3.5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC. I’ve wanted to read Ava Reid’s work for a while and own all of her backlist.

This was beautifully written; the prose was very lyrical and flowery in a good way. There was a lot of commentary on the “misuse” of women and I liked the twist on the classic Macbeth story with Lady Macbeth getting a different ending for herself. The atmosphere was dark and heavy, the setting jumped off of the page. I’ve never been to Scotland despite living in England but the cold and wet landscape described is definitely something I am used to.

However, the story itself fell a little flat. There was a romance in this that I just didn’t care about and was very insta-love. The twist on the prophecy the witches made about Macbeth being undefeated was partly well done and partly half baked. The wood coming to the hill part was a bit random in my opinion. There was also a dragon randomly slotted into the book which, correct me if I’m wrong, I don’t remember having anything to do with the original Macbeth story. It served no purpose apart from to provide more of a fantasy element and I wish it had been expanded upon more. The ending was also very rushed and it kind of felt like the author was trying to wrap things up as quickly as possible. I was left wanting to be honest.

I still give this a 3.5 stars because like I said the writing is stunning and I think it has a lot to say. I just wish certain aspects were more cohesive. This was released on 13th August so you can read it now. I will definitely be reading more of this authors work.

I love Lady Macbeth. She's the ultimate scheming, hard done by wife who plans everything for her weak willed husband to reap the rewards. However here, I just didn't get that side of her. Instead she's a young, naive girl who is used as a pawn by the men in her life, especially her husband, who seems to have lost all of the agency that make her the original villainess that Lady Macbeth is known for. I wanted a feminist interpretation of Macbeth, one where she takes control and we see the machinations of her scheming. But I don't think we get this at all., instead following a supposedly clever girl bumbling about trying to manipulate people (badly). And don't get me started on the weird way Scotland and Scots are depicted. And the lack of women in the story. Beyond Lady Macbeth I don't think they actually exist in Scotland.

Not the retelling I was hoping for.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This was an interesting retelling of the Macbeth story - however I think I preferred last year's Lady MacBethad, so go and read that if you liked this. Reid does a good job exploring what it means to have power as a woman, especially at a time where women generally had none, and how powerful women are automatically seen as dangerous and the overlap with witchcraft. I also liked the introduction of the character of Lisander and how that allowed Roscille to have more agency.

After really enjoying A Study in Drowning, I was so excited for this book. I know next to nothing about the original Macbeth play, so I can’t comment on how this book compares.

Ava Reid writes absolutely beautifully, and the prose in Lady Macbeth is no different. It was lyrical without being too distracting, and there were some stunning descriptions that made the book feel so atmospheric.

I was really intrigued by the character of Lady Macbeth and the myths surrounding her. However, I felt that the character had no development throughout the story and I also couldn’t connect with the love interest or any of the other characters.

Sadly, the plot did not pull me in at all. I kept waiting for the moment when it would, and it just never came. However, there was a very clever twist that I wasn’t expecting.

Overall, this book just wasn’t for me. I’m unsure whether this was because I’m not familiar with the original Lady Macbeth, or whether I’m simply not the reader for this type of story. However, will definitely pick up Ava Reid’s next book as I did really enjoy her previous book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, as I fell in love with Ava Deid’s writing after a study in drowning, and her telling of Lady Macbeth were just a brilliant in the gothic, slightly macabre and poetic.
My only recollection of the original Macbeth was from my time at school, but Ava’s development and take on the character was phenomenal.
Her settings and descriptors set the scene really well, and were true to the time and place, and vivid in placing the reader right where she wants them.
Ava used Lady Macbeth to as a means of discussing women’s roles and rights within the time, and how they are often used within an expectation that is seemingly out of their control, almost like a pawn for others to use at will. The imbalance of power and increased suffering of women in the period is something I’ve always found interest in so I’m glad Ava gave a story to an almost unheard and vacant voice within Shakespeare’s original.
As with the rest of her workings, this is one I’ll be recommending!

This was a brutal re-telling with a character who many will love. I found her quite sad at times and wished I could have felt more attachment to her.
As a Scot I was a bit annoyed by the wrong spelling of some if the places ie Glamis which I felt was not spelt correctly and I felt at times there was an undercurrent of xenophobia against the Scottish people and their country.
I loved the writing and the mix of folklore and fantasy which i did really appreciate.
I know lots of readers will love this one and I can see it being a hit

I understand that in a retelling things are going to be different (obviously) but the changes Ava Reid makes strips the character of anything interesting. A cunning middle-aged Scottish women becomes a French teenager who is lacking in any nuance.

This trend of feminism 101 retellings that strip away any riveting moral quandaries in the story in favour of ‘empowerment’ really dull. Love feminism (duh) but delving into a dangerously ambitious immoral character would be a far more engrossing story than whatever this was. The romance was silly and its inclusion was a complete drag. Not sure if Roscille’s weird xenophobia was intentional as a character fault or not – either way it didn’t work the way Reid wrote it. Every time I thought the story was going to take an interesting turn it went the opposite way. Again, the whole novel read as very one note and shallow (particularly Roscille’s characterisation) with no nuance in the storytelling.

The one high point of this was Reid’s prose when writing the witches. It read like it was from a different book – so creepy and evocative. But even with that, I wish I’d dnf’d this.

I enjoyed the last two books I read by this author but unfortunately, I felt bored for most of this book.

The main character had no personality, the love interest was bland and the fantasy elements felt random and nonsensical.

I will try future books by Ava Reid but this was a miss for me.

Sadly I did not finish this book. I made it to 32% but the pace felt very slow and I would put it down for long stretches without feeling the need to pick it back up again and dive back in. I love Ava Reid’s writing usually but this one just wasn’t for me, and by 30% in not all that much happened. I enjoyed the fact that Reid tried to give Lady Macbeth a witchy, mysterious backstory, and I loved the myth of her beauty and the use of the veil etc, but I think perhaps the fact that I have taught Macbeth for a decade and know the play inside out made it less enjoyable for me, rather than more, in this instance.

The prose itself is great, with moments of lyrical beauty that I’ve come to expect from the writer, but unfortunately it just wasn’t a winner for me and I got bored with the pacing. As I didn’t finish it, it would be unfair for me to rate it any less than three stars.

A take on Lady Macbeth as we've never seen her, Lady Macbeth is written with an innocence and unusual darkness whilst carrying Ava's unique storyline, with dark magic, a witch-kissed heroine and an unlikely suitor...

As always, Ava Reid's books are really hit or miss for me. A Study in Drowning is one of my all time favourite books while I could barely finish Juniper and Thorn. Lady Macbeth is a true 3.5 rating for me, I really liked the twists and turns Reid added to the character of Lady Macbeth, yet couldn't quite connect to her. As always, Ava Reids true strengths in writing shine through in how she builds atmosphere.

Written in Ava Reid's standard gorgeous prose but with a much more subdued, fearful tone. This is a slow paced story that is well known (anybody else study it for GCSE English??) but with a twist and told from the POV of Lady Macbeth. A 17 year old from a foreign country is taken to Scotland to marry a Thane and strengthen adeal between two leaders. Rumours abound that this woman has powers of witchcraft, and as such must always wear a veil over her eyes in order to protect men from meeting her gaze. The atmosphere in this book is opressive and cold, I could very well have been trapped in a freezing castle with a brutish husband looming over me and wondering where I could find an ally. This is a good book, but as most of the action takes place off page until the last 10% of the book it can sometimes be a bit of a slog to get through. There isn't enough happening to drag you back to reading, wondering what could possibly be happening next - BUT if you stick with it I'd say it's a rewarding rework - might be easier to consider it as Macbeth fanfiction.

I honestly did not enjoy this book. I felt that the changes made to the story remove Lady Macbeths sense of purpose and agency, and would have much rather have the book focus on her cunning and scheming. It felt like the author tried to remove any sense of the murderous, conniving villain from the original story, and instead made her an innocent girl who didnt seem to know anything. It also removed any sense of her descent into madness through guilt and completely rewrites the final act, ultimately to the storys detriment. I finished it as I kept hoping it would redeem itself however it did not

I had the privilege of receiving an ARC of this book and… just wow. I think if you’re a Shakespeare girly, you will need to go in with an open mind. Lady Macbeth is not scottish and not quite so power hungry. However, I really enjoyed this take and I’m a sucker for a retelling, especially when it’s so beautifully written and gothic.

Overall, really disappointed. Recently, I read Lady Macbethad by Isabelle Schuler and absolutely loved it..The most obvious difference between the two is that Lady Macbethad is about Lady Macbeth before she becomes the Lady Macbeth we know from the Shakespearean play.

Reid's Lady Macbeth is a more obvious retelling. Ultimately, I was not convinced. And by the time we got to the very dramatic ending, I did not care one bit about what happens to the characters and really just wanted it to end. The writing felt clunky and there are quite a few moments that felt quite honestly ridiculous, including dragons!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Loved every minute of this. Epic retelling, highlighting the misrepresented and misunderstood stody of Lady Macbeth.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this eCopy to review

Lady Macbeth offers a fresh and intriguing take on the classic Shakespearean character, delving deep into her psyche and motivations. Reid’s writing is vivid and atmospheric, bringing the dark and brooding world of medieval Scotland to life.

However, I found the pacing to be somewhat uneven. There were moments when the story dragged, and I struggled to stay engaged. Some of the character development felt a bit flat, leaving me wanting more depth and complexity, especially with such a fascinating protagonist.

Lady Macbeth was a master manipulator, but it was all just a bit too confusing

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher Random House/Del Rey for the digital ARC, it has not affected my honest review.

TW: rape and sexual assault, murder, violence, blood, misogyny, war

This is an incredibly original retelling of Lady Macbeth’s story, imagining her as a 17 year old girl forced to leave her pampered life in Brittany and to marry a Scottish lord in the middle of nowhere. I’m an enormous fan of Ava Reid’s work (particularly ‘Juniper and Thorn’ and ‘A Study in Drowning’). This wasn’t what I expected, but I really enjoyed it as a different interpretation of what might have driven Lady Macbeth. I thought I would have gotten to see more of the "villain" side to her, so it fell a little flat but the writing is as gorgeous as ever. I was expecting more though so I'm let down.

After absolutely loving A Study in Drowning and being a massive fan of retellings and reimaginings, as well as seeing all the buzz around this one in the bookstagram community, I was excited to read this one. Unfortunately, like many other readers, this book wasn’t what I hoped and ultimately it was a DNF that left me unsure what to write.

To her credit, Reid did provide a lush and gothic feeling prose that was beautiful in parts but I had so much difficulty connecting with this book. Firstly, from the offset, I found it quite confusing how characters and places had multiple different names that were from supposed variations of languages used at the time. I understand the intent but it didn’t have the desired effect and I don’t believe that it was historically accurate anyway. It was quite a mish mash that was marketed as a retelling when it basically wasn’t There were a lot of choices by the author that I just didn’t understand, including the young age of Roscille. I just couldn’t bring myself to like her and found her so difficult to connect with.

My biggest issue with this though was the way in which Scotland is portrayed. I have heard from Scottish readers, and seen from other reviews, that they found the portrayal of Scotland insulting and honestly I 100% can see why. It was uncomfortable to read, even as a Non-Scot, reducing Scotland to a handful of unflattering stereotypes. I hope that Scottish readers can have their voices heard and their reviews acknowledged on this issue because it is disappointing and understandably a source of anger and frustration for them.

I am conflicted so much about this. I absolutely adore reimaginings of classic tales, so with this being my favourite classical play of all time I was so excited because there’s just so much that could be done.

The writing was beautiful, poetic, with rich tapestries of highlands, magic and murder. The atmosphere was breathtakingly suffocating and dark and the creative interpretations were fabulous.

But the Lady, who I was so excited to hear reclaim her voice, fell a little bit flat to me - she was still very much defined by her relationships to men, shallow and cruel to other women and doesn’t face that moral crises that I was desperately hoping to explore. I wanted to see this powerful woman either own her darkness or find its source but it just didn’t happen.

It’s fact there was sexism, racism, violence and more during the time period and you can’t ignore that, but the gender stereotypes felt so 2-D with all of the Scotsmen being nothing more than mindless, violent brutes and the women being nothing more than mindless, quiet possessions.

With that being said, it IS a fabulous story and I very much enjoyed it parts of it, just not as a reimagining of Lady Macbeth.