V.E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue follows the titular Addie through the centuries after she makes a Faustian bargain with an unknown entity of darkness in the minutes before her arranged marriage—in exchange for the freedom and time (infinite time, even) to experience the world and live as she chooses, without being beholden to anyone, she will let this entity, whom she names Luc, claim her soul when she no longer wants it. So, Luc gives her exactly that, and Addie becomes immortal, no longer aging or subject to death, though still able to suffer the pain of injury, exhaustion, hunger, and the like, and also no longer remembered by anyone once she leaves a room or able to leave a lasting mark on anything. While Luc waits for Addie to give up in misery so he can claim his prize, Addie stubbornly learns the limits and advantages that come with her curse, until one day she meets a man named Henry who inexplicably remembers her.

I spent a lot of time mulling over how I truly felt about this book; the writing is good, I was always curious to see where it was going, I’ve heard a lot of hype about it, but it never really clicked with me while I was reading. Ultimately, I think that while the premise is interesting, Addie is not (for me, at least) a very compelling character. For someone so concerned with experiencing more of the world and leaving a mark on it, she does a pretty good job keeping herself in a box.

For example, she has spent three hundred years living without suffering long-term consequences, and she only mentions visiting Europe and America in that time. Granted, it took time to learn the rules of her curse and get the hang of them, and it hasn’t always been easy for women to travel alone, but still, three hundred years is a long time, and seeing and experiencing more of the world is what drove her to make her deal in the first place. Her focus seems to be, even after centuries, day to day survival and what limited creature comforts she can manage.

Also, while I appreciate the author avoiding making Addie part of every important historical event she lived through, are you really telling me she only took a passing interest in one and bailed the moment it got hard? Other characters given the same abilities/constraints as Addie would have stories about becoming vigilantes, spies, invisible activists, guardian angels, or something. Addie decides to seek out budding artists and make herself a muse. Which still could have been more compelling, if Addie had cared more about cultivating each artist’s ability rather than inserting herself into their art. I get that she wants to be remembered, but the excessive emphasis on that need seems to suggest that a legacy only matters if it is tangible, rather than exploring the invisible impressions Addie could have made in the world by changing other people’s lives, whether or not they realized it. Not needing to be remembered would be the real way to spite Luc, which seems to be Addie’s only true motivation to do anything.

Also, don’t get me started on her dynamic with Luc. That relationship is nothing but toxic.

Addie and Henry’s story is sweet, and I think what kept me invested was wondering if their ending would have to be completely tragic or just bittersweet given what we know of Addie’s curse and the clues that start piling up pretty quickly about Henry’s unusual situation.

All in all, I’m giving this one a 2.75 out of 5. It’s a perfectly fine book, but it wasn’t what I was looking for out of this premise.