Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

This started off so strong! Half way through I had a hard time with the momentum, it really started to drag for me, which is unfortunate. I think I also had a hard time with the difference between the original story and this adaptation, seeing the changes, but also what remained. All in all, a good story that I had a hard time finishing!

Final rating: 3.5/5 (rounded up)

Ava Reid has managed the impossible: I didn't miss the original play for the entirety of this book. It was original in its own way, but it worked as a complement to the Shakespearean play, filling every empty spot.
I struggled a lot during the first couple of chapters because of some particular English mannerisms, but ended up learning so many new words.
I'm still in awe with the author's writing style. She has such a descriptive and poignant prose, covering every sensible subject in the most accessible yet fascinating way. In this book we deal with female rage, ambition and revenge, all of these which have been covered by Ava Reid in her previous books. Her social critiques are always on point.
But the romance felt off, I wasn't a fan of the main character's dynamic, and that was a major deal breaker for me. I was invested in the plot and the historical setting, but I really didn't enjoy the romance.

What to expect:
- Shakespearean Retelling
- Curses and witches
- Female Rage
- Dark and atmospherical
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Pub Date || 06 Aug 2024

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey and the author for giving me the chance to read an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

2.5 stars
Slightly disappointed at how much I looked forward to reading another one of Ava’s books only to find it was lackluster. This retelling felt less like a woman empowering book and more like a writing about how we can just constantly put everyone else down. Throughout the whole book the only person who is ever regarded as presentable in looks is Lady Macbeth and her love interest. Everyone else is either not pleasing to look at or simply just bland all together, men and women alike. Also instead of making Lady Macbeth a woman of strong nature, we get a 17 year old who is too afraid to speak. She goes through the whole book teetering back and forth of being bold and thinking how clever she is only to extinguish her flame, constantly.

I completely understood the whole men make monsters of their sons concept that was being pushed but it left that unfortunate yuck feeling, especially when she continues to exploit others constantly regardless of the others consequences. Even the love interest wasn't leaving good impressions. Lady Macbeth goes for a man she knows nothing about other than he's good looking, but keeps assuming every man in the book is simply just too awful. I found no attachment to any of these characters because they all seem to lack any kind of personality other than hating one another because of being Scottish or a woman, or just simply being alive at this point.

In the end, I didn't hate the book. I do wish there would have been more character development, that we maybe could have had more backstory on what happened to all of the women as well. A bigger push for the love interest and Lady Macbeth so it didn't feel completely built around a superficial relationship.

Macbeth is dark, gothic, haunting, and even more brutal than its source material. while the scottish play examines lady macbeth in tandem with her husband, taking on (what was then seen as) masculine traits so they may succeed, this lady macbeth leans in to her strategy, her careful tactician in hopes of staying ahead of her husband.

This thought provoking and highly unconventional retelling of the story not only reflects a woman's self exploration in a world where power thirst people shedding blood to manipulate their reign, it's also sad, lonely young woman's fight to find her way in the foggy road that spicies up with romantic elements and let's not forget the mythical figures, Scottish folklore blended in the execution with charming fantasy elements like witches, dragons, curses.

This one seals it: Ava Reid's writing just does not work for me, as much as I want it to. I appreciate the idea of focusing on Lady Macbeth, though I found this book rather dull and not remotely a feminist re-imagining. (Centering women doesn't inherently make something feminist...). The cover's gorgeous, though.

I loved this Shakespeare retelling with its witchy gothic vibes and the thread of slowly simmering female rage weaved throughout. Ava Reid writes for the soft femmes among us and her beguiling Lady Macbeth is a naive teenager bound to a brutish Scottish thane in a land far away, where she has to rely on powers both human and unnatural to survive the loneliness and treachery that surrounds her. I really love that Reid's female characters maintain their softness and gentleness while still being portrayed as powerful women. However, I question whether this "feminist" retelling was really necessary given that Shakespeare OG Lady Macbeth was already a bad bitch to begin with, and I felt a little disappointed that the ambition and ruthlessness that Shakespeare's Lady was known for is moistly absent from Reid's Lady Macbeth. I still mostly enjoyed this book, but I feel it missed out on what could've been a really interesting character study.

Thank you so much to Del Rey, NetGalley, and Ava Reid. I scrumpt many a scream when I first got approved for this arc, and wow, I’m so glad I did. How ironic it is that my least-favorite Shakespearean play becomes one of my favorite reads of the year so far.

This book did what “A Dowry of Blood” could not for me. It’s lusciously gothic, deliciously atmospheric, healthily historical, seductively magical, richly immersive, and stacked with a satisfying and rippling current of emotion. Of course, it’s also dripping full of Reid’s usual poetic prose.

Like A Study in Drowning, the atmosphere, characters, symbology, and strong themes (mainly feminist) take the center stage once again, and I once again am eating it up; she writes it all so well. However, please note that Lady Macbeth is adult, and contains content much much darker than ASID. Be sure to check trigger warnings.

Probably my favorite characteristic of Lady Macbeth is the titular character and protagonist herself (once again like ASID). She is incredibly realistic, easy to root for, morally grey, and her arc is *chef’s kiss.* She is exactly the type of villainess you’d expect from her circumstances, and in a good way. Naive, yes (she is only 17), but highly intelligent, and most definitely not innocent. I could reread this arc immediately for her character alone. Of course, throw in the other things I already raved about and drooled over, and you get a fantastic read. I Will be preordering a physical copy, and I suggest you all do the same.

5/5 weasels

2.5 stars generously rounded up.

Where to begin? As other reviewers have pointed out, this is not really a reimagining of Macbeth in that the characters are nothing like their Shakespearean counterparts. Not even a little. Others have suggested this would have worked better as a Bluebeard retelling and I heartily agree with that.

Reid's Lady Macbeth is a simpering seventeen-year-old bastard daughter of a Breton ruler, sent to be Macbeth's bride in a transactional marriage typical for the time. Lady Roscille feels betrayed by her father, which, yeah, I would be too, but said father also forced her to wear a veil at all times because the seductive witchy powers of her eyes enchant and enslave men. I feel like your dad calling you a witch is not the basis for a relationship to be mourned. Anyhoo.

Roscille goes to Scotland with her handmaiden Hawise (who I kept calling "Hagrid" in my head, alas). Unfortunately, it's not the custom (???) for Scottish ladies to keep a handmaiden, so Roscille is isolated in a drafty castle with a bunch of brawny, bloodthirsty warriors. Here is where I will defend Reid: many reviewers conflate a character's xenophobia with the author's opinion. Roscille is a kid who's been sent to marry someone she doesn't know, in a country with customs contrary to her own. She's not going to be particularly open-minded about her new husband and his clan. They're portrayed as brutes because to her they are.

Roscille is preoccupied with preventing her husband from sleeping with her on their wedding night. She devises some requests Macbeth must fulfill. Unfortunately, her requests lead to an ungodly amount of war and bloodshed, to which she later says "oops, my bad." Roscille has a strange tendency to think "gee, I should be careful about what I say or do" and then say or do something ridiculously offensive or needlessly provocative. She's constantly shooting herself in the foot (barring the fact that firearms have not yet been invented).

There's a weird subplot with Roscille faking a raider attack on herself and Fléance in order to make him seem more manly to his father. Shocker: this also backfires spectacularly. But the plot proceeds apace until Duncane and his sons arrive at Macbeth's castle. Finally! The crucial regicide! Roscille enchants two guards with her eyes and makes them kill the king, a little like a Jedi mind trick but for witches. She doesn't do the deed herself and Macbeth isn't even there! It's a little inconvenient that the king's eldest son, Lysander, keeps making moony eyes at Roscille at the table. She finds his Tom Hiddleston-as-Loki appearance incredibly attractive, so it's extra awkward that she's involved in killing his father.

At this point, things really start going off the rails, and I realized that if this were marketed as a fantasy with no relation to Macbeth it would have been ten times more enjoyable. Instead, the reader cannot help but compare to the original play, which is a masterpiece for a reason.

Despite all of these complaints, Lady Macbeth is compellingly written, with a flowery troubadour vibe well-suited to someone inspired by the lais of Marie de France. I can't hate it, but I can't recommend it, either.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher via Netgalley.

"A man without enemies is a man without power." This book is definitely going to be a new favorite of mine. I had never read any of Ava Reid before and I was shocked at how beautiful the prose that this author writes is. I loved the characters especially Lady Macbeth and the ending was shocking for me. I love the gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss vibes that the main character has. The way that the s*x scene between Roscilla and Lisander was so beautifully written I was in shambles. I thought that the age gap between Macbeth and Roscilla was very interesting because I don't remember any mention to that in the play. I like how this relationship is not romanticized because of how many books that exist that do. Especially since he does not seem to know the meaning of consent. As much as I hate that Macbeth only views his wife as a trophy wife but it was interesting to me. After reading this book I can positively say that I believe in Ava Reid supremacy. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine for this opportunity to read rate and review this book which will be available 4/6/24!!!

Holy Mother of Pearl but this BOOK! This book is exactly what you have come to expect from Ava Reid. It is feminine rage in a twisty turny concisely written story that drags you along for the ride by your soul. The plot is utterly consuming. The characters are so fleshed out they feel real. The world building is there but it’s not all up in your face because you are too busy following the characters into the story. I am absolutely buying this book and have it preordered. I think this one may be Ava Reid’s masterpiece in my humble opinion.

Omg this was so good! I am so glad this was a reimagining rather than a retelling, because this story was way more interesting for Roscille than for her original Lady Macbeth counterpart. I was eating up the reinterpretations of Macbeth’s prophecies and the witches’ characterization.

I loved Ava Reid’s writing style as ALWAYS and will devour anything she writes. She has such a knack for beautiful language and does an excellent job of keeping a feeling of intrigue and mystery alive throughout the entire story.

Also, Macbeth is officially NOT hot. Lisander is though.

ARC by NetGalley and the publisher.

Roscille is the daughter of a Duke which in her world means marriage at the young age of 17 to Macbeth, Thane of Glammis. Now forced to live and survive in the Scottish land that is vastly different from her French noble upbringing. With rumored magic can she find a way to thrive and overcome her present circumstances.

So when I picked this work up I was elated as Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s works is by far his most strong and fierce female character… however calling this a Macbeth retelling is a stretch. I honestly saw more connection with Bluebeard story rather than Macbeth in my opinion. Where you go into this thinking you will get a strong female lead to root for as this is touted as a feminist read I found myself disappointed. Roscille is a young woman of 17 forced into an unfortunate marriage to a much older man, while I did feel for the situation she was put into I did not get the strong female rage I was so badly hoping for. Honestly the majority of her decision making was done in poor judgment and only when it would be something that affected her did she actual make these choices. In fact for a “feminist” book there was a huge lack of female characters aside from our FMC. We are constantly told that the Scottish men are brutes but given very little examples or backstory as to why they are considered so ruthless and evil to back up these claims. Making the constant bashing of Scottish people and the landscape feel icky and give off xenophobic vibes. I did enjoy the witches for the most part and I will say the last 10% does pick up and get more interesting and shows a glimpse of that strength and power I desperately wanted in the whole book. If you are going into this read thinking you are getting a more modern twist on the Macbeth story you definitely need to adjust your expectations as stated this is a very loose retelling. I will say as I did with my review of A Study in Drowning Reid does a great job of portraying gothic atmosphere and displays this through a very thematic and lush prose.

Lady Macbeth comes out August 6th, 2024.

Thank you again NetGalley and Random House Publishing, Del Rey for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Ava Reid’s prose is beautiful as always, it was so easy to get lost in the atmosphere that she’s created here. I’ve never read the original play so if you’re approaching this book looking for a faithful retelling I cannot be the person who tells you whether it is or isn’t, my lens of this story is how it exists on its own.

I think that there’s some great stuff here and the story held my attention through to the end. The end did feel quite rushed, and it made the slow pacing of the rest of the book feel off in comparison. I wish the last chapter could have been expanded in another chapter or two, with that time being taken from somewhere in the middle of the novel which felt the slowest in my opinion. So much happens so quickly in that last chapter that I was left with a bit of dissatisfaction when I finished just because of how quickly everything seems to just wrap up so neatly after an entire book of twists and turns.

I have seen some other reviews saying that Roscille completely lacked agency, and while I don’t completely agree I do wish that her power in the story could have been stronger. She goes through most of the book appearing to outsmart all of the men around her and setting everything up for herself, only for that to not be the case and it makes all that she did before feel wasted, though perhaps that was the point. Overall there's a general lack of nuance narrative-wide that as I begin reflecting on the book after finishing it left a lot of room for interesting conversations that unfortunately didn't happen. I think especially the attitude towards the Scots as a whole paints them all with a very broad brush in a negative way, which is something I think could've been handled somewhat differently.

My other complaint is the romance subplot. I think that had this subplot been removed, the story would have still worked the same and that it wasn’t necessary. I feel that it was so underutilized and explored that it was more of a detriment to the story, and it either needed to be focused on more and given more depth than what we got, or removed completely. It could go either way and I would be happy, I was just again dissatisfied with the pacing of the relationship development/the male love interest’s development as a whole and to an extent their motivations, but I won’t go into more detail to avoid spoilers.

Overall, this is not my favorite Ava Reid book but still a good read despite the qualms I may have with parts of the story. I wish I could give it five stars as this was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, but the pacing problems in particular took it down to a four for me.

The Scottish Play!


I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I’m currently taking a Shakespeare class in school so it felt to read some retelling outside of class. I’m glad that Lady Macbeth is able to a more satisfying ending than that of the original play.

The writing was phenomenal, I loved the prose. The pacing of the book was well done too. It didn’t linger too long in one spot. I’m glad it was divided up into Acts like the original play.

I felt Lady Macbeth’s character was executed beautifully. She was a very dynamic character with complex thoughts and i felt that was well represented in the writing.

Final note, killing a unicorn should be punishable by death.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

I have never read Macbeth, so I went into this completely blind. Lady Macbeth, or Roscille, is a 17 year old girl who is given to Macbeth by her father, as is usual in this time period.

Throughout the book, we learn some unsavory things about Macbeth, like his proclivity for collecting witches and general violent tendencies. So, we understand quickly he isn’t a man of strong morals. But I wasn’t convinced that Roscille is any better. She thinks herself above the Scottish people and considers them barbaric and brutal, so she comes into this marriage prejudiced against him and his court. Her prejudice was brought up often and generally made me uncomfortable.

She is unhappy as the marriage is against her will, as any woman would be. Because of this, she attempts to sabatoge him and essentially get him killed instead of attempting to get to know him at all.

I understand the underlying feminist ideals of how women are treated as property and she seeks her own agency, but her actions did not seem justified. I wanted to see her as cunning intelligent, but many of her plans are clearly the machinations of a 17 year old and she came across naive and childish.

Our love interest comes along, Lisander, and it felt incredibly forced (Also why was he a dragon? Im confused). It seemed as if the only reason she liked him was because she could choose, which was not enough of a reason to end up with him in the end. She knows women in her society are seen as brood mares, which is why she tries so desperately to escape her marriage with Macbeth, just for her to end up married to another monarch. She sought independence through many plots and schemes, just to end up as property of another man in the eyes of society.

It was well written and attention grabbing, but I didn’t find any of the characters very likable.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.

eARC provided by the publisher through Netgalley.

At the heart of it all, this book is about Roscille, Lady Macbeth, who is just a girl trying to survive and I couldn’t help myself rooting for her in every scene. I love her strategising mind and the way she uses it as a weapon to survive.

She also has her many vulnerable and lowest moments which I think shouldn’t define her as a weak protagonist but something that hones her into a resilient person.

To be honest, I forgot about most of what happens in the original Macbeth play since I read it years ago for school but it didn’t hinder my enjoyment while reading this book. In fact, throughout the book, I was able to recollect main plot points of the play that I had forgotten.

I also loved the fantasy elements and the romantic elements mixed in since it adds a little spark to the plot.

Expect witches, romance, mythical creatures, curses, revenge.

ARC provided by publisher— Ballantine— in exchange for an honest review

4.5 ★ rounded up

This might be Ava Reid’s best work yet- a gothic reimagining of Shakespeare’s Macbeth grants the readers the point of view of Lady Macbeth, getting her point of view of the horrors she is forced to face. It went straight to the point, something I was happy to see after A Study in Drowning took some time to really get into the plot, the tension was immediate and never faltered (unfortunate for my poor heart) yet despite this, I couldn’t put the book down until I got the rewarding ending!! The cover is so pretty too,, completely supporting her rightt and her wrongs!!!

A dark reimagining of Macbeth that turns Lady Macbeth from a conniving murderess to a cunning girl fighting for survival. And makes Macbeth out to be the sole orchestrator of his own demise.

I enjoyed it immensely!

It is similar to Ava Reid’s previous works in that it tackles difficult themes around womanhood and incorporates folklore that is appropriate for the story. The prose is exceptional as usual. I personally like Reid’s use of the different historical names for the locations in the story, playing into the theme of true names having power.

While it contains a dark atmosphere, like Reid’s other stories, the gloominess of fits very well with the story and somehow differentiates itself from the other works.

Reid adds fantastical elements to this existing piece of literature that feels natural in the story.

It took me a few chapters to really get into the story, and I felt the relationship between Roscille and Lisander as well as Roscille and Senga could have used a few more scenes to make the emotional buy-in have a more impactful payoff in the climax of the story. But there was enough for it to not really bother me.

As a fan of Ava Reid's other works I was so excited to be approved for Lady Macbeth. Unfortunately, this retelling didn't work for me. For the positives: Ava Reid's writing is always beautiful and atmospheric—it's one of the reasons I love her books so much. But the downsides of this book outweighed the positives. I found the changes from the original story strange. Why is Lady Macbeth a teenager? Why is her only power in her beauty? Between Lady Macbeth & ASID, Reid seems to be spending a lot of time writing characters who are too beautiful for this world and it gets exhausting. We get it, you're pretty. Also the way the Scots are described is wild. Why are the Scots characterized as overly brutish—we spend so much time talking about how terrible they are, but overall I didn't think Macbeth seemed that terrible in this. Maybe Lady Macbeth was supposed to be immature and inexperienced, but I don't think that was a good change from her original character. The addition of the dragon felt random and only served to make this align more with fantasy.

I was pretty disappointed with this.

★★★★★ - 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid
༘Spoiler free ༘
⭐️4.625/5
🌶️
Fantasy, Dark Romantasy, Classical/Mythological
➳ Medieval Scottish Setting
➳ Shakespearean Characters Reimagined
➳ Curses
➳ Circe x Wolf Hall
➳ Dark
➳ Morally Grey Characters
➳ Feminine Rage
➳ Witches & Mythical Creatures

✨ “If she cannot have safety, if she cannot have love, at least she can have this. Vengeance.“ ✨
A dark and twisted reimagining of Shakespeare’s Lady MacBeth, Ava Reid introduces us to the tale of Roscille, a cursed young woman raised in fear and isolation, before being shipped off from her homeland and wedded to MacBeth. Her only friend is murdered upon arrival by MacBeth’s brutal court, and she is cloistered away from the people of Glammis. Shaped from birth by her father to be a cold creature, Roscille is armed with her mind and beauty to do his bidding. But what happens when that mind begins to dream of a just world, and no longer wishes to be a weapon that allows others to bleed for her lies?

📚📚📚

❧✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*❦*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧❧

I absolutely inhaled this book, and was unable to sleep until i completed it. Roscille grew up feared by men and women alike, cursed by a witch and trained to become a weapon for her father to wield. Her understanding of the outside world, other cultures and other courts was shaped through the education provided by her father. The closest person to her is murdered by her husband’s court upon her arrival and marriage to Lord MacBeth. His court proves more sinister than her father’s, and she is forbidden to have any other women in the castle with her. Isolated from the people of Glammis, her only knowledge of the land she lives in comes from her father’s horribly xenophobic teachings, and the absolutely brutal men who make up MacBeth’s court. MacBeth’s fatal flaw is his ambition and greed, but he is certainly darker than his shakespearean counterpart. Roscille’s fatal flaw is ignoring the power she has, and feigning innocence. With power comes responsibility, and i truly appreciated Roscille’s character arc and growth upon this realisation. Her first interaction with a non court-member of Glammis introduced Roscille to what her people were truly like. Roscille began to dream of a just and merciful world for herself and her people, and took accountability for her actions and chose to use her power to avenge the innocents. It is here we saw the difference between MacBeth’s greed driven ambition, and Roscille’s ambition for justice.

The pace really sped up about halfway through, and I found myself wanting to savour every time Lisander graced our pages. I would have loved to see more of him, and would honestly love a book that follows up on the characters.
Put this at the top of your TBR for August 2024.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

💖
LIKES:
⋆ Ava Reid’s beautiful prose
⋆ The journey of feminine rage & accountability for your power
⋆ This was a perfectly dark romantasy and reimagining of MacBeth.
⋆ The lore included in this novel was beautiful, and i’d love to read more reimaginings of classics or mythology from Ava Reid

❤️‍🩹
DISLIKES:
⋆ None to note

**Fantasy Scoring**
Worldbuilding ➷ ✅ 5/5
Foreshadowing ➷ ✅ 4/5
Plot ➷ ✅ 5/5
Relationships ➷ ✅ 4.5/5

Thank you to the Ava Reid, Del Rey, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to provide my honest opinion on the ARC of this book.