This was a tough read, I really wanted to like it but I just could not get over the xenophobia. I this retelling took ALOT of creative authority, which I get but also….

Loved, loved, loved it. Female rage is one of my favorite tropes, and this book was chock full of it. Ate that shit up.

Ava Reid does it again! Lady Macbeth is everything I wanted—lush, haunting, and so beautifully written it hurts. Reid takes one of Shakespeare’s most infamous women and gives her the depth and agency she deserves, crafting a story that feels both timeless and fresh. Her prose is as immersive as ever, pulling you into a world that’s dark, atmospheric, and full of simmering tension. I’d honestly read anything she writes at this point, and this book just solidifies that. If you love her other work, you’re in for a treat.

Ava Reid has such an incredibly magical way of writing - this is my third book by Reid, but absolutely not my last. I knew a Shakepeare retelling would be 100% my vibe, but WOW I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR HOW MUCH I LOVED THIS?! Stunning, start to finish, cover included!

This story was absolutely ethereal and gripping, and I love everything Reid writes, but I’m especially a sucker for a Shakespeare retelling.

DNF’d — unfortunately this was hard for me to truly get into.
One of the main barriers was the fact that it’s not a Macbeth retelling but mostly lends itself to the name. I also felt dis attached from the characters.
However, I enjoyed the medieval vibe and how the author stayed truth to the fact that different names would be pronounced based on their origin and not a universal language.

Ava Reid is one of the powerhouse voices of this generation — especially when it comes to stories with themes of magic, horror, and resilience. Even though I am not a fan of Shakespearean plays, this was a thrilling, dark story to experience! I’m glad I wasn’t familiar with the original tale of MacBeth because it helped me enjoy the twisting ending more I’m sure. Loved it!

Like MacBeth but up the ante on fierceness, and gothic atmosphere. "Lady Macbeth" is a reimagined world with the spotlight on Lady Macbeth. It is a story woven with history, myth, and determination.


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I liked Ava Reid's "A Study in Drowning" and was excited for her new book. I thought this book brought too much imagination to the character of Lady Macbeth, where I was stuck fighting with emotions of "wait, that's not like Lady Macbeth". It was a little to different for me to stay focused on what Reid was doing.

Thank you Ava Reid for bringing this book to readers, thank you RH Ballantine, and thank you NetGalley

I loved this interpretation of lady Macbeth it was very powerful and moving. I loved the different roles she had to play given the circumstances she was in. It was very interesting and showed a lot about her character.

Ava is so good at weaving stories. While I didn't vibe with the character or the pacing, I loved the writing. The way ava creates fmcs is captivating and I enjoy watching the growth of the characters.

I will always run to read whatever Ava writes.

I waited until winter to read this and I’m so glad I did. Absolutely wonderful. Ava Reid has a way of writing that’s so subtly beautiful and atmospheric but not over the top. She never tries to tell the reader how they should feel. This might be my favorite of hers yet and I’m so excited to read her new releases this year!

This was my most anticipated book of the year, but unfortunately became my most disappointing book of the year. I dnf'd at 35% but kept thinking I would come back and try again later. I have finally admitted that I don't have it in me. For a book that claims to be a feminist retelling of Macbeth, it removes agency from Lady Macbeth. She is a strong powerful woman with plenty of agency in the play, and she was unrecognizable here. *sigh*

I really enjoy Ava Reid’s writing - it’s beautiful and lyrical, so how could you not? Lady McBeth was no different, I found myself captivated in Reid’s writing and fully immersed in the story.

What I really appreciate is the careful way Reid characterized her. I wasn’t always rooting for her and in fact don’t really like her, but in the end you can’t deny her strength.

At times the storyline lagged and I found myself not wanting to pick it up. This is why I didn’t rate it higher as the pacing could have been picked up to keep the story moving along. All in all a solid 3.5 stars from me.

4/5

Drenched in prophecy and blood, Ava Reid's Lady Macbeth provides a new window into the iconic, often misunderstood Shakespearean figure of Lady Macbeth. It's brutal, it's deadly, and it's everything I have come to expect from its author. History intertwines with magic as Lady Roscille is slowly entrapped within the walls of a Scottish castle and the men who rule her fate. Lady Macbeth is a dark and pensive reimagining that dragged me down into its suffocating gothic atmosphere and made me feel every abuse, every cruelty, and every triumph brought down upon its central character. Reid's vivid, biting prose is wielded against those who seek to control women through cruelty and abuse in favor of the women who turn to the monstrous to remake themselves. Lady Macbeth is clever in its slow-turning narrative and the lady herself who fights to survive at all costs. This story does stand on its own, with myriad connections to Macbeth that readers will appreciate; it still has its footing grounded by Reid's skillful character building and dark gothic fairytale undertones. Ava Reid has long since earned the title of my favorite fantasy author. I am completely in awe of their imaginative take on Lady Macbeth and I know others will leave this feeling much of the same.

Like most people, I was introduced to Shakespeare in a high school English class and one of my favorite reads was none other than Macbeth. Why? Because Lady Macbeth’s character was before her time and I fell in love with her. This was an excellent retelling expanding on that character that Ava Reid masterfully put together. I was thoroughly impressed and really enjoyed getting in the mind of one of the best characters in all of Shakespeare in a different way.

Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid was a suspenseful and intriguing read. I kept harkening back to my high school days when I read Macbeth--turning over clever foreshadowing and making connections. Moreover, the characterization of Roscille and the way she thinks, plans, moves chess pieces on the board, including herself was fascinating and made me yearn for more "intellectual wins" in the books I read. The feminist commentary on how women and witches are treated was full of depth and honesty. I will be recommending Lady Macbeth in Reader's Advisories and as a companion read to Macbeth itself.

I liked this book a lot. I loved getting a look into Lady Macbeth's head, and all the little details really made the book for me.

Ava Reid is one of my favourite authors of all time. Regardless of who it is, whether it be customers or friends and family, or somebody I know who wants a book recommendation, I tend to steer towards Ava’s works. She has a versatile selection of books and stories and even characters, so there’s usually something for everyone, whether you want a good fantastical horror story or you want an interesting mythological story about a fairie king. Macbeth is one of my favourite childhood plays, from a young age it has stuck with me throughout my adulthood. Ava has a fantastic story laid out in this book. Lady Macbeth has always been one of my favourite characters, so Reid plunging into her mind made her more than more fascinating to me. The prose in this were fantastic, the gothic style so utterly Ava Reid it was a delight to read. I truly, truly enjoyed this one and cannot, as always, wait to pick up her next releases. Please read lady Macbeth! 5/5 stars!

DNF 33% - I'm finding that women are treated so badly irl that its hard for me to read misogyny in my escapism fiction and enjoy what I'm reading.

I am an english major and Shakespeare lover. I also love the author Ava Reid and have read ALL her books. So after the hit that was A Study in Drowning, I was sooooo excited for this. Ava Reid and Shakespeare??? Sign me up!

But like with all her books, I need time to mull this over. Whenever I read one of Ava's books, they don't quite hit right away. I spend time thinking about them, and then after a month or so, realize I either love or disliked them. So far, I haven't disliked any, so I feel this book is the same. I'm a little torn between loving it and saying... wait a minute, what was that? So I'll withhold my opinion for now, but this was still quite a promising book. Just didn't love it as much as I did her previous ones.