I received this as a digital ARC on Netgalley and was excited! I loved A Study in Drowning so I had high hopes for this one.

Things I liked:

* the atmospheric writing
* the cover art
* the delicate handling of assault

Things I did not like:

* the addition of the dragon storyline felt a little forced
* the main character was not as much of a badass as I was hoping for
* the depiction of all Scots as brutish

Overall it was a decent read. I will always be interested in an Ava Reid book as I really enjoy her prose.

In Ava Reid's captivating novel "Lady Macbeth," readers are invited into a reimagined world where Shakespeare's most infamous villainess is given a voice, a past, and a power of her own. With poetic prose and a keen eye for detail, Reid slices cleanly through the familiar narrative, revealing the depths of Lady Macbeth's character in ways unseen before.

Set against the backdrop of a hostile and suspicious Scottish court, Lady Macbeth navigates the complexities of her marriage to a brutish warrior with a deft hand. But as secrets unravel and prophecies emerge, she discovers that her own magic is far greater and more dangerous than she ever imagined.

With echoes of Shakespearean tragedy and a narrative that brims with intrigue and suspense, "Lady Macbeth" is a mesmerizing tale that challenges the stories men have written for her. Reid's masterful storytelling grips readers from the very first page, offering a fresh and compelling perspective on a timeless character.

This Macbeth retelling gives a new spin to the classic Shakespearean tale with a fresh feminist lean and 100% more witchiness than the original! Roscille is a noble lady who has been promised in marriage to an exotic lord far from her homeland. Between her suppressed supernatural ability and every ounce of her wits, she’ll have to use every power at her disposal to survive her new harsh environment and the monsters that surround her.

Ava Reid has knocked it out of the park again! I admit I might be biased, but I have loved every single book she’s written and this is no exception. This is a great retelling, with the bones of the story following the original closely enough while incorporating enough original material to keep the story fresh and prevent the reader from guessing every twist. The final confrontation is extremely satisfying, but my only issue is that it felt very rushed compared to the pacing of the rest of the book. Roscille herself has a spectacular character arc, and she felt so real in the way that most of the author’s protagonists do. I’m so grateful to have gotten to read this book early, and I’d highly recommend it for any fans of gothic fantasy or horror!

Huge thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for this Advanced Reader Copy! This review is my honest opinion and offered voluntarily!

I’ve only read one other book by Reid, A Study in Drowning. I was hoping this would meet my internals standards I have set for Reids writing. However, It did not. I have not read Macbeth, shocking, I know. But I fell like our FMC, Lady Macbeth, just fell flat. She was very 2-D for me. I feel like she could been expounded upon.

I like the lore and magic of the story but It just felt like it was missing something. I feel like her eventual love interest had some many opportunites for more details, legends, and a deeper look into him in general but it didn’t happen. I made it though this book in 5 days. While typically a book this size I could devour in one. This had the opportunity to be spun into a epic tale but it felt more like a short story.

I don't want to give up on Reid, I think I will look into her other works and give them a read. I do look forward to other works she releases in the future and will stay up to date.

Thank you NetGalley, Del Ray and Ava Reid for proving me a free Arc copy
*This review is my own and not been influenced in any way*

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. This is my honest review.

I mainly read LGBTQIA2S+ books and to me, Lady Macbeth was queer coded enough to really spark my attention. As a "Villian" story, it's very well written, with a strong female lead fighting to find her place in the world and not be taken advantage of by the men who rule it.

I wasn't too keen on the relationship between Roscille and Lord Macbeth. He was supposed to be betrayed as a brute, but I felt that was lacking. Not to say he wasn't a true villian, because he had many flaws, but I feel like the author sympathized with him more than she should have through the majority of the story.

That being said, I loved the ties to Shakespeare, it was technically a retelling but Ava Reid really did make this story her own. I loved the badassery that Roscille found within herself. It was a great display of feminism and fighting for oneself, even when everything else is crumbling around you. (Mmmm sounds familiar, cough cough, America, cough)

It's not my favorite Ava Reid book but I do think it is worth reading to draw your own conclusions, especially if you like unconventional stories and powerful magical women.

This was one of my most anticipated reads this year, so when I got an eARC I was thrilled. But when I started reading, it fell flat. I personally love the story of Macbeth, and was excited to read a story of Lady Macbeth. I’ve read other books by Ava Reid, and loved them, but this one was not as expected. The story had so much potential, but Reid was unable to tap into any of it.

While I do understand that it was a loose retelling, I wasn’t a fan of the changes made. Lady Macbeth felt like a dull, muted version of her true character. It felt like much of the events that happened were luck rather than due to her manipulation. I expected her to be a strong character, kicking ass, taking names, but was let down. It honestly felt like she had little to no motivation for any of her actions, which I think was ultimately the downfall of this book.

I had also forgot that this book was fantasy until over half way through the book. I felt like there was minimal mention of it prior to the dragon appearing. It was just thrown in there for fun almost.

I did finish the book as I typically love Reid’s books, but it was hard to get through. I felt bored and lacked interest the entire time, which was painful to say the least.

I received the eARC from DelRay via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I DEVOURED this book. A historical setting with myth and magic brimming with female rage? Yes please, and how can I get more of this?

Lady Macbeth isn't just for classical literature and Shakespear fans. Ava Reid breathes new life into this story by focusing on Lady Roscille, soon to be Lady Macbeth and possibly Queen Herafter if the witches are to be believed. Roscille is a witch herself and it's believed that her eyes can ensnare a man and bend him to her will. So, she is forced to wear a veil. For years, she's lived under the rule of her father and now Macbeth. But Roscille is cunning and cannot be tamed.

Be prepared to lose your mind over this book. The writing is so good. I loved how Roscille and Lisander were two halves of a whole. She was light and restrained, though she longed to be wild. He was dark and wild though he craved control. Ava Reid is a master and her writing is not to be missed.

Ava Reid has cemented herself as an auto-buy for me, and this is another haunting read. The slow pace and prose lend some distance to the story, making the reimagining of the play feel more like a fairy tale. The other side of that coin is that I didn't ever feel very connected to Roscille as a character instead of an archetype, and she feels more in the vein of the Effy from the author's A Study in Drowning than Shakespeare's much older and wilier Lady Macbeth. However, as a loose reimagining, it's a read that will stick with you.

Ava Reid continues to wow with her storytelling and writing. This Macbeth retelling was playing on her strengths yet again. Her female characters throughout all of her books continue to grow. I really enjoyed how Lady Macbeth was portrayed in this story and the aspect of the witches and the bit of mythical aspects tide into it

Ava Reid has done it again: gothic, grimy horror, brilliant retelling. Macbeth was one of my favorite Shakespearian pieces and to have a story about the woman who kicked off the plot in that book is something I never thought I needed until Ava Redi's book announcement. The characters are written in a way that stays true to the story and the person. One of my biggest worries for retellings is when authors spin the characters' personas in a completely different direction, but Ava completely avoids this.
Lady Macbeth - manipulative mastermind, intelligent, morally grey (more morally grey female characters!!), uses her feminine characteristics as a weapon
Macbeth - relentless brute, violent, power-hungry
These two were made for each other in the best and worst ways possible.

Can't wait for this book to be officially released to the world!!

Almost fan fiction-y??? it was a good read but i had to force myself through it. i love retellings but this fell short for me somewhere. i’ve seen some shady stuff about the author (although i’m not sure if it’s true)

Wavering between 3 and 3.5 stars.
CW: blood, murder, physical abuse, implied torture, rape (fade to black and implied), sex

First, I have to say that I generally love Ava Reid, both for her writing as an author but also for the perspectives and opinions she shares online. I was excited to recieve this ARC of this this story, and while I did enjoy some of the prose and physical writing of the book, I feel a bit let down in story and character development.

First, as expected from Reid, the prose is stunning. It is written in a way that feels like the myths and stories from medieval Europe. While it took a little getting used to, there are definitely lines where after reading them I would sort of look up from the page and just think "damn".

This story is not shy about its feminist commentary, going more for the "hit you over the head" style commentary on the potential brutality of the patriarchy. That said, I did feel disappointed that it never truly felt like Roscille/Lady Macbeth ever regained her agency in any significant way. Not being particularly familiar with the play, I would have liked to see this version of Lady Macbeth follow more of the original story in terms of descent into madness, less as a "all women go crazy" and more as a true reflection of ambition and society. It felt like the story tried at times, but it fell short of every really diving into Roscille's character beyond her being pretty and being told she was a witch.

Perhaps relatedly, it felt like we never really got to know any of the characters and some of the story plot points felt either jammed in to fit a plot point or just completely unnecessary (I still don't understand the plotline for Duncan's sons). This felt like it was trying to be a character forward story, but both the characters and the plot got lost in the ambition of the writing.

Overall, while I appreciated some of the ambition of what Reid was trying to do with this story, I think it ultimately fell flat. For those who appreciate Reid's other writing, I think this is worth a shot, but keep in mind it is very different in style, even if some of the gothic themes are still present.

Thanks to NetGalley/Del Rey for the eARC.

Lady Macbeth was a thrill ride from the beginning. Roschille had so many things stacked against her, beginning with her father to others to Macbeth himself. The writing is beautiful, I literally could feel everything she felt. There were intense moments and her "curse" was brilliant. I was not expecting some of the revelations that occurred at all. It was so so good. I enjoyed every minute and I was surprised when I got to the end because I just wanted to keep hearing more of her and her story. The love aspect of this book is also beautiful and compelling. And Macbeth himself? Overpowering and entitled, and a well fleshed out character. I love this author and will always read anything she writes!

This was… so gothic and atmospheric that it was boring. At least for me. The book where not much happens for the first 100 pages and it’s only 208 pages long. Read if you like the work “ermine “ used over and over and over and… well… You get the gist.

I've admittedly never read <i>Macbeth</i> nor seen it performed, so my knowledge of the source material this book draws from is, admittedly, thin. I do think I'd call this a reimagining of the <i>Macbeth</i> story before I'd call it "Macbeth from Lady Macbeth's perspective", because even I, with little prior knowledge of the play, knew that several liberties were taken here. This will bother some readers, but I didn't mind it so much. More than anything, I wondered why, in a tale that takes several dramatic departures from even what I do know of <i>Macbeth</i>, this story needed to be rooted in <i>Macbeth</i> at all.

This is a razor-sharp, scathing, and powerful tale of female agency denied, set in a world in which men hold all the power and women have very little recourse from lives of being their "pleasure slaves", to borrow the grotesque and apt phrase the narrator of the tale utilizes. In many ways, it's a mirror to the way that patriarchy still poisons in the modern day, and I appreciated it greatly for that fact alone. I also enjoyed following Roscille, the titular Lady Macbeth's, machinations to try and create a place of safety and empowerment for herself in an overwhelmingly male world that, for all her cleverness, she still, at times, cannot fight against. All of these were very good, very interesting discussions that were woven cleverly into the tale.

My question about why this needs to be a <i>Macbeth</i> story at all, then, has to do with the fact that the parts I liked least about this book were the parts where the story deviated so sharply from its source material as to be unrecognizable. Other reviews have pointed out that the seventeen-year-old Lady Macbeth of this telling bears very little resemblance to the Lady Macbeth of Shakespeare's play, and even with my limited knowledge thereof, I could see that, and it took me out of the book every single time. I can totally buy a book where someone turns into a giant dragon, but if that book is a retelling of </i>Macbeth</i>...that's less easy for me to buy.

I think this book definitely has an audience, and a lot of value in what it has to say; it just didn't hit quite as hard for me as I'd been hoping.

Thanks Random House and Netgalley for the eARC!

I feel complicated about this book, because I had really high hopes for it (I’ve really enjoyed Ava Reid’s previous books and I was excited about a Macbeth retelling focusing on the women of the tale). And I was disappointed on how that was carried out.

It’s hard to express what my issue was with the plot without coming across as someone who cares way too much about Shakespeare. But I don’t care about faithfulness to the text out of respect to The Bard. My disappointment comes from the fact that Lady Macbeth is super cool in the original text! As some other reviews noted, she’s extremely gaslight gatekeep girlboss: she’s already a great character to take and focus on to craft a story about complex, manipulative, clever women. And instead, Reid seems to have tried to force the square peg of Lady Macbeth into the round hole of a classic YA protagonist girl backstory (mean father, brutish husband, ugly friend, ~powers~, supposed cleverness that we never actually see). It’s just not a good fit, and feels very formulaic when I was excited for the fun characterization opportunities. Roscille is just, kinda, boring? Not particularly smart (though we’re constantly told how clever she is), enamored with a random prince, determined to start machinations that she can’t see through, and have we mentioned how pale/blond/small she is? (she’s creepy too, so it’s unique!)

I’m sounding like I hated it at this point, but I honestly didn’t. To be fair to this book, the writing and line-level craft was quality. The thing that kept me reading was largely how much I liked the prose itself, and the feeling of obligation to the first ARC I’d requested and received. and the story itself was not awful, just really underwhelming in contrast to the potential I thought the concept had.

also, somewhat a side point, but I felt uncomfortable with how all the Scottish men were portrayed. kind of icky to depict all the men of one particular ethnicity as brutish and have the one alright dude be part English. just absolutely unnecessary?

planning to post my review on Instagram in the next week or two. will update my feedback with the link when I do. (EDIT: link added)

Ava Reid is one of my auto buy authors and where her other books I adore and love, this was missing something.

The writing was beautiful and being a retelling I would think I would been all for it, but unfortunately something didn’t work.

I wish I could pin point what. Not sure if it’s pace or lore, but this one is not my favorite.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

"Lady Macbeth" by Ava Reid is a reimagining of the classic Shakespearean character, offering readers a fresh perspective on one of literature's most intriguing figures. However, my experience with the book was cut short as I stopped reading at the 40% mark due to several issues that hindered my enjoyment of the story.

While Reid's attempt to delve into the lore surrounding Lady Macbeth is commendable, I found myself struggling to follow the intricacies of the world-building. The lore was dense and complex, making it difficult to fully grasp the nuances of the supernatural elements woven into the narrative. As a result, I found myself feeling disconnected from the story, unable to fully immerse myself in the world Reid had created.

Additionally, the storyline itself felt somewhat convoluted and confusing, with multiple plot threads vying for attention and competing for clarity. Characters and motivations seemed muddled, and I found it challenging to keep track of the various storylines and their significance to the overarching plot.

Despite these shortcomings, there were elements of "Lady Macbeth" that showed promise. Reid's prose is lyrical and evocative, capturing the dark and atmospheric tone of Shakespeare's original work. The exploration of Lady Macbeth's character and her descent into madness held potential for a compelling narrative, but unfortunately, I was unable to fully appreciate it due to the aforementioned issues.

Everything Ava Reid writes is compelling and expertly written, with so much to ponder. Lady Macbeth is no different — 4.5 ⭐️

This follows Roscille, a 17 year old French girl who has been shipped off to be Macbeth’s new wife. But Roscille is witch-kissed and can compel men to do her bidding with just her eyes. What may seem like a gentle doe that has landed in Glammis is actually a determined girl who is trying to survive and succeed in any way she can.

I think this is best enjoyed as a novel that has taken some inspiration from Macbeth. It is not meant to be a faithful retelling of that very popular play, because that is a story we all know. This shows an unmoored girl finding her teeth in a bleak and sometimes inhospitable place. Reid does not romanticize certain aspects of this book (something Reid does so well in all of their works) like the large age gap and Macbeth’s simmering domestic violence. The political factors of this paired well with Roscille’s attempts at scheming and I very much felt like I was in her shoes based on the narration.

I so enjoyed the addition of the monster. The feminist take on the witches was very satisfying. It is gothic and gritty and gut-wrenching and it sure is infused with female rage. The female rage in this is perhaps a bit different than what we are used to, but I enjoyed this a lot.

Two quotes I really resonated with: “Madness, of all things, is the most unforgivable in a woman.”

And: “If she cannot have safety, if she cannot have love, at least she can have this. Vengeance.” 🗡️

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced readers copy. This did not affect my review in any way!

Thank you to Del Rey and Ava Reid for the eARC of Lary Macbeth.

I want to start by saying that I love Ava Reid, and I don’t have a strong attachment to the original Macbeth. So I am not sure how that would change my views on this book.

I loved that this felt like a redemption of power, a woman working within the constraints of the male dominated world around her and learning how to be both powerful and cunning. This was a younger woman finding where she belonged and pulling on the power of those before her.

I enjoyed the magical aspects of the witches and the land. I did also enjoy the dragon in the story, I think as in the end it speaks to the monster you embrace versus that which you pretend does not exist, but I don’t want to expand too much and veer into spoilers.

This is a slower book, but I think the prose was really beautiful and the story itself felt so atmospheric and you could feel the loneliness and cold that Lady Macbeth was feeling throughout as well

This felt very much like an Ava Reid book and I’d highly recommend if you enjoyed their other works!