Rouge By Mona Awad- ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
This book was not on my radar until I watched a YouTube video from A ClockWork Reader. She was recapping her favorite books from 2024 and gave Rouge an honorable mention. All she had to say were two words that immediately made me interested: Skincare cult. Immediately invested! I feel like it was perfect timing as I am beginning to dive deeper into my skincare journey as well. I was curious to read a book that intertwines skincare with a horror/fantasy cult. I was beginning to wonder about the route I was going down with my serums, moisturizers, and creams. Would this book make me regret my regimented daily skincare routine?
This book follows Mirabelle or Belle or Mira.... you will find the main character has many renditions of her name. Let's call her Belle. Belle receives news of her mother's untimely death and must return to California to tie up loose ends. In the process of grieving, we begin to see that Belle has an unhealthy obsession with skincare and an online skincare influencer, Marva. As she spends more time in California we see many unique characters pop up and see Belle being pulled in the direction of a mystery house and beautiful people that promise a transformative spa experience...or so Belle thinks. Throughout the story, we are also pulled into the past that explores Belle and her mother's strained relationship with each other and the mirror we all look in. This story touches on many key themes such as insecurities within our physical appearances, the difficult relationships between mothers and daughters, the power of media on our self-worth, race, and so much more.
I enjoyed the storytelling elements of combining reality and fairytale story methods. As a reader, you can tell this story was heavily inspired by Snow White. As I heard more about this plot, I felt like it was something unique that had never been done, or at least nothing like I had read before. As I progressed through the book I felt the writing style felt stagnant and very repetitive.... Smoke and Violets. If you know you know or will know. I often found myself monitoring my percentage on my Kindle, willing myself to keep going to finish. I could not bring myself to DNF my first read of the year. I have not read any other Mona Awad books, but have heard great things. So I persevered and finished.
The book employs the use of flashbacks that I felt at times were more interesting than the current plot. The use of young Belle's fascination with Tom Cruise was an interesting way to characterize the character of Seth, and perfectly shows how infatuated we can be as kids with media figures and was a clever way to show Belle's insecurities with her ethnicity and physical appearance. For me, the book did not pick up speed until the last four to five chapters. By the end, I was wishing that the whole book was like those last few chapters. I didn't begin to feel and care for the characters till the end of the book, till it was too late.
Many key answers were given to us on a silver platter. But I was left wanting more. Wanting more background information. Why was Rouge formed? How was it formed? Give me all the tea on Seth! Can Hud Hudson be saved? Did she go back to Montreal to get her cat?? How was Noelle recruited? The book touches on many key themes I previously mentioned, but I wanted Awad to go deeper with things she barely skimmed on: Race and the impact of media on self-worth. Give us more! I felt like the author had more to say, but couldn't figure out how to more deeply hit those key themes. For this being a book about being in a cult, I wanted more of Belle interacting with key cult leaders and less of her acting lost in the real world.
Did this book make me put down my Laneige and CeraVe? No. Did this book make me look at myself and inspire me to give myself some grace and put down my phone every once in a while? Absolutely.