I've read a few Ava Reid books before so I was really excited to jump into this one. While this wasn't my favorite by her, I really did enjoy it. This reimagining is so different from the original Macbeth that I wish it had just been its own original story instead. But what I did love was the author's incredible writing. I love her atmospheric prose that drips gothic vibes. Her writing just steals my attention and never lets go.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you like Shakespeare's Macbeth, I'm not sure you'll like this version of the story, powerful though it may be – but that could be my own expectations not being met.

Despite marketing claims, this is not Macbeth from Lady M’s perspective; this is a brand-new fantasy story set within the framework of Shakespeare’s play – but one that greatly deviates from the Bard’s work. First and foremost with its titular character, actually. While I didn’t loathe her perspective, she doesn’t resemble her infamous inspiration in the slightest. Lady M is usually thought to be fully matured woman that controls the knife through her husband when he falters in the face of treachery and the reality of violence; this Lady Macbeth is a 17-year-old child bride attempting to survive in an arranged marriage with a brute of a husband with no true power of her own.

I wasn’t mad at a lot of the changes; in fact, certain characters – Banquo and Fleance in particular – made a lot more sense with a bit more insight. But I abhorred the take on our main couple. They were basically unrecognizable. Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Lady M is widely considered to be one of the strongest depictions of a marriage that is also a partnership and that is not reflected in this book in the slightest.

The writing is admittedly beautiful, and I wish I felt more of the emotion it is clearly meant to inspire. There are gorgeous sentences and quotes aplenty; some clever feminist messages that ultimately fail to hit the mark.

The magic when it comes to the story’s women is never explained and I wasn’t swept away enough by the tale to go along for the ride and not question the whys and hows of the world – or the whys and hows of why the author chose this take.

All in all, I may be more of a Shakespeare purist than I thought, but I truly don’t see how this will resonate with any fans of the original story. And I don’t see anyone picking this book up without also enjoying the play.

Content warnings: violence, death, marital abuse, suicidal ideation, implied (not described) sexual assault.

I always love Ava Reid's work, so I knew Lady Macbeth would be a win for me. And as someone who grew up loving not only Shakespeare, but the Scottish play in particular, this book checked all my boxes. The only flaw I found was that this one may not be easily enjoyed but readers who are not familiar with the original play and Lady MacBeth's first tellings.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Very gothic-y and was a quick read. Very good for those ready for fall spooky reads. I've already bought a physical copy after reading this from netgally

Thank you NetGalley and Del Ray for the ARC!

- I loved the atmosphere and how Reid really captured a gothic fantasy in this one! The way everything feels damp and sodden and the recurring mention of eels/lampreys really add so much.
- One of the main complaints I’ve heard is that this strays too far away from the original. I got to see Reid speak about this book, and she talked about how, when rewriting this from Lady Macbeth’s pov, she thought about the books Lady Macbeth may have read, which would have been chivalric romances. She took inspiration from chivalric romance, and that’s where I saw the largest deviations come up-but knowing why she did that and her inspiration made those changes even more meaningful!
- I loved the way she made the Lady younger and used that youth (both that other’s underestimate her but also her naïveté) to add to her character-especially the madness.
- I won’t say much to avoid spoilers, but the witches and how she adapts them is so well done.

A reimagining of Lady Macbeth’s story where she is the main character. I wanted to like this one so much because the premise sounded so good. However, I found the writing just really hard to get into. There are also multiple character names for some people (similar but still different enough) that I feel like she could have avoided for clarity.

Lady Macbeth was an interesting character even when told as a part of Macbeth’s story. This book brings even more life to this unique character and adds depth to the story in a retelling of a classic.

I really enjoyed her development as the story progresses and the character develops into lady Macbeth from a reluctant young girl married off.

Hopefully there will be more from Ava Reid

**3.5-stars**

To round up, or to not round up? That is the question.

The first thing that sticks out in my mind about this book is that it took me 20-days to read, which it shouldn't have. It's fairly short, but every single time I picked it up, I would fall asleep after like 10-pages. Reid's writing is beautiful, but it failed to ever truly grip me. I was hoping for a more sinister plot, and a more overtly cunning representation of Lady Macbeth as well. However, I did enjoy the level of inspiration from the original story, and felt the setting and atmosphere were very well done. I felt the cold and dark in my bones.

I'm getting a little ahead of myself though, so let's start at the beginning. As you would expect, Lady Macbeth is Ava Reid's reimagining of one of the best villains, IMHO, of all time, Lady Macbeth. We love her.

Lady Macbeth, as a character, has always fascinated me and I do tend to enjoy new fiction that reimagines her role, or persona. One of my favorites, for example, would be Foul Is Fair, which is indeed very modern, while this story is true to the original in time. In fact, the setting and characters all feel fairly true to the original source material, and I think any fan of that work could enjoy checking this one out.

I did enjoying following Roscille, who becomes Lady Macbeth, as she first arrives at Macbeth's castle and meets her husband-to-be for the first time, as well as her introduction to other inhabitants of the castle and their ways, which are all very mysterious to her. I also did feel Roscille was cunning and smart. That she was strategizing all along the best ways to get by in her new life. With this being said though, I was disappointed not to get more development in her relationship with her husband. I felt that was very surface level and I would have wanted much more to feel satisfied.

By this I don't mean romantically. I wanted more strategizing between them, and honestly, I wanted to see more manipulation on her part. I know it was there, but it just felt weak compared to what I was hoping for. I wanted her to be using Macbeth's alleged brutish nature more to her advantage. It felt more like the reverse, that he was still in control. I know that's not exactly true, especially by the end, but I wanted her power to be more unconcealed. Personally, it felt too subtle for me. It was like those punching points I wanted were a bit bogged down by the beauty of the writing. Although there's nothing wrong with pretty writing, it just wasn't quite to my tastes.


The first half of the book was definitely more successful for me. At that point, there was still hope and the possibility that Lady Macbeth would live up to her full, sinister potential. Unfortunately, that just never really followed through to the extent that I wanted. With this being said, I did still enjoy this. It is a good story and I'm so happy to have tried Ava Reid's work for the very first time. I would be interested in reading more from Reid.
I would also recommend this to anyone who is interested in the character of Lady Macbeth. I think there are some great scenes in this that lots are Readers will enjoy. It's also atmospheric and easy to follow: plus, plus.

Thank you to the publisher, Del Rey, for providing me for a copy to read and review.

While I wanted a bit more blatancy to Roscille's cunning and strategy, I still appreciate this for what it is and feel like the author did a great job reinterpreting this classic tale!

This was an interesting take on Lady Macbeth. This is the first true novel I have read that has fleshed Lady Macbeth out in a way that makes her more victim than villain. I like the writing style and I will recommend this to my students who love retellings.

Lady Macbeth - the retelling of Macbeth you didn't know you needed until now. I had such a fun time reading this, I stayed up late just so I could finish it when I was at about 70%. I had to know how it would end!! Ava Reid does it again!

I would say Macbeth is my favorite Shakespeare play (as someone who isn't really into Shakespeare to begin with) so I was pleasantly surprised with all of the fun changes and additions that the author made to the original story. This story being told from Lady Macbeth's POV and giving power to the woman who was just seen as crazy is so smart.

The visuals of this book were just phenomenal. It was so atmospheric, gothic, and gave a sense of dread that Lady Macbeth was feeling while being at Glammis. I also liked this version of Macbeth being a gigantic, hulking brute on the outside and a scheming narcissist on the inside.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. I wish there was a bit more after the final conclusion since it felt a bit rushed, but overall I'm so happy with how it turned out. 4/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC!

Lady Macbeth is the first book I've read by Ava Reid. I know...she's written other (popular) books but I haven't gotten to them yet. That said, I think I liked this one but I think that's mostly due to not really looking at it as a retelling so much as a YA that just happened to be called Lady Macbeth.

Roscille is our main character and having grown up the bastard daughter of a Lord, she's been married off to Macbeth. Now she finds herself in a castle where she knows absolutely no one. Even the maid she came with has mysteriously disappeared. The only thing she can think to do is try to bargain her way out of having to consummate her marriage to the giant who is her husband by giving him a challenge. That challenge is what prompts the rest of the story and pushes Macbeth on his quest for more power and Roscille to do some things she hadn't expected she would do.

There were a number of interesting aspects to this story. The whole ability to control others with her eyes and turning into a dragon gave it a twist I wasn't expecting. From a character standpoint, there isn't really anyone likable in this book. Macbeth is a jerk - he is out for power and he's not above using Roscille to get it. But, while Roscille is nothing but a pawn in everything, so I don't hold anything against her, she doesn't wait very long to start manipulating those around her for the things she wants.

That said, if you go into this expecting Macbeth, you will be disappointed. I think if you go in with an open mind to this story, you might enjoy it.

I always love Ava Reid's books so this a somewhat bias review. Lady Macbeth is a feminist retelling of the Shakespearean play Macbeth. It focuses all around the young wife, her mystery and her influence over her husband. I am personally not a huge fan of Shakespeare, and knew nothing about the source material, which I think would have been really helpful in understanding all the nuances and research Ava put into this book. With that being said, I still really enjoyed the story. Ava has a way of creating a special atmosphere and mood with her writing that just sucks you in and leaves you wanting more. I love a good historical fantasy and this really had it all, moodiness, politics, magic and witches, lore. I tend to love character driven stories, and I feel like that is my only complaint is that I wish we knew more about the motivations of our FMC, but I loved the writing and the world enough I was okay with it.

And for those who have read Ava Reid's other works this book is much more tame than her other adult works in terms of gore and body horror.
Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me the chance to read this book early!

2.5 stars. Love Ava Reid, but I did not enjoy this. I generally don’t like this sort of fantasy, but I gave it a try for Ava. I’ve found with her last two books that it’s hard to stay entertained. She has a fairly slow writing style. Neither of her recent books have matched up to Juniper and Thorn, which I really enjoyed. I frankly didn’t really like this book. I don’t know the story of lady macbeth, but from what I’ve heard this also just doesn’t seem like a great representation of that character. I’m hoping her next book is great because it’s been marketed as a sapphic hunger gamesy thing. :///

As someone who absolutely loves “Macbeth,” I wanted to love this book, but it just feel flat in so many ways for me. If you haven’t read/seen “Macbeth,” this book would probably be much more enjoyable for you. Unfortunately, too many liberties are taken regarding the source material, so much so that this book barely resembles it.
A lot of things were too vague and needed more explanation, specifically the witches. Their origins and their powers are glossed over and never truly explained. The constant prejudice toward Scots got excessive and repetitive. Roscille came off as a pampered, prejudiced little girl rather than the cunning mastermind that Shakespeare created. Her characterization is all over the place—in one scene she acts terrified, and in the next she is determined and unafraid and all of her internal struggles are seemingly forgotten.
Then there’s the completely unnecessary romantic plot. This relationship really didn’t add anything to the plot whatsoever and I think I would’ve enjoyed the book much more without it. Even him being a dragon shifter couldn’t make his character any less dull.
The last 15-20% of the book was the best part for me because things finally started to happen. The first 75% of the book was slower and was a slog to get through at times. Despite all of my issues with the book itself, the ending worked well within the context of the narrative Reid created. It was an interesting twist on “no man of woman born.” I can’t say I didn’t see it coming, but it was still just as satisfying.
I do think Ava Reid is a good writer—her prose can be beautiful and she captured the gloomy atmosphere she was trying to create very well. However, in terms of a “Macbeth” retelling this just was not successful for me. This book would be best enjoyed by those who have no prior knowledge of the source material.

Beautiful, gothic- this book made me an Ava Reid fan of through and through. It doesn’t fall into the trap of retellings of the same old story. It’s genuine and new.

As someone who has not read Shakespeare's Macbeth, I still enjoyed this book. I was worried I would be confused with all the different characters and settings especially from looking at the glossary at the beginning, but it was pretty manageable.

The author's writing perfectly fits with this genre and is enjoyable to read. However, I was a bit disappointed in Roscille's character. She was pretty timid and I expected her to grow as a character and become more feministic, but she let her husband push her around. I was expecting more feminine rage at the end and so it wasn't very satisfying of a conclusion.

Holy wow! I am continually so impressed with Ava Reid and I love her writing style. This captivated me from the start and I couldnt put it down!

I was really excited for this book, but ended up DNFing it about 10-15% through because I was confused, and it honestly just didn't hold my interest. I've read, or tried to read, a couple of Reid's other books, and her style must just be hit-or-miss for me. If you love her other works, definitely give this a go, but if you've struggled to get into her books before, this may be a bust for you, too.

#BookReview: 𝙇𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙈𝙖𝙘𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙝 𝙗𝙮 𝘼𝙫𝙖 𝙍𝙚𝙞𝙙
Thank you @delreybooks and @randomhouse for the @NetGalley ARC!

Review: ★ ★ ★ ★
𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣.
 
I would venture to say that most of us are familiar with Shakespeare’s portrayal of the fearsome and wretched Lady Macbeth. Ava Reid challenges this perception: what if she is simply the consequence of the circumstances that men have forced her to exist in? What if she is, in fact, a dynamic and multifaceted woman who must fight to overcome the most traumatic of circumstances?
 
We meet Gruoch (Lady Macbeth) as a young, shy, overwhelmed girl as she is delivered to Lord Macbeth. Her forced marriage is the result of her father’s political strategy, and savagery runs through her new husband’s veins. We watch as she is thrown into the deep end, struggling to keep her head above water. But her story quickly develops into one of resilience and strength. Her vulnerabilities turn into weapons, and, unlike Shakespeare’s portrayal, is a result of self-assertion and survival – NOT petty manipulation and cruelty.
 
If you take one look at my bookstagram, you’re probably wondering what the hell I’m doing with a book like this. I generally don’t enjoy fantasy, romance, or historical fiction, but I’m happy to say that this is an exception. The character development and feminist undertones were incredible, and I can confidently recommend you Lady Macbeth.

1.5 stars, rounded down.

After reading A Study In Drowning last year and reading the rest of Ava Reid's novels this year, I was so excited to read anything by them. Unfortunately this one missed the mark.

The characters were very one dimensional. It felt like none of them really had any motivations, they were dolls being used to hit plot points. Even the titular Lady Macbeth didn't seem to have any reason for her actions. It was bizarre.

I know there's a lot of issues around how Scotland and Scottish people are portrayed and plenty of Scottish reviewers have shared there opinions. I'm surprised this was set in the real world and not a real world-inspired fictional setting like all of Ava Reid's other books. If it was, the liberties taken with history and fact would have gone down easier.

The half a star is for the writing. Even when I was frustrated while reading, the writing kept me from throwing my Kindle.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC.