get with it.... either way, I probably over thought this book which is why it didn't work for me lol
I totally agree only that the only characters that mattered to me were Addie and Luc and as you said it would have been very interesting to see more of them, henry made me super boring too
Like I was fine with Henry but I didn't need his life story. He was just a minor character in Addie's life, lol. More info on Luc, on the other hand...yes.
I felt the exact same way when Henry was finally introduced, I was like "okay wow after 30% of the book done, here is the love interest from the blurb, the book will finally pick up!", the book: *immediately dives into Henry's backstory and makes me want to not pick the book up again*
I also agree with her having no character development, she's 300 years old and doesn't mature at all, and she says nothing about her surroundings. Like Luc even in recent scenes is like: so many years have passed and yet you are exactly as stubborn as in the beginning". He was the only one who ever called her out on her bull.
Plus she whines so much about Luc and how terrible everything is but she is so petty that she doesn't want to give up her life even though she has gone crazy and there are days where it's hard for her to even get up at all because she is so tired from so much life. All there is is her whining in France, or in the U.S. to the point where you don't even understand why she's still wanting to continue living, she's constantly like: wow this is so hard I want to give up." So Luc says: "okay, so do you want to surrender your soul?" and she's like: "Nah." and then just continues complaining. This book is such a missed opportunity, there was so much potential especially for how old she got and what she lived through.
It could have easily been shortened down to 200 pages maybe 250, because so many scenes were repeats of each other. Every meet up with Luc was the same, every time she met a different person was the same, it was annoyingly repetitive.
I think partly the author was trying to show the repetitiveness of her life, maybe, but it didn't work out for the reasons you stated. I just can't get over how interesting it would've been to hear more snapshots of her life for 300 years and all that history.
@@Bookborn I know right it felt like such a missed opportunity. Plus that she didn’t have at least one scene where she thought about modern culture and could’ve thought like: wow If I had just been born in this time, I would have never had to make that deal, crazy.” But no she seems so disconnected from her surroundings, you would have never really known what time it’s in
I hate how Addie never helps anyone. She basically has centuries and a power to be unseen she could've done so much more to help the people around her but instead all we get is "muh men artists". You get such a short snippet of her being a french spy in the war and it could've been explored so much more and made her more likeable to me
This is an extremely good point. Again, something else the author could have explored - maybe her selfishness and why or how she changed, etc. Again, Addie read like a 30 year old, not a 300 year old.
Right after I finished the book, i loved it. Now, a couple of weeks later I can see a few things that could have been better. I loved Addie and saw myself in her, in the sense that I get what she was feeling that she wanted to see the world and live more. But I agree with you that V.E. Schwab could have done a better work in the character development. I, for example, would have love to see more of the females relationships Addie had, or at least how she felt or who was the first, how they met. Also, to see more of the so-called "went mad" moments, she acknowledges that Addie has gone mad a few times, but never shows them, at all. It would have been interesting to see more of that.
For Henry, just like you, I did not really care for him at all, I liked the "broken heart" and "feel too much" part, as well as, the part with the whole "how to choose a career" part, but I agree, it could have been told in 2-3 chapters tops. His past was just unnecessary. Perhaps an earlier introduction would have been better.
For the love triangle, I never really saw it as a love triangle lol. If you ask me I would say there is none. I just don't think romantic relationships are the author's forte, so I felt that she strained herself to go deeper, maybe because of fear?
Yes I mean if you are reading this book for romance you'll be disappointed lol. It's not heavy on it, but it IS a main plot point...if that makes sense? lol I completely agree that she just steered away from the most interesting parts. I'd love a few chapters with "mad" Addie - I'm a sucker for an unreliable narrator and I think seeing Addie come out the other side of that would've been fantastic.
This was a solid review. I really enjoyed this book and most of what you said I hadn’t really noticed and now makes a lot of sense... for example I gotta agree with the fact that there was so little time spent on Addie’s past with Luc. Really interesting to hear diverging opinions! You are sooo well spoken btw. Really love your content!
Thanks for being so kind! I honestly see why so many people love it, it's beautifully written and is an awesome idea for a story. For whatever reason it just didn't quite hit the spot for me!
I mean I can't argue
I guess because I'm not well-read in this genre, I'm not familiar with the tropes you know. I didn't guess the plot points and liked the non-linear style. The scenes with Luc were always interesting to me because he was described in many different ways. I like the idea that she drew her ideal man in charcoal. I liked the experience of being in different periods of history. Not sure how this book came to me and I didn't know it was rated so high. It's kind of fun to read books without knowing anything about the buzz.
Remember that my opinion is very unpopular...most people gave this book 5 stars! Mostly just personal taste, I don't think it's weird that people loved it so much...just not for me.
You perfectly summed up how I felt about this book, thank you so much for this
Yayyy someone else who agrees!
i genuinely only think i loved it because of when it was set. The new york scenes bored me but i loved hearing about the history and france and england etc
I would've liked it so much more if it focused more on that stuff! I needed chapters on Addie being a spy for the french revolution!
I just finished the book and I couldn't agree more!
Yay! Finally someone who agrees with me about it lol
no i totally agree! i just finished the book this morning and was thoroughly underwhelmed after my friend had said it was brilliant. i rushed through a lot of the chapters because it felt like nothing was happening and i wanted to get back to the bits i actually cared about. like you said, the story came to a halt when henrys back story was the main focus because i had already gathered it was sad that tabitha had refused him, i didnt need the long chapters that made me a bit frustrated. also i didnt really understand who addie was and i have no idea what she looks like and in my head her character wasnt a formed idea.. it was an intresting story and idea of addie having lived through centuries and i liked the relationship with her and the dark but overall i was not very happy with it
TOTALLY. Like we didn't need to SEE Tabitha reject him to know that happened. And we didn't need to see his actor friend come on to him...he already implied that it was painful that he loved him but couldn't have him because he knew it wasn't real.
And could point on not knowing who addie was. She didn't have too many layers.
Absolutely LOVED the book! I think I love AL the way how others love DUNE or The Night Circus. I didn't really like those books but to some it's super important book to them. Also, to be a contrarian... there wasn't a love triangle because she wasn't sure she truly loved either of them. Also, there probably isn't a lot of character development because we're only getting Addie through her filter of Henry. As the "gimmick" of the novel is that this is Henry writing all her stories.
The problem is that gimmick isn't given until the very end - so perhaps on hindsight it makes a lot of sense, but it didn't help me get through the novel, if that makes sense. I agree that Addie didn't actually love either of them - but I wish it had been explored more. Of course, that would've been impossible with the idea that Henry was writing it. I honestly get why people love it, just didn't do much for me.
Me too I loved it.
I can actually respect how you didn’t really love the book based on the argument you presented. I understand how a lot of people rate books by emotional response (or more likely how general readers expect us to respond), but it’s nice to see someone defending the unpopular opinion in a rational and objective manner! Your review is much more valid because you put so much thought into it
Thank you!! I absolutely hate it when people trash on books I like without real reasons so I made sure to keep that in mind lol
I didn't hate it. But it wasn't what i was expecting at all. Too slow sometimes. And like you said the the most interesting parts weren't long and the boring parts were too long. I liked the characters but as you said Addie was the only one i cared about, and Luc was interesting. Henry was sweet but I dont know. I didn't feel the romance in this book because non of the relationships were love. Maybe with Luc was at some point but it was too short that part on the book, even though they were decades together, she was in love but he would never be for her. That could've been more interesting to dive into, not only a few pages. And Henry he was a life saviot for her. But she wasn't in love. She loved him more like a friend. That's what i felt for their relationship. Zero chemistry.
It was a 3 stars read for me because i enjoy it anyways.
Yep you nailed how I felt about all the characters. I never felt love with Henry and I wish she had explored that more instead of just like..in the end I guess making it "oh my gosh truuuuuu luuuuvvv". Her relationship with Luc was much more compelling and so obviously she spent the littlest time on it lol.
I’m so glad others feel the same way about this book...I genuinely thought I was reading it wrong or something bc it just was not doing it for me
Always glad to get someone else in the fold of not getting this book haha
I was about to pickup this book. Thanks for the review. There were extremely popular positive reviews about this book. For the reasons you have mentioned, I agree with the lot. This book sounds like a movie I watched of Studio Ghibli Anime.
A lot of people like it so hopefully I didn't dissuade you from reading your new favorite book or something lol. Just did nothing for me!
@@Bookborn nothing like that, in fact you have helped me pick something else. I hardly get time to read these days. I want a good time reading. Looks like this one is not it.
I agree with most of your points but I did actually really enjoy this book. I am not a seasoned 'Fantasy' reader by any means so a lot of this story was quite new for me so I did enjoy it. I agree about Henry I almost wish he wasn't in the book at all and I initially thought Addie would end up with Toby (the musician) as he seemed to fit the description of her stranger so well and I felt the feelings she had for him. I didn't feel emotional about this book and didn't cry or anything and I do agree I feel like her life was glossed over and only mentioned the meetings with Luc over the centuries. Also maybe I'm weird but I was rooting for Addie and Luc the whole time and wanted them to end up together. It would have been more interesting if Addie saved Henry but then realised she loved Luc and left Henry for Luc.
I think a LOT of people were rooting for Addie and Luc! I generally don't root for romances very much (it has to be pretty specific) but I certainly would've thought exploring their relationship more would've been more interesting.
I COULDN'T EVEN FINISH IT
lol where did you DNF?? Most people I've heard that DNF'd did it around the midpoint when Henry's backstory started
@@Bookborn I DNF'd it after Henry doesn't forget her(when she steals the book from the bookstore) and I just knew that he'd also made a deal with the devil or whatever. And I just lost my patience. I just closed the book and read the summary on the Internet. It was very predictable and I didn't like the ending. I was really happy that I DNF'd it pretty early.
@@_samaa lol yesss that part was SO OBVIOUS. I don't understand how people were surprised he made a deal with the devil. I rolled my eyes hard at that scene.
@@Bookborn I'm just glad that this book made me find you☺
I 100% agree with you on EVERYTHING! (Except I actually did like Henry but I definitely do see exactly what you mean!) But yeah I was so disappointed when I finished this book! Especially on the fact that the author skipped over so many interesting things that happened throughout time, but instead focused on this repetitive cycle of: "meets someone, falls for them, they have drinks and have sex, repeat"
Yeah it's like...someone who hasn't lived for 3 centuries could be in the cycle of "meets, loves, drinks, sex" in their twenties...like would Addie still really be there? I mean, the forgetful thing is a big part of it but I think it could have just been handled way more nuanced.
I pretty much agreed with all your opinions, except for the parts about Henry. I honestly felt like there were too many extra chapters jumping back about how miserable addie is & how terrible her situation has been. Like, I got it, it's awful...but as soon as Henry was introduced (even though I also guessed what his backstory would be), schwab kept regressing the story by putting in another chapter or 5 about addie's tragic past, before continuing the story. It was pretty much the pacing that just killed my enjoyment of the story. But the introduction of Henry broke that dreadful pace when she got into his background, which is why I actually liked his chapters.
This was such a great review & I'm glad someone else felt the same underwhelming feeling of all those other elements of this story!
Interesting! I can see what you mean. Maybe I just needed more interesting background chapters all around lol
It's okay not to love it! I mean, I loved it but I totally see the criticisms of the book.
I honestly get why so many people love it, it IS beautifully written and the story idea is magical. Just didn't quite hit the spot for me. Thanks for being kind :)
@@Bookborn I totally dislike a lot of popular books everyone seems to like so I feel you!
Also, Henry is super Rapey. He gets mad at Addie for having to steal, and he’s super horrible to her about it. Where as he used his curse to sleep with people who would never normally want to be with him.
Yeah I can see how that comes off as creepy. I didn't feel that way reading it but more that he just had a really annoying and poor attitude and I kinda wanted to be like...could you get over yourself slightly
ahhaha! the way you said super **** had me rolling. 🤣🤣🤣
I am so glad I checked for a review...I slogged through 100 pages. It didn't engage me enough to care to continue another 340 pages. I started, put it down, read another book, picked it up for sustained reading...can't give it my precious time. Thanks for your honest assessment. Every book is not for everyone. I love that. We know what we like, even when our tastes are eclectic we can't agree with everyone! Happy reading to everyone!
I have the same opinion as you. The idea was good, the messages the autor wanted to give were beautiful, and she successfully achieved to deliver them... but gosh, it could have been an amazing book if the development was better. I agree about Addie's character, I just didn't believe she was 300 years old... her perspective of life was too standard. Why did the author give her all those horrible experiences, like sexual assault, forced prostitution, war... and then just move away? Why does Addie not have PTSD, depression or anxiety disorders? Why does she enjoy sex like nothing bad ever happend to her? Why????? Can't understand... if Addie had made the deal in 2010, the character would have been exactly the same. If Henry's past (outside of the reason why he made the deal) was deleted from the book, and replaced by meaningful scenes, it would be way more enjoyable. How relevant is for the plot that he made a threesome? They are constantly interacting with characters that are irrelevant for the plot, and irrelevant things happen to them, and have no consequences, why incluye them then? There are other ways to make us care about the characters, and include relevant scenes 🤷♀️. I liked, it but the development was just not my piece of cake either
Totally agree by your take that she sounded like she was born in the 2010's. I didn't even think about that. It's not like she couldn't adapt to modern times, but you'd think there were be SOME habits that were influenced by the last 300 years.
@@Bookborn yess, I dont know, I guess we can't ask that she feels like an ancient lady, cause she couldn't have proper relationships, jobs, or any type of responsability. But then again, what kind of psychology would a person that has lived 300 years like that have? Definitely not so ordinary like the protagonist in that book. As you said, she seems to be a normal 30 year old girl 🤷♀️. Well maybe it's just our perception I don't know. Everyone else seems to not give it a second thought. Maybe it's better to enjoy it hahaha
@@nuriablanco.bookreviews There is always stuff you can overlook in some books and stuff you can't. Apparently for people like us, the 30-year-old modern acting Addie was just too much to overlook lol. I know there is other stuff in books I like that I'm like "eh whatever" about, but for some reason this one just bugged me.
agree with all your points but also I didn't even like Addie as a character so I had no emotional attachment to the book and it fell so flat for me :/ especially because I love v.e. schwab's other books...
I've only read one other of her series, The Darker Shades trilogy. I was certainly MUCH more connected to those characters. I think that trilogy suffered a bit from the same things Addie did, but they were less noticeable in that one.
I agree with all your points, but no one has mentioned the main problem I found with the book: Addie’s apparent complete lack of curiosity or exploration of what Luke is. Are there other beings like him etc? She just accepts that Luke is and what has happened and lives day to to day. Personally I need more world building.
Yeah, it reminds me of some of Schwab's other works: sets up amazing ideas and worlds but has a hard time fully executing them.
Wow, you review so structured and beautifully
Thanks for watching!
I don’t think it was supposed to be a surprise that Henry made a deal or that she had a relationship with Luc. But I do think the ending was supposed to be a surprise.
It felt like a reveal to me for whatever reason! Either way just didn't pan out for me because I didn't care 😅
Agree about the most but not regarding not interested only on Addie, I was really really interested on LUC! Beside Addie Luc is also an interesting character and I wonder why no one is talking about it. What was his feelings towards Addie? Was he really in love? Was only a game ? Was he really a God incapable of having human emotions?
I thought I was alone!!! but yes I agree on most of the points you made, thanks for sharing :)
There are many of us it turns out! lol
Yes I agree!! All my fave parts are so short and the long parts are so unnecessary
There are only two things that made the book readable for me: the style (because it's very nicely-written) and Luc, because in my opinion, he's the most interesting character in the whole story. But otherwise, I didn't really like it. This is not what I expected the book to be like. I thought that it would focus more on Addie's struggles and what it feels like to live for 300 years basically as a ghost. I was really excited about reading this book, but it was a bit disappointing to me :/ I do not regret reading it, it is overall a good book, but really not what I expected.
Completely agree. Like I didn’t hate it but it wasn’t as good as it could’ve been. I agree that really seeing her 300 years would’ve been way more interesting
the point you bring up about how whether Addie would've chosen differently if she had the choice is so interesting and I think that would've made a really good point of inner conflict for Addie. Henry and Addie felt way too contrived, to the book's credit, they are meant to be since he was a 'gift' from Luc. But they were boring and honestly, Addie had more chemistry with all of her fleeting connections. If she looked at Henry and just wondered for even a moment, what it would've been like if he was someone else, someone she had already met and connected with in the past, that would've been so good. It would've made the romance feel a bit more tragic. Idk I just wanted them to acknowledge that they were each other's ONLY choices.
TOTALLY agree. I'll die on the hill that it was an interesting concept that she just didn't push far enough in favor of a (bland) love story.
I agree with you. The concept was so good, but the author didn’t explore so many things. It bothered me how for 300 years Addie stayed in Europe and then went to North America. She had the freedom to go anywhere but still behaved in a very stiff and stuck way. I also didn’t like how Addie was so obsessed with men and their art. I feel like this story was a perfect way to explore how women and POC are forgotten in history and I felt like Addie would have truly sympathize and understand that and would have tried to change that. The story just wasn’t as groundbreaking as people were making it out to be.
What a good point you bring up - I didn't even realize that except for one flashback we get with that woman (I think Sam maybe?) all of the artists she influenced that we see are men... now imagining a story where she tries to become a voice for voiceless artists and how freaking amazing that would've been
@@Bookborn it would have easily turned into a masterpiece and a way to critique how society puts women and poc SPECIFICALLY woc last. Addie couldve been someone who sought that change
This book felt like, to me, unnecessarily long. If a book is interesting, I don’t mind reading more of it, but I found myself actually whining inwardly ‘when is this gonna end?????’ That, and she repeated words constantly, which I don’t normally kind except when it’s done… excessively.
This video is all I needed. You said it all 😭❤️
Glad to find someone else who agrees 😬
I agree with all your points. It had a great premise and a lot of potential but ultimately it just focused on the bland romance. It also was way too long.
It wasn't even that long of a book but felt way too long in places. I think if she had focused on other things it wouldn't have felt that way.
You described all my feelings perfectly!
Gad I'm not the only one who felt that way!
I think that I personally was intrigued enough by the premise and the settings that I didn’t get pulled away from the story too much by the flaws discussed here. I didn’t consider it to be a “best of all times” book, but I liked it enough to recommend it.
Addies curse I found really interesting, and the way the old mentor lady talked about the gods was something I liked. Also, the ending where Henry was the one writing the book was predictable, but still a fun one.
My opinion is def unpopular - I think most people feel the way you do!
@@Bookborn I think all of your criticisms were completely valid, they just weren’t things that jumped out at me the first time I read it. I actually didn’t enjoy it as much the next time round, mostly due to the things you pointed out here.
Although I loved the book while reading, you give some excellent insights on what it was lacking, and how it could have been better. Great review!
Thank you!
It felt that it being a passion project (more so than her other books) did more harm than good in the sense that she just tried to make a 300-page book into a 450-page book. I would have really preferred if it did not overstay its welcome because the concept and how she explores how the curse works really were intriguing; the relationship with Henry, not so much.
A pondering I have about stories involving deals with the devils is how people feel when they invoke famous historical figures such as Beethoven (and others) to give legitimacy to the wishes? I personally feel it is a bit insulting to say that all the great artists of the past made deals with the devil. (Obviously, it is fiction, but I don't think it really adds anything and comes off, as I said, a bit insulting to me, but would be interesting to see what other ppl think).
Such a good point about all of the famous artists. You saying that reminds me of countless other books I've read where their talent is explained away by the same sort of phenomenon. I wonder if we could talk to them today if they would be offended or think it was funny...
Why do you think this was a passion project for her? I don't know much about her as I've only read this book and one other of her series (Darker Shades) and I feel they sort of both struggled from the same general things.
@@Bookborn The author worked on it for 10 years, and I just got the sense from some interviews that she put more care into this one than some of her other ones. (Not saying that she doesn't for her other books, but perhaps that she overthought it. Then again, most people love it so I (or we) are in the minority here^^).
A few quotes from the author that, at least to me, made it feel more important to her:
" I realized I was going to die without writing this book. I realized it was just going to be the thing that I talked about that I never actually wrote"
"A story nearly 10 years in the making, all I can think is that I've put my heart and soul, my teeth and blood and bones into this one."
"I can't believe we made it. Addie spent so many years haunting me, I hope she haunts a few of you."
Omg I loved this book and rated 5 stars but I totally see your point and I respect it. I do agree that seeing more of that love triangle would’ve been interesting I really loved Luc as a character and I was also curious about the whole “does she love them bc of who they are of bc they remember her?” I can totally see why you didn’t like it. Personally I cry at the end when Addie reads the dedication “I remember you” cause that’s ultimately what she wanted and having her story written like that make it full circle to me.
Yeah honestly I totally get why people loved it; it was a cool concept and that remember you was pretty cool. It just didn't hit the spot for me, personally.
I agree with every single point you made. I would've loved to see Henry die as well, see how that would have played out for her, because let's be real, she's immortal and he's not, I didn't allow myself to believe that relationship would last. However I also knew deep down that he wouldn't die. I have noticed that Schwab seems to have a hard time letting go of characters that should, for many reasons, end up dead. It irritated me how bad she wanted Rhy to live in the shades of magic trilogy despite her writing him very unlikely situations to survive in.
I can understand having a hard time letting go of your characters, but at some point it breaks SO much tension and leaves the stories falling flat. I need to actually be afraid for characters. I really, really felt Henry needed to die lol and I still feel bad about that but he wasn't interesting enough to save. At least I liked Rhy haha
Very Glad I watched this. Daniel Green had me sold on this but uhhhh, yeah he (for fair and obvious reasons) didn't mention all that which is a total turn off for me as well.
Oh man, I haven't seen his review on it yet! I need to go see it lol. I don't know if you should take my opinion over his considering mine is very unpopular lol
@@Bookborn haha yeah but generally so are mine when I give people my opinions on books. The Witcher being prime among them lol. That's the great thing about UA-cam is there's so many opinions and often times even someone you really like doesn't mention something that someone else does and all the sudden you like "man if I'd have read that I would have been disappointed having not know that tid bit" lol.
I didn't like this book either. I felt like Addie just used everybody to get what she wanted. I also figured out every plot point long before they happened, too. Unfortunately, I didn't like Addie, either. I didn't like any of the characters. They were all flat and two dimensional. I found it difficult to get invested in Addie since most of what we got from her was watching her steal, break into houses and eating other people's food. Which is fine once, maybe twice. It just felt like most of her 300 years was told to us, not shown to us, which made none of it feel relevant. Also, I found it difficult to feel sorry for her, since the Darkness gave her exactly what she asked for. So, maybe your opinion is not so unpopular after all. ;-)
For whatever reason I forgave the stealing and everything because how do you get a lease or a job if nobody can remember you the minute you walk out of a door? But I totally agree about the 300 years being told rather than shown. I couldn't believe we got like 2 pages of her being a spy and that's it. It would've been SO much more interesting than the Henry storyline.
@@Bookborn I can forgive the stealing etc, too. I just got tired of seeing it. It irritated me that the author chose to show all of that type of thing more than once, instead of showing meatier, more interesting things. I liked the way you presented your review. Good job.
I can understand your criticism now that you’ve highlighted them. I would have loved to spend more time with Addie through the past.
I quite like that we’re left questioning on whether it was love or not for all the characters. I’m not sure if any of them loved each other/ how their emotions were effected by their deals
I think I would've liked it better as a mystery if I felt that it was a purposeful mystery. As is, I feel like we were supposed to take it at face value (but that may not be the truth...just guessing). Ultimately, I think I just had different expectations going into this book, which probably soured it for me!
@@Bookborn I think quite a few people had misleading expectations from the marketing of it. I’ve heard people complain because they thought it was meant to be a romance between a girl and the devil and it isn’t really that
@@AbbySalter I weirdly never heard that, and it's good I didn't because I would've never read that if I thought it was strictly a romance. I think I thought it was just going to be more plot-driven than character-driven, and so when it was more character-driven, I expected more development there.
@@AbbySalter yes, heard that too.
I'm pretty sure the author was going for a Dorian Gray vibe where the character falls victim to their own creation of perfection and desire. I say that because she mentions Dorian Gray once and also Addie meets Oscar Wilde. But I don't think it worked, because while Dorian was the most interesting character, using his natural charm to deceive everyone and commit the most horrendous acts, Addie was just plain and ordinary. She just wanders around complaining about not being remembered, which is exactly what she's asked for. The only way to remain in people's memory is to establish a relationship with them, and when you ask not to belong to anyone you kind of have it coming. So in a way Addie cursed herself. I don't think the write did the character any favour by not being remembered or being able to leave a mark. It just made her boring to read about.
That's an interesting thought, I definitely would never have connected it to Dorion Gray. Addie def cursed herself but I think it could've been interesting to explore how she worked around not leaving a mark (other than that artist thing which wasn't super explored and was pretty boring, imo). I need more spy Addie! More...anything Addie haha
I'm so glad I'm not the only one.
Join our club!!
I also find it interesting because I cried reading they both die at the end and not in this one. I find it interesting because most people think TBDATE is overrated and they didn't cry but think opposite with this one. I guess I just found the characters in this book a bit bland? I could relate and connect with TBDATE more.
But yeah this book - for being a character driven book - the characters was a bit bland.
Addie: Stubborn girl who has 7 freckles.
Luc: Darkness who is in love and then not but maybe is or is he? + just generally toxic
Henry: yeah he owns a bookstore and want to be loved.
Other people and friends: Yeah, they exist..
Ok maybe I'm being super stupid but which book is TBDATE lol my brain isn't working!
luc's character >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> everyone else
Right? So why was he given so little tiiiiimmmeeee
I think it was the ending, I liked it until the last part where is tried to leave it for a sequel where she’s still fighting and reads her own story.
I liked the last word where it said I remember you.
I remember you was a super cool ending. Do you think it left it open for a sequel? Maybe, but I feel like the sequel wouldn't be very good. It feels like a contained story.
Yes I felt so much of this too!! Honestly, I felt like it needed to be a lot shorter for one thing. But for another, I wanted a lot less of the repetitive chapters and more delving into some of the things you mentioned (like character development). I was also hoping maybe we’d get a more satisfying explanation of how the “gods” and their deals work, or just how they work in general, and honestly I thought the ending missed the mark (at least the mark of my own expectations and hopes as a reader, though everybody is different.) I kept thinking they would get some epiphany about the gods or that she would find a better way to save Henry or something… I mean sacrificing herself is good, but the way it ends with her acting like she’s secretly going to beat Luc somehow just didn’t sit right.
I knew very little about the book except for what the blurb said before reading it. When I read the blurb my mind went to ‘magical realism’ not ‘romance’. At no time was I looking for romance while reading it. Addie did not love either Luc nor Henry in a true romantic way. She needed them because of her overwhelming loneliness and it I feel she would have had strong feelings for Henry if he had been a different gender or a different age. I also was left thinking whose curse was worse - Addie’s or Henry’s as both were invisible in different ways.
Oh, I agree - I wish it WAS less romance! I wish it was more about Addie and her life - but it wasn't, it was all about romance. But then, the author didn't even focus on the most interesting parts of the romance; as I agree, I don't think she loved either in a true way. But...that's not exactly how the author presents it.
I think it would've been so interesting if she explored more who had the worse curse.
I think it might have been better if Henry had been a middle aged (or older) woman so that the friendship could have mirrored her friendship with Estele though if that had been the case she might have been less likely ‘to give up her life’ - Henry’s youth did have its advantages, as youth generally does have.
thank you for the video. I honestly don't understand the hype. I read it for a bookclub and I am supposed to finish it by next Sunday but it drags sooooooo much. I am bored out of mind after having read all of 50%. that was enough for me and I started skipping chapter from the past. I don't even care for Addie anymore. no development whatsoever. Also I guessed the end after she met Henry already - you only confirmed it now to me and thats enough for me. will read the end though - just to have sth to discuss with my rl bookclub friends ;)
VE Schwab seems to be able to set up super interesting concepts and then proceed to do the most boring things with them. It's a basic love story...not the story of someone 300 years old.
Totally feel you! I thought I was going to love this, but man, what a waste of time
I’m almost done with this book and I agree with basically everything here. Around page 350 I realized that Luc and Addie was the main plot not Addie and Henry and no I don’t care at all about Henry
I know...it feels like the author loved henry and wanted us to, too, so she wrote all this stuff about him. But it didn't work. lol
Loved this review. So concise. So accurate.
Glad I have someone on my side lol
I didn't understand how she (like you said) thought it was love (with Henry) and gave up her life for him.... But then later was like "idk was it really love?" Lol it didn't make sense to what had happened in the story. If it was going to end like that it should have been explored more. I feel like the ending was changed at the last minute and then just ended abruptly.
I’m right with you. I did not enjoy Addie. All the good parts were rushed and not delved into enough. I actually had the opposite reaction about Addie though. I wasn’t a fan of her. I felt she was bland and just not fully formed as a character for me. I would have loved more Luc incorporated and about 200 pages deleted 👀
Oh there were definitely at LEAST 100 pages to be deleted. I need more war Addie! More major-event-in-history Addie! More "I'm fine being alone" Addie and then "I guess I"m with Luc cause I was wrong" Addie lol. Honestly, the book could've been good without Henry haha
Also, I was way more interested in Luc and Addie than I ever was with Henry and her. I loved the idea of a girl who can’t die because of the darkness, and said darkness slowly learns to love her.
THAT is interesting. And it gets… two pages of a mention for how many years they were together?
I felt the same way! We read this for bookclub and not one person enjoyed it in my bookclub either.
Oh wow, an entire bookclub that didn't like it! I feel like that's unexpected since so many people are raving about it...
You're right. There were so many pages about Henry's backstory and unnecessary things and I just skipped. I wish Luc's backstory was explored (he seems more exciting to me), more of Addie's life in past than present, to delete most of the supporting characters (Robbie bored me to death) and the most satisfying part to see Henry dying (he wanted to die and Addie wanted to live, I think it makes sense, but they're not meant to be together). Addie had so much potential if she joined the Darkness earlier. I overall liked it, but I also got disappointed. I'm in a need of a sequel without Brooklyn.
The ending was kinda weak also imo. Would Luc really accept Addie giving herself to him to give Henry back his soul? I mean he can let Henry die and she would still "be his" wouldn't she?
I loved it and I overlooked many flaws...
Maybe because this genre is all new to me so I can't tell wether the author copied other styles. I mostly love reading classics and I didn't expect much from it because I already knew it won't measure up to my fav books. So I enjoyed it a lot.
Most of my friends enjoyed it a ton too, it probably has a lot to do with what I've read previously (like you said) and just personal taste!
I couldn’t agree more!
Yesss join the club!!
I just finished this book and i agree. I wasn’t really interested in Henry’s story and I didn’t really feel connected to the characters at all to be honest. The most interesting part was Luc and Addie’s story and that wasn’t shown that much.
Henry was just...boring let's be honest. Like I didn't need 10 chapters of him, one was enough to explain who he was lol. Also, I would've loved some more chapters about spy Addie? Ten times more interesting.
@@Bookborn Totally agree. Also, it felt like the story got somewhat repetitive after a while. Really predictive. Loved your review. First video I saw of yours and I subscribed :)
You don't have to worry about having an opinion. That's the best part about living in a free society, people can agree and disagree and that's that.
Regarding the novel, yeah it was a downer for me as well, but not really in the way that a lot of folks think. Truth be told, I'm of the mind that my opinions and hopes for this novel were significant only to me, as I haven't come across anyone who thought similarly.
You can leave me hanging, tell me your opinions!
My apology was mostly a joke; I had a lot of friends who loved this book so was mostly saying sooorrryyy to them
It's on my TBR...but though I love the author, I really don't like one-off books.
Oh that's interesting! I love single books lol it's a nice break from giant series. You prefer trilogies/series?
I love A Darker Shade of magic, and HATED this book.
@@petraclinger47 That actually makes me feel a bit better about having not read it yet. 😅
I was expecting someone to die too but that didn't happen so the ending was anti-climatic for me
I haven't read books for a very long time (I mainly stuck to harry potter re reads over and over) but in 2020 I started branching out (finally!!!!) so when I read this book I liked it. I did predict a lot as well, and the backstory on Henry was boring. The things you pointed out I didn't notice because I haven't read a lot but now that you said them it makes sense. Maybe because I don't have a lot of reading experience I don't know to pick up on things or describe what should have been in the story or shouldn't. I like your review. thank you!
I think when you read a book makes a HUGE difference. The books I read a decade ago at the beginning of my adult fantasy experience were often more generic and didn't bother me because I haven't read a lot. THe more you read, the more things seem the same, so I think that could be a big reason this book wasn't as good to me for sure!
hello hi im new here and I dont even read that much adult fantasy but im here to stay because YOU'RE KILLING THE PONY GIRL. Also I loved Addie LaRue but I totally respect your opinion and can see where you're coming from!!
You are SO kind! :))
I can totally see what people like the book. It has a super magical quality! Just wasn't for me.
I really appreciate your review. I agree with all of your points
Yay someone who agrees with my unpopular opinion!
100 percent correct. I had to force myself to read the rest of it because everyone said the ending was SO good. I was so disappointed
I think you nailed it. I was hoping for so much more.
I found with some of the other stuff by VE Schwab that she always has amazing concepts/ideas but struggles a bit in the execution.
I liked the book until Henry showed up basically. Reading him repeat over and over how miserable he is because everyone loves him bored me to tears.
Ok YES same! His perspective was soooo boring. The only slightly interesting thing about it was how conflicted he felt over his ex who was now attracted to him but he knew it wasn't real. But that was like a single scene and his portion went on for half the book lol
I quit at 15%.....
So we agree then lol
Loved your enthusiasm and intelligence, obviously I agreed with much of what you said. I simply felt that the book would benefit from better editing. The blah, blah, blah of Henry's life and the tension between Addie and Luc, yawn, tooooo much!! Book could have been half as long and it would have packed a better punch for my taste.
Either half as long OR focus on actual historical events. Addie as a spy sounded super cool - let's read about it instead of her boring museum-visiting with Henry lol
I think henry and addie made sense for like a reprieve for her but yeah less henry background would have been glorious. Less henry and more luc
Yeah I think Henry as a character is really interesting, I just didn't need as much from his perspective, personally.
This is how I felt about the Darker Shades of Magic trilogy- I finished book 1 and it was OK, made to 1/2 way book 2 and I was thoroughly bored. V. E. Shwab has brilliant concepts but just doesn't deliver for me. Hence I was never motivated to pick up her other works.
YEP. I actually feel the same about the Shades of Magic, even though I finished the series. Book one was by far the best. She has ideas, I just don't think she delivers fully on them.
@@Bookborn I'm new to your channel and I just looked at one of your videos about trilogies where you said this same thing. I also felt like if the second book spent a lot of time recapping events of the first and _telling_ us that the female lead (forgot her name) was strong and fearsome without actually _showing_ us why everyone thinks she's so strong and fearsome. Eventually I got bored and put it down.
Welcome to the club😊 I kinda hated it
Yesss the best club. Did you dislike it for the same reasons or different?
@@Bookborn Same and some more... I also made a rant video😂
Omg! I feel like I found my crew “people that didn’t enjoy the invisible life of Addie la Rue”
I was soooo disappointed in so many ways
The writing wasn’t enjoyable for me
The characters EVEN ADDIE were so boring to me
I felt guilty not caring about Addie after everything she had been through, but as you said, Addie was the same persona during those 300 years and that made it much more unrealistic 😂
I felt like many bad things were happening to a girl that unconsciously wanted to change her life (who wouldn’t? After being forced to marry some random guy?😂) and I was angry at the author for punishing a character for just not wanting to settle with an “ordinary” life. It made me feel it could be any of us 😂🤭
Also! Luc was the most uninteresting villain I’ve ever met haha, Henry was even more interesting…
But at least I don’t feel so lonely now that I found your channel! Happy to be here! 🤍
YES COME JOIN US! 😂 Like girl, Addie, how have you NOT CHANGED in 300 years?? After apparently being a spy? I need more info lol
I fell you only missed saying that this could have been half long to sum up my thoughts
Definitely agree. I think it could've been as long as it was if we actually learned other things about Addie or saw more of her past, but as it was, it dragged.
For me the book was very depressing and sometimes boring. Thats why I DNF it at 45%.
I didn't care about Henry, nor felt the love triangle (which is a trope that I can't stand).
Oh I HATE love triangles too, and the way this is portrayed is so stupid. I think this love triangle COULD'VE worked, though, because there was like a legitimate reason...if it had been explored at all, which it wasn't. Because it stayed surface level, it was just such a trope.
I agree sooo much with you! I didn’t like this book, and for me the only character I liked was Luc. The other characters felt very flat. And the ending… Ugh 😩 Hated it!
I just finished it like minutes ago and the ending was Soo disappointing I always thought luc and her would end up together so the ending didn't make sense to me. I think they should've let Henry die tbh and I thought I was the only thinking this. Am in a reading slump I need book recommendations plz. *Edit* I just remembered the way they didn't expand on the feelings she felt when she saw Toby they just shrugged it off
Yesss totally agree! I think Henry dying would've been super interesting. But like I said, it's always a bad sign in a book when you WANT a main character to die...something has been written wrong 😂
I didn’t like it. I mean, the end was good but very slow , I wanted to love it, I wanted to FINALLY have a book I so enjoyed reading. And I paid 26 for this book. I have yet to really ever find a good book. I’m glad to see some others have felt the same.
Oh no you've never found a book that you love?! Maybe you've been reading in the wrong genre! What book came the closest to a book you've liked?
@@Bookborn I like horror but I’m trying to get away from only horror, so I’m trying to go to thrillers. I did find myself rushing home over the last 6 months on 2 books. Versity and What Alice Forgot. But horror i use to love John Saul, Dean Koontz but even their styles have changed hmmmm or maybe it’s me lol.
@@tc8404 Oh I see so your more mystery/thriller sort of person! Hmmm I'm probably not the best person to recommend good fantasy to you because I don't know a lot of good mystery fantasy!
@@tc8404 gallant by this same author is a good fantasy/mystery type there is no romance thank god but it was the only one of her books I would recommend to people... its really very very good it is short too
@@that-one-good-kid thank you. I love getting book recommendation, I will look that one up.
I was so excited for this and was so dissapointed.... I liked the flashbacks of addies life and i found luc super interesting but the rest so boring .....
I've only read two of V.E. Schwab's works, but this was a thread in both of them. She comes up with incredible ideas and then doesn't go where I wish she would with them.
It was reccomend by a friend. I didn't dislike it so to speak, but I was underwhelmed 🤷🏾♀️
That’s exactly how I feel! Not like I hated it or anything was jsut like “ok this is ok I guess”
I just hopped by to see what it looks like when u dont like a book, saw only cosmere related stuff so far lol
Now I'm kinda hopin for a video about why u like mistborn era 2 the least
gonna go check the cosmere ranking video then ^^
I try to at least be nice when I don't like books lol!
@@Bookborn sounded nice to me :) also damn accurate with ur criticism. Like, the opposite of abstract, if that makes sense, I can't words