As someone who isn't as familiar with the original Macbeth story, I still enjoyed the premise of this. You'll find that the FMC is someone who was told she should be timid, quiet, and mindful to appease her new husband; finally embracing the person she was meant to be. This can come off as a young naive girl whining about her life, but you'll need her inner monologue to understand the differences in cultures from what she was raised in, to the culture she was married into.

I really loved A Study in Drowning but unfortunately this book didn’t resonate with me. I think the parts of ASID that were troubling were amplified in LM, such as the xenophobia and a main character who cannot see beyond herself. Ultimately, this was a highly anticipated but disappointing book for me.

I have mixed emotions about this book. I wish this was its own original story as I would have loved it a lot more. The writing was great and the story unique. I would have loved it own it’s own. As a retelling of Macbeth not so much. I did not like how Ava Reid characterized Roscille (Lady Macbeth). In the original Macbeth I always saw Lady Macbeth as the mastermind behind the plot, someone who was cut throat and strong and then their descent into madness of the weight of what they have done catches up to them. Ava Reid’s Lady Macbeth though is timid and just felt like it didn’t fit with the original character of Lady Macbeth. I get that this is trying to be more historically accurate and fairytale-ish but it didn’t really work with the story of Macbeth. Also there were plot points that just came out of left field that threw me off.
Again if this was its own original story with its own original characters I would have been all for it but as a retelling it fell flat.

On a better note I did enjoy how Ava Reid wrote the three witches their descriptions were amazing.

Atmospheric, historical, feminist. Magical. Complicated. Is there anything Ava Reid can't write? Love this REIMAGINING of Lady Macbeth. A definite add to our library collection!

This version veers far far away from Macbeth and the main character did not improve throughout the book. A lot of stereotypes and not very well-researched.

It took a while to get into this book, but once I did I fell in love with Reid‘s writing and language throughout the novel. The characters were unique and I still got the Macbeth storyline/background but it‘s own story in and of itself. I loved the descriptions of the witches and the setting too.

First, I don't have any feelings regarding the play Macbeth - never read it; just seen the A24 movie and the movie with Michael Fassbender; so, the author can do whatever changes she wants with this retelling and the changes don't really affect my opinion.

So, you want to do a feminist retelling? Yay, let's go, love those. However, why would you then make your female main character just devoided of any agency throughout the whole book? Roscille is just manipulated and used through the entire story. She is just a scared, abused teenager who keeps on being used and thrown into situations. Look, I don't need my female main characters all to be self-assured, confident, and capable women. I'm all for all kinds of personality the author wants to give me. But don't keep telling how smart and cunny the character is when she is not. The book kept telling how intelligent she was and how she was maneuvering so well, and I was looking for it but it just wasn't on the page. Yeah, they kept telling me she was, but it was never shown. And if there is one pet peeve that I have is when a character is said to be so clever but it's never shown. Let's talk about character development. Once again, Roscille kept saying how different she was now that she became lady Macbeth. What? The only difference that was notable was that before she could notice how people really were and now she can't anymore. Ok?! I guess that's something different then. She never uses what she is and what she has to help herself, to reclaim her powers, her story. She only uses it when others command her to. Why??

And what was that whole love story? Her connection with the love interest came out of nowhere. They were complete strangers and one of them was already professing undying loyalty and love for the other. That was even beyond instalove. They had maybe 2,3 scenes in the entire book and I was supposed to care for it? And what was that whole magical being business? It felt more like a deus ex machina because the author had written herself into a corner.

And the pacing was atrocious. The book felt really long but a lot of things was happening at the same time. It was extremely boring but at the same time things kept happening one after the other. But I never really got to see it, I was just told about it.

On a side note, what does this book have against Scotland and its people? There was just so much hatred against them. And why did she have to keepn on saying how big Macbeth was? Every time he was on page, I had to read how big and enormous he was.

Thank you Netgalley, author, and publisher for the ARC.

3.5 ⭐️s rounded up
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"Let them call you witch, as they do any woman that professes strength."

Its absolutely not necessary to read Macbeth before diving in, but do it anyway because its great. Lady Macbeth is quite the departure from the source material and I'm not bothered a bit by it. These are different women. A retelling, after all.
Fear not, theres murder a plenty. Plus we get a surprising and messy romance of sorts. The Lady gets a name! And we get the slow transformation from timid girl into a strong Lady and Queen.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey for the eARC!

I've read a few Ava Reid books before so I was really excited to jump into this one. While this wasn't my favorite by her, I really did enjoy it. This reimagining is so different from the original Macbeth that I wish it had just been its own original story instead. But what I did love was the author's incredible writing. I love her atmospheric prose that drips gothic vibes. Her writing just steals my attention and never lets go.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you like Shakespeare's Macbeth, I'm not sure you'll like this version of the story, powerful though it may be – but that could be my own expectations not being met.

Despite marketing claims, this is not Macbeth from Lady M’s perspective; this is a brand-new fantasy story set within the framework of Shakespeare’s play – but one that greatly deviates from the Bard’s work. First and foremost with its titular character, actually. While I didn’t loathe her perspective, she doesn’t resemble her infamous inspiration in the slightest. Lady M is usually thought to be fully matured woman that controls the knife through her husband when he falters in the face of treachery and the reality of violence; this Lady Macbeth is a 17-year-old child bride attempting to survive in an arranged marriage with a brute of a husband with no true power of her own.

I wasn’t mad at a lot of the changes; in fact, certain characters – Banquo and Fleance in particular – made a lot more sense with a bit more insight. But I abhorred the take on our main couple. They were basically unrecognizable. Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Lady M is widely considered to be one of the strongest depictions of a marriage that is also a partnership and that is not reflected in this book in the slightest.

The writing is admittedly beautiful, and I wish I felt more of the emotion it is clearly meant to inspire. There are gorgeous sentences and quotes aplenty; some clever feminist messages that ultimately fail to hit the mark.

The magic when it comes to the story’s women is never explained and I wasn’t swept away enough by the tale to go along for the ride and not question the whys and hows of the world – or the whys and hows of why the author chose this take.

All in all, I may be more of a Shakespeare purist than I thought, but I truly don’t see how this will resonate with any fans of the original story. And I don’t see anyone picking this book up without also enjoying the play.

Content warnings: violence, death, marital abuse, suicidal ideation, implied (not described) sexual assault.

I always love Ava Reid's work, so I knew Lady Macbeth would be a win for me. And as someone who grew up loving not only Shakespeare, but the Scottish play in particular, this book checked all my boxes. The only flaw I found was that this one may not be easily enjoyed but readers who are not familiar with the original play and Lady MacBeth's first tellings.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Very gothic-y and was a quick read. Very good for those ready for fall spooky reads. I've already bought a physical copy after reading this from netgally

Thank you NetGalley and Del Ray for the ARC!

- I loved the atmosphere and how Reid really captured a gothic fantasy in this one! The way everything feels damp and sodden and the recurring mention of eels/lampreys really add so much.
- One of the main complaints I’ve heard is that this strays too far away from the original. I got to see Reid speak about this book, and she talked about how, when rewriting this from Lady Macbeth’s pov, she thought about the books Lady Macbeth may have read, which would have been chivalric romances. She took inspiration from chivalric romance, and that’s where I saw the largest deviations come up-but knowing why she did that and her inspiration made those changes even more meaningful!
- I loved the way she made the Lady younger and used that youth (both that other’s underestimate her but also her naïveté) to add to her character-especially the madness.
- I won’t say much to avoid spoilers, but the witches and how she adapts them is so well done.

A reimagining of Lady Macbeth’s story where she is the main character. I wanted to like this one so much because the premise sounded so good. However, I found the writing just really hard to get into. There are also multiple character names for some people (similar but still different enough) that I feel like she could have avoided for clarity.

Lady Macbeth was an interesting character even when told as a part of Macbeth’s story. This book brings even more life to this unique character and adds depth to the story in a retelling of a classic.

I really enjoyed her development as the story progresses and the character develops into lady Macbeth from a reluctant young girl married off.

Hopefully there will be more from Ava Reid

**3.5-stars**

To round up, or to not round up? That is the question.

The first thing that sticks out in my mind about this book is that it took me 20-days to read, which it shouldn't have. It's fairly short, but every single time I picked it up, I would fall asleep after like 10-pages. Reid's writing is beautiful, but it failed to ever truly grip me. I was hoping for a more sinister plot, and a more overtly cunning representation of Lady Macbeth as well. However, I did enjoy the level of inspiration from the original story, and felt the setting and atmosphere were very well done. I felt the cold and dark in my bones.

I'm getting a little ahead of myself though, so let's start at the beginning. As you would expect, Lady Macbeth is Ava Reid's reimagining of one of the best villains, IMHO, of all time, Lady Macbeth. We love her.

Lady Macbeth, as a character, has always fascinated me and I do tend to enjoy new fiction that reimagines her role, or persona. One of my favorites, for example, would be Foul Is Fair, which is indeed very modern, while this story is true to the original in time. In fact, the setting and characters all feel fairly true to the original source material, and I think any fan of that work could enjoy checking this one out.

I did enjoying following Roscille, who becomes Lady Macbeth, as she first arrives at Macbeth's castle and meets her husband-to-be for the first time, as well as her introduction to other inhabitants of the castle and their ways, which are all very mysterious to her. I also did feel Roscille was cunning and smart. That she was strategizing all along the best ways to get by in her new life. With this being said though, I was disappointed not to get more development in her relationship with her husband. I felt that was very surface level and I would have wanted much more to feel satisfied.

By this I don't mean romantically. I wanted more strategizing between them, and honestly, I wanted to see more manipulation on her part. I know it was there, but it just felt weak compared to what I was hoping for. I wanted her to be using Macbeth's alleged brutish nature more to her advantage. It felt more like the reverse, that he was still in control. I know that's not exactly true, especially by the end, but I wanted her power to be more unconcealed. Personally, it felt too subtle for me. It was like those punching points I wanted were a bit bogged down by the beauty of the writing. Although there's nothing wrong with pretty writing, it just wasn't quite to my tastes.


The first half of the book was definitely more successful for me. At that point, there was still hope and the possibility that Lady Macbeth would live up to her full, sinister potential. Unfortunately, that just never really followed through to the extent that I wanted. With this being said, I did still enjoy this. It is a good story and I'm so happy to have tried Ava Reid's work for the very first time. I would be interested in reading more from Reid.
I would also recommend this to anyone who is interested in the character of Lady Macbeth. I think there are some great scenes in this that lots are Readers will enjoy. It's also atmospheric and easy to follow: plus, plus.

Thank you to the publisher, Del Rey, for providing me for a copy to read and review.

While I wanted a bit more blatancy to Roscille's cunning and strategy, I still appreciate this for what it is and feel like the author did a great job reinterpreting this classic tale!

This was an interesting take on Lady Macbeth. This is the first true novel I have read that has fleshed Lady Macbeth out in a way that makes her more victim than villain. I like the writing style and I will recommend this to my students who love retellings.

Lady Macbeth - the retelling of Macbeth you didn't know you needed until now. I had such a fun time reading this, I stayed up late just so I could finish it when I was at about 70%. I had to know how it would end!! Ava Reid does it again!

I would say Macbeth is my favorite Shakespeare play (as someone who isn't really into Shakespeare to begin with) so I was pleasantly surprised with all of the fun changes and additions that the author made to the original story. This story being told from Lady Macbeth's POV and giving power to the woman who was just seen as crazy is so smart.

The visuals of this book were just phenomenal. It was so atmospheric, gothic, and gave a sense of dread that Lady Macbeth was feeling while being at Glammis. I also liked this version of Macbeth being a gigantic, hulking brute on the outside and a scheming narcissist on the inside.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. I wish there was a bit more after the final conclusion since it felt a bit rushed, but overall I'm so happy with how it turned out. 4/5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC!

Lady Macbeth is the first book I've read by Ava Reid. I know...she's written other (popular) books but I haven't gotten to them yet. That said, I think I liked this one but I think that's mostly due to not really looking at it as a retelling so much as a YA that just happened to be called Lady Macbeth.

Roscille is our main character and having grown up the bastard daughter of a Lord, she's been married off to Macbeth. Now she finds herself in a castle where she knows absolutely no one. Even the maid she came with has mysteriously disappeared. The only thing she can think to do is try to bargain her way out of having to consummate her marriage to the giant who is her husband by giving him a challenge. That challenge is what prompts the rest of the story and pushes Macbeth on his quest for more power and Roscille to do some things she hadn't expected she would do.

There were a number of interesting aspects to this story. The whole ability to control others with her eyes and turning into a dragon gave it a twist I wasn't expecting. From a character standpoint, there isn't really anyone likable in this book. Macbeth is a jerk - he is out for power and he's not above using Roscille to get it. But, while Roscille is nothing but a pawn in everything, so I don't hold anything against her, she doesn't wait very long to start manipulating those around her for the things she wants.

That said, if you go into this expecting Macbeth, you will be disappointed. I think if you go in with an open mind to this story, you might enjoy it.

I always love Ava Reid's books so this a somewhat bias review. Lady Macbeth is a feminist retelling of the Shakespearean play Macbeth. It focuses all around the young wife, her mystery and her influence over her husband. I am personally not a huge fan of Shakespeare, and knew nothing about the source material, which I think would have been really helpful in understanding all the nuances and research Ava put into this book. With that being said, I still really enjoyed the story. Ava has a way of creating a special atmosphere and mood with her writing that just sucks you in and leaves you wanting more. I love a good historical fantasy and this really had it all, moodiness, politics, magic and witches, lore. I tend to love character driven stories, and I feel like that is my only complaint is that I wish we knew more about the motivations of our FMC, but I loved the writing and the world enough I was okay with it.

And for those who have read Ava Reid's other works this book is much more tame than her other adult works in terms of gore and body horror.
Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me the chance to read this book early!