Woah. Book clubbers? We need to talk. This book is jam packed with stuff - societal expectations that are unrealistic and lead people to self-loathe and chase beauty - what would you sacrifice to attain beauty? It’s a lot going on at once - thought it was brilliant how Awad was able to intertwine such a creative, creepy, complex plot into a story that kept me turning pages fully invested. Tom Cruise? Can’t wait to hear what everyone thinks about this one - go read it!

his book felt like someone had prepared what ought to be the most delicious lasagna, set it in the oven, & took it out later only to find they’d never turned the oven on. it felt like awad had thrown together all the ingredients for a great book but didn’t have an underlying connection throughout the book to weave it all together. every nod to an important topic: colorism; racism; female beauty standards; complex mother-daughter relations; were all too slight & surface level, barely amounting to any meaningful or effective commentary. there was also far too much internal narration that was telling much more than it was showing. any of the eerie mystery cultivated throughout the book was extinguished by an overuse of belle’s inner narration. overall, this was an “ideas” book that sadly just didn’t come to fruition.

I am so in love with Mona Awad's writing style. Her characterization is phenomenal, and I love how each of her stories (especially this one) makes you really think about what you just read. Also, "Snow White meets Eyes Wide Shut"?!!!!! You literally cannot have convinced me more. I cannot recommend Awad enough.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My Selling Pitch:
The Scooby Doo movie’s spooky island souls but make it vaguely vampiric and splattered with fairytale and skincare brand references. Do you like a fever dream of a novel and mommy issues? Do you want to be confused and vaguely unsettled, but ultimately disappointed?

Not to put you off this, but a book sold as beauty guru horror did not need a cop romance.

Pre-reading:
Hi bunny.

Unpopular opinion-I do not like the cover.

Thick of it:
This would make a good movie with like severe jump cuts in the sound.

Haha, wildkat fan?

Haha the ordinary peel

It’s giving Black Mirror

LOL Charlotte Tilbury, supergoop

Please don’t fuck your mother’s boytoy.

This book needs to pickup.

Is this some weird Disney adult cult?

Sirens?

Jellyfish are immortal, right? Is it something to do with that?

Scimitar

Mixing the fake beauty in with the real beauty products is wild.

Religieuse

Melasma

mille-feuille

I will say that as somebody who is very insecure about their skin and uses lots of lotions and potions, every time I pick this book up, it does make me put product on my face.

Why are you imagining your mom fucking? That’s weird.

Does it have something to do with pruning? I’m not a gardener. (This is never answered.)

That was excellent humor.

Grand maman is a horse girl confirmed.

Does this count as a piney minty boy? (survey says yes)

parlance

Hud Hudson is basically Moon Moon.

So they give their memories to the jellyfish aliens, and then in exchange, they get to look pretty. Is this you have to be dumb to be pretty commentary because I’m not into that. (Lowkey I think it is.)

It reminds me of that Scooby Doo movie’s soul pool.

I don’t know why she picked Tom Cruise because I think he’s so ugly.

Also, I think Tad is the Tom Cruise demon. (Wrong.)

Did she kill Stacy? (Wrong.)

It reminds me of hunting Peter Pan’s shadow.

Tisane

I want to like this book because it’s kooky, femme horror, but I don’t think I do.

Is this some man-I like you better without makeup. You don’t need makeup commentary? Because I’m not into that. (Lowkey I think yes, again.)

It just feels icky to me to take these lesbian undertones and pedophilic abuse and make it both that and something fantastical instead.

Gillian Anderson fan cast for the mom though or Jolie because I mean Jolie.

I just want to remind everyone that Tom Cruise is 5’7.

Or should the fan cast be Nicole Kidman because it’s Tom Cruise?

Wow, I really nailed it with the Scooby Doo.

Now it’s giving finding Nemo because they’re trying to get to the ocean.

I feel like this story is going to have so many open-ended plot points and I’m not into that.

Money, not existing in this book is very annoying.

Do you know what this book didn’t need? A romance. Especially not one where the man “saves” her.

Post-reading:
I wanted to like this so much, but I did not.

It’s a mess. It’s all vibes and no substance, and not particularly good vibes either. It seems like a lot of stuff was just thrown in hodgepodge.

The Egyptian gods are never addressed. Her bracelet’s powers are never addressed. I’ll suspend disbelief. I’ll give you magical realism, but there’s so much that doesn’t add up.

What were the creatures? Why Tom Cruise? What did other people see? Why did her mom not actually want her to look in the mirror if he wasn’t some sort of demon trapped in it?

Maybe they’re supposed to be open-ended questions and something for book clubs to debate, but I prefer my books to be a bit more open and shut.

For a book that claims to be commentary on the beauty industry and one that many readers expect to eviscerate the industry, it has some pretty shitty, shitty takes.

There were so many routes this book could’ve taken to make Seth creepy and threatening. It didn’t need to allude to pedophilia and child abuse if it wasn’t going to then make commentary about the beauty industry’s insidious and predatory obsession with youth. Full stop. It felt gratuitous. It felt icky. If you’re gonna put even a whiff of child sexual abuse in a book, it better damn well have a purpose beyond shocking the reader. Which, because her claims are then false, it adds to the idiots’ argument that women cry rape as an easy out if they don’t like someone. Do fucking better.

Further shit-the main character’s only beautiful after she gives up her mind. That’s another shitty addition to the stereotype that women can only be beautiful if they’re stupid and that women will willingly give up their intelligence if only to be beautiful. Which if that’s the conversation you want to have, (and hopefully criticize) can you actually have it? Instead, the book just offers up the situation and leaves it up to the reader to muddle through the morality of it.

There are multiple points in the book where the main character is told she doesn’t actually need products. She’s pretty without them. She even comes to realize that another character isn’t lesser than her for not caring about products. But the idea that makeup is the problem and that women who like makeup are insecure and lesser is so tired and full of internalized misogyny. Wear your goddamn makeup or don’t. You’re not better or worse for choosing one over the other. Can we please put this conversation to bed already?

The book’s full of mommy issues, but it doesn’t offer anything new to the conversation. The idea that women learn their self-esteem from their mothers is nothing new. If you want to argue that the mother in this book doesn’t want her daughter to look in the mirror because she doesn’t want her daughter to feel the same way that she does when she looks in the mirror, I need you to stop sipping your delulu latte and see a therapist about your avoidant attachment style. It just doesn’t make sense that the mother would assume that. How can they have the same insecurities when they don’t look alike? Also, the Mom clearly knows her daughter has self-esteem issues, and she’s shit at fixing them. We also can’t give this book points for pointing out that the beauty industry conflates whiteness with beauty because beauty ideals evolve and change over time, and it sticks strictly to skin color and does nothing to address appropriation. There’s just so much missing from the conversation.

Maybe mommy-issue books just never work for me because, for all my mom’s flaws, I’ve never once questioned her love for me. But I’ve also never expected my parents to be perfect. They’re people. They’re inherently flawed. So the grand realization that these characters come to in all these books that their parents did love them, just in their own way, is never anything special or groundbreaking to me. It’s just kind of like duh to me. Like, did you forget to read any books aimed at middle schoolers? This is an old plotline.

I think the most successful part of this book is the smattering of fairytales all blended together. It was a nice twist to essentially see Snow White poison the Queen because she was jealous of her beauty. But the rest of this book isn’t that Snow White. I think you could even argue that it’s more like The Little Mermaid because it’s another story about a girl trading some intrinsic part of herself to get a shitty man.

Which like oh my god, can we please address the shitty men in this book? The absolute last thing this book needed was a straight romance. Maybe it’s supposed to add to the fairytale retelling vibes, but it was so unbelievably forced and pointless. Beauty guru horror did not need a cop romance. It just didn’t.

Also, once I landed on the Scooby Doo similarities, I couldn’t unsee it, and without a doubt, I prefer that story to this one. I cared more about the characters getting their souls back in that movie. It had better pacing. It had better humor. Fuck, it had better questions of morality. And to quote our lord and savior, Freddie Prinze Junior, that movie was only about a talking dog.

This book had so much more to play with, and it did nothing with it. I didn’t care about any of the characters. I wasn’t creeped out. I didn’t get anything out of its social commentary. It was a huge miss for me. I wouldn’t go so far as to say don’t read it, but I’m certainly not going to recommend it.

Who should read this:
Psychological horror fans
Fever dream book fans
Kooky femme horror fans
Mommy issues fans

Do I want to reread this:
No

Similar books:
* Bunny by Mona Awad-duh
* Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth-kooky, femme horror
* Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield-magical realism, dementia horror, queer
* Shark Heart by Emily Habeck-magical realism, dementia horror, queer
* We Spread by Iain Reid-dementia horror

Book Synopsis:
For as long as she can remember, Belle has been insidiously obsessed with her skin and skincare videos. When her estranged mother Noelle mysteriously dies, Belle finds herself back in Southern California, dealing with her mother’s considerable debts and grappling with lingering questions about her death. The stakes escalate when a strange woman in red appears at the funeral, offering a tantalizing clue about her mother’s demise, followed by a cryptic video about a transformative spa experience. With the help of a pair of red shoes, Belle is lured into the barbed embrace of La Maison de Méduse, the same lavish, culty spa to which her mother was devoted. There, Belle discovers the frightening secret behind her (and her mother’s) obsession with the mirror—and the great shimmering depths (and demons) that lurk on the other side of the glass.

My Thoughts;
Mona Awad does it again. This book is like a mixture of gothic fairytale, horror, and weird women lit all wrapped up into a book.

Rouge by Mona Awad (she/her)
Genre: fiction, literary, horror
Vibes: a Gothic tale of envy, grief, obsession, aspiring to whiteness (I mean brightness...), the slippery descent into madness, hints of Egyptian mythology, and…Tom Cruise?

In typical Mona Awad fashion, Rouge gave me serious “wtf!?” vibes. I know it's not for everyone, but there's something about her feverdream, stream-of-consciousness writing that works with my brain. I felt immersed and could picture the visuals she painted crystal clear. No one does unhinged like Awad!

Mirabelle (or Belle) is obsessed with skincare. Every morning and night, she applies serums, moisturizers, and mists. She consumes collagen-filled smoothies, watches skincare videos religiously, and uses what meager funds she has to get facials. But Belle's world is turned upside down when she receives news about her estranged mother's death.

While funeral planning and figuring out what to do with her mother's enormous debt, Belle catches the eye of a high-end, cultish spa. The same spa her mother attended before her death. And Belle's about to find out what their secret ingredient to youthful skin truly is. As Belle searches for answers (and the promised Glow), we watch her descend into insanity. Did I say insanity? I meant vanity, of course.

Rouge is a mix of so many things I love, and while I believe Awad managed to fine-tune this chaotic story into one with purpose, the Tom Cruise thing is what veered it into absurd for me. I will never recover from that 💀 It's for that reason and the meandering, somewhat repetitive first half that I have to knock off a star for this one. But hands down, Mona Awad is my favorite author of the "unhinged women" genre.

Rouge by Mona Awad felt a lot like her previous writing and it was everything I could have asked for. People describe it as being in a fever dream and I think it's the perfect way to describe what it feels like. I really did like the concept of the book and thought Awad did a fantastic job of portraying these flawed characters.

If you need a fever dream of a book, then look no further! This one was absolutely a trip; a fascinating look at beauty obsessions and the inconspicuously culty skincare industry, combined with an unreliable narrator and a strained mother-daughter relationship. I'm pretty sure I will be thinking of this book every time I apply any skincare. I also found the imagery portrayed in this novel was incredibly strong, strangely able to evoke colors, unlike anything I've read before. As for the story, I still have a few questions and I can't wait to discuss it with others who read it!

Look, any book described as "Snow White meets Eyes Wide Shut" is going to catch my attention. Also, anything by Mona Awad. I was so so excited for this one. Did I read the second half of it in one sitting? Absolutely. Because oh my god. I don't know how to fully explain my thoughts on this besides just saying how amazing it is. It's such an interesting (and, dare I say, fresh?) take on everything from mother-daughter relationships to skincare. I love the time spent on certain scenes and themes. The set up to the climax is so brilliant. This is one I will absolutely be rereading... and one I will not shut up about any time soon. Thank you again Mary Sue Rucci/Simon & Shuster for the ARC!! Looks like I'm going to have to get myself a finished copy of this one too!!

I read All's Well and loved it. This one was a little stranger. This supposed spa on the cliff was wierd. Perfect sign something not quite right. Interesting group of characters.

Mona Awad is such a fascinating writer. Even when I'm not loving her work, I'm always interested in her ideas and what she's doing, because her books really stand alone in their own lane. I wouldn't have predicted Rouge after All's Well, though it demonstrates Awad's ongoing interest in women's obsessions, here about beauty and youth, as well as mental health and grief. Her writing can be quite beautiful and seeing her take on a cross between horror and fairytales was a great match for her. However I think that perhaps Awad's style and ideas are sometimes stretched too far, and I could take a shorter version, maybe as a novella or series of stories or just a slimmer novel, as she is excellent at establishing tone, atmosphere, and preoccupations, but it can feel like it goes on for too long. Regardless, Rouge is such an interesting fall read with a unique type of creepiness. She is so, so good at unsettling writing and getting under your skin as you peel back the layers of her worlds.

Rouge by Mona Awad tackles serious issues facing Western beauty standards and societies expectations for women's appearances. I found it to be truly a masterpiece. The symbolism is strong and fascinating to follow. An example is the mannequins in our protagonists dead mother's shop. She takes them home and they are her "sisters", each whispering in her ear something else. These figures were a staple in her mother's life and eventually hers, and ended up personifying the clashing voices in her head. Another example is the white jellyfish, and as the treatments continue, grows bigger and more real while the individual, Belle, becomes a husk free of her memories, of her soul. Belle is half Egyptian and half French, playing a huge role in setting up the story. Belle becomes a spectacle, where brown is bad but it is also exotic and interesting. At the spa she goes through a whitening/brightening. This is the beauty standard, to be "light". Since her childhood, people have been implying and whispering, and it made her more susceptible to giving in to the spa. As Belle continues her treatments, her memories loosen along with basic day-to-day understanding of life. Mona was a genius in the way she writes Belle mixing up words, such as sin and skin, or fascist and fashion. Doing this brings awareness to the reader and where Belle's mind might be elsewhere beyond how the treatments are altering her being.

I love Mona Awad's writing style, and she always succeeds in pulling me in for a hallucinatory ride. Unfortunately, this one just didn't grab me like her previous work. I appreciate the inventiveness and creative horror elements but I found it very hard to connect with any characters and to feel emotionally swayed by their peril.

<i>Rouge</i> has all the classical markings of a gothic fairy tale, even if it is set in the present day. It's carefully constructed brooding atmosphere is one of its strongest features, next to a unique narrative voice in keeping with the tropes of a gothic heroine.

Coupled with the gothic exterior, Awad lays a foundation for strong social criticism, tangling mostly with issues surrounding the beauty industry. The book reflects on our standards of "conventional" beauty, creating conflict between characters as they perceive themselves always in relation to others around them as opposed to accepting one's self as it is. The constant pressure to "be one's best," to look the right way, to display the right markers of class and status only serves to contribute to the book's consistent malignant tone. This isn't a book about "good" characters behaving well; it's about how our best impulses become coopted by an industry that serves us solutions to a misery manufactured by that same industry.

Awad is a talented writer with a unique voice, which elevates <i>Rouge</i> from common thriller to a vocal statement about a complex set of problems particular to modern industry.

Rouge was certainly (original) and well written. I found the characters to be mostly fun to read. Sometimes I was bogged down by the minutia of what the mc would be describing. I kind of get it. That was the point. It just got a little boring for me in a few spots.

This book was written just how I expected. The writing was strange, but beautiful. I found myself highlighting a lot of lines while reading this because I enjoyed the way it was written so much.
Belle was such an odd character but I found myself having a soft spot for her. This was definitely something that I just enjoyed and did not try to guess what was going to happen.
This is my first time reading "beauty horror" and I can say I would love to read more.

This book is releasing at the perfect time as we head towards Halloween. This is my first book by Mona Awad and I had no idea what to expect to be honest. This book pleasantly surprised me. Rouge is the story of todays society. It tackles issues that are plaguing women today like the abysmal beauty standards that have been set and also deals with the loss of a parent. I loved the gothic vibes of this book. I’m also a fan of the way Mona Awad writes. I’ll be picking up Bunny after this!

It's fascinating to see Awad get to tackle grief over parental death, and get to lean into Lynchian creepiness, beauty cults, ghosts of glamour, and to see it all coalesce into neon red and glowing crumbling gothic black ~vibes~. It's the fairy tale equivalent of daring to look into the masks of the people you see around you and find nothing else underneath, and realizing what's really there. Also, your darkest desires taking the form of the teenage crush you had on a poster in your room. Definitely a hell of a read, and perfect for spooky season. This is out next week; pick it up!

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for a ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ok Bunnies... Mona is at it again

This book will not be for everyone

This book is about unrealistic beauty standards, race, a dark mother/daughter dynamic, and the mental stability. It is dark, wild, and thought-provoking. A combination of horror, dark comedy, and social commentary.

You will walk away from this book thinking, "what the hell did I just read?", but I immediately wanted to jump right back into it. Similar to Bunny, I think this is a book I will enjoy again and again and take something new away every time.

Rouge by Mona Awad is a horror fairytale retelling.
Belle is completely obsessed with skin care products. She spends much of her day applying them, researching them, and searching for new ones. Her her mother unexpectedly passes away she must return to her home town to settle her affairs. She soon gets involved in the strange spa down the street that her mother visited. Shee's forced to confront her past and future as more details come to light.
This was so good and so creepy. I could not put it down. I love the fairy tale elements that Awad weaves throughout the story and the unsettling descriptions she writes.