3.5 stars

I'm not sure how to feel about this book. My feelings are mixed and complicated, but I guess I'll try my best to write them down.

First of all, I'm not sure whether to round it up to 3 or 4, neither feel good. But I guess for now I'm giving it a 3 on goodreads, because I think a 4 star book should've been enjoyed more, and not have felt as exhausting.

It's not that I didn't enjoy this at all. I liked the story itself, the idea and the plot. But it was just so slow and long, it felt exhausting to read. Every time I read 50 to 60 pages, I got really tired and just couldn't continue reading - didn't want to continue for that day. And even if I almost read 100 pages, or reached the 200 pages mark, it just kept feeling like the book wasn't going to end. I don't exactly love that feeling, it's why I usually stick to Young Adult books with 300-400 pages, because Young Adult usually feels more... fast paced? I don't know how to describe it. But maybe adult fiction is just not for me.

Like I said, I did like the idea and the plot. I really liked reading the 'flashbacks', and loved that it started around 1700. I always enjoy reading historical fiction, especially if it's before 1900. It was really interesting to read how Addie adapted to this new life, how she learned to do things, how she slowly changed, the people she interacted with and the different places she visited. That is probably my favorite thing about this book.

I enjoyed the 2014 a little less, but I still liked it. Henry was an interesting character to read about and definitely relatable. However, I did see the twist coming. Not 100%, like I didn't think 'exactly this is going to happen', but it just didn't surprise me as all. More like a 'ah, I figured', moment. It was a bit predictable, but not in the fun 'ooh, I knew it!' way. I felt a bit meh about it.

I've seen many people talk about how sad the ending was. I do think it's a good ending that I didn't fully see coming, but I wasn't as sad as I've seen others say it was. But then, I thought [b:The Song of Achilles|13623848|The Song of Achilles|Madeline Miller|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1540434493l/13623848._SY75_.jpg|16176791] was boring, while other people can't stop talking about how heartbreaking it is, so I guess that's just a me thing.

I'd still recommend checking this book out if you're interested in it. Overall, it's definitely not a bad book. It just wasn't a perfect fit for me, but it was still good enough to make me keep reading. While I wasn't eager to know how it ended, it was still a really interesting and unique read. And maybe this is a better fit for other people, who don't mind that this is a bit slow and long. If this was a bit more fast-paced (is that the correct English word? I don't know) and shorter, then I probably would've enjoyed it more and given it a 4.5 rating.

"Books, she has found, are a way to live a thousand lives - or to find strength in a very long one."

TL;DR

+ I absolutely loved the historical chapters
+ It's a very unique story
+ I liked the characters
+ I really liked the idea of this book, the 'making a deal with the devil and then living forever but being forgotten by everyone you meet'part

- It was so slow and long, it felt like it took forever to make progress
- I couldn't read more than 50-60 pages a day (except the last 100 pages) because it made me really tired - not tired as in actually tired, but more like tired of the story, I didn't want to continue that day
- I wasn't really eager to find out the ending of the book
- Some twists were a little predictable, but not in the fun way