What a bizarre, beautiful book. If Bunny was falling down the rabbit hole, Rouge is stepping through the looking glass. A speculative, surreal, fairytale of a story, we follow Belle, a beauty obsessed woman whose otherworldly beauty of mother has just died. When Belle goes to her mother’s home in Southern California to sort out her affairs, we begin to discover the deeply strange and magical pull the quest for beauty has had on Belle. This book is absolutely incredible. Awad’s writing is fresh and compelling, and this story is truly unlike anything else I’ve read. This book also has incredible depth. Awad impeccably tells this trippy little story while also commenting on subjects such as the relationship between racial identity and western beauty standards. She satirizes and comments on the modern beauty industry the way she did for the dark academia genre in Bunny. I found myself feeling hypnotized by this book, reading it felt like a trance that I simply could not pull away from. Mona Awad is a genius and I will read anything she writes.

ARC provided by NetGalley.

Rouge was everything I thought it was going to be.

This book read like a fever dream and the writing is so beautiful and really keeps you hooked, can't put down the book hooked. Belle was such a fun character and going with her on the journey for beauty was wild! Is Tom Cruise reading these reviews? Mona put so much detail into the transformation and the imagery of the jelly and the sea, scenes I won't forget for a long time.

I really enjoyed this book and will be buying the physical copy once it's released!

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an arc!

WOWWWWWWWWWW! The gothic fairytale of my dreams! This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I loved it! I even read it in one sitting! Mona Awad is one of my favorite authors--I've read all of her books and this one might be my favorite.

This is a truly surrealist gothic fairytale, and, therefore, SO Mona Awad. The story creeps slowly, making the descend more horrifying through the sheer inching pace. I’ve found that all of Awad’s books have, in some way, themes of loneliness tied to self-perception and this is no exception. She touches gorgeously on the feminine experience and mother/daughter conflict while dancing you through a grotesque display of the horror of beauty. Her light but firm hand on Eurocentrism stays constant throughout the story. Tom Cruise is a big thing in this book? I know next to nothing about the man but I’m choosing to believe it’s his involvement in basically-cult-activity that makes him relevant. This takes place somewhere I spent a lot of my youth which would occasionally throw me out of the story, but that’s no fault to the text itself. My only real gripe is that we don’t experience much time with the initial personality of our protagonist, making her decent less impactful than it could’ve been.
To those who are looking for Bunny: This book is slower than Bunny. It is more understated than Bunny (although, this means little. It’s overt as shit, Bunny was just absolutely insane). It is not as violent as Bunny. However, it possesses that same murky, milky, dreamlike uncertainty that I adore in both texts. Incredibly read.

A gothic fairytale about a girl who spirals down her mother’s life and her obsession with beauty, envy, grief, and vanity... all through an Alice in Wonderland/ A Cure for Wellness/ David Lynch kind of style. Mirabelle has a beautiful mother, in fact she grew up completely obsessed with being as beautiful as her mother. Years later they are estranged but then Mirabelle is told that her mother died and now she has to come back home and face her childhood... and the strange life her mother lead including the strange mansion filled with strange, beautiful, and wealthy people who are obsessed with obtaining beauty. Mirabelle has a strange relationship with her mother, hating and envying her for her beauty, but loving her all the same. Mirabelle is now obsessed with finding out who these people were in her mother’s life... how her mother is connected to this strange house in the cave and how her mother was a devote to this spa and how Mirabelle herself is finding herself being obsessed with their “treatments” that would make her just as beautiful.... yet beauty has a cost and if Mirabelle truly wants to have it she’ll have to uncover her childhood and face the question if whether or not she really wants to give everything up for beauty. This was a strange one, it definitely had a gothic fairytale kind of style especially with how fairytales, beauty, princes, shadow men, and magical mirrors all played into it. It also tackles the question of how far we are willing to go to fit into a standard of beauty, of the complicated relationship between mother and daughter as well as complex fixation we have on being perceived as the most beautiful, of being perfect and the price we pay for it. it had an interesting ending and certainly was a unique read.

*Thanks Netgalley and Simon Element, S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I loved this book. I actually liked it a lot more than Bunny which is the only other book I've read from Mona Awad. This book was surreal, funny, and loved the elements of magic. Her books are so in depth with such detail - I loved imaging where Belle was throughout this book. Because Belle is in Southern California, this truly felt even more real with the element of cults and beauty being such a big deal.

4 stars

This is a truly memorable book that incorporates elements of horror, women's fiction, and fairy tale all based on the nightmare that is understanding the price of physical beauty and the value (or lack thereof) we place upon ourselves as a result of that external appearance.

Belle, the m.c., is a truly unusual individual whose religion really can be found in her skincare rituals, and girl, I can relate. When she ventures from her current homebase in northeast Canada to the Southern California coast at the beginning of the novel, she brings this obsession with her skin but also her trauma, and that's compounded by the recent and bizarre death of her mother. Upon arriving at her mother's place, she begins to uncover sinister details like cracked mirrors, a whole lot of red, and a box full of...memories. The serums and gels won't quit, but neither will Belle's interest in determining what the heck all of these ultra creepy signs might mean. When Belle is invited for a special skincare extravaganza - a *treatment* the likes of which the layperson can't experience at even the most Avant-guard salon - things (and especially BELLE) get even weirder.

The horrific fairy tale element of this piece is palpable and being a woman in modern day SoCal 100% contributes to the creepiness of this read. It feels a little too believable, but this also makes the thrill more intense (and enjoyable). There's a brooding, mysterious, veiled, meditative, meta quality to every aspect of this work, and while the pacing felt a bit slow to me at times, this technique also reinforces the aforementioned vibes.

This is a fascinating meditation not only on one family's trauma, processing of grief, and establishment of self-worth, but also on the ways that we inherit our senses of these features. Stylistically, this won't be for everyone, but it is for me, and I'll be recommending it judiciously.

This is the third book I've read by Awad, so I know what to expect. Some sort of magical realism with surreal components, and usually a bit of confusion. I didn't realize the flower on the cover was a jellyfish until later in the book. Anyway, this seemed softer, a better flow, than previous titles. Don't give up on the author if you were previously dumbfounded. It's a story about a Mother and Daughter's love. It's also a story about vanity and the fierce struggle to stay young. I adore these weird little books and I'm ready for the next one.

This book is strange, funny, and surreal and exactly what we've come to expect from Mona Awad. It's giving David Lynch but Tom Cruise is somehow a large part of the book. It explores many topics in such symbolic and clever ways that I would need an additional read to fully appreciate. As Billy Ray Cyrus would say—much to think about. My only real issue with this book is that Belle doesn't have a super strong base reality or personality to begin with, so her descent into the Depths didn't feel as severe as I wish it had. Side note, I feel like the Tom Cruise choice had to be for the Scientology of it all? Rouge felt VERY much like Scientology and I have to imagine that was Mona Awad's intention.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element for this ARC of Rouge—out September 12!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. This is my first Mona Awad book but I will be going back and reading her other work for sure.

Rouge is my favorite read of 2023 so far. This novel deals with everything from family trauma to how messed up the beauty industry is in the United States. It references fairy tales, an array of Tom Cruise movies (including Eyes Wide Shut which this novel shares the energy of at points), and mythology. I laughed, I cried, I cringed. Absolutely loved this book.

One of my favorite authors is back with a phenomenal story that's part gothic fairy tale and part horror. Just wait until you hear the synopsis on this one:

Even though Belle is estranged from her mother Noelle, they both share an obsession over vanity, and especially skincare. When Belle receives the news that her mother passed away under mysterious circumstances, Belle travels to her mother’s apartment in Southern California. Soon after arriving, Belle discovers a secret, ultra-lavish spa called La Maison de Méduse where she learns that her mother was a member. Belle soon unearths a terrifying secret behind her and her mother’s obsession with the mirror and the sinister abyss that lurks on the other side of the glass.

Sounds amazing, right? Well let me tell you, it is extraordinary! Reading Rogue is like being inside a surrealist painting. Dreamy, beautiful, terrifying, and full of symbols. As with Mona Awad’s prior works Rouge would be impossible to put into a single genre. Rouge is a blend of literary, horror, magical realism, and even a bit reminiscent of a Grimm’s fairytale.

Rogue explores the complex dynamics of the mother-daughter relationship, our distorted views of ourselves, how toxic our vanity-obsessed culture is, grief, and trauma. Rogue also begs to answer one of life’s greatest mysteries, what exactly is Tom Cruise?
And the ending on this one? Tres magnifique.

I feel very fortunate to not only be alive but to be a reader in present times with such gifted authors as Mona Awad. She is one of my all-time favorite authors because she brilliantly crafts these unforgettable tales with remarkably flawed and relatable female main characters. It's been a few years since I've read her prior works, Bunny and All’s Well but I still think about them from time to time. Rogue is no different. I'm positive that ill still be thinking about this spell-binding story in the years to come.

Rouge by Mona Awad will be available on September 12. A massive thanks to Marysue Ricci Books/Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for the gifted copy!

As a huge fan of Mona Awad's other three books, I had high expectations for Rouge. Nonetheless, Rouge managed to exceed my expectations and completely blew me away.

Rouge follows the story of Belle, who grapples with her mother's death and her fixation on beauty. These two elements come together when she finds a spa her mother frequented and becomes herself embroiled in a spa treatment like no other.

Awad is a master of crafting remarkable, surreal stories through careful and unique use of language. The story is written from Belle's first-person perspective and creates a fully unnerving experience as Belle finds herself unable to fully comprehend what happens around her. This is illustrated through Belle's increasing difficulty with language, where she inadvertently begins switching one word with another, such as "serving" and "severing." These swaps are introduced slowly, usually only one or two per chapter, but are then seamlessly woven into the language thereafter, leading to an unsettling and, at times, sadly humorous writing style.

The story progresses slowly, amping up the tension with every page. The spa itself and the denizens therein are phenomenal, described with a Gothic sense of exaggeration. While the book is not as blatantly amusing as Bunny, Rouge finds a way to weave humor in through unexpected yet fully fitting lines of dialogue and situations. Part II ends with a scene that blew me away like no other, where I found myself crying, laughing, and fully unsettled in equal measure.

As a whole, Rouge is one of the most well-crafted books I have ever read. It creates a fully unnerving, surreal environment accentuated by the main character's own disorientation. Awad is one of the most remarkable writers I have ever read, and Rouge is a perfect showcase of how talented and amazing her works are. I would strongly recommend this book to fans of horror, Gothic fiction, and anyone looking to explore a beautifully strange experience.

I was predisposed to loving this, as Mona Awad wrote one of my very favorites of all time. "Bunny" fans will find similar nuances in "Rogue", as both feature a woman yearning for acceptance and glamor, but while I adored "Bunny"'s satirical look at academia and popular girlhood, "Rouge" is clearly coming from a more weary, complex place. Mirabelle is in her thirties and obsessed with preserving herself with skincare. Half-Egyptian, she envies the standard beauty of her white mother, who has recently died under strange circumstances. Belle gets embroiled in her mother's secrets while fixing up her mother's old house - and any more will ruin the reveals.

If you've read Awad, you'll know she enjoys fever dream hallucinations and strange, otherworldly visuals and exchanges. Those are all here, but what was new and wonderful was the complex, sweet, damaging relationship between Belle and her mother. You're kept guessing as to what kind of woman Belle's mother was.- toxic? Abusive? Neglectful? Trying her best under unfair circumstances? And the resolution of this grotesque tale shocked me with its tenderness.

Make no mistake - this book belongs on the horror shelf. But it has a real, beautiful beating heart inside of it. A new favorite from Awad.

DNF 30%
I read Bunny by this author and was looking forward to this release. This book is kinda written in a stream of consciousness manner. Unfortunately it doesn’t work effectively. It distracted me from getting into the story. That type of writing took up so much and it wasn’t engaging. I simply wanted the story to progress but it couldn’t because of so much useless information.

I am huge, HUGE, Mona Awad fan. Love this Bunny so much so I was thrilled to receive an eARC of Rogue.

Filled with metaphors and commentary on beauty and race and strained mother/daughter relationships, this was absolutely stunning.

There’s the usual fever dreamy, dark humor that is present in Award’s work, but Rogue also had some serious and thought provoking, and at times heartbreaking, themes that gave me pause.

Thank you Simon & Schuster for the complimentary copy!

I think there is something very special about Mona Awad's take on magical realism, her dreamy atmosphere, frank prose, dark gothic themes, and crazy protagonists who are equally horrible and relatable. Her stories focus on female relationships in ways that really showcase the ugly darker sides; whether it be envious, resentful, or judgemental.

At the core, Rouge is a story about grief, beauty, and a complicated mother-daughter relationship. Overlayed with a critique of the beauty industry and fairytale elements the story delivers Awad's characteristically dark-cutting prose and fever-dream plot.

Belle's struggle with her mixed-race identity was a theme I thought Awad handled beautifully throughout the book; and while not exactly my own struggle, I could see how that shaped her relationship with her mother, having the constant reminder of what you aren't, what you could have been around always for comparison. The deep sense of self-hatred and longing to fit in was evident without hitting the reader over the head with the point. I really enjoyed how this played with the fairytale themes in the book. Honestly, I think any brown or black girl who grew up watching white disney princesses movies can relate to the protagonist in these scenes.
Blending all the little subtle references to fairytales, and Egyptian mythology, overlayed with he dense descriptions of Belle's beauty regimen was done really well and made a very unique story with so much to dissect.

There was a portion in the middle that slugged a bit for me as it was very repetitive. Thematically it made perfect sense mimicking the rule of threes present in most fairytales, but my attention lapsed a little at that point. Losing momentum in the middle and the rush of events toward the end caused the ending to be a little less fulfilling than it had the potential to be.

Overall I was really enthralled with the story I still don't know how I'd rank this with the other books I've read of her so far as Bunny and All's Well were my favorite reads last year but its definitely one of the better books I read this year.

Thank you to the publisher for the arc!


This was such a cleverly done horror/ dark fairytale. It gave me a sense of deja vu but also like I was watching one of those old movies from the 60s and I couldn’t put it down. Mona Awad is definitely an auto buy author for me now.

Another wild and bizarre novel that’s both captivating and will keep you thinking well after it’s been read! With a Grimm Fairy Tale like vibe, Mona Awad explores identity, vanity, a rocky mother/ daughter relationship, and loss/ grief in symbolic and metaphoric ways and I loved it!

Mirabelle ‘aka’ Belle returns to California after the death of her mother. Having had a distant relationship with over the past few years, Belle isn’t sure how much of her mother and her mother’s life she knew about. Awad delivers a story that’s both bewitching and frightening that surrounds haunting mirrors, strange houses with hypnotic experiences, red heels, and mention of… Tom Cruise?

She expresses the desire and extent some will go to in order to be beautiful, vibrant, and young. A cautionary tale to the skincare industry. This is slow to start but picks up a third of the way through and takes a cultish turn somewhere along the way. Her writing is just so unique with how she presents her MC in a fever dream like way throughout the story as well as a unique perspective into Belle’s psyche as she tries to find her “most magnificent self.” If you’ve enjoyed any of Mona Awad’s work, this is sure to be another win.

4.5 stars

[4.5]
This book had me looking at my face serum's with suspicion......

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon Element/Marysue Rucci Books for the arc!

I am such a Mona Awad fangirl. I remember finding Bunny at my local library in early 2019 and it got me back into reading after graduating from college.

So that being said, I had really high expectations. I knew she would be able to dive into the world of beauty/skincare and really flip it on its head and make it absolutely grotesque - and that she did.

I really liked the way it was framed as almost a fairy tale/folklore story with some magical elements and some familiar tropes of the genre. But the aspect of the story that may have been my favorite was the way the writing style shifted as our main character descended into this crazy world. It built the momentum so perfectly and allowed such a unique look into Belle's psyche. Awad is such a master of language in that sense.

Another avenue that I'm so glad Awad dove into was race/whiteness. It was woven in so perfectly throughout the story and was such an important aspect of who Belle is and how the world interacts with her and how her mother interacts with her. Casually cruel at times and chilling at others. It added so much depth to the story.

The only thing keeping it from a full five stars is the pacing towards the beginning - it took me a minute to really get sucked in but Awad is really the queen of the batshit third act so she definitely makes up for it.

This book really solidified Mona Awad as an instant-buy author, and I always get excited to see what horrifying thing she'll take on next.

This book was an absolute wild ride. At no point did I have any idea wtf was happening or going to happen, but in the best way. Told from the first person POV of Belle, Rouge is a hallucinogenic take on beauty standards, mother/daughter relationships, and grief after the death of a loved one.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.