Publisher's Weekly Review
Schwab (the Shades of Magic series) crafts the tale of one woman's desperate drive to be remembered into a triumphant exploration of love and loss. The story hops across time as it follows the life of Adeline "Addie" LaRue from the French country side in the early 1700s to New York City in 2014. As a young woman, Addie makes a deal with the devil to save herself from the tedium of an arranged marriage, asking for "a chance to live and be free." The devil grants her immortality but curses her to a life of horrible isolation: no one she meets will be able to remember her. The first half of the book----as Addie learns the limits and loneliness of her curse----is as devastating as it is prescient in these self-isolating times. Which makes Addie's eventual meeting with Henry, the first person to remember her in some 300 years, all the more joyous. This sweeping fantasy is as much a love story as it is a tribute to storytelling, art, and inspiration. Schwab's diverse cast is beautifully rendered, and the view of human connection on offer is biting and bitter, yet introspective and sweet. This ambitious and hopeful work is a knockout. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary. (Oct.)
Library Journal Review
In 1714 France, desiring a life lived by her own rules, Adeline prays the night before her wedding for freedom. That night her prayers are answered, except the price of her freedom is her name, her life, and her soul. She will live forever, but everyone she meets will forget her moments after the encounter. Living eternally with no presence, teased by a demon to give in and give up, Addie LaRue spends the next 300 years surviving, thieving, and hiding, creating moments that will find expression in art and inspiration, until the day she tries to return a book she stole from a New York City bookstore, and the young man behind the counter remembers her. As Addie learns the truth about Henry's knowledge, they both face choices that will determine the course of their lives--however long they last. Featuring both Addie's and Henry's points of view, this story takes readers through centuries of history, as viewed through the eyes and soul of an incredible and indelible heroine. VERDICT Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic) returns with another epic story of love and remembrance that probes deep into history while also penetrating profound matters of the heart. [See Prepub Alert, 4/8/20.]--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton