Ava Reid's Lady Macbeth bears no resemblance to Shakespeare's character, nor to the Holinshed's Chronicles where he drew his historical inspiration. Scotland and her people, culture, language and landscape are unrecognizable here. This novel cherry picks names of people and places of the actual Macbeth story from more modern historical sources, as well as the Bard's famous witches and their portents. But that's all readers get from previous tellings of Macbeth, which need not have been a bad thing. Lady Macbeth's back story and diving into her motivations and personality would have really given this novel dimension. However, that's not what readers are given about the young bride. There are several themes that arise multiple times in nightmarish fashion: animals' teeth biting, claws, sexual abuse, death, suicide, and lots and lots of blood. Only Freud could make sense of these psycho-sexual images. To the average reader they are disturbing and repulsive. This is "a tale... full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"!

Uh, what was this?

I know Roscille is being made to seem like some perfect, pretty polyglot, but she comes off as dumb, gullible, and pretentious. But don't worry. She's not like the other girls.

The witchcraft could've been cool. It's not. We're stuck with veiled Roscille, who has magic eyes that make a man do anything. Except some men. They're immune.

We touched on Melusina, that mermaid myth I greatly enjoyed in the House of Plantagenet, but then it went nowhere. Seriously. It's never mentioned again.

If I see the words "King," or "Queen Hereafter," ever again, I will riot.

Again, after my Del Rey backlog is done, I'm out.

📚 Buddy read with Zana

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey

Lady Macbeth is a feminist reimagining of Shakespeare's Macbeth that gives a voice to the infamous villainess, Lady Macbeth. It is dark and gothic in atmosphere, disturbing in all the best ways, brimming with haunting metaphors and prose that is both poetic and raw, beautiful yet brutal.

This is a story of female rage, the kind that starts out quiet, cold and contained, that begins to simmer as the story progresses until it boils over and consumes everything in its wake. It is a rage that seeps through the pages, that imbues itself in its reader's minds, festering and building until reaching catharsis in tandem with Roscille. This is a story about a woman exploited, forced to weaponize her unearthly beauty, whose very survival depends on her embrace of the role of a villain. This is a story about a woman desperate to seize back her autonomy from a world that will not extend her its mercy, offering up endless cruelty instead, even if it means choosing, at the very least, her death.

I will never tire of singing praises about the way that Ava Reid writes about the female experience, and she, in turn, never ceases to amaze me with the way she continuously explores different aspects of it with each of her books. To me, Ava Reid's works combined are a tapestry of the female experience. She has created something truly special in writing Roscille's story and giving her a voice that echoes that of so many other women throughout history.

I've said this before and I'll continue to say it again and again: it is a gift to live in a lifetime where Ava Reid's books exist.

People love this book. Just go to BookTok or Goodreads and you’ll see lots of love for it and really great reviews that talk in length about why this book is a masterpiece. And they are all probably accurate. The characterwork is really solid and Reid does a great job of humanizing one of Shakespeare’s main villains (she’s a villain, right? It gets unclear sometimes outside of like Iago).

“Gnome, it feels like there’s a but coming...”

Yeah…I’m just not a fan of Shakespeare inspired novels. I love gothic genre fiction but gosh once it adds Shakespeare into the mix, I’m out. Thus this book is a big “it’s not you, it’s me” book. It’s obviously a great book and you can see that from the countless other great reviews out there. I really like EmmaSkies’ reviews of it on TikTok but it just wasn’t for me.

This was a very interesting take on Macbeth. I do want to state that I never fully read the play but know the main plot points. That being said this is very close in terms of the main points I am familiar with. I think the main difference here is that Lady Macbeth in the play seems to be villainized but here you see more of her motivations in the actions she takes. She is a more three dimensional character here. This is quite intense at times and there are brutal descriptions of violence on page, so make sure you are prepared for that. Overall I thought the descriptions the author uses in this book really lend themselves to having the setting be a big part of the story, almost as its own character. I thought this was a well done story, and I would recommend it if you like gothic stories. I also did like a theme of female power that weaved its way throughout this story

I wanted to love this - Ava Reid meets my favorite Shakespeare play? Yes, please.
Something about it didn't land. I was excited for a deep, dark character study of one of the most devious and intriguing female villains of classic literature. This Lady Macbeth read more like a heroine of your run of the mill romantasy. I think I understand what Reid was trying to do with the source material and the history of Scotland, plus a sprinkle of fantasy. It just didn't quite get the job done for me.
That being said I read all 400 pages in about 2 sitting of a couple hours, so it was still incredibly readable!

I gotta admit: I am not a Shakespeare fan (though there are notable exceptions). I requested this galley partly because of the striking cover, and partly because as a teen i went down a rabbit hole about the historical Macbeth. I really had no idea what to expect from this book, and was surprised in so many exciting ways!

There were some aspects here that felt to me like what I might find in any good historical retelling done from a woman's point of view: the constraints of Roscille's life, traded away as a bride to the Thane of Glammis; the expectations of a woman at the time and her fear and resistance and pain; the cleverness she has developed and the ways she conceals it from the men around her. And layered on top of that almost gothic horror sense of dread was a very exciting coating of witchy magic rumors that all prove to be true, like the assertion that Roscille can control men by looking them in the eye and so must wear a veil, or the story about a cursed king's son who becomes a monster when he sleeps, or—of course—the three witches who prophesy Macbeth's rise to the throne.

It's a fast, compelling read as Roscille's plans get more complex and harder to conceal, and her will to not just survive but have what she desires most leads her down dark and bloody paths. Fantastic!

4.5 ✨

Beautiful writing and a beautiful story. I can’t put into words how Lady Macbeth’s story moved me and how much I loved the themes presented in this book. Ava Reid has become one of my favorite authors!

I struggled a bit about how to rate this book. I think I’ll settle for an overall 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.
While Macbeth was not my favorite Shakespeare play, I am very familiar with the source material that inspired Reid to write this book. I liked the fact that Lady Macbeth’s victim status and vulnerability were fully explored in this book, but I was disappointed to see her agency taken away so completely at times. Reid is a master at portraying broken women and making them overcome their conditions, but this went in a different direction than what I was expecting. I was also a bit sad that her madness was not developed more than it was.
I enjoyed the book a lot more when I stopped seeing it as a retelling, actually. And to be fair, nothing could have taken away my owe of Reid’s way with words, her phrasing often making me forget the criticisms I had. As in every other book she’s written, I highlighted many sentences or paragraphs which echoed on a very deep level within me.
So although I did not love this book as much as I had her previous ones, I feel like this was still such an incredible piece of writing that I cannot be completely disappointed as I know some of my friends have been.

DNF 50%

I have enjoyed two of the authors books before and I usually really like the writing, the vibes (the atmosphere specifically is what i enjoy the most) and some characters. However, this one failed to captivate me. I guess in the other books the plot subject interested me and in this book it didnt, even though i thought i would (i read macbeth and enjoyed). Maybe the focus on one character did influence it too. I still will keep an eye on anything the author writes next!

I automatically add anything Ava Reid writes to my collection. This was another win and I will definitely be adding this to recommendation lists and book talks.

I will preface this by saying outside of Romeo and Juliet I have never read Shakespeare, I know absolutely nothing about the story of MacBeth. That being said I over all enjoyed this book. I thought the writing was beautiful at moments and very lush. I liked the story line I thought that for what I thought the time period was supposed to be that the prejudices and misogyny were appropriate. That being said the I found the main character to only have a few parts where I found her likable. All of the men in this story sucked including the one that was supposed to be likable. I think that the constant Scotts/men hating rhetoric really could have been toned down. I dunno i'm really on the fence with this one.

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.