Reviews

Vanilla by Mona Kabbani

allyens's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

readbyashleyd's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

2.5

I’m right in the middle with this one, I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it either. Some parts were incredibly interesting and at times I was thoroughly enjoying this novel and convinced it would be a five star read because there’s nothing I enjoy more than a good vampire story. This one had some original and unique ideas that I really did enjoy but then one element in particular threw me off the story. The characters are just so insufferable at times that I wanted to rip my eyeballs. They were seriously next level annoying and had no redeeming factors whatsoever. So while the story was great, the characters prevented it from being as good as it could have been.

gees_dark_library's review

I had to DNF this- half way through and nothing has happened. I enjoyed this author’s writing in The Bell Chime however it was extremely repetitive and far too descriptive in this novel to the point that I was skipping paragraphs (because whole paragraphs would describe a syringe or something so mundane I couldn’t bear it). 
I have read reviews that said about 60% in is when things actually pick up pace-wise however I am at that point that I don’t even want to spend any more time with this story. 
No hate whatsoever to the author because her writing style will be enthralling and captivating to some people but unfortunately I don’t think I’m one of those people. 

bobmetal's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

bobbiejowoo's review

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

j__tram's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

charm_city_sinner's review

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

SPOILER FREE 

I was nothing short of blown away Mona's novella The Bell Chime earlier this year. 

She's two for two in my book now. 

Emotionally speaking, reading Vanilla was like being hit by an iron fist wearing a velvet glove. There is such a beautiful dichotomy between the beauty of this book and the feelings it evokes. It's comforting and disturbing at the same time. 

I won't get into the plot here because the way it unfolds is one of the best parts of the book.  Just know that you're dealing with a very small cast of characters, a (mostly) small space, and a whole hell of a lot of creepy vibes crammed in.

Of The Bell Chime gave me vertigo, the  Vanilla ignited claustrophobia, both in the best ways possible. 

Mona is an auto-buy author for me, and I can't wait to see what else she does 💀🖤💀

harrieteverend's review against another edition

4.0

This was an absolutely amazing story by Mona Kabbani. I didn't know what to expect coming into it. The more I got into Vanilla, the more absorbed I got into the tale, wanting to know more and more about her life. It was a great psychological horror tale that illustrates various themes. I feel bad for Vanilla through most of the story...until the very end (no spoilers here) and I love how she connected with Tiffany when they met. This book gave me definite chills while I was reading it and with an ending that I did not see coming, I suggest you give this book a read as well!

eudoralynn's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

I’m not sure where I stand on Vanilla. I thoroughly enjoyed 85% of it. But I struggled to understand the ending. It slowed down about halfway through when Vanilla was released from her concrete prison for the first time. I couldn’t tell if it was a vampire story, or the Devil, or just vague monsters. I really like Mona Kabbani’s writing style, and loved the emotional depth built in such a short period of time between Tiffany and Vanilla. 

4/5, but struggled to boost it to a 4. Borderline 3. 

Edit: still a 4, but after finishing Vanilla, processing, and sleeping on it, I don’t think I gave this book enough credit. Vanilla left me unsettled. It made me uncomfy after finishing it. And it’s likely due to the emotional bond developed between Vanilla and Tiffany due to how intertwined they’ve been since childhood. But I woke up this morning and my heart hurt after having dreams surrounding Vanilla. It’s the story of a child turned into a monster, but without the ability to understand how or why she behaved the way she did. She was naive, and it made the deception at the end even more disappointing. Solid 4/5.

lee_readsbooks's review

dark medium-paced

5.0