I went straight from my first ever reading of Bunny (Fab) into this one and that was perhaps the wrong choice. I think I maybe needed some time away from the Bunnies before I dove into this one. I thought it was maybe a tad too long, but then again I also think it did and said everything it could and should have so really, that's probably more to do with me, my big book fear, and a minor book slump I was in while reading.

I came away from this feeling similarly to how I came away from the first book, a bit confused, a bit scared, and a bit obsessed.
Glad I read it, but very much unsure I would ever re-read it, a bit unsure of my feelings still.

I was very lucky to be approved for an ARC of this book and wow, it was a wild ride.

For some context, Bunny is one of my favourite books of all time. This one didn't hit the same mark but I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

The writing style I'm still absolutely in love with, I love the way the Bunnies talk and I think I always will, that part will never change.

The only thing I didn't like as much was the extra POV in this one. The only reason being is because I loved listening to the Bunnies speak much more but that's just me.

I still enjoyed the format, the world, most of the characters. I know for some people this ruins a bit of the "magic" that happened in the first book and I totally get that. I do think if you want to keep the first book feeling mysterious and confusing then don't pick this one up.

That said, if you enjoyed the first book I think you'll absolutely eat this one up as well. I'd still recommend it and I still think it's a really good time.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and Mona for this oppertunity. I loved it, Bunny 🐇

Bunny, the original, was such a new and interesting book, that I think I should have left it at just reading that one.
Yet if I'd ONLY read this one, I'd have been happy.
Too much going over the same ground? Same scene, different points of view.
At times I felt it added absolutely nothing new, and other times I felt it added everything new.
Still mad, but this time, a bit too long for me.

2.5 rounded up to a 3

I really wanted to love this book, but ultimately, I didn't. Bunnies, please don't hate me.

There were some really strong moments throughout, and it did pick up a lot right at the end, although the ending didn't hit with the intensity I feel it should have.
I loved getting some more lore about the bunnies themselves, which is very much what the first huge section of this prequel sequel does.

I like the idea of the formatting, and hearing the bunnies side of the story was interesting, but far too longwinded. This book is just short of 500 pages but I don't think it needed to be.

A new character, and character relations, introduced really did breathe some life into this, although again, I feel that it should have been massively edited down; and that if it had been, they would have been a lot punchier and effective. Aerius' adventures and character interactions were often great and really helped that middle section pick up.

I want to appreciate the unique use of writing style, but for me personally, at times, it came across more like a tumblr typing quirk. Genie yes!! Manny script !! !! ! Poet Tree!!
I think that if you're a Bunny mega fan and reaaally want to spend a lot of time with the bunnies with an alternate version of Bunny, then you might get more out of this than I.

Overall, for me, this lacked the substance to justify the number of pages in it, as well as occasionally being the exact thing it's satirising, which knocked down what could have easily been another 4 or even 5 star read.

An uneven but ultimately compelling re-entry into the Bunny-verse. Here, Mona Awad’s Bunny is the novel Sam aka Samantha published not long after leaving Warren University. Now Sam’s on a book tour that takes her back to Warren and into the clutches of the four original Bunnies. With Sam as their captive audience, the Bunnies intend to set the record straight and tell their side of the story. For them this will be a kind of writing back – akin to Jean Rhys responding to Jane Eyre. One that will feature their real names and their “true” selves, focused on what they believe actually happened during their time in Warren’s ultra-exclusive, Narrative Arts programme.

The opening sections switch from one Bunny to the next, as they take turns recounting their early experiences of Warren. Their additional context rapidly casts doubt on Sam’s account, for example Kyra aka Kira’s Japanese heritage makes Sam’s framing of her as “doll-like” instantly problematic. The Bunnies also reveal the existence of another key player known as Aerius, the first and most workable of their so-called drafts. All parts intact, Aerius is the only one of their characters who truly sprung to life. Like a creepily-collective Frankenstein, the Bunnies regard Aerius as their possession and plaything, subjecting him to brutal “revisions.” But Aerius’s emergence swiftly establishes him as the lead here, this novel’s Sam. Once each Bunny’s said their piece, Aerius’s voice takes over, albeit via the pages of a notebook.

Aerius’s story deliberately echoes aspects of Shelley’s Frankenstein, with nods to iconic spin-offs like Bride of Frankenstein. Desperate to break free of the scary, voracious Bunnies, he sets off on an odyssey through the city’s streets and forests. A journey that takes in a number of Bunny’s minor characters, like the trench-coated poets with their retro emo-goth aesthetic; and casts Jonah and Ursula in starring roles. But, like Frankenstein’s bewildered creature, Aerius is bubbling over with murderous impulses. Fixated on an apparent “mission” to seek out and kill Allan, the current leader of the Bunnies’ writing workshop. Allan’s a sardonic writer famed for off-beat, experimental horror – he reads like a skewed tribute to Awad’s former tutor Brian Evenson. He’s also consistently trashed the Bunnies’ attempts at workable fiction which is why he has to go. Unfortunately, newly-minted Aerius finds it impossible to distinguish between this Allan and any other Allan he might meet. A dilemma that gradually drives him into the realms of fever-dream slasher.

Aerius’s narrative’s interrupted by the re-emergence of an enraged, Bunny hive mind, underlining Awad’s fascination with exploring ways of telling, competing notions of what writing, what genres, are culturally valuable, and the myriad possible perspectives on seemingly-shared realities. From then on Awad shifts between the Bunnies and Aerius examining issues around authorship, reception and the ethics of basing work on living people. Aerius’s notebook entries are couched in a rather idiosyncratic style: nineteenth-century gothic pastiche meets text speak. After I got used to it, I thought it was surprisingly effective in conveying Aerius’s state of mind and the eccentric education he received from the Bunnies – large doses of Woolf mashed up with romcoms and a dash of Victorian literature.

I had mixed reactions to this overall. I found it far less fluid and immersive than Bunny. The interwoven voices, the numerous abrupt shifts in point of view, could be quite distancing and distracting. It’s also much too long. The opening sections, revolving around each individual Bunny, felt particularly stretched out, with some far stronger than other’s – Kyra’s was definitely the standout possibly because that’s when this finally started to take off for me. As with Bunny, I relished the various references from Grimms’ fairy tales to urban legends and even Kate Bush. There are numerous witty passages scattered throughout, some intriguing imagery and arresting plot developments: Ursula’s transformation was fascinating but she could be less sinister villainess, more Disney namesake. I was utterly gripped by the final third of the novel – by this time I was very much invested in Aerius, his anguished predicament and likely fate. But where Bunny borrowed from films like Heather, Mean Girls, and The Craft, deftly reshaping elements to produce a potential cult classic reminiscent of Shirley Jackson’s Hangsaman and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, this went the other way. It’s less ambiguous, more instantly consumable, with themes and messages that require little to no unpacking. But, as Awad underlines, this was written for Bunny’s diehard fans, and for a fan this is essentially a must-read. I’m just not sure what anyone else will make of it.

Rating: 3/3.5

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for approving me to read this book, I’m rating it 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

This is the kind of book you must read especially in spooky season. It’s a weird and wonderful creation that constantly had me thinking what the hell and I liked it.

The story takes on a wild ride following on from the previous book, we thrown into the thick of the cult-y vibes and are immediately questioning what on earth is going on. I’m never sure if there’s a message to these books your supposed to take in, but this one certainly had that feel to it near the end.

The bunnies are back in all their ridiculous, insane glory and I have mixed feelings about it. Thank you to author, publisher and NetGalley for granting me this eARC!

I had fun with this book, much like I did with Bunny. I really enjoy Awad’s style of writing and how it has this really fever-dreamish and bizarre sense of whimsy to it.

However, this very much read like a regurgitation of the first book but told from different perspectives. Something I liked about the first book was how a lot of the story is open to reader interpretation. I feel like this took a lot of that charade away, and in return, took away my whimsy!!!! I also wasn’t a huge fan of the overuse of direct address, I felt that took me out of the story a little bit.

Overall, I enjoyed this but I wasn’t amazed by it either. Would I read Bunny again? Yes. Would I read We Love You, Bunny again? Probably not.

I did a squeal most unbecoming of a 37-year-old when I was approved for an advanced copy of this book, its prequel Bunny having hop-started a love for anything written my Mona Awad. I tore through We Love You, Bunny like a madwoman - it revisits all the characters from the first novel and introduces a brand new one, who I instantly rooted for. I don’t know how to describe this book in a way that does it justice - it’s a beautifully, insanely written, dark, funny homage to all things literature, sprinkling in references to a kaleidoscope of classics (especially Frankenstein) and it makes you think about the relationship between artist and art. Love, love, love, Bunny! 🐰 🪓

Oh Bunny, how I wish I could love this book. I think if you are a super fan of Bunny and want to know everything about the girls that made the first book such a viral hit, then you’re going to absolutely eat this up.

For me, I loved the mystery and how open the first book left everything, so it’s on me for picking the second book up, really. It was just so long and took all the mystery and weirdness out of the story. It also felt like I was reading it for years.

I can appreciate the way the book was written, the author did such a great job at giving each character a strong and unique voice, but this just wasn’t for me.