Rouge
Page turning
Complex
Unique

Rouge A Novel

Mona Awad2023
From the critically acclaimed author of Bunny comes a horror-tinted, gothic fairy tale about a lonely dress shop clerk whose mother’s unexpected death sends her down a treacherous path in pursuit of youth and beauty. Can she escape her mother’s fate—and find a connection that is more than skin deep? 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.
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Reviews

Photo of Nova
Nova@clandestine
3.5 stars
Oct 15, 2024
Complex
Erratic
Offbeat
Refreshing
Fascinating
Page turning
Photo of Mel
Mel @melsbooknook
3 stars
Oct 6, 2024
Bold
Vivid
Inventive
Photo of Emily McMeans
Emily McMeans@emilymcmeans
4 stars
Sep 7, 2024
Photo of petrina
petrina@petrinaaa08
2.5 stars
Aug 30, 2024
Photo of donna
donna @channelorange
3.5 stars
Aug 15, 2024
Photo of Cate
Cate@catesbooks
5 stars
Aug 12, 2024
Unique
Complex
Page turning
Photo of Rabia Sitabi
Rabia Sitabi@rpish
3.5 stars
Jul 21, 2024
This review contains a spoiler
Photo of Kiran Aftab
Kiran Aftab@sworddesired
4 stars
Jul 10, 2024
Photo of Gelaine Trinidad
Gelaine Trinidad@gelaine
3 stars
Jul 5, 2024
Photo of Jess Rez
Jess Rez@jar4life
4 stars
Jun 30, 2024
Photo of armoni mayes
armoni mayes@armonim1
2 stars
Jun 17, 2024
Photo of Jerilynn Hallett
Jerilynn Hallett @jerilynnhallett
5 stars
May 12, 2024
Photo of tiff <3
tiff <3@ethereals
Photo of sarah ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚
sarah ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚@thegoldflinch
5 stars
Apr 7, 2024
Unique
Page turning
Extraordinary
Photo of p.
p.@softrosemint
2.5 stars
Mar 14, 2024
Photo of 𝑂𝑑𝑖𝑙𝑒
𝑂𝑑𝑖𝑙𝑒@odile
4 stars
Mar 5, 2024
Intense
Meaningful
Thought provoking
Photo of Amelia Hruby
Amelia Hruby@ameliajo
3.5 stars
Feb 3, 2024
This review contains a spoiler
Surreal
Cerebral
Enigmatic
Photo of farrah
farrah @farrah
3 stars
Jan 15, 2024
Photo of mic shulman
mic shulman@micshul
3 stars
Jan 9, 2024
Photo of Air
Air@airhorn
Photo of Grace M
Grace M@thecoupdegrace
3.5 stars
Dec 17, 2023
Complex
Dizzying
Predictable
Photo of Barbara
Barbara@brubru
4.5 stars
Dec 11, 2023
This review contains a spoiler
Unique
Intense
Addictive
Photo of Jerilynn Hallett
Jerilynn Hallett @jerilynnhallett
5 stars
Dec 5, 2023
Photo of Apiecalypse Jen
Apiecalypse Jen@chippedfang
4.5 stars
Dec 1, 2023
Witty
Offbeat
Magnetic

Highlights

Photo of 𝑂𝑑𝑖𝑙𝑒
𝑂𝑑𝑖𝑙𝑒@odile
Page 31
Photo of 𝑂𝑑𝑖𝑙𝑒
𝑂𝑑𝑖𝑙𝑒@odile
Page 28
Photo of Amelia Hruby
Amelia Hruby@ameliajo
Photo of Amelia Hruby
Amelia Hruby@ameliajo