The INCREDIBLE Life of Addie LaRue

[@foxingfae8172]

Yes!! You put ALL of my thoughts on this book into words. It has to be one of the most beautifully written novels I've ever read and I adored it. I feel so bad for the people who say it didn't do anything for them, it was just pure magic for me

[@WillowTalksBooks]

It's already been pointed out to me how much this novel lacks diversity, which is certainly a severe knock against it but I still felt the magic of it so intensely. So swept up by it that I didn't come at it from a critical lens. It was like I was under a spell!

[@derekmarshman6154]

This was a great review! I do disagree about the "running in place" comment. Yes, there are ruts we are running in, and yes, Addie and Luc have an established "dance" they are doing. These ruts are important, becausethese characters have been doing this dance for so long. Hammering them home right before the cart takes an abrupt turn didn't seem repetitive to me. My opinion tho. Everyone gets something different from the reading. Glad to see other people loving a story that means so much to me! ❤️

[@isabellehall9217]

God, i love listening to you speak. You are so well spoken and the cadence of your speech is captivating. I wanna read every book you recommend 😊👉🏼👈🏼

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Omg thank you so much 😭 I have a dreadful singing voice lol so learning that people like my speaking voice is very flattering 💜

[@lpr7507]

Hello from Québec, Montréal! I don't write many comments on KZbin but while I was watching your video, my little gay-litterature major-boy-heart was so happy. I just finished The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue - on the eve of my thirtieth birthday - and when I closed the book I was desperately looking for someone to talk to about this new favorite book of mine : than I went to KZbin... Thank you for your great review! Fun fact : Frankenstein has been in my top three for the last ten years, and I discovered the masterpiece that is Bloodborne (now my favorite video game of all time) during the pandemic : I was actually in my third playthrough while reading V. E. Schwab's book. So anyway, have a great day, I'll go watch more of your videos : I'm sure I'll find great books to read :). Happy Holidays. *Please forgive my French-speaking-Quebecers-broken english.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Wow, we have a whole lot of overlap! Look at us with our great taste 💜

[@astrall6541]

I love how you phrased your love for this book! It’s one of my favorite book, even though I’ve yet to finish the book (I just can’t get myself to yet, cause I know it’ll end and i have a hard time grappling it being almost done and the story being over if that makes any sense at all).

[@natashanorris6546]

I’m so glad your loved it! After reading it myself I was desperate to hear your opinions! I agree with you on the length and how some of the chapters had a repetitive message but the overall voice of the novel and the characters were amazing and definitely made up for the length of the book. I defiantly want to read more VE Schwabs now!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

I totally agree! I'm already hungry for more of her work.

[@lisatindall2556]

You are the other reviewer that I've seen who agrees with me about the need for editing.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

ok

[@beatajaroszewska9761]

I love your reviews 😀 full of enthusiasm, valuable remarks and love for literature. I found your channel over two months ago when looking for a review of “Klara and the Sun” which I absolutely adore, and haven’t missed a single video since then. I am so glad you loved Addie as I did too and was very curious of your opinion. I also want to thank you for the great job you’re doing. You are speaking beautiful English, therefore, I learn a lot from you as English is my second language. I generally find your videos inspiring, my tbr list getting longer and vocabulary improves. Thanks 👍😀

[@WillowTalksBooks]

It makes me so happy to hear how much you love my channel, and that it's useful to you! Thank you so much 💜

[@glendaw5221]

Addie is one of my favorites!!! It might be in my top ten of all time. Definitely in my top 20! I normally don’t care for witchcraft or time travel which proves this book must be really really good. So glad you love it too. Also-the narrator on the audio book is fabulous.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

I'm so glad to hear you're such a huge fan as well! I can't wait to revisit Addie in the future.

[@adamwan0527]

I've been thinking about whether or not I should buy this book, recently. I'm almost done with Wolf Hall (90 pages left, and it was quite a journey!) and I'm thinking of reading something lighter after the month-long mental exercise Wolf Hall was. I've thought about a couple of books, but this was the one that stuck out to me because I remember watching this video earlier on when I first started watching your channel and how your review persuaded me to read the first chapter (which I liked!) The reason I've been so on the fence is because I have problems finishing genre novels, nowadays. In fact, a Keigo Higashino book was the first genre novel I've finished in maybe a year, and that was because it had enough "literary", I guess, themes to keep me interested. He glued with the characters; I almost forgot about the fact that I was reading a mystery. It's not that genre novels are "bad" or anything; I've always gotten excited over books like The Game of Thrones, but then end up not finishing them because I've either lost interest or there's nothing more besides the plot. Not that that's a bad thing all on its own or that the book completely lacks substance if it puts plot first, but it ends up making me go "so why should I care?" I don't know, maybe it's just me. I'm sorry for such a long comment, and thank you if you do read this. I've just been pacing back and forth about what I want to read next, especially now that I'm in a sort of reading slump thanks to life beating me down and tiring me out in recent months. Like I said in the Murakami comment: I feel like I've lost the magic in my life.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

I completely understand what you mean about genre fiction. I read a good mix of literary and genre novels, and I feel like each fulfills a purpose. When I want to be challenged, and to have characters who are complex and difficult, I read literary. When I want adventure and excitement, I go to horror or sci-fi or fantasy. I think this novel does a good job of balancing the two. Its characters and locations are grounded and its length helps the characters feel complex and three-dimensional. I'm so sorry to hear you've lost the magic in your life. I can also relate to that. Covid, lockdowns, anxiety, and depression have been a cocktail that has really challenged my zest for life at times and I'm so tired of it all.

[@adamwan0527]

@@WillowTalksBooks I really appreciate your replies! I feel I might give this a go. Also, it's nice to know I'm not alone: let's hope life will get better for us all.

[@jonathonglover6488]

Hey! It’s been a while since my reading has crossed over one of your reviews. Always a nice little bonus. I found this a real page turner. The Faustian deal and the development of Luke and Addie is a good one, but so found the YA elements in the dialogue a little lacking. In fact, the way that Addie acts like a teenager while being 300 years old was a bit far fetched for me. And the lack of difference in the characterisation and dialogue between the two periods an issue too. And I found Henry and his friendship group too cliche. But I really did dig the central Faustian struggle. It felt like Benedict and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing merged with Faust. Good fun!! Glad you enjoyed the book so much though. Thanks for another passionate and engaging review 👍

[@mintpodmart1870]

witchcraft AND revolution... I am interested

[@stardust1815]

Finally someone who refers to Luc as a god and not a demon!

[@faustianacademia]

I love Frankenstein too. This video is all excitement. Schwab is my auto-buy author. Her books are amazing.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

I think she's that for me as well now!

[@Jjoujou]

I loved the concept of this book but the eurocentric plot view was very disappointing. How the main character only met one black person in her 300+ years of life is ridiculous lol

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Holy crap lol I didn't notice that. How cringe! I'm sure I'll notice a lot more negatives on a second read. Right now, I'm riding the fun I had my first time around but who knows what awkward/bad things a second read will reveal.

[@Jjoujou]

​@@WillowTalksBooks I enjoyed this book too, l think the idea and concept are very interesting! I don't think every book should include/represent every race, but the Eurocentric view of this book in particular rubs me the wrong way as it follows a white woman being forgotten by people she loves/inspires etc, which is something that people of colour have experienced (i.e their stories erased) throughout history, yet there is no mention of black people or asian people in the whole book (maybe except once from my memory of reading the book?). just a bit ridiculous and something to think about.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

I wholly agree! Thank you so much for bringing this point to my attention. I really appreciate it. This is a lesson in reading with a more considered eye from now on.

[@lacamila666]

This is what stops me from reading it. I've seen pretty harsh reviews.

[@monferno71]

Addie LaRue is definitely my favourite novel, Convenience store woman is my favourite Japanese novel and I need to read it in Japanese asap, so I guess all that's left is to read Frankenstein 😳 Just a caution with V. E. Schwab - even though she is my favourite author of all time, I am hesitant to recommend someone to read everything she's written because all her books are very different from one another that many people might not like anything after, let's say, Addie LaRue or Vicious.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Thanks for the warning. I picked up her very first novel in a shop the other day and it felt like exactly what I've been looking for. I'll tread carefully but optimistically!

[@monferno71]

@@WillowTalksBooks That's great, I hope you'll like it! And I'd recommend reading the short story that I think is in every copy of the book, I think it's a good representation of her newer novels' vibes

[@jstamps9578]

Thank the gods you didn't explode. It sounds like a good read. And yes you were analytical.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Haha thanks!

[@ariannelg]

It is long… it is good! It will be a good movie! Not a favorite (not near Frankenstein!!!), but I enjoyed it! I think that being this long it could have better development of the city settings which was something that attracted me to read it.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

I agree that it lacked a sense of atmosphere and building up of its settings. A little more texture would have been nice.

[@cappuccinocrafts2412]

I enjoyed this book a lot. I liked the Faustian bargain and the game in the back and forth between Addie and Luc. I also liked the themes of life, freedom, identity, memory. The prose and storytelling was excellent. But I was not drawn to Addie as a character. I felt she was fairly stagnant, given 300 years of life she had lived. She did not feel very dimensional to me and I felt distanced from her. Henry, on the other hand, I really loved.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

I can't disagree with this. I was very attached to Addie as a vehicle for the book's themes but I found Henry to be a far more complex, flawed character.

[@kalkwiese]

Each to their own, I guess. I really disliked this novel for many reasons. I thought it was repetitive, predictable, overly melodramatic and - as a result - just boring. How people forgot her was full of plotholes as well. The premise is genius - it's like Orlando meets Faust meets greek tragedy. However, the execution isnjust lacking. There was (probably) a good 250 to 300 page novel in there

[@BridgeFour05]

Glad you liked it but when I saw the thumbnail I was kinda surprised. Not that every book should be representation for one thing or other but the idea that someone could live ALL THESE CENTURIES and not come in contact with people of colour?? Really?? She basically erased our existence, and as a POC, I assure you, we existed even during those times. We existed.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Honestly, you're already the second person to point this out and I feel very stupid for not having noticed it while I was reading! Our entire brand is about reading diversely and yet I didn't notice the lack of diversity in this book. That's on me! I still loved the book but the lack of diversity is a real shame!

[@faithbh9181]

Your reviews are perfect and you're so likeable💚 Wish you would make a video of your favourite (maybe 10) novels of all time.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Thank you so much! I probably will do that at some point.