Sarah O'Connor

I received this book from Simon and Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review.

“The Collective can be a powerful force. Perhaps together you’ll make the word flesh. Tap the Wound and bring it to vivid life. Making something beautiful is, after all, the best revenge,” (Awad).

Samantha Heather Mackey has just published her debut novel. Living every debut writers dream, she’s been attending literary events and has now finished off her book tour in New England where her university frenemies, the Bunnies, are unhappy with how they’ve been portrayed. Kidnapping Sam, the Bunnies decide it’s their turn to tell their side of the story. While holding the ax, each Bunny takes a turn recounting what brought them together and what they were able to create together while a bound and gagged Sam is forced to listen and learn about the Collective of creation.

When I learned Mona Awad was writing a sequel to Bunny I was intrigued. I adored Bunny and thought it was a great novel as a standalone, I never thought there would be a point in a sequel. But I became curious with the announcement, even more so when the book was described as a prequel and a sequel. Now, imagine my surprise and delight when I received We Love You, Bunny on NetGalley to review, I couldn’t imagine my luck.

But my dear Bunny, I was disappointed.

Awad is a fantastic writer, and she has a lot of fun with We Love You, Bunny. Much of the book itself is essentially set-up as different monologues from each of the Bunnies who are eager to share their side of the story, and I enjoyed getting to hear their voices. Awad cleverly voices each Bunny the same way she writes, whether it’s a lot of purple prose and metaphors or Random Capitalizations or, as Booktok may describe, a bit of spice, it was a clever way to show not only how the Bunnies worked as artists but to highlight their differences in character as well and I enjoyed it. But the problem with a multi-point-of-view novel is that some voices are more interesting than others, and sadly that is true with some Bunnies over others. The biggest issue I found with giving the Bunnies a voice is that they’re more interesting as secondary antagonists than protagonists.

And then there’s the gap in publication. There are six years between the publication of Bunny and We Love You, Bunny and you can feel it. While I admit it’s been a few years since I read Bunny, We Love You, Bunny is filled with a lot more pop culture references than it’s predecessor. With references to Chappell Roan in We Love You, Bunny, who was (sadly) not known to us in 2019 when Bunny was released, it makes it confusing as to when exactly the events of Bunny and We Love You, Bunny takes place. The reference to Chappell Roan would imply today, but with the original book being published in 2019 and the sequel technically being marketed as a prequel, it makes things confusing. But maybe I’m just being nitpicky.

But of course, we don’t just get the Bunnies point of view, we also get a lengthy section from their most precious darling, Aerius! 🙂

I’m torn on how I feel about Aerius. 😦 I liked his voice, and his chapters give a more straightforward story than the Bunnies, and I can tell that Awad had fun writing from his voice because it was a fun voice to read. I know what Awad is doing with Aerius, I understand what he symbolizes and enjoyed his journey, but he still felt pointless in the end.

Which I guess is what I’m saying about the book as a whole, Bunny. There isn’t any real point to it. 😦

Even trying to connect the end of We Love You, Bunny to the start of Bunny is shaky at best. Why were the Bunnies still having their Smut Salon? Considering how Aerius’ story ends, how is Jonah even present in Bunny? It’s disjointed and a bit of a let down.

We Love You, Bunny doesn’t really need to be here, but the prose is nice and it’s fun to see Awad have fun with different voices. I’ve heard rumours of a third book in this series and I really hope it isn’t true. While this was fun, I’m going to pretend that Bunny is an only child. If anything, reading We Love You, Bunny made me realize just how much I missed Bunny. I’ll have to give it a re-read.

Publication: September 23 2025
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Pages: 496 pages (NetGalley)
Source: Owned (Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada!)
Genre: Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Canadian
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤
Summary:

When We Love You, Bunny opens, Sam has just published her first novel to critical acclaim. But at a New England stop on her book tour, her one-time frenemies, furious at the way they’ve been portrayed, kidnap her. Now a captive audience, it’s her (and our) turn to hear the Bunnies’ side of the story. One by one, they take turns holding the axe, and recount the birth throes of their unholy alliance, their discovery of their unusual creative powers—and the phantasmagoric adventure of conjuring their first creation. With a bound and gagged Sam, we embark on a wickedly intoxicating journey into the heart of dark academia: a fairy tale slasher that explores the wonder and horror of creation itself. Not to mention the transformative powers of love and friendship, Bunny.