Reviews with content warning for Death - Lady Macbeth

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid

106 reviews

danithezombie's review against another edition

4.0

dark fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

caidyn's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Oh, this was so damn good. I loved this imagining and reclaiming her agency.

Content Warnings

novel_nibbles's review against another edition

3.5

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This is the third Ava Reid book I have enjoyed. Her writing is so beautiful and atmospheric and is perfect for the cooler evenings.

I went in to this book expecting a retelling of Macbeth from the perspective of Lady Macbeth (my fault for not reading the blurb properly) but what I got was a reimagining.

While the main elements of the original play can still be found within Reid’s tale it is an entirely different animal. The book provides an insight in to the motives of one of histories greatest fictional villainesses and all of the misogyny, sexual violence and powerlessness you would expect from a historical setting. It also offers many more fantasy elements than I was anticipating and an unexpected romance.

3.5/5 Reid remains a auto preorder author

Content Warnings

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Content Warnings

cristina_margarita's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Yet again, Ava has written a hauntingly beautiful character study. I always struggle with rating & reflecting upon Ava’s books because her characters are rarely likable & the theming is so deeply discomforting but the writing is stunning.

I do think this was my least favorite of her books story wise. I think it needs to be separated from the inspiration material to be appreciated & that’s hard when the source is so well known. I appreciated this book as a fan of Ava’s more than as a fan of the book itself.

As always, Ava’s books come with many trigger warnings & are most certainly not for everyone.

Content Warnings

midnight_sass's review against another edition

2.75

It was well written , but not the gritty story I wanted it to be.

Content Warnings

edamamebean's review against another edition

4.75

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Whoa! My third Ava Reid novel and I was really blown away by this. If there’s one thing Reid is gonna do, they’re gonna create an atmosphere that grips you and doesn’t let go until the very end. She succeeded in making Lady Macbeth into a deeply complicated character trying to use what little power she has to survive in a foreign place. The political intrigue was delicious, but Roscille’s revenge was even more so.

Content Warnings

regent_ace's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

bookwyrm25's review against another edition

2.75

dark medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This does not feel feminist. It is full of sexual assault and women being used, but it starts with men and their abuse towards women and still ends with the main character's fate being determined by a man. The book was ok. Not great, but ok. It's definitely dark and eerie, but there's no real satisfying revenge for the most part. In my opinion anyway, it's just kind of mid writing and extremely depressing.

Content Warnings

abbylawr's review against another edition

3.0

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This might be my least favorite book by Ava Reid (aside from The Wolf and the Woodsman, which I need to read next). But I still had a good time with it, so that’s saying a lot!

With every other Ava Reid book I’ve read, there’s been 1-2 lines that have stuck with me long after finishing them. There are certainly excerpts of Lady Macbeth where Reid’s writing shines, but overall I found the narration of this book to be a lot more detached than Reid’s previous books. Roscille’s inner monologue also got a bit repetitive.

I appreciated how the love interest and Lady Macbeth were separated for a good chunk of this book because we got to focus more on the Lady’s story. But on the other hand, since they didn’t have a ton of scenes together, the romance read very instalovey and unrealistic to me.

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