Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

Rouge by Mona Awad

11 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

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. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Grief, and Dysphoria

meg_thebrave's review against another edition

funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

Overall, really enjoyed this read. A very satisfying ending, even if the middle was very confusing. It’s a fun time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Suicide, Self harm, Gore, and Dysphoria

valeriedittrich's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

i never wanna see tom cruise again

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Body horror, Body shaming, Death of parent, and Grief

sydresnik's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Dysphoria, Dementia, Death of parent, and Grief

ariep's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

This was a weird book. I really like the writing, i found it to be a very compelling read. It was challenging though, to be in that mindset of such strong self loathing and envy. It was especially challenging to read about wanting to have lighter skin; it brought me right back into the mindset I had when I was younger, wishing I wasn’t a brown girl. It was very interesting and emotional. I don’t know that I liked it, or that I’d recommend it, but it did evoke a lot of strong emotions in me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Dysphoria, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Mental illness, Violence, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Death, and Body shaming

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Body horror, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Gore, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content

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

ashlesschaps7's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Body shaming, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Body horror, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Dysphoria, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Eating disorder

Minor: Racial slurs

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

majamatcha's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Dysphoria

Moderate: Racism