Rouge is a surreal fever dream, in a good way. It’s full of eerie, creepy imagery as Belle descends into madness after the death of her mother and also facing some supernatural childhood trauma. Cleverly written and superbly spooky!

A gothic fairy tale, Rouge is the story of Belle, drawn back to Southern California after her estranged mother, Noelle, dies a mysterious death. The book grapples with issues of death, grief, beauty and mother/daughter relationships. While Belle learns the terrifying truth about the cult-like spa to which her mother was tied, the book explores the cult like nature of the beauty industry and its demands on women. It is filled with dark humor and horrifying secrets. Readers of Awad's book Bunny as well as anyone who has thought about beauty and what we value on the surface will find the book compelling.

38-year-old Belle works as a shop assistant at a dress store, but her true obsession — inherited from her mother — is skincare. When Belle’s mother dies unexpectedly, Belle returns to California to attend the funeral. Once there, she encounters the leader of her mother’s favorite spa, Rouge. Lured into Rouge’s inner circle, Belle subjects herself to increasingly surreal treatments in pursuit of perfection. Dark and witty, this gothic fairy tale captures the ugly side of beauty.

Rouge by Mona Awad is an absolute gem!

This novel effortlessly weaves a mesmerizing tale of self-discovery and the complexity of relationships. The characters are so vividly portrayed that they feel like old friends, and the writing style is simply enchanting. Awad's storytelling prowess shines through every page, leaving me captivated and emotionally invested until the very end.

A must-read for anyone who craves a deeply moving and beautifully written literary experience.

Oh, Mona Awad. What a journey we have been on together! I loved her first book 13 WAYS OF LOOKING AT A FAT GIRL, (confession) didn't love BUNNY, but truly adored ALL'S WELL. With ROUGE, her forthcoming novel, I was of course thrilled to jump back on board and see what she had in store for us this time. Well, the roller coaster went back down the hill as it were, because ROUGE just didn't work for me at all. I feel like it might be a bit of a mess, complex and mystical in all the wrong ways. It is certainly a companion piece to BUNNY though, so if you aren't like me and loved that one, you're in for a ride!

I wanted to connect with the main character Belle a lot more. It started off strong for me, but I couldn't get a clear indication of what her background was, what she wants from life, and her overall intentions. She gets sucked into a weird beauty cult (getting a little tired of these in recent contemporary fiction books, to be honest) that her mother was a part of after she died. Tom Cruise is involved (sort of, I did like that weird pop culture heavy nod), and some magic is definitely mixed up with the facial routine at Rouge (the cult, great name for sure). Perhaps weird Awad just doesn't work for me and that's ok! I know lots of people will love one. A perfect Fall book.

Hmm, I couldn't get into this one. After reading the first two parts I decided to temporarily DNF. But I like Mona's writing a lot, so I'm going to pick it back up when it's released and try hybrid reading with an audiobook.

What a wild and incredibly entertaining ride! I was invested from the start. Rouge is a story that I feel peels back the skin on the predatory actions of the beauty industry and the chaos it can create when people become obsessed with staying young no matter the cost. Belle’s journey is one of grief, a creepy cult, and coming to terms with loving your true self; wrinkles and all. I do wish two tiny questions I had were answered at the end, but I can look past them due to how well the story was written and how well everything all came together. The mother-daughter relationship is a complicated one and I think many people will be able to relate to how Belle feels towards her mother. I highly recommend this story!

Ok, we can officially call it -- 'beauty horror' is a genre on the rise! A fever dream cross between Angela Carter and Alyssa Nutting, ROUGE tells the story of Belle, a skincare-obsessed woman whose world is upended by the mysterious death of her complicated mother and whose confusing entry into an exclusive spa (or is it?) leads to a transformation that goes much farther than skin deep. Awad is known for her dark humor, and the book certainly delivers -- the recurring Tom Cruise moments really got me. I wanted a little more bite from this nightmare of a novel, but it landed more in the realm of the absurd. Fans of Awad will not be disappointed, that's for certain!

I am honoured and thrilled to write this early review of Mona Awad's latest book Rouge, coming out in September.
Thanks to Marysue Rucci Books/Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

Rouge is a modern fairytale filled with a delicious mix of horror and desire. It's such a dreamlike experience that just reading the first 3 pages alone should be more than enough to get you hooked. I instantly felt like I was spirited away through red fog into a garden of roses where I spent my days lazily walking around and looking into mirrors each time I picked up this book.
It's not often that a book can so thoroughly affect my mood just by picking it up, so bravo! Awad's last book All's Well managed to do this as well, so if you enjoyed that delirious trip of a novel you will likely find another favourite here.

It's one of those books where I don’t really want to go into details and explain anything about it, but rather just thrust it into your hands with a crazed look in my eyes pleading with you as I shriek “Read. It.” I recommend diving head first and experiencing Rouge without knowing what is to come.

Thank you so much, NetGalley, Simon Element, S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Belle has always been obsessed with her skin and skincare video. When her estranged mother Noelle mysteriously dies, she has to come back in Southern California to deal with her debts, funeral and questions.
When a strange woman arrives, claiming her mother's death wasn't an accident and gives her a video about a transformative spa, she's lured there with the help of red shoes, in the embrace of La Maison de Meduse. A place her mother was obsessed with. In there Belle will discover the secrets behind her and her mother's obsession with mirror and the demons on the other side of the glass.

Rouge is a horror fairy tale story, about a lonely dress shop clerk and her trying to understand her mother's death, in a pursuit of beauty, youth and windwhirl of envy, rage, demons and the complicated relationship between mother and daughter. With imagination and creativity, the author explores the cult-like nature of the beauty industry, the lies the told us and the fixation with our mortality.
Smart and creative, Rouge is a very good book, but it was unable to capture my attention deeply. I'm sorry to say I've found the pacing a bit off and, while the story was intriguing, I couldn't feel attatched to any characters or plot.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mona Awad and Simon & Schuster/S&S/Marysue Rucci Books for a digital ARC of Rouge in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own (except for any quotations) and may not be reproduced.

“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.

Snow White meets Eyes Wide Shut in this surreal descent into the dark side of beauty, envy, grief, and the complicated love between mothers and daughters. With black humor and seductive horror, Rouge explores the cult-like nature of the beauty industry—as well as the danger of internalizing its pitiless gaze. Brimming with California sunshine and blood-red rose petals, Rouge holds up a warped mirror to our relationship with mortality, our collective fixation with the surface, and the wondrous, deep longing that might lie beneath.”

This is not usually my “cup of tea,” but a friend recommended it so I decided to give it a shot.

I have never read this author so I was going in almost-blind. I did read the synopsis, but was completely unprepared for the twisted madness that ensued! That’s not a bad thing, I just didn’t fully understand what I was “walking into.”

This is an extremely twisted take on a fairytale. It had a very gothic vibe, which I normally enjoy.

For my personal reading tastes, it was a little too much for me. For me, I will shoot down the middle with 3 stars. I do know that this style/genre is a type that a lot of people love, so I have zero doubts that other who like this type of story will love it. It was just a little too dark for me.

Mona Awad writes the "crazed woman" like no one else can. This book pulled me in and did not let me go until I finished. They allusions and fairy-tale-fever-dream quality of the story was excellent.

Mona Awad does it again! I loved the campy creep of Bunny, and I am obsessed with the...lavish lurk of Rouge.

Belle is obsessed with skincare and has a strained relationship with her beautiful mother. When her mom passes away in an accident, Belle leaves her lonely life in Montreal to wrap up her mom's belongings in California. Belle's mom was acting strange in her final days but looked better than ever, thanks to this luxury spa called Rouge. As she learns more about Rouge and her mother's life in California, Belle becomes entangled with the same people/places/things as her mother did before her demise.

I can't really say more for spoilers, and even if I could, I wouldn't be able to do justice to the evocative, creepy, funny, melancholy, and surreal writing of Mona Awad. Belle's skincare obsession is so topical (pun lol), even though Rouge takes place around 2014-2016ish.

If ANY of these apply, this book is for you:
* You have lurked on r/skincareaddicts
* You had an insane crush on a celebrity in middle school
* You have a mother
* You loved Chuck Palahniuk in the aughts
* You like dark fairy tales

Huge thanks to Mona Awad, Marysue Rucci Books (S&S), and Netgalley for approving me to read this early <3

Mona Awad is hand's down my favorite author of my generation so this book had high expectations to live up to. I found this book a bit lacking in character development compared to Awad's other work but equally enjoyable in weirdness and tenderness. Even though the themes could get a bit repetitive at points I still found myself under Awad's spell and ended up crying at the end of the book.

When starting your journey with 'Rouge', prepare for a haunting, gothic fairytale-like story in a dreamy, yet terrifyingly hazy, world. The further the plot unfolds, the more you melt into the surreal; fever dream hallucinations, strange otherworldly visuals, and distorted views of ourselves taking center stage.

At the heart of this book lies a sharp commentary on the toxic allure of a vanity-obsessed culture, where the pursuit of beauty, perfection, and whiteness is revealed to be a bottomless pit with no end in sight.

Awad satirizes the ritualistic and predatory nature of skincare influences, offering symbolic insights into our obsession with appearances.

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of this book is the complicated, deeply-broken, mother-daughter relationship portrayed.

These two women, black holes orbiting each other, continuously pressing on the delicate wound of their connection culminating in a final scene that feels well deserved yet shockingly tender.

In this deliberately styled dark fairytale, "Rouge" channels the traditional purpose of fairytales: communicating the dangers and perils to young girls in a complex and treacherous world.

Awad's ability to draw readers into this world, containing a tightly paced plot that seamlessly blends levity with heartbreaking, aching beauty and grotesque horror, is truly impressive. With every turn of the page, you find yourself immersed in a state of constant unknowingness, eagerly unraveling the twisted secrets that lie beneath the surface.

Obviously I loved it.

Rouge is the story of Belle, whose lifelong preoccupation with her skin takes a dark turn when her estranged mother passes away, leaving behind considerable debts and unanswered inquiries. As Belle navigates her mother's funeral, a mysterious woman dressed in red provides a clue about her mothers death, leading Belle to a transformative spa experience and a disturbing secret underlying their fixation on appearance. As you dive deeper into the story, you'll find yourself contemplating sanity, the meaning of beauty, and what's real and what's not.

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon Element, S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books for the chance to review!

This is a twisted fairy-tale, take down the beauty industry complex, dream/nightmare of a story.

I loved every single word.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I never connected to this and I'm not sure why. Too repetitive? Too gauzy for me? There was some beautiful writing and descriptions here, but I was never on board.

A slow burn gothic that felt like the first 15 minutes of Suspiria by Dario Argento. Awad's latest kept me in a spellbound chokehold of skindeep horror and mystery.

This book truly takes you through a journey of self discovery and what it means to be "beautiful". I enjoyed the authors exploration of mother-daughter relationships in conjunction with beauty standards. Our main character Belle is biracial and raised by her white mother which inadvertently causes a deep self hatred that the author does a great job at exploring. Belle's mother passes away due to mysterious circumstances and Belle is left to deal with the crushing debts that her mother left her. Belle then discovers a cult-like spa that her mother belonged to and Belle is completely entranced. This discovery excites Belle because she will finally learn her mother's beauty secrets. However, what she ends up learning is so much darker!
I highly suggest this book! It is beautifully dark and descriptive!