I absolutely LOVED this book. I wish I could give it to my 16 year old self, who used to rant about all the misogyny in high school English books.

Lady Macbeth is portrayed as a 17 year old noble-woman who is trying desperately to take back some of her agency in a world where only men are allowed to be powerful. I loved her journey and growth throughout the story.

The writing was beautiful and filled with so much unique figurative language. There were so many little details illustrating the frustration of being a woman in a patriarchal world that resonated me to the point that it made me want to shout.

Full disclosure: I have not read the original Macbeth, so I cannot speak to how Ava Reid has changed the story. I was a little nervous it wouldn’t be as impactful having not read Macbeth, but it was amazing.

Content warning - SA (off page), DV, violence, torture (off page)

Thank you to Netgalley and the author/publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars for Ava Reid's writing, which is quite poetic and beautiful at times. I DNFed this book at 30% however, because it's just not for me and not what I was hoping for.

Lady Macbeth is an iconic character so I was very excited to read this book. I was disappointed to find that in this retelling, she is a 17-year-old girl whose actions are largely motivated by her desire to delay consummating her marriage with her new husband. Nothing wrong with that, but I was hoping for something a bit more adult and a lot darker.

This story leans YA with a fairy tale vibe. I wasn't as emotionally gripped by these famous characters as I usually am. The iconic witches were not nearly as sinister as I wanted them to be. They were creepy, but I want to be HAUNTED TO MY CORE by these witches! They are always one of my favorite parts of Macbeth and I was just underwhelmed by them here.

I think I just went into this expecting something different overall. I'm sure this book will have many fans, and Reid has a way with words that has definitely inspired me to read more from her.

When I tell you I am obsessed….. I had to wait a full week to write this review to allow myself to process. Now, I’d like to make clear, I have never read Macbeth, I went into this blind. I could not put it down. Ava Reid’s writing is exceptional and this story is to die for. The way I was swept into the mind of Lady Macbeth, felt her every thought and fed off her every emotion, I mean, I was completely enraptured.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lady Macbeth is the somewhat 🌶️ retelling from the feminist prospective of the lady herself. Rosille is sold by her father to the power hungry Macbeth to be his new wife.

Macbeth receives a prophecy that he will be the king hereafter, and his new witchy wife can help him reach his goal.

But his bright new wife has eyes for another man, and isn’t interested in helping Macbeth, she’s just trying to stay alive in her new court.

This one got me 🌀 ! It started slow and steady but with each Act- went harder and harder. If you’re into a classic retelling - this one is absolutely for you✨

Thanks Netgalley and Del Rey Books for the ARC!!

Lady Macbeth is my favorite of all Shakespeare’s characters. I was so hyped for this book. While gorgeously written, it fell flat for me. The strong, middle-aged Scotswoman who said “I would, while [the babe] was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out” is now a seventeen year old French girl who lacks all the charisma, intensity, and drama of her namesake. While the prose was lush and lovely, I found myself skimming, somewhat bored at times. Again, maybe my love for the original work and character clouds my judgement from being unbiased, but Roscille feels foreign from the “take my milk for gall” Lady Macbeth.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC
Ava Reid's Lady Macbeth will ring true for every angry and bloodthirsty teenage girl. Long before her hands were forever stained and she went mad, Lady Macbeth was a girl scared of what the world would shape her into. Reid's retelling does require two things from her reader: one to understand the stage version of Macbeth and two to view the panicking woman with a spot on her hands as a human. Rather than being a traditional retelling of the story, Reid looks at how Lady Macbeth became a monster; Roscille slowly transforms into the villain we recognize from her witch-cursed fate and, more importantly, her lust for power.
As someone who is already a fan of Reid and Macbeth, I found this an easy read. I now wait with blood-stained hands for publication day.

Ava Reid offers a mesmerizing reinterpretation of the iconic Shakespearean character, delving into her backstory with depth and ingenuity. Set against a backdrop of dark and isolated landscapes, the novel follows Lady Macbeth's journey before she assumes her infamous role, shedding light on her resilience and cunning in the face of adversity.

What truly sets this novel apart is Reid's masterful portrayal of the three witches. These eerie and complex characters are brought to life in a way that is both unsettling and deeply human. Their presence infuses the story with a sense of foreboding and mystery, leaving readers eager to unravel their secrets.

But it's not just the witches who shine in this tale. Lady Macbeth herself emerges as a compelling protagonist, her journey from a reluctant bride to a formidable force of nature both captivating and heart-wrenching. Reid's portrayal of her resilience and cunning in the face of adversity is nothing short of breathtaking, breathing new life into a character whose motivations have long been shrouded in mystery.

And the setting? Oh, it's like stepping into another world entirely - the dark and isolated Scotland. Reid's prose is so rich and vivid, you'll swear you can feel the mist on your skin and hear the clash of swords in the distance. It's atmospheric, it's immersive, and it sucks you in from the very first page.

But perhaps what is most impressive about "Lady Macbeth" is the way in which it pays homage to the original play while also carving out its own unique path. Reid deftly explores themes of power, ambition, and the human condition, offering readers a fresh perspective on a timeless tale.

So if you're looking for a story that's dark, thrilling, and utterly unforgettable, I definitely recommend checking 'Lady Macbeth'. With its unforgettable characters, pulse-pounding plot, and breathtaking prose, it's a book that demands to be read and reread, savored and cherished.

I struggled a bit with this one. The writing in this was very flowy and artistic and made you think of Shakespeare’s original, but the beginning seemed to drag on without much happening. The character of Lady Macbeth, which is interesting and discussion worthy in the original story, has been whittled down to a scared teenage girl floundering for any semblance of control or dignity in her life. The last 20% of the book was better than the first 80% and is probably the only reason this book got a second star. I can appreciate the attempt to give a classic female character her chance to shine but then let her shine. So many of the characters were one dimensional I felt nothing for a single one of them. Honestly I enjoyed Ava Reid’s A Study In Drowning, but the few weaknesses to be found in that book completely overtook this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ava Reid does it again! The prose, the setting, the romance, EVERYTHING. Amazing! Full review will be posted to Goodreads on release!

This was quite a letdown for me as I so love Macbeth and the poetic prose of Ava Reid. I expected a lyrical, cutting and powerful retelling. What I got was lyrical but somehow lackluster while being extremely brutal. I will start with what I did appreciate. The bleak atmosphere was relentless and gothic. I loved the historical detail and especially the etymological attention throughout the novel. Reading it on my Kindle allowed me to look up words, places and people. Some were not even in Wikipedia, and I had to do a deep dive to find out more. This shows the research Reid put into this work. This lifted my rating.

The three witches were brilliant and by far my favorite part of the story. Eerie, unsettling and then later human, comedic, redeeming. I would read a book centered on them, for sure.

Now on to my critique. I found this overall to be overwritten and heavy handed with its feminist message of men are bad simple minded creatures and women are trapped. Set in the 900s it’s certainly fair to paint an extremely male controlled world, but the excessive commentary had me rolling my eyes far too often. It took away from what felt like a beautiful fairytale in the beginning - strong in metaphor, imagery and symbolism. However, every time I thought I understood what type of story I was reading I was proven wrong. 65% of the way in I had accepted that I was reading a dark historical fiction with some leaning into folklore of the time. Nope, suddenly I was to believe dragons and unicorns were absolutely real. Until that point the “magic” was more myth and superstition - fear, not reality.

So then it was a fantasy - except it wasn’t. It returned to brutal gothic drear. Then the ending surged back into high fantasy….. While I like good genre blurring, this did not work and did not feel believable. Just frustrating.

With the exception of Roscille I found most characters to be quite flat. Even her love interest as the redeeming male character was uncomplicated (save for his transformation which I will call more of an attention grab for marketing than character development…trying to be vague to not spoil the plot). Maybe this is back to the simple fairytale formatting, an attempt to make the characters archetypal - which I could be on board with if it was more consistent. The characters I did find compelling were brushed over. What a tale we could have received if we learned more about the backstory of the witches, the handmaids, Macbeth himself. But this was a world mostly devoid of females except for our heroine… a confused 17-year-old far from the fierce middle aged Lady Macbeth Shakespeare envisioned.

Taking away my comparison to the source material, I would still be underwhelmed and ultimately annoyed with how the ending didn’t match with the rest of the book. It was not convincing. So much potential here. I wanted to love it. I tried hard to love it. I could not.

Thank goodness for the absolutely gorgeous prose. Many lines I reread out loud just for their beauty or striking pain. For that reason, and for the clearly academic mind of the author, I may read more from Ava Reid. I’ve heard good things about Juniper and Thorn and ASID.

This was so great. I was not familiar with Shakespeare’s Macbeth. However, I think that just kind of made it better. I know it will be different than Shakespeare’s so that bothers you probably not for you. The writing was great. I personally did not like the main character, but I was still rooting for her.

"Lady Macbeth" was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024. After thoroughly enjoying "A Study in Drowning" by the same author, I had high hopes for "Lady Macbeth". Unfortunately, this time my expectations weren't met.

"Lady Macbeth" is a retelling of Shakespeare’s classic play "Macbeth". Given its marketing as a feminist retelling, I was particularly intrigued by Ava Reid's interpretation. However, I found this description somewhat lacking in capturing the essence of the story.

While the writing in "A Study in Drowning" was enchanting, in "Lady Macbeth" it felt overly intricate and pretentious. This created a sense of detachment that overshadowed the narrative. The book's exhaustive attention to detail, even for minor characters, made the reading experience somewhat tedious.

Moreover, I struggled to connect with any of the characters, which significantly dampened my interest in the story. Lady Macbeth herself didn’t quite embody the essence of the original character from Shakespeare’s play, which was disappointing considering my expectations for a faithful reinterpretation.

Additionally, I found the pacing of the story to be sluggish, with little significant plot development to maintain my engagement. The lyrical prose, while beautiful, contributed to the slow pace and made it challenging to immerse myself fully in the narrative. Ultimately, I had to push myself to reach the end.

"But the world is never in a woman's favor. She cannot tip the scale. The only choice is: live the same mute, unjust life you have always lived, or tear apart the world itself."

Two words: LADY ROSCILLE. I am so impressed by the way Lady Macbeth was written, explaining her desperation of power by highlighting her cleverness, her pain, and her desires. This is one of Reid's most complex and interesting protagonists yet. Not only that, the masterful writing of atmosphere, combined with her discussions of gender, marriage, power, and violence just simply tied the book together. Truly something I believe all Shakespeare fans will be proud of and enjoy.

thank you to net galley for the e-Arc!

This was one of my highly anticipated reads for 2024 and, unfortunately, it fell flat for me. Lady Macbeth is a 17 year old French girl who is doing everything in her power to escape the abuse of her husband, Macbeth. The romance in this book felt very disconnected and felt like it was a completely separate story. It seems forced and unnecessary. There was also the feeling of insta-love, which is my least favorite trope of all time.

Ava Reid’s writing is beautiful and that rings true with this book as well. She creates very atmospheric settings that have so much potential they just don’t quite hit the mark. I just wish the story would have had more depth and felt less like an angsty teen trying to be cunning and evil but screwing it up at every turn.

Book out August 6th, 2024
Thank you NetGalley and Del Ray for the advanced readers copy

Unparalleled. Evocative, dark, romantic, and a cracked mirror of what it means to be a woman. Both in what is reflective of the world we live in, and what we bury beneath. I am so thankful to have been given an opportunity yet again to receive an ARC of one of Ava Reid’s masterpieces. Lady Macbeth is undoubtably my favorite she has ever written and I am salivating for more. I cannot wait to have a physical copy in my hands. Massive thanks to Del Rey and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Lady Macbeth.

I really wanted to love this Lady Macbeth retelling but felt that it fell flat for me. Lady Macbeth is imagined as a 17 year old with no agency, who takes her actions to free herself from her arranged marriage. I felt that it didn't pack the punch for me that all her choices were not out of a power hungry desire but instead were to be free of the men who sought to harm her. Additionally, Reid describes all the Scottish characters in this novel as brutes, felt a bit intense for all the male Scottish characters to be grouped this way.

I think this book is going to take the very difficult to achieve prize of the worst Shakespeare retelling that I have ever read. I wasn’t a huge fan of Reid’s previous book, A Study In Drowning, but I did like her writing style and prose, and I absolutely adore Shakespeare and find Lady Macbeth to be a fascinating character, so I had to give this book a try when I saw it on NetGalley. That was probably a mistake. This review is going to effectively be a list of grievances, because I do not think that there was really anything redeeming about this book to me personally.
To start with, Lady Macbeth herself is a scheming, evil, ambitious, middle-aged, Scottish woman of unknown or unimportant physical beauty, who convinces her husband to kill the king so she can be the queen of Scotland. This is what makes her a really interesting character, but Roscille, the name given to Lady Macbeth in this novel, is not a single one of these things apart from being a woman (and word for word from the book, she is not quite a woman). Roscille is a French teenage girl who is described to be physically on par with the y/n fanfiction characters of the 2010s, from the figure that is like a childs if it weren’t for the overly large breasts (only mildly paraphrased to make it shorter– this got at least a good three paragraphs in the book), to the hair so blonde it’s practically white, to the unnatural and extremely compelling eye color (that is literally just really dark brown. She has no ambition of her own to be anything, and is the one forced to kill King Duncan (Duncane in the book), at Macbeth’s urging, although she does not even kill him, because the super strong powers that she has that make her stronger than men is literally just the power to control men. The feminism in this retelling is intensely surface-level in every way possible, which brings me to my next complaint. Instead of addressing the sexism that was in the actual play itself, this novel decided to make the sexism worse to make Roscille’s inevitable breaking out of it appear like it was more freeing, when it really didn’t do much at all. There was not much historical research that was done, as far as I can tell, and for some reason the author believed that it was possible to run an entire castle without any women at all, because the Scots were so backwards and sexist that they shunned all women entirely. On that line, this is the second book in a row that Ava Reid has written where the main character has rampant unaddressed extreme xenophobia against Scottish people specifically. Like what did the Scots ever do to you and why are you writing about Macbeth if you think that all Scottish people are ugly brutes who can do nothing besides murder and attack one another? Even the love interest, who is not Macbeth, is the only male character that we meet within the narrative who is not Scottish (he is English, which I would say is worse), and he’s the only pretty man, and can turn into a Welsh dragon, and he has negative chemistry with Roscille and the personality of a wet cardboard box. And I think those are most of my major grievances, so to prevent any further rambling, I will stop this review here.

As a teacher who enjoys leading students through “Macbeth”, I was SO thrilled to get to be an ARC reader for “Lady Macbeth”. Unfortunately, the beginning (Act I) is so difficult to get into, that had I not been approved to be an ARC reader, I would not have continued reading.

Initially, I was looking for familiar story elements, and felt lost in Act I - Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s personalities are flipped, and honestly, the jargon is too dense for an opening of a story, or at least warrants a bit of description that is not present. Eventually, I decided to let go of my expectations that this would be similar to the original play, and wound up enjoying the rest of the book. I enjoyed the addition of magic to the story, and thought more could have been done in this regard.

My biggest complaint is that I’ve seen a lot of hype for this book being a prime example of feminine rage and it just isn’t. Lady Macbeth is a simpering, soft, lady-of-the-time, full of self doubt and panic, and even when she thinks she’s playing and winning the game, she reverts to fear and fragility.

Wow. This book is incredible.

Lady Macbeth is fantasy retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth & dare I say it’s better than the original?

Ava Reid is brilliant in her writing & storytelling, specifically in her writing of the main character. I am absolutely blown away. This book reads like a classic with themes that are applicable to days past and days to come.

Our Lady is fierce, strong, resilient, and cunning. The politics of this book are easy to follow, yet complex in nature. The love story is sweet & enduring. It is wonderful & I highly recommend it.

It feels very narrative, third person present tense throws me immediately, and I could not get into it. All that goes through my mind is “Who is the creepy narrator watching?” Dropping five stars, but didn’t make it past three pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.