In 1714, Addie LaRue prays to the old gods to save her from an unwanted marriage. But the entity that answers her call is more devil than god and grants Addie’s wish for freedom. He will give her immortality until she is tired of living, but in exchange, she is destined to be forgotten by everyone. Addie lives the next 300 years and sees war, peace, and crosses continents, with no one remembering her or knowing her name. Until one day she crosses paths with a man named Henry in New York who remembers her.
I’ve been sitting here trying to think of what to say about this book. On one hand, I thought it was super interesting. Addie LaRue makes a deal for immortality but in exchange, she is cursed to be forgotten by everyone who meets her. Throughout the book we see little snippets of Addie’s life over 300 years. We see how she “meets” the same people over consecutive days, consistently orchestrating new encounters. Whenever she moves out of the eye line of someone, she is instantly forgotten. We see as Addie learns and uses this to her advantage to make her mark in the world.
On the other hand, this book was incredibly long and felt like it dragged at times. There was also a lot of repetition. I wished I had read this book in kindle form, that way I could run a search of how many times the author talks about dark curls falling over a brow.
I was really only invested in this book at the end, just because I couldn’t figure out how the author was going to conclude and wrap up the book. I don’t know that I love the ending of the book but I guess it was satisfactory. I feel that the author ended the book in the only way that she could.
This is the first V.E. Schwab (or Victoria Schwab) book that I’ve read and I really enjoyed the writing. I thought it was very lyrical and appealing. I have read some reviews that say the writing in this book is different than other books by this author but since I haven’t read any of her other books, I can’t speak to that.
I liked this book but I fear that, like Addie LaRue, it will soon be forgotten.
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I loved this book, but you do have a good point about “dark curls falling over a brow.” 🙂
Haha! It was like every time Luc showed up she had to talk about his dark curly hair.