by V.E. Schwab
First published 2020
Addie LaRue faces a forced marriage in 1714 France and panics. She calls out to the darkness for help and gets an answer. A mysterious figure grants her immortality, but the price proves cruel. Everyone she meets forgets her within moments of parting. Addie wanders through centuries, watching empires rise and fall while remaining invisible to human memory. She witnesses art movements, wars, and revolutions but cannot form lasting connections. The curse seems unbreakable until nearly three hundred years later, when she enters a small bookstore in New York City. A young bookseller looks at her and speaks her name. For the first time since her bargain, someone remembers Addie LaRue. This impossible moment changes everything and forces her to confront the dark entity who cursed her. Addie must decide what she will sacrifice to finally be seen and remembered by the world.
Genres: romance, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, fantasy
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: curse, found-family, second-chance
Setting: France, New York City
Period: 1700s, 21st Century
448 pages · Hardcover · Tor Books
Content warnings: anxiety, depression, mental-illness