The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

I actually read this one a while ago (beginning of November), but wanted to wait until my book club discussion before making a review post, and I'm glad I did! As usual, there were some awesome insights from the group that really changed my perspective on some of the topics. Thank you to fellow bookstagrammers @bookmaddie @alex.gets.lit @brand.new.chapter for joining! As usual, if any of my followers would like to join our next discussion, DM me!

Because I found the conversation so insightful, my review is going to consist mostly of group comments as I found that they really had an impact on my perspective! But ultimately, READ THIS BOOK! There's a little something in their for everyone. A note though, that these group comments are generalized, and don't represent the individual opinions of everyone in the group.

Things the group liked: Schwab's writing (obviously) was incredible! She has such a beautiful way with words, and she expertly weaves multiple timelines and historic events into a cohesive book. We loved the fantastical elements; it felt like there was enough magic to appease the fantasy-lovers of the group, without going so into the fantasy tropes that it was inaccessible to non-fantasy readers. We also almost unanimously liked Luc (the antagonist) haha. Maybe it says something about our attraction to bad boys, but we spent a ton of time discussing Luc's moral ambiguity and his (somewhat) redeeming qualities.

Things the group didn't like: Addie's VERY slow (over 300 years!) acceptance of the curse and its implications. We discussed how this was likely purposeful on Schwab's part, to show how even though she is over 300 years old, Addie still maintained her humanity, which made her a more sympathetic character (compared to other “super old” protagonists like Edward Cullen). The group didn't LOVE the romantic interests, and felt they were kind of boring

Things we were undecided on: The seven stars symbol (like, what exactly did it mean?), the omniscient narrative (phrases like, “little did they know...”