This is beautifully written, well-constructed book with an interesting perspective on an age-old tale that critiques the girlbossification-of-historical-women trend so hard it actually ends up undermining itself in the process. As much I can appreciate the literary and feminist merit of this novel, situating a well-known "villainess" in the mind and body of a young teenager struggling to escape her fate, something about this characterization still rubs me the wrong way. To erase Lady M's bad, selfish aspects is to erase so much of what makes her unique and fascinating as an early-modern character: Reid's Lady M doesn't strictly lack ambition or negative qualities, but we are made to sympathize with her, to understand the context of her actions and the fear driving them, to see her ambition as a desire to escape and survive rather as a desire for power or influence. Does a woman need to be seeking power or influence to be ambitious? No! Does strength come in many different shapes and forms, and is survival its own form of ambition? Yes, absolutely! Does it sit kind of weirdly with me to have one of the few examples of a power-hungry, desperate, and complicated woman in historical literature burdened with a contemporary feminist lens that both co-ops history while applying modern moras to it? I mean...also yes!. Reid's Lady Macbeth is undoubtedly a compelling story of survivorship and a fresh new reading of story told and retold for generations. I just don't think this characterization of Lady M is as meaningful or daring as Reid clearly means it to be.

ava reid, the writer you are.

hands down one of the best books i’ve read. Macbeth is a Shakespeare play I really enjoyed, so to see it reimagined from Lady Macbeths POV was so intriguing and exciting. I knew the second it was announced that Ava would absolutely nail it.

This book went above and beyond my expectations. Every page had me so compelled and obsessed. Roscille was such an interesting character, I had not known much about Lady Macbeth and Ava’s version of her is absolutely beautiful. When writing this book they really went into dept with the mistreatment of women back in those times, the power play between the important, powerful men, and the fear of witchcraft that existed at that time.

I’m in awe. the writing was so truly beautiful and i highlighted such heart-wrenching quotes i cannot wait to share once it’s released. Every sentence was so perfectly written. Ava had such a visual aspect through their writing with Lady Macbeth. In my head I can truly imagine what’s going on and what it all looks like. Her details in the writing add so much to the dialogue and overall scenes themselves.

Lady Macbeth is a book you don’t wanna miss. Shakespeare lover or not— you will throughly enjoy this masterpiece of a novel.

Now this is how you do a retelling.

Already liked Reid's work after Juniper and Thorn but this book really solidified my enjoyment for her writing style.

Just enough is altered from its Shakespearian origin to give this story it's own identity. Lady Macbeth is a different breed of tragedy.

The few nitpicks that I have with the text are a few motifs that I find repetitive regarding the physicality of Macbeth himself. But that's very nitpicking of me and shouldn't hold any weight against the quality of the novel.

I very much enjoyed this retelling of Macbeth as told from the perspective of Lady Macbeth. It explores her reasoning for some of the choices she made that lead to Macbeth’s choices. I loved the back story to the witches! If you are a fan of retellings, this is a must read.

I adored this book but was infuriated the entire time, This is the same story as Shakespeare’s play with a lot more meat on its bones. It’s also from a slightly different perspective because this is Roscille’s story. Ava Reid’s writing is so atmospheric and I love it so much.
Lady Macbeth shows us that you can be calculated without being cunning. Highly recommend. This is a good one.

This is definitely one of the best reimagining historical fiction I have read in some time! It is one of those novels that you read and enjoy vividly through the lush descriptions and good storytelling. I was unable to put it down and once I finished it, I miss reading it. Perfect for those who love historical gothic fiction.

While pretty good, this did not quite live up to Juniper & Thorn for me. I still am glad it exists and to have read it. It was a great retelling of Macbeth through the Lady's perspective.

I'll start with the positive. Ava Reid's prose is thematic, lush, and visceral. Unfortunately that's the end of what I liked about this book. I was devastatingly disappointed, as A Study in Drowning was not only my favorite book of last year but one of my favorite books of all time. This story would have been fantastic had it not been a Macbeth retelling, and I just couldn't let go of what this story should have been.

This book asks the question, what if Lady Macbeth, an ambitious, ruthless, power-hungry, middle-aged woman...was none of those things? And the answer is well, not very interesting. Maybe if this book had been a retelling of a different story or even a prequel to the events of Macbeth I could have forgiven it, but it was such a disservice to one of the most interesting and villainous women in literature.

Slight spoiler here, but when this book was marketed as a "monster romance," I had an image in my head that the romance would be with...you know, Macbeth, that it would be through the intensity of their love for each other that they turned monstrous. But the romance that was included was not with Macbeth and just felt kind of tacked-on and unnecessary.

So again, I just don't understand why this was a Macbeth retelling. You could have changed all of the names and maybe one or two plot points and it would have been indistinguishable.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the advanced copy in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher. 5 ⭐️

It is a retelling of a classic tale that manages to elevate its original inspiration while becoming something singular itself. The love story, conflicts, and interpersonal relationships all follow the pacing and style of Shakespeare’s Macbeth which I think is this story’s brilliance.

Witches, a Dragon, Scottish Fairy Pools, and some death. What more could you ask for?

Ava Reid has solidified themselves as a favorite author of mine with this book. They can write in their specific voice as an author while also crafting a tale that feels true to the story itself. Like with Juniper & Thorn, this story pays homage to the feeling and essence of the original work while being made entirely on its own by Reid’s writing.

The witches are my favorite part of the original Macbeth and stay one of my favorite pieces of this retelling. The way they are woven into the story and the overall plot of the women that men manage to demonize, weaponize, and somehow also forget elevates them even beyond their original archetype.

Roscille, our main character, manages to be both strategic and soft, brutal and intentional. In female characters, I often find that this duality is hard to do well or often not done at all.

This story reminds us that looking at the author of a tale and questioning their motives is just as important as the tale itself. It leaves us with an alternative history as important as the original work.

This book is marketed as historical fiction, gothic, re-imagining, etc. and I think that to be very accurate! It is important to note and put emphasis on the fact that this is a re-imagining and not a retelling. That being said... if you are not familiar with Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, I would highly recommend researching it briefly to get an idea of what it was. I was not familiar with the original work and found the beginning of the novel to be confusing but it made more sense once I had a summary of the play and characters (Macbeth and Lady Macbeth).

I was drawn to this book because of the description, author, and the cover. The book is beautifully written and gives off those dark, gothic, eerie vibes that I was expecting. It has lyrical/poetic prose that Ava Reid is known for but also ties in a mix of the native Scottish language and Shakespeare from the original play that it references which I thought was a nice touch. I recommend reading on a Kindle so you can easily refer to definitions if needed. This really helped me while reading since this was not a simple read in terms of the language used.

That being said.... this book is confusing. It was hard to understand and the pace was really slow and I had to read it extremely slow to try and make sense of it. It was written almost in a sequence like a play would be. Instead of chapters it was broken in to "Acts" and it did help with the pacing when it came to imagination because the book itself was slow paced and the ending seemed rushed BUT I assume if it were a play thats how it would be acted out so it worked. The character Lady Macbeth was supposed to portray, in my opinion, a women who is too cunning and clever for her own good and is feared by men but as a reader I portrayed her as a naive girl who was somewhat ignorant and assumptive. She didnt know anything of her husband and the laned he ruled before marrying him so she would just constantly assume things instead of trying to learn which always put her one step behind all the other characters when she was attempting to be clever or scheming. She also always referred to Macbeth as this brute warrior who was abusive and hated woman but he only showed kindness and respect until the very end after learning she betrayed him so it was hard for me to find any credibility or sympathy for her as a character when it was supposed to be a book based on finally giving her a voice and purpose.

I have always loved Macbeth. I knew I absolutely had to read this one and it blew me away. This is definitely already my top fave read of this year and I have read 47 books already lol

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an eARC in return for an honest review!

4.5 Stars

I was first introduced to Ava Reid's work with 'A study in Drowning,' and loved it. I continued to enjoy her writing in 'Lady Macbeth,' and I plan to continue picking up her books in the future!
I can honestly say that I do not remember a single thing about Shakespeare's Macbeth from when I read it in school, so you do not have to know the original story to enjoy this one! That being said, I cannot offer any sentiments on how close it is to the original tragedy.

I would have liked to see more of a certain male character and gotten to know him more, but this seems to be a common feeling I get with standalones. I liked the female main character and I also loved her loyalty to and protectiveness over her handmaiden. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys her writing or is a fan of Shakespeare!

To start this off, you do not need to go into this book having read Macbeth or do a reread of Macbeth to understand what is going on. It had been quite a few years since I read Macbeth but I adore Ava Reid’s style and knew I would love this as well.
Ava’s words always crafts such a gorgeous immersive world. Rosecille, is the beautiful bastard daughter whose gaze enchants men. She is forced to see the world through a veil to protect men’s minds and is sent off as all daughters are to marry at her father’s behest.

“You are whatever creature I have made you.”

Rosecille is bold in her exploration of the world, she does her best to protect herself and mark out a place in a world ruled by men. I was left with a sense of peace and fresh air after the last page of this novel. I am so used to being crushed by Ava Reid that this feeling of relief is unexpected!

“There is no freedom for me when I am absent of you.”

And the love found within this novel is so touching, and builds so beautiful. Proof that a monster is not always what you expect it to be. And that sometimes the true monsters are found in unexpected places.

Overall, the writing is lyrical and the world build was well paced. The characters had such depth and their history was fleshed out so well. I loved this book and find it to be a book of healing more than anything.

10/10, excellent book. I felt like I was transported to Medieval Scotland. This retelling is truly unique. I loved the world building and the characters. I was new to this author but I have already requested her other novels from the library. I can’t wait to read more from her!

4 stars

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

This book was haunting and powerful. I don’t know much about Macbeth so I wasn’t sure what to expect with this one and I also don’t know how this fits in with the original story. This is a very slow paced book so I found myself getting a little lost sometimes but the writing is eerie and beautiful and kept pulling me back in. Roscille’s story was devastating but felt so universal. She was put in a position that unfortunately women even know can relate to. I loved watching her take her power back and get her revenge. This was a delightful blend of historical and gothic fantasy that I think will haunt me for a while

Thank you netgalley for the ARC copy of this E-book for my honest review!
I do not know the original story of Shakespeare that this was a retelling of but I did not understand a lot of the Irish wording! It’s very thought provoking when it come to woman empowerment but I found that the story was very slow and at sometimes very boring! Eeek sorry! I saw that there was some very good reviews so this book is probably for you Shakespeare girlies and this just wasn’t for me but I gave it 3 stars!

While this was one of the most unique writing styles I have read in a while, I had VERY high hopes for this book (a classic retold) and it just left me wanting so much more.

There were pieces of the story that felt so far from Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth, which in itself is not an issue, it simply left me unable to connect with the story, the angle, and quite literally any of the characters. While this was not Lady Macbeth, it was a story of a too-young maybe-witch, forced to wed a less than wonderful, yet not really terrible, guy. The predictability of the ending left made the last 100 or so pages almost painful, especially with the very little you learn about the characters, the context and even the why in across those pages. Obviously she would fall for the prince, obviously the angry prisoner who knows your secret is going to spill it, some of it just felt far too obvious while the rest of the story left me scratching my head.

I didn't understand the extra witches in the basement, how the concept of a dragon made its way into the story, or even how readers were supposed to believe or connect with the love story that blossomed across one and a half interactions.

Just didn't do it for me, but still looking forward to reading more from the author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC of this book!

When I tell you I was so excited for this book, I really mean it. I was refreshing NetGalley to see when ARCs would become available, because there is no way I wanted to wait until August for this Lady Macbeth reimagining. This book feels the most similar to Juniper and Thorn and I highly recommend if you love Ava's writing already. It has great nods to Shakespeare without being too on the nose, and the fantasy elements have been upped a bit. Did I mention there is a dragon and it's kind of a monster romance? Pick it up and enjoy this book you'll probably devour in one sitting. Something wicked this way comes for Macbeth and her name is Roscille/Rosele/Rosalie/Roscilla.

This book was beautiful, it was my first time reading anything by Ava Reid and it will not by my last.

Lady MacBeth is a story of position, of knowing and understanding your own as well as being aware of the positions of other people’s.
It is tragic but light
Bold yet Brave
Roscille is an honorable female MC, she is thoughtful and clever and I admire her so much. This book will stay with me, it’s a brilliant retelling of a classic story. Full of lessons and small smiles.

One of my biggest takeaways is how approachable the book is. If you are not a fan of or looking to get in to gothic/classic literature I think this is a great starting point. It makes me excited for the people who will unlock so many literary doors and worlds.

I cant recommend this book enough-10/10

Had to DNF this book at 26% It is now obvious that Ava Reid’s writing is not for me.

Also, this book made like no sense to me. I took a Shakespeare class in college and this was harder to understand than actual Shakespearean work.

Appreciate the chance to be able to review though. Thank you.