I was so excited to pick this one up because 1) the cover and 2) I loved A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid and was hopeful this would also be fantastic.
Boy was I disappointed.
Synopsis: A feminist retelling of the Shakespearian classic 'Macbeth.'
Plot: This is such a strange one because while it was so short (only 200 pages) I had the hardest time getting through it. The pacing and story itself was awkward and uncomfortable at times, but beautiful and well-written at others. I found myself trying to like this so hard, but unfortunately it just ultimately fell very flat for me. Maybe I would have liked this more if I liked the original but this just was not for me. Overall, there wasn't even much of a story to keep me entertained, this was definitely more of a novella and could have been told in probably 5 chapters. The whole book felt very shallow and without depth to the true themes of the book. Basically this was a "men suck" story and that was it. And I mean sure, and I love feminist retellings, but this had nothing important to add to the conversation, and was simply just "there." The random xenophobic insertion was also VERY out of left field, considering it wasn't in the original text and had no real rhyme or reason for being a (major) topic. The lack of women in a feminist retelling, also strange. Why was there a dragon? Why? He had zero significance. And lastly, why are the witches portrayed the way they were? The choices made in this made next to no sense.
Characters: Lady Macbeth is not a likable character, which is so sad. She is supposed to be this iconic powerhouse of a woman that we mourn for, and wish the best, but instead, she is unlikable, overdramatic, manipulative, and childish. The romance in this was also very strange. We are supposed to despise Macbeth, but he was very understanding and good to Roscille for most of the book, so it was hard to. The other love interest was extremely Insta-lovey and was very random and unnecessary for the plot line. If Lady Macbeth is supposed to find her power without men, why is romance a main plot line, with him saving her in the end? This story is also clearly supposed to say that women are more than just their bodies, but Roscille uses hers the entire time to get what she wants and runs and cowers when she's not. She is not brave, nor powerful, nor interesting, and I was so disappointed.
What a weird and unnecessary retelling. Oof sorry for going for this so hard.
2/5 stars.
This only got an extra star because of the occasional beautifully written moment by Reid, whom I still love.
Thank you to NetGalley for this Advanced Reader Copy.
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