Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid

92 reviews

kaerene's review against another edition

2.0

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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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, Injury/Injury detail

colorwired's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, War

Minor: Infidelity, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis

angryginger's review against another edition

2.0

mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

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If you like the story of Macbeth or Lady Macbeth as a character AT ALL do NOT, I repeat DO NOT touch this book. God this book killed me, I wanted to love it so badly but everything Reid did in this book made me cringe or get upset at the fact that this wasn’t what I wanted it to be. I love the story of Macbeth and I was so excited to see it from Lady M’s perspective as she is such an intimidating character in the show. But that’s not what Roscille is in the slightest. She doesn’t gain those intense personality traits until WAY too late for it to matter, and to make it worse she doesn’t get to use those manipulative skills on Macbeth in any meaningful way. All in all, if you care about the story even a little, don’t read this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence

Minor: Infidelity

sshaw86's review against another edition

3.0

dark sad tense medium-paced

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault

acrosstheskyinstars's review against another edition

5.0

dark reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Murder, War

decodethebooks's review against another edition

4.75

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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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, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Gore

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

spaceyba3's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail

spellbindingtomes's review against another edition

4.0

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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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, War

swagmaster3000's review against another edition

4.75

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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: Complicated

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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, Injury/Injury detail

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

meowgaib's review against another edition

1.25

dark slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment