The biggest takeaway for romance authors to study from V.E. Schwab is her mastery of tension.
100% Recommend!
It’s a tension-filled fantasy novel with a romantic element and a bad*ss ending.
NOT a genre romance so don’t expect an HEA.
This quote sets up the tension immediately
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is constructed like a romance novel, where the central plot is the relationship arc between two characters, and what follows is an epic battle of wills, where Schwab masterfully uses opposing goals and tension to create a thrilling, page turning novel.
Romance novel construction
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is constructed like a romance novel, where the central plot is the relationship arc between two characters, and what follows is an epic battle of wills, where Schwab masterfully uses opposing goals and tension to create a thrilling, page turning novel.
The stakes
Addie may keep her soul and immortality indefinitely, until she despairs of life and yields it to Luc.
Addie’s central conflict
No person can remember Addie past an initial meeting, and if they walk through a doorway or go to sleep, Addie is completely erased from their memory.
In a moment of weakness
Addie despairs and Luc comes, offering her peace if she’ll only give up her soul.
Addie’s new goal is to defy Luc
Addie’s very stubbornness, defiance, and ability to thrive within her curse draws Luc to her, and Addie, while loathing Luc for making her a prisoner, also longs for the only being in the world who remembers her. Their relationship evolves and also remains the same.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue hits so many of my favorite story elements:
A well-defined relationship arc that evolves and grows (founded on personalities and events that occur in a logical manner)
Excellent novel structure that places huge events at the inciting incident, midpoint and climax with far reaching consequences, both emotionally and logistically
A competent main character who manages to survive in spite of impossible odds
The dark, tension-filled nature of the relationship between Addie and Luc
Lots of emotional angst shown through the lens of action, where Addie instead of ‘narrating her emotions’ shows them through her consistent defiance