A great expansion in the word of MacBeth. I found it haunting and beautiful but for a while I was a bit confused because I thought this was early Lady MacBeth from the play and not the next Lady Macbeth so I got myself all twisted up but that's on me haha. Ava Reid really has a talent and I'm so glad she fixed the one big problem I have with Macbeth being the line "no man born of woman" and the "twist" being it was Caesarian section and like...invalidating for any woman who has to do that but (yeah the times) so I just appreciated Reid fixing that for the modern world and pulling an Eowyn on us.

“The white of her hair is not natural; it is like draining moonlight. Her skin - have you seen it? - it will not hold a color… And her eyes - one look into them will drive mortal men to madness… Madness, of all things, is the most unforgivable in a woman.”
If you haven’t read Ava Reid yet, first of all what are you doing? Look at this gorgeous cover, and she has books covering multiple different genres and age levels. Second of all, she did a loose, feminist retelling of Macbeth! Lady Macbeth is one of the most enigmatic, powerful characters in Shakespeare’s works, although I may be a bit biased as she is my personal favorite. This story remains faithful to her cunning personality and ability to toy with those around her, but also humanizes her and explores the suffering of women at the hands of men. While it is based on the play, this marriage does not resemble Shakespeare's couple who are typically revered as the most loving couple of all his works. Lady Roscille is sent to a wed a violent warrior as a peace offering for allegiance. Hello scary age gap!
Reid calls in the symbolism of the iconic bloody hands but also creates her own new ones. Fans of the play, beware, this is not an exact retelling by any means. With that being said, you do not need to read Macbeth in order to understand the plot. In fact, if you haven’t, I think it would be interesting to see this portrayal of Lady Macbeth before going into the true work. So if you're looking for a story that's dark, thrilling, and utterly unforgettable, I definitely recommend checking out Lady Macbeth.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for the e-arc!
Another absolute masterpiece by Ava Reid! Every time I read one of her books I am blown away by her writing ability and the uniqueness of each story. While all of her books are in themes and styles they all still have unique aspects in their writing and overall vibe that really keeps her writing refreshing and entertaining. Personally I love that some of her books are a bit different and delve into deeper or slower themes.
This was one of the most anticipated reads and I am not going to lie I don't remember a ton from Macbeth so I cannot speak on how it compares to the original story. This for me was such exploration in a young girl trying to do everything to survive despite been told at every aspect she should not succeed and is flawed for her strengths.

My memory of Macbeth is limited to AP Lit in high school, but I do know that I missed some of the wit and cunning of Lady MB in this retelling, which is what kept it from 5 stars. That aside, what a fascinating reimagining of this tale! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

3.5 Stars — This is my second book by the author and I absolutely love her writing style. She does dark, moody, and atmospheric so well. I didn’t know story of Macbeth other than knowing it was written by Shakespeare. I can’t speak to the retelling; though I believe it is meant to be a loose retelling. All I can say is that I was pulled into the story and enjoyed my reading experience.

I’ve had a few days to think about the book. Honestly, the overall story is just okay and the main character was frustrating at times. I felt like she should have been given more agency over her situations. That said, I bumped up my rating because Ava Reid’s prose is beautiful.

Lady Macbeth is my favorite shakespearian character in one of my favorite plays. I have seen several different adaptations of macbeth and attempted to analize both the character and her actions. This version of Lady Macbeth seemed to be to soft of a character for a lady that I usually think of as ruthless, motivated and isolated. While the story was good as a general fantasy piece, it did not fit with my personal vision of the character of Lady Macbeth.

LADY MACBETH is a perfect spooky season read, the vibes are just so perfect for that. But if you’re also counting down the days until spooky season, this will scratch the itch ahead of time as well.

This book feels very isolated, damp, and remote, which correlates perfectly to our Lady Macbeth that Reid creates in this feminist reimagining. I was blown away. Macbeth was always my favorite Shakespeare (hello, witches 🐈‍⬛) and now this reimagining is basically canon to me. The way Reid writes, it’s impossible to not feel the same way Roscille is feeling. You feel her confusion, her isolation, her fear, her love. It all feels so visceral. I took my time with this story and absolutely loved it.

Thank you Delrey Books and Netgalley for an advanced copy of the book to review but I needed the physical in my life & loved it so much that I paid for it. 🫶🏻

It was not the Macbeth retelling I was expecting. That being said, I still enjoyed the writing. Not sure I would have picked it up if it were written by another person. Looking forward to the next book.
Thank you to NetGalley and publisher.

3.5 stars

I admit I have not read the original play but I really enjoyed Ava Reid's A Study in Drowning. This book had a similar gothic feel that I enjoyed from her previous book. I really enjoyed this one as well and it was the perfect fall read! The pacing in some sections was a little slow which is why I rated it closer to a 3.5.

Lady Macbeth is easily one of the best books of the year. There are a few things to note: if, like me, you have devoted a lot of time to studying the play, you love the play, you want anything else with Macbeth in the title, you'll love this book, BUT you must keep the two works separate. I can completely see how Macbeth (the play) was used as a leaping off point, but there is so much more depth to Lady Macbeth here, and it isn't a complete retelling of the play.

However, Ava Reid did so many things right. She wrote a compelling, complex cast of characters, especially the women, who are so much more than they've ever been before. I loved learning more about where this character may have come from, what her motivations might have been, and why she behaved the way that she did.

The real shining star here is the world building. Ava Reid gave us a gritty, dark, terrifying, and very realistic-feeling world for her characters to play in. The atmosphere was out of this world.

Anybody who loves Macbeth needs to read this. Anybody who loves complex feminist stories needs to read this. Anybody with an interest in medieval history needs to read this. It was stunning.

I would not recommend this book to lovers of the original story, or people who enjoy Shakespeare because it is so different from his work, and I feel like the original story of Macbeth was lost in this one. While this is not my favorite book I still found some joy in this book, but it was neither special nor spectacular.

Actual 3.5. Ava Reid's writing is always gorgeous, but in the case of Lady Macbeth I felt like the actual story was eclipsed by the writing. I will say I have never read Shakespeare's Macbeth, but the impression I have of Lady Macbeth is that she is a bada**, take-no-sh!t, girl boss who is capable and proficient in her schemes (so if this is wrong, feel free to let me know because that is informing my current review and impression of Roscille).
In this reimagined version by Reid, Lady Macbeth is a timid, seventeen year old French girl whose schemes are half-baked and always seem to be backfiring on her. There are a couple elements of the plot that felt underdeveloped (looking at you Lisander ) and I think more time spent on those would have felt like a more complete story. I also felt like the ending was super rushed and almost an afterthought since the earlier parts of the books were detailed and thorough in comparison.
Despite all that I did still enjoy the book and think that this was an interesting interpretation on Lady Macbeth and what would happen if she was an actual witch.

As someone who isn't as familiar with the original Macbeth story, I still enjoyed the premise of this. You'll find that the FMC is someone who was told she should be timid, quiet, and mindful to appease her new husband; finally embracing the person she was meant to be. This can come off as a young naive girl whining about her life, but you'll need her inner monologue to understand the differences in cultures from what she was raised in, to the culture she was married into.

I really loved A Study in Drowning but unfortunately this book didn’t resonate with me. I think the parts of ASID that were troubling were amplified in LM, such as the xenophobia and a main character who cannot see beyond herself. Ultimately, this was a highly anticipated but disappointing book for me.

I have mixed emotions about this book. I wish this was its own original story as I would have loved it a lot more. The writing was great and the story unique. I would have loved it own it’s own. As a retelling of Macbeth not so much. I did not like how Ava Reid characterized Roscille (Lady Macbeth). In the original Macbeth I always saw Lady Macbeth as the mastermind behind the plot, someone who was cut throat and strong and then their descent into madness of the weight of what they have done catches up to them. Ava Reid’s Lady Macbeth though is timid and just felt like it didn’t fit with the original character of Lady Macbeth. I get that this is trying to be more historically accurate and fairytale-ish but it didn’t really work with the story of Macbeth. Also there were plot points that just came out of left field that threw me off.
Again if this was its own original story with its own original characters I would have been all for it but as a retelling it fell flat.

On a better note I did enjoy how Ava Reid wrote the three witches their descriptions were amazing.

Atmospheric, historical, feminist. Magical. Complicated. Is there anything Ava Reid can't write? Love this REIMAGINING of Lady Macbeth. A definite add to our library collection!

This version veers far far away from Macbeth and the main character did not improve throughout the book. A lot of stereotypes and not very well-researched.

It took a while to get into this book, but once I did I fell in love with Reid‘s writing and language throughout the novel. The characters were unique and I still got the Macbeth storyline/background but it‘s own story in and of itself. I loved the descriptions of the witches and the setting too.

First, I don't have any feelings regarding the play Macbeth - never read it; just seen the A24 movie and the movie with Michael Fassbender; so, the author can do whatever changes she wants with this retelling and the changes don't really affect my opinion.

So, you want to do a feminist retelling? Yay, let's go, love those. However, why would you then make your female main character just devoided of any agency throughout the whole book? Roscille is just manipulated and used through the entire story. She is just a scared, abused teenager who keeps on being used and thrown into situations. Look, I don't need my female main characters all to be self-assured, confident, and capable women. I'm all for all kinds of personality the author wants to give me. But don't keep telling how smart and cunny the character is when she is not. The book kept telling how intelligent she was and how she was maneuvering so well, and I was looking for it but it just wasn't on the page. Yeah, they kept telling me she was, but it was never shown. And if there is one pet peeve that I have is when a character is said to be so clever but it's never shown. Let's talk about character development. Once again, Roscille kept saying how different she was now that she became lady Macbeth. What? The only difference that was notable was that before she could notice how people really were and now she can't anymore. Ok?! I guess that's something different then. She never uses what she is and what she has to help herself, to reclaim her powers, her story. She only uses it when others command her to. Why??

And what was that whole love story? Her connection with the love interest came out of nowhere. They were complete strangers and one of them was already professing undying loyalty and love for the other. That was even beyond instalove. They had maybe 2,3 scenes in the entire book and I was supposed to care for it? And what was that whole magical being business? It felt more like a deus ex machina because the author had written herself into a corner.

And the pacing was atrocious. The book felt really long but a lot of things was happening at the same time. It was extremely boring but at the same time things kept happening one after the other. But I never really got to see it, I was just told about it.

On a side note, what does this book have against Scotland and its people? There was just so much hatred against them. And why did she have to keepn on saying how big Macbeth was? Every time he was on page, I had to read how big and enormous he was.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

3.5 ⭐️s rounded up
.
"Let them call you witch, as they do any woman that professes strength."

Its absolutely not necessary to read Macbeth before diving in, but do it anyway because its great. Lady Macbeth is quite the departure from the source material and I'm not bothered a bit by it. These are different women. A retelling, after all.
Fear not, theres murder a plenty. Plus we get a surprising and messy romance of sorts. The Lady gets a name! And we get the slow transformation from timid girl into a strong Lady and Queen.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey for the eARC!