Sliding Into Home

by Kendra Wilkinson

The former The Girls Next Door favorite and the current star of the E! hit series Kendra bares all in this funny, fresh, fish-out-of-water memoir that captures the spirit of one of the most beloved Playboy cover models in history.

KENDRA BARES ALL

Fans of the E! smash hit series The Girls Next Door fell in love with sporty Playboy beauty Kendra Wilkinson’s care- free spirit, infectious laugh, and down-to-earth nature. Now that she’s moved out of the world’s most famous bachelor pad and into her own delightfully chaotic world on Kendra as wife to NFL star Hank Baskett and mother to their newborn son, we’ve watched her hilarious antics as she adjusts to domestic life. But how much do we really know about the fun-loving star? In this humorous and optimistic, sometimes heartbreaking, but always unfailingly honest memoir, Kendra reveals the highs and lows of her extraordinary journey.

She wasn’t always the quintessential girl next door. Before she was a reality television superstar, Hugh Hefner’s girlfriend, or one of the most popular Playboy cover models ever, Kendra was an athletic tomboy whose father walked out on her family when she was a little girl. She grew into a rebellious teenager with a serious drug habit before she quit cold turkey and beat the odds to graduate from a high school that almost didn’t give her a second (or third, or fourth) chance.

Following her rocky teenage years, an out-of-the- blue phone call from Hugh Hefner changed everything. Kendra dishes candidly about life in the Playboy Mansion: the sex, the parties, the show, and even her relationships with her Girls Next Door costars—Hef, Holly, and Bridget. She tells the true story about how she and Hank met and built a relationship in secret while she was still Hef’s girl- friend and a public face of Playboy. Finally, she reflects on the slew of unexpected changes in the short space of a year that have brought her sliding into home from Playboy party girl to wife and mother with a blooming Hollywood career. If you think you’ve seen all of Kendra, think again. She’s only warming up. . . .

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Biography Memoir, Autobiography, Celebrity, Ebooks

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 21, 2010

About the author

Kendra Wilkinson was born in San Diego, California, and is of Irish descent. Wilkinson married Hank Baskett, a professional football player for the Philadelphia Eagels, on June 27, 2009, at the Playboy Mansion. On June 11, 2009, Wilkinson announced that she and Baskett were expecting their first child together. The baby, a boy named Hank Baskett IV, was born December 11, 2009 at 12:37 a.m. in Carmel, Indiana by c-section. She now lives in Indianapolis with her family.

Reviews

[MrsJoseph *grouchy* · Rating 2 out of 5]

http://bookslifewine.com/r-sliding-in...
2.5 stars rounded down to 2 stars!

As I cracked open Sliding Into Home, I realized I'd hit a new low in my reading activities. I mean, I think Kendra is cute but I never thought she could read or anything like that.

Wait. That was mean and unnecessary.

I actually like Kendra. When I used to watch The Girls Next Door, I always liked Kendra most. She always seemed to be the most sincere, fun and real. And by real I mean that she didn't appear to be pretending (but I'm sure she was - they all are).

But still. Reading Sliding Into Home isn't one of my finest moments.

When I made the decision to read Sliding into Home, I decided to read Izabella St. James's Bunny Tales first: it was written years and years before Sliding into Home so I felt I would get the...least biased commentary on Kendra, Holly and Bridget. And I'm glad I did!


In the very first chapter of Sliding into Home I realized I needed to read Sliding into Home with a sharp eye for bullshit, Bunny Tales at hand and a browser open to the latest arguments between Holly and Kendra. Why? Because the very first chapter of Sliding into Home was was already filled with BS:

I was eighteen years old and lived in San Diego. Who did I know in LA?

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hello, is this Kendra?”

“Who is this?”

“This is Hugh Hefner.”

“Year, right,” I said, thinking it was a prank call. “Shut the fuck up.”

It wasn’t a prank.

“I look forward to seeing you at my birthday,” he said. “Also, I’d like you to consider being my girlfriend.”
-pg 7, Sliding Into Home

I knew this entire phone call was BS from reading Bunny Tales. First: Hugh Hefner is old and set in his ways - and one of the things he doesn't do is chase pussy. If he sees some pussy he wants, either it shows up and throws itself at his money him or someone goes and gets the pussy for him. In fact, he has staff and one of the duties of his assistant, Mary, is to keep track of girls and invite [new girls] places. Second, Izabella was still a Girlfriend at the time Hugh met Kendra and she recalls the first time Hugh met Kendra:

And then a new girl entered the group. Her name was Kendra, and she was one of the naked painted girls at Hef’s birthday party in April 2004. Her job was to hand out Jell-O shots to all the guests, but Kendra stood firmly in front of our table all night to be sure that Hef saw her. He did. He invited he out with us, and strangely enough, Holly and Bridget took her under their wing. We [the other Girlfriends] understood what they were up to, but we were too disinterested to do anything about it. We knew Kendra was really just like us; I saw her doing her booty dance at the clubs, looking around for boys, and flirting with the security guys. I knew she wanted to be a Girlfriend and it was in her interest to befriend Holly and Bridget, but I realized the limits of that friendship. I knew as soon as we were gone, they would turn against her because she was younger, more attractive, and had an outgoing personality. I couldn’t figure out why Kendra, at eighteen, would want to live at the Mansion.

[SNIP]

But the butlers told us that Kendra was a stripper from San Diego, and thought that moving into the Mansion was the best thing she could do in her life to that point.
-St. James, Bunny Tales, p231

Once chapter one was complete, Sliding into Home takes the reader on whirlwind tour of Kendra's fucked up childhood. It starts with her deadbeat father who was not present and a mother who's idea of discipline is yell a lot and grounding.

By twelve years old (12), Kendra was a grown ass little girl. It really made me feel as if her mom just...either didn't know or didn't care to know how to maintain a good relationship with her child or protect her child. I admit I am having a problem understanding how an adult lost control of a 12 year old. Maybe my mom was just different...but I was totally scared she would beat the living shit out of me if I behaved in this manner....and then make another one who looks just like me.

At 12 years old and in 7th grade, Kendra was "hanging out" with her friends til 10-11pm (and this was WITH permission). She started drinking, skipping school, hanging out with older kids, SNORTING COKE and having sex. At TWELVE. WTF.

By age 17 Kendra has been a drug addict, a drug dealer, she started cutting herself and she almost OD'd - leading to her eventually being hospitalized. By 18 Kendra is a full-time stripper and on her way to becoming one of Hugh Hefner's Girlfriends.

It was at this point that I started feeling a bit of...disgust towards Kendra. Kendra had many excuses and reasons why she was so fucked up: poor parenting, bad (and perverted) teachers and [now] a learning disability. While all of those things may be true, there's still the element of personal responsibility. Kendra wasn't forced into the decisions she made, she consciously made those decisions. At the same time, I do feel that Kendra [also] made a decision to change: she refocused on school and stopped being a druggie. That is wonderful! It takes a lot of strength to fight addiction.

When Kendra meets Hef for the first time she was in a relationship with someone she professed love for. So I was...disappointed to learn that she immediately reverted to her old habit of doing what the fuck she wanted and damn the consequences. Kendra ran off to visit with Hef even though she was in a committed relationship. Even though she knew her boyfriend would be upset.

Each girl road Hef for about a minute or so and then hopped off and did her own thing – some fooled around with the other girls, while others just sort of sat to the side and watched. I studied their every move. It was my turn. I had been taking notes inside my head, so I knew about a minute was all I needed to put in. Counting the time in my head, I had sex with Hef for the first time. At about the minute mark, I pulled away and it was done. It was like a job. Clock in, clock out. Or in this case, cock in, cock out.
-pg 117

I wasn't thinking about how much older Hef was – all the parts were at the scene, even at his age; at the end of the day a body is the body. Plus, he was a successful, powerful, charming man, and those qualities pulled me right in. But it was still very weird.
-pg 118, Sliding Into Home

So. Kendra does what Kendra does best - she ditches her boyfriend. Off Kendra runs to become a Hef Girlfriend at age 18. Already knowing that she would have to have regular sex with a man old enough to be her grandfather.

But since I was usually very, very drunk during those evenings, I tended not to care so much until the next day. I had to be very drunk or smoke lots of weed to survive those nights - there was no way around it.

I would spend the Sunday after club night hungover, and by Monday I would be recovered enough to get back to sitting on my ass. The rest of the week would be ok, but the cycle was taking its toll on me and getting boring. I had to get out.
-pg 139-140, Sliding Into Home

Yeah. *gag*

Of course, what I really wanted to know was the dishing on Holly & Bridget. Kendra and Holly are 100% claws out in public right now and Bridget is MIA. I wanted to know what Kendra said to make Holly go all pysco Barbie on her. And, strangely enough, Kendra is pretty kind and not catty at all - unlike Izabella. I saw no reason for Holly's behavior. Kendra does mention that Bridget and Holly tried to get her kicked out and replaced with a different girl shortly before The Girls Next Door started but that's about it. So I have to wonder if THIS little gem - which by itself means very little but enforces (to me) what Izabella said about Holly in Bunny Tales.

Sticking close to Natalie, I saw there were a bunch of girls in the bathtub. Natalie jumped in. I took off the panties that I had just borrowed and hopped in, too. I thought it whatever the other girls were doing, and I said nothing.

Eventually everyone got out of the tub and climbed onto Hef’s bed, where he was lying on his back waiting. There were about seven other girls with me, and we were all naked.

...

Holly got things started by getting Hef going, um, orally. Meanwhile, some of the other girls were slapping ass, getting all kinky, and yelling out all sorts of crazy things.

...

One by one, each girl hopped on Hef and had sex with him.
-pg 116-117, Sliding Into Home

Or maybe it was this?

Even though we’d banded together to preserve our privacy, I still wasn’t that close with them then, and by that point they were the best of friends. Since I wasn’t fitting in to their little group, they thought the show might be better with another girl instead of with me. So Holly and Bridget went to Mary and told her that I was dating another guy behinds Hef’s back.
-pg 146, Sliding Into Home

Other than that, I don't get it. Other than that, Kendra was pretty complementary (all things considered, that is):

About Holly, Bridget and Kendra together:

Even though we’d banded together to preserve our privacy, I still wasn’t that close with them then, and by that point they were the best of friends. Since I wasn’t fitting in to their little group, they thought the show might be better with another girl instead of with me. So Holly and Bridget went to Mary and told her that I was dating another guy behinds Hef’s back.
-pg 146, Sliding Into Home

Something wild always happened on those flights, and it seemed to bring Holly, Bridget, and me together. We became a team because even though we weren’t best friends, we knew and understood one another, and we needed ne another during those times.
-pg 157, Sliding Into Home

The show tried to hype up some sort of jealously among us and imply that Holly was protective of Hef and didn’t like when Bridget or I got any attention, but I think that was more television than reality. About two and half years after I moved in, our nights with Hef came to an end. I don’t know if it was Holly’s influence or if Hef lost interest or what, but one night after a party he went upstairs without us.

...

From that point on, Holly had Hef all to herself. If there was any weird tension before, it was gone now. The end of those evenings probably helped us become stronger as a group.
-pg158, Sliding Into Home

About Holly

When she was with Hef she was very by-the-book. Everything she did was so carefully thought out, and she always followed every rule. You can’t live your life like that. Some rules are meant to be broken, it’s the only way to stay sane. But she was always Hef’s number one, and she wanted to make sure everyone knew it, so she always did whatever she had to do to live up to that status. She was like the First Lady. I don’t know why it was so important to her to uphold that position, but she genuinely loved Hef and I think she needed people to know that, so she acted like a model girlfriend.

...

The downside was that at one point Holly really thought that she was going to spend the rest of her life with Hef, and he loved her, too, so it was a tough breakup for both of them.

When Hef didn’t give her the relationship she wanted, she got really depressed. She was devoted to Hef and she cared a lot about Playboy as a whole. She was a total go-getter in life, especially with Hef. She had his heart; she knew what she wanted from him, and she usually got it.

But in the end it became apparent that it wasn’t going to last, so she moved on.
-pg208, Sliding Into Home

Kendra did speak about how she met and started dating her husband, Hank. MEH. I didn't care but it's there for those who do care. Lots of sneaking around since she was still Hef's girlfriend. But Hef was cool and even thought about walking her down the isle.

All in all, this isn't a bad look at Kendra. She had her troublesome times but she grew up. She became someone's concubine but she left that relationship stronger and in a better position than she entered it. Hef was good to her and for her. Good for her! I also noticed that Kendra is NOT as...into money and being hot like Izabella (Bunny Tales). Izabella talked amount money and the things she wanted but didn't get the entire book. Kendra spoke all about the changes she made and the things she did: leaving Sliding into Home, I feel like I read about the same Kendra I saw on TV. Not the brightest bulb in the basket but great fun at a party!


Works for me!

Citation
St. James, Izabella. Bunny Tales. Philadelphia: Running Press, 2006.

[Live the · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am honestly shocked at all of the great reviews of this book. I can't really think of anything good to say about it. There was very little about the dirt we were promised and instead, a ton of woe-is-me complaining about how her mistakes were everyone else's fault. It had some of the cheesiest lines I have ever read. Just one example in an entire book of them: she used to use the Ouija Board with a childhood friend. After he dies, she writes, do I still think about him? The answer is Y-E-S. SO lame. I hope she realizes how absolutely lucky she is to be where she is now and quits whining about her problems and actually accepts some responsibility.

[Pandora · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh, god. Words almost fail me. Rounding the numbers, I've been reading books for about 33 years, and I can honestly say that this is one of the very worst books I have ever read. I can't even work out who the target audience was supposed to be. Jon Warech, who ghost-wrote, can only have had one of two reasons; a) he really, really needs to stick to his day job or b) he loathes Wilkinson with a passion. How else to explain how incredibly repulsive this woman comes across? Selfish, hypocritical, arrogant, unintelligent, greedy, agressive - I kept reading in the vain hope that some awful karma was going to befall her. The unforgivable ways she treats her family! Her seemingly genuine 'I am a great person' attitude, balanced out with the number of times she 'loses her shit', 'yells and screams' etc whenever things don't go her way.
Add to that the fact that this woman had a drug-filled childhood, shot from complete obscurity as a stripper to fame on the Playboy reality show, and marvel at how completely boring she makes it sound! Surely life in the Playboy mansion was more interesting than Wilkinson's stories of eating chilli fries in the kitchen at 4am.
I realise in current society somone with Wilkinson's looks (skinny, blonde, white) can strike it rich with no talent whatsoever. But that doesn't make it any less depressing. She makes Joan Crawford seem like Mother Teresa. Thank god I've returned this book - her beady little blue eyes were creeping me out, and making me concerned about the role models girls have nowadays. I think I'd prefer Paris Hilton, and I'm not joking.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh dear LORD is this girl skanky... I get it, I get it, she's loud and fun-loving and doesn't care what anyone thinks. Hooray. But she just seems WAY too proud of herself throughout the story. It was embarrassing. You don't need to be so proud of yourself for being a stripper, or for leaving your boyfriend in the dust while you jet off to the "Mansion". It was funny how many things were just handed to her. She is one lucky chick. She's done absolutely NOTHING to earn the credibility needed to write a memoir. Yet, of course, I devoured this book because it was fun reading. I give her props for talking in some detail about how sex with Hef actually was. And I did genuinely feel bad for her when she described the acne problems. That had to suck. Other than that... wow... embarrassing book. Has she imagined her baby son reading this book someday? Don't get me wrong, plenty of celebs write tell-alls that have scandalous details, but this one is extra cringe-worthy. Complete with a lovely story about taking laxatives and stinking up a classroom bathroom. Thanks for the TMI, Kendra!

[(NurseLisa) Square Granny from Ohio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Sliding Into Home
Author: Kendra Wilkinson (Baskett)
Published: 2010
Genre: non-fiction, true-story.
Format: ebook via Nook Color (Barnes and Noble ereader).
Read: 2010 (autumn)
My GoodReads rating: 3.5/5 stars.

Brief remarks:

First of all, I can't believe i didn't review this when I read it...weird; I'm glad it popped up on my feed with one of my pals this morning! Luckily for me, I definitely remember Kendra's story pretty clearly.

I am not typically a fan of memoirs, but something about Kendra has always caught my attention. I've often found myself reading "gossip mags" that are featuring her and her precious baby boy, that kind of thing. I do enjoy a "girl makes good" story sometimes, I suppose.

That's sorta what I felt this book was...Kendra fighting her way outta bunny ears in that effed up mansion with ole Hugh to make a REAL life for herself with somebody that loves her for her, not her hair color, bra size or wax status if you catch my drift.

Anyhow, this is actually a little cutesy, but it works. Kendra's cutesy, really lol. I found the story sadly rather predictable (decent childhood, rebellious teen, poses naked, moves on), but I liked the vibe of the story telling. It flows well.

Without dragging it out of the electronic archives, I'll end here. My 3.5 rating is basically saying, "decent story, not my favorite kind of book, yet a fun read". ☺️

Cheers!
Lisa (@NurseLisainOhio)

[Joey Muehlethaler · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actually felt my brain cells die after I read this book. Each page that I turned, I had this feeling I was becoming dumb by reading her words that she attempted to put on a page.

[ali (hiatus) garcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

a liar AND a racist… hef sure can pick em

[Steph · Rating 2 out of 5]

My mentality is often the following: When I want to use my mind, I read. When I want to be completely free of any mental anguish, I watch TV. As a result, I often get teased by my friends for being a reasonably intelligent person who likes the WORST TV. Sometimes, worlds collide when I'm tempted to read a book based off of or written by a character from one of my TV shows. That is what happened here. Suffice it to say, I was entertained (and come on, whose curiosity isn't peaked by this book's promise to tell you about what really went on in the Playboy Mansion? eh? eh?). This was also a good choice for the end of my winter break when I didn't have many days remaining before I had to return to school mode (it took about 5 hours total to read it). While this book isn't an intellectually stimulating piece of literature, that's not its intention. I am happy for Kendra that she veered off an undeniably bad path, onto a controversial path that she deemed an improvement, and finally onto an undeniably better path. If nothing else, it's interesting to read her portrayal of the mansion "saving her life" and integrating this with your own opinions as she (err.. her writer) describes the ambiance there. Who doesn't enjoy a success story, a rags to riches story if you will? That being said, I didn't get much out of this book that I wasn't already getting from watching her show on Sunday nights... ("Go Kendra!")

[Nicolle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this in 2 hours while I was sick last month. It was interesting to read about Kendra's insane past, especially her portrayals of drug abuse from 12 years old and stripping at 18. Something I could not get over throughout the book is that she maintained that she was never a drug addict, she could "stop at any time" she wanted to. Honestly, I thought she was trying to be sarcastic/funny at first. Then she repeated the same phrase four other times and she seemed to be serious. Everyone knows (ok maybe just me) that the classic addict will believe that they are not an addict in order to validate their delusions that they have control of their life. Other than that it was still a decently interesting story, but her use of a writing editor is too obvious. Kendra writes as though she is speaking with a friend, very casual talk. But then out of nowhere there will be this random awkward corny sentence from the editor and it ruins the whole vibe of the book. However, fans of Kendra or anyone interested in wild Playboy stories will probably enjoy this!

[Deyara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't seen The Girls Next Door, not sure if played here in NZ, maybe I just missed it. Not sure how I heard about this book - I had no idea who she was before i started it, only knew what was on the blurb. Regardless, this was quite entertaining, and we see how her life spiralled out of control early on and she managed to fight through and make somewhat of a success of herself. Also shows that America really is the land of second and third chances - quite uplifting in a way. Probably a better read if you know something about these people but still an okay read if you don't. It is written with quite a chatty style, so it reads quickly.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heart Kendra, but this wasn't much of a book. I think it came too soon on the heels of her Mansion days. It was obvious she was scared to say anything negative about anyone who might retaliate and it seemed like she sugar-coated everything beyond her childhood years. Kendra was so hopeful and optimistic about her relationship and, later, marriage and family life, so it was sad to learn that her marriage crumbled this year. Seriously, though, you could almost smell the flames of the imminent crash and burn. I'm just surprised they lasted as long as they did! Every girl hopes for the fairy tale.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a suprise that it's Not one of those smart/quirky memoirs - but I'm interested in her story - even though I couldn't make it through the whole season of her show. Whatever, I need a change of pace after all of those Michael Connelly books ;) that's my excuse

I enjoyed reading about her life - and she does give some juicy insight into what goes on in Hef's bedroom, I was suprised she felt comfortable exposing that information when they usually brush over it and say it's private during all the other interviews I've seen.

[Jessica Peterson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, I felt her book was all over the place. One rambling story after another. The upside was that she took responsibilities for her actions and did cast blame to everyone else as some other "girl friends" did.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it! Obviously it wasn't one of the great literary works of our time, but I doubt anyone would pick it up expecting it to be. It was well organized and easy to follow---it starts with Kendra getting the call from Hugh Hefner that essentially changed her life. That is enough to hook the reader in, and then it goes back to chronological order. She doesn't spend too much time talking about her childhood, which is nice, because we all know we're reading this book to get the dirty details about life in the Playboy Mansion. You get just enough background info to be able to see her perspective as she lived her 5 years in the mansion, and she does talk about meeting Hank and getting married and having her baby. That part is just the last bit of the book, which I liked, because lets face it, no one cares about that part.

It was a very quick read, just took a few hours.

[Suzanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE book. If anything it actually made me dislike Kendra. She goes from glorifying drug addictions and stripping, to whining about having sex with an old man (what did you think being his gf meant?! Use your head girl!!), to bragging about how much sex she can have in a day and how she's a great mom. I'm glad I only paid $3 for this book, even that seems like a total ripoff.

[Hope · Rating 1 out of 5]

I decided to read this memoir after reading Holly Madison's and I just didn't find this one as interesting as Holly's. I made it halfway but couldn't commit.

[Sarah W · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it comes down to it I am not really a fan of reality television shows, I actually don’t watch a lot of television at all. Yet with a reality show there is always that awareness that the ‘character’ portrayed is presented as a stereotype, a mere caricatures of themselves. Sliding into Home does not show us the fun and light hearted Kendra that those of us who have watched her reality shows would be familiar with – at least not to start with – instead the reader is confronted with the real story.


If you had to summarise Sliding into Home in just one word, that word would be brave. The contents of this book are not something that Kendra had to share with the public. The retelling of her adolescence is in no way sensationalised, everything is discussed in a mature and reflective way. Kendra acknowledges her past actions, accepts that they have made her who she is today, and at no point blames anyone else for her rebellious and destructive teenage years.


The retelling of her earlier years, before she became associated with the mansion, provides the reader with an understanding as to why Kendra often referred to Hugh Hefner as having saved her. She goes on to tell of her time at the Playboy Mansion – her relationship with Hef, her feelings towards Holly and Bridget, detailing what that part of her life was really like.


I think my favourite part of the biography was the retelling of when and how Kendra met, and then began dating, her husband Hank. The conflict that is described felt real – it discusses the point in time that someone decides to give up the comfort and security they have, to replace it with a potential happily ever after. The transition to a very different sort of life to what she became used to was refreshing, nothing was glamorised, and it provides a great companion piece to the Kendra reality series.


I really have to admit that the whole concept of Playboy is not my sort of thing, however that said the reality show Girls Next Door seemed like a concept just too interesting to pass up. I have watched every episode of the first five seasons Girls Next Door, and just completed the first season of Kendra’s own reality show. I actually miss not having Kendra, Bridget and Holly together on one reality show anymore!


I did not hesitate reading the biography of Kendra Wilkinson when it was first released – and I am glad I did. Reading Sliding into Home allows the reader to see the character they know as Kendra as a real person with her own thoughts and feelings.

[Bunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I make poor choices when I'm allowed to wander a library on my own.

But I liked Kendra on The Girls Next Door. I think she's funny, and a genuine person. Let's see if her book makes me hate her.

This was very surprising. It's obvious the book is shaped by the "co-writer", but it still has a lot of her personality, which anyone who watched TGND would recognize. There were a few bits where I couldn't help thinking a paragraph or two had been written and gotten approval by her, rather than her writing it, but it's still obvious she did heavy lifting on her own.

I was also surprised by how much her early life mirrored some aspects of my own. I have a new respect for her, and it makes me glad her life got into an upward swing after going to the Mansion. That part, of course, was full of juicy gossipy tidbits that I'll be sure to pass along to my TGND-loving best friend.

I liked reading about the evolution of her relationship with her now husband. This book makes me root for them to work out.

Again, a very surprising read.

[Danielle Smee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this after reading Holly Madison's telling of her time at the Mansion. While most of what they both said was comparable, it seems they walked away with a different feeling about their time there.Kendra left the mansion with nothing but love for a man that took a chance on her and picked her up when she was down. He paid her rent, paid for her schooling in massage therapy school and paid for her acutance when she was feeling low about her skin. He was nothing but supportive about her moving out because it seemed like he never put the same amount of pressure on her that he did the other girls, specifically Holly. The book was totally Kendra and at times you could tell that her writer tried to help her out. But I liked that she dug herself out of a hole of drugs and misconduct. I liked hearing about how she met Hank.

[Bcastle · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a Kendra fan I might be a little biased, but I enjoyed reading her book. It was a quick read with good insight. I like her "don't give a s$!&" attitude and being able to see the events that shaped her into the woman she is now. It's impressive to hear how successful and lucky she is after going through a dark time filled with drugs and sex. Some of the stories I remember from "Girls Next Door" and "Kendra", but it also went into more behind the camera stuff that we don't see. I wouldn't recommend this if you're not a Kendra, playboy, or "Girls Next Door" fan, but if you are a fan I think you would enjoy it.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was entertaining. It was interesting (and kind of scary) to learn about Kendra's past. The tone of the book seems like it is coming straight from Kendra's mouth which is good and bad. Poorly written and a little too simplistic for me.

I read both Kendra's book and Holly's book in the same month and I have to say, Holly's won. It was more interesting, intricate, and detailed. Holly's was definitely darker and seemed more of a revenge piece and Kendra's seemed fluffy and rainbows and butterflies. It was a little too easy and I wanted more detail.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh Kendra…

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Lexi · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was lot I do not agree with in this book. I guess it is just her option of what happened but I feel like it was her trying to rewrite some things to make herself look or feel better. Would have been better as a fiction book then the memoir it is.

[Stefania · Rating 1 out of 5]

TLDR;
She is a spoiled brat who blamed everyone else but herself. She also admitted many times that she is a liar. She lied to her mom, her boyfriends, Hef, Hank, clearly us too.
That’s what her book is about. Her making stupid choices, stumping her feet and blaming everyone else.

Go listen to Holly & Bridget’s podcast Girl Next Level, it’s great and lots of fun!

*spoilers from here*

She is embarrassing and doesn’t realise how embarrassing she is. Because she is tough, yeah. She kicks ass! She does what she wants! She moved to the Playboy Mansion to live with the Playboy founder and she was featured in a Playboy magazine… but she didn’t want to wear a Bunny suit because she is above all that and not her style. *insert eye roll here*

She complained about being labelled “the sporty one” but in the next sentence she talked about how much she was into sports.

She complained about not being in the Captain Morgan ad with Holly & Bridget (because of age restrictions) but again, in the next sentence she said she wanted to do something different and stand apart from the other girls.

She complained about her acne and she didn’t want to be filmed because she had such a bad skin she had to take Accutane for 8 months and she didn’t want people to call her ugly, but then she got pissed because Holly & Bridged were filmed more.

I think she has some persecution mania because everywhere she went people didn’t like her. Her saying that Holly & Bridget got together to kick her out because they didn’t like her is not believable when in other chapters she said her classmates from different schools didn’t like her.
Is there something wrong with her or people are just minding their own business and she thinks they are all against her?

And she is so delusional about Hef. Or is she faking because of her traumas? I can’t tell.
He is a gentleman, he helped her so much, he is such an amazing person (her words)…. But he is a 80 years OLD man who had sex with a 18yo who pretended to be in school because he likes them young. She is so right, such a gentleman behaviour. But I guess he was one, because every time Kendra got into some kind of trouble, she ran to Hef crying and he made everything better again.

I don’t deny that her life was a struggle. Drugs, alcohol, bad boyfriends, abuse. But she had learnt nothing.

[Sabrina Rutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I wouldn't call Kendra's memoir amazing it was so good I hated putting it down, so I gave it five stars just becuase I really enjoyed it. This does not mean that I agree with her lifestyle, or those of the dirty rich folks. I think I enjoy these kind of books becuase I know it's a lifestyle I would never choose, but one that I envy only becuase of the money! Hey, I'm just being honest.I actually found that I could relate to Kendra on several things, but others well we are obviously worlds apart.
I always wondered if Hef fooled around with the girlfriends on "The Girls Next Door", and I got my answer in this book! It's amazing to me the things people are willing to accept just becuase someone is rich. If some regular old guy was fooling around with a bunch of hot chicks it would be a scandal. Hef gets loved for it and his girls get desired even more. Strange if you ask me. The way it goes down is pretty discusting too, and yet Kendra writes about it as if it's no big deal! YUCK!
Kendra is very honest in her memoir. It's easy to see how she fell into the whole lifestyle of the playboy mansion at such a young age. The one thing I have a hard time believing is that she had a low selfesteem. It just seems like she wanted to make herself look as though she is not conceded. Someone that actaully sheds tears over acne which was probably over exaggerated is definantly in love with their image. Also you can't go into a job that's based on looks and not know your hot.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike some that reviewed this book.. I was not expecting a masterpiece novel that would became a classic and required reading in school. Being a fan of "Girls Next Door" and "Kendra" ( "K-Dub" being my favorite) and the fact I found this book at a thrift shop, I wanted to read it. My only complaint is where Kendra fought for things like her and the other girls sex life with Hef to be left outta the show due to wanting somethings to remain private yet she blurted it all out in her book? Wth? It was an easy read that filled in some blanks for me and honestly... made me wanna pop season one of "Girls Next Door" in.

[Sheena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would rate this 3 1/2 if I could. It was a decent read, not a waste of time but I felt there could have been more.

She made it sound so easy to quit drugs as a teen, maybe it was, but most real life situations there is some sort of struggle associated with quitting.

It was interesting to learn more about Kendra, other than what we've seen on TV and wow Hef is really a pimp for getting it in with all those hot playmates at the same time!! I guess for the playmates though the money is worth the cringing... ICK!

[Julie Tanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite biographies to date. Kendra provided exactly what I wanted from her in this book. She touches on her childhood, time at the mansion and the start of life with Hank. She shares good and bad, but does it in a way that seems genuine and not attention seeking or as a way to promote or trash any other person. Her tone was conversational and as I read it in one day it felt like I was hanging with a friend listening to her talk over coffee. Looking forward to reading her newer book.

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Always in Holly’s shadow and this attempt to overtake the biography spotlight was a fail. If you want to know about the Girls Next Door era you’re better off reading Holly’s book or even watching Holly’s YouTube for insider info. This sucked.