thatfella's review
4.75
An absolutely wild ride. Knocked off a quarter star for some slurs I didn’t love.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs and Ableism
serotiny11's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Really disappointed after loving All's Well so much. Bunny had the same nightmarish disorientation quality that I loved and Mona Awad does so well, but I kept getting kicked out of the story by the casually dropped racial slurs and ableist langage (ex., ) that didn’t do anything for character or plot development. Especially in a novel that has racial elements and white privilege as a theme (the Bunnies embody entitled rich white lady-ness to a high degree), why choose to sling these around if not just to sound…edgy I guess? I have no idea why this was done and I’m afraid there’s no good reason at all.
Spoiler
ableist language - the r word, using schizophrenic as a derogatory joke; racial slurs - the g word several times
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Ableism
thedambookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gore, Murder, Racial slurs, Death, Drug use, Body shaming, Classism, Torture, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Self harm
alexiaruxandra's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
General thoughts~
--- i did not appreciate the use of the G slur in the book (by an author who, as far as i know, is not Romani), which is why i subtracted a star. using slurs and stereotypes in media perpetuates violence against Romani people, and makes it seem normal, which is even more fucked up considering how many Romani people are assaulted and even killed on a day to day basis in North America and Europe, just for being Romani. not cool, dude... not cool ---
- the book is about Samantha Mackey, a graduate writing student who doesn’t fit in with her cohort, a group of four girls who call themselves Bunnies (and Samantha hates them because they are rich, spoiled, and fake). however, things take a gnarly turn when they invite her to one of their gatherings, and it only gets more fucked up as the book goes on
- i first heard about it from Books and Bao, who recommended it as a less known dark academia book
- Bao shared some of the details inside the book, and i really liked the idea of girls doing magic (it turned out to be a lot more messed up in the book, and i liked that)
- i think it’s definitely a unique take of the dark academia genre, especially the critique of it through an unlikeable character (because Samantha is a bit of a bitch lol). it shows her indoctrination into the bunny cult, which is an aspect i have not yet read in other DA books
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Writing~
- i found the writing a bit jarring at first, i’m not gonna lie. first person writing is usually a hit or miss for me, because it’s not my favorite. also, present tense writing reads like nails on a chalkboard (don’t know why, it just does), so it was a bit hard to get through at first, until i got used to it
- however, it makes sense narratively. Samantha is going through a lot of shit, so the inconsistent descriptions of what she’s doing and feeling feel accurate considering her mental state throughout the novel. sometimes the writing felt really slow, otherwise it was speeding through the actions, and while it was unexpected at times, i think the moments where these differences are noticeable made sense for the story
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Characters~
- absolutely everybody was pretentious, which was to be expect in a dark academia novel. i found Ava really interesting, especially her relationship with Samantha (who she affectionately calls Smackie)
- considering the fact that this book reads like a fever dream you experience while tripping on acid, the tender moments between Sam and Ava, like dancing tango badly on the rooftop were incredibly wholesome and provided much needed respite from the bunny stuff
- i hope poor Samantha gets a break after this book though. the girl needs a break and some love
- also, Jonah was so fucking cute. i did not know i could love a soft poetry guy so much, but every interaction he had with Samantha radiated warmth and i loved every second of it
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Setting/worldbuilding~
- the setting being a pretentious, experimental university fits 100% into my expectations when reading a dark academia book. professors who use increasingly more obnoxious terms to describe the creative process? yes, sign me the fuck up
- what i wish we could’ve seen more is a more detailed explanation as to why there was so much crime happening on campus. and i don’t mean stuff like theft or assault, which we see in real life on a daily basis, but instances like decapitations (which are mentioned at least a few times over the entire novel). what’s up with that? why was it only mentioned in passing and never expanded upon? i need to know more, and i understand that arts students (regardless of type) are a bunch of weirdos, but c’mon, you can’t tell me people are legit being decapitated with machetes on a university campus on a regular basis and expect me not to ask questions!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conclusion~
all in all, it was a great way to start my reading year, and i enjoyed it despite how feverishly fucked up it is. i would recommend it if you want to read a dark academia book that features a cult, murders, and bloody bunny guts flying all over the place.
--- i did not appreciate the use of the G slur in the book (by an author who, as far as i know, is not Romani), which is why i subtracted a star. using slurs and stereotypes in media perpetuates violence against Romani people, and makes it seem normal, which is even more fucked up considering how many Romani people are assaulted and even killed on a day to day basis in North America and Europe, just for being Romani. not cool, dude... not cool ---
- the book is about Samantha Mackey, a graduate writing student who doesn’t fit in with her cohort, a group of four girls who call themselves Bunnies (and Samantha hates them because they are rich, spoiled, and fake). however, things take a gnarly turn when they invite her to one of their gatherings, and it only gets more fucked up as the book goes on
- i first heard about it from Books and Bao, who recommended it as a less known dark academia book
- Bao shared some of the details inside the book, and i really liked the idea of girls doing magic
Spoiler
to turn bunnies into guys- i think it’s definitely a unique take of the dark academia genre, especially the critique of it through an unlikeable character (because Samantha is a bit of a bitch lol). it shows her indoctrination into the bunny cult, which is an aspect i have not yet read in other DA books
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Writing~
- i found the writing a bit jarring at first, i’m not gonna lie. first person writing is usually a hit or miss for me, because it’s not my favorite. also, present tense writing reads like nails on a chalkboard (don’t know why, it just does), so it was a bit hard to get through at first, until i got used to it
- however, it makes sense narratively. Samantha is going through a lot of shit, so the inconsistent descriptions of what she’s doing and feeling feel accurate considering her mental state throughout the novel. sometimes the writing felt really slow, otherwise it was speeding through the actions, and while it was unexpected at times, i think the moments where these differences are noticeable made sense for the story
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Characters~
- absolutely everybody was pretentious, which was to be expect in a dark academia novel. i found Ava really interesting, especially her relationship with Samantha (who she affectionately calls Smackie)
- considering the fact that this book reads like a fever dream you experience while tripping on acid, the tender moments between Sam and Ava, like dancing tango badly on the rooftop were incredibly wholesome and provided much needed respite from the bunny stuff
- i hope poor Samantha gets a break after this book though. the girl needs a break and some love
- also, Jonah was so fucking cute. i did not know i could love a soft poetry guy so much, but every interaction he had with Samantha radiated warmth and i loved every second of it
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Setting/worldbuilding~
- the setting being a pretentious, experimental university fits 100% into my expectations when reading a dark academia book. professors who use increasingly more obnoxious terms to describe the creative process? yes, sign me the fuck up
- what i wish we could’ve seen more is a more detailed explanation as to why there was so much crime happening on campus. and i don’t mean stuff like theft or assault, which we see in real life on a daily basis, but instances like decapitations (which are mentioned at least a few times over the entire novel). what’s up with that? why was it only mentioned in passing and never expanded upon? i need to know more, and i understand that arts students (regardless of type) are a bunch of weirdos, but c’mon, you can’t tell me people are legit being decapitated with machetes on a university campus on a regular basis and expect me not to ask questions!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conclusion~
all in all, it was a great way to start my reading year, and i enjoyed it despite how feverishly fucked up it is. i would recommend it if you want to read a dark academia book that features a cult, murders, and bloody bunny guts flying all over the place.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Death, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape
mlovesbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was so good and unpredictable. I loved it so much more than I thought I would.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual assault and Eating disorder
Minor: Racial slurs
mahitdzmare's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Racial slurs
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Gaslighting, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Infidelity, Ableism, Alcohol, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Car accident
Further warning for an implied teacher/student relationship, and at least one use of the R slur.kclark's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Death, Violence, Racial slurs, Gore, and Death of parent
Minor: Self harm and Toxic friendship
henrygravesprince's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
first, the positives:
- some of the surrealist passages are fantastic, and the author is very good at writing things in a surreal way, especially portraying normal things as such
- the dynamic between Ava and Samantha is very interesting in contrast to Samantha, the Bunnies, and men
now, the negatives:
- some of the stylistic grammar-breaking choices work, but a lot of them don’t; particularly the recurring all-caps and multi-exclamation point moments irked me
- the “gore” moments were honestly more silly than anything, particularly when half of the time it’s just “and then [xyz] literally exploded”
- there are a lot of really out of place, pointless moments of bigotry that would not alter the story or tone at all if they were removed, particularly the weird references to lizard people conspiracies, the R slur & derogatory comparisons to disabled people, and the usage of the G slur to describe a Romani woman; it comes across very much as the author just not giving a shit about it
I think there could be a good book chipped out of Bunny with more editing, but it just fell flat to me. People also misrepresent what this book actually is a lot when recommending it; I wish I had actually known what sort of book this was when going into it rather than what it gets portrayed as.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Murder, Animal death, Bullying, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Stalking, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Kidnapping, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug use, Ableism, and Gore
angelkisses's review
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Rape and Racial slurs