Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid

44 reviews

sawyerscribbles's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

make no mistake, this book is not very good, but to be fair i do think my already very marginal enjoyment of it is very much hindered by the fact that in my head, macbeth looks like ganondorf from legend of zelda and roscille looks like ruffnut from how to train your dragon. lisander looks like nikolaj coster-waldau. it‘s all pretty bad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Blood

Moderate: Animal cruelty

kaerene's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Ok so I bought this book for the dust jacket, the bright pink hardcover and the fact that Lady Macbeth is one of my favorite Shakespeare characters. I like her ambition and her cleverness and her willingness to do what needs to be done to see that her husband’s prophecy comes true and to see him on his throne.  But Ava Reid’s book was not it. I’m disappointed in this particular interpretation. This was hella depressing and not what I was expecting at all.  I think I was expecting to read a story of how the lady and Macbeth to  fell in love and then the next part of the story was the events of the play happen (cuz you know, Macbeth truly loves his wife in the play). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

britt_zey's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Sexual harassment, and War

scarfsa's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gore, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Miscarriage and Abortion

decodethebooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death and Gore

Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Vomit, and Pregnancy

spellbindingtomes's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

𝘐𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦𝘵𝘺, 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝙑𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚.

Reviews for this book seem to be decidedly split, with readers either loving or strongly disliking Ava's approach - and I'm firmly in the 'love it' camp. Ava's enthralling writing pulled me out of my recent audiobook slump, transforming Shakespeare's classic Macbeth with a dark, witchy feminist lens that completely reimagines one of its central character. 

As someone who's always been a fan of Shakespeare, I was captivated by how Ava added magical elements and depth to Lady Macbeth, creating a narrative that diverges dramatically from the original play. 

The atmospheric prose and witchcraft elements make this an ideal fall read. It's a fresh perspective that turns a familiar story into something entirely new and unexpected. If you enjoy retellings that challenge your understanding of classic characters, this book delivers a provocative and immersive experience that lingers long after the final page. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and War

swagmaster3000's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

God just an incredible read. So much sexier than expected, and the power given to lady Macbeth is so so glorious. Def recommend, also ..,..,:,,.. lisander. That’s it. I’m mostly just sad that it’s over

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Classism

btaylorb's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Definitely a top favorite of 2024. To say this is a retelling of Macbeth from a different perspective is not a fully accurate or justified description. The meat of the story of Macbeth is there, but it's also much more, with some gruesome and gritty exploration of womanhood and power in the early middle ages. I'm having a lot of feelings about this book, might have to update this review with more thoughts later. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gore, Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, and War

Minor: Rape and Sexual content

The references to marital rape enacted by Macbeth on Lady M, are in oblique terms and never explicitly described on page. The sexual content that is given any kind of description is implied to be consensual and desired by both parties, Lady M and

gellyreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

So, maybe I'm just too stupid for this? Or maybe I just love the Shakespearian Lady Macbeth too much? This just kind of fell meh for me.

I enjoy the idea of her being a witch. I even was okay with her not even wanting power, even though that was the coolest thing about her in the play - mostly because she killed Macbeth, that fucking rapist. But wow. That veil shit? IDK what that was about.

The magic system, the phrasing used in this book (deliberately, as she noted in her author's note) made it hard to engage all the time with this one. But the ending was cool? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, and War

scrubsandbooks's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I wasn't sure what to expect but it was... not that. It wasn't entirely terrible. I enjoyed Ava's writing. She has a way of stringing words together into similes and metaphors that paint a vivid picture of both the setting and the character's inner turmoil. I knew this was not a direct retelling but more of a reimagining and a completely different story than the Lady Macbeth that some of us know from Shakespeare.

I wasn't expecting a love triangle of sorts. I wasn't expecting to be completely bored with the romance and going "wait what" at a lot of moments in relation to that romance, especially how it begins. I guess I also wanted a little more character development? And maybe a little more action from the FMC. Pacing was also off, where it dragged initially and then rushed in the last 100 or so pages.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War

Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Sexual assault, and Torture

Minor: Animal death and Abortion

CW for regicide, whipping, women accused of witchcraft and witchery, ableism (the use of the word "madness"), violent physical handling of women