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carbs666's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I loved this book but that tracks because I love Mona Awad! I love her weird ass books about covetous women with difficult mothers who are driven to do insane shit! The complexity and danger of beauty standards and the lengths we go to achieve them are deeply explored in this supernatural novel. I did find the ending a bit cut and dry all things considered, which I didn't love, but I appreciated that Belle got to have a happy ending despite everything.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment
nicoleanthony's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Abandonment
aseel_reads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
So I liked the overall plot, it's wack made sense, I can see the parallels of snow white, while also being subverteddaughter being envious of the mother , the skin care stuff was so intense and stressed me out and I am confused about Seth... Did he actually visit her room???????? And I did a big gasp when her mum was like "im allergic to roses" after Bel was going to get some... It was a full (・o・) moment. Her being half Egyptian and not Christian till her grandmother did something about it was an interesting choice by the author, it would have been cool to see skin tone explained much more, like I know it came up but more when she was a child, not as an adult but generally, this was an eerie read that will stick with me for a while
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Racism, Violence, Blood, and Sexual harassment
katie0528's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
After the death of her mother, Mirabelle flies to California to settle her estate. But almost immediately, strange things began to happen. People describe Mira's mother in ways that is totally unrecognizable to her, and Mira, who has always found herself obsessing over her skincare, finds herself drawn over and over again to a bizzare spa with dubious treatments that leave her memories fuzzy.
The book was solid overall, I'm just not a huge horror fan. But this could be a great pick for someone searching for a female, POC-led thriller!
The book was solid overall, I'm just not a huge horror fan. But this could be a great pick for someone searching for a female, POC-led thriller!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Compulsive behavior, delusionspinkalpaca's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Dysphoria
maziodynes's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Read this one for book club!
I really enjoyed Ms. Awad's writing style paired with her unreliable narrator. This was a surreal story centering around a mixed race woman and her relationship to her white mother and the beauty industry. Over the course of the book, it spirals down into a warning of a metaphor about grief and owning our traumas to heal (rather than escape)
Belle has this ritualistic obsession with skincare and a society that fetishizes differences while trying to sell a fantasy of being perfect and uniform (young, beautiful, white) even though this is impossible. The cult in this book preys on people like her by GIVING them the fantasy - however, to do this, theytake away something that makes us who we are, that makes us human. They say this is what makes you "ugly." I absolutely loved this concept and thought it was executed well. The ending was beautiful.
My biggest complain was the pacing. Her writing style is so good, so readable, there were just too many words for the story she wanted to tell. It could have been more concise.
I really enjoyed Ms. Awad's writing style paired with her unreliable narrator. This was a surreal story centering around a mixed race woman and her relationship to her white mother and the beauty industry. Over the course of the book, it spirals down into a warning of a metaphor about grief and owning our traumas to heal (rather than escape)
Belle has this ritualistic obsession with skincare and a society that fetishizes differences while trying to sell a fantasy of being perfect and uniform (young, beautiful, white) even though this is impossible. The cult in this book preys on people like her by GIVING them the fantasy - however, to do this, they
My biggest complain was the pacing. Her writing style is so good, so readable, there were just too many words for the story she wanted to tell. It could have been more concise.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Death of parent
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, and Grief
yilliun's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Awad is known for her “weird” stories that have the reader questioning what’s real and what’s imagined. This book definitely fits into that description.
The deeper Belle got into Rouge, the harder I found the storyline to follow. I just felt confused about the last quarter of the book. I was also expecting the body horror to be a bit more explicitly gross, but it was more of a mind trip than anything else.
I did think it was an overall okay commentary on the beauty/ skincare industry.
The deeper Belle got into Rouge, the harder I found the storyline to follow. I just felt confused about the last quarter of the book. I was also expecting the body horror to be a bit more explicitly gross, but it was more of a mind trip than anything else.
I did think it was an overall okay commentary on the beauty/ skincare industry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, and Racism
abicaro17's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Belle is a stylist obsessed with beauty and skin. When she finds out her mother died in an accident, she flies to LA to face her past and confront the mysteries of her mothers odd, rich, skincare obsessed friends. This book is weird. Like no better way to say it: weird. Belle is basically so obsessed with being beautiful like her mother that when she finds the skincare "cult" her mother was a part of she immediately joins hoping to be as beautiful as her. This is a book of envy, vanity, madness, and manipulation. It is veryyy slow but it's just weird enough to be original and pretty good. I think my main complaints are with pacing and lack of explanation or a thoughtful ending. Like we never find out pretty much anything about Rouge and Hud Hudson or his brother. If you liked A Certain Hunger you'd probably like this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
churrocaitie's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I’m so glad I gave this book a chance. Haven’t read Awad’s Bunny yet, but this was recommended to me by someone at my local indie bookstore, so I had to support and give it a try. It was a bit slow in portions, but was incredible for adding tension and darkness toward the plot and ending.
What a great, simple ending for the mystery of this story. Really enjoyed.
What a great, simple ending for the mystery of this story. Really enjoyed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Grief, and Dysphoria
carojust's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I've fallen deep for Mona Awad's writing. Darkly funny, beautiful, masterful. I'm still trying to absorb what I've just read, through stupefied tears.
"Rouge" is much more than horror, or magical realism, even absurdism. This is a reflective, heartbreaking story about a daughter and mother, a metaphorical lens on grief and childhood trauma. It's wrapped in something familiar to us, borrowing every reference from Grimms fairytales, and is just as disturbing as the originals.
For me, this book has an exciting start, a more dense and repetitive middle, and the most perfect ending chapters I've ever read. Chapter 30, specifically, is creative and emotional genius, and I'll never forget about it.
Without giving too much away, the Tom Cruise reference is incredible in giving the exact visual we didn't know we needed, the smiling mask covering something else.
Please give this a read if you need another mother-daughter story to heal from, like dark twisting plots, unreliable narrators, and have survived the YouTube Beauty world.
"Rouge" is much more than horror, or magical realism, even absurdism. This is a reflective, heartbreaking story about a daughter and mother, a metaphorical lens on grief and childhood trauma. It's wrapped in something familiar to us, borrowing every reference from Grimms fairytales, and is just as disturbing as the originals.
For me, this book has an exciting start, a more dense and repetitive middle, and the most perfect ending chapters I've ever read. Chapter 30, specifically, is creative and emotional genius, and I'll never forget about it.
Without giving too much away, the Tom Cruise reference is incredible in giving the exact visual we didn't know we needed, the smiling mask covering something else.
Please give this a read if you need another mother-daughter story to heal from, like dark twisting plots, unreliable narrators, and have survived the YouTube Beauty world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol