“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” is a historical fantasy novel that begins in the year 1714. The character of Adeline “Addie” LaRue, a young artist with many dreams, has to make a life-altering decision.
The 18th-century French woman is fated to marry a man she has only just met. To fight off the wedding, she begins to pray as the sun is going down, paying no attention to the “gods who answer after dark.” When the dark responds, she strikes a bargain with the stranger that appears to be free of any ties to anyone for the rest of her life. The deal declares that, for as long as she desires, she will have immortal life. However, Addie will offer her soul to the stranger the day she grows too exhausted or bored of life to continue.
When Addie makes her deal with the darkness, she doesn’t expect the repercussions that soon follow. It is true she will never belong to anyone, but, for the rest of her life, her face will be blurry without recognition and her name will never be remembered.
When she departs from someone for as short as a second, the person who knew her then recalls nothing of who she is. The book takes you through different stages of her life, introducing memories from the past and moments happening in the present.
Although it seems the book does jump around with another narrator, the titles of the chapters help keep the reader straight. Throughout these chapters, there are several pieces of art inspired by Addie as she tries to take root in ideas rather than memories. These creations appear before every chapter and represent a way Addie has fought off her curse.
“The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” is about a fantastical character making a deal with a “god” who grows oddly fond of her. The thing that drew me in about this book was the humanity in the feelings and decisions she made regardless of her circumstance. This book is so much more than just a leisure read because the reader goes through every heartbreak and letdown along with Addie. After 300 years of repeating torture, she meets a boy working in a bookshop in New York City one day who flips everything upside down.
If you think you have any idea how this story will progress from reading this book review, you are probably mistaken. “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” is the perfect book to encapsulate your thirst for a once-in-a-lifetime love story and an unaging read.