A review by books_with_caity
Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid

slow-paced
  • Loveable characters? No

1.0

I have attempted to write this review countless times but each time I am left seething. The amount of inaccuracies about Scotland and its culture is shocking. The Scots are called brutish,  uneducated, and uncivillised throughout. While there is one good Scot in the book, we are continually reminded that he is half English which is why he is so civillised and well educated.
I could go on and on but to summarise, the Xenophobia is truly appalling and I have zero clue how this even made it through editing. 

Now even if I could look past Reid's apparent hatred of Scotland (I can't), I still wouldn't have enjoyed this novel. Despite being described as a feminist retelling, Roscille (Lady Macbeth), has her agency stripped from her and every scheme or ploy she attempts to come up with unravels and backfires almost immediately. She also has the incredible power to bewitch men but never uses it unless her husband commands her to do so. Roscille is nothing like Lady Macbeth from Shakespeare's work, she is merely a disappointing imitation.

On top of the above mentioned supposed 'feminism', Roscille is frequently called the most beautiful woman in the world, while all other female characters, of which there are only 5 and share about 10 lines of dialogue between them, are considered lesser and talked down upon. Often by Roscille herself. Really doesn't scream 'feminism' to me. 

Ava Reid's writing, while lyrical and atmospheric, is also painfully repetitive with near constant references to Roscilles otherworldly beautiful appearance and those god damn lampreys that couldn't go 3 pages without a mention.

In summary: 

I hated it :)