Ava Reid does it again! This is the fourth book of hers that I have read and her books truly have everything I love: a beautiful, gothic atmosphere, complex/fleshed-out female main character, intriguing plot, and beautiful writing. Other than the rushed pacing near the end, this book was incredible and I'm so glad I read it!

I knew this book was going to be beautifully written. It's Ava Reid! Her books are always so rich and steeped in magic. Lady Macbeth was a fascinating take on this classic, I could not put this book down. There are so many quotes in this book that will stick with me for the foreseeable future. It's hard to find the words to describe how it felt to read this book, you'll just have to pick it up yourself!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I am always excited to get my hands on any of Ava Reids' work as her work and style are always so great, poetic, and whimsical. This one really stuck out to me because it's a really unique take on Shakespeare reimagination, but I was excited to give it a whirl! I enjoyed it overall, but I think the plot felt a little slow in some areas. The setting was spectacular and another part that stood out to me was the portrayal of the three witches. They were very different, yet familiar in a way that I think only Reid can do.

I love Ava Reid, I do - but this book was brutal for me. I am not an academic of old literature, and I felt like the story suffered in order to make the writing adequate. :(

With this book, Ava Reid has shown everyone how to do a retelling of a Shakespeare classic. This book is not to be missed even if you are not familiar with Macbeth, you will enjoy the book immensely if you like a bit of horror and magic. It was a delight to read from the point of view of Roscille, Lady Macbeth. Roscille enters into Scotland as a seventeen year old bride-to-be and ends as a Queen to be reckoned with through sheer power and determination.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine | Del Rey for the digital arc in exchange for my review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

As always, Ava Reid’s prose is truly delicious. It was by far my favorite aspect of this book.

Overall, the story itself didn’t grasp me. I don’t know if I would have appreciated it more or less if I was familiar with the story of Macbeth, but I honestly did not enjoy the story very much. This wasn’t the story for me, personally.

It was beautifully written and enjoyable to read, but I didn’t connect with the story itself.

I very much enjoyed Ava Reid's The Wolf and the Woodsman, and so was excited to see that she what she had done with my favorite Shakespearean character. This was a very interesting take on the Lady Macbeth story, but I can't say I'm a fan. Reading it as if without knowing the play, OK, interesting fantasy story. Knowing the play, EXCUSE ME! Lady Macbeth was a mature woman, and very much not a victim. She was definitely manipulative, but not in a confused teenaged manner. So while I can appreciate some aspects of the story (let's pretend it's not "the Scottish play"), overall I was disappointed. Nonetheless, I thank NetGalley and Del Rey for the opportunity to read the eARC.

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️| 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝐀 𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲, 𝑴𝒂𝒄𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒉, 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐡. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬!! 𝐈𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝑴𝒂𝒄𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝑴𝒂𝒄𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒉, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐝’𝐬 𝑳𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝑴𝒂𝒄𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐞-𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬. 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐝’𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨!

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒜𝓋𝒶 𝑅𝑒𝒾𝒹, 𝑅𝒶𝓃𝒹𝑜𝓂 𝐻𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝒫𝓊𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒢𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓅 - 𝒟𝑒𝓁 𝑅𝑒𝓎, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

I really enjoyed this book! I have enjoyed all of this author’s books. I would love to see this book adapted to film and would love to read more but it’s like this one.

A loose retelling of Macbeth from the vantage point of 17-year old Roscille as she becomes Lady Macbeth. This is a very loose retelling that hits some of the same plot points, and while this might deter some, I found in to be a refreshing and fantastical take on an old story. This was my first Ava Reid novel and it won’t be my last. I absolutely loved the writing, atmosphere, and the character choices for Roscille. 10/10

4/5 ⭐️
God I’m having a hard time deciding how to rate this book. On one hand it intrigued me and kept me turning the page. On the other, I don’t think I would categorize this as my favorite of her works nor my favorite of a Shakespeare retelling. Although I liked that it is far darker than most Shakespeare retellings, fitting the vibes of the tragedy. I liked what she intended to do, although I think the execution could’ve been better. But at the same time, it was her style, this abstract darkness. Maybe her style did and did not fit this story. I liked the second half of the book. But I didn’t like how pessimistic the main character was. This dark, ugly view of gender and humanity. Maybe that’s why I liked the second half better? There were more glimmers of hope and goodness.
As you can tell from this review, my thoughts and feelings are all over the place. I enjoyed this, though I probably would give a lengthy preamble to anyone who asks about it as a recommendation.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

Dark, gothic, and gorgeous! Amazing prose with perfect atmosphere. Blended classic literature with fresh, modern opinions. An amazing take on Shakespeare's favorite villain.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the arc. All opinions are my own.

I was really excited to read this book and I almost jumped for joy when my request for an early copy was accepted, but unfortunately this story falls really flat for me. The beginning was really good and it pulled me in from the first page, but toward the middle of the story everything started to get really muddy and there were weird plot elements that I felt came out of nowhere and did nothing to serve the story at all.

I'll start with the positives which is only the setting and the descriptions of the land. That's what drew me in the most in the beginning of the book because we are being introduced to Lady Macbeth as she makes her way across Scotland in a carriage. The way it was described, I felt like I was there with her. You really understood the tone of the book as it was reflected by the harsh landscape. That was the only thing I really liked and unfortunately, the book only takes place in Macbeth's castle so we don't get any of those rich descriptions again after the first few chapters.

This is supposed to be a retelling or reimagining of the character of Lady Macbeth from Macbeth, but it feels more like weird fanfiction if anything. None of the characters are similar to their play counterparts. They feel like completely new people that had the original characters names slapped on them. Lady Macbeth is the one that suffers the most from this. I adore her in the play. I love her scheming and her ambitions for power. The way this book is described, I thought I was going to get a version of her where she still schemes and plots, but we get her side of the story in a more feminist light. Instead, the character was dulled down beyond belief. She really didn't have any motivations for doing what she did except for the fact that she didn't want to consummate the marriage with Macbeth and become a baby maker for him.

I have no idea what to say about the dragon. That came out of nowhere and it served no purpose whatsoever in the story. I also didn't understand the sudden love interest. It just felt like it was tacked on at the end with barely any care.

The way the other characters are described is really odd. Once you meet one Scotsman, you've met them all and all of them are brutish, bloodthirsty, and pigs. There was absolutely no nuance between any man in the story except for the love interest and he wasn't even full Scot. I don't know if this was the author's intention to just show how the protagonist sees Scotland through her eyes, but the way she writes about Scottish people is uncomfortable to say the least.

Also for a feminist retelling, there were almost no women in this story. The few women we get are not even full characters. They come and go or are never seen at all. Lady Macbeth is a shell of what she is on the stage and she seems to have even less agency here. Instead of guiding her husband's hand to murder, it's her husband that is using her as the tool.

In conclusion, I am not a big fan of this book and it's a shame because I had really high hopes for it. I wouldn't recommended it to others either. Just go see the play honestly.

Ava Reid's "Lady Macbeth" is a bold reimaging that leans full tilt into the speculative aspects of the tragic play. In this rendition Lady Macbeth is given a name, a background, and is cursed? gifted? as a hagseed, a witch, who can ensorcell any man with the look of her eyes. Reid stays true to the play's central themes of power, gender politics, masculinity (both toxic and fragility), and of course ambition all while focusing on the bottled feminist rage boiling inside her female characters. All of her characters are treated with complexity, showcasing their strengths and weaknesses. Lady Macbeth is not just manipulative and cunning, but a survivor in a brutal patriarchal world, a very keen observer, and who can feel remorse and guilt along with being very self aware of her gender limitations. Reid's writing is lush and captivating. Though the book is mostly faithful to the events of the play, Reid does take some big risks and is mostly successful. If you aren't married to the original source but rather want to engage it with a different lens, this will offer a lot of thought provoking questions, which for me is what makes a great retelling/reimaging/adaptation.

Thank you NetGalley & Random House Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My first Ava Reid’s book was ‘A Study in Drowning’ so of course I was excited to read her new work. Unfortunately I was left disappointed.

I will start off that I have briefly read Macbeth, so I had no loyalty to original work. However I can say that by reading other reviews, this is a very loose based retelling of that.

Some issues I had while reading this was that there was a constant need to tell you how big Macbeth is. We all know those books where the main female characters are described as small & you are hit over the head with this. That is what it felt like with the description of Macbeth. It felt very unneeded & not what I expected of Ava Reid’s writing.

My other issue is the constant hate on ALL Scottish men. We are given as readers a view on some vicious men that happen to be from Scotland, but I didn’t see how it was warranted make constant statement on hating all. While we’re also talking on vicious men, I felt like Macbeth wasn’t made into much of a villain until about more than halfway. So at the beginning I couldn’t bring myself to hate him. (Don’t worry, he does become horrible.)

Now on my issue with Lady Macbeth’s retelling. I agree with other people that her actions were more accidentally than the clever woman Lady Macbeth has been known to be. She is constantly put in these situations because of Macbeth & she just happens to be able to spin them. Not to mention that every time she makes a decision, she immediately regrets it. And when she finally learns to own her actions, it feels not a natural progression of the character. Maybe it’s because Ava Reid usually likes to write quieter, strong female character. But at the same time, why choose to retell Lady Macbeth, who is known not to be that way.

Now the things I liked. My favorite character by far was Lisander. I thought his character was very complex & intriguing. I liked the relationship with Lady Macbeth & him. I would love to know more about his character. While we’re on the note of that,
I also found Senga to be a character with lot of potential.

At the end of reading this book I still love & will read anything Ava Reid writes. Her writing is beautiful & is so smooth to read. This read just was not as enjoyable as her other books.

Lady Macbeth will be published August 13, 2024. Much thanks to Del Rey and NetGalley for my copy. All views are my own.

I’ve been sitting on reviewing Lady Macbeth, not sure how to rate it but knowing I read something I appreciated and enjoyed. Prior to this book, my knowledge about the Shakespeare play came from If We Were Villains, Marion Cotillard’s “out spot” performance, and the tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow quote. So, prior to reading, I looked up the basic plot premise to get an idea for the retelling.

Lady Macbeth is not a traditional retelling. If you go into this book with reimagining as your understanding, you will enjoy it more. If you’re a Shakespearean purist, this might not be the book for you because Reid deviates from the play’s plot.

In Lady Macbeth, Reid brings to life the gothic, atmospheric vibes for which she is known. I felt like I was in the dank, drafty castle, the cold, wet cave where the witches prophesied. A book that’s witchy and filled with female rage? Sign me up.

Reid’s prose is also lovely; I highlighted quite a few passages in my read with quotes that resonated with me. I also appreciated how Roscille developed into and ultimately embraced being Lady Macbeth. Her machinations resulted in some brutal outcomes and deadly ramifications. I liked Lisander’s character and the fantastical elements there as well. The book featured descent into madness, adultery, betrayals, and war.

I did not care for the inclusion of Roscille as the only beautiful woman; all the others that are not French are older, described as ugly or large (there are just the witches, a mad duchess, and two hand maidens). But, the plight of women during that time period is central to the book. I didn’t love that Macbeth was portrayed as a larger-than-life, violent man, who only had an appetite for blood and destruction, but it is what it is. I found myself satisfied at the ending. I’m going to read Macbeth (adds to the TBR) to see how the two compare and where Lady Macbeth diverges from the original.

Overall, I enjoyed Lady Macbeth. While I was disappointed that there were some big deviations (again, if you go into it knowing it’s a loose reimagining, that could be remedied for you), I still really appreciated the book and read it quickly.

loved this in theory, but as someone whos not a super fan of the topic, i felt lost at points. i think this book is for people who appreciate this niche— not for a light interest in it. definitely not a bad book, just not right for me personally.

Hell hath no fury like Lady Macbeth scorned. This was a very intriguing and fun read. I was disgusted with Roscille for the first half of the book because of her seemingly random manipulation and lack of confidence. I like how she evolved by the end and owned her “curse.” Reid painted a great picture of the stuffy setting and developed each character in fascinating ways throughout. I am still shocked at how much I loathed Fleance by the end. As I was reading other reviews, someone mentioned Outlander as research material. I can see where comparisons may be made surrounding Scotland, brute men, and witchery. This isn’t a bad thing by any means. It’s just part of a shared fantasy genre. I look forward to reading more of Ava Reid’s work.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

** 3.5 STAR READ
Thank you NetGalley and Del Ray for the eARC of Lady Macbeth!
This was my most anticipated book of the year. The day it was announced, I really judged a book by its cover because WOW, I just love the design. The day I got accepted for the ARC??? I SCREAMED.
Yet, despite my anticipation, my rating really fluctuated throughout my time reading and post reading. I found the beginning confusing and slow; it also took me a long time to grasp Ava Reid’s writing. Once I did, I could see the beauty in the prose; lyrically, this is a beautifully written book. Reid’s writing is vivid, descriptive, and I found myself enchanted. This story is gothic, gloomy and dark; it felt strange being so immersed in the book only to put it down and see that it is summer and not the middle of a rainy, frigid winter in Scotland.
In my opinion, you should not go into this expecting a retelling or an accurate representation of Lady Macbeth. This book is a reimagining. It follows the plot points of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, but Lady Macbeth’s role is far from the original source. In Macbeth, she is deceptive, cunning, a gaslighter, and overall a strong female villain. In Reid’s portrayal, Roscille (Lady Macbeth), is a seventeen year old girl who is the victim of an arranged marriage to an older man, forced to be quiet and timid to survive, and supposedly may or may not be a witch. Her only goal (besides surviving) is to not consummate the marriage between her and Macbeth (due to fear), so she requests three tasks Macbeth must do before bedding her. If you are a huge fan of the original Macbeth and Shakespeare, you will most likely NOT enjoy this book. Otherwise, if you’re going in with no expectations of accuracy, definitely give this book a chance.
There is a dragon, a very small amount of romance (which seemed unnecessary imo but I guess it’s nice to know Roscille will have some happy moments), dark themes, Lady Macbeth’s “poisoned eyes,” and witches!
Originally, I was going to rate this book a 4 or 4.5 star read since the accuracy was not a make a break for me. However, there were two major themes that were hard to overlook and what essentially caused my star rating to knock down some points. While I always enjoy a strong FMC who goes against the misogyny of men, this story gave off “all men are BAD and all women are AMAZING” vibes, yet Roscille was the ONLY female character. We had the three witches (maybe like 5 seconds of screen time), and two handmaidens for Roscille (2 seconds of screen time). No other woman was in Macbeth’s castle besides the three witches (who were locked away and, like I said, 5 seconds of screen time), and Roscille. There was *MAYBE* a mention that some of the kitchen maids were women. All this because the men in Reid’s “retelling” did not need women to do anything. Men could do everything. This also plays a major role in my next point: the CONSTANT xenophobia directed against Scottish people. Every Scottish man in this book was a savage brute, a grimy barbarian – their only goal was lust for killing and the throne. Roscille herself was not even Scottish like the original Lady Macbeth, she was a French-born bastard of a Lord, and her “love interest,” a half ENGLISH man! **MAJOR SPOILER: The only man in this book who was a monster (dragon) but not an actual MONSTER like the brute, violent men of Scotland!** At one point in the book, she is relieved to speak in her native tongue again with her half-English boyfriend because it washed her of the grimy dirt of the Scot’s language. I saw one reviewer on here say that Reid’s research for this book consisted of watching Outlander and Braveheart LOL. The constant bashing on the Scottish people just seemed very unnecessary and targeted, and I have seen in other reviews that Reid has done similar stereotypical characteristics with Scottish characters in their other books??
Overall, 3.5 seems like a good spot to be in as a rating. I did enjoy it, despite my most negative parts of the review. Overlooking the misogyny and xenophobia, there is a solid storyline that I enjoyed and found fun to read. This is my first Ava Reid book and I would be interested in reading their other books. Thank you again to NetGalley for the eARC!

A Study in Drowning was my favorite book of last year and I instantly requested Lady Macbeth the day it hit NetGalley.

While Lady Macbeth deals with some of the same themes as ASID, it's quite a different book altogether and Ava shows her versatility as a writer. Lady Macbeth is written in third person present with the crisp feel of a play. The book's pace felt a bit slower but I didn't mind.

I've been looking forward to the "monster romance" in this book ever since Ava advertised it, and while it's very much a subplot, it was beautifully done.

Though I've seen the original Macbeth play, I'd forgotten most of the particulars. I would recommend a Macbeth plot summary read-through. I enjoyed noting the easter eggs and where the book diverged from the play.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!