Hello, Book Nerds! Welcome back to Reading Has Ruined My Life or welcome if you are new. As always, my name is Hannah and I am your captain on this journey into my bookcases.
It's almost Valentine’s Day, and I’ve been thinking about what to do, what to write about, to celebrate the red and pink holiday. Should I rate fictional couples again? Have my friends debate who the worst Jane Austen couple is? Perhaps I should rank the best book boyfriends? All good ideas, but today I’m doing none of that. Instead I have a lovely new review for you. A new review about Shakespeare’s best couple: Lady and Lord Macbeth!
Please give a warm welcome to Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid.
As always, a spoiler alert is in order. If you’ve read any other review on my site then you know I love to spoil the entirety of the books I read. You’ve been warned. I also have a trigger and content warning. Lady Macbeth has mentions of rape and sexual assault. This topic is one that looms over the entirety of the novel, but nothing explicit happens until roughly the halfway point of the story. Lady Macbeth also deals with physical and mental abuse, and torture. There is really no escaping these topics, so if you aren’t in the right headspace for dealing with them then I recommend skipping this read. With that, let’s get to the synopsis.
Seventeen-year-old Lady Roscille is sent to Alba from her native land of Breizh to become the wife of a Duke. Even though she’s only the bastard daughter of Duke Wrybeard, she’s still a valuable chess piece in a world full of violence and power hungry men. So the Lady Roscille is offered up in an alliance negotiation. Now she has a new name, new home, new title, and new husband known to readers everywhere as the one and only Macbeth.
Roscille begins her new life timid as a mouse. She has to be cunning, but not too cunning. She must be smart, but not smarter than her husband. She must be amiable to his every whim and bear him many sons. And she must never look him in the eye. At least not without her veil. Roscille, in plain words, is a witch. Any mortal man who looks in her eyes unobstructed will be under her spell.
While most men would never consider Roscille as a wife, Macbeth seems to have an affinity for rumored witches. He’s not opposed to using the supernatural in his quest for gaining new titles and more power. He’s got a bunch of witches trapped in his basement after all. It’s not surprising that Roscille isn’t all that happy with her new life. She’s scared to death, being used in every way possible, her only friend was taken from her the moment she entered Macbeth’s castle, and she’s being forced to murder those in Macbeth’s way. What a life she leads! Now if only she can change her fate. If only she can end her marriage to Macbeth and live the life she wants.
This book had me screaming. Kinda in a good way, but not really as I was screaming due to female rage. If you would like “Labour” by Paris Paloma in book form, Lady Macbeth is it. Ok, I guess I’m not screaming in a good way as this novel made me irrevocably angry. Great job, Ava Reid, you’ve accomplished your goal of making female readers feel Lady Macbeth’s rage and rage with her in return.
Now speaking of Lady Macbeth, I don’t like this characterization of her. Ava Reid has the character begin the story as someone who is very meek and mild, she doesn’t have much drive and ambition, her goal is simply to survive in her new home. This Lady Macbeth is quiet, and while she is an intelligent woman, she’s not playing chess while the others are playing checkers.
To me, Lady Macbeth is a character who is always plotting. She’s the one who is running the country, Macbeth is just her puppet. This woman has lofty ambitions, she’s not afraid to murder those in her way, and she’s at least three steps ahead of her enemies; unless it’s the end of Macbeth, then we all know how that ends.
The version of Lady Macbeth I know and love is not in Lady Macbeth. I see some of the characterization I know come in at the halfway mark of this novel, but she’s still very different. I don’t subscribe to Ava Reid’s characterization of Lady Macbeth. I want to see the sassy, cunning, ambitious, power hungry, insane woman Shakespeare created. I want to see Lady Macbeth gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss her way to the throne of Scotland. To me, Ava Reid’s character isn’t Lady Macbeth, she may as well be a completely different person. In fact, Macbeth has more of Lady Macbeth’s original personality.
It's a shame because I believe this book has promise. Ava Reid’s writing is beautiful, and the descriptions are extremely vivid to the point I too felt the cold stone walls of the castle and could hear the sound of the waves of the nearby sea. If there’s nothing else this book is, it’s atmospheric. Alas, the prettiest writing in the world can’t save this book.
Making this novel a retelling of Macbeth is a major disservice to the original text and this intended retelling. Honestly, Lady Macbeth is kinda like the Percy Jackson movie adaptation. The characters have the same names, the basic idea of the plot is there, and that’s about it. Had Ava Reid just created a wholly original plot this book would have worked so much better. Instead readers receive a major snub to the iconic Lady Macbeth, and no hint to anything which makes Macbeth so good.
I’m not recommending this read for those who want a retelling of Macbeth or for those who want a deep dive into Lady Macbeth’s character. This read is only good for those who want to scream; either in generic female rage or because of this adaptation of Lady Macbeth. This is not a good retelling.
With that, I shall bid you all adieu. Thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you all had a wonderful time. I will see you all again next week with another new review. If you can’t wait that long then you can always check out my podcast Nothing to See Hear. The show stars me and two of my dearest friends as we talk everything from Disney to Scooby-Doo, cryptids to haunted houses, and weird historical figures to the bad bitches of history; there’s bound to be something you like.
Until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, and read some good books for me.
