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Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid

1 review

hailslynn's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Saying this as someone who absolutely loves Shakespeare, I think this is a fantastic retelling. Ava Reid perfectly blends the original trilogy play with her own fantastical elements to modernize the story and introduce a Macbeth to new readers and people who may not have as deep as a love for Shakespeare. I found a few choices to be quite odd, but I nonetheless enjoyed them and was extremely happy to see more fantasy elements incorporated into a story that already screamed a fantasy. 

However, I did find the character of Lady Macbeth very flat, and this is often an issue I have with retellings. I don't expect authors to completely reimagine a character back to life, but I find that authors have difficulty keeping the characters as interesting as the original source material which is the issue I have here. Lady Macbeth is still extremely clever and a wonderful villainess in Reid portrayal, and I love the backstory she gave her. However, she lacks urgency for a majority of the book and almost seems content with her situation instead of trying to progress the story. Yes, much of the "action" happens off page, but it's difficult to root for a character when most of the time you spend with them is them laying in wait. 

Definitely not my favorite of Ava Reid's work (that spot is reserved for A Study in Drowning my dark academia love), but it has secured the spot as my favorite modern Shaekespeare retelling (cough*Olivie Blake*cough)
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