“Madness, of all things, is the most unforgivable in a woman”

Ava Reid’s retelling of Macbeth from the perspective of Lady Macbeth is a story of inner strength, wit beyond measure, and a voice to one of literatures most iconic women.

Roscille, like many women of her day, was shipped away to marry a Scottish lord far from civilization and everything she knows.

She schemes and weaves ideas to survive in her new home. Unwittingly driving fate to her husband’s burgeoning madness and his downfall.

Overall, a really fascinating take on the classic tale. 3.75/ 5 rounded up to 4

This book was so beautifully written, filled with Reid’s usual stunning, gruesome prose. I loved this look at her Lady Mac. Loved how she filled in the gaps I’d always felt in Shakespeare’s villainess with complex fears, flaws, and strengths. Reid is a forever favorite.

I’m a person who has never read Macbeth, but I enjoyed this story very much. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted arc.

"Lady Macbeth" by Ava Reid delves into the enigmatic mind of the Lady, whose captivating eyes are rumored to drive men to madness. As she prepares to wed the Scottish brute, she anticipates navigating a hostile court with her wits and hidden witchcraft. However, she remains unaware of her husband's occult secrets and the prophecy that shields him. Little does she know, her own magic is far more potent and perilous, capable of upending the world's order. Reid's novel promises a gripping tale of intrigue, power, and the looming threat of the unknown.

I think a lot of the criticism that has been coming out for this one is valid, but I also think Ava has actually done something really interesting here even though I also didn't love it.

First and foremost, this is a reimagining - not a retelling. If you're looking for a book that recounts the events in Shakespeare's play this will not be that.

Roscille is morally grey, but she is not unhinged. I don't get the criticism that she's weak - I didn't find her to be that way - but I do think she was working in the system that she lived in instead of taking overt control.

The love interest was definitely under developed and felt like it only was included to serve the end of the story. The whole shifter thing also felt like something the publisher made her do. I really would've loved to see everything with Lisander fleshed out more.

The treatment of the Scots by Roscille did seem extreme, but at the end of the day I understand what Reid was doing.

The language was the hardest part for me, but I saw a comment that said that it felt like reading mythology or a historical record and I do think that rings true and is part of what makes this a compelling book, even though it didn't work for me.

I kind of wish I had waited to read a final copy, and I will likely still pick one up.

》ARC Review: Lady Macbeth《

When you begin a book by Ava Reid you only need to know one thing: her words will enchant you.

You will quickly fall under the spell of her prose and find yourself captivated by how she intricately weaves every words to form the most enthralling narrative. Lady Macbeth sets the scene exactly like this. It’s one I overall enjoyed reading.

This is most certainly a narrative made to captivate, it’s so beautifully written. Its dark, alluring, at times sinister atmosphere is perfectly imbued throughout. It allowed me to immerse myself with great ease into the complex developing story. The atmosphere compelled me most within this tale, it excited and seduced all at once. It could send shivers down my spine and have my heart bursting with newfound courage and jubilation.

I really took to the beginning and the ending quite a bit, especially that ending! However, the middle part of this journey came with some hurdles I never quite overcame. At times the narrative felt rather contrived, as its beauty felt only skin deep in those moments. I never quite felt the expected depth that come in these fascinating tales by Reid.

Roscille’s character remained rather murky throughout the narrative, I had a difficult time grasping who she was. Perhaps that was intentional, serving to display how little agency she had. Nevertheless, I did feel that loneliness she felt but never voiced. She stood alone, discarded, underestimated and I greatly admired how she eventually came to fight her agency and power.

There was also potential I thought was never fully untapped. Certain things fell short, such as Lisander and his secret. Both were some of the most compelling facets of the story for me, yet I still yearned for more. I also yearned for the romance to be more fulfilling than depicted, as it ended up feeling shoehorned in.

What was the most jarring for me and what I felt rather uncomfortable with was the extent of prejudice against Scotland and Scottish men. They can only be described as brutish by the protagonist so many times before one starts to wonder if this prejudice will ever be challenged. I expected it to, but instead it seemed Roscille’s narrow views were rewarded time and time again. I find it relatable when a protagonist’s skewed perspective is challenged and reshaped, it’s what makes them human, no matter how otherly they may be.

Once that final page turned, even with rollercoaster of emotions swaying in me different direction, I find I thoroughly enjoyed this tale.
I will never doubt Ava Reid’s talent and masterful skill at weaving the most captivating narratives.

This one is a story I feel honored to have read.

Thank you NetGalley, Random House and Del Rey for providing me an arc, I leave this honest review voluntarily.

I know it's a "retelling", but the enormous change of the ending was...horrifying. I hated that change, and it ruined the book for me.

Absolutely dark, gothic and twisted - but I would expect nothing less than Ava Reid.
Lady Macbeth invokes the pretentious feeling of Shakespeare while maintaining accessibility to anyone unfamiliar or versed in his...well...verses. As with most of Reid's work this saga weaves a story within a story and draws immense parallels to the struggles of women from the past to current day. While our main character, Lady Macbeth, is in turn morally grey herself she accepts this and occasionally struggles with it within the context of her world and religion.
There is magic, there is mayhem, and I'm still not sure but I'm pretty positive there is some monster fucking? Either way this is another five star read from an absolute autobuy author.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the digital ARC and for answering my accessibility questions!

[spoilers below]

I LOVE retellings, and this was a really good one! The protagonist is known by several different names as she moves to a new country and culture (from Brittany, now part of France, to Scotland). It also reflects how the men around her try to control her identity. Roscille is VERY young (17) when her father forces her to marry Macbeth in Scotland. She tries to postpone the inevitable consummation but ultimately has no choice.

So, unlike in Shakespeare's play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth hasn't even had sex yet when the Macbeths assassinate King Duncan. In Shakespeare's play, Lady Macbeth has given birth and nursed her children by this point already--and hypothetically says she would murder them to prove her commitment to killing Duncan. Of course authors of retellings can do whatever they want, but the fact that Lady Macbeth is so ruthless after having children is one thing that makes her so fascinating to me in the play.

This book puts a unique twist on Lady Macbeth herself and the witches. There are hints of her infamous manipulation, but she's very inexperienced and newly married when the main events of the story take place here.

Thank you so much, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Del Rey, for the chance to read one of my most anticipated book in 2024 in exchange of an honest review.

TW: violence, rape, murder, blood, gore, suicide ideation

Roscille knows the stories surrounding her eyes, how they induce madness in men, so she must keep her veil. She knows her husband is a brute and she fears their wedding nights. She knows how his court is filled with hostilities, secrets, suspicions and she will soon learn how to navigate it and how to survive in it with her wiles and bravery. She will soon discover her husband's secrets too. his prophecies and how dangerous her own magic can be.

The amazing and brilliant Ava Reid writes a reimaginins of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare's most famous villainess, giving her a voice, a power and a destiny, a strength to chance the story others have written for her.
Lady Macbeth is probably one of the best book I've read in a very long time and Ava Reid, as one of my favourite writer, doesn't ever disappoint in recreating a strong, brave, stubborn and complex heroine/villainess, giving her a powerful voice, wiles and intelligence, in a brutal world ruled by men and their desires, violence and power.
Reading Lady Macbeth is an experience. Not only the writing is so unique and lyrical you feel like you're there with Roscilla, travelling to her new home, dressing herself, walking in her new house, trying to understand and survive, trying to protect herself, but also you can feel the sea rolling under the castle, the dripping of water, the taste of food and wine, her pain, her stubborness and fierceness.

Of the most important things I realized reading this book is how much Roscille is forced to grow, by men, circumstances and time and this is shown in her changing her perception of herself, through her own name, pronunced by different languages and by how she sees herself. slowly becoming Lady Macbeth and accepting this role by using it for herself.
Rosalie. Roscille. Lady Macbeth.

Divided by acts, like a play, adding, at the beginning of the book, a list of dramatis personae, a note of names, setting the story in the eleventh- centrury Scotland, with a complex, but malleable language, showing wars and murders, prophecies and how magic is intricated and mixed in this reality, it's clear how much Ava Reid researched for this book, how deep and profound is their knowledge of that time and Shakespeare's play.
It also shows a powerful and complex voice, in giving Lady Macbeth, in giving this woman a voice, intelligence, wiles, stubborness and a fierceness you can't not love.
By changing and accepting her different names and roles, slowly but inesorably, Roscilla becomes more and more confident, more herself.
In a world deeply misogynist, where women where used and discarded, present but not seen or heard, but only used for one purpose, Roscille tries to survive and Ava Reid doesn't write a simple protagonist, but a morally grey character and how grey she became due of circumstances and her willingness to live and survive.
If the story follows Shakespeare's play, her growth and magic, her passion and desires are her own.

A truly and brilliant masterpiece, that will stay with you for a very long time.

What a unique retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth! I have not read the play in ages, so I was not going into this book looking for accuracy to the play. Instead, I found it intriguing hearing the story from another viewpoint.

I have also read A Study in Drowning by the same author, and both books give off the same vibes. A lonely sense of desperation that the main characters cannot shake.

This book really gave me a lot of insight into what life was like for women during this time period. So often, fantasy books set around this time give women more power than they would have had in real life. I appreciated the realism that was interwoven with the fantasy elements in this book.

--I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.--

Thank you Netgalley and Random House for allowing me to read a digital arc of Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid in exchange for my honest review.

This review is going to hurt me to write. Ava Reid is one of my favorite authors. I have consumed and loved every single book they’ve written but Lady Macbeth fell completely flat for me.

This version is Lady Macbeth stripped her of all her unhinged-ness and replaced her with a fumbling teenage girl who instantly fell in love with someone that resulted in the most underwhelming romance i’ve seen in an Ava Reid novel. The tension and leading up to the final act the book was lukewarm and felt like she was fumbling the entire time and not knowing what she doing. She never takes hold of her power and uses it to decide and manipulate the people around her, instead it’s the men scheming and pulling strings. She’s lost all agency and lacks the villainess quality that makes her such a strong character in the source material. Not to mention the rampant xenophobia and internal misogyny running through this girl.

Quite frankly, I skimmed the last couple of chapters because I could not get engrossed in the writing, which is unusual for me with Reid’s writing.

I wanted so much more than I got with this retelling and it’s such a bummer because I have loved everything else Ava Reid has put out.

I received this as a digital ARC on Netgalley and was excited! I loved A Study in Drowning so I had high hopes for this one.

Things I liked:

* the atmospheric writing
* the cover art
* the delicate handling of assault

Things I did not like:

* the addition of the dragon storyline felt a little forced
* the main character was not as much of a badass as I was hoping for
* the depiction of all Scots as brutish

Overall it was a decent read. I will always be interested in an Ava Reid book as I really enjoy her prose.

In Ava Reid's captivating novel "Lady Macbeth," readers are invited into a reimagined world where Shakespeare's most infamous villainess is given a voice, a past, and a power of her own. With poetic prose and a keen eye for detail, Reid slices cleanly through the familiar narrative, revealing the depths of Lady Macbeth's character in ways unseen before.

Set against the backdrop of a hostile and suspicious Scottish court, Lady Macbeth navigates the complexities of her marriage to a brutish warrior with a deft hand. But as secrets unravel and prophecies emerge, she discovers that her own magic is far greater and more dangerous than she ever imagined.

With echoes of Shakespearean tragedy and a narrative that brims with intrigue and suspense, "Lady Macbeth" is a mesmerizing tale that challenges the stories men have written for her. Reid's masterful storytelling grips readers from the very first page, offering a fresh and compelling perspective on a timeless character.

This Macbeth retelling gives a new spin to the classic Shakespearean tale with a fresh feminist lean and 100% more witchiness than the original! Roscille is a noble lady who has been promised in marriage to an exotic lord far from her homeland. Between her suppressed supernatural ability and every ounce of her wits, she’ll have to use every power at her disposal to survive her new harsh environment and the monsters that surround her.

Ava Reid has knocked it out of the park again! I admit I might be biased, but I have loved every single book she’s written and this is no exception. This is a great retelling, with the bones of the story following the original closely enough while incorporating enough original material to keep the story fresh and prevent the reader from guessing every twist. The final confrontation is extremely satisfying, but my only issue is that it felt very rushed compared to the pacing of the rest of the book. Roscille herself has a spectacular character arc, and she felt so real in the way that most of the author’s protagonists do. I’m so grateful to have gotten to read this book early, and I’d highly recommend it for any fans of gothic fantasy or horror!

Huge thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for this Advanced Reader Copy! This review is my honest opinion and offered voluntarily!

I’ve only read one other book by Reid, A Study in Drowning. I was hoping this would meet my internals standards I have set for Reids writing. However, It did not. I have not read Macbeth, shocking, I know. But I fell like our FMC, Lady Macbeth, just fell flat. She was very 2-D for me. I feel like she could been expounded upon.

I like the lore and magic of the story but It just felt like it was missing something. I feel like her eventual love interest had some many opportunites for more details, legends, and a deeper look into him in general but it didn’t happen. I made it though this book in 5 days. While typically a book this size I could devour in one. This had the opportunity to be spun into a epic tale but it felt more like a short story.

I don't want to give up on Reid, I think I will look into her other works and give them a read. I do look forward to other works she releases in the future and will stay up to date.

Thank you NetGalley, Del Ray and Ava Reid for proving me a free Arc copy
*This review is my own and not been influenced in any way*

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. This is my honest review.

I mainly read LGBTQIA2S+ books and to me, Lady Macbeth was queer coded enough to really spark my attention. As a "Villian" story, it's very well written, with a strong female lead fighting to find her place in the world and not be taken advantage of by the men who rule it.

I wasn't too keen on the relationship between Roscille and Lord Macbeth. He was supposed to be betrayed as a brute, but I felt that was lacking. Not to say he wasn't a true villian, because he had many flaws, but I feel like the author sympathized with him more than she should have through the majority of the story.

That being said, I loved the ties to Shakespeare, it was technically a retelling but Ava Reid really did make this story her own. I loved the badassery that Roscille found within herself. It was a great display of feminism and fighting for oneself, even when everything else is crumbling around you. (Mmmm sounds familiar, cough cough, America, cough)

It's not my favorite Ava Reid book but I do think it is worth reading to draw your own conclusions, especially if you like unconventional stories and powerful magical women.

This was one of my most anticipated reads this year, so when I got an eARC I was thrilled. But when I started reading, it fell flat. I personally love the story of Macbeth, and was excited to read a story of Lady Macbeth. I’ve read other books by Ava Reid, and loved them, but this one was not as expected. The story had so much potential, but Reid was unable to tap into any of it.

While I do understand that it was a loose retelling, I wasn’t a fan of the changes made. Lady Macbeth felt like a dull, muted version of her true character. It felt like much of the events that happened were luck rather than due to her manipulation. I expected her to be a strong character, kicking ass, taking names, but was let down. It honestly felt like she had little to no motivation for any of her actions, which I think was ultimately the downfall of this book.

I had also forgot that this book was fantasy until over half way through the book. I felt like there was minimal mention of it prior to the dragon appearing. It was just thrown in there for fun almost.

I did finish the book as I typically love Reid’s books, but it was hard to get through. I felt bored and lacked interest the entire time, which was painful to say the least.

I received the eARC from DelRay via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I DEVOURED this book. A historical setting with myth and magic brimming with female rage? Yes please, and how can I get more of this?

Lady Macbeth isn't just for classical literature and Shakespear fans. Ava Reid breathes new life into this story by focusing on Lady Roscille, soon to be Lady Macbeth and possibly Queen Herafter if the witches are to be believed. Roscille is a witch herself and it's believed that her eyes can ensnare a man and bend him to her will. So, she is forced to wear a veil. For years, she's lived under the rule of her father and now Macbeth. But Roscille is cunning and cannot be tamed.

Be prepared to lose your mind over this book. The writing is so good. I loved how Roscille and Lisander were two halves of a whole. She was light and restrained, though she longed to be wild. He was dark and wild though he craved control. Ava Reid is a master and her writing is not to be missed.

Ava Reid has cemented herself as an auto-buy for me, and this is another haunting read. The slow pace and prose lend some distance to the story, making the reimagining of the play feel more like a fairy tale. The other side of that coin is that I didn't ever feel very connected to Roscille as a character instead of an archetype, and she feels more in the vein of the Effy from the author's A Study in Drowning than Shakespeare's much older and wilier Lady Macbeth. However, as a loose reimagining, it's a read that will stick with you.