Where to start? There was a lot of repetition in this novel. This novel repeated itself a lot without saying much of anything new. I felt like chapters were restating what had already been said. The novel seemed to go on forever without saying anything new. It was déjà vu all over again. And again. And again. Seriously. Addie is a young woman who desperately does not to marry the man who was chosen for her. To escape this fate worse than death, she makes a bargain with “the darkness.” Now she will not have to marry, but she also will not die, the people she meets will not remember her mere moments after she leaves, and she cannot write or draw. She does not have to eat to live, but she feels hunger, and she can feel pain. Then, a few hundred years later (my, how time flies, just not in this novel!), Henry remembers her. This should have been a gripping tale of mystery and fantasy, but sadly, to me, it was just too long and boring. Addie is just a pathetic creature who shows little growth despite her many years. None of the characters are very well developed. I know I am part of a very small group of readers who did not care for this novel, but having enjoyed other books by this talented writer, I can’t help but wonder what went wrong here. ( )

Schwab used the same descriptors throughout the story, there was hardly any character development for Addie (I think Luc had more development than she did) and the characters were kinda bland.

Nevertheless, it was a good, fun, story. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would still recommend it to people for a quick fun read based on an interesting concept...just don't expect award-winning writing. ( )

It was a good story. I just wish it could have been told more succinctly. There were just way, way too many scenes of Addie going about her day and surprise surprise! suddenly! why, it's a visit from Luc. AGAIN. And they engage in the exact same non-scintillating banter, AGAIN. ( )

“Never pray to the gods that answer after dark.”

This is a dual timeline speculative fiction that moves between New York in 2014 and Europe from 1714 onwards. It begins with 23 year old Adeline "Addie" LaRue, living in a small village in France, who makes a Faustian bargain with the devil to escape a forced marriage and a life of restrictions. She asks for freedom and to live forever. In exchange she is cursed with a life in which no one remembers her and she can make no mark. This essentially renders her invisible and unable to develop any relationships or career and she is forced to live the life of a vagrant, stealing and finding places to sleep. Luc, the devil or god of darkness visits Addie regularly to push her into giving up and surrendering her soul to him. The story also plays on the sexual tension between them.

After 300 years of wandering, Addie finally meets a man who remembers her name. She feels drawn to him, the blessed relief of being known and named, but what is his story? How is Henry able to defy her curse?

This story has an intriguing premise and was very engaging at the start. Unfortunately the 300 years of Addie’s life was very drawn out and repetitive, very much like Groundhog Day. The novel and its characters are also totally self absorbed and Eurocentric. Despite Addie living for centuries she does not appear to notice any of the history or politics or events occurring around her. In fact I would go as far as saying she does not even notice anyone else’s suffering (except possibly Henry’s). This book was very much like The Time Traveller’s Wife in this: a fascinating idea but boils down to self absorbed white people flitting through history whining about their personal hardships. Addie’s main achievement in 300 years is having shagged enough artists to have her portrait painted multiple times, because she is so beautiful. Despite having learned multiple languages and having been to many countries she is unable to give a single cognisant description of any of them.

Then she meets Henry, another whining, sniveling person who feels sorry for himself because people don’t like him enough. Sure, he seems like a pleasant enough guy, but again the story stays with its superficial, self absorbed and repetitive themes.

Lastly there is the whole Luc thing. I have no idea why there is even a team Luc: maybe, because the fake body the devil has adopted is handsome?? Other than that he is abusive, manipulative, selfish and possessive: pretty much what you’d expect for a god of darkness.

So overall I’m not sure where this leaves me. There is a great concept behind this story, which is intriguing and engaging and I did enjoy. The rest of the story falls down in so many ways. Ultimately if there was a sequel I don’t think I’d read it, as given the very minuscule amount of personal growth that Addie managed over 300 years, I’m not sure that I’d dedicate another 17 hours of my life to listening to more of hers. ( )

Really great book. ( )