Bunny Tales Paperback – July 14, 2009

This is a very good book, but not for the obvious reasons.If you want to read about the lifestyle of living at the Playboy Mansion, this book delivers. It answers questions that I never really asked. But most guys aren't aware of how a woman really thinks and the ultimate Playboy isn't an exception. However, most men do know that if one has enough money, that he can often bypass the traditional rules.But the book goes beyond that. It's also a bit of a history book, in the first few chapters. The author was not born in the USA, and the story of her parents & grand parents quest for freedom is an interesting one. The narrative could easily be transferred over to a story one might read in the Chicken Soup for the Soul Series.That is until the author reaches dating age.But the book goes beyond telling stories behind the scenes at the Playboy Mansion, the reader is literally inside the head of one of Hugh Hefner's girl friends. He has & has had many, but this one might be the most educated. We certainly learn why one woman does things and acts in ways that men generally fail to understand.This is not a self help book. However, if one looks beyond the stories, one can begin to see the conflict that occurs in every male and female relationship. The conflict is magnified because Hef keeps an entourage of girl friends. While we learn the thoughts of one, we see the high cost of maintenance that this lifestyle requires.Beyond the stories, I've tremendously enjoyed reading the thoughts of what a woman is really looking for in a relationship. For any man that really desires to better understand a woman, this book is for you.In a thumbnail, the author learns that there is a need for balance and the maintenance of a relationship requires much more than material possession.

First off, I want to say that I'd been trying to get my hands on this book for awhile because I'd heard how nasty Izabella talks about everyone at the Mansion, and I was really just curious about what Mansion life was really like. Even though I'm quite a fan of "The Girls Next Door" I realize that what the cameras show isn't nearly the whole story. Add that in with the commentary done by Holly, Bridget and Kendra referencing Izabella and the other members of the "Party Posse" it seemed like this book would be an interesting read and a little more truthful that what the TV show would present. However, "Bunny Tales" really come off more as a self-serving way for Izabella to capitalize on the growing fame of "The Girls Next Door" than anything else.She starts out trying to play the victim by saying that it's been hard for her to have a relationship with anyone because as soon as they hear she was a Girlfriend they assume she's a gold-digging slut and dump her. And to be honest, by the end of the book that is exactly how Izabella presents herself. It goes from a tale of a Polish-born girl moving to Canada with her family for a better life, and then coming to California to persue a law degree. She ends up being invited to a few mansion parties and getting to know the other Girlfriends and decides that she wants in on the action. And by "in on the action" I mean that she sees Hefner paying for expensive clothes, cars, jewelry, hair and makeup, and Izabella wants that for herself. She constantly complains that Hefner, while giving her a substantial allowance, refused to pay off her student loans, among other expensive things, which makes her come off as a gold-digger. She also complains that she wasn't allowed to sleep around with the various boys she would meet while out on the town with Hefner, even though she knew that by accepting her "allowance" that she was also accepting the role/job of Girlfriend, the rules of which she understood before even moving into the mansion. Even when she knew she wanted to leave the mansion she stayed for awhile because she just wanted whatever money she could get out of Hefner before he kicked her out. She admits to using him to get the car, apartment, and cosmetic surgery she wanted, and once she had those things she wanted to leave.As for how she refers to Holly, Bridget and Kendra, I know a lot of other reviewers have mentioned how bitter and resentful she sounds towards them, and I whole-heartedly agree. She will praise Holly for her devotion to Hefner, and criticize her for using him to get what she wanted all within the same paragraph. She calls Bridget Holly's only friend and that they would conspire against the other Girlfriends to get them thrown out so there was less competition, but it's hard not to root for Holly and Bridget when Izabella has already explained that the other Girlfriends were just out for Hefner's money, sleeping with Mansion staff members, stealing expensive bottles of wine, and sneaking out to see secret boyfriends. Since this book was being finished while the first season of "The Girls Next Door" was airing Izabella takes it upon herself to critique the show, as well. It all comes off that she was just angry that she wasn't still living there when the show was being taped, so she missed out on the money and fame the show could've given her. By the end of the book any sympathy you feel for Izabella is pretty much gone.A lot of people have pointed out that this book has a lot of grammatical and spelling errors, and I agree that someone in the editing process should have caught those before the book went to print. It really just shows how this book was rushed out to capitalize on the show's fame while trying to throw Hefner and the Girlfriends under the bus. The book does have a few interesting facts about how the Mansion is run, the parties, the Grotto, and what really happens in Hefner's bedroom, but the underlying tone of bitterness ruins what could have been an interesting read.