This was a dnf for me! I was hoping to really love this book but there were parts that fell flat specifically in the charicatization. I still need to read Ava Reids other books but I think this was too dark for me in terms of overall vibe!

You absolutely do not need to have a working knowledge of Macbeth to enjoy this story. The prose was beautiful and the environment was the exact gothic moody vibe that I crave this time of year!

This is a Shakespeare retelling of Roscille as Lady Macbeth, who is told to be marked by a witch, and is the young bride to King Macbeth with whom has ties to the occult himself.

Roscille is trying to navigate her new life in a harsh Scottish land as Macbeth's bride during a time when women are not really allotted any freedoms since woman are looked upon as being the weaker sex, only good for childbearing and housework, and will bewitch men with their wiles if left to their own devices.

Roscille's character development is very well written as it shows her going from a young naive bride coming into her role as Lady Macbeth and a woman trying to use her wits to survive. She makes a valiant effort to elevate her standing as more than a warm body to impregnate and does eventually get to experience love in this harsh environment in an unexpected way.

I really loved Ava Reid's story of Lady Macbeth's struggles in love and life.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending me an e-copy of Lady Macbeth, by Ava Reid. I'm a Shakespeare fan, so I looked forward to this book about one of his darkest, cruelest and most manipulative characters. In the play, Lady MacBeth is cunning, ambitious and ruthless. Here, the protagonist is younger and possesses a powerful witchcraft that she hides. Reid's prose is lyrical and draws the reader into the gothic, gloomy atmosphere of the Lady's world, but I wish the treatment of the Scots had not been so heavy-handed; they came across as brutes. Overall, an interesting retelling of a familiar story and an imaginative take on a familiar character.

Everything about this should have worked for me. I love Ava Reid's writing style, I love re-tellings (especially ones where the woman in the story is made the focal point.)
But this is simply not a story about Lady Macbeth. And I didn't care for the person it was about.
The language used against Scottish people was brutal. And, considering this is about a strong female character, demoting her to whichever man she was closest to at any given time, was disappointing. Further, though I know she's a teenager, I don't think the harmful thoughts about other women was necessary to the story, either.
I just feel like this had so, so much potential and missed the mark entirely.
I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to read this title, and I would absolutely try something from Reid again. This, however, was not for me.

So I think Ava Reid is not for me in general. I think Juniper and Thorn was probably my favorite out of the ones I've read. I like their books in theory and the vibes are always great but their books are not for me. My expectations for this book was the Shakespearian Lady Macbeth who was ruthless and manipulative and I've noticed this trend of taking villains and humanizing which I don't care for in general

4.5 Stars

Shakespeare wishes he wrote this. Like this is definitely the superior version of the Macbeth story. Fight me. Actually don't because I'm tired from staying up reading this, but also....

Ava Reid's books are so atmospheric and are impossible to put down and Lady Macbeth was NO EXCEPTION. I couldn't stop reading and the story stands strongly on its own despite being inspired by one of the most famous plays of all time. Ava nailed this and I cannot wait to read what she writes next.

2.5/5
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the eARC. All opinions are honest and my own.

After extensive thought and thorough digestion of the writing, I feel comfortable saying that this was mediocre at best. Maybe it just had too much to live up to. Taking on something as grand as Macbeth (which I’m not particularly inclined towards Shakespeare in general), and drafting a story around the cunning, ruthless, and manipulative Lady Macbeth, is no small feat. I’m not surprised that this book didn’t measure up as I don’t think anything could have. However, there were creative decisions Ava Reid made that took the story down a path that strays from “Lady Macbeth reimagining” and towards “gothic fantasy of a witchy girl”.

The classic characterization of Lady Macbeth is one of ambition. She’s ruthless and manipulative and unapologetically so. To that end, Roscille does her dirty. Yes, she is younger and therefore accurately portrayed to have less maturity, but instead of a Margaery Tyrell, she’s an early series Sansa (without the potential beyond season 3). Where’s her ambition? Where’s her cunning? Hell, where’s her agency?!

The story was saved by the atmosphere, and I might have DNF’d this otherwise. If there’s anything Ava Reid knows how to do it’s craft an atmosphere. [Lady Macbeth] embodies the gothic and dreary; I can feel the wet mist clinging to my skin and the stifling moldy air invading my lungs through the pages. To that, it’s not very different from her other books and while she has displayed mastery of world-building this sub-genre, this one seems lifted from a known framework. Though I guess there’s nothing wrong with the tried-and-true, especially when you’re as good at it as Ava Reid.

I’ll just call this a gothic fantasy about a witchy girl and the Scottish. Because any association with [Macbeth] does both this book and the original play dirty. Is this a good read? Sort of if you like atmospheric gloomy fantasies. But is it a good Lady Macbeth reimagining, certainly not - and the Scots would agree.

Ava Reid is such a talented writer. I've been a fan of hers for a while now and this book has just made me love her more! I love a good retelling especially when it's done well and Reid completely aced this retelling. I loved the focus on Lady Macbeth's story. It might not be Reid's best work, but it's definitely up there!

Lady Macbeth is a feminists take on dark, gothic fantasy. As someone who doesn’t remember Macbeth, I can easily say this was easy to follow. I wouldn’t call it a retelling. It felt like something of its own, based on Macbeth.

I praise the way Reid made our leading lady into something authentic. She transforms Roscille from a timid Bride into Lady Macbeth, a woman of strength and god fearing. We follow Roscille as she navigates the misogynistic society created by men, and the role women play in that society. She’s lonely, isolated, yet feared. Reid of course has classic fantasy element of magic, creatures, witches, and curses. It’s no wonder I loved this dark and twisty novel.

Thank you Del Rey books & Ava Reid for this ARC.

Ava Reid is always good for a spooky vibes book this time of year. This was a group read where we were more divided on our opinions.

Lady MacBeth is loosely based on the play (although you don’t need to read it first) where the main character, Roscille, can harm men with her gaze.

I enjoyed following her wield her power and come into her own. There was a strong theme throughout the book of misogyny and pushing back against the male power.

While the slower pace of this book was not for me, I can’t wait to see what Ava writes next.

Thank you to @delreybooks and @netgalley for a review copy.

A unique retelling that I did enjoy. Incredible prose that draws you in to keep reading. It is quite atmospheric and immersive and will draw you into the world from the beginning. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this e-arc.
3.75

I love Ava Reid's writing.

Her writing is always creepy and thought provoking and retelling of Macbeth. I always enjoy the way that the author writes here novels so that they stay with you long after you finish the books.

I enjoyed the book and will read more from this author.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

Ava Reid never disappoints. Lush, beautiful prose set upon a Gothic atmosphere that kept me hooked from the first page. Reading this book puts you in a trance, in the best way possible.

many thanks to random house publishing group and netgalley for providing me with this e-ARC. this review is my opinion and mine alone.

*actual rating: 3.5/5

the thing about this book is that it is NOT a lady macbeth retelling.

i must clarify that this is my first ava reid books, but i have heard a lot of opinions about her other books (since my friend thea cannot stop raving about them) so i feel like i have a solid understanding of what her books are usually about and how she treats her recurring theme. that was the reason why i was so excited at the announcement of this, as i know how important of the potential ava reid has in her hands. lady macbeth is one of my favorite characters in the shakespeare canon, even in all literature in general, and i have hardly seen any retelling of her story.

"lady macbeth" by ava reid is not a bad book, per se. on the contrary, i find it to be quite good, very well-written and most of the time compelling. now that i have a taste of reid's prose i can't help myself but savor it, as ava reid writes with much charm and bravery. i really appreciated how she crafted the story in a way that each part/chapter lays down the path for the next (i found myself fighting against my midterm revisions to read this because of how i was drawn to the story) i would say that this book is a decent, 4-star material if it stood on its own, but the problem is that it didn't

from my understanding of ava reid's books, one of her most used narrative is that of women breaking out from patriarchal chains and reclaiming their power despite their pain, and that's an honorable topic to write about. the thing is, i really dislike the way ava reid keeps forcing elements from macbeth into this cleary original story. i suppose the way it was marketed was more of a publisher thing but advertising this as a macbeth retelling is an injustice to both shakespeare's character and this book. i find that her references (which, mostly, were there just to keep the presence of the etiquette and not actually contributes to the story) were very forced and hammered into the story, when it didn't need to. also, i found that some of the imagery related to the narrative of female empowerment was very handed and not in tune with the overall beautiful writing of the book. i guess it was because of the "gothic" part of the retelling?

overall, i think this book is best read as an original story and not as a macbeth retelling (because it's not) there are some elements that i dislike in this book, independantly of the "retelling" or not, but this compells me to seek out more ava reid's works.

Unfortunately, I would not recommend this to people who are fans of Macbeth, mainly because while a “retelling,” it did not feel like one. I went into this expecting it to be very similar to the actual Macbeth, and for the main female character to be an absolute trailblazer, and ended up disappointed, unfortunately.

This was such an atmospheric, imaginative, feminist retelling of Macbeth—I loved the lore Reid baked in in terms of geopolitical dynamics, and loved seeing Lady Macbeth as an underestimated woman who used the tools available to her. A unique, gripping, insightful retelling.

I was insanely excited to read this book, but am super disappointed by it. The grandiose way of writing was honestly so terrible. Ava was both saying everything and nothing in one sentence.

I was really excited for this, as retellings can be some of my favorite, but only if they’re done right. This one for me, was a miss. The biggest thing I was excited for within this story was a feminist retelling of MacBeth, giving our fmc much more of a story than is depicted in the original and unfortunately it feels like she lost all of her character in this one.

The original gives her much more personality, agency and passion than this book delivers, and I think so much of that comes from Reid’s writing style which didn’t fit right for me. The atmosphere was absolutely there, and I can appreciate the ambiance this book sets the story in, but having the main character be a huge miss for me was to damning to look past for me.

Once again, Ava Reid's atmospheric, gothic, and lyrical prose hooked me from the beginning and I was enthralled with this story from the first page. It felt like the intersection of two kinds of storytelling I almost always enjoy (and I know Ava Reid writes well) - dark fairy tales and haunting gothic novels and I thoroughly enjoyed this reimagining of Shakespeare's play.

Roscille is a kind of female protagonist I always love to read about - a girl willing to do whatever it takes to survive in the harsh world she is born into. She's complicated and flawed and only 17 years old (and feels accurately written as a 17 year old). She's cunning, clever, and occasionally ruthless but also scared and gentle-hearted. I loved the layers explored with her character - even if it wasn't the characterization most people would expect in an exploration of Lady Macbeth.

Writing style-wise and thematically I found a lot of overlap between this and A Study in Drowning (one of my favorite books from last year and honestly of all time) but I didn't love it quite as much. I wanted a little more depth from the other side characters - particularly Lisander and the romance between him and Roscille. I really enjoyed what we got but it felt a bit rushed for my liking.

I think a lot of people (particularly those who have read Ava Reid's other work) will wonder if they need to be knowledgeable about Macbeth to enjoy it. The answer is no. In fact, it may be better if you don't. I only have vague knowledge of the play myself (tragically it was not one I studied in school) and, based on the polarizing reviews I've seen, I think that worked in my favor. It's a loose reimagining that can stand on it's own and if you've enjoyed Ava Reid's writing in the past you'll likely enjoy this as well. If you're looking for a 100% faithful retelling featuring a more typical characterization of Lady Macbeth, you'll likely find this to be disappointing. However, I think if readers who are more familiar with Macbeth go in with the expectation that this story will be different, they could enjoy the references, themes, and reinterpretation of the story.