This book had me completely hooked from the start. Truly a masterpiece. The characters and the story are absolutely phenomenal

I thoroughly loved this read. As an Ava Reid superfan, I had high expectations that were exceeded. Her prose has never been more lyrical and her characterization skills carried the bulk of the novel. Lady Macbeth was thoroughly enriched. Access to her interior world developed sympathy, disgust, and understanding. Rather than a villain, she has become a three-dimensional, flawed character who is trying her best. Reid's re-imagination of Macbeth was thoroughly original. Each plot point was creatively wrought through a new avenue not previously explored. I am excited to share this Fantasy with my community.

My two complaints are that I noticed a handful of crutch phrases that could have been edited out and that I wish Macduff had been utilized differently. I have seen some complaints about historical inaccuracies, however this is a Fantasy novel, not Historical Fiction. I think the presence of witches and dragons provides some slack.

Did somebody say “A study on drowning” s brilliant author Ava Reid decided to give another perspective to Shakespeare’s one of the most controversial plays? As a respond: firstly I screamed yes, then pumped my fist. Secondly, I screamed louder for having a chance to read earlier copy of this retelling made me intrigued especially that lady in veil’s penetrating looks on the cover.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ava Reid comes a reimagining of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare’s most famous villainess, giving her a voice, a past, and a power that transforms the story men have written for her.

Ava Reid has cemented herself as one of the best writers of our age. This book is just another example of how well she can depict the struggles and triumphs of complicated characters. Love love love!

Dnf 50%

I will begin by saying i love ava reid and delray so dnfing this is shocking for me,

I will give it 3 stars for the portion that i read!

For me the story felt flat from the beginning, i was also confused with what Lady Macbeth did for her husband and didn’t understand her witchy powers very well.

Every chapter essentially repeated how she felt about the Scotts as well as about her father and for me as a reader who remembers everything i don’t need to constantly be reminded,

I kept trying over and over to pick it up and gain interest but it is just to slow for me and the magic is not explained well.

Thank you netgalley and delray! For my earc

I was so excited to pick this one up because 1) the cover and 2) I loved A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid and was hopeful this would also be fantastic.

Boy was I disappointed.

Synopsis: A feminist retelling of the Shakespearian classic 'Macbeth.'

Plot: This is such a strange one because while it was so short (only 200 pages) I had the hardest time getting through it. The pacing and story itself was awkward and uncomfortable at times, but beautiful and well-written at others. I found myself trying to like this so hard, but unfortunately it just ultimately fell very flat for me. Maybe I would have liked this more if I liked the original but this just was not for me. Overall, there wasn't even much of a story to keep me entertained, this was definitely more of a novella and could have been told in probably 5 chapters. The whole book felt very shallow and without depth to the true themes of the book. Basically this was a "men suck" story and that was it. And I mean sure, and I love feminist retellings, but this had nothing important to add to the conversation, and was simply just "there." The random xenophobic insertion was also VERY out of left field, considering it wasn't in the original text and had no real rhyme or reason for being a (major) topic. The lack of women in a feminist retelling, also strange. Why was there a dragon? Why? He had zero significance. And lastly, why are the witches portrayed the way they were? The choices made in this made next to no sense.

Characters: Lady Macbeth is not a likable character, which is so sad. She is supposed to be this iconic powerhouse of a woman that we mourn for, and wish the best, but instead, she is unlikable, overdramatic, manipulative, and childish. The romance in this was also very strange. We are supposed to despise Macbeth, but he was very understanding and good to Roscille for most of the book, so it was hard to. The other love interest was extremely Insta-lovey and was very random and unnecessary for the plot line. If Lady Macbeth is supposed to find her power without men, why is romance a main plot line, with him saving her in the end? This story is also clearly supposed to say that women are more than just their bodies, but Roscille uses hers the entire time to get what she wants and runs and cowers when she's not. She is not brave, nor powerful, nor interesting, and I was so disappointed.

What a weird and unnecessary retelling. Oof sorry for going for this so hard.

2/5 stars.

This only got an extra star because of the occasional beautifully written moment by Reid, whom I still love.

Thank you to NetGalley for this Advanced Reader Copy.

Ava Reid writes sweeping fantasies that immerse you in their dark lore and prose quickly with no hope of putting them down.

Lady Macbeth is no exception. Reid takes a beloved character often seen as a mad villain and places you inside her wonderful mind.
A feminist retelling laced with fantasty and horror. Sometimes grotesque and gut wrenching (in all the best ways), the story takes you through the life of Lady Macbeth and the oppressions of the patriarchy. The thought and research that went into this novel is evident in every detail. The landscape is lush and the characters fully formed.

For Shakespeare fans and haters alike, this book will turn what you know upside down and stay with you long after.

This book consumed my weekend, I could hardly stop reading, It was such a genuinely unique and good retelling of Macbeth. I love Ava Reid's writing and how she's able to transform stories into something magical.

“Madness, of all things, is the most unforgivable in a woman”

Ava Reid’s retelling of Macbeth from the perspective of Lady Macbeth is a story of inner strength, wit beyond measure, and a voice to one of literatures most iconic women.

Roscille, like many women of her day, was shipped away to marry a Scottish lord far from civilization and everything she knows.

She schemes and weaves ideas to survive in her new home. Unwittingly driving fate to her husband’s burgeoning madness and his downfall.

Overall, a really fascinating take on the classic tale. 3.75/ 5 rounded up to 4

This book was so beautifully written, filled with Reid’s usual stunning, gruesome prose. I loved this look at her Lady Mac. Loved how she filled in the gaps I’d always felt in Shakespeare’s villainess with complex fears, flaws, and strengths. Reid is a forever favorite.

I’m a person who has never read Macbeth, but I enjoyed this story very much. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted arc.

"Lady Macbeth" by Ava Reid delves into the enigmatic mind of the Lady, whose captivating eyes are rumored to drive men to madness. As she prepares to wed the Scottish brute, she anticipates navigating a hostile court with her wits and hidden witchcraft. However, she remains unaware of her husband's occult secrets and the prophecy that shields him. Little does she know, her own magic is far more potent and perilous, capable of upending the world's order. Reid's novel promises a gripping tale of intrigue, power, and the looming threat of the unknown.

I think a lot of the criticism that has been coming out for this one is valid, but I also think Ava has actually done something really interesting here even though I also didn't love it.

First and foremost, this is a reimagining - not a retelling. If you're looking for a book that recounts the events in Shakespeare's play this will not be that.

Roscille is morally grey, but she is not unhinged. I don't get the criticism that she's weak - I didn't find her to be that way - but I do think she was working in the system that she lived in instead of taking overt control.

The love interest was definitely under developed and felt like it only was included to serve the end of the story. The whole shifter thing also felt like something the publisher made her do. I really would've loved to see everything with Lisander fleshed out more.

The treatment of the Scots by Roscille did seem extreme, but at the end of the day I understand what Reid was doing.

The language was the hardest part for me, but I saw a comment that said that it felt like reading mythology or a historical record and I do think that rings true and is part of what makes this a compelling book, even though it didn't work for me.

I kind of wish I had waited to read a final copy, and I will likely still pick one up.

》ARC Review: Lady Macbeth《

When you begin a book by Ava Reid you only need to know one thing: her words will enchant you.

You will quickly fall under the spell of her prose and find yourself captivated by how she intricately weaves every words to form the most enthralling narrative. Lady Macbeth sets the scene exactly like this. It’s one I overall enjoyed reading.

This is most certainly a narrative made to captivate, it’s so beautifully written. Its dark, alluring, at times sinister atmosphere is perfectly imbued throughout. It allowed me to immerse myself with great ease into the complex developing story. The atmosphere compelled me most within this tale, it excited and seduced all at once. It could send shivers down my spine and have my heart bursting with newfound courage and jubilation.

I really took to the beginning and the ending quite a bit, especially that ending! However, the middle part of this journey came with some hurdles I never quite overcame. At times the narrative felt rather contrived, as its beauty felt only skin deep in those moments. I never quite felt the expected depth that come in these fascinating tales by Reid.

Roscille’s character remained rather murky throughout the narrative, I had a difficult time grasping who she was. Perhaps that was intentional, serving to display how little agency she had. Nevertheless, I did feel that loneliness she felt but never voiced. She stood alone, discarded, underestimated and I greatly admired how she eventually came to fight her agency and power.

There was also potential I thought was never fully untapped. Certain things fell short, such as Lisander and his secret. Both were some of the most compelling facets of the story for me, yet I still yearned for more. I also yearned for the romance to be more fulfilling than depicted, as it ended up feeling shoehorned in.

What was the most jarring for me and what I felt rather uncomfortable with was the extent of prejudice against Scotland and Scottish men. They can only be described as brutish by the protagonist so many times before one starts to wonder if this prejudice will ever be challenged. I expected it to, but instead it seemed Roscille’s narrow views were rewarded time and time again. I find it relatable when a protagonist’s skewed perspective is challenged and reshaped, it’s what makes them human, no matter how otherly they may be.

Once that final page turned, even with rollercoaster of emotions swaying in me different direction, I find I thoroughly enjoyed this tale.
I will never doubt Ava Reid’s talent and masterful skill at weaving the most captivating narratives.

This one is a story I feel honored to have read.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House and Del Rey for providing me an arc, I leave this honest review voluntarily.

I know it's a "retelling", but the enormous change of the ending was...horrifying. I hated that change, and it ruined the book for me.

Absolutely dark, gothic and twisted - but I would expect nothing less than Ava Reid.
Lady Macbeth invokes the pretentious feeling of Shakespeare while maintaining accessibility to anyone unfamiliar or versed in his...well...verses. As with most of Reid's work this saga weaves a story within a story and draws immense parallels to the struggles of women from the past to current day. While our main character, Lady Macbeth, is in turn morally grey herself she accepts this and occasionally struggles with it within the context of her world and religion.
There is magic, there is mayhem, and I'm still not sure but I'm pretty positive there is some monster fucking? Either way this is another five star read from an absolute autobuy author.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the digital ARC and for answering my accessibility questions!

[spoilers below]

I LOVE retellings, and this was a really good one! The protagonist is known by several different names as she moves to a new country and culture (from Brittany, now part of France, to Scotland). It also reflects how the men around her try to control her identity. Roscille is VERY young (17) when her father forces her to marry Macbeth in Scotland. She tries to postpone the inevitable consummation but ultimately has no choice.

So, unlike in Shakespeare's play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth hasn't even had sex yet when the Macbeths assassinate King Duncan. In Shakespeare's play, Lady Macbeth has given birth and nursed her children by this point already--and hypothetically says she would murder them to prove her commitment to killing Duncan. Of course authors of retellings can do whatever they want, but the fact that Lady Macbeth is so ruthless after having children is one thing that makes her so fascinating to me in the play.

This book puts a unique twist on Lady Macbeth herself and the witches. There are hints of her infamous manipulation, but she's very inexperienced and newly married when the main events of the story take place here.

Thank you so much, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, for the chance to read one of my most anticipated book in 2024 in exchange of an honest review.

TW: violence, rape, murder, blood, gore, suicide ideation

Roscille knows the stories surrounding her eyes, how they induce madness in men, so she must keep her veil. She knows her husband is a brute and she fears their wedding nights. She knows how his court is filled with hostilities, secrets, suspicions and she will soon learn how to navigate it and how to survive in it with her wiles and bravery. She will soon discover her husband's secrets too. his prophecies and how dangerous her own magic can be.

The amazing and brilliant Ava Reid writes a reimaginins of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare's most famous villainess, giving her a voice, a power and a destiny, a strength to chance the story others have written for her.
Lady Macbeth is probably one of the best book I've read in a very long time and Ava Reid, as one of my favourite writer, doesn't ever disappoint in recreating a strong, brave, stubborn and complex heroine/villainess, giving her a powerful voice, wiles and intelligence, in a brutal world ruled by men and their desires, violence and power.
Reading Lady Macbeth is an experience. Not only the writing is so unique and lyrical you feel like you're there with Roscilla, travelling to her new home, dressing herself, walking in her new house, trying to understand and survive, trying to protect herself, but also you can feel the sea rolling under the castle, the dripping of water, the taste of food and wine, her pain, her stubborness and fierceness.

Of the most important things I realized reading this book is how much Roscille is forced to grow, by men, circumstances and time and this is shown in her changing her perception of herself, through her own name, pronunced by different languages and by how she sees herself. slowly becoming Lady Macbeth and accepting this role by using it for herself.
Rosalie. Roscille. Lady Macbeth.

Divided by acts, like a play, adding, at the beginning of the book, a list of dramatis personae, a note of names, setting the story in the eleventh- centrury Scotland, with a complex, but malleable language, showing wars and murders, prophecies and how magic is intricated and mixed in this reality, it's clear how much Ava Reid researched for this book, how deep and profound is their knowledge of that time and Shakespeare's play.
It also shows a powerful and complex voice, in giving Lady Macbeth, in giving this woman a voice, intelligence, wiles, stubborness and a fierceness you can't not love.
By changing and accepting her different names and roles, slowly but inesorably, Roscilla becomes more and more confident, more herself.
In a world deeply misogynist, where women where used and discarded, present but not seen or heard, but only used for one purpose, Roscille tries to survive and Ava Reid doesn't write a simple protagonist, but a morally grey character and how grey she became due of circumstances and her willingness to live and survive.
If the story follows Shakespeare's play, her growth and magic, her passion and desires are her own.

A truly and brilliant masterpiece, that will stay with you for a very long time.

What a unique retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth! I have not read the play in ages, so I was not going into this book looking for accuracy to the play. Instead, I found it intriguing hearing the story from another viewpoint.

I have also read A Study in Drowning by the same author, and both books give off the same vibes. A lonely sense of desperation that the main characters cannot shake.

This book really gave me a lot of insight into what life was like for women during this time period. So often, fantasy books set around this time give women more power than they would have had in real life. I appreciated the realism that was interwoven with the fantasy elements in this book.

--I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.--

Thank you Netgalley and Random House for allowing me to read a digital arc of Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid in exchange for my honest review.

This review is going to hurt me to write. Ava Reid is one of my favorite authors. I have consumed and loved every single book they’ve written but Lady Macbeth fell completely flat for me.

This version is Lady Macbeth stripped her of all her unhinged-ness and replaced her with a fumbling teenage girl who instantly fell in love with someone that resulted in the most underwhelming romance i’ve seen in an Ava Reid novel. The tension and leading up to the final act the book was lukewarm and felt like she was fumbling the entire time and not knowing what she doing. She never takes hold of her power and uses it to decide and manipulate the people around her, instead it’s the men scheming and pulling strings. She’s lost all agency and lacks the villainess quality that makes her such a strong character in the source material. Not to mention the rampant xenophobia and internal misogyny running through this girl.

Quite frankly, I skimmed the last couple of chapters because I could not get engrossed in the writing, which is unusual for me with Reid’s writing.

I wanted so much more than I got with this retelling and it’s such a bummer because I have loved everything else Ava Reid has put out.