#historical fiction book review

[jadejedi]

Book reviews: January & February 2025

Find my longer book reviews and an explanation of my rating system here.

I haven’t been able to write any book reviews in a while due to time and other commitments and such, which has been a bummer to me, because I really enjoy doing them. So I’m going to try every month to at least do a monthly round up of the books I’ve read with shorter reviews. I have a year of grad school left, and then I’ll hopefully have some time back to do more of this kind of writing. So here is January and February. 

January:

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeline L’Engle- 4/5

This is a popular children’s fantasy that I never read as a kid, so I thought I’d check it out. It was fun! I think it would be a fun one for parents to read to their kids. The book has a lot of religious/Christian messaging in it, so that is something to consider, but overall I had a good time with it. It is about a young girl who goes on a magical adventure to rescue her father from an evil force. I liked the main characters, especially the younger brother character. The plot was a little slow, and it mostly felt like the plot was happening to the main character, instead of her making the choice to engage in it, but it didn’t distract too much from my enjoyment. The overall message is about the importance of curiosity and learning and the dangers of conformity, which I think are always great things for kids to learn. 

The Starless Sea, by Erin Morgenstern- 4.5/5

I was kind of nervous when I started this one, because while I enjoyed Morgensterns other novel, The Night Circus, I didn’t *love* it, and I know that book is usually viewed more favorably than this one. I didn’t super connect with the characters of The Night Circus, didn’t like the romance, and kind of wanted more of a plot. The Starless Sea did not have any of those problems for me. This book follows Zachary Ezra Rollins, a young man who’d had a chance as a boy to enter a magical world, but had turned it down, and is now getting a second chance as an adult. I loved the premise; I think the idea that we still have the ability as adults to discover the magic that came so easily to us as kids is a) beautiful and b) an important and good reminder. If you enjoyed The Night Circus you will probably like this one as well, or if you had some of the same problems that I did, you might like this one even more! I will say this book relies heavily on the reader’s ability to just sort of go with the flow. Like, did I 100% understand the plot of the ending? No. Did I understand the vibe? The point of it? Yes absolutely. So if you need everything to be completely understandable and logical, this may not be the book for you. 

The Arcanum Unbounded, by Brandon Sanderson- 4/5

I spent the second half of last year DEVOURING Sanderson’s Cosmere books, and this was one of the last ones I got to. It is a short story collection set in the Cosmere. Some of them are connected to other works, some are standalone stories, like The Emperor’s Soul and Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell. I would say if you are interested in getting into the Cosmere, this should probably not be your entry point. I would recommend reading Elantris, Mistborn Era 1, and the first two Stormlight Archive books before reading this one. I’ll also say that while I mostly enjoyed all of these stories, I am not a fan of the final story, Edgedancer, which is (I think) the longest story in the collection. I actually read it last fall, when I was reading Stormlight for the first time, and did not bother rereading it here because I just do not enjoy Lift as a POV character all that much lol. 

Mistborn: The Final Empire, by Brandon Sanderson- 5/5

Yes, you read that right. I ignored my own advice and read this book AFTER reading the short story collection. Here’s the thing. I already knew the broad strokes of what happened in the Mistborn short story because of YouTube videos I’ve watched and because I’ve already read all of The Stormlight Archive. So I was like, whatever. Now that I’ve read The Final Empire, I definitely want to go and reread that short story after I finish Era 1. Anyways, this book was excellent. I had heard that this was the most “YA” of the Cosmere novels, which I think is wildly incorrect. I assume this is said because one of the protagonists is 16, but in terms of content and themes, it is easily his darkest novel I’ve read so far. Despite that, The Final Empire still has that underlying theme of love and hope conquering all that kind of runs through all of Sanderson’s novels that make them so appealing. I loved the father/daughter dynamic between the two characters- it’s really not a dynamic you see very often between two protagonists, and I really appreciated it. If you want a cool magic system, and the story of an underclass of people overthrowing an evil dictator, then this is the book for you! 

The Fall Is All There Is, by C.M. Caplan- 4/5

I was sold on this book on the basis of the excellent title and the cyborg horse. I won’t lie, I was slightly disappointed that the cyborg horse wasn’t more of a significant piece to the story, but thankfully the book made up for itself in other ways. I haven’t read a lot of grimdark, but I enjoyed this. Looking at some of the reviews online, a lot of people had difficulty being in the narrator’s head, but I kind of found it refreshing? This story follows an autistic prince, Petre, who ran away from his fucked up family years ago, but after his father died, he gets drawn back into the drama because he and his three siblings are quadruplets (as is the author) and there is some succession drama going on. Petre is totally confused and absolutely frustrated with all the scheming going on around him, and as someone who also is frequently confused and frustrated not knowing what the hell other people are doing, I enjoyed this. I thought the characters and their relationships were all good and interesting, but I felt like the plot could have been a bit stronger towards the end. It definitely felt like a first installment that is building up to something cool down the line, but that’s not necessarily a terrible thing, especially because the sequel is coming out this year.

You Should Be So Lucky, by Cat Sebastian- 5/5

I took a break from fantasy to read this romance book set in 1960’s New York City about a reporter, Mark, falling for a baseball player, Eddie, in the worst batting slump of his career. Guys, I loved this book so so much. It is so much more emotional than I expected, and just so so sweet. The ending was perfect without feeling trite or completely unrealistic while still having a happy ending. A really, really good slow burn romance. 

February:

She Who Became the Sun, by Shelly Parker Chan- 5/5

This book is a reimagining of 14th century Chinese history, reimagining the Hongwu Emperor as a woman who has assumed the identity of her brother. This story FASCINATED me. So many interesting themes and ideas explored about gender, unequal relationship dynamics, fate, and ambition. Zhu, the main character, is in some ways one of the less interesting characters in this story just because she is so certain of her goal. But, what is interesting to her is her gender and how she wrestles with that. Her narration uses she/her pronouns throughout, which is why I also am, but even after reading the sequel I am still not totally sure what her deal is regarding her gender, and I found all of that very interesting. Speaking of the other characters, they are SO GOOD. All of them are deeply conflicted and interesting. Especially General Ouyang. The political machinations in this book are great; I’ve been pitching these books to friends as “Mulan meets Game of Thrones”, and the latter is because of the complicated, morally gray characters and the political scheming. I will warn that these books do cover some pretty dark topics and have some pretty graphic scenes of various kinds. Oh also there’s magic. I forgot about that. But it is there and very interesting. 

The Obelisk Gate, by N. K. Jemisin- 4.5/5

It has taken me almost a year to return to this series and I’m glad I did. I really enjoyed this second book, even if I think Fifth Season is by far the superior book. This book focuses both on Essun as she learns from Alabaster about the moon and the obelisks, and on what Nassun was doing in the last book and now in the present. Like the Fifth Season, this book is kind of a bummer, but  in a way that I enjoy. It’s a dark world and lots of very bad things have happened to our protagonists. The relationship between Baster and Essun continued to be my favorite part. There’s so much baggage and heartbreak and damage between them, but also so much love, too. I honestly only 80% understood what was happening with the larger plot, but I’m willing to say that’s probably because I listened to the audiobook while at work. 

All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr- 5/5

Wow. I rarely read historical fiction, so I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this one, and I’m glad to say that I absolutely loved it. Doerr’s writing style is absolutely phenomenal. Just so flowing and lyrical. This is the story of a young blind French girl and a young radio obsessed German boy spanning from the mid 1930’s through WWII. It’s also the story of a diamond that may or may not be cursed, the power of communication technology, and of finding light in the darkest moments. I sobbed through the ending, guys. Sobbed. No, I will not be watching the miniseries because based on the trailer it looks like TRASH. 

He Who Drowned the World, Shelly Parker Chan- 5/5

This is the follow up to She Who Drowned the World, and I actually thought this book was even better than the first one. This book adds an additional POV character in Wang Baoxiang who is maybe my favorite character in this duology, and that is saying something. For those keeping track, our three main characters are:  Zhu, a woman who has taken on the identity of a man and in some ways identifies as a man but in other ways doesn’t and is married to a woman whom she loves but doesn’t necessarily feel sexual attraction to; Ouyang, a eunuch who is gay and deeply depressed and still looked down on by the world for not fitting in a neat little box as far as gender and sexuality are concerned; and finally Baoxiang who is straight but is effeminate in a few ways (voice, manner of dress) and is therefore perceived by everyone around him to be gay and again is despised for not fitting into a neat little box, but in the opposite way to Ouyang. So much gender fuckery in this book. It’s delicious. The ending is perfect, in my opinion, as long as you remember it’s a reimagining of history and is not supposed to be taken as historical fiction. We are a couple of steps away from that. 

[literaryhypewoman]

Book Review: "Ace Marvel Spy" by Jenni L. Walsh

New #bookreview + #literaryhypepodcast interview: If you're like me and love sports, comics, and WWII history, do I have the book for you. Jenni L Walsh is giving insight into the real life story of Alice Marble in "Ace. Marvel. Spy." Check out my full review & interview here:

Sometimes, I get a book pitch that sounds like it’s absolutely perfect for me. Sports, comics, and World War II historical fiction based on a real woman? Sign me up immediately. Ace Marvel Spy by Jenni L. Walsh [Buy Bookshop Amazon LibroFM] is a novel about Alice Marble, who I hadn’t heard of before. Most of this book is told in a dual timeline, with one walking us through Alice’s early days…

[kappabooks]

The Antiquity Affair | Book Review

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own. Two estranged sisters must band together to solve a puzzle three millennia in the making in this female-heroine take on Indiana Jones. 1907: The dawn of Egyptology is a time of imperialism and plunder, opulence and unrest, and Dr. Warren Ford, esteemed archaeologist, is the man of the hour. His daughters—prim…

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Neal Stephenson’s “Polostan”

NEXT WEEKEND (Novem<p>placeholder </p>ber 8-10), I'll be in TUCSON, AZ: I'm the GUEST OF HONOR at the TUSCON SCIENCE FICTION CONVENTION.

Science fiction isn't collection of tropes, nor is it a literary style, nor is it a marketing category. It can encompass all of these, but what sf really is, is an outlook.

At the core of sf is an approach to technology (and, sometimes, science): sf treats technology as a kind of crux that the rest of the tale revolves around. The Bechdel test invites us to notice that in most fiction, stories revolve around men – that it's rare for two or more non-male characters to interact with one another, and if they do, that interaction is triggered by a man.

The sftnal version of this would go something like this: "a story gets increasingly stfnal to the extent that interactions among characters either directly relate to a technology, or are triggered by the consequences of such a relation, or fears, plans or aspirations for same."

(Note that this implies that science fiction is a spectrum: things can be more or less science fictional, and that gradient reflects the centrality of a technology to the narrative.)

No one's work demonstrates this better than Neal Stephenson. Stephenson's work covers a lot of settings and storytelling modes. His debut, The Big U, was a contemporary novel lampooning academic life. Then came Zodiac, another contemporary novel, but one where science – in this case, extremely toxic polychlorinated biphenyls – take center stage. Then came his cyberpunk classic, Snow Crash, which was unambiguously (and gloriously) science fiction.

A couple of books later, we got Cryptonomicon, a finance novel that treated money as a technology, and, notably, did so across both a near-future setting and the historic setting of WWII. In addition to being a cracking novel, Cryptonomicon is exciting in that it treats the technological endeavors of the past in exactly the same way as it does the imaginary technological endeavors of the future. Here's Stephenson fusing his contemporary sensibilities with his deep interests in history, and approaching historical fiction as an sf writer, doing the sftnal thing to gadgets and ideas that have been around for more than two generations.

Stephenson's next novel was Quicksilver, the first book of the massive "System of the World" trilogy, in which the extremely historical events of Newton and Leibniz's quest to discover "the calculus" are given a sweeping, world-spanning sftnal treatment. As "system of the world" suggests, Stephenson uses this sftnal trick to situate a scientific advancement in the context of a global, contingent, complex system that it both grows out of an defines. This is the pure water of science fiction, applied entirely to real seventeenth century events, and it's definitive proof that sf isn't a trope, a style or a category – but rather, it is a way of framing and understanding the world.

You can think of Stephenson's career up to this point as a series of experiments in applying the stfnal lens to events that are progressively less historical (and, with The Diamond Age, events that are atemporal inasmuch as the book is set in a futuristic revival of the Victorian Age). Experiments that range over contemporary settings, and then contemporary settings blended with historical settings, then a deep historical sf trilogy.

(It's rather exciting that these books came out right as William Gibson was entering his own "predicting the present" decade, where he exclusively published sf about the recent past, a prelude to a series of sf novels set in a future so far from our present that the characters literally have no record of which events led up to their own circumstances):

https://memex.craphound.com/2014/10/28/the-peripheral-william-gibson-vs-william-gibson/

Having proved how successful an historical sf novel could be, Stephenson then bopped around with a lot of stfnal historical ideas, from the "transmedia" 12th century setting of the Mongoliad to a madcap time-travel book (The Rise and Fall of DODO). Stephenson's work since then have been pretty straightforwardly sftnal, which means that he's a little overdue for a return to historical sf.

That's where Polostan comes in, the just-published inaugural volume of a new interwar series about the birth of atomic science:

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/polostan-neal-stephenson

Critics and even the publisher have called this a "spy novel" or a "historical novel" but it is neither of those. What Polostan is, is a science fiction novel, about spies in an historical setting. This isn't to say that Stephenson tramples on, or ignores spy tropes: this is absolutely a first-rate spy novel. Nor does Stephenson skimp on the lush, gorgeously realized and painstakingly researched detail you'd want from an historical novel (Stephenson has long enjoyed a fruitful collaboration with the brilliant researcher Lisa Gold, whom we can thank for much of the historical detail across his body of work).

But the overarching sensibility of this work is a world full of people who revolve around technology. You'd be hard-pressed to list more than a handful of actions taken by the characters that aren't driven by technology, and most of the dialog either concerns technology, or the actions that characters have taken in relation to technology. It's unmistakably and indelibly a science fiction novel.

It's great.

Polostan raises the curtain on the story of Dawn Rae Bjornberg, AKA Aurora Maximovna Artemyeva, whose upbringing is split between the American West in the early 20th century and the Leningrad of revolutionary Russia (her parents are an American anarchist and a Ukrainian Communist who meet when her father travels to America as a Communist agitator). Aurora's parents' marriage does not survive their sojourn to the USSR, and eventually Aurora and her father end up back in the States, after her father is tasked with radicalizing the veterans of the Bonus Army that occupied DC, demanding the military benefits they'd been promised:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonus_Army

After the efforts of Communist organizers in the Bonus Army were mercilessly crushed by George S Patton, Aurora ends up living in a Communist commune in Chicago, where she falls into a job selling comfortable shoes to the footsore women who visit the Century of Progress, as the 1933 World's Fair was known:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_of_Progress

At the Century of Progress, Aurora sits at the junction where many global currents are mixing: she is there when Mussolini's air armada lands on Lake Michigan to the cheers of thronged fascist sympathizers; and also when Neils Bohr lectures on the newly discovered – and still controversial – neutron. She is also exposed to her first boyfriend, a young physicist from New York, who greatly expands her interest in nuclear physics and also impregnates her.

This latter turn in her life sends Aurora back into the American west, where, after a complex series of misadventures and derring-do, she embarks on a career as a tommy gun-toting bank robber, part of an armed gang of her cowboy shirttail cousins.

All of this culminates in her return sojourn to the Soviet Union, where she first falls under suspicion of being an American spy, and then her recruitment as a Soviet spy.

Also: she plays a lot of polo. Like, on a horse.

This isn't just an unmistakably sftnal novel, it's also an unmistakably Stephensonian novel: embroidered, discursive, and brilliantly expositional:

https://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/my-favorite-bit/my-favorite-bit-cory-doctorow-talks-about-the-bezzle/

It is funny, it is interesting, it is even daffy in places. It's sometimes absolutely horrifying. It skips around in time like a subatomic particle bouncing around in a theoretical physics model. It creates and resolves all manner of little subplots in most satisfying ways, but also ultimately exists just to tee up the main action, which will come in future volumes. It's a curtain raiser, and like any good opening number, it hooks you for what is to come.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/04/bomb-light/#nukular

[randomgirl005]

A Timid Light/ Una Llum Tímida

Both precious and tough at the same time, the same book has the power to make you feel incredibly good at times and, simultaneously, to break you and leave you in pieces at others.

Una Llum Tímida (A Timid Light), an original text written and performed as a theatrical play by Àfrica Alonso, based on real events, takes us to Spain during the last fifteen years of Franco's regime. It tells a love story between two teachers in a small village in Valencia called Manuel.

This 2024, the same author has published the work as a novel, a text written with the same delicacy and dedication as the theatrical play that preceded it. With extensive research behind it, Àfrica Alonso traveled to the small village of Manuel to immerse herself firsthand in the world of the two protagonists. There, she visited the little apartment where the teachers lived and even spoke with people who had the privilege of knowing them during their lifetime.

It is a harrowing story that, thanks to the author’s incredible writing, makes you turn the pages without realizing it, sometimes needing to stop to reflect, or even reread a paragraph, a sentence, or an entire page to process all the emotions these words manage to convey.

From the very beginning, a feeling of tenderness and love toward Isabel and Carmen takes hold of you. Àfrica Alonso has achieved a narrative that makes you feel everything that happens to them as if you were present in that small apartment in Manuel alongside them.

The good moments, the bad ones... You feel it all as if it directly affects you, creating a bond with the protagonists that leads you to reflect and think about how harsh and unfair life was for them. Despite the love they shared, due to the conditions and beliefs—partially imposed—of the time, they broke the societal norms of love; a love as tender and genuine as theirs. This ultimately shattered the happiness and mental integrity of two young women whose only wish was to be happy and love each other freely, without harming or bothering anyone.

The book brilliantly portrays the guilt that plagued the young women because of a love that, according to the closed-minded society of the time, was an abomination. With tears in your eyes and goosebumps, the book shows you, in a fictional yet very realistic way, how the feeling of guilt consumed them, how self-hatred and rejection of who they were became a constant presence in their lives, always clashing with the pure and sincere love they had for each other.

This internal struggle between the ideals you were raised with and what you have become is present throughout the book. The inability to embrace who you are due to incorrect, instilled values that go against everything you truly are—and deep down, you know that nothing you feel could be as wrong as they make you believe. Even though you’re aware that what you’re doing harms no one, a deeply ingrained part of you cannot let go of this sense of what is "right" and "normal." Is it perhaps out of fear of losing those we thought we loved once? Or maybe out of fear of losing who we thought we were? Whatever the case, what do we have to lose if we don’t have love?

[jessread-s]

✩🐦‍🔥⚔️Review:

Kuang’s debut novel is a gripping tale of the horrors of war and the cost of revenge. 

“The Poppy War” follows Fang Runin (referred to simply as Rin), a war orphan that is one of the select few to successfully test into the most elite military school in Nikara. Once there, she explores the depths of the lethal, unearthly power she possesses. The Nikara Empire is at peace for now, but a Third Poppy War is brewing…and Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. 

Kuang masterfully draws from Chinese history, more specifically the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Nanjing Massacre, to create her fictional world and inspire her system of magic. Though I was overwhelmed at times by how dense it was, I really appreciated her detailed world-building and how incredibly realistic it is. She weaves many underlying sociopolitical themes into her storyline, including race, class, colorism, and gender. The end result is a thought-provoking, haunting work of fiction.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading from Rin’s perspective as she navigates life at Sinegard, then life on the battlefield. Her character undergoes massive development with each section of the novel, the jarring tonal shifts making it even more anxiety inducing to witness. At the very beginning, her only worry is to survive school, but once the Federation of Mugen invades, her innocence is pried away from her as she watches fellow classmates be kidnapped, tortured, violated, and killed. With time, war hardens her, her desire for vengeance clouds her decision-making, and the terrible choices she is faced with corrupt her. 

Admittedly, the pacing made it more challenging for me to get through this one. Life at the academy propelled the story forward for me, but there were moments—like when Rin and her division spent several weeks waiting for the Federation to strike—where I lost momentum. While I acknowledge that there is down time in war, I feel that had the pacing been more consistent and some of the character relationships been more fleshed out, I would have had a harder time putting this one down. I am interested to see where the story goes in book two. 

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[vampiremacncheese]

Looking for some fresh new sapphic reads👀🌈?

Here's a roundup of everything from heart-melting romance 💕 to spine-chilling horror stories that'll linger long after the last page 👻.

[p-clodius-pulcher]

Well I’m certain the book is good but it’s no Publius Vergilius Maro’s Aeneid so is there even a point really

[mybookdiaries]

He is half of my soul, as the poets say.

The song of Achilles, Madeline Miller

[shay-the-reader]

📖: ring shout x p. djèlí clark (2020)

genres: historical fiction, horror, fantasy

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

review in one sentence: i loved the overall concept but thought aspects of the plot and characters could benefit from this being a longer book and not a novella.

“For a moment it seems the two are battling: my songs and his uneven chorus. But it was never a real fight. What I have is beautiful music inspired by struggle and fierce love. What he got ain’t nothing but hateful noise.”

🗡️👻🪘

if you like this, you might also enjoy…

📺 lovecraft country (2020)

🎬 us (2019)

📖 kindred x octavia butler (1979)

[tealeavesand-roses]

Status: read Rating: 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

Simply in awe. Weyward by Emilia Hart has stolen my heart and is easily my favorite read of the year. Weyward is a beautiful historical fiction tale with themes of witchcraft, nature, womanhood, and gothic horror, this story delves into the lives of three women throughout scattered periods of time. Altha's story takes place in 1619, Violet's takes place in 1942, and Kate's takes place in 2019. Each woman's story is as captivating as the next.

As I was finishing Violet's chapter regarding her mother and her family's history, I began to tear up, I flipped the page to the next chapter and I stumbled upon a beautiful white feather. I began to sob. My boyfriend had gotten me this book from a second-hand online shop and the previous owner must have left it in there. I felt like the feather was fantastically symbolic of what I was feeling and I felt so connected in that moment to myself, to nature, and spiritually to those in my life who have passed.

Could not recommend this book enough 🪶🌿🪲🐦‍⬛

[rachel-sylvan-author]

"A Year Down Yonder" by Richard Peck

This and the one before it are hilarious! Highly recommend! The third book just had me sad, so I don't recommend the third. But this and the first one are fantastic! 😊

QOTD: Who is your favorite Gravity Falls character?✨ Answer: Grunkle Stan for me! 🤣

[literaryhypewoman]

Book Review: "Duchess Material" by Emily Sullivan

There's something so delightful about historical romance with a dash of mystery. Emily Sullivan's "Duchess Material" is the perfect blend of both vibes. Check out my full review here:

Name a more iconic duo than a duke and a bluestocking. That’s what we’re getting in Emily Sullivan’s latest historical romance, Duchess Material [Buy Bookshop Amazon LibroFM]. Phoebe is from a family with money, but she wants to do some good in the world. She’s left her family behind for the most part and is now a teacher for women in a rough part of London in the 1890s. When one of her students…

[whilereadingandwalking]

In How Much of These Hills is Gold by C. Pam Zhang, after their father dies, two siblings head into the western wilderness to find a place to bury him. As they wander, our narrator Lucy looks back on their bleak lives: their mother's home across the sea, her desperate desire for something more, their father's domestic violence, his struggle in the mines.

This is a twisting historical fiction that really interrogates the line between civility and wilderness, and the violence we inherit, physical and emotional, generational, bitter and violent. It blends gender dysphoria, historical prejudice against Chinese immigrants, and much more into a story about family struggle, poverty, sibling-hood, and the myths of racial and class uplift. It whirls by, stinging and impactful, and some of the prose is genuinely beautiful. It's the first novel that's made me cry in a minute, and well worth the read.

Content warnings for Sinophobia, body horror, sexual assault, domestic abuse, classism.

[bookguide]

“People forget the work that it takes to make wine. They drink it down and wonder why the cup is empty.”

— Leigh Bardugo, The Familiar

[jessread-s]

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review

✩🗡️🥀Review:

A dark, tragic, and haunting reimagining of Shakespeare’s most famous villainess.

“Lady Macbeth” follows Roscille after she is wed to a Scottish brute, who does not leave his warrior ways behind when he comes to the marriage bed. To survive his hostility and dangerous court, she relies on her wiles and hidden witchcraft. 

I am quite the Shakespeare fanatic and “The Tragedy of Macbeth” is one of my favorite plays precisely because of how cunning and ruthless Lady Macbeth’s character is. I gravitated toward this novel because I was curious about Reid’s take on the character and though this is not the play retold from her point-of-view, I enjoyed it for what it is! Reid’s reimagining gives Lady Macbeth her own name, a past, and occult power that cleverly expands on Shakespeare’s original work. In Reid’s rendition, she captures a woman living in a patriarchal society who has her voice violently taken away by the men around her. Roscille’s fear surrounding abuse at the hand of men is what fuels her scheming and manipulation—what ultimately turns her into Lady Macbeth. She doesn’t want a crown, she wants to survive. She uses her beauty as a weapon in retaliation against those holding her womanhood against her. She finds power in her rage, which she acts on only after it has festered. I think that is the key difference between Roscille and Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth—in a world that does not favor women, she is less ambitious and more reactive in a sense. This new portrayal took some getting used to, but once I did, I appreciated how it widened my perspective. 

I was entranced by Reid’s atmospheric and lyrical writing. The intention and power behind each and every word adds depth to Roscille’s character, showing the extent of her wiles and smarts. The bits of proverbial wisdom Reid sprinkles throughout allow her to emulate the bard himself in her own way. What I love most is how Reid uses various names for each character to reflect the different languages being spoken at the time.

➾ NOTE: After careful reflection and reading reviews written by my peers, it has been pointed out that this book can be interpreted as xenophobic. Intentional or not, most, if not all, of the Scottish characters—an ethnic group that Roscille does not belong to—are underdeveloped and described as brutish, violent, and evil. This characterization is unfair and in no way pays homage to the source material. 

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph