Scan barcode
princegene95's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Sexism, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Physical abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Suicide attempt, Torture, War, and Violence
mikaelawithak's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Gore, Rape, and Confinement
chelsea_shelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This was quite a letdown for me as I so love Macbeth and the poetic prose of Ava Reid. I expected a lyrical, cutting and powerful retelling. What I got was lyrical but somehow lackluster while being extremely brutal. I will start with what I did appreciate. The bleak atmosphere was relentless and gothic. I loved the historical detail and especially the etymological attention throughout the novel. Reading it on my Kindle allowed me to look up words, places and people. Some were not even in Wikipedia, and I had to do a deep dive to find out more. This shows the research Reid put into this work. This lifted my rating.
The three witches were brilliant and by far my favorite part of the story. Eerie, unsettling and then later human, comedic, redeeming. I would read a book centered on them, for sure.
Now on to my critique. I found this overall to be overwritten and heavy handed with its feminist message of men are bad simple minded creatures and women are trapped. Set in the 900s it’s certainly fair to paint an extremely male controlled world, but the excessive commentary had me rolling my eyes far too often. It took away from what felt like a beautiful fairytale in the beginning - strong in metaphor, imagery and symbolism. However, every time I thought I understood what type of story I was reading I was proven wrong. 65% of the way in I had accepted that I was reading a dark historical fiction with some leaning into folklore of the time. Nope, suddenly I was to believe dragons and unicorns were absolutely real. Until that point the “magic” was more myth and superstition - fear, not reality.
So then it was a fantasy - except it wasn’t. It returned to brutal gothic drear. Then the ending surged back into high fantasy….. While I like good genre blurring, this did not work and did not feel believable. Just frustrating.
With the exception of Roscille I found most characters to be quite flat. Even her love interest as the redeeming male character was uncomplicated (save for his transformation which I will call more of an attention grab for marketing than character development…trying to be vague to not spoil the plot). Maybe this is back to the simple fairytale formatting, an attempt to make the characters archetypal - which I could be on board with if it was more consistent. The characters I did find compelling were brushed over. What a tale we could have received if we learned more about the backstory of the witches, the handmaids, Macbeth himself. But this was a world mostly devoid of females except for our heroine… a confused 17-year-old far from the fierce middle aged Lady Macbeth Shakespeare envisioned.
Taking away my comparison to the source material, I would still be underwhelmed and ultimately annoyed with how the ending didn’t match with the rest of the book. It was not convincing. So much potential here. I wanted to love it. I tried hard to love it. I could not.
Thank goodness for the absolutely gorgeous prose. Many lines I reread out loud just for their beauty or striking pain. For that reason, and for the clearly academic mind of the author, I may read more from Ava Reid. I’ve heard good things about Juniper and Thorn and ASID.
Graphic: Physical abuse and Murder
jessica_burns's review
- 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? Yes
2.75
That said, the writing is gorgeous. It’s dark and gothic, gritty and languid. Everything is tinged with sea water and grime and I love that Reid was able to so effortlessly take me to Scotland with Roscille.
I would look up any trigger warnings before going into this because the themes are definitely dark.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Physical abuse and Rape
Minor: Suicide
isaroy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Self harm, Mental illness, Infidelity, Gore, Blood, Abortion, Violence, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Murder, and Death
mk_loisirs's review
- 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
5.0
I was approved for this arc and read it within 24hrs of approval. I was THAT excited for this. Ava Reid is one of my favorite authors. A Study in Drowning firmly being entrenched in my top favorite books. I was worried I would not love this one as much as ASID but I was HAPPILY mistaken. I ate it up and left no crumbs. I will not be taking ANY negative commentary on this book. Yes I can see some flaws but I will not be acknowledging them at all.
This story feels very much like an Ava Reid story but at the same time it is such a different vibe. I felt more of the female rage...both quiet and loud.
This rewrite centering on Roscille (Lady Macbeth) forces you to really look at her. She is given a voice and a view. The gaze is unflinching. She is a complex creature that is deserving of her moment in the light.
I loved the prose. I loved the magical elements. I loved just how much you truly come to hate Macbeth (& others let's be honest). I loved how we come to love a monster over a man. (snippet of a great quote "...the man who acknowledges his monster is always wiser....")
If you are a fan of the "I am no man" moment. This is for you.
Graphic: Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Sexism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
All the content warnings I tagged are not particularly "graphic" in nature. Only one instance is it particularly graphic. That being said it gets very heavy at times giving allusion to what has/will/could happen. Lady Macbeth's story is not a happy one to start.