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A review by nclcaitlin
Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid
3.5
Roscille is a bride gift to the Lord Macbeth to secure an alliance, her unearthly beauty called death-touched. Poisoneyed. Witchkissed.
Roscille knows that there are the two fundamental aspects of wifehood: Open your legs to your lord husband and bear a child.
Yet, she is determined to survive as a foreign bride in a place where she is hated as a suspected witch.
Can the canny mind of a weasel exist within a bird's fragile, feathered body?
This is unlike anything Ava Reid has written before. It encapsulates feminine rage and power and wiles, and what men will do for power to feel strong and in control. Whilst the story is more akin to Juniper and Thorn in terms of themes, the prose was more similar to a Study in Drowning. I think this will make it appeal to all her audiences.
Roscille is extremely clever, wry, and coldly strategic. However, as she becomes her husband’s weapon, she is stuck between disgust at her own guilt and her desire for survival.
Roscille isn’t physically strong, yet her manipulative wiles and the way she uses her mind makes this a riveting, psychological, haunting and dark read.
This is the greatest of men's aspirations, to — whether through love or through violence —draw screams from women's mouths.
I do think however, I wanted more. It felt too short. I could see the percentage ticking up and I couldn’t see how Ava could wrap this altogether in the time she had left. It didn’t end in the middle of the plot or anything, but it did feel rushed and incomplete. Maybe this is me saying I really wanted MORE.
Thank you to Del Rey for providing an arc in exchange for a review!
Roscille knows that there are the two fundamental aspects of wifehood: Open your legs to your lord husband and bear a child.
Yet, she is determined to survive as a foreign bride in a place where she is hated as a suspected witch.
Can the canny mind of a weasel exist within a bird's fragile, feathered body?
This is unlike anything Ava Reid has written before. It encapsulates feminine rage and power and wiles, and what men will do for power to feel strong and in control. Whilst the story is more akin to Juniper and Thorn in terms of themes, the prose was more similar to a Study in Drowning. I think this will make it appeal to all her audiences.
Roscille is extremely clever, wry, and coldly strategic. However, as she becomes her husband’s weapon, she is stuck between disgust at her own guilt and her desire for survival.
Roscille isn’t physically strong, yet her manipulative wiles and the way she uses her mind makes this a riveting, psychological, haunting and dark read.
This is the greatest of men's aspirations, to — whether through love or through violence —draw screams from women's mouths.
I do think however, I wanted more. It felt too short. I could see the percentage ticking up and I couldn’t see how Ava could wrap this altogether in the time she had left. It didn’t end in the middle of the plot or anything, but it did feel rushed and incomplete. Maybe this is me saying I really wanted MORE.
Thank you to Del Rey for providing an arc in exchange for a review!