Rouge By Mona Awad

Rouge is a haunting, surreal, and psychologically gripping novel by acclaimed author Mona Awad, known for Bunny and All’s Well. In this darkly imaginative story, Awad blends fairy-tale eeriness with biting social commentary on beauty culture, identity, and mother-daughter relationships.

The novel follows Belle, a lonely skincare-obsessed woman who travels to California after her mother’s mysterious death. There, she discovers a strange cult-like spa with a dark, uncanny allure—one that promises transformation, transcendence, and the beauty she’s always desired. But as Belle is drawn deeper into the rituals of this haunting wellness world, she begins to question reality, memory, and the cost of perfection.

With rich, poetic prose and eerie suspense, Rouge explores grief, vanity, inherited trauma, and the shadowy side of self-improvement.

Why Read This Book?

• A razor-sharp satire of modern beauty standards and wellness obsession.

• Combines horror, magical realism, and fairy tale motifs with feminist critique.

• A suspenseful psychological journey into grief, identity, and transformation.

• Ideal for fans of Black Mirror, The Stepford Wives, or gothic feminist fiction.

• Written by an author celebrated for her unique voice and genre-bending storytelling.

About the Author

Mona Awad is a Canadian-American author best known for her novels Bunny and All’s Well, which have gained cult followings for their surreal, genre-defying styles. Her writing explores themes of femininity, mental health, body image, and social alienation with wit and unsettling originality. Awad holds an MFA in fiction and a PhD in English and Creative Writing. With Rouge, she continues to push the boundaries of literary horror and speculative fiction.