Review: The Other Side by A.J. Wynn

October 5, 2026

Synopsis:

At the prestigious Montgomery Prep, history teacher Violet Price is an outsider, haunted by a dark past, just trying to survive. Enter Chance Harper, the enigmatic new English instructor whose privilege clashes with Violet’s gritty reality. When students begin to meet suspicious ends, a chilling connection emerges between the ill-fated teens and a decades-old mystery, leaving Violet entangled in a web of deceit and desire.

Forced to work together to investigate, Violet and Chance must navigate the labyrinth of secrets at Montgomery as they struggle to reconcile their differences in the shadow of the chemistry sizzling between them. Will Violet and Chance unravel the truth, against all odds, or be torn apart in the process?

The Other Side is a standalone dark academia mystery romance with spice. HEA guaranteed. Mature readers only.

Review:

It was very clear early on that Violet is a very stubborn person whose financial background would not typically lead her to become a teacher at Montgomery Prep. She thinks that nearly everyone sees her as not good enough, and it makes her interact less with others. On a rare evening out, she meets Chance, who she instantly connects with. When things become heated, he suddenly leaves, which does not exactly help her sense of self-worth. When she runs into him the next day and learns that he is a new teacher, she feels betrayed and misled. Obviously hurt, she tries her best to interact with him as little as possible, but he is not backing down. I already had a feeling that she would accept his apology at some point, and the journey there came with a lot of banter and entertaining moments. When she learns that he is connected to a missing boy and has come to learn more about the case, they combine their efforts, with Violet refusing to accept that the boy simply ran away.

This book combined a lot of different elements, and there were moments where it was not clear to me which direction the story would take. So I embraced it and went along for the journey. Elite colleges are not presenting themselves in the best light right now, and some of the topics mentioned felt a bit uncomfortable to me when reading this. Especially the things money can accomplish when you have enough of it.

The connection between Violet and Chance was special. Him holding things back from her is not the ideal way to start something new. Violet not being happy about that was something I completely understood. She stood her ground and offered him an olive branch while still keeping her guard up. The investigative work the two of them did was handled very well, and I enjoyed that part a lot. Showcasing their different upbringings also felt like an important piece of the puzzle, providing context for both of them and explaining why they acted the way they did. At the end of the day, everything became just a little bit better when they started working together, and I became very curious about their findings.

This did not feel like your typical Dark Academia book to me. The setting clearly fit the bill, but it also included a mystery and a romance. And in the end, it all worked very well.

🌙 Recension: The Other Side (The Other Side #1) by A.J. Wynn
📚 Genre: Dark Academia, Mystery, Romance
📅 Release Date: October 1, 2024
📱 Read as: Kindle
📗 available in various formats – included in Kindle Unlimited
💸 I received an advance review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
🗣️ Language: English
📆 Pages: 395
⭐️ 4/5