Well, one things I’ve noticed about this year is that I’ve found it more difficult to read books and keep my focus. So I only have two completed books to report for November….

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V. E. Schwab (2020)

Like Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Adeline LaRue wants much more than her provincial life in a 17th c. French village. She’s an artist and a dreamer, and doesn’t want to marry a widower and raise his children. So she makes a deal with the god of darkness to live as long as she wants. He can have her soul when she’s finished with it.

As with all deals, the devil (so to speak) is in the details, and Addie is cursed to be forgotten by everyone. As soon as she is out of sight, everyone forgets her. She can make no mark upon the world, no writing, drawing, nothing to make people remember her.

But Addie is determined to live, to explore the world, and to leave a mark in some way. If people cannot remember her, perhaps she can inspire them.

After 300 years, Addie meets someone who does remember her! But why? And how long will it last?

The premise is interesting and the story goes back and forth in time, chronicling Addie’s 300 years of life. I was less interested in the story of the boy who remembers Addie, but this was still a fun story. It’s got more about Addie’s inner life and the loneliness of living (and she has a lot of one-night stands) than it does on details of magic and gods, more contemplative than adventure tale, so keep that in mind.

★ ★ ★ ★

My Cousin Rachel, by Daphne du Maurier (1951)

This was for my 50 Classics list, so I’m giving it its own review post here.

★ ★ ★ ★