I'm so sorry to say this, Bunny. I am really am, k? Big fan of the first novel. Loved it! It compelled me to immediately read other Awad books. And I think shes a really talented writer! But this just felt derivative? Often a scene-by-scene re-tread of the first novel that just hits you with a sledgehammer (or Axe?). No mystery, no ambiguity.

Sure, the bunnies are unreliable narrators, but they also don't have very much to say here. Not enough to fill 500 pages anyway.

I'm incredibly grateful to the publisher and to Netgalley for the ARC -- I will continue to read whatever Awad puts out and can recommend this to those who just NEED more of the "Bunnyverse" as it were, but it just didn't add enough for me.

Mona Awad has established herself as one of the most prominent names in strange and magical fiction. She effortlessly blends her surrealist worlds with fully developed and rich characters. Bunny, the first in this now duology, was my first introduction to her writing, and had me hooked immediately. When I heard a prequel/sequel was coming out, I knew I had to get my hands on it as soon as possible. And I am elated I did. We Love You, Bunny takes place after the events of Bunny and yet serves as a sort of prequel. Awad treats us to a look at the first year, before Samantha joined in the Bunnies '“work.”

We Love You, Bunny begins with the Bunnies recounting their story, from each of their perspectives. From their initial meeting to their first creation, we get a more intimate look at the group’s dynamics and motivations from their own mouths. The novel is written entirely in dialogue/monologue, and Awad takes careful time to differentiate each character’s voice.

Awad introduces some new characters and gave a few of the side characters from the first novel much more character depth. Everything Awad does is so intentional, from her literary references to her not-so-subtle jabs at author/ artist culture. It is a beautiful tapestry of plot, satire, and whimsy.

I originally thought the beginning moved a bit slow, but the ending twist more than pays off for any perceived pacing issues. She uses sweeping imagery, new age spirituality, and 80s camp horror to deliver one of the most memorable books of the year. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to read and review this novel, especially being from one of my favorite authors. We Love You, Bunny releases on September 23rd — consider supporting your local indie bookstore by asking them to preorder it for you!

I loved reuniting with the Bunnies and meeting new characters that are equally as dramatic as the original cast. Awad's irreverent voice and characterization were my favorite parts of this book. This is a prequel where you have to have read Bunny to understand what’s going on. Though I read Bunny, the plot still felt a bit jumbled and left me with a lot of unanswered questions. While it started out a bit slow, things really picked up in the last third, and I couldn't wait to see how it would all wrap up. If you’re obsessed with Bunny and want to plunge back into that fever‑dream world, this is definitely for you! While I did end up feeling lost in terms of plot, it was fun returning to the Bunnyverse.

I didn't think that Bunny needed a sequel, so after hearing one was coming I made a couple hesitant (foolish) assumptions about what it might cover. Well, it was not at all what I was expecting but I absolutely loved this book!

We Love You Bunny acts as a prequel/sequel, told through the points of view of the Bunnies from the first book. Yes, all of them, even someone who you don't actually know about yet (but who swiftly became an all time-favorite character). You would think that this framing might get old or predictable, but it never really does and the book keeps ramping up until the very end. Seeing how things played out from their perspectives is an incredible and confusing treat, with some wild twists that had me cackling just thinking about how my book group is going to respond after reading them.

Bunny was one of the books that got me seriously back into reading and Mona Awad has since been a favorite of mine. We Love You, Bunny is a hilarious take on the familiar story, narrating the first year of the MFA program from the Bunnies' perspective. Awad's satirical take on graduate students kept me giggling throughout, especially as an English MA student, myself. There were types where the prose hypnotized my brain into power saver mode, but I still enjoyed the read and would recommend to most readers.

This delightfully twisted semi-prequel to Bunny takes the reader on a demented hop down memory lane to the very first boy the Bunnies created at Warren. The pacing is fast and the format takes some getting used to, but still a rewarding read.

bunny everywhere ☺︎
if you loved bunny, you definitely have to pick up we love you, bunny. this was silly, fantastical, funny, psychotic( of course… we are dealing with bunnies, bunny!) and even emotional at points. i absolutely adored getting to have the bunnies back together— really getting to know them better on an individual level was amazing. their personalities are just insane. we are introduced to a new character in part 2 and to me, their narrative really stole the show. there was a moment near the end that made me tear up! i loved getting to see this characters journey and realizations :’) questions from the first book were answered in this one, and the ending didn’t disappoint! like all of mona’s books this was written with so much creativity. it was full of dreamy, whimsical, and questionable characters/narrations. the quotes about art and the meaning of it along with reality were ones i really resonated with. 5/5 stars for me i love the bunny universe! ☺︎ thank you netgalley + the publisher for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. ☺︎

if you didn’t like the first book, i don’t think you’d like the second. ☹︎ but maybe you should try again, bunny! ☺︎

Mona Awad does it again with another acid trippy adventure meets the Heather's.
In this adventure we get some backstory and further insight into the time prior to Sam meeting the Bunny's.
She is kidnapped and chained to a chair and must listen to the full story. We also get a unique perspective of the Bunny himself.
This book will definitely keep you entertained and I'm glad I got to read the sequel!!

A perfect return to the world of Warren to spend more time with the Bunnies in all their shiny hairs Loveliness. 🙂 It was a joy to follow Aerius through his journeys. Dandelions and sweet grasses to you, Mona. Just lovely.

insane. loved every second of it. definitely follows bunny in a way you won't be expecting, in the best possible way.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

First of all woah. When I opened the email that said I was approved for this ARC I literally was running around my house screaming. I recently read the first book and was so hooked. It had me second guessing everything and so utterly confused and shocked all at the same time. Once I found out the second book was coming out soon I ran to see if it was on NetGalley and died when I was able to find it!! I am so glad I did because this book was so good as well, it might not be as good as the first but I was still obsessed.

I did want to touch on something though! If you’re expecting this one to be from the Bunnies point of view only, it’s not. It does have some parts in the Bunnies point of View but most of the book is actually in the point of view of Aerius one of the bunnies that was turned into a boy. I actually did enjoy his point of view it just wasn’t what I was expecting. I was hoping to get more on how the bunnies started and why but I feel like there’s still a bunch of unanswered questions.

This is just one of those books that will always be a mystery, I cannot wait for this one to release so I can talk to people about it because so much happened. I am hoping for a third book as well!

Mona Awad has done it again. We Love You, Bunny is everything I wanted it to be and more. Unhinged, surreal, wickedly smart, and emotionally gutting in that signature Bunny way. If Bunny was a fever dream this book is the full blown hallucination that follows. Messier, deeper, and somehow even more satisfying.

This is not a book for newcomers. It is for the Bunnies, those of us who were obsessed with the first novel who annotated, spiraled, and made personality quizzes about it. And for us this is pure payoff. We get backstory, chaos, new perspectives, and theories confirmed. The structure is bold, the voices are distinct, and the emotional stakes are just as sharp as the satire.

Yes it is weird. Yes it is absurd. Yes parts of it made me want to peel back my own brain. And I loved it. The final act had me fully locked in and some passages were so beautifully written I had to stop and reread just to take them in again.

It is not trying to be tidy or palatable. It is messy and excessive in the best ways. A book about creation, performance, obsession, and the terrifying desire to be seen and loved. I did not want it to end.

If Bunny crawled under your skin and never left We Love You, Bunny will sink its teeth in and whisper More.

I feel like I have no idea what I just read, but I also know exactly what I just read. I have all of the thoughts, and yet no thoughts. I have all of the feelings, and also none. I loved this so much, and I loved the ending. I want more.

This is a sequel to Bunny. It's ridiculous, it's dark, it's satire, it's another wild fever dream, it's right back where the first book took place, it's....everything Bunny ?

There are multiple POV'S and it gives you more insight to each of the cohort from the first book, and Jonah, it gives Jonah.

I feel like this will either hit or miss again with people. If you read the first and loved it, you're probably going to love this as well.

I will be thinking about this book for along time, as I did with Bunny. It's already one of my favorite books of the year.
I cannot wait until this is published so I can go into detail about it. I can't wait to talk about it with all the other Bunny lovers I know.
I cannot wait to go on reddit and discord and do a deep dive down the rabbit hole about theories and conspiracies and make this book part of my entire personality again. I cannot wait to buy the book, read Bunny again, and then read this. Highlight, tab, underline, everything.

Thank you Mona Awad, publishers, and Netgalley for this ARC on my birthday of all, days. I absolutely loved this book.

Thanks to Simon Element and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC

I have been thinking about Bunny for months after I read it and i think the same will be true for we live you bunny.

WLYB is a delirious war of a myriad of children playing at being adults. A brutal mix of sharing to much and not enough.

It challenges the perception of self and forces you to consider if there might be more to the internal worlds of those around us.

I enjoyed most povs more then i enjoyed Samantha’s from the first novel so all in all this was the more enjoyable read for me.

I do feel like id like this just a touch better if i was a little smarter but even with my mash potato brains i did alright.

I found it quite sad even if it’s absurd to the point of being funny sometimes.

It wont be for everyone thats for sure but it think its for me.

Unsurprisingly Jonah is still the best

We love you, Bunny is a prequal/sequel of the first book Bunny. I finished this book yesterday and have some thoughts.

I feel like this was a book that didn’t necessarily need to be. We get a lot of backstories, a lot of answers to the mysteries in the first book that I just don’t believe we really needed. It almost makes the experience of the first book less magical. (which I re-read right before starting this one). In the first book there was a mystery a sense of what-the-heck is happening, what am I reading and you had to keep going to find out and even then everyone could walk away with a different out come to what they just read that was the magic of the first book.

In this instalment we are mostly in the minds of the Bunnies before the events of the first book, before they meet Sam. While this was interesting and I loved getting the backstory of these twisted minds, I wish there was more to them and what made them this way. While we do get some of that I don’t feel like we got much in that vein but boy did we got A LOT on Aerius (the girls first bunny-boy creation) and eh I just didn’t really enjoy being in his sections, he was super childish and lacked understating of the things around him (which yes I get it) this is okay for a little while but it was just way too long and he addresses you as ‘Reader’ it just really brought me out of the book, it almost felt like a cop out “why write a great book when I can just explain exactly what is happening, Reader.” 😊It was just so different from the style and mystery of the first book.

However, the last 50 pages or so were engaging and satisfying and I really enjoyed them. just really dragged through that whole middle portion. I do feel like this is maybe set up to have a third book and maybe that would be the events after and in the present time which could be interesting to read. All in all I liked the fever dream feel that Bunny had and maybe I just expected that of this book as well, however this one fell flat for me. I believe that Bunny stands very well on its own and didn’t need a continuation. I read 100% of this book for maybe 30% that was actually enjoyable.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

This was perfect for me. 100% pointless to pick up if you haven't read Bunny, but if you have and enjoyed it, this is a must-read. It answered almost every question the first book left me with, and I feel like this only serves to elevate the original. It was also really cool to have some of my theories confirmed six years from when Bunny came out!

This is every bit as fresh and creative as the original, I didn't see the ending coming, and I enjoyed every new narrative voice introduced despite expecting to hate Aerius. Necessary addition to the series, incredibly fun and emotional at the same time, and too short despite being 500 pages. Mona Awad does not miss and I'll always want more no matter how long she makes her books.

I've been reading all of Awad's new releases for years since I've read Bunny, the senior novel to this title; thus I was excited and a bit apprehensive to be back in this world. As always Awad's writing is masterful, always having unique voices and styles for her characters making them distinct from each other even if they speak as a collective. However, I just found that I wasn't drawn to the tale. I'm not sure if I would have had a different experience if I had reread Bunny prior to this book, but I found sections of it dragging a bit. I always was very aware of the metaphors and what was trying to be said with writers, artists, and muses; but I just found that I was not connecting. This could be an entirely *me* problem though, as the writing itself was done very well. I'm excited to see what Awad imagines up next!

Hello hello Bunnies! I'm going to start this off by saying that I liked this. It took some time for me to reach that conclusion, but I can comfortably say I liked it--albeit with some issues. Did it take me 3-5 business months for me to finish it? Yes. Did it also take me an extra day to scoop up my thoughts for this review? Also, yes.

A prequel-sequel to the infamous Bunny? For sure, love to see it! A stand-alone experience? ...no not really but it looks like the publisher disagrees with me on that one. I think a good chunk of the experience from this book will be lost if you have not read Bunny. There are too many callbacks to the first book that would make zero sense. Miss Awad you weren't slick every time you brought up swans, feathers, and antlers... I see you.

But I digress Bunnies, time to move on, k?

If you liked Bunny, there is a 90% chance that you'll like this one too. If you did not like Bunny, you should skip out on this because it's more of the same lol. Bunny took a minute before it fully sank in. Like I legit had a Pepe Silvia type board trying to figure out what I just read. This on the other hand, I get. I feel like the metaphors on the creative endeavor were dumbed down a bit and made easily digestible. It still retains that signature Mona Awad madness, but the story fell flat for me in some regards. I felt like the length of the novel was a bit too long (my physical version stood at a little over 400 pages... a good 100 could've been cut) and it got a little repetitive.

However, with every Mona Awad book there's something new and surreal that she experiments with, and this one is no exception. The dreamlike nature and narrative experimentation are a sight to behold. It is pedal to the metal straight from the first page and Awad doesn't hold back. The Bunnies are always a delight to read, and their sections had me hooked and wanting more. Even the new character was fascinating to read (quite literally... you'll understand that after you read this book lol) and his sections were unhinged fever dreams that were so much fun to read.

Overall, I'm glad that Awad brought us back to the universe of Bunny. Bunny itself is such a unique novel and I'm glad that she was able to replicate the experience even if it wasn’t exactly as it was. As always, I'm excited to see what she writes next. To all my fellow Bunnies out there, I can't wait to see what you think!

I was excited for a follow up to Bunny because I really enjoyed the first one. The tone was still there and I think people who really got into the first book and want to learn more about all the characters will enjoy it, but I was not very interested in the backstories of all the other characters and the perspective it was told in that they were talking to you got tiring fairly quickly. But I hope other fans of the book will enjoy it.

Oh, Bunny, what an absolute trip! Mona Awad’s writing always feels like a slow descent into madness, but this one… this one started mad and got somehow worse as it went along. Now I’m left questioning reality and speaking to myself in the weirdest narrative voice. Time to go back to a “normal” book, I guess.