Wow! Rouge was weird and creepy and eerie and SO much fun! I’m skincare obsessed, so I was intrigued from the beginning, but this one took some crazy turns and still ended up being so satisfying. I’ll be reading more of Mona Awad’s work asap!

An exploration of perceptions of beauty, mother-daughter relationships, grief, and... spa cults? This is the first of Mona Awad's work that I've read, and it was utterly un-put-downable. The story follows Belle, a young woman dealing with the recent, and quite mysterious, death of her mother. As she explores the wake of her mother's existence in California, miles away from where she has been living in Montreal, her connections to a mysterious and ultimately sinister spa called Rouge are unearthed. The entire book is shrouded in mystery and darkness, and takes on an eerie, dreamlike quality. We get deep into Belle's mind, even as it begins to slip from her grasp. A lot of questions are raised, a lot of characters are introduced, and a lot of plot lines are developed, but it all comes together beautifully in the end. With subtle nods to the fairy tales of our childhoods, and the addition of Awad's own vivid and twisted imagination, Rouge is truly unlike anything I've read before. Thank you so much to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the gifted copy. I apologize for taking so long to get this review up, I have been unprecedentedly busy lately!

This is the first book by Mona Awad that I have read, and I really loved her style. The writing is tight but still somehow lush, and the changes in language that occur as the protagonist's mental state deteriorates are really effective. There were things about this story that felt a little unsatisfying, but on the whole I really loved the meditation on physical beauty, the beauty industry, whiteness, and envy. The relationship between Belle and her mother was heartbreaking and deeply affecting. 4.5/5

“she used to tell you fairy tales at night, remember? once upon a time. when you were a sad, dreamy little girl.”
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when belle's mother unexpectedly passes away, belle is drawn back into her mother's world: california sun, a dress shop, and an apartment on the ocean. she begins going to her mothers “spa”, a place her mothers red shoes walk her to in the night. in her mother's apartment she’s surrounded by an array of skin creams, treatments, serums, and mists. when her mother's friend gives belle a box of her mother's belongings, she begins to unlock a part of herself, forgotten memories of the entire year she was ten years old. in these strange and psychedelic memories she unlocks, the unexpected presence of … *slight spoiler maybe???* tom cruise (lol i’m still SCREAMING about this???) was such a fun touch!!! as her memories resurface, belle spirals deeper into her mother's world of the glowing, beautiful things; drifting further away from reality.
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“belle, do you ever look in the mirror and hate?
hate? i stared at the silhouette of my reflection in the dark. yes, i thought. of course. all the fucking time. but i said, hate what, mother?
ce que tu vois, mother whispered.”
•
having just devoured mona awad's bunny, i was so horny to pick up rouge and my expectations were edible-high. let me tell you, mona awad has once again given!! i feel like i did so many drugs lol. rouge shocked, hypnotized, and intrigued me with its trippy vibes and psychedelic ambience. the book's emphasis on skincare and belle’s pursuit of perfect skin is intriguing and fascinating. awad's signature satire and incredible prose had me captivated from beginning to end. without a doubt, a solid five stars.
•
“seems pretty important to keep that in mind, don’t you think?” but there are roses in my mind, i want to tell him.”

A horrific story of the beauty industry. Highly original and riveting.
Many thanks to Simon Element and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Every time I thought I knew what was coming next, no I didn't. This book was disorienting in the best way. A great take on the gothic genre.






Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a wild ride of a book. Mona Awad has a distinct writing style and she creates such unique and trippy stories. Rouge was like an Eyes Wide Shut meets Snow White acid trip, if that makes sense. If you loved Awad’s book Bunny, then you’ll probably enjoy this book. Things get weird pretty fast and I had a fun time reading this one.

I’d recommend Rouge for fans of strange horror fiction. You should add this book to your tbr if you haven’t already. I’m looking forward to Awad’s next book.

3.5/5 stars

This book was crazy! Belle has always been obsessed with skincare, watching Dr. Marva’s YouTube videos each morning and night and following along with her own array of creams, lotions, and potions. Shortly after her mother’s death, Belle uncovers that Mother, too, shared this obsession. What’s more, Mother was a member of a luxurious, exclusive spa in the mansion at the cliff’s edge. Just what will Belle need to give up in order to get in? I will say it again—this book was crazy! I literally cheered at the end. Dark, twisted, and so utterly delectable. I loved it!

This was a highly anticipated read after reading and loving Bunny last year. But I’m sad to say, I don’t think I was the right audience for this. It was quirky and bizarre and I felt like I was missing most of the symbolism and metaphors. I’m a very literal thinker and reader so this did not work for me. The characters felt very flat, without much depth. I struggled with the pacing a bit. Overall, strange and unique but not for me. If you’re looking for a read that’s more than a little out there, give it a try.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster, Mona Awad, and NetGalley for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up. This book makes you feel the obsession! Like our main character, Belle, I was sucked in to the fever dream that was La Maison de Méduse. It was a great way to critique the beauty industry and its unrealistic expectations. How much of yourself are you willing to lose to achieve the impossible? I really enjoyed the frequent word slips that hammered home this critique, but I can see where some would feel they were too on the nose. However, my main issue with this story is that it was too long and repetitive. In particular, the flashbacks to her childhood were too long. I felt taken out of the present time story. Shorter snip-its of the past would have worked better for me as a reader.

I really wanted to like this one! I just don’t think it was for me.
Now, I really liked her other books so this might just be a matter of right book wrong time.
I will definitely try to read this again and hopefully at a better time.

To quote the Grateful Dead, "what a long, strange trip it's been." This book is so trippy! I love how it takes a look at the obsession with beauty and the lengths people will go to get that perfect skin and glow. Then, it is creepy AF in the "spa" that Mirabelle goes too. Half the time, I was wondering if things that were happening had actually happened in the past or were they in her mind. I kept thinking look beyond your obsession and see what's really happening here!

Mirabelle leaves Montreal for California when her mother is found dead on the rocks at the ocean. A fall, they say. What she didn't know was how much her mom had changed before her death. There is a lot of damage in the past between them. She finds out when she is invited into the "spa". Things go bonkers from there.

This book has everything from Tom Cruise to "red jellyfish." It was a very interesting story and hard to put down.

Thanks to Negalley and Simon Element for a copy for review.

This book was incredibly captivating and well-done. It was disorienting and confusing in a way that perfectly reflected the protagonist's lack of understanding about her situation. It was not so confusing that it was frustrating, but rather it was confusing in a way that made it mysterious and very intriguing.
Awad's use of imagery in this novel is incredibly impressive. She beautifully and skillfully uses jellyfish, roses, color, and more to create a stunning, haunting story.
My only complaint is that things began to drag a little bit towards the middle of the book. However, once the pace picked back up, it began to move quite rapidly.
Overall, this was an incredibly fascinating book with so much to say about the beauty industry and grief. Awad's writing coupled with the topics of the novel create something that is so alluring and impossible to put down.. I still do not know exactly what happened, but I do know I enjoyed it. My experience with this book was a lot like that with Awad's other book, 'Bunny," a bit of a fever-dream that left me wondering but still satisfied. I am looking forward to reading more of her work in the future.

This may be the most eerie book I have ever read. Science Fiction meets the beauty industry, While a tale of selling your soul for beauty sounds fiction, is it too different from the influencers in our world today?

I tried to give this author another chance after Bunny but this book was wayyy too weird for my taste and I only got 5 pages in

I liked this more than All's Well but less than Bunny. It was fascinating, then repetitive, then fascinating again. I was dreading reading it given how much I've been hit over the head with anti-beauty-industry content lately, but I thought it was handled in a fascinating way. Mona Awad I'll love you forever.

Reading much like a fever dream, Rouge is a sinister fairy tale that revolves around a strained mother-daughter relationship and the beauty cult that drew them both into its malevolent web. Throughout the story, Awad brilliantly explores the toxicity of the beauty industry and the complex grieving process after losing a parent. Horror-tinged, surreal, and full of vivid imagery. I highly recommend for spooky season.

Rouge was surreal as hell. Slow at first and I can't say that I ever understood what was happening but as my confusion built, our main character was deteriorating and I had to know what was going to happen to her.

I felt as though the writing kept me at arms length and I was struggling to connect but I think that was an intentional choice now that I've finished.

This book is as hard to review as it is to describe so I think Mona Awad has done her job here. Bravo.

This had everything going for it, but just didn’t pull it off like I was hoping for. So many elements that I expected to figure out which was the main one (vampires? Fairytale retellings, and if so, which one?) by the end, but never quite did. Perhaps that was the point, but for me, it just didn’t work.

Mira/Belle returns to La Jolla from Montreal after the mysterious death of her estranged mother. Despite their emotional and physical distance, the two women have one thing in common: an obsession with beauty. Upon arrival, she is faced with more questions than answers - these questions lead her to a strange mansion on the hill that offers exclusive beauty treatments - but at what cost? As Mira/Belle is sucked more and more into the mansion and its secrets, the danger mounts. Will she get out in time? And fully intact?

I adore Mona Awad's writing. It's lush and atmospheric, and I can't get enough of it.

In Rouge, the tone changes significantly as the main character gets more and more involved in the ultra-elite, mysterious world of specialty skincare. It becomes an obsession, and the lines between reality and imagination blur frequently.

There are a lot of themes at play here as well: memories, and the fact that they can't always be trusted; a parent's desire to protect their child at all costs; and the damage that can be done by impossible beauty standards. But it never feels like the book is forcing lessons on the reader; rather, it feels like you arrive at these themes naturally as the plot unravels.

Mona Awad is an author that I've grown to love and trust, and I thoroughly enjoy allowing her to take my hand and lead me into her layered, immersive worlds.

Note: I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley.