Mona Awad doesn't disappoint. Rouge was strange and captivating and had me on my toes to see what was going to happen next. I enjoyed the writing and the suspense.

Mona Awad’s writing always leaves me with the feeling of what the heck did I just read. Was this whole book a dream, or did it actually happen. She makes me think after reading a book and I like that a lot.

I struggle to review Mona Awad books besides simply saying “WTF?” 😂

ROUGE felt based in reality but quickly descended into the weirdness of a skincare cult then turned into a very atmospheric gothic fairy tale. I loved Awad’s writing which really put me into the main character’s shoes as she spiraled into chaos.

This book is not for everyone though. It’s very weird and I think it says “Tom Cruise” approximately 300 times. If you liked Awad’s book BUNNY or movies like Eyes Wide Shut and The Neon Demon, give it a read! 🥀🪞🪼

Mona Awad strikes again. Rouge was a wild ride. I was expecting weird and weird is definitely what we get with this one.

I loved the underlying messages about the beauty industry that we got in Rouge. Although I didn’t really know what was happening half the time I could not put it down.

What a ride! Rouge was my first exposure to the work of Mona Awad and it did not disappoint. The novel was an immersive fever dream centred on loss, beauty, and the obsession with preserving one's youth. The storyline was filled with plot twists so surreal that I was left marvelling at the author's extraordinary imagination. Awad's Rouge is unlike anything that I have read before and it was a mesmerizing experience.

Kind thanks to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy of this novel.

Happy Pub Day to Rouge by Mona Awad. 🌹❤️🥀
Thanks to Net Galley @netgalley for letting me read this ARC.
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As is the case for a lot of readers, the 2019 novel "Bunny" was my introduction to Mona Awad, and I have been eager to read the work she has put out since: "All's Well" in 2021, and now "Rouge".
While Awad's novels have a through line of cults, magical realism, thriller elements, and slightly deranged and obsessive protagonists, "Rouge" is more of a fever-dream gothic fairy tale than her previous works.
Here, Awad turns her focus on the skincare industry and explores the question of how much might a person sacrifice in the pursuit of an unattainable level of perfection?
The main character, Belle, is grieving the loss of her mother and returns to Southern California from Montreal to deal with the estate and falls into a sinister, hallucinatory exploration of her relationship with her mother, and with beauty, envy, and grief.
The novel is described as "Snow White meets Eyes Wide Shut" and I'd say that description is pretty apt (right down to the appearance of Tom Cruise).
I'd recommend this one to fans of "Bunny" and also to fans of "The Bloody Chamber" by Angela Carter or "Eileen" by Ottessa Moshfegh.
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#monaawad #rouge #bunny #recommendedread #netgalley #penguinrandomhouse #hamishhamilton

3.75 stars

In typical fashion for Mona Awad, this book was weird. It’s a blend of fantasy, fairy tale, reality, dark humour, and social commentary. Something about her bizarre style of writing really seems to work for me; I always go into her books knowing I don’t have any real idea what to expect, and I’m never disappointed. I don’t think this one is my favourite book of hers, but I did appreciate the subject matter and what she did with it, and overall, I did enjoy it. I can’t wait to see what strange creature she writes into the world next.

This is an opinion that people shouldn't take lightly:

Mona Awad does no wrong.
And even if she got to it, I am sure I would still support her.

Rouge was unlike anything I’ve read before. I enjoyed the writing style, and elements of the plot such as all the different explorations of relationships: mother-daughter, with youth, with our mortality. I think there were a lot of clever points in this book and it would be interesting to dig deep and explore. It would probably make a great book club book.
Overall, I found this book to be interesting but I found some of the horror/gothic aspects to be too bizarre for me. It kind of lost me midway as it felt too long and some of it was repetitive.
Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for the copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

“The only journey that matters in the end, Daughter of Noelle.” “Retinol?” I whisper. “The soul. A journey of the soul, of course.”

This was a dark and twisty horror that felt surreal but real all at the same time. What lengths some will go to achieve beauty and youth. There was an aura about the book that could almost lull you in, while is slithered around in your mind.

“It's the hour when all the shop mannequins conspire to look menacing. When they all appear to be smirking a little. The mannequins always reminded me of mother. Flawless, white, smiling.”

While not quite my cup of tea at first, I'm not one who really follows a regimen or pays too much attention to the wrinkles - I can imagine how some would be drawn into this. It definitely has the gothic feel to it, with so much psychological twisting. The narrative really draws you into almost a dark place!

I did enjoy the back and forth between past events and the current. It was a magical, or even a dark magical childhood while figuring out the link between the past events and what was happening in the mansion.

Unfortunately this book was a DNF for me at 60%. I was simultaneously bored by the lack of plot progression and confused at how much of the story involved Tom Cruise. I’ve read from this author before and unfortunately I don’t think her work is for me, as much as I want to like it.

Rouge by Mona Awad

* Thank you to @netgalley and @penguin for providing a digital copy of Rouge in exchange of a honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Definetly my favorite from Mona Awad! I have read all her others books but Bunny and All's Well were just a little bit too strange for my taste. Rouge is definitely weird, but in a way that makes sense. The ending was so heart warming, it was actually my favorite part.

Wow this book was quite the journey. I don’t even know what to think.

I at times found it a bit confusing as to what was going on and keeping the characters in line.

The Tom Cruise parts I felt a bit irritated from. Why I don’t even know!

All in all it was an interesting read and as usual will always read Mona’s books!

Can I give this book All the stars ⭐️ it was so dark and moody I absolutely devour it. Gave a obscure fairy tale retelling vibe

The initial half of Rouge had me fully invested in Mona Awad's twisted narrative. However, as I progressed, fatigue set in, turning the journey into a bit of a chore. Comparing it to other peculiar books I've enjoyed, I realized they managed to convey meaningful messages with fewer pages, unlike Rouge, which seemed to drag on endlessly.

Despite the weariness, the story maintained its humor, offering occasional amusement even as my enthusiasm waned. Towards the end, I discovered a beautiful component that reshaped my perception of a character and prompted contemplation on how we view those who both love and hurt us.

This was my first Mona Awad and it won’t be my last!

It was a little haywire in the best way. It kept my hooked right from the get go and guessing till the last.

I really wanted to like this one, particularly since I work in the beauty industry. However it was so bizarre and repetitive, the style of narration was hard to get into that I just couldn’t bring myself to continue on with something that I couldn’t follow what was going on.

I see a lot of people really enjoyed this one, but the ones who didn’t, I feel are exactly the reasons why it didn’t connect with me as well. Sadly finally putting this aside to start off fresh in the new year.

so amazing that my head hurts from trying to comprehend it all - I love that Mona Awad is so unhinged with her characters and that everything feels like you’re on drugs but also are having your heart ripped out and you don’t know which of those to focus on first. The straddling between fantasy and reality is so carefully curated that I am just in awe of her craft

Belle lives and works in Montreal, Canada and is obsessed with her beauty regimen and with skincare videos featuring Dr. Marva. When her estranged mother Noelle mysteriously dies, Belle finds herself back in Southern California, dealing with her mother’s considerable debts.

This is my second Mona Awad novel and, although I enjoyed it more than All's Well, I'm not sure I'd read another one; it would have to be very intriguing. When I took Netgalley up on its offer of 'Read Now for the first 200 Members', I didn't realize this was classed as Horror, not one of my favourite genres. Then again the horror in this novel is more of a descent into madness with some gothic creepiness thrown in. It had an Alice in Wonderland feel about it even though most other comparisons are with Snow White. The book was very weird, like a train wreck and I couldn't look away. I was amused by Belle's slips of the tongue and misuse of words brought on by her "treatments" and her antics in the dress shop her mother previously owned. At times I actually felt some sympathy for her.

It's taken me a long time to read this as I wasn't able to read a lot of it in one go and some of the chapters are so long and filled with so much narrative that I just had to put it down for a while.

Many readers enjoyed this much more than I did so you should check out some of the other reviews if you're interested in reading it.

TW: I'm sure there are many but the book is already fading from my memory!

My thanks to Penguin Random House Canada via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication: September 12, 2023

This is the third Mona Awad book I’ve read (Bunny and All’s Well being the others) and there is a very distinct style. So it’s safe to say if you liked either of those, you’ll like this one.

The issue I have is pacing: there’s a lot of time spent in the middle, inhabiting the weirdness and uncertainty and vague supernatural elements. And then the resolution comes quick and doesn’t fully explain wtf was happening.

It’s a really interesting idea, and a great satirical critique of beauty culture. Kind of Death Becomes Her meets Barbara Bourland. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.