In the wake of her mother Noelle's unexpected death, Belle leaves her solitary life in Montreal for the overbearing glamour of Southern California and hopes to quickly settle Noelle's estate as to not face the thorn-sharp, painful memories that linger there.
Before long, clues of Noelle's mysterious death begin to surface. A cracked mirror in her mother's bedroom. A glamorous stranger at the funeral. An imposing mansion on the coastal cliffside. And a tantalizing invitation from La Maison de Méduse that entitles Belle to a free treatment at their spa. As Belle descends further and further into the depths of a dark society of beautiful strangers, she finds herself entangled in a world of glamour, yes, but also obsession, that she may not be able to escape before it's too late.
Perhaps one of the most promising titles of the year, "Rogue" is an ambitious, gothic, and painfully-slow burn of a story. Brimming with all the weirdness of "Bunny" (all-hail Mona Awad's stab at dark academia), it's a fever dream of oddest proportions that vacillates greatly in pacing and in plot; one minute a fully-formed story and the next an irksome stream-of-consciousness that runs in circles with its own repetition.
"Rogue" tries desperately to recreate the stellar blend of oddity and depth that "Bunny" gave readers but ultimately falls short. Simply put? It's much too long. Where "Bunny" could have been 100 pages longer, "Rogue" was--at least--100 pages too long, leaving readers with a lackluster cast of one-dimensional characters (the only thing memorable about Hud Hudson was, regrettably, his name) and a Darren Aronofsky-like swing for the fences at far too many larger-than-life metaphors, none of which were nailed completely.
A noble attempt at marrying "Eyes Wide Shut" with the kind of gothic weirdness only Mona Awad can write, "Rogue" certainly has its beguiling moments. Unfortunately, its choppy execution and over-reliance on the bizarre (red jellyfish, sister mannequins, Tom Cruise?) made it a package that didn't work for me. Here's to hoping Awad's next work strikes a better balance.
Rating: 3 Stars
Publication Details: Out 9/12/2023, Marysue Rucci Books (Simon Element)
*Many thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for my advanced review copy of this title*
