unlikelyplaces's reviews
265 reviews

This is a really helpful guide to define and “level up” your style. I’ve watched Ellie-Jean’s content on YouTube for a while and so was interested in picking up her book. Personally the bit I found most useful was her “Style Roots” system. I like that it’s a system based around defining and bringing cohesion to the things that you like and are naturally drawn to. I felt that this was the best and most fleshed-out section of the book. 

I think that the Body Matrix and Colour Seasons sections were a good starting point but I felt like they could have done with some more visual aides (eg. Having pictures of the colours rather than just names) to bring further clarity. Having done a little research about colour seasons in the past, this didn’t help me to clarify what season I am personally but it might be a good starting point if you’ve never looked into it. 

I sort of wish that the “How to apply this” section was a bit more in depth as well. There’s a small section about outfit formulas but I’d have loved some recommendations of outfit formulas for different body types, for example. I think there could have been more on how to practically bring everything together. 

But overall I think this is great for if you’re starting to think about your personal style and for considering the things you’re drawn to and why so if you’re interested in fashion it’s definitely worth a read. 

🍂 Lady Macbeth - Ava Reid 🍂 

🎧 

⭐ - 1.5 (maybe 2) 

Ok, this is going to be a bit of a rant but this book was so frustrating! This was one of those books that I just liked less and less as it went on. 

I will preface this by saying that Macbeth is probably my favourite Shakespeare play, just so you’re aware of my biases. 

I’ll start with the positive, I thought the writing was nice and I’d be willing to try another book by this author. I think if you tend to like feminist retellings and you know literally nothing at all about the play Macbeth including any knowledge of the main events then you might like this. 

This was not a Macbeth retelling. This was it’s own completely separate fantasy story with Macbeth-themed set dressing. I don’t know why Reid decided to link this to Macbeth at all because she clearly just wanted to do her own thing. However, by tying this to Shakespeare, Reid has opened herself up to comparison with the original work and therein lies my biggest problem with this book. 

This was the most egregious example of an issue that I often have with feminist retellings where, in trying to make the main character more sympathetic, the author takes away any sense of agency or independence that the original character has. Because obviously all women in history are just sad little girls who are completely subject to their cruel husband’s will. All of the characters in this book were just one-dimensional caricatures that I’ve seen over and over again in historical feminist fiction. 

I wanted a story of the mature, ambitious, clever, woman who does everything she can to win power in the time she lives in. I’m not claiming that Shakespeare writes women perfectly but there are ways you can update it that remain true to the original character and are more nuanced and interesting than this. 

I’m just so confused by all of the choices that were made in this book and it made me so mad because it could have been so good. I even went back and rewatched the whole play just in case I’d wildly misremembered it (I hadn’t). 

If you want a retelling that covers similar themes to this and has a similar vibe, I would highly recommend Rosie Hewlett’s “Medea” (or “The Witch of Colchis” in the US) it’s honestly so much better. 

‼️Content warnings: Domestic abu$e and SA are big themes in this, v!olence, self h@rm, su!c!de, ableism