Thank you to NetGalley and Del Ray for the arc of Lady Macbeth!

After reading both A Study in Drowning and Lady Macbeth, I can say with certainty that Ava Reid has the most magnetic quality to her writing. It’s impossible to not feel as though you’re right beside Roscille in all her hardships and victories. She is truly the original girlboss, gaslight, and gatekeeper of Scotland. A wonderful 4 star read, only docked a star for my opinion that the ending could have been slightly more fleshed out. However, it’s fully determined that if Ava Reid writes it, I’ll absolutely be reading it.

Wow. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. Fascinating and dark and wild. Can you imagine being raised believing you were the product of a witch’s curse? How that would influence your fears? Your insecurities? Your decisions? Ava Reid did imagine and she so perfectly captured a girl fighting to survive, by any means necessary. Lady Macbeth is a beautiful and dark character study of a world-renowned woman that demanded justice.

In this book, Ava Reid writes with very beautiful words, almost poetic, and reminiscent of old literature. Sometimes, I found myself lost in the wording because it’s not what I typically read, but once I got my bearings, it was truly beautiful.

Note: As someone who’s never read Macbeth, I was at a bit of a disadvantage reading this. At first, I had a difficult time keeping up with names and places and phrases. There is a guide at the beginning to help you, but it feels like reading a foreign language if you are not a tiny bit knowledgeable to the original story. So I went and looked up the plot of Macbeth. I’m sharing this because to really get the full experience of what Ava Reid is doing here, you might want to have a base understanding of Macbeth.

i’m pretty neutral on shakespeare, but i always felt like lady macbeth was given a shit deal. she was only ever what she was created to be and she was killed for it. when i saw that ava reid was going to breathe new life into her character, reframing macbeth with its lady at the center, i knew without a doubt that it would be nothing short of life-changing. i wasn’t wrong. this is a work of art.

a gothic, feminist retelling of macbeth that’s dripping with rage. lady macbeth may be a monster of men’s creation, but she won’t be quiet. i could feel the art jumping out of the pages as i read. the reluctant bride, the execution of lady jane grey, judith slaying holofernes (artemisia gentileschi, of course). i’m so happy to see lady macbeth given the story she deserves. i can’t believe i’ve read the best book of 2024 and it’s only january.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for sending me this ARC!

I have read every one of Reid’s previous works, and I have to say her writing and storytelling just gets better and better every time!

Lady Macbeth is a beautifully written retelling of the story of Macbeth told from his 17 year old wife’s perspective. It is full of feminine rage, magic, ladies and lords, all set in 11th Century Scotland as the battle between the Scots and the English rages on.

Roscille navigates her new life as Macbeth’s wife and learns how to deal with a misogynistic world where women are less than men and seen wholly as objects. She struggles with self identity, womanhood, and strength while using her cunning wit that has been overlooked by the men around her to succeed into a better life.

Reid writes with such eloquence. This book went a different direction than her previous works, but her tone remained flawless. This gothic masterpiece was full of poetic writing and feminine rage blended into such a beautifully deep and profound story. The characters are written flawlessly. The organization and overall plot layout of the book was perfection. The story was told with such care that it moved me immensely.

Amazing. It comes out August 6th of this year, so PLEASE go preorder it!!

Well done and incredibly dark. I did find that at points it wasn’t too much feeling like Macbeth (especially the setting didn’t super work), but even still it was fantastic. 4.5 rounded up

*received this arc from netgalley

“Let them call you witch, as they do any woman who professes any strength”

This book was something I couldn’t put down. It had a bleak outlook with a satisfying end. The writing makes me want to go and check out every other book written by Ava Reid! Can’t wait to buy the physical copy.

Thank you to Del Rey books for this ARC!!!

4.5 🌟- as a certified ava reid stan, i already knew i would like this. i also really enjoy macbeth in general so im biased in many ways. but this was soo good!!! we need more books set in medieval times.

i love the dark and isolated atmosphere and the writing was obviously gorgeous. i think it’s so cool that this book creates so much lore about not just lady m, but everyone in the original story. it’s more like a re-interpretation (or fanfic) of the original so don’t go into it expecting it to be exactly like the play.

one of my favorite aspects was the politics, scheming and mind games that each character plays with one another. the whole time i never knew who to trust and it was so captivating!!

so happy i was able to read this as an arc <33

Ava Reid absolutely aced this reimagining of Macbeth. I am in awe of her ability to transport and enchant me into this story. This is quite different from her previous works and I love it!
Lady Macbeth is alluring and atmospheric, well formed and refined. I adore this book and cannot wait to hold it in my hands. Ava Reid is a treasure and a maestro of gothic fantasy. I will read any words she puts to paper.

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

Standing ovation for this feat of literary brilliance. This had me on my knees from the first sentence.

Lady Macbeth is a bleak, romantic, beguiling retelling of Macbeth in a way that only Ava Reid can accomplish. Truly, Reid's strengths as a writer are perfectly highlighted in every element of this novel, from the lore, the history, and the inclusion of magic and magical creatures. Reid's prose is lush, poetic, unforgettable. I was highlighting practically every paragraph on my kindle and dying to have a physical copy in my hands to write notes in the margins.

The story follows Lady Macbeth before she becomes her legendary namesake, breathing new life into her mythos, giving her a backstory and a refreshing twist on the motivations that carry her through the actions of this story. She finds herself shipped away from home to marry a Scottish brute of a husband, a man who craves violence and has a hunger for conquering. Lady Macbeth uses her gifts of strategy and wile to survive the brutal landscape of the war games of men, ultimately learning that she has a power within her much greater than that of a sword.

Although, stylistically this is a little different from Ava's previous work, fans of The Wolf and the Woodsman and Juniper and Thorn will absolutely love this. Those who were enthralled by Marlinchen and Sevas, especially, will be similarly blown away by the love story in Lady Macbeth. It has all of the ingredients of an Ava Reid book -- the magic, the inner strength of a female lead, the gripping love story, the lush prose, the characters you root for, the villains you want to see burn, the themes of male cruelty and the overcoming of that cruelty. I cannot wait to see what Reid comes out with next. This is my instabuy author for eternity.

Thank you NetGalley for gifting me with an ARC!

Ava Reid’s A Study In Drowning was the first book I read this year, and I have not stopped thinking about it since.

When I found out she had a new book coming out in August I was so excited. My excitement peaked yesterday when I was granted an ARC of Reid’s new book. Thanks NetGalley. I whipped through the story within 24 hours.

Lady Macbeth is a dark and gripping retelling of the Shakespearean classic in which the leading lady has the power to to tell the tale - Proving the Aesopian point that the Wife of Bath highlights in her prologue: if the lions painted the portraits, they would be victorious instead of man.

My two favorite genres are fantasy and classic gothic literature, and this book perfectly entangles the two.

I read Macbeth for the first time last year. I love the original. I do think knowing the original tale aids in understanding this book and being impacted by the many expertly crafted ways Reid tied the original in. I had chills watching it all come together. Though, if you have not read the original, please do not let that stop you from picking this book up.

This book differs in many ways from A Study In Drowning, but it still contains all of Ava Reid’s magic touches that you experience in reading one of her stories. Just to note one of her magical abilities, her prose stands out to me as some of the best I’ve read. She has a way of describing things in a way that you FEEL them. She’s that good.

I’m giving this book 4 stars. It was brilliant.

The one star off is more for personal reasons. This book is DARK. There is some heavy subject matter. This book is a little too perverse at times for my personal taste. There are some messed up people and actions in this book.

Other than that, I’m amazed by Ava Reid once again.

Really enjoyed this re-telling of Macbeth! This story is told from the perspective of Lady Macbeth as she is married off by her father to a Scottish Lord who aims to rise to the power of king. Whispers of Lady Macbeth is a witch adds to her mystery around her arrival. I liked the fantasy aspects of the re-telling because it added more depth to the story.

I got to read an ARC of Lady MacBeth thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey which like was super super exciting!

Yet again, Ava Reid delivers. The writing is beautiful and the characters are so real. This is such a stunning and powerful story of empowerment and growth and I was so invested in it. I love the character or Roscille so much. The amount of growth and confidence that she gains is amazing despite the amount of heart break and prejudice and horribleness she has to go through.

If you are a fan of feminine rage like I would 10/10 recommend this book. The way Roscille fires back at society and life in both loud and quiet ways is super empowering and was super fun to read.

I will forever be a fan of Ava Reid and will instantly read anything that she writes. Literally anything.

Even now, hours after finishing this book, I feel like I’m still trying to catch my breath. The history and language of medieval Scotland alone is like a spell cast over me. I was transported to the windy destitute castle of Glammis, and I did not come up for air until the story was finished.

The book is called Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid.

9% in. I was on the floor. This book makes my stomach twist. There’s tension, desire, pain, and vengeance. Oh my freaking gosh. I’ve never read an Ava Reid book before. But I am a believer now. Like, I’m going to get down on my hands and knees and prayyyy to Ava Reid. I am going to build a shrine in my home to this book.


Roscille is beautiful beyond measure. Some in her father’s court call her death-touched. Poison-eyes. Witch-kissed.

Her father thought it a good idea to have a story of his own to explain the reasoning of her beauty. He said “perhaps you were cursed by a witch” and in time, that became truth. Better to be witch-cursed than witch.

It is because of her dangerous beauty, she is veiled at all times to protect the world’s men from her maddening eyes.

Roscille is sent to Glammis to become the bride of Macbeth. It is an alliance formed between Breizh, a territory in Britain, and Glammis, a territory in Scotland.

This story is a reinvention of the classic tale of Macbeth. Ava has by force of will, taken, and molded this tale into something fierce, powerful, and moving beyond measure.

Macbeth’s goal it to take over as king of Scotland. He will stop at nothing to accomplish this. The most fitting saying to describe who Macbeth is, is the saying “delusions of grandeur”. Honestly, if you google this saying, I wish Macbeth’s face was the image that comes up.

As much as this story is about Macbeth, it’s really not about him at all. From the day Roscille has been born, she has been molded into what her father believes her to be. He said often, “you are the creature I made you”

This story is about Roscille finding her own path and her own power. But she doesn’t have the luxury to stumble upon it. She has to scrape at the walls of her perseverance until her fingers bleed to find her place. She has to carve out her place among men fighting for power and honor. Her father purposefully, and then not so purposefully, I think, turned Roscille into a weapon of observation and blending in. She uses everything she has ever learned to her advantage to survive.

I think it’s well established that I love a good story set in Scotland. And it was just served to me on a silver platter. One word, kilts. There’s a lot of kilts. And I just think any story that has kilts is an automatic yes in my book. Also the universe wants me to keep reading books set in Scotland. And I’m just sitting back like universe… take the lead. Here we go.


There are legends, myths, spookiness, and these three witches. They haunted me. And I think I will always be haunted by them. And I also love them. Deeply.

This story is moving, it’s haunting, intelligent, cunning, and layered. I won’t lie, I don’t know every word out there. And google was a good friend for me during this journey. But I actually loved that. You’re telling me I get to read one of the most beautiful stirring stories I’ve ever read and I get a vocabulary lesson as well? I’m in. I feel smarter coming out the other side of this book. Ava is a literary genius.

Roscille is a product of her father’s making. She is a product of the world around her. She is a product of the world men have created around her. She’s had to become hard and cunning to survive. She makes mistakes and learns lessons throughout the entire story. Sometimes those lessons are hard to witness. You do take a step back several times and remember how young she is. Everyone around her is ruthless, and you watch her become ruthless as well.

There’s politics and scheming. Macbeth uses Roscille as his dagger to enact his bidding and plans. There’s so much betrayal it’s brutal. This book is brutal in the best way. It makes your stomach hurt. Some of the descriptions hurt. The sharp and matter of fact way of life and the way some things go down in this book are just nausea inducing. But this is the only way of life they know.

Curses. Witches. Dragons. DRAGONS.

This book is darkly romantic. Spice is not an eloquent enough word to describe that intimate passion that is this tortured romance.

I would say that this book is incredibly mature. Mature theming for sure and not for the faint of heart.

This story is lonely. There’s so much loneliness that when those moments of affection come fleetingly by, whether it be a handmaiden offering comfort or a forbidden kiss in the dark, it feels that much more tender and important because it’s so fickle a feeling to feel safety or care in such a cold world.

The paranoia that grows in this story as it progresses is so unsettling but you could not look away. The twists in this tale left me in dismay. I was utterly astounded by what I did not see coming.

Lisander is my new obsession. There’s a quote he says while he and Roscille are hiding in the dark… “If your lord husband puts his hands on you, whisper to me the ugly deeds he does in the dark, and I will stop him”.

I love how half of this story you wonder, is magic real, is that what she has, or is it force of will. Is it belief that you are something, that is stronger than magic, that makes you become what you believe.

This story is dark. You are not going for a pleasant jaunt in the Scottish Highlands. This is power, control, manipulation, pain, torture, grotesque imagery. There is no sugar coating this tale. It’s raw.

Men rule with an iron fist and cutthroat desire for power in a world of vengeance, mystery, and magic. Do you succumb to the will and want of men. Or, do you find out what you’re made of instead. Do you not only persevere, not only survive. Do you carve out your place. And thrive.

I am in awe of this story. this is the story I’ve been waiting for. In a sea of books out there. This is a jewel. And I will treasure it with my whole heart. Always.

As someone who has enjoyed most of Ava Reid's books, and has always loved Macbeth, "Lady Macbeth" is the kind of story that was a little bit of a let down. While the writing was excellent, as it always is with Reid, the story itself fell flat. Maybe it's my own ideas of Lady Macbeth holding me back from truly loving this iteration, or maybe it is a lack of characterization, but this didn't live up to my expectations.

One thing about me, if Ava Reid writes it, I’m going to read it.

In the last year I have fell in love with Ava Reid’s writing and Lady Macbeth is no exception. Reid knows how to grab you from that very first line of a book and keep you hooked until the very end.

Lady Macbeth is chocked full of unlikable characters and believe me, there were quite a few that I absolutely loathed with every fiber of my being. Our MC, Lady Macbeth is not one of them however. Her strength was unmatched. The amount of horrendous things she goes through doesn’t weaken her like it would some, it makes her stronger and I admire that about her.

This book is dark so be sure to check TW before reading!

So full disclosure, I came into this book more interested in the Macbeth aspect than the Ava Reid aspect. I think Reid is an extremely talented writer, but I've found that I have some difficulty getting into her style at times. I was hoping that the fact that this is an out-and-out retelling/reinterpretation might have helped with that, but unfortunately, it didn't do as much as I would have liked.

Lady Macbeth is a fantastically written book. It's lush, it's horrific, it has phenomenal characters, and it has a lot of great things to say about both the original play and the world of semi-medieval Scotland. Roscille is a fantastic viewpoint character, and seeing her struggle and transformation as the story progresses is an excellent arc. But despite all that, I came away from this book not quite loving it, and I don't 100% know why. Maybe the darkness felt a little too dark at times, the fantastical elements not quite present enough?

But despite my not loving the book, I absolutely recommend it to any fans of Ava Reid's writing, Shakespearean reinterpretations, dark fantasies, and novels in general. It's a fantastically written and deeply evocative story, and the fact that it didn't quite click for me has more to do with my tastes than with the book's obvious quality.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ava Reid has done it again. Lady Macbeth is gorgeously written yet easily accessible, complex yet fast paced, beautiful and terrible - just like the original story. Roscille is an imperfect teenage girl attempting to find her way in a terrible world full of violence and scheming men. I love that Reid doesn’t shy away from the horror inherent to these stories. Definitely kind of bloody if that freaks you out, much like Juniper and Thorn and the Wolf and the Woodsman. It made me feel sick in only the way an Ava Reid book can - but I loved every minute of it.

Thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

I was approved for this arc and read it within 24hrs of approval. I was THAT excited for this. Ava Reid is one of my favorite authors. A Study in Drowning staunching being in my top favorite books. I was worried I would not love this one as much as ASID but I was HAPPILY mistaken. I ate it up and left no crumbs. I will not be taking ANY negative commentary on this book. Yes I can see some flaws but I will not be acknowledging them at all.

This story feels very much like an Ava Reid story but at the same time it is such a different vibe. I felt more of the female rage...both quiet and loud.

This rewrite centering on Roscille (Lady Macbeth) forces you to really look at her. She is given a voice and a view. The gaze is unflinching. She is a complex creature that is deserving of her moment in the light.

I loved the prose. I loved the magical elements. I loved just how much you truly come to hate Macbeth (& others let's be honest). I loved how we come to love a monster over a man. (snippet of a great quote "...the man who acknowledges his monster is always wiser....")

If you are a fan of the "I am no man" moment. This is for you.

It has been many years (high school) since I read Macbeth, and even then, the only thing I remember enjoying about it was the line, "Double, double toil and trouble: Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes." So, I would not normally reach for a retelling of the story but I was mesmerized by a stunning cover. I did like the idea of a feminist perspective, or at least, the female character's point of view. Back when the Bard wrote the original play, women were so marginalized that even the female roles were played by men so I was a bit intrigued by a turn around. The story definitely has dark gothic vibes to set a dramatic mood and it is easy to read and follow. The characters range from morally grey to outright dark but that is to be expected for anyone familiar withe the original play and there are scenes of abuse that might not be suitable for everyone but they seemed appropriate in the context of the story. The titular character is definitely not a saint but I was invested enough in her plight that I wanted her to emerge triumphant by the end. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a darker read and enjoys a retelling from a marginalized (but certainly not minor--I see you Rosencrantz and Guildenstern) character's perspective.
I received advanced digital access to this book thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

I am not religious but I will worship Ava Reid. This was phenomenal: a lush, gritty, transcendent reading experience. Her prose was stunning, she manages to toe the line so so so well of poetic prose without getting too purple. I felt our main character was one of the strongest Ava Reid has ever written, it seemed like I could feel what she was going through deep in my bones. This felt darker and slower paced than her previous works, but it worked well for the story. It gave it a much more haunting atmosphere. It doesn’t feel as “fantasy” as her other works but honestly I do not mind at all, this felt riskier and more ambitious, and I think will appeal to those whose interests are more into literary fiction, in addition to her current reader base.

ARC provided by NetGalley.