The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

The novel closes out the bargain Addie struck in 1714, when, fleeing a forced marriage, she prayed to any god who would listen and caught the attention of a dark, ancient entity she comes to call Luc. He gave her unending life in exchange for her soul, with a cruel catch: everyone she meets forgets her the moment she is out of their sight. For nearly three hundred years Addie drifts through history unremembered, leaving only faint, anonymous traces in art, music, and stories, while Luc visits her periodically to ask for her surrender, and she always refuses.

In 2014 New York, Addie meets Henry Strauss, a bookstore clerk who astonishes her by actually remembering her name. It turns out Henry has his own deal with Luc: after a devastating breakup and a suicide attempt, Luc offered him a version of being truly seen, whoever looks at Henry perceives whatever they desire most, and this is what lets him retain Addie in his memory. The price is a short lifespan, and Addie eventually learns Henry has only a matter of weeks left to live. The two fall in love, but the countdown to his death hangs over everything.

As Henry's time runs out, Addie confronts Luc directly and offers a new trade: her willing submission to him, the very thing she has withheld for three centuries, in exchange for Henry's life. Luc, who has developed genuine feeling for Addie over their long, contentious relationship, accepts. He takes her away with him, and Henry is left grieving, alive but without her.

Two years later, Addie encounters a book in a London shop titled The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, credited to no traceable author. She realizes from its dedication, "I remember you," that Henry wrote and published it, using his rare memory of her to give her existence a permanent, public trace at last. Luc is indifferent to the world knowing her story, since he still holds her. The novel ends with Addie resolving that she will not simply accept her captivity: she vows to spend however long it takes making Luc despise her the way he once did early in their history, so that he will release her again, leaving her fate open but her defiance intact.