Ava Reid has so far been an auto-buy author, and she will continue to be so, but I think I will move forward knowing that her fantasy books are more for me than her.... hm. Historical magical realism retellings? I don't quite know what category to put this in, frankly. I admittedly have never read Macbeth, so I did not go into this with the love of a Shakespeare buff, but I still enjoyed myself for the most part. The book read a bit slow, the character development was not as strong as I liked, and the depiction of Scots was a little uncomfortable even for me, a non-Scot. What I do know about Lady Macbeth is that she was a bit unhinged, and I wish I saw more of that depicted here instead of the almost meek character she is in this book, allowing her every move to be determined by whatever man she's around at the time. I still did enjoy this book, and Ava will continue to be an immediate auto-buy, but this one did miss the mark more than her other works.

Ava Reid is a master at engulfing the reader in her world via atmospheric imagery and prose that makes her work something I find impossible to put down. Her stories are layered and nuanced in a way that resonates with me. I don’t think I have the words to properly articulate a witty rebuttal to all the Ava Reid haters out there, yet I find myself wanting to SCREAM at those who don’t like her work… “YOU’RE MISSING THE POINT!”

I digress, this is becoming a love letter to Ava Reid’s writing.

Here is what you should know…
- this is dark, gothic, atmospheric, moving, gruesome, magical, and thrilling!
- This book has endless vibes and I’m here for them.
- Ava Reid’s writing isn’t for everyone, but the ones that get it will really get it.
- Lady Macbeth is a fantastic retelling and not meant to be a carbon copy of Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth - please don’t go into this expecting it to be, that is the point of a retelling - a different perspective on a beloved classic.


and just to further drive it home…
No, I have not read Shakespeare’s Macbeth and do not have a frame of reference for Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth vs Ava Reid’s Lady Macbeth but this is a RETELLING, it is meant to have a different perspective than the original work (as any good retelling should), so I don’t think a lack of reference matters. Also if I’m being honest I think people getting angry that this Lady Macbeth is not TRUE to Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth might be missing the point of a retelling.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing | Del Rey for sending this book (eARC) for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This is the first book I have read by Ava Reid, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I don't think I realized how loose of a loose retelling of Macbeth this would be, but I thought it was a fun take on the story. Reid's writing is very atmospheric, which I enjoyed a lot for this story. I also think Reid made me consider a character I felt like I knew very well from a totally different perspective.
I would absolutely recommend this to YA readers, maybe not so much for die-hard Shakespeare scholars.

Ava Reid has done it again! Giving a voice to a character that I have held dear to my heart has given one of my favorite plays a new breath of life! I cannot wait to incorporate this into my curriculum and recommend this for students who LOVE Macbeth as much as I do.

DNF’d quite early on. I normally love Ava Reid’s work, but I love Scotland more. I appreciate the opportunity to read this in advance but alas, this particular title was not for me.

Yes! Lady Macbeth, by Ava Reid is a fascinating, entertaining, and horrifically fabulous book! It's gothic, intrigue, horror, and magic is the perfect cocktail for a great story, and when you add Shakespeare's characters to it... That said, it is not necessary to have read Shakespeare to enjoy it. It is perfect on it's own, but if you have read Shakespeare's Macbeth there are some fun Easter eggs for you.

I don’t think you need to have read Macbeth or be familiar with the story to like this gothic tale. I read it way back in high school and have largely forgotten the main beats of the story. Some of the imagery of the original play has stuck with me and I saw echoes of it in this book. So if you are a Shakespeare fan, those little easter eggs would probably be very satisfying. However, the story is quite different seeing it from Lady Macbeth’s point of view.

The characters are much different than the original. Roscille is not made out to be the conniving partner she is in the original. The full weight of her situation is told in realistic terms. She was used for her beauty and her political station. There’s no sugarcoating the fact that she was essentially a teenager sold to Macbeth. Her sexual situation with him is a main conflict throughout, Roscille finding ways to put off being with him and of keeping her sexual independence for as long as possible but ultimately failing. She’s given as much agency as she can in her situation. Little moments she’s able to think her way out of a situation and glimmers of bravery that make up the heart of her story. Her relationship with an English prince is full of gothic romance and provides more motivation for her to resist Macbeth however she’s able.

This is close to a horror novel in the amount of tension throughout. It falls perfectly in the gothic genre.

DNF at 60%.
Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for my honest review.
Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book and am DNFing at 60%. I have only read one other book by this author, A Study in Drowning, and while I wasn’t a fan of that book, I had higher hopes for this book as a reimagining of Macbeth.
To put it quite quickly this book was bland and boring. At no point while I was reading it did I feel any desire to keep reading. I don’t think I will be reading any more books by this author and won’t be discussing this title on my social media when it releases in August.

Ava Reid does it again! This is the fourth book of hers that I have read and her books truly have everything I love: a beautiful, gothic atmosphere, complex/fleshed-out female main character, intriguing plot, and beautiful writing. Other than the rushed pacing near the end, this book was incredible and I'm so glad I read it!

I knew this book was going to be beautifully written. It's Ava Reid! Her books are always so rich and steeped in magic. Lady Macbeth was a fascinating take on this classic, I could not put this book down. There are so many quotes in this book that will stick with me for the foreseeable future. It's hard to find the words to describe how it felt to read this book, you'll just have to pick it up yourself!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I am always excited to get my hands on any of Ava Reids' work as her work and style are always so great, poetic, and whimsical. This one really stuck out to me because it's a really unique take on Shakespeare reimagination, but I was excited to give it a whirl! I enjoyed it overall, but I think the plot felt a little slow in some areas. The setting was spectacular and another part that stood out to me was the portrayal of the three witches. They were very different, yet familiar in a way that I think only Reid can do.

I love Ava Reid, I do - but this book was brutal for me. I am not an academic of old literature, and I felt like the story suffered in order to make the writing adequate. :(

With this book, Ava Reid has shown everyone how to do a retelling of a Shakespeare classic. This book is not to be missed even if you are not familiar with Macbeth, you will enjoy the book immensely if you like a bit of horror and magic. It was a delight to read from the point of view of Roscille, Lady Macbeth. Roscille enters into Scotland as a seventeen year old bride-to-be and ends as a Queen to be reckoned with through sheer power and determination.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine | Del Rey for the digital arc in exchange for my review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

As always, Ava Reid’s prose is truly delicious. It was by far my favorite aspect of this book.

Overall, the story itself didn’t grasp me. I don’t know if I would have appreciated it more or less if I was familiar with the story of Macbeth, but I honestly did not enjoy the story very much. This wasn’t the story for me, personally.

It was beautifully written and enjoyable to read, but I didn’t connect with the story itself.

I very much enjoyed Ava Reid's The Wolf and the Woodsman, and so was excited to see that she what she had done with my favorite Shakespearean character. This was a very interesting take on the Lady Macbeth story, but I can't say I'm a fan. Reading it as if without knowing the play, OK, interesting fantasy story. Knowing the play, EXCUSE ME! Lady Macbeth was a mature woman, and very much not a victim. She was definitely manipulative, but not in a confused teenaged manner. So while I can appreciate some aspects of the story (let's pretend it's not "the Scottish play"), overall I was disappointed. Nonetheless, I thank NetGalley and Del Rey for the opportunity to read the eARC.

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️| 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝐀 𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲, 𝑴𝒂𝒄𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒉, 𝐭𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐡. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬!! 𝐈𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝑴𝒂𝒄𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝑴𝒂𝒄𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒉, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐝’𝐬 𝑳𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝑴𝒂𝒄𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐢𝐞-𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬. 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐝’𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨!

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒜𝓋𝒶 𝑅𝑒𝒾𝒹, 𝑅𝒶𝓃𝒹𝑜𝓂 𝐻𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝒫𝓊𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒢𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓅 - 𝒟𝑒𝓁 𝑅𝑒𝓎, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

I really enjoyed this book! I have enjoyed all of this author’s books. I would love to see this book adapted to film and would love to read more but it’s like this one.

A loose retelling of Macbeth from the vantage point of 17-year old Roscille as she becomes Lady Macbeth. This is a very loose retelling that hits some of the same plot points, and while this might deter some, I found in to be a refreshing and fantastical take on an old story. This was my first Ava Reid novel and it won’t be my last. I absolutely loved the writing, atmosphere, and the character choices for Roscille. 10/10

4/5 ⭐️
God I’m having a hard time deciding how to rate this book. On one hand it intrigued me and kept me turning the page. On the other, I don’t think I would categorize this as my favorite of her works nor my favorite of a Shakespeare retelling. Although I liked that it is far darker than most Shakespeare retellings, fitting the vibes of the tragedy. I liked what she intended to do, although I think the execution could’ve been better. But at the same time, it was her style, this abstract darkness. Maybe her style did and did not fit this story. I liked the second half of the book. But I didn’t like how pessimistic the main character was. This dark, ugly view of gender and humanity. Maybe that’s why I liked the second half better? There were more glimmers of hope and goodness.
As you can tell from this review, my thoughts and feelings are all over the place. I enjoyed this, though I probably would give a lengthy preamble to anyone who asks about it as a recommendation.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing an advance reader copy of this book for my honest review.

Dark, gothic, and gorgeous! Amazing prose with perfect atmosphere. Blended classic literature with fresh, modern opinions. An amazing take on Shakespeare's favorite villain.