The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

By: V. E. Schwab

Narrated by: Julia Whelan

Length: 17 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's Summary

2020 NYPL Best Books of the Year 
2020 Oprah.com Best Books of the Year 
2020 NPR Best Book of the Year 
2020 Amazon.com Best Books of the Year 
2020 Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year
2021 Locus Awards - Nominee
2020 Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year  

"[Narrator Julia] Whelan's performance is unforgettable in this darkly romantic fantasy about one young woman cursed always to be forgotten.... Her depiction of the darkness is smooth with a low cadence, capturing listeners' attention and their heart strings." (Booklist)

In the vein of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Life After Life, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is New York Times best-selling author V. E. Schwab’s genre-defying tour de force. 

A life no one will remember. A story you will never forget.

France, 1714: In a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever - and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

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.

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER
USA TODAY BEST SELLER
NATIONAL INDIE BEST SELLER
THE WASHINGTON POST BEST SELLER

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books 

"This epic story, spanning three centuries and two continents, is expertly narrated by Julia Whelan.... This is a transporting listen, and these characters will stick with you for a long time." (Bookpage, starred review)

©2020 V. E. Schwab (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

Critic Reviews

NYPL Best Books of the Year, 2020

Oprah.com Best Books of the Year, 2020

NPR Best Book of the Year, 2020

Amazon.com Best Books of the Year, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year, 2020

Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year, 2020

Prose style not to my liking

The story is interesting and the voice actor is good, but there is just one level of emotion throughout all the hours of this book. Perhaps if I’d read it rather than listening to it I’d have enjoyed it more. I kept finding myself rolling my eyes because I felt like was listening to a melodramatic teen who feels everything excessively intensely. Who can keep that up for 300 years? I also didn’t like the prose style— multiple similes for what seemed like everything. I think a more thorough editing and a firmer director activeIy looking for interpretations that would allow for variation in the emotional tone would have made a better experience for me. I liked the ending.

I'm glad it's finally over...

You'll need to gird your loins if you're going to dive into this book. It is deep, dark, heavy and sad. After each listening session, you'll feel like a soggy, wet blanket has been placed over your soul. The narration was sublime and needed to be to drag u thru the depths of this book. It needed far more dialog between the characters, as it read more like a memoir about Addie and Henry than a novel. So much detail! And Henry's background story should have been less, and Addie's more. This seemed to be 2 books in 1. Having said all this, it was beautifully recorded and the prose was magnificent. How someone could have come up with this subject matter and lived to tell about it is a miracle in itself. It is depressing and lovely, all at the same time. You have been warned.

So much better than I was expecting and that was already high

Oh my god I can’t even begin to explain what goes on in this book. So much happens, emotions just explode out of the words; out of Julia’s performance. This is my third book from V. E. Schwab and she knocked it out of the park and straight into space. The ending (without spoiling much) is bittersweet but it closes the story nicely.

This came out at the perfect time. It’s a great and powerful story, amongst a bleak and unpredictable year. I want to revisit this novel again sometime soon.

Schwab at her best

I've read a lot of V.E. Schwab's work, including her Conjuring of Light series, middle years works, YA stuff. Overall, Addie LaRue is a sophisticated and engaging book, one I prefer to Conjuring of Light. It has echoes of Gene Wolfe (Latro), Neil Gaiman (Hobb in the Sandman), and Erin Morgenstern (in general). I am knocking it down a star because about halfway through, the book became overwhelmed by the romance. The romance is important to the plot, but I just didn't find it very compelling. I decided not to recommend the book to several friends just on the basis of the romance, though I think a lot of other people will really like this aspect of the book. Just not me, or my friends.

Two Centuries too Long

Interesting idea and excellent narration. However, slow to start and for my taste a main character that lacked, well, character.
I could understand the innocence and lack of experience at the beginning of the story but as the chapters unfolded her development was superficial and manipulative.
This was not a book I would recommend to most friends.

Best book i’ve ever read

Wow, just wow. Everything about this book is five stars. The story is so heartfelt and heart wrenching at the same time. I think people of all audiences could fall in love with this book and find themselves entranced in Addies life.

Julia Whalen has done an immensely great job at performing this book and made it all the more real.

One read through is simply not enough for this book it will definitely be one that you keep coming back for.

Wow!

I momentarily hesitated before purchasing this audiobook, but the reviews were so strong that I decided to give it a try. I finished this book in a little over 24 hours, playing at a slightly higher speed of course. The characters are incredibly vivid and, though aspects of the selling your soul storyline have been told before, the book is still fresh and like nothing I have ever read previously. I definitely recommend this book!

the never ending, boring, repetitive, need of a bi

way too long. way too repetitive. way too pointless. I'm glag it was on audible and didn't actually waste my time reading it

beautiful

I love anything by this author, but this is different than all of her other stories. you can feel her love and passion for Addie in every line. I am so happy that she was finally able to share this with us.

Stunning!

Whoa! What a beautiful experience! The story was fantastic, hard to put it down. I was invested in it from beginning to end. Also, Julia's performance was incredible. I cannot recommend it enough.