Name: Lady Macbeth
Rating: 3.222222222222222 (27 reviews)
ISBN: 9781529910476

AVA. REID

Fair is foul and foul is fair. The stunning new novel from Sunday Times bestselling author Ava Reid, which reimagines Shakespeare's play and gives Lady Macbeth a voice, a past, and a power that transforms the story men have written for her. Perfect for fans of Circe and Wolf Hall.

Lady Macbeth

Emily McMeans

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

“This is the greatest of men's aspirations, to — whether through love or through violence — draw screams from women's mouths.”

Levi-Mae 

‘You are whatever creature I make you.’ 

Isabelle

Her father taught her this: violence is like a coin. If you spend it easily, people will hink you imprudent and reckless. If you save it and spend it only in the most vital moments, people will think you're canny as an ermine. 

For this, Roscille thinks her father the cleverest man in the world. 

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

No worldly agony is greater than what our imaginations can conjure. There was no need for this girl to scream. Everyone who looked on could imagine her pain. The pain is the protest. 

Clara Gauthier

So easily, she could slip back into the water, hold her head underneath until she became a part of the clearing, too, her bones lilting to the floor, silver fish darting through the empty cathedral of her rib cage. 

Steph

I’m not sure if it’s because I had read too many negative reviews and set my expectations low, but I actually found myself enjoying this book a lot. Being one of the few people unfamiliar with Macbeth, I’ve never read Shakespeare’s play or seen any adaptations, so this felt like a brand new story to me. Ava Reid’s writing is as beautiful as ever. She has a remarkable ability to create immersive worlds that pull you right in. However, I did struggle with some of the terms she used and found myself flipping back and forth to understand the rankings and place names. As with her other books, Reid touches on the theme of women navigating a patriarchal society, and it’s clear here as well. She illustrates the harsh reality of how women often have no say, and sometimes, survival requires making tough choices. That said, the plot does feel a little superficial at times, with many things being told without much further explanation. The ending also felt rushed, and I was left wondering, "That’s it?" after reading the final line. While this may not be Ava Reid’s strongest book, the exquisite writing certainly stands out.

tracy

readi does what she does best-- atmosphere and scenes where i have physically shake it off.

Ava Reid

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Ava Reid comes a reimagining of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare’s most famous villainess, giving her a voice, a past, and a power that transforms the story men have written for her. The Lady knows the stories: how her eyes induce madness in men. The Lady knows she will be wed to the Scottish brute, who does not leave his warrior ways behind when he comes to the marriage bed. The Lady knows his hostile, suspicious court will be a game of survival, requiring all of her wiles and hidden witchcraft to survive. But the Lady does not know her husband has occult secrets of his own. She does not know that prophecy girds him like armor. She does not know that her magic is greater and more dangerous, and that it will threaten the order of the world. She does not know this yet. But she will.

A Novel

This book was such a disappointment and has cemented for me that Ava Reid is not for me. I love Macbeth and retelling, but this honestly felt like it was turning the original play into something dark and ugly, like we never should have thought it was a great play to begin with or something… What’s really disappointing is this is an interesting concept - Macbeth from Lady Macbeth’s POV. But from the start this book was seeped in INTENSE xenophobia and misogyny. Reid reduced the powerful interesting Lady Macbeth into a fearful, bumbling girl, who gets everyone into this situation simply because she’s afraid to have sec with her husband - with ZERO indications that he would be anything other than decent to her, just her own racism. She’s not smart or cunning at all in this book and the magical elements introduced could be cool but aren’t used well. Then she falls in love with a cursed man?! I could go on and on but honestly I’m just incredibly disappointed and now you know why it took me months to read 300 pages. 

Katie Allard

i really enjoyed it but it should NOT be considered a shakespeare/macbeth adaption lol. i enjoyed the prose, the fantastical elements, and the references to marie de france’s lais, but literally none of these characters were true to their shakespearean counterparts. which is fine! because i enjoyed the book still, but honestly i could have given it 5 stars if it was written with literally just different names

ash (smokedshelves)

After reading Ava Reid's 'A Study in Drowning' I was looking forward to reading another original story to get swept into, but I was quite disappointed. 

I was aware that this book was a retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth, and thus was not really expecting a lot of originality, but while reading the story it felt as if the author was being held back from going all the way in her own ideas. 

There are definitely original points added to the story that could have made this an amazing book, but in my opinion they weren't properly/entirely worked out. 

Definitely not a badly written book, but not really my taste. Should Ava Reid come out with another book I look forward to reading it. 

After reading Ava Reid's 'A Study in Drowning' I was looking forward to reading another original story to get swept into, but I was quite disappointed. 

I was aware that this book was a retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth, and thus was not really expecting a lot of originality, but while reading the story it felt as if the author was being held back from going all the way in her own ideas. 

There are definitely original points added to the story that could have made this an amazing book, but in my opinion they weren't properly/entirely worked out. 

Definitely not a badly written book, but not really my taste. Should Ava Reid come out with another book I look forward to reading it. 

i couldn't say i enjoyed this without lying through my teeth.

i thought some certain aspects of this were very well done—ava reid's writing style is distinct and the atmosphere of it was very gloomy and worked well, but the characters and the plot just didn't do it for me whatsoever. on its own, i believe the story could have been fairly interesting, but as a retelling of macbeth is just made no sense whatsoever. roscille was just simply not lady macbeth.

the tale was interesting and her plights were frustrating and i did feel sympathetic to her, but she was not lady macbeth. and not to mention, the altering of the plot of the original macbeth just soured the whole experience for me. i went into this book expecting motivation, analysis, and expansion on lady macbeth as a villainess (as she is in the original play) but ended up disappointed. again, would have genuinely been a good story if it was unattached to macbeth. this just didn't work for me.

i couldn't say i enjoyed this without lying through my teeth.

i thought some certain aspects of this were very well done—ava reid's writing style is distinct and the atmosphere of it was very gloomy and worked well, but the characters and the plot just didn't do it for me whatsoever. on its own, i believe the story could have been fairly interesting, but as a retelling of macbeth is just made no sense whatsoever. roscille was just simply not lady macbeth.

the tale was interesting and her plights were frustrating and i did feel sympathetic to her, but she was not lady macbeth. and not to mention, the altering of the plot of the original macbeth just soured the whole experience for me. i went into this book expecting motivation, analysis, and expansion on lady macbeth as a villainess (as she is in the original play) but ended up disappointed. again, would have genuinely been a good story if it was unattached to macbeth. this just didn't work for me.




4 stars seems too little, but then again, 4.5 seems like too much. 4.25 stars? 

Lady Macbeth is a reimagining of this infamous titular character. I personally love when retellings tell their own story instead of relying too much on the source material; if I wanted the original, I'd stick with the original! So I loved the twisting and turning path this book took me on. And I loved how unique and different it was, yet still inspired by and paying homage to the original source material from the Shakespeare play. 

The first half of this book was my favorite and what I felt was its strongest point. We meet Roscille, a bastard daughter of a French duke, who is on her way to her new homeland to meet her soon-to-be husband. I reveled in the historical details and appreciated the historical fiction. I felt very grounded in the time and setting. 

Then, the whole book becomes mostly fantasy, or at least historical fantasy, with dragons and more. The witches are one thing--more "real life" than a dragon--so I was thrown off guard. But just for a bit. I readjusted my standards to enjoy this piece of historical fantasy. 

Roscille is a strong and cunning character, even if her scheming mostly goes awry. I found this endeared me to her more. I loved reading how her mind worked. In the past, I've been a big fan of first person POVs, but lately I've realized that when done right and well, I can enjoy third person POVs maybe even more. Here is a case in point. 

The writing and descriptions were beautiful and chilling. But yet at other times, some of the writing seemed weak. I was a little taken aback by the uses of "a beat." What is this, a screenplay? I've never read that in a book before and didn't think it was entirely necessary, at least to use more than just a couple of times. 

This book is a worthy retelling that tows the line between historical fiction and fantasy. I enjoyed the characters; each had an incredible depth, and the author spun some truly tantalizing threads. It was very layered. This is a novel to savor, to think about for days after you finish reading. 

Despite the tone shift about halfway through, I thought it was well done. It probably should have been a true fantasy throughout; in my experience, historical fiction can be allowed some magical realism without taking away from its historic elements. This wasn't really the case. 

It's also more atmospheric and character driven than plot heavy. Maybe a little slow at times, I still enjoyed it. Also, I have to give props to the cover and overall book design. This is one of the most beautiful books in my collection, or that I've ever seen. The cover design looks exactly like how I picture Roscille; it's truly stunning.

Amanda

4 stars seems too little, but then again, 4.5 seems like too much. 4.25 stars? 

Lady Macbeth is a reimagining of this infamous titular character. I personally love when retellings tell their own story instead of relying too much on the source material; if I wanted the original, I'd stick with the original! So I loved the twisting and turning path this book took me on. And I loved how unique and different it was, yet still inspired by and paying homage to the original source material from the Shakespeare play. 

The first half of this book was my favorite and what I felt was its strongest point. We meet Roscille, a bastard daughter of a French duke, who is on her way to her new homeland to meet her soon-to-be husband. I reveled in the historical details and appreciated the historical fiction. I felt very grounded in the time and setting. 

Then, the whole book becomes mostly fantasy, or at least historical fantasy, with dragons and more. The witches are one thing--more "real life" than a dragon--so I was thrown off guard. But just for a bit. I readjusted my standards to enjoy this piece of historical fantasy. 

Roscille is a strong and cunning character, even if her scheming mostly goes awry. I found this endeared me to her more. I loved reading how her mind worked. In the past, I've been a big fan of first person POVs, but lately I've realized that when done right and well, I can enjoy third person POVs maybe even more. Here is a case in point. 

The writing and descriptions were beautiful and chilling. But yet at other times, some of the writing seemed weak. I was a little taken aback by the uses of "a beat." What is this, a screenplay? I've never read that in a book before and didn't think it was entirely necessary, at least to use more than just a couple of times. 

This book is a worthy retelling that tows the line between historical fiction and fantasy. I enjoyed the characters; each had an incredible depth, and the author spun some truly tantalizing threads. It was very layered. This is a novel to savor, to think about for days after you finish reading. 

Despite the tone shift about halfway through, I thought it was well done. It probably should have been a true fantasy throughout; in my experience, historical fiction can be allowed some magical realism without taking away from its historic elements. This wasn't really the case. 

It's also more atmospheric and character driven than plot heavy. Maybe a little slow at times, I still enjoyed it. Also, I have to give props to the cover and overall book design. This is one of the most beautiful books in my collection, or that I've ever seen. The cover design looks exactly like how I picture Roscille; it's truly stunning.

This is not a retelling of Macbeth. As a standalone story, this is excellent, but it completely changes the plot. 

Jenny Ramsay

Absolutely incredible!! I was so right to be pre-obsessed with this book.

Caroline Boone

I can see many criticisms of Ava Reids books however I do like her writing style, there is something about the way she writes that just, tickles my brain right. So unpopular opinon i do not like Macbeth however I thought this sounded interesting. loved how this book gave Lady Macbeth a name, a voice and a story, but I had to force myself to read it and wasnt till like 100 pages in when i really got into it, I’m gonna try Macbeth again but i do not think Macbeth is for me.

The ending felt abrupt and slightly confusing. I love her writing and the characters however the story, world and romance fell flat for me.

Chloé

I can see many criticisms of Ava Reids books however I do like her writing style, there is something about the way she writes that just, tickles my brain right. So unpopular opinon i do not like Macbeth however I thought this sounded interesting. loved how this book gave Lady Macbeth a name, a voice and a story, but I had to force myself to read it and wasnt till like 100 pages in when i really got into it, I’m gonna try Macbeth again but i do not think Macbeth is for me.

The ending felt abrupt and slightly confusing. I love her writing and the characters however the story, world and romance fell flat for me.

very atmospheric and dark, and i enjoyed the writing.. but i do wish roscille had more agency. and i did not enjoy the 'romance' arc

Lady Macbeth

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