I thought this book was going to be a 4 star read, but the second half of the book bumped it up to a 5 star. V.E. Schwab's writing style is delightful. I attended her virtual book tour and she spoke about how she spent about a decade working on this book, and it shows. The writing flows as smooth as a river and she makes great use of metaphors that encompass the themes explored. The most prominent themes in the story are what truly defines us as human, what true freedom is, and finding purpose in life. The story goes back and forth almost every chapter between the the present and the past where we see episodes of Addie's life in the past 300 years in chronological order. I appreciated this formatting because the moments we saw from Addie's past were very interconnected with her decisions and her thoughts in the present. It helped add introspection into her character and understand how she grew to be who she is now and how her relationship with Luc also evolved with time.

Henry was the most loveable character in the novel. I feel that if you have ever felt depressed or as if you have a lack of direction in your life at any point, you will be able to relate to Henry. I would argue that we get as much personal exploration of his character as we do of Addie's. This does not happen until later in the book, but by the time it happens you are anticipating learning more about him, so I'm happy it did not happen earlier on.

Addie's relationship with Henry is a wonderful contrast to her relationship with Luc (the darkness). When Henry and Addie meet they are two souls who seem lost in the world they inhabit and each of them is able to learn something from the other as their relationship develops. Both of them are lonely and have a hard time finding their place in the world.  There is an argument to be made for Luc being arguably lonely in a similar way to Addie. However, Addie still retains a sense of compassion and humanity that is lacking in Luc. Luc and Addie, because of their shared immortality, are both a constant in the other's life. The best way I could describe their relationship is that of "frenemies". They are not necessarily amicable with the other overall, and yet there is a sense of comfort that each of them has that the other will always be around. 

Overall, if you want a book with beautiful prose, a strong exploration of the themes of mortality and freedom, and strong focus on character development, then I would strongly recommend this. This is not a romance, so I would not go into it with that expectation. Besides that, this is probably my favorite book of the year so far.

This isn't a manic pixie dream girl story. Addie and Henry are each their own person and each one of them grows with the relationship and find something that both of them were missing. I could not have asked for a better ending. I think it was appropriate and hopeful for both Henry and Addie. It also defines love as something that is selfless rather than selfish, and I agree with this idea that is posed at the end.