Foul is Fair is a vicious, darkly addictive retelling of Macbeth that takes revenge to brutal heights. Readers are drawn to Jade’s sharp, unapologetic thirst for vengeance after a traumatic assault. The fast-paced, emotionally raw narrative captures teenage wrath and power with biting wit. While some loved its unapologetic ferocity and Shakespearean inspiration, others found it one-note and difficult to connect with the characters. Its divisive nature makes it polarizing—either mesmerizingly bold or overwhelming. A must-read for fans of gritty, bloody revenge tales with unapologetic female rage and cutting social commentary.

"Foul is Fair" is a bold and thought-provoking novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. It's a story that challenges conventional notions of morality and explores the complexities of human nature in a raw and unflinching way. If you're looking for a dark and gritty read that will keep you on the edge of your seat, "Foul is Fair" is definitely worth checking out.

Trigger Warnings: graphic violence, sexual assault, and drug use

I am struggling to read this book... At first I felt some compassion for the main character who was ganged raped at a party but that soon turned to eye rolling and disgust. The way she and her friends choose to deal with those monsters is so unbelievable that I just wanted to delete the book from my kindle. I have read books in the past where this genre was written about and I actually cheered the victim on but this was just too much for me. This book might be more relatable to young adults as the characters are young adults.

Okay, upon completion of book my original impressions still apply. This book had a good idea coming in but the execution might be better for naive, impressionable teens. In my younger years I might have enjoyed this.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for gifting me this book. All opinions are my own and not meant to discourage anyone from reading the book.

This book was dark, wild, and completely insane. Foul is Fair was cleverly written and hard to put down. What a fun read!

TW: scenes of sexual assault, mentions and proof of abuse (physical and mental)

“You’re the girl who wins…For every girl who wants revenge.”

I’m honestly not sure how to rate this book. On the one hand, if you have ever been a victim of SA or abuse, it’s a great story of revenge. It felt freeing to read someone who took back, who tormented her tormentors, and who was wholly without hesitation. On the other, it was a bit re-traumatizing for me, and I had to speed read through some of the scenes. The betrayal that happens, even though you can feel it in your gut that it’s going to happen, is horrible. I will definitely need something light after this. It’s cathartic and brutal.

Thank you to the publishers (hangs head) for the ARC of this, even though my review is quite late.

Honestly this book wasn't for me. I tried to read her previous work and I couldn't. I dnf on the first couple pages. This book however was able to keep my interest enough that I read the entire book. But it came with alot of flaws. The plot is surrounded by a darker topic that every one needs some trigger warnings for. Trigger warnings for murder, rape, and ptsd. I feel like this book didnt handle the subject matter well. A girl gets drugged and rapped at a party and sets out to kill them all. I get that this is fiction but I would have rather read a book where the victim went to the police and got some justice the legal way. So many things in this book was predictable but almost all of it was unrealistic. Also all the characters were so annoying and ones I just didnt care about. I think I'm done trying to read any books by this author. She's just not for me.

This is one of those books where I liked the premise way more than the execution. This is a retelling (somewhat) of Macbeth, set in present day after a girl is attacked by a group of prep-school boys at a party. She decides to take revenge on the boys with the help of her best friends (her 'coven.') Capin is a very capable writer, and I appreciated how much of a dark tone she was able to carry throughout the whole story. However, the book overall just didn't hit the mark for me. The main thing I didn't understand (and just couldn't get past in the end) is that none of the people recognized her from the party during her whole revenge escapade. She was wearing a wig and contacts, but it still seemed crazy that no one would have figured out who she was (especially when bad stuff started going down). It also felt really hard to read in parts (let's just say that there's a lot of murdering going on!). I'm not a very squeamish reader typically, but there were sections that I just very badly wanted to be over while I was reading them. I can definitely see this being made into a TV series or movie, but I probably won't be reading any other books from this writer.

AHS Coven meets Macbeth on this novel. Also please check your TW before reading as this story is about a girl getting revenge on the boys that drug and rape her. I loved seeing the lengths she went for revenge albeit pulling someone's heart strings was a tad cruel I can't say I wouldn't do the same if I had been raped at a party. (I know I know not fair to hurt someone else but also she's not in a great head place). This book was a fun read and I enjoyed the roller coaster of revenge

I read this book–according to Goodreads–in November 2021, so my memory of specific details is a bit hazy. I’m going to go ahead and include the text of my review from Goodreads, and then see if I can do any elaboration on the review.

"Whew, this book was intense. I didn’t necessarily like the ruthless, manipulative, and violent revenge-filled main character, but then again, I was never exactly a fan of Lady Macbeth either. But there was just something so completely compelling about this book. Even when I didn’t like so many of the characters, I just couldn’t put the story down. It was so easy to read 100 pages in a sitting."

Okay, so the main focus of this story is revenge for a sexual assault, which means that this book deals with some heavy content. I will say that the sexual assault occurs off the page, and any flashbacks or reveals are from right before the event. But obviously this book includes topics like assault and violence and trauma and abusive relationships, and manipulation. So, be advised before picking it up if any of these will trigger anything for you.

Elle was determined and ruthless and manipulative…and while I wasn’t fully a fan of that sort of main character from a personal standpoint, I also found her to be so incredibly compelling. I mean, having a fascinating character can propel an otherwise unremarkable story. Not that I am calling this story unremarkable…because even if I don’t remember a lot of the specific details, I do still know that I read this story in only a few sittings, because I would easily read 100+ pages each time I picked up the book.

This book won’t be for everyone, but I think it is important to have books like this, books that don’t necessarily make the focus of a survivor’s story all about healing and recovering oneself and accepting what happened. Being angry and finding strength not just alone but also with a solid friend support group is also real.

I certainly wanted to like "Foul is Fair" more than I did. I found the plot and the characters to be uninteresting. I wish I had liked it more but it just didn't click for me.

This is a hard book to review because on the one hand, I couldn't put it down. I was so engrossed in the story and I had to know what was going to happen next. But on the other hand, I hated the writing style and I never really got to know the characters.

I was initially interested in this book because I love adaptations of Shakespeare and this an reimagining of Macbeth. And it was honestly a pretty faithful rendition. I loved all the nods to the original work and I appreciated that pretty much beat for beat, this followed the story of Macbeth.

I think where it falls short for me is the staccato writing style and being held at arm's length for the entirety of the story. All that being said, I'd still give it 3.5 or 4 stars because I literally couldn't put it down and read in basically one sitting.

Five brilliant bloody stars. I love a good female empowering book. I always recommend Hannah Capin when someone asks for contemporary books with strong females.

Capin’s debut knocked my socks off, so I had high expectations for her sophomore novel, which were met and surpassed. The writing style in FOUL IS FAIR makes the plot more illusive than the straight murder mystery of THE DEAD QUEENS CLUB, demonstrating Capin’s range and versatility. Readers beware that this book references sexual assault and rape, and feature extensive violence. This is a dark revenge fantasy with deep inspirational ties to that Scottish play. By continuing her streak of loose adaptations, Capin proves her depth of knowledge in her ability to twist it into a modern setting and story while keeping the heart of her inspiration IP.

Very excellent retelling and reimagining of Macbeth. Lady Macbeth was always my favorite character in the play and to see her as the main character was great. I loved the way her interactions with the boys and Macbeth was used to drive her plot for revenge against what was done to her. Her friends also played the part of the 3 witches that foretell Macbeth’s demise in the play which I liked a lot. It was a great book that talked a lot about sexual assault and taking back your power a part from getting revenge.

Foul is Fair is not the typical book for me. I have to be honest and say at the beginning, I really didn’t think the style of how the book was written was for me. I did go into it mostly blind and was going off of the premise Netgalley promoted by saying it was “Kill Bill meets Cruel Intentions” . I did not know it was a retelling of Macbeth until I was about half way through it. Once I was into the story of Elle/Jade and her coven, I was pretty hooked, mainly by the revenge aspect of the story. I was so proud of Elle/Jade and her taking back her life while getting revenge. The writing was almost like a fantastic dream, which I thought was what would happen at the end. Overall I did enjoy the story and am glad I stuck with it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion.

Unfortunately, I didn't see the warning before I started to read this. I couldn't start it and it was such an interesting concept. Thank you for the early opportunity though!

"They picked the wrong girl." Did they ever! Elizabeth Jade Khanjara, or Elle as she prefers to be called, and her best friends Jenny, Summer, and Mads, are untouchable - until Elle's sweet sixteen when she is gang raped at a party. Instead of going into hiding, she vows revenge. She cuts her hair, dyes it black (the exact shade is called "revenge"), changes the name she goes by to her middle name, Jade, and enrolls at the high school the boys attend. She and her friends then put their plan into action, and the school is never going to be the same.

This was a hard book to read at times, I'm not gonna lie. It was harsh and raw and dealt with some very real issues. Yes, the revenge went way too far, but you kind of get why they go the route they do. It's a revenge fantasy, pure and simple.

4/5 stars.

I received a copy of this book free of charge through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I have elected not to read and review this book due to time constraints. Thank you for the opportunity.

I started this book, not knowing it was more fantasy driven (witches etc). I read a few chapters before I knew that this was not the book for me. I am unable to provide feedback, because I did not finish the whole novel.

I can remember the day I received the email from a publisher (@wednesdaybooks) - having worked with them on new releases in the YA genre, they had sent me many amazing reads. This one was different from the books I normally read, as it was classified as a YA thriller. There was violence, off-the-page-SA, and did I mention violence? I didn't know if I was strong enough to read it at the time. It was February 2020, and my family was so sick at the time (we all know what happened next). So the book sat on the shelf.

When I went to the library with my son, I had to pass through the YA section. I just happened to catch this book sitting on the shelf, and I remembered having it as an ARC. I checked it out (I love a physical book vs ebook option!) and dove in.

Foul is Fair is a modern retelling of Macbeth. On the night of her 16th birthday, Elle attends a party with her friends where she is SA. With the help of her friends, she plots revenge by transferring to their school, rising to power and taking them out one by one. There’s a lot of blood, a lot of violence (not gory or graphic but still there) and a lot of emotions repressed as the plot continues.

If you are looking for sympathetic characters and a completely realistic plot, then this might not be the book for you. But knowing all this, I still found myself quickly turning the pages to see what would happen next. Watching the structure of Macbeth mix with Heathers and Cruel Intentions was very interesting to me!

This was a fast read that I could have read in one sitting (my kids prevent me from doing that anymore!)