Review: Rouge (Rouge, #1)

Author: Isabella Modra
Series: Rouge, #1
Publisher: Smashwords (self published work)
Release: August 20th 2013
Source: Author for review
Pages: 297 (ebook)
( Amazon | Goodreads )

“You have a fire inside of you.”

Hunter Harrison is no superhero. She doesn't wear a cape, or a lycra suit, or prance around dark alleyways looking for punk-ass kids to torment. But Hunter has a power; the power to control fire. And it is one nasty flame brewing in her soul.

In the midst of her senior year, uncovering the truth about her parent's death and how she came to inherit such abilities, and falling in love with a nerdy activist from her school, Hunter finds herself in a battle with a supernatural flame that reacts to her every emotion. Anger, fear, even passion arouse the flame within and Hunter fights to keep her identity secret whilst also protecting those she loves.

But being a hero is easier said than done, especially when tragedy strikes and Hunter is forced to make a choice; let the fire take control and seek revenge for her loss, or walk away. But mercy is a bitch, especially when there’s a fire boiling inside her hotter than the darkest pits of hell.

When I first saw Rouge on Goodreads, I was immediately drawn to it by the cover. The floating fire along with the darkness surrounding it fired up my interest almost instantly. Needless to say, I was excited to pick it up. Unfortunately, Rouge is one of those books which have exquisite exteriors but fail to deliver anything memorable as far as stories and characters go. I guess it is true that you can never judge a book by its cover.

Reading Rouge is like watching several superhero movies all mushed together terribly. The main character, Hunter Harrison, is a high school girl who suddenly discovered her ability to wield fire (*wink* Human Torch?). Together with this life-changing discovery is the realization that she may have been lied to her entire life by her guardian Joshua as well as the fear that her newly found true love may be harmed by this uncontrollable fire inside of her. From here on, the story quickly turned into a mixture of Agents of the S.H.I.E.L.D. and X-Men and maybe something else Marvel I haven't watched. But no matter how hard Modra tried to show me Hunter's struggles to balance her new identity and old life, I simply do not buy it.

Let me start from the beginning. The first several chapters of Rouge revolved around Hunter's mother, Liz, and her guardian, Joshua. Although I appreciate this background introduction on Hunter, it went on way too long and became extremely dull and dreary at the end. After that, the book used a lot of pages conveying the romantic relationship between Hunter and Eli. I thought their love was cute and sweet at first, though you might say it was too cliched or typical. However, what ruined the chemistry for me was not the lack of originality but the dialogues. I don't always have problems with cursing words, but using them like this one certainly kills the moment.

(Eli did something sweet for Hunter, and then Hunter said the following)
"How do you do it? How do you have such a heart for this when others couldn't give a shit?"

I don't think it is proper to converse in such a colloquial and casual way. I mean it is not even hard to think of other language to depict the exact same meaning, but this one has to be the worst of all. Am I being over dramatic? Maybe, but it is details like this that prevented me from feeling what the author tries to express.

Another major issue I have with Rouge is its poor characterization. None of the main characters in this book seem to have a consistent personality. One moment, you think they are smart and decisive. Next moment, they morph into someone who is filled with jealousy and creepiness. I cannot tell you my exact opinions on any of the characters because they simply change too much and too soon before any concrete perceptions can be formed.

One thing I did enjoy in Rouge is some of the story arcs, especially the one about the antagonist. I wished this book could be more about their rivalry and confrontations instead of the romance. All in all, Rouge has neither the originality nor the imagination. I'm not sure if I could confidently recommend it to anyone. Though you must keep in mind that there are always two sides to the same coin and mine is merely one shade of grey.

My Rating: ★★ (2 stars)

(A copy of this book was kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.)