Estelle Maskame has quickly become one of my favourite authors. The wrong side of Kai follows Vanessa who isn’t ready to be in a relationship with any boy but is happy having fun with certain ones of her choosing, when she makes the wrong choice and gets recorded by Harrison her lasted fling she predictably regrets it when the video gets sent out.

Kai Washington also has problems with Harrison because low and behold this not so decent guy thought it be ok to hook up with Kai’s girlfriend. So Vanessa and Kai team up to get revenge on Harrison.

This book is fun and I am always amazed at how addicting Estelle’s writing is. The story line is a little immature but in the best way, the writing makes you care even if you aren’t in the mind set the characters are in and would make completely different choices the narrative makes you see their side and isn’t that the point of a good book to make you feel for the characters?

It’s fun and fast pace following around these partners in crime. I do think that the whole video being leaked could have been made a bigger deal as this girls life could potentially be ruined because of this guys actions. I understand her dad finally stands up for her and if she didn’t put that picture of Harrison up they definitely could have pressed charges but not for Harrison, Noah should have been the one who got that punishment. Harrison got his through the revenge Kai and Vanessa inflicted but Noah who shared it publicly for no consequences!

I’m glad Vanessa finally made her feeling clear to her father who since her mothers death has been absent in her life, not really acknowledging her or her sisters good or bad moments. It give you hope he will continue being there and not just in the physical being but mentally too.


The characters are well developed, I really did feel for Vanessa and I adore Kai.
I will pick up all of Estelle’s work on the future.

This was a lovely read! I found the storyline engaging, fun and morally really strong without becoming judgemental or preachy! It was funny, and emotional in equal measure dealing with difficult issues such as grief, sex tapes, revenge and bullying in a really accessible way.
Vanessa is strong and complex. She's a relatable protagonist who I think really grows throughout the story.
Kai is a beautiful example of positive masculinity, which is so rare in romantic novels. He supports her, doesn't judge and is honest with her throughout the story. Their relationship was a joy to read.
I also really loved the relationship between Vanessa and Chyna, their unwavering support of each other, while also maintaining their own distinct identities is like a blue print for a positive friendship.
There are a few editing issues that need fixing but other than that I thought it was a solid read.
In fact I already have a list of people I could recommend this book to!

When Harrison Boyd puts a video up a sex tape of a girl he's having a fling with. He is going to regret it big time.

Understandably Vanessa is upset when she learns she is the talk of the school. However Vanessa does not do relationships and upset Harrison when he asked them to be more.

Sadly Vanessas Mum passed away suddenly. And Vanessa cannot get closer to anyone in case something happens. It would break her heart.

As Vanessa sets out for revenge on Harrison, she meets a boy who wants the same thing. Together they plan and scheme. But what would Harrison think? Would he fight back?

We;ve all done something stupid for a boy at one time and this is just one of many mistakes that Vanessa makes. However Harrison is just as bad.


A great YA novel. The plot is easy to follow . And brilliant to read. It feels very teenagery, which is probably expected as a YA novel.

It's been a few years since I read the whole DIMILY series and although I wasn't absolutely crazy about it, I do remember it being a really gripping story. I just had to read book after book! So with high hopes, I decided to read another one of Estelle Maskame's books.

'The Wrong Side of Kai' was a lot different to what I expected. It takes a while to pick up and get gripping but there's no denying that it does. At first, Vanessa's character is quite unlikable and I found it difficult to connect to her. The whole revenge idea seemed quite childish and the more spiteful it got, the more I was starting to question whether it was even justified at all. But we all make mistakes when we're young that we have to learn from (man, I sound like a grandma!) and as the old saying goes, 'you can't judge a book by its cover'. I think once we started to unmask all the layers and see what Vanessa really believed in, it's a great story. The ending really did it for me. Not because the obvious happened but because it was very reflective and there's some lessons to be learnt there. Also her character development was pretty good. This book also touched upon some relevant topics which I thought was important.

Overall, I liked 'The Wrong Side of Kai' and I think the message it brings across is quite nice. It's a cutesy YA fic and I enjoyed it.

REVIEW TAKEN FROM MY BOOK INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT- When Harrison Boyd leaks a video of him and Vanessa together she is determined to get revenge on him. Lucky for her, new boy Kai also has a score to settle with Harrison so the two of them team up and try and get even. But getting even doesn’t really solve the problem it just kinda makes it worse. So Vanessa and Kai have to decide if risking it all is worth it for revenge. I really enjoyed this book a lot, I thought the story was so interesting and I’d never read a book that covered topics like this whilst having a main character like Vanessa. She is so strong and really unashamed of herself, her body and her actions which I just thought was so crazy refreshing. I loved the way the author wrote it and carved the story out! I think the issues spoke about in the book are really important and I liked the way they were covered but I also love the relationship element with Kai and Vanessa too. A really fun read that makes super important points.

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This book is light and fluffy, easy to read and deals with teens in a believable way. The characters are fanstastic and if Kai isn't your favourite, I think you need to read this book again.

I did have a few issues with this title though, for the first half of the book, it was so petty. The revenge, the friendships, the motivations, all petty. I understand being a teen and having poor impulse control is hard, but the levels these people went to was shocking. I also found the death of Vanessa's mum was a little underplayed. It seemed to only be important when there was not much going on the story at the time and that doesn't sit right with me.

Those things aside, I like that this book deals with sending videos of people in compromising situations to other people, or even taking nude selfies, the risks and what can happen if you trust the wrong people with your secrets.

The characters are complex and have a feeling of realness, they are relateable and Kai is hilarious.
Well written, fast paced and something that is easy to sink your teeth into.

Those of you who read this blog more often probably already know that I am partial to a YA romance. You could say that they are my guilty pleasure. And what's not to love? A complicated romance that moves at the speed of light and ends happily. With distractions along the way The Wrong Side of Kai definitely fits the bill. I raced through it in one sitting. Something else I love about YA is that you can consume a full story in a couple of hours, and be fully entertained throughout. 

I really enjoyed this book - the characters were pretty well developed and believable, I do wish that some of the supporting characters were more fully developed. This might be an option if the author decides to return to this story. 

The storyline was very contemporary with a stark warning about the consequences of nudes and sex tapes. There were some triggering incidents and adult themes although most of the detail was left out of them. 

I would recommend this book to lovers of YA romance. 

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

I could leave this review with one short sentence: I read this book in one day. And it would be enough to know that this is an immediate must read, however, that also means I wouldn't be able to gush about this book as much as I would like to, so time for a lot of swooning!

Vanessa is a seventeen-year-old girl who has dealt with enough trauma with the loss of a family member and is now about to deal with some more, after a high school boy, Harrison, disrespectfully leaks a provocative video of her, pushing her peers to lose their respect for her. I absolutely admired Vanessa's confidence with herself and her body. Although this confidence comes from a lot of pain, she has a lot of respect for herself and her body, which makes it absolutely heartbreaking when such a private moment is put in to the hands of a lot of people. Not only have her peers neglected her, but her father also doesn't seem to want to pay her any attention, which leads her to act out even more.

In comes the charming Kai, who immediately stole my heart. Kai was also looking to seek revenge on Harrison for his own reasons, so after finding out what he had done to Vanessa, the two came to an agreement that they would get their revenge in many thrilling ways. The revenge they get on Harrison is enough to leave them both satisfied, however, Vanessa started to have doubts and began to feel guilty for what she was doing to Harrison, slightly showing that she wants to become the bigger and better person. Although, no matter the guilt she was feeling, she continued on with the scheme, in order to spend more time with Harrison - her guard slowly coming down and her heart slowly opening up. I absolutely adored the friendship between Vanessa and Kai, it started off as two people wanting revenge, to two people who never wanted to leave each other's side. The connection they formed well and truly was meant to be from the second the two of them at the party for the very first time and I have to say, Kai is my most favourite male character out of all Estelle's books.

The Wrong Side of Kai is extremely fast paced, making this a quick and light-hearted read. Whilst the story of Vanessa and Kai had a fun element to it, Estelle also focused on much deeper issues such as grief, sexism, online bullying, slut-shaming, etc. and I think it was a great way to shine light on these subjects, as these are still serious issues today, making Vanessa a very relatable character for all young people. Although revenge isn't always the answer, this book helps spread the message that the way Vanessa was treated is not okay and it isn't for anybody. Consequences need to be made and no one should ever have to go through a situation where they are exposed and vulnerable... Always be careful when figuring out who you should trust and you shouldn't - people are so easily turned and Harrison proved that within seconds.

I have read every single one of Estelle's book and this one continued to have me hooked from start to finish, just like the others. I absolutely adored the DIMILY series, but this one is definitely going to the top of my list of favourite books from Estelle. Outstanding.

I love a revenge plot. They’re something that fires you up, sucks you in and gets you well and truly involved – and Estelle Maskame nailed it in ‘The Wrong Side of Kai’.

Vanessa is a character that isn’t immediately easy to like, but I grew to love her more and more with each page. Watching her open up and begin to enjoy her adventures with Kai. There’s really nothing like a plot to destroy someone’s life to bond over.

Estelle’s books can always be relied on to deliver complex characters, an addictive romance and big issues, and I think some really important things were touched on in Vanessa and Kai’s story. Online bullying, slut shaming, and sexism are things that teen girls are having to deal with on a scarily regular basis and books like this help show that it’s not okay, that you don’t deserve to be treated in that way.

This is a really big deal for readers like Estelle’s and I’m so glad she tackled in, and in a way that didn’t feel overbearing or heavy handed.

The death of Vanessa’s mum is a big part of the novel and drives a lot of the conflict, but I did find the constant reiteration of her being dead was a little too much for me. But that could very easily just me my awareness of dead mums in YA and it didn’t take away how much I enjoyed ‘The Wrong Side of Kai’. I devoured it in only a couple of hours!

Estelle Maskame’s sixth novel is a story of love, revenge and friendship – it’s funny, charming and full of heart.

The Wrong Side of Kai follows teenager Vanessa as she navigates high school and family life after the sudden death of her mother. So consumed with his own grief, her father has stopped being the father she wants and needs, Vanessa rebels against him, spending her time drinking and partying. During one such party, a compromising video is taken and is subsequently shared around the whole school!

On the surface this looks like a book all about revenge and the lengths people go to to get it but it’s more than that. It shows the double standards between men and women, the right men think they have over women’s bodies, incredible friendships and the absolute devastation of a grieving family.

I really enjoyed this book, in fact I read it in one sitting. I thought it was well written, with extremely likeable characters (for the most part). I have read other books by this author but I think this one might be my favourite so far. The only thing I don’t like about this book is the title, It could have been much better! I feel like it doesn’t do justice to the actual story.

This was a great read, I loved how fast paced and addictive it was to read, the characters were so well written and the author deals with such important and relevant issues like online harassment, sexism , dealing with loss, I loved the fact the character learns along the journey she is on and looks at her life , it’s such a well written and thought out YA book, one of the best of its kind and I’ll definitely be reading more from the author

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

When Vanessa's mum died her life fell apart as her dad was battling his grief and her and her sister were left to fend for themselves which made Vanessa acting out and sleeping with random guys easy to do with no one to stop her.



However after breaking off her latest fling with Harrison, she discovers he has leaked a recording of her to their whole school and her life starts to fall apart...



Until Kai transfers in from another school also with a grudge against Harrison and the pair team up to get revenge...



This book was fabulous, I loved the dynamic of a good duo teaming up to get revenge in YA and it was done really well and the twist at the end while being easy to predict was a great twist nonetheless and made me as a reader happy with the outcome of the book overall.

I loved this fast paced, important story. It touches on a lot of important topics including grief, sexism and cyber bullying but is also a really fun read that has lovely friendships in. Kai and Vanessa get together to get revenge on a horrible classmate/ex and have amazing banter and cute moments. 5 stars!

This is young adult at some of its best. Vanessa was instantly an intriguing character. We find out her mum died and her father is seemingly uninterested in what she’s up to. She’s been seeing boys, the latest being Harrison who leaks a video of her naked to her school peers. She teams up with Kai to get her revenge on Kai. Along the way she is forced to take a look at herself and work through a few of her issues.
This book was written very well and covers a range of topics appealing to YA readers.

*** ARC received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review ***

I have read every single one of Estelle’s books, so I was over the moon to be approved for this ARC. The book follows Vanessa Murphy, a teenager going to High school in America and struggling to cope with the sudden death of her mother and the subsequent effect that it has had on her father and the families dynamic. She rebels against her father and spends time drinking and partying, and one drunken night with her most recent fling, Harrison, ends up in a compromising video of Vanessa being posted around the school.

Rightly she is outraged, and upon meeting Kai, a newbie at her school who also has reason to hate Harrison, she organises a revenge plot. The book details this revenge scheme and her growing friendship with Kai. I really enjoyed the progression of their relationship and Kai’s kindness towards Vanessa - Kai might be one of my favourite characters throughout all of Estelle Maskame’s books. I also loved Vanessa’s little sister Kennedy!

On the surface, this looks like a book about revenge, but it is actually much more than that. It is a book about men taking the right to a woman’s body, about the double standards between men and women, and about the lasting effects that grief can have on a family. These books never disappoint.

The Wrong Side of Kai follows Vanessa in one of the worst weeks of her life, after a sex tape she made in private with her current hook-up Harrison Boyd is leaked online after she ends things with him. Her life in ruins, she decides to partner up with Kai Washington, the new kid at school, who convinces her to unleash revenge on Harrison for what he’s done to both of them. When Vanessa unexpectedly feels herself getting closer to Kai during their daily revenge schemes, things get complicated.

I was intrigued by the plot of this book, especially because I liked the sound of the revenge plot and the brewing relationship between Vanessa and Kai. Both of these elements were entertaining and fun to read. I enjoyed the way the book explored getting revenge and also all the reasons not to get revenge. The way the book explored privacy and such issues online, bullying and mistreatment of girls was particularly good. I liked the friendship between Vanessa and her best friend Chyna a lot. I liked seeing how everything concluded in the last quarter of the book, especially the way the events of the video changed Vanessa’s life, leading her to confront her father’s neglect and to finding a happiness she never did with a boy before with Kai.

However, there are a few reasons why this book didn’t impact me as much as I wanted it too. It took me over half of the book to actually truly enjoy it. This is because I felt like it took me that long to know Vanessa and most of all, I didn’t believe in the developing relationship between Kai and Vanessa. While I enjoyed their scheming and getting to know each other as partners in crime, I just wasn’t convinced by their feelings for each other because it felt a bit too much like insta-love (not my thing) and also very out of character for Vanessa (at least what I thought I knew about her). I was eventually won over nearing the end of the book, but for me it just took too long for me to really get into the story, which unfortunately meant I spent too much not caring enough about the characters or what was happening in the story.

This book had a lot of potential and it does have some good points, especially towards the ending, but it’s just not my kind of book. I hope other readers enjoy it more! (2.5 stars).

I've read this author's DIMILY series and I enjoyed that series, so I was excited to read more from her! I knew about this book releasing and I was looking forward to reading it! I then received an email from the publisher asking if I'd like to be on the Blog Tour and I instantly said yes! I started an ARC as soon as I received it, and after reading, I can say that I enjoyed this book! The plot took me about three sittings to read and I found that it developed at the perfect pace and it kept me wanting to read on! The plot also have a revenge theme to it, which added a lot to it and helped the plot develop! There was also some romance in the plot between the main character and her love interest! I loved the way the romance developed and that it was slow to develop! I liked that the author did that because I felt like the romance couldn't be rushed! The characters were also amazing and made this book even better! Vanessa was the main character, and in this book she went through a horrible situation that had a big impact on her! I did feel for Vanessa because her trust was violated and she did feel betrayed by someone she thought she could trust! Vanessa then wanted revenge in this book and I do think she took things a bit too far! She did feel guily though, which told me a lot about the kind of person she was! Kai was the love interest of Vanessa! I loved Kai a lot in this book and he was there for Vanessa and helped her a lot! Kai was also very chilled out and he was an intrguing character! Kai also had his own reasons for wanting revenge in this book and it did make more sense after his reasons were revealed! It explained Kai's anger and why his trust had also been betrayed! I did feel for Kai because of what he went through, but it did lead him to Vanessa! This book was only written from Vanessa's point of view! I wasn't sure if it was going to be after I read the synopsis, but it does make it sound more like it's only going to be written from one point of view! I loved this book only being written through Vanessa's eyes and I didn't feel like any chapters had to be written from Kai's point of view! I mean, I wouldn't have minded to have gotten inside his head, but I felt like I got to know a lot about him anyway! I can also completely understand why this book is a standalone! The plot was wrapped up and all the questions raised were answered! I would love to have read more on Vanessa and Kai, but the ending of this book was left at the perfect place for them! I've also read all of this author's books apart from her other standalone book, so I'm definitely going to read that one soon and I can't wait to see what this author is going to release next! The cover for this book also suits the book perfectly! I love it a lot and It would definitely draw me to the book if I didn't already know the author's name! I like that it doesn't exactly have cover models on it too!