Lets talk Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid

 *I was gifted an advanced reading copy by Del Rey in exchange for an honest review*

Hey Lovelies, welcome back!

I'm loving the surge in retellings of classic literature that's sweeping the book market this year and am so thankful that I get the privilege of reading them early as a perk of being a bookseller. As an English graduate and a student actor, I'm a huge Shakespeare nut. So, when I heard that the infamous villainess, Lady Macbeth, was getting to tell her story and that Ava Reid was the one to do it, I was sold.  

Fair is foul and foul is fair.

The Lady knows the stories: that her eyes induce madness in men.

The Lady knows she will be wed to the Scottish brute, who does not leave his warrior ways behind when he comes to the marriage bed.

The Lady knows his hostile, suspicious court will be a game of survival, requiring all of her wiles and hidden witchcraft to survive.

But the Lady does not know her husband has occult secrets of his own. She does not know that prophecy girds him like armour. She does not know that her magic is greater, and more dangerous, and that it will threaten the order of the world.

She does not know this yet. But she will.

This book does exactly what is promises - it gives Lady Macbeth a voice, a side of the story, humanity and an escape from the narrative men have shackled her with. 

Reid presents Lady Macbeth as seventeen-year-old, Roscille - a girl of supernatural beauty that some call Witch-kissed and who's stare is rumoured to ensorcell men and drive them to madness. When Roscille is married off to the scottish brute, Macbeth, she must do whatever it takes to survive, even if that means using her wicked powers. There is something in the character that speaks to every women and Reid does a great job of rooting all her despicable actions to survival instinct rather than ambition and greed. 

I did find the pacing very slow and the plot lacking action or suspense, and it was definitely Roscille's character that propelled me through the book rather than the plot. However, I enjoyed the re-framing of the character and her narrative and felt invested in seeing her arc play out. 

The ending was the highlight for me, as it is left open and ambiguous. The omniscient epilogue doesn't reveal Roscille's fate, allowing readers to interpret their own ending. This felt far more fitting than adhering to Shakespeare's ending or creating a happy ever after for her. 

Lady Macbeth has all the makings of a great retelling and deserves a spot on any retelling module's reading list. I can already imagine writing an essay on the misrepresentation of Lady Macbeth and using Reid's novel as the base text. 

Until next time, lovelies.