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A review by crownedaimee
Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
I just wanted to start of saying that I never read Macbeth or seen a stage production so I was going into this book partly blind. Nonetheless, I was looking forward to reading this but I was struggling to get through it. It had so much potential but kinda just felt a little flat. I often found myself skimming this just to get through it which is such a shame. I couldn't even really tell you anything that happened because my mind as just blanked this book out.
Don't get me wrong the actual writing itself is beautifully written but everything else I just couldn't connect with. The pacing was off and it didn't feel like much was happening in order to keep me entertained or wanting for me to continuing reading. I forgot that was considered a fantasy because there wasn't much fantasy elements within in the book, save from the witches towards the end of the book which was it's saving grace for me. Lady Macbeth has magical powers yet barely uses them? Seriously?
The characters were completely one dimensional and lacked any character growth whatsoever. Lady Macbeth is described to be clever, ruthless, ambitious and manipulative but yet we got none of this, she was just a highly unlikeable character. The only characters that were mildly interesting was the witches and they were barely in it. The romance was so out of place as well, I just didn't care for it at all. And on top of all of this, this version of Lady Macbeth is xenophobic where Scottish people are constantly viewed as violet brutes. Was the really necessary? No it wasn't. I don't get why any of it was added in the part.
Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.
Don't get me wrong the actual writing itself is beautifully written but everything else I just couldn't connect with. The pacing was off and it didn't feel like much was happening in order to keep me entertained or wanting for me to continuing reading. I forgot that was considered a fantasy because there wasn't much fantasy elements within in the book, save from the witches towards the end of the book which was it's saving grace for me. Lady Macbeth has magical powers yet barely uses them? Seriously?
The characters were completely one dimensional and lacked any character growth whatsoever. Lady Macbeth is described to be clever, ruthless, ambitious and manipulative but yet we got none of this, she was just a highly unlikeable character. The only characters that were mildly interesting was the witches and they were barely in it. The romance was so out of place as well, I just didn't care for it at all. And on top of all of this, this version of Lady Macbeth is xenophobic where Scottish people are constantly viewed as violet brutes. Was the really necessary? No it wasn't. I don't get why any of it was added in the part.
Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Xenophobia
Moderate: Gore and Sexual assault