Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Rouge by Mona Awad

9 reviews

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Stalking, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Toxic friendship, Classism, Medical content, Mental illness, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Cursing, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, and Gore

linneak's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Sexual content

Moderate: Gaslighting, Addiction, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Body shaming

danimacuk's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Abandonment, Gore, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Sexual content, Bullying, Cursing, Racism, Alcohol, and Cultural appropriation

aliyachaudhry's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

need to read mona awad's review of top gun: maverick

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Blood, Body shaming, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Racism

devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Body shaming, Death of parent, Drug use, Dysphoria, Violence, Abandonment, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Murder

Minor: Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, Alcohol, and Emotional abuse

cc_shelflove's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was crazy! Belle has always been obsessed with skincare, watching Dr. Marva’s YouTube videos each morning and night and following along with her own array of creams, lotions, and potions. 👩🏻‍🔬 Shortly after her mother’s death, Belle uncovers that Mother, too, shared this obsession. What’s more, Mother was a member of a luxurious, exclusive spa in the mansion at the cliff’s edge. 🧖🏻‍♀️ Just what will Belle need to give up in order to get in? I will say it again—this book was crazy! I literally cheered at the end. 🏆 Dark, twisted, and so utterly delectable. I loved it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood

Moderate: Stalking

booksbeyondthebinary's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Racism, and Animal death

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, and Religious bigotry

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As a fan of Mona Awad's previous work, I was excited to pick up this latest book.
"Rouge" follows a woman named Belle who is trying to work through her own insecurities about beauty, as well the recent death of her mother. Belle has always sought to be fairy tale beautiful, and she has the complicated skin routine to prove it. Her mother seemed to have an effortless glow about her that Belle was always envious of. After her sudden death, Belle returns to her mother's home to get her affairs in order, and stumbles upon the world of beauty that finally offers her the opportunity to reach her true beauty potential.
This book was weird, riveting, and sharp all in one. I think the commentary about the beauty industry and how fixated we as a society are on looks is spot on. Belle does not feel beautiful, and she is willing to spare no expense when it comes to buying any and all serums, lotions, or other fads to try to make herself beautiful. The transformative spa, La Maison de Méduse, is equal parts dark and beautiful. The promises the people at this spa make are outlandish, but for someone so desperate to be beautiful, their promises are tantalizing.
I felt like I did not know what was going on half of the time, and I loved every second of it. Watching Belle's descent into obsession and witnessing her loss of self was like watching a car wreck. I wanted to scream at Belle to step back and see what was going on, but this was a listen she had to learn on her own.
The ultimate reveal about what was going on was entirely entertaining. I did not anticipate how everything would play out and how Belle's story would come to a resolution, but I was very pleased with where the story ultimately went.
I am so excited that I loved this book so much, and I am looking forward to seeing what Mona Awad writes next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Mental illness and Death of parent

aileron's review

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, and Death of parent

Moderate: Grief and Animal death

Minor: Racism, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail