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deardaria's review against another edition
dark
fast-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? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
Minor: Rape
readlagi's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.0
Flopatron 1000, nothing made sense. There's a bunch of setup for certain concepts (e.g. asking for three wedding gifts before the marriage night) that never have any consequences because they get discarded again and again. Why did middle-aged girlboss Lady Macbeth get turned into a 17 year old child?? Why was there a dragon ??
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture and Xenophobia
Minor: Sexual assault
babeybel's review against another edition
dark
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? Yes
1.25
This review contains mentions of sexual violence, so please be mindful of yourself if this affects you.
I really wanted to like this book. I have heard great things about Ava Reid’s A Study In Drowning so as soon as I saw this months before release I had it in my TBR pile and picked it up when I was browsing my local bookshop. Despite feeling excitement to finally read this retelling of Macbeth, I was very disappointed with what I was reading.
Lady Macbeth is considered a powerful female figure in classical fiction who doesn’t take shit from anyone and pushes her husband to act on the Three Witches prophecies. In this book, she is a timid 17 year old girl who feels guilty about doing bad things to bad people and girlbosses her way into killing Macbeth so she can marry a sexy younger prince who is also a dragon.
I was just angry at the blatant misogyny in this book. The complete lack of female characters as a means to show how brutish the Scottish are (which I will continue in a moment) is an abhorrently insulting way to push the narrative. It speaks volumes that Roscille only becomes motivated to kill her husband once another man enters her life. The repetitive descriptions of rape and sexual assault and coercion that she faces only to be saved by one of the “nice guys” who is the only man not to be outwardly sexist. I don’t think being able to just “walk off” constant sexual violence is as powerful as Reid thinks it is here — Roscille doesn’t acknowledge what comes after being raped, and how her body feels. In fact, the book is written in a way that it barely affects her. If you are going to go to the trouble of writing sexual violence into your book, at least have the decency to spend time writing about how it would actually affect the character. I’m not a fan of rape in any media I consume, but at least don’t just throw it in there for the misogyny tab of your world building.
As for the setting, it is extremely stereotypical and xenophobic towards Scotland, Scottish people, and the Celts. You’d swear that Reid googled what Romans thought of the Celts and chose to depict them no other way. She has no true grasp on Scottish history, culture, or language and has decided to just create her own version of them to suit her attempt at a girl-power narrative, particularly falsifying that there were no women whatsoever in Scottish courts. The amount of sexual violence that is mentioned over and over as a means to show just how “evil” this new “miserable land” is to the reader is so hamfisted to the point that I just became numb to it. Reid would have been better off just changing the setting into a made-up world and replacing the characters names with a couple of refreshes of Fantasy Name Generator.
Slow paced, insultingly xenophobic, and a main character that is trying to pander to feminism that it becomes almost entirely satirical with its misogyny. I’m going to either sell or donate my copy of this book because I really do not want to see it again.
I really wanted to like this book. I have heard great things about Ava Reid’s A Study In Drowning so as soon as I saw this months before release I had it in my TBR pile and picked it up when I was browsing my local bookshop. Despite feeling excitement to finally read this retelling of Macbeth, I was very disappointed with what I was reading.
Lady Macbeth is considered a powerful female figure in classical fiction who doesn’t take shit from anyone and pushes her husband to act on the Three Witches prophecies. In this book, she is a timid 17 year old girl who feels guilty about doing bad things to bad people and girlbosses her way into killing Macbeth so she can marry a sexy younger prince who is also a dragon.
I was just angry at the blatant misogyny in this book. The complete lack of female characters as a means to show how brutish the Scottish are (which I will continue in a moment) is an abhorrently insulting way to push the narrative. It speaks volumes that Roscille only becomes motivated to kill her husband once another man enters her life. The repetitive descriptions of rape and sexual assault and coercion that she faces only to be saved by one of the “nice guys” who is the only man not to be outwardly sexist. I don’t think being able to just “walk off” constant sexual violence is as powerful as Reid thinks it is here — Roscille doesn’t acknowledge what comes after being raped, and how her body feels. In fact, the book is written in a way that it barely affects her. If you are going to go to the trouble of writing sexual violence into your book, at least have the decency to spend time writing about how it would actually affect the character. I’m not a fan of rape in any media I consume, but at least don’t just throw it in there for the misogyny tab of your world building.
As for the setting, it is extremely stereotypical and xenophobic towards Scotland, Scottish people, and the Celts. You’d swear that Reid googled what Romans thought of the Celts and chose to depict them no other way. She has no true grasp on Scottish history, culture, or language and has decided to just create her own version of them to suit her attempt at a girl-power narrative, particularly falsifying that there were no women whatsoever in Scottish courts. The amount of sexual violence that is mentioned over and over as a means to show just how “evil” this new “miserable land” is to the reader is so hamfisted to the point that I just became numb to it. Reid would have been better off just changing the setting into a made-up world and replacing the characters names with a couple of refreshes of Fantasy Name Generator.
Slow paced, insultingly xenophobic, and a main character that is trying to pander to feminism that it becomes almost entirely satirical with its misogyny. I’m going to either sell or donate my copy of this book because I really do not want to see it again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Violence, Vomit, and War
Minor: Abortion
gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
So! It was interesting, but not what I expected, and I think Reid’s other books are better. It is a fast read that has great gothic vibes…. but I had some issues with how much was changed to one of our fave manipulative villainesses in lit to a 17 year old who’s own smaller acts of villainy realistically is a product of her fear of men in a world ruled by men. Villainy used to keep herself safe, even if her selfishness hurts others. It means ultimately, the men in the book still held the ultimate power.
This retelling of Lady Macbeth had so much potential, especially with its gothic atmosphere and exploration of feminine rage. However, it ultimately fell short in several areas. I found it lacked the depth and nuance that I've come to expect from Ava Reid's work, which left me feeling disappointed.
I think that I expected more of an escapist “yeah support women’s wrongs” but this was just a tragedy. If you keep that in mind maybe you’ll like it more.
I think that I expected more of an escapist “yeah support women’s wrongs” but this was just a tragedy. If you keep that in mind maybe you’ll like it more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Violence, Xenophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual violence, and War
Minor: Rape and Suicide
hann_cant_read's review against another edition
3.25
I think it's important to note that this isn't a retelling, it's much more of a story inspired by some of the lines / events / plot points in MacBeth.
Ava Reid is such an atmospheric writer and some potentially universe-jarring things I personally can overlook because of her writing style.
This book is marketed as a feminist retelling. It certainly is a book with a woman. I enjoyed it, and maybe if her coming into her own as a womanand a witch had been paced more evenly than I would be more inclined to agree with it.
One thing that I initially liked, but quickly became frustrated with was the way Roscille rolled over at every turn. It started out very realistic - she was a scared 17 year old in a foreign land without a single friend. I liked that her ideas backfired a little in the beginning. But she never really owned up to that or grew from it, or had any semblance of agency in the outcomes until almost the very end. Her "plans" never consisted of more than one step, and when that one step didn't drastically improve her life she would have another panic - which is even more frustrating because we're told right from the begining that Roscille is really smart and observant. None of these things actually come through in any meaningful way in the text.
I don't really understand the reasons why MacBeth elevated her status over his right hand. She didn't do anything particularly earth-shattering, in fact she failed tokill Lysander after which MacBeth immediately put her in charge of the whole fort AND getting information from Lysander? It just didn't make sense.
Speaking ofLysander. I detest insta-love, and that's what this was. The characters felt so flat and the connection between them was barely developed. We learn eventually that he's can't be compelled by her, which would have been an interesting dynamic to explore further as Roscille learns what it is to trust a man she can't control, but we never get that far.
The story in general was paced very awkwardly. I didn't feel any real growth in Lady MacBeth untilsuddenly at the end she has a sudden drastic personality change and embraces her power to defeat MacBeth. It comes out of nowhere.
I did enjoy a lot of this story though! As always the vibes are immaculate. And I really love this version's interpretation of "no man of woman born shall kill MacBeth"
Ava Reid is such an atmospheric writer and some potentially universe-jarring things I personally can overlook because of her writing style.
This book is marketed as a feminist retelling. It certainly is a book with a woman. I enjoyed it, and maybe if her coming into her own as a woman
One thing that I initially liked, but quickly became frustrated with was the way Roscille rolled over at every turn. It started out very realistic - she was a scared 17 year old in a foreign land without a single friend. I liked that her ideas backfired a little in the beginning. But she never really owned up to that or grew from it, or had any semblance of agency in the outcomes until almost the very end. Her "plans" never consisted of more than one step, and when that one step didn't drastically improve her life she would have another panic - which is even more frustrating because we're told right from the begining that Roscille is really smart and observant. None of these things actually come through in any meaningful way in the text.
I don't really understand the reasons why MacBeth elevated her status over his right hand. She didn't do anything particularly earth-shattering, in fact she failed to
Speaking of
The story in general was paced very awkwardly. I didn't feel any real growth in Lady MacBeth until
I did enjoy a lot of this story though! As always the vibes are immaculate. And I really love this version's interpretation of "no man of woman born shall kill MacBeth"
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, and War
jordandotcom's review against another edition
challenging
- Loveable characters? No
0.5
the composition of this book was as follows:
50%: weird pseudo-feminism and bemoaning the role of women (a line that inflicted psychic violence on me was “It is essential there be wives… even whores for using though such things must be done with discretion… where do the men of Glammis find their pleasure, feed their appetites? She is so shaken by this…”)
40%: extreme xenophobia against the scottish (there is never a description of macbeth without mentioning his ~savage, brutish largeness~ at one point saying his strength and brutality isn’t even human; he so so big and massive and uncivilized compared to her demure and mannered smollness)
8%: try-hard metaphors
2%: vaguely interesting (the witches were cool, did also like trepanation showing up)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Xenophobia, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Xenophobia
zimtilly's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Gore, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Slavery
mouwwie's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
okay this review is a long and rambling one and it has mild spoilers. trigger warning: this book and this review too talk about sexual violence
this reads like one of those booktok romantasies that's a collection of tropes tied together by a wet dream. it isn't necessarily a derogatory comparison, not in all cases. but considering this is my first ava reid book, with the reputation that this author has built, i expected a little more pizzazz.
i will come out and say it. i did enjoy the writing. maybe i will get around reading some other ava reid books, even though fantasy is really not my genre at all. so is historical, by the way, no matter how speculative or alternative. the fact that i still kind of enjoyed the book despite that is honestly a statement to how impressive ava reid’s writing style is.
but the existence of the love interest was pointless. why is he here other than being the tall dark-haired shadow daddy love interest to make the readers salivate? he is supposed to be better than all the other men, but so far i have not seen anything significant that would demonstrate him as such besides his own words. what, is he more feminist because he is hot, skinny and eats pussy? please be serious.
not even mentioning that, yeah, this has basically nothing to do with lady macbeth in the play itself, and i have read it genuine years ago. i would much rather prefer, if i have to see it in a retelling like this, for lady macbeth to have no actual love interest. but NO.
most of the book she spends wobbling about like a sacrificial lamb, attempting to establish her own badassery but honestly none of the things she does point her out as pointedly intelligent, cunning or even all that special. and i guess she has superpowers but she uses them like a handful of times and only sort of succeeds. there are a couple of scenes with some edge that even made me go. huh, nice. but there are so, so few of them and too much time is spent on men.
and how scottish people are gross, apparently (what's up with that?)
i also have to mention the egregious use of sexual violence against women. i know that's a big part of why the book was written. im not an idiot, i get that was one of the primary themes in the whole story. but i don't understand two things. first, why did ava reid have to use macbeth as the vessel for the theme if the play barely has anything to do with it (again, im reminding you, lady macbeth in the original play was a deeply cunning woman who convinced her husband to kill the king and then went insane from guilt). and two, themes be themes, but did it REALLY have to be one of the main driving forces behind the entire plot? like, there comes a point where the use of sexual violence feels near gratuitous - and i don't have to tell you why that's not a good thing.
all in all, this has nothing to do with the original shakespeare play if you don't count the way ava reid can pick and choose characters and then sort of boiling them all in a pot of smooth, vaguely feminist sprinkled stew.
and when i say feminist, i say it in a way middle aged american women call black pepper spicy.
this reads like one of those booktok romantasies that's a collection of tropes tied together by a wet dream. it isn't necessarily a derogatory comparison, not in all cases. but considering this is my first ava reid book, with the reputation that this author has built, i expected a little more pizzazz.
i will come out and say it. i did enjoy the writing. maybe i will get around reading some other ava reid books, even though fantasy is really not my genre at all. so is historical, by the way, no matter how speculative or alternative. the fact that i still kind of enjoyed the book despite that is honestly a statement to how impressive ava reid’s writing style is.
but the existence of the love interest was pointless. why is he here other than being the tall dark-haired shadow daddy love interest to make the readers salivate? he is supposed to be better than all the other men, but so far i have not seen anything significant that would demonstrate him as such besides his own words. what, is he more feminist because he is hot, skinny and eats pussy? please be serious.
not even mentioning that, yeah, this has basically nothing to do with lady macbeth in the play itself, and i have read it genuine years ago. i would much rather prefer, if i have to see it in a retelling like this, for lady macbeth to have no actual love interest. but NO.
most of the book she spends wobbling about like a sacrificial lamb, attempting to establish her own badassery but honestly none of the things she does point her out as pointedly intelligent, cunning or even all that special. and i guess she has superpowers but she uses them like a handful of times and only sort of succeeds. there are a couple of scenes with some edge that even made me go. huh, nice. but there are so, so few of them and too much time is spent on men.
and how scottish people are gross, apparently (what's up with that?)
i also have to mention the egregious use of sexual violence against women. i know that's a big part of why the book was written. im not an idiot, i get that was one of the primary themes in the whole story. but i don't understand two things. first, why did ava reid have to use macbeth as the vessel for the theme if the play barely has anything to do with it (again, im reminding you, lady macbeth in the original play was a deeply cunning woman who convinced her husband to kill the king and then went insane from guilt). and two, themes be themes, but did it REALLY have to be one of the main driving forces behind the entire plot? like, there comes a point where the use of sexual violence feels near gratuitous - and i don't have to tell you why that's not a good thing.
all in all, this has nothing to do with the original shakespeare play if you don't count the way ava reid can pick and choose characters and then sort of boiling them all in a pot of smooth, vaguely feminist sprinkled stew.
and when i say feminist, i say it in a way middle aged american women call black pepper spicy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
tacochelle's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC.
Not the most knowledgeable in Shakespeare plays, but even I can tell that this played fast and loose with the original play. And I am all for the 'death of the author' but the choices for the plot and characters made for a dull story and flat characters. Lady Macbeth is a shadow of the powerful woman she was. It's also abnormally prejudiced against the Scottish? How many times do we need to be told that the Scots are giant and brutish compared to the waifish French girl? Its a shame, because despite this it's clear Ava Reid knows how to write good. There is some beautiful prose in here, but it hard to keep that in mind when you don't care about the plot or characters.
Not the most knowledgeable in Shakespeare plays, but even I can tell that this played fast and loose with the original play. And I am all for the 'death of the author' but the choices for the plot and characters made for a dull story and flat characters. Lady Macbeth is a shadow of the powerful woman she was. It's also abnormally prejudiced against the Scottish? How many times do we need to be told that the Scots are giant and brutish compared to the waifish French girl? Its a shame, because despite this it's clear Ava Reid knows how to write good. There is some beautiful prose in here, but it hard to keep that in mind when you don't care about the plot or characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and War