I’m late but just wanted to say that I think the repetition is what makes this book in a way. I could be reading too much into this but I think her repeating Addie’s experiences over and over just makes the fact someone remembers her hit so much harder, and that’s also why there’s really no plot for a lot of it because her life can’t have a plot, she can’t make connections and further her life so I think the scene setting and the things you found that pushed you away were necessary and important to getting you to experience the torture Addie goes through. Though again I could be reading too far into it
I love how each person can read the same book and walk away with totally different opinions. This is one of my favorite books. I actually really enjoyed the bouncing timelines. Funnily enough though, this is also the book a listen to at night to fall asleep. The cadence of the narrator and flowery language is perfect for drifting off to sleep.
I personally loved the book. I thought the story was, as you said a take on life and the impact you have on people, even people you just meet once. I loved the poetic writing and to me, the fact that she showed how Addie was involved in historical moments was great. Some people said they didn't like how there was no character development, but I disagree: how can your characters develop when one is stuck in time and can't evolve with the people around her; one is a spirit who is not Human. Only Henry can change (and did change). Anyways, great video as always :) Keep up the great work!
I was going into this expecting a positive review kind of disappointing but I see where she’s coming from so I don’t fault her for it at all… I personally absolutely loved this book it’s one of my favorites and I’m about to start my reread to tab! 💕
I feel the exact same way, this book was life changing for me. And I can remember wishing it was faster at the start but then being sad because it was going too fast at the end. I realized that VE Schwab made me feel what addie was feeling in her life and it was so beautiful. Life moves too slow until it's going too fast. I absolutely bawled at the end of this book and cant wait until ve schwab makes me sob again
Exactly..no offense..but what people are demanding from the character is menat for normal human..how can be their substantial arc to her character when her timeline is distorted or exponential extended... In the she came to realise what she was set to chase... Untethered exploration..not love .. longing would be there coz we r human..but her needs has been evolved or devolved..
Read the book s while back. Was meh about the plot. But the book haunts me until now. So much existential questions. The meaning of life, freedom, memory etc..etc..etc...
Oh my god, I had the same thought. I thought about the book after I finished. When I read the book, I found so many issues, like Cari mentions and some of the same points.
Im really glad i wasnt the only one who felt these about the book. Watching your review and reading the comments made me feel less bad that I still havent finished it.
I felt the same way! It could've been much shorter and while I loved the 1700s section, it also felt very repetitive. You're right that it is character driven but for 300 years, she didn't have much character development at all. I also felt like it was kind of the author's wet dream, just happening to be in the best places in the world during the right time in history type of thing. It felt kind of tumblr girly.
I really loved this book, I went into it expecting nothing and all thoughout it felt like I was floating above history. I wish some of the passage had taken place in Africa, Asia or South America though, I don’t believe Addie spent 300 years doing round trips between europe and the US.
I really enjoyed this book, although it is sort of fading from my memory now because the short chapters encouraged speed reading. I liked the ending because I feel like it sort of mirrored how people come in and out of your life for brief moments but have a big impact of you? But it was a bit anti-climatic
When you said the book was repetitive I was like YES, that’s exactly how I felt. All the places she’s been kinda blurred together and only the opera scene really stood out to me. It almost feels like trying to recall a dream in which you travelled to so many places, only now you can’t grasp any lucid details. It’s a very lukewarm feeling, hit or miss depending on time you read it. I think busy people looking for a break to soak in the present will like this more than quarantine folks feeling antsy for some action, which is partly why this book missed the mark for me.
Yeah, this book was a beautiful disappointment. 🙃 I both loved it and was very bored with it. It took me 2 weeks to read, which is nuts considering I read the 5 A Song of Ice and Fire books in a month. It was just so meandering~ 😒😒😒
this is so beautiful. then there's me, still stuck inside my house reading in the same three spots and drinking the same coffee flavor for a week enjoying addie larue. i miss reading outside and going to coffee shops. to anybody reading this, stay safe. ♡
I DNF'd it. The book is Addie Larue and every time I put it down I forget about it. The plot was non-existent, the characters were flat, it was just a huge let down after all of Victoria's other work with entertaining plots, complex characters, and rich worlds.
I *just* started this one as well and I’m about a few chapters in but I’m having the exact same feelings as you. I’ve been thinking about putting it down and this just confirms that!
I really enjoyed this and everything it has to say about what it feels like to be seen and the desire to be remembered. Having said that I found the pacing of the flashbacks very inconsistent. There is a lot of time spent in eras where little of consequence happens, and then more interesting things felt rushed. I wasn't too hyped for this as I only heard about it near the release date, but I get why people feel let down. Also, New York is my favourite city to visit and with the state of the world at the moment this was a nice way to feel that connection to a city that I don't see myself getting to anytime soon :)
I haven't read this, but you have definitely peaked my interest in it. Maybe the actual point of the book is to make people think about their own lives? Also loved your shirt at the beginning of the video. ❤️ Happy December 🎄
I really enjoyed this book. I really appreciated Addie and her storyline, but I did feel a little bored with the plot. So beautiful written so i did give it a 4.5 stars 🌟
@@AmeliaKinsley-05 yes of course. Its not sexual or anything,but there are some triggering aspects about sex work. So if its it makes you uncomfortable 🤔
*SPOILERS* I 100% agree with everything you said! Also I'm wondering which main character you didn't like? I actually liked all of the characters. the darkness was also sexy af LOL. honestly reading addie and luc's relationship felt like I was in the middle of a harry potter fanfic LOL, like a toxic draco and hermione situation. but that was actually more interesting to me than addie and henry's relationship was LOL. I would have liked to read more of addie and luc's "love story" instead of it being shoved into the last fifth of the book smh. I also wanted to add - I was already sort of uninterested before the book switched to henry's perspective, then when it switched, I didn't feel like I really gained anything haha. I feel like it should have started switching perspectives way sooner. I actually liked the ending and that she doesn't end up with henry. I liked how it leaves us wondering if she will ever be free from luc, but overall, I'd give it a 2.5 out of 5 stars, def not reading this again
I just finished and loved the book! One of my favorite things was just watching Addie through time so for that reason I'll check your recommendations bc I think I might also really love them! (Also I have not yet read any of her other work so I got into this one with no expectations or idea of her writing and now I'm really excited to read more of her stuff but from what you mentioned I guess this was kind of different than her other stuff... still looking forwards tho)
I’ve been meaning to read this book for months now ! My sister, Hanna, recommended it to me. I’m such a huge fan of yours, Cari. Thanks for all the love for my covers 🥰
I'm with you on the impatient reader. I usually want them to just get to the point. 🙄I'm not a fan of Schwab's books so this didn't surprise me. Anyways, thanks for the review. I will pick out some other book out of my hoard. I've been bad this year.😉❤️
i absolutely loved this book, i read all of it in like 3 days and was just soooo enchanted by it, i just wish we could have seen more of addie’s life throughout these 300 years tho, but yeah the book would be a lot bigger if that were the case. loved the video btw ❤️ that’s a crazy thing about books right? how each one of them makes each one of us feel something different and have different opinions on it, kinda poetic 🙃 hope you’re having a good day 💕
Totally agree, the first half of the book was hard to get through. I had to put it aside for months. Then I forced myself to finish, towards the end it was much better.
SO glad to see this review! I was feeling a little guilty in my disappointment as a regular VE Schwab fan. If you want a way-more-fun book on immortality, check out Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. It's so much more intriguing.
It's interesting that you bring up the night circus and the starless sea, because I loved both but not this. While my friend loved Addie but hated the night circus... I also thought they were similar but I don't know, I just didn't feel the vibes of this story, maybe I like circus vibes more than NYC!! (I also I started this video when it first came out but I wanted to read Addie myself first, and I just finished, so here I am) 🥰✨
I’m from New York and I’m also living abroad right now in Japan so I totally relate to your feelings about this! It made me miss NY so bad 💜 I personally loved this book but I also agree with you about all its faults haha but the story was just so magical that I’ll always remember it
I’ve been struggling with how after finishing this book and everything you said - even down to the “nervous crazed laughter” - summed up my thoughts exactly
I agree that some parts i was a bit dragging myself to read but i love the book in general. I even got teary eyed in some parts because of how personal it got to me. I also plan to reread it and hopefully get a physical book this time.
Oh that was so nice to watch, and writing up quotes ❤️❤️. Omg girl. Unfortunately Im still waiting for my book to come, but I've read an ebook. I ordered the same cover ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
The way you talk about aesthetic and verse writing in the book kind of reminds me of your own vlogs? Kind of like these small scenes of trees, or dogs, and other little life delicacies of the sort. Those things are why I think your vlogs are so inviting and life-like: for the pure observation and reflection. The slowness that we can take for granted. Idk what I'm trying to say, maybe that Addie LaRue focuses on the mundane or the aesthetic because those are things we should all take time to notice and appreciate instead of getting caught up in the many actions of life.
I’m not sure if you’ve done this before, but I would love love love to see a video on how you annotate your books as well as tabbing! I have just discovered Booktube and I think I’ll stay right here on this channel!
@12:04 first off the night circus is my all time faaaaave 💫 spectacular I read it 4x in a row…. There is a plot I wish folks would stop saying there isn’t 😢 I was hooked to Addie from the very start /first line .. I couldn’t put it down 🥹🥹 ending was not what I expected but I get it and still love the book … I started starless sea but that one did start off quite strange I need to get back to it ….. I also recommend the midnight library for folks who loved the night circus & Addie … I’m only 12% into the midnight library but it’s soooo good and intriguing to me 📚☺️☺️🙏🏿
I know this video was from two years ago and I had to pause it a few days ago because This is the book I picked from my stack of unread books I once bought to start reading again when I felt the motivation from your channel to read again. I wonder who is the character you didn't enjoy as much? For me although I liked him better by the very end it was Henry. For the sole reason that I felt Addie and Luc's relationship seemed more interesting for me to read. My book is essentially shorter It is only 444 pages long and I essentially read this in three days. It flew past me and V. E. Schwab has become one of my favorites, I thoroughly enjoyed the way it was written and I only felt a hint of repetitiveness By less than a fourth into it. Like I said I didn't enjoy Henry as much and kind of dreaded reading his perspective at times, but I have to admit I kinda bawled my eyes out at the end right after she leaves for good. Something about him quoting "I remember" in his book kinda broke my heart a little. But nonetheless I really really enjoyed this. I literally just finished the book amd came straight to finish this video of yours to see what you thought. I wish it was more detailed and you would freely talk about the things that happened and such. Again Thank you so much for giving me the motivation to read again! I am really enjoying your channel! Now I am off to start Six of Crows, I believe you mentioned it was one of your favorites~
i feel EXACTLY the same as you did about this book! (except I have no connection to NYC but still) i totally get what you're saying about how it kind of felt like author 'had' to write this book, i've been following her on social media for years and also went to a signing 4 or 5 years ago & she talked about this book and what it meant to her writing it even back then, & i've seen her say so many times how important the story is to her -i hate that i didn't love it bc v e schwab is quite literally my favourite author and i adore her fantasy stuff but sadly this wasn't it for me either 😔
I am sad you didn't like it as much as I wanted you to. This book hit me to the core and loved it but I can understand what your saying as well. Also Love Book Depository! I would check out Book Outlet, you can get a lot of awesome books for cheaper prices and they ship to Korea!
Hi Cari, sorry, it was 2.30 am in my country when you posted. And of course, as always this was an amazing video!😊 I was gonna say maybe you can post a book-inspired baking video soon. I loved that video, it was such a good idea.
I finished this book and wasn't really sure how I felt about it. It did stick with me for awhile I couldn't stop thinking about it for about a week. I really enjoyed the historical chapters and crushed on Luc. I was not as big on the modern chapters
I felt the same way! I did give it a 4.5 because of the message and the writing was so beautiful but it did feel underwhelming. I love character driven books but I feel like I didn’t connect with the characters too much. Love Addie for sure and the other characters I liked but didn’t connect like I wish I had. It’s good to see a booktuber be honest like this. Other booktubers I think way overhyped this just because of its popularity. I didn’t cry reading it either like others did.
I read this book and a bit curious about which character that you don't like. I personally don't like Henry, but some people *love* him. I personally like this book but only cos I've only read 1 V.E. Schwab book so I don't have any expectation for this book.
omg I haven't finished the video but I would like to share that I went on a terrible date at that Think Coffee next to The Strand, but it makes me happy that those places are so darn memorable to so many people!! lol also the Dash and Lily book is so much better than the show (at least I think so, I rated it 5 stars back in 2013 heh)
Im not quite sure if this is weird but if you want some good ~new york vibes~ and nostalgia, i really recommend watching The Unsleeping City ! The first season is being released for free on youtube :)
I always feel like there's a fine line between being very fond of details and dragging the narrative. I like how poetic some authors can be, how they can make us visualize the scenes through beautiful details, but everything needs a limit, I guess. If it's too much, instead of being immersed in the narrative we start to feel, I don't know, tired (or maybe unable to process everything). I also like those kinds of routine books - I mean, the stories that follow some people's lives and not necessarily will have a very complex plot - but I suppose it can be a litte too much depending on how many pages the books will have. Anyway, I am kinda interested in this book, but at the same time I can picture myself being discouraged throughout the reading haha I am wondering whether I shall give it a chance or not.
Girl thanks for the code! I just got Song of Achilles for $9! and its free shipping! I read Circe this summer by the same other and have been WAITING to read song of achilles
Thank you. That is exactly how I felt about this book. And now I know I am not alone. 😂 I went into it with the wrong expectation, expecting adventure, and was thoroughly disappointed.
I was so excited to read this book, I couldn't wait for it to come and then when I started reading it, I was really underwhelmed. I think the begining was really nice and her family forgeting her really hit me. I don't know NYC, but I lived a year in Paris and I'm missing it a lot, but a lot of those parst of the story felt unnecesarry. Also when she's hanging out next to Sacre Coeur in the 18th century, when the church was built in the 1900s. It's just a minor detail, but it bothered me. I think in the end I wished for more plot. Addie is a very intersting character , the author brings out intersting questions about life, maybe if she took her desire to be rembered more to an extreme... I just wished more from this book. I feel very conflicted with this book. I'll try to read other books by VE Schwab, but I'm still processing this one.
I agree...This is my 4th time trying to read this book. I started 3 times and DNFed the book halfway each and every time...but i wanna read it cz all my bookish friends have been telling me tht, this is a book that has to be read in one's lifetime... so before im about to start i thought Id just come watch Cari's point of view on the book, cz you always make me wanna read whatever the book youre talking about..so yh nevertheless ,i guess i will give it a final go...fingers crossed...Hope i dont dnf it this time 🤧🤞
Book people! Im going to get on a bit of a soap box about access to diverse stories - please join me! I am an American expat living in Nepal and have been very blessed to have had access to books all my life, until moving to Nepal. I love that Book Depository lets more people have access to the stories that speak into their lives, but they do not deliver to Nepal. This isn't their fault as there are weird taxes and regulations for importing books into the country, it is a path of least resistance for them. BUT! If you ever come to Nepal and have space in your bag, consider bringing some of your favorite books and donating them to local libraries so that Nepali readers can have access to more diverse voices! Nepal is seeing the first generation of literate people, and they are hungry for books!!!
oohh man how come i missed this video (and the discount)... i just bought a book from BookDepository because today is my birthday.. hehe. anyway love the review Cari!
I loved the book. I listened on audio, and so that may have brought more depth to it. In addition, since I multitask when I audio It may have made it feel like there was more "action". Great aesthetic vlog, though!
I found myself skimming this book a lot esp the flashback sections I had to actually push myself to finish it but I connected to a lot of parts of it esp with Henry I found myself underlining a lot of his stuff
Love the IFC Center! I lived in New York for two years, and they were definitely an exciting two years. I miss it a lot, even though I enjoy a slower pace of living back West now. I wanted to return every year for a visit but the pandemic made that a no-go in 2020. Here's to hoping 2021 works out better! What is your favorite New York pizza shop, btw? P.S. - tried listening to the first few chapters of the audiobook of Addie LaRue, enjoyed it, but the flowery prose does not really lend itself to audiobooks, where you're often multitasking and not listening as closely to each word. Wish I had purchased a print book instead so I could more easily skim.
I feel like asking the darkness for all the time I've lost re-reading the countless paragraphs my eyes rolled over while I my mind wondered elsewhere, only to find out I didn't miss anything important anyway. It's irritating that it constantly skips back in time to tell me absolutely nothing that helps move the story forward. And I'm feeling really upset about the Paris doc scene. The only emotions I've been feeling through this book are boredom sadness impatience and anger. I have to read another book along with this one, too, which is also something I never do. It doesn't take me this long to read a book. It feels like I'm reading someone's sad meandering diary, and that I have no business doing so. This is not been an enjoyable experience. I'm 126 pages in and I don't know how much more I can tolerate. I guess Addie is a stronger woman than me. Beam me up shadow guy.
I think that it's not so much repetitive, but... because of what the curse is, it feels that way in some manner. But that's part of the point that Luc tries many times to point out. He's been waiting for her to get tired of what he sees as a repetition of what her new life is. He doesn't understand what's so fascinating about humans and life. Maybe he sees it all as passing forgettable moments, and in so reduced her existence to that. Their constant, ongoing fight is Adeline proving to opposite. Because she strives to prove how the smallest things matter. Things, people, comforts, moments. You CAN find happiness with that sense of wonder. However that's just her personality. Her hunger for life itself. Also, the curse is not so much immortality, but total freedom. That is what she initially wanted: To be free. Only this MF expanded it to all types of levels. Free of pain, death, possessions, etc.
I’ve been In a 7 year reading slump and this book is getting me out of my slump now I’m excited to read. It is taking me longer to read that when I was a reader in highschool but I don’t think it’s the book it’s just me getting back into reading
I was unaware that they were amazon 😭 but for people like me in korea, we dont have indie bookstores that sell new english books unfortunately so online or the big chain stores are our only option :( if you have access to indie stores pls support!
For the people that don't know : The book depository is a part of Amazon! Personnally I wanted to boycott Amazon so I bought books on this site before realizing it was basically the same thing 😭😭😭
the best way to boycott amazon is to boycott the only service that gives them profit which is AWS. That means you have to stop using sites hosted on their servers which means you need to stop using RUclips, Instagram, Twitter, etc :/
@@caricanread true! But I still prefer to buy my books on something else than amazon. I wasn't blaming you at all btw, getting english books in korea is probably near to impossible! I was just saying that so people can know ! 💕💕
I might check out this book when I'm not getting an existential crisis every other day considering it does a lot of reflection on life lol 😅 btw i wanted to know what you thought of one of the books you mentioned in your harry potter book recommendations. I can't remember the title but it was something along the lines of Amber of ashes or something like that. It was a Griffindor recommendation. Is it a series or a stand alone book? Is the story a page turner or a slow burn?
I think it was 'An Ember in the Ashes'- it's part of a quartet, and I'd say that it's more of a page-turner than a slow burn. I hope you enjoy it if you end up reading it
haha it's interesting what you said about the starless sea and the night circus because i read both of those thing year and i'm currently reading addie larue and it's not hitting the same. the starless sea was my favourite read of the year it resonated with me so much and even though i like addie larue something is not entirely connecting and i don't know why because i don't mind slow books but i'll see what i think about it when i finish it
the same thing happened to me when I was reading A Deadly Education, the first 200 pages were So Boring that I had to searched for a review thinking I wasn’t getting it, but I’m happy I continued cuz the last 100 pages were good and action packed 😁 I just finished reading Malice by Keigo Higashino did not disappoint, read it in one sitting, his writing is amazing and the dialogues and characters just 😍😁
ah, I'm still in the middle of this and I was really frustrated how even though the scene-setting in the first half feels important, the book also moved on incredibly slow... this from someone who has read most of Schwab's work and usually breezes through them :( I agree, if this wasn't by her, I might've already given up. Granted, I also just want to know how it concludes, but a part of me just wants to skip to the end.. we'll see how I feel about it!
Though I can totally understand why you may have been disappointed reading Addie LaRue’s life, especially since you said you are an impatient reader (me too usually), I’m afraid you may have missed the entire point? Maybe I’m just making this point up myself, but I feel as though the reason for the length of the book and the endless stories is because of the fact that Addie was immortal... she was hundreds of years old, of course there would be endless stories to tell about her that shaped who she had become by 2014! I think without those stories and without the immense amount of flashbacks, we would not have had a true understanding of who Addie was and who V.E. Schwab wanted to make her out to be.
But that’s the thing. We didn’t really see how Addie was shaped by her travel recounts. They were very brief and repetitive and could have been cut out without taking away from the story. Take the time she spent helping France. It was barely more than a description. No action, no emotion. How did she FEEL trading secrets? About the war? The whole point of that chapter wasn’t to build Addie’s character, but to drive the strange and aimless relationship between her and Luc. Would love to hear your thoughts.
How heavy is that book?! Would you say that an "ambient" novel is similar to day-in-the-life of films where things happen, but there isn't a really an antagonist/conflict? (eg, Lost in Translation, The Exploding Girl)?
I’m late but just wanted to say that I think the repetition is what makes this book in a way. I could be reading too much into this but I think her repeating Addie’s experiences over and over just makes the fact someone remembers her hit so much harder, and that’s also why there’s really no plot for a lot of it because her life can’t have a plot, she can’t make connections and further her life so I think the scene setting and the things you found that pushed you away were necessary and important to getting you to experience the torture Addie goes through. Though again I could be reading too far into it
I love how each person can read the same book and walk away with totally different opinions. This is one of my favorite books. I actually really enjoyed the bouncing timelines. Funnily enough though, this is also the book a listen to at night to fall asleep. The cadence of the narrator and flowery language is perfect for drifting off to sleep.
I personally loved the book.
I thought the story was, as you said a take on life and the impact you have on people, even people you just meet once. I loved the poetic writing and to me, the fact that she showed how Addie was involved in historical moments was great.
Some people said they didn't like how there was no character development, but I disagree: how can your characters develop when one is stuck in time and can't evolve with the people around her; one is a spirit who is not Human. Only Henry can change (and did change).
Anyways, great video as always :) Keep up the great work!
I loved the book too. I disagree with her.
I was going into this expecting a positive review kind of disappointing but I see where she’s coming from so I don’t fault her for it at all… I personally absolutely loved this book it’s one of my favorites and I’m about to start my reread to tab! 💕
I feel the exact same way, this book was life changing for me. And I can remember wishing it was faster at the start but then being sad because it was going too fast at the end. I realized that VE Schwab made me feel what addie was feeling in her life and it was so beautiful. Life moves too slow until it's going too fast. I absolutely bawled at the end of this book and cant wait until ve schwab makes me sob again
Exactly..no offense..but what people are demanding from the character is menat for normal human..how can be their substantial arc to her character when her timeline is distorted or exponential extended...
In the she came to realise what she was set to chase... Untethered exploration..not love .. longing would be there coz we r human..but her needs has been evolved or devolved..
this reading vlog is so aesthetic and i would expect nothing less for Addie Larue
❤️❤️❤️
Can I be the Henry to your Addie
You’d never be a boring bookstore boy Cindy 😘
@@caricanread i ship it
I fully support this relationship
Read the book s while back. Was meh about the plot. But the book haunts me until now. So much existential questions. The meaning of life, freedom, memory etc..etc..etc...
i agree! lots of good things to think about but the reading experience wasnt my favorite
Oh my god, I had the same thought. I thought about the book after I finished. When I read the book, I found so many issues, like Cari mentions and some of the same points.
You truly make the best thumbnails ever!!!
hahah thank you! i liked this one a lot :)
Im really glad i wasnt the only one who felt these about the book. Watching your review and reading the comments made me feel less bad that I still havent finished it.
Have you ever seen the movie "The Age of Adaline"? When you were talking about love and immortality it reminded me 🤔🤔
i havent but i will look it up right now!!
@@caricanread you should! i thought the same as @you and what ARMY? thought.
There were a couple of really weird similarities!
While reading this book I kept thinking about this movie!! It had a lot of similarities imo
My thoughts exactly when reading this! I had to double check there were no demons in the age of adaline haha
I felt the same way! It could've been much shorter and while I loved the 1700s section, it also felt very repetitive. You're right that it is character driven but for 300 years, she didn't have much character development at all. I also felt like it was kind of the author's wet dream, just happening to be in the best places in the world during the right time in history type of thing. It felt kind of tumblr girly.
I agree lol she also repeated several different words over and over again and it’s a pet peeve of mine
@@nemofish3504The word “fickle” was repeated SO MANY TIMES. Oh I was over it.
I really loved this book, I went into it expecting nothing and all thoughout it felt like I was floating above history. I wish some of the passage had taken place in Africa, Asia or South America though, I don’t believe Addie spent 300 years doing round trips between europe and the US.
Can’t wait for your cozy winter reading vlogs. This was phenomenal 😍😍
ohhhh i cant wait either! i want a reading snow day!!
That thumbnail though! Iconic!
thank you so much hahaha
I really enjoyed this book, although it is sort of fading from my memory now because the short chapters encouraged speed reading. I liked the ending because I feel like it sort of mirrored how people come in and out of your life for brief moments but have a big impact of you? But it was a bit anti-climatic
When you said the book was repetitive I was like YES, that’s exactly how I felt. All the places she’s been kinda blurred together and only the opera scene really stood out to me. It almost feels like trying to recall a dream in which you travelled to so many places, only now you can’t grasp any lucid details. It’s a very lukewarm feeling, hit or miss depending on time you read it. I think busy people looking for a break to soak in the present will like this more than quarantine folks feeling antsy for some action, which is partly why this book missed the mark for me.
Yeah, this book was a beautiful disappointment. 🙃 I both loved it and was very bored with it. It took me 2 weeks to read, which is nuts considering I read the 5 A Song of Ice and Fire books in a month. It was just so meandering~ 😒😒😒
exactly :( i loved the idea but the execution was just not for me :/
this is so beautiful.
then there's me, still stuck inside my house reading in the same three spots and drinking the same coffee flavor for a week enjoying addie larue. i miss reading outside and going to coffee shops.
to anybody reading this, stay safe. ♡
i read it on my kindle and did not realize how big this book is o_o
Right?! I was shocked when i got it hahha
I DNF'd it. The book is Addie Larue and every time I put it down I forget about it. The plot was non-existent, the characters were flat, it was just a huge let down after all of Victoria's other work with entertaining plots, complex characters, and rich worlds.
I am sooooo sad because i love ve schwab with my whole heart and i know she loves this book but yeah 💔
i am so glad i am not the only one😩
@@bailee912 omg sameeeeeeee
Just popping in to say hi to Cari to let her know that she might be getting me into reading and you wanna know I'm not even mad about it 🤦♀️🤦♀️😂
yessss welcome to the dark side!!!
🥰
AGREEEEEEEEED!!!! So much scenery not enough plot!!!!
OMG! I love that you can choose your choice of book cover! And I love your choice for this one! Stunning vlog as always!
🙏🙏🙏
I *just* started this one as well and I’m about a few chapters in but I’m having the exact same feelings as you. I’ve been thinking about putting it down and this just confirms that!
😔🙏
I really enjoyed this and everything it has to say about what it feels like to be seen and the desire to be remembered.
Having said that I found the pacing of the flashbacks very inconsistent. There is a lot of time spent in eras where little of consequence happens, and then more interesting things felt rushed.
I wasn't too hyped for this as I only heard about it near the release date, but I get why people feel let down.
Also, New York is my favourite city to visit and with the state of the world at the moment this was a nice way to feel that connection to a city that I don't see myself getting to anytime soon :)
Omg I felt the same way about this book, I’m glad I’m not the only one !! Beautiful video!
I haven't read this, but you have definitely peaked my interest in it. Maybe the actual point of the book is to make people think about their own lives? Also loved your shirt at the beginning of the video. ❤️ Happy December 🎄
i definitely think so!! or it wasnt so adventurous or exciting because it was just a teeny tiny blip in addie's 300 year life! happy december^^
I thought this book would be similar to another book about an immortal woman that I love: Circe. Circe is actually shorter but way more happens in it.
I really enjoyed this book. I really appreciated Addie and her storyline, but I did feel a little bored with the plot. So beautiful written so i did give it a 4.5 stars 🌟
Hi! :) i really want to read this book but i dont know what the age restriction is :( im 15, nearly 16. Do you think that is okay? ^^
@@AmeliaKinsley-05 yes of course. Its not sexual or anything,but there are some triggering aspects about sex work. So if its it makes you uncomfortable 🤔
@@tanyaroberts919 ah okay! Thankyou so much! ☺️
Thank you for the Book Depository Tip, I was able to find Redoute's book on Roses my mom wanted, crisis averted.
*SPOILERS*
I 100% agree with everything you said! Also I'm wondering which main character you didn't like? I actually liked all of the characters. the darkness was also sexy af LOL.
honestly reading addie and luc's relationship felt like I was in the middle of a harry potter fanfic LOL, like a toxic draco and hermione situation. but that was actually more interesting to me than addie and henry's relationship was LOL. I would have liked to read more of addie and luc's "love story" instead of it being shoved into the last fifth of the book smh.
I also wanted to add - I was already sort of uninterested before the book switched to henry's perspective, then when it switched, I didn't feel like I really gained anything haha. I feel like it should have started switching perspectives way sooner. I actually liked the ending and that she doesn't end up with henry. I liked how it leaves us wondering if she will ever be free from luc, but overall, I'd give it a 2.5 out of 5 stars, def not reading this again
I just finished and loved the book! One of my favorite things was just watching Addie through time so for that reason I'll check your recommendations bc I think I might also really love them! (Also I have not yet read any of her other work so I got into this one with no expectations or idea of her writing and now I'm really excited to read more of her stuff but from what you mentioned I guess this was kind of different than her other stuff... still looking forwards tho)
I’ve been meaning to read this book for months now ! My sister, Hanna, recommended it to me. I’m such a huge fan of yours, Cari. Thanks for all the love for my covers 🥰
I'm with you on the impatient reader. I usually want them to just get to the point. 🙄I'm not a fan of Schwab's books so this didn't surprise me. Anyways, thanks for the review. I will pick out some other book out of my hoard. I've been bad this year.😉❤️
totally hahhaha and hope your next read is a good one!!
i absolutely loved this book, i read all of it in like 3 days and was just soooo enchanted by it, i just wish we could have seen more of addie’s life throughout these 300 years tho, but yeah the book would be a lot bigger if that were the case. loved the video btw ❤️ that’s a crazy thing about books right? how each one of them makes each one of us feel something different and have different opinions on it, kinda poetic 🙃 hope you’re having a good day 💕
Totally agree, the first half of the book was hard to get through. I had to put it aside for months. Then I forced myself to finish, towards the end it was much better.
SO glad to see this review! I was feeling a little guilty in my disappointment as a regular VE Schwab fan.
If you want a way-more-fun book on immortality, check out Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins. It's so much more intriguing.
Just popping in here to say hi and bye because I’m ashamed I haven’t read this book yet 😭🥺🥺
it just came out!!! there is never any rush to read a book hehe
huhu samee
It's interesting that you bring up the night circus and the starless sea, because I loved both but not this. While my friend loved Addie but hated the night circus... I also thought they were similar but I don't know, I just didn't feel the vibes of this story, maybe I like circus vibes more than NYC!! (I also I started this video when it first came out but I wanted to read Addie myself first, and I just finished, so here I am) 🥰✨
the starless sea and addie larue sit at the same aesthetically pleasing yet confusing table.
same here! i began to read with high expectations but felt like you at the end
I’m from New York and I’m also living abroad right now in Japan so I totally relate to your feelings about this! It made me miss NY so bad 💜 I personally loved this book but I also agree with you about all its faults haha but the story was just so magical that I’ll always remember it
not me almost crying when you talked about how you missed New York city :(((((
Living for these vibes! Have had this book in my holds for SOOO long and this vlog is the perfect excuse to finally borrow it
Somehow your videos' mood always match the weather in my city and it makes everything even cozier and more aesthetic 🥰
Funny how you talk about wanting to get to the plot 79 pages in because I felt like the entire book was world building 😂
I’ve been struggling with how after finishing this book and everything you said - even down to the “nervous crazed laughter” - summed up my thoughts exactly
I love how you said: I "get" to work, not I "have" to work, gratitude
I agree that some parts i was a bit dragging myself to read but i love the book in general. I even got teary eyed in some parts because of how personal it got to me. I also plan to reread it and hopefully get a physical book this time.
I really want you to talk about "The Kite Runner" by Khaled hosseini. It's a very powerful book🥺
HI YOU'RE MAKING ME POOR! First the fantastic skincare and now this!! I want ALL books!!
Oh that was so nice to watch, and writing up quotes ❤️❤️. Omg girl.
Unfortunately Im still waiting for my book to come, but I've read an ebook. I ordered the same cover
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
The way you talk about aesthetic and verse writing in the book kind of reminds me of your own vlogs? Kind of like these small scenes of trees, or dogs, and other little life delicacies of the sort. Those things are why I think your vlogs are so inviting and life-like: for the pure observation and reflection. The slowness that we can take for granted. Idk what I'm trying to say, maybe that Addie LaRue focuses on the mundane or the aesthetic because those are things we should all take time to notice and appreciate instead of getting caught up in the many actions of life.
I’m not sure if you’ve done this before, but I would love love love to see a video on how you annotate your books as well as tabbing! I have just discovered Booktube and I think I’ll stay right here on this channel!
Commenting before seeing the video because from that intro I know it is going to be a good one!! Lots of love from California Cari ❤️❤️❤️❤️
thank you so much!! sending love right back!!
@12:04 first off the night circus is my all time faaaaave 💫 spectacular I read it 4x in a row…. There is a plot I wish folks would stop saying there isn’t 😢 I was hooked to Addie from the very start /first line .. I couldn’t put it down 🥹🥹 ending was not what I expected but I get it and still love the book … I started starless sea but that one did start off quite strange I need to get back to it ….. I also recommend the midnight library for folks who loved the night circus & Addie … I’m only 12% into the midnight library but it’s soooo good and intriguing to me 📚☺️☺️🙏🏿
I know this video was from two years ago and I had to pause it a few days ago because This is the book I picked from my stack of unread books I once bought to start reading again when I felt the motivation from your channel to read again. I wonder who is the character you didn't enjoy as much? For me although I liked him better by the very end it was Henry. For the sole reason that I felt Addie and Luc's relationship seemed more interesting for me to read. My book is essentially shorter It is only 444 pages long and I essentially read this in three days. It flew past me and V. E. Schwab has become one of my favorites, I thoroughly enjoyed the way it was written and I only felt a hint of repetitiveness By less than a fourth into it. Like I said I didn't enjoy Henry as much and kind of dreaded reading his perspective at times, but I have to admit I kinda bawled my eyes out at the end right after she leaves for good. Something about him quoting "I remember" in his book kinda broke my heart a little. But nonetheless I really really enjoyed this. I literally just finished the book amd came straight to finish this video of yours to see what you thought. I wish it was more detailed and you would freely talk about the things that happened and such.
Again Thank you so much for giving me the motivation to read again! I am really enjoying your channel! Now I am off to start Six of Crows, I believe you mentioned it was one of your favorites~
i feel EXACTLY the same as you did about this book! (except I have no connection to NYC but still) i totally get what you're saying about how it kind of felt like author 'had' to write this book, i've been following her on social media for years and also went to a signing 4 or 5 years ago & she talked about this book and what it meant to her writing it even back then, & i've seen her say so many times how important the story is to her -i hate that i didn't love it bc v e schwab is quite literally my favourite author and i adore her fantasy stuff but sadly this wasn't it for me either 😔
This is exactly what I felt when I read this book.
I am sad you didn't like it as much as I wanted you to. This book hit me to the core and loved it but I can understand what your saying as well. Also Love Book Depository! I would check out Book Outlet, you can get a lot of awesome books for cheaper prices and they ship to Korea!
Hi Cari, sorry, it was 2.30 am in my country when you posted.
And of course, as always this was an amazing video!😊
I was gonna say maybe you can post a book-inspired baking video soon. I loved that video, it was such a good idea.
I finished this book and wasn't really sure how I felt about it. It did stick with me for awhile I couldn't stop thinking about it for about a week. I really enjoyed the historical chapters and crushed on Luc. I was not as big on the modern chapters
I felt the same way! I did give it a 4.5 because of the message and the writing was so beautiful but it did feel underwhelming. I love character driven books but I feel like I didn’t connect with the characters too much. Love Addie for sure and the other characters I liked but didn’t connect like I wish I had.
It’s good to see a booktuber be honest like this. Other booktubers I think way overhyped this just because of its popularity. I didn’t cry reading it either like others did.
I love your videos !!! You inspired me to start my own booktube channel :)
I read this book and a bit curious about which character that you don't like. I personally don't like Henry, but some people *love* him. I personally like this book but only cos I've only read 1 V.E. Schwab book so I don't have any expectation for this book.
I didnt like Henry either hahahah
omg I haven't finished the video but I would like to share that I went on a terrible date at that Think Coffee next to The Strand, but it makes me happy that those places are so darn memorable to so many people!! lol also the Dash and Lily book is so much better than the show (at least I think so, I rated it 5 stars back in 2013 heh)
Omg noooo hahhaha maybe i was there 😂 i wish i could have helped lol
Im not quite sure if this is weird but if you want some good ~new york vibes~ and nostalgia, i really recommend watching The Unsleeping City ! The first season is being released for free on youtube :)
I always feel like there's a fine line between being very fond of details and dragging the narrative. I like how poetic some authors can be, how they can make us visualize the scenes through beautiful details, but everything needs a limit, I guess. If it's too much, instead of being immersed in the narrative we start to feel, I don't know, tired (or maybe unable to process everything). I also like those kinds of routine books - I mean, the stories that follow some people's lives and not necessarily will have a very complex plot - but I suppose it can be a litte too much depending on how many pages the books will have.
Anyway, I am kinda interested in this book, but at the same time I can picture myself being discouraged throughout the reading haha I am wondering whether I shall give it a chance or not.
I was waiting for you to upload so I could watch the video and then go to sleep 😴 love you lots 💕
sweet dreams!
Ahh this video was soo soothing to watch while lying in bed, after a stressful day of working🥰❤
Girl thanks for the code! I just got Song of Achilles for $9! and its free shipping! I read Circe this summer by the same other and have been WAITING to read song of achilles
I think the movie Soul, in only 1h40m, captured the same message much much better than this book did in 540 pages.
You voiced exactly how I felt about it but so well!!
Thank you. That is exactly how I felt about this book. And now I know I am not alone. 😂 I went into it with the wrong expectation, expecting adventure, and was thoroughly disappointed.
I've heard such polarizing things about Addie LaRue and I've decided it's just not for me. But that copy you've got? Gorgeous!!
I was so excited to read this book, I couldn't wait for it to come and then when I started reading it, I was really underwhelmed. I think the begining was really nice and her family forgeting her really hit me. I don't know NYC, but I lived a year in Paris and I'm missing it a lot, but a lot of those parst of the story felt unnecesarry. Also when she's hanging out next to Sacre Coeur in the 18th century, when the church was built in the 1900s. It's just a minor detail, but it bothered me.
I think in the end I wished for more plot. Addie is a very intersting character , the author brings out intersting questions about life, maybe if she took her desire to be rembered more to an extreme... I just wished more from this book.
I feel very conflicted with this book. I'll try to read other books by VE Schwab, but I'm still processing this one.
I agree...This is my 4th time trying to read this book. I started 3 times and DNFed the book halfway each and every time...but i wanna read it cz all my bookish friends have been telling me tht, this is a book that has to be read in one's lifetime... so before im about to start i thought Id just come watch Cari's point of view on the book, cz you always make me wanna read whatever the book youre talking about..so yh nevertheless ,i guess i will give it a final go...fingers crossed...Hope i dont dnf it this time 🤧🤞
I love your videos so much, they’re so dreamy and happy 💓 where is the beige sweater you’re wearing at the end of the video from?
Book people! Im going to get on a bit of a soap box about access to diverse stories - please join me!
I am an American expat living in Nepal and have been very blessed to have had access to books all my life, until moving to Nepal. I love that Book Depository lets more people have access to the stories that speak into their lives, but they do not deliver to Nepal. This isn't their fault as there are weird taxes and regulations for importing books into the country, it is a path of least resistance for them. BUT! If you ever come to Nepal and have space in your bag, consider bringing some of your favorite books and donating them to local libraries so that Nepali readers can have access to more diverse voices! Nepal is seeing the first generation of literate people, and they are hungry for books!!!
I want to watch this one so bad but I just started reading the book and I don’t want to spoil anything. 😁
😉🤫
This video is kind of a masterpiece :')
oohh man how come i missed this video (and the discount)... i just bought a book from BookDepository because today is my birthday.. hehe. anyway love the review Cari!
I did not just order from book depository an hour ago and now I’m seeing this 😂😂😂
omfg hahaha nooooo!
I wish I was joking 😂 to be honest the books already had a decent discount
I loved the book. I listened on audio, and so that may have brought more depth to it. In addition, since I multitask when I audio It may have made it feel like there was more "action". Great aesthetic vlog, though!
Yess !! Another reading vlogg! 🧡💚
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I found myself skimming this book a lot esp the flashback sections I had to actually push myself to finish it but I connected to a lot of parts of it esp with Henry I found myself underlining a lot of his stuff
Love the IFC Center! I lived in New York for two years, and they were definitely an exciting two years. I miss it a lot, even though I enjoy a slower pace of living back West now. I wanted to return every year for a visit but the pandemic made that a no-go in 2020. Here's to hoping 2021 works out better! What is your favorite New York pizza shop, btw? P.S. - tried listening to the first few chapters of the audiobook of Addie LaRue, enjoyed it, but the flowery prose does not really lend itself to audiobooks, where you're often multitasking and not listening as closely to each word. Wish I had purchased a print book instead so I could more easily skim.
I pre-ordered this book but because of covid and because I live in Chile and that's far, I am still waiting! 😭 So this vlog is helping me wait lol 💕💕
oh btw I'm obsessed with the thumbnail!!
I got used to korean delivery times (everything you order comes the next day lol) so waiting for foreign books is extra hard 😂
I feel like asking the darkness for all the time I've lost re-reading the countless paragraphs my eyes rolled over while I my mind wondered elsewhere, only to find out I didn't miss anything important anyway. It's irritating that it constantly skips back in time to tell me absolutely nothing that helps move the story forward. And I'm feeling really upset about the Paris doc scene. The only emotions I've been feeling through this book are boredom sadness impatience and anger. I have to read another book along with this one, too, which is also something I never do. It doesn't take me this long to read a book. It feels like I'm reading someone's sad meandering diary, and that I have no business doing so. This is not been an enjoyable experience. I'm 126 pages in and I don't know how much more I can tolerate. I guess Addie is a stronger woman than me. Beam me up shadow guy.
Where is your "you cant support" t-shirt from?! I need one in my life!
i got it from Crafted but I think it was a limited release/fundraiser :'(
shop-crafted.myshopify.com/
@@caricanread thank you! I'll bookmark the shop just in case they run another batch!
Ah you succinctly described how 16y/o me felt whilst reading Night Circus 🤠
I think that it's not so much repetitive, but... because of what the curse is, it feels that way in some manner. But that's part of the point that Luc tries many times to point out. He's been waiting for her to get tired of what he sees as a repetition of what her new life is. He doesn't understand what's so fascinating about humans and life. Maybe he sees it all as passing forgettable moments, and in so reduced her existence to that. Their constant, ongoing fight is Adeline proving to opposite. Because she strives to prove how the smallest things matter. Things, people, comforts, moments. You CAN find happiness with that sense of wonder. However that's just her personality. Her hunger for life itself.
Also, the curse is not so much immortality, but total freedom. That is what she initially wanted: To be free. Only this MF expanded it to all types of levels. Free of pain, death, possessions, etc.
I’ve been In a 7 year reading slump and this book is getting me out of my slump now I’m excited to read. It is taking me longer to read that when I was a reader in highschool but I don’t think it’s the book it’s just me getting back into reading
just a quick fyi that bookdepository is an amazon company. support your local booksellers if you can! especially in these times!
I was unaware that they were amazon 😭 but for people like me in korea, we dont have indie bookstores that sell new english books unfortunately so online or the big chain stores are our only option :( if you have access to indie stores pls support!
For the people that don't know : The book depository is a part of Amazon! Personnally I wanted to boycott Amazon so I bought books on this site before realizing it was basically the same thing 😭😭😭
the best way to boycott amazon is to boycott the only service that gives them profit which is AWS. That means you have to stop using sites hosted on their servers which means you need to stop using RUclips, Instagram, Twitter, etc :/
@@caricanread true! But I still prefer to buy my books on something else than amazon. I wasn't blaming you at all btw, getting english books in korea is probably near to impossible! I was just saying that so people can know ! 💕💕
I might check out this book when I'm not getting an existential crisis every other day considering it does a lot of reflection on life lol 😅 btw i wanted to know what you thought of one of the books you mentioned in your harry potter book recommendations. I can't remember the title but it was something along the lines of Amber of ashes or something like that. It was a Griffindor recommendation. Is it a series or a stand alone book? Is the story a page turner or a slow burn?
I think it was 'An Ember in the Ashes'- it's part of a quartet, and I'd say that it's more of a page-turner than a slow burn. I hope you enjoy it if you end up reading it
@@wittyusernamesareacryforva4748 thank you! I saw it and it was priced at $5 so I thought maybe I would check it out since it was so affordable.
haha it's interesting what you said about the starless sea and the night circus because i read both of those thing year and i'm currently reading addie larue and it's not hitting the same. the starless sea was my favourite read of the year it resonated with me so much and even though i like addie larue something is not entirely connecting and i don't know why because i don't mind slow books but i'll see what i think about it when i finish it
the same thing happened to me when I was reading A Deadly Education, the first 200 pages were So Boring that I had to searched for a review thinking I wasn’t getting it, but I’m happy I continued cuz the last 100 pages were good and action packed 😁 I just finished reading Malice by Keigo Higashino did not disappoint, read it in one sitting, his writing is amazing and the dialogues and characters just 😍😁
ah, I'm still in the middle of this and I was really frustrated how even though the scene-setting in the first half feels important, the book also moved on incredibly slow... this from someone who has read most of Schwab's work and usually breezes through them :( I agree, if this wasn't by her, I might've already given up. Granted, I also just want to know how it concludes, but a part of me just wants to skip to the end.. we'll see how I feel about it!
Though I can totally understand why you may have been disappointed reading Addie LaRue’s life, especially since you said you are an impatient reader (me too usually), I’m afraid you may have missed the entire point? Maybe I’m just making this point up myself, but I feel as though the reason for the length of the book and the endless stories is because of the fact that Addie was immortal... she was hundreds of years old, of course there would be endless stories to tell about her that shaped who she had become by 2014! I think without those stories and without the immense amount of flashbacks, we would not have had a true understanding of who Addie was and who V.E. Schwab wanted to make her out to be.
But that’s the thing. We didn’t really see how Addie was shaped by her travel recounts. They were very brief and repetitive and could have been cut out without taking away from the story. Take the time she spent helping France. It was barely more than a description. No action, no emotion. How did she FEEL trading secrets? About the war? The whole point of that chapter wasn’t to build Addie’s character, but to drive the strange and aimless relationship between her and Luc. Would love to hear your thoughts.
How heavy is that book?! Would you say that an "ambient" novel is similar to day-in-the-life of films where things happen, but there isn't a really an antagonist/conflict? (eg, Lost in Translation, The Exploding Girl)?