An interesting take on the character of Lady Macbeth. So beautiful that she has to wear a veil, else no immortal man can look into her eyes and live. She is a ‘hagseed’. This concept blends well with the Wyrd Sisters from Shakespeare’s Macbeth. But in this book, Macbeth keeps the three witches (Lavandiers) locked in his castle to phrophesise for him.
This Lady Roscille/Lady Macbeth is the murderer of King Duncane. And here, his sons, the Princes, are Evander and Lisander.

Do you have to have read Shakespeare’s Macbeth to be able to follow this story? I don’t think it’s necessary, but it is interesting to see the continuation and alternative explanations of some of the themes from the play.
However, I did feel that Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth’s descent into mental disturbance due to her guilt was woefully missing from the plot.

I didn’t expect the book to be quite as fantasy-heavy as it was. I expected witches. But dragons and unicorns?!

My mid-range rating is due to the reason that I did have some very uneasy feelings about the portrayal of the Scottish as being barbaric, brutish, uncouth and generally base.
And the dragons and unicorns…

Thank you to NetGalley, Del Rey UK, and Ava Reid for a galley of this book.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I really wanted to enjoy it, and I did for the most part, but there are just some things I struggle to get on board with. Let's start at the top, if you are looking for a Macbeth retelling, that is relatively true to the play, this is not for you. If you are looking for a Macbeth reimagining with some changes, and don't mind a few historical inaccuracies, then this might be right up your alley.

As a book that isn't a Macbeth retelling, this has some strong moments. I enjoyed the way Reid employed varying names and spellings to reflect the flexibility of language in Medieval Britain. Don't be put off by the list at the front, the changes are relatively few, and largely understandable. I liked this attention to detail, although there are some historical inaccuracies I'm going to come back to. I also thought this idea tied in the play nicely, and gave us a sense of who we could expect to see.

I enjoyed the way Roscille's magic came to be, and for the most part I found her an interesting and sympathetic character. She was younger than I expected, and not Scottish, but she seemed smart and slippery. I was surprised so few of her schemes seemed to come off in the end, but overall I think she was an interesting woman, with a unique outlook on the world. I think she also has the potential to be an excellent leader, and I think Reid showed rather than told the reader that. For the most part I liked being in Roscille's head, and I enjoyed witnessing the relationships she built with potential friends, allies, and love interests.

I thought some of the symbolism and motifs Reid used were really strong, and as a piece of Gothic fantasy fiction it had some excellent beats. I think another intertext for this was the Bluebeard myth, which is also a related intertext for books like Gone Girl, so you can imagine the themes that are struck on here. In terms of Gothic fiction conventions, Reid ticks all the boxes. Spooky castle? Check. Creepy magical goings on? Check. A hot / cold, never-know-where-you-stand, much older husband? Check. Really strong when you look at it through that lens, and enjoyable to read.

I struggled, however, with it's ties to Macbeth. I think beyond the setting and the character names, they didn't bear that much similarity. If this had been Gothic fiction with Macbeth as a clear intertext, I think it would be stronger. But instead, attention is drawn to the fact that this is a 'retelling', and in my opinion it just is not similar enough for that to hold true. If you ignore the play, then I think this is really great. If you want something that is the play, then this might disappoint you.

With regard to the historical inaccuracies... It's hard. The thing is, I studied medieval literature at MA level, and I can tell you there were women. Everywhere. I can tell you that women had better lives than you probably think. I'm not saying it wasn't hard to be a women in Medieval Britain, but it was hard to be anyone in Medieval Britain. The larger issue is that Æthelstan was ruling in the 10th century, and Macbeth is traditionally set in the 11th. So these are things that just are not happening at the same time, and the languages they spoke would have been very far apart. Æthelstan would have spoken Old English, which is much closer to Norse than it is Middle English. Scots did not exist until the 13th century, so Macbeth should be speaking Gaelic, Middle English, or a Norse base language like Brythonic. I just think when such a point has been made of the language thing at the beginning, then that should be reflected in the narrative. If this is set when Æthelstan is King, then no one is speaking Scots.

This actually brings us to the only thing I had a real genuine problem with.

Here is probably a good place for me to stop and say that 1) this is a well written book, and I think that if you want to read it you will get a lot out of it. It was an exciting, twisty, dark narrative, and it had a lot of things to say about the role of women, and the way that society puts us down. 2) Ava Reid, and I would suspect a lot of the people who were involved in the editing process, is / are American, and probably did not speak to many, if any, Scottish people during the editorial process.

Personally I think that was a bit of an oversight, because the way Scottish people are present in this book actually borders on the offensive. There are no women in the castle, so it is all men, all of whom are a mix of brutish, stupid, easily manipulated, cruel, ugly, and predatory. The only Scottish women we meet are ugly, monstrous, or victimised, if sometimes kind and well-meaning. These things would maybe be less of an issue is Roscille was Scottish, but she isn't, this Lady Macbeth is a 17 year old girl from Brittany. Similarly, if any of the good men we interact with where Scottish, then it would be less of an issue. But they're not. The only 'good' men we meet are half-English, and even then one of them inherits monstrous traits from his Scottish side. What that leaves us with is very strange, borderline xenophobic, representation of all Scottish people (in this book) as brutes who are less civilised, and much crueler, than the rest of the world.

Now, to be clear, I do not have an issue with Roscille the character having negative experiences with people who happen to be Scottish. That isn't what's happening in this book. This is not presented as a personal xenophobia, or even as a cultural xenophobia relating to her own upbringing. We do see that in her early responses and thoughts about 'Northmen'. Instead Reid simply represents all the Scottish characters as these things, it becomes objective rather than subjective in the narrative. All the Scots are, objectively, bad people. Their customs and behaviours are, objectively, antiquated, violent, and unpleasant. That is the problem I have. I don't think any culture would want to be represented that way, and I think bringing in things like Scots (which did not even exist in this time period) makes it harder to draw a line and say 'no, this is history, this is fictional history.'

Overall... I don't really know what to say about this book. I didn't not like it. It was enjoyable. it's well written. Reid is a master of Gothic fantasy. But I struggled with it. I worry it could be incredibly polarising. 3 stars, to me, I think presents that struggle. For some, for those that don't care about how Scottish people are presented, and don't mind a historical inaccuracy, this could be an easy 5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the early access to this book.

I overall enjoyed this book, but didn't fall in love with it - hence the 4 stars instead of 5.

I really loved Lady Macbeth's character development, and slowly grew to despise Macbeth. I also really enjoyed the twist on the witches,

The only point I'd add is that the US cover is much nicer than the UK one, so I'll probably pick that one up as a finished copy.

My most anticipated read of 2024, and it did not disappoint!

This book made me feel so many things. Reid really has a way of weaving in every woman’s story into the most harrowing, yet poetic prose, and it encapsulates so many emotions we feel on a daily basis. I would say, this is very different to her other books. It’s clear Reid did a deep dive into Scottish folklore, as well as the story of Macbeth, so she could really make Roscille her own. Our own.

I never expected Reid to do this anyway, but there is something to be said for the unromanticise, abusive relationship between the Roscille and Macbeth. It offers a stark contrast to all the other fantasy retellings out there, that this trend offers far more damaging consequences than romantic ones. Furthermore, while there are some details, I always admire how Reid puts us in the mind of the main character, rather than describing the graphic and gruesome scene around her. I believe this is a far more important perspective to understand the effects of mistreatment, before, after and during the act.

Like all of Reid’s books, I will mull over my favourite quotes for hours, and my opinion of it will be ever changing. All I can say for certain, is that this adds to her backlog of necessary literature when understanding the hidden female experience.

I really wish I loved this book. On paper it’s the perfect concept for me. Shakespeare retelling? Check! Powerful morally grey female lead? Check! I think the issue was the prose. Even though Lady Macbeth felt fully formed as a novel, and worked conceptually for me, the writing is incredibly dense. I found myself getting stuck in it like wading through mud. Lots of very long sentences and sometimes confusing stream of consciousness. I just couldn’t get along with it at all. Every so often I had to backtrack and reread pages to fully understand what was going on.

That being said I think this is partially personal preference. I can see this being a hit with some people, but for me it was way too difficult to get into and not at all what I was expecting. I have a feeling this is going to be a marmite book for readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for giving me this eARC to review

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

3.5 stars

I have to say, the first 30% was a struggle for me, It felt sluggish

However after the 35% mark it really picked up and I enjoyed it immensely. Ava Reid’s writing is so beautiful and visceral I have to praise her. She is particularly talented at writing gore, there was one part (other readers may know which part I’m talking about) where I felt a bit nauseated and shocked.

I will also say, if you have lots of knowledge of Macbeth, you may not enjoy this retelling. It’s a very loose retelling. Lady Macbeth is a powerhouse and a warrior in her own right. She uses her intelligence to grant herself immense agency and power. Whereas Roscille 17, immature, too beautiful for her own good and “not like other girls”. She doesn’t feel as though she has much impact on anything, any action is prompted by the men in the story. She is very similar to Effie from A Study in Drowning (a character who also was a chore to read for me).
Also I was tired of the Scots constantly being described at brutes.

The dragon (which was a strange choice if you ask me) didn’t really have an impact on the plot. It felt like a silly addition to the story of Macbeth.

Never the less, I did enjoy this book. Ava Reid’s writing is remarkable and I will read whatever she puts out.

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of Lady Macbeth via NetGalley!

This was my first Ava Reid book, I own A Study in Drowning but this was the first one I read and loved. The hype around this book was incredible and I couldn’t resist requesting and I was so so pleased to be accepted.

As much as I enjoy Shakespeare, Macbeth is one I don’t know an awful lot about, I knew there was a lot of betrayal and murder, but that doesn’t set it much apart from the other plays, so I did go in pretty blind and I was at first worried I would struggle to follow the story.

Happily this wasn’t the case! I loved the slow unfolding of information, it kept the pace going and didn’t feel like everything was being revealed and dumped on you all at once.

I felt the fear but also the strength of Roscille and I really liked her character and the ways she was able to manipulate her way to safety.

Macbeth’s character was incredibly intimidating and at times I felt fearful for Roscille and what was to come. However there were times when he appeared almost caring and for those few moments you would think something romantic was to develop but this was quickly washed away along with his lack of interest or respect for anything that did not add to his desire to rule.

I really enjoyed this one, after reading a few other reviews I can see the book has mixed feelings as it may not be as accurate towards the original play. So on its own it’s a tense historical thriller leaving you questioning everyone and everything !

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House UK!

I'm not an expert on Shakespeare or Macbeth, but I'm pretty sure that this wasn't a very accurate retelling which is unfortunately one of my pet peeves with retellings. This character didn't feel at all like the one from Shakespeare, the side characters and even Macbeth himself were all also not well developed and didn't have much depth. The main characters felt really childish and immature and it was often hard to understand why she did what she did.

One thing I enjoyed was the prose, it was very nice and worked well with the setting and story. I didn't love the pacing and plot, it was pretty slow, and not much happened and I wasn't exactly thrilled to keep reading. Things just sort of happen and the main character goes along with it. I feel like this would have worked better as an original story rather than a retelling, anyway.

Oh WOW I have been anticipating this and was SO SO happy to get an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in return for an honest review...YES PLEASSSSE!

Macbeth is my fave Shakespeare and I studied it for A level English Literature , even knowing a lot of it off by heart, so you can imagine how i felt to receive this.

I loved the portrayal of her, loved the witchy vibes . Wow now this woman is in control, such a clever book, such an amazing read

A dark, compelling and atmospheric Shakespeare retelling. A really interesting exploration of womanhood and the patriarchy and a fascinating interpretation of a seminal literary figure.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

A great retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth in a new perspective! I really enjoyed this book, with its dark atmosphere, beautiful prose and look at the role of a wife and woman in 11-century Scotland. Ava Reid masterfully included fantasy aspects into the classic story, however some of the characters, Lord Macbeth, and Banquho for example felt a little flat. I still highly recommend this book to everyone who likes gothic historical fantasy or want a feminist retelling of this classic story!

Summary: The Lady anticipates marriage to a Scottish warrior, aware of his court's hostility, but unaware of his occult secrets and prophecy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book, all thoughts are my own.

This much anticipated new novel from Ava Reid did not disappoint. Retelling the story of the Scottish Play from Lady Macbeth’s viewpoint we are treated to the other side of the narrative and all its murky twists and turns.

Not shying away from the realities of life for medieval women and all that was endured at the hands of men, society and religion, we see the world through the eyes of a female clutching onto the only power she has; the fear that men have of witchcraft.

The main points of the play are intact, and the leading characters, but we also have additional introductions of individuals which place a new spin on the narrative.

The atmosphere is perfectly oppressive in this Scottish landscape, the dark and damp castle, the swirling sea and the restrictive garments all add to the wondrous gothic charm.

Plus witches are not the only fantasy element..

A solid 4.5 stars for character, plot and setting, for thrills, twists and bloody gore and great gothic elements.

This is a superb novel from a talented writer. Many thanks netgalley for the opportunity to read and review Lady Macbeth.

Lady Macbeth is the fourth novel by Ava Reid. It follows the wife of Macbeth who has many stories surrounding her. It is said her eyes induce madness in men. Lady Macbeth knows she will be married to the Scottish brute and can do nothing to stop it. The lady will have to use her wiles to survive and this changes when she discovers Macbeth has secrets of his own.

I was really excited to try this novel as I love historical/fantasy novels especially something that’s linked to Shakespeare. I am giving it 3 stars but this was my last chance with Ava Reid and I don’t think I’ll read more from this author. The storytelling felt flat and it feels like one of those typical feminist retellings where the female character (Lady Macbeth) just has no real agency.

I really enjoyed this retelling, it was imaginative, thoughtful and definitely worth a read! My first reading of Ava Reid and would definitely pick up another of her works.

Pros:
- We love a retelling of one of Shakespeare’s most iconic female character.
- The mention of Gruoch (LOVE).
- Amazing gothic atmosphere.

Cons:
- Roscille was so unlikeable and I found it really hard to connect with her.
-Lisander’s whole plot line just didn’t make sense to me.

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Ava Reid is a new to me author.I read her study in drowning last year and fell in love with her writing and story telling! once again she delivers. I am in so much love with her poetic prose and atmosphere and unique concepts.I think everyone should read her work.Once again she delivers. I had a bit of trouble at the start getting into it but after that I couldn't put it down! Love the journey she takes her characters on Beautiful work!

A spectacular twist on one of Shakespeare’s best known stories, LADY MACBETH is the book I didn’t know I needed and have been utterly enchanted by. Admittedly, it starts a little slower than I’d like, and the repetition of the ermine, the ermine, the bloody ermine wore on my nerves. But overall, Ava Reid has woven a captivating, fantastical mythology around Lady Macbeth and transformed her into a powerful passionate character in her own right.

Ava Reid is an incredible and talented author, her writing style always is so beautifully done and i adore all her books so i was very thankful to get the chance to read Lady Macbeth and overall the book was enchanting, it instantly drew me in and i adored this book like i knew i would.

Lady Macbeth is a enchanting retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Roscille is a foreign bride that has travelled to a gothic scottish castle to marry Lord Macbeth but this retelling has many elements inside of rage, witches, mythical creatures, revenge and violence.

The characters felt real to me and i thoroughly enjoyed that with Ava Reid's work she doesn't shy away from inducing horror and shock to the readers. Roscille was a strangely unique character that we watch grow and gain her confidence despite all the horror and violence she has to go through. I find it hard to put into words how much i enjoyed this book, everytime i am at a loss for words when i read the work of Ava Reid.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and Random House UK, Cornerstone | Del Rey for the copy of this arc in exchange of my full honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. I did not enjoy this one as much as the author's previous works. What I did like was the lovely prose and the atmosphere it created, as well as the pacing which made this a nice easy read. I also enjoyed how the story was reimagined with fantasy elements. However, I was not a fan overall of this interpretation of Lady Macbeth. I was expecting a much more mature and nuanced character, who was not at the mercy of men for the majority of the book. I think I would have enjoyed this more as an original work rather than a retelling, as the Lady Macbeth we know is ruthless and cunning, not a naïve child. I was also not a fan of how the vast majority of the other characters were one sided. The men were brutes, the woman were either weak or witches etc. In conclusion,, I am still a fan of Ava Reid, but I do not think this is her strongest work.

I have read the Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid, and that novel was brilliant and so I had high expectations for this book. It did not disappoint me. Similarly excellent just like the last book. Lady Macbeth has the power to ensorcel men with her eyes, and for that reason usually wears a veil. I don't want to say any more because it might spoil the book, but this is a novel worth reading, in my opinion, and I highly recommend it.