My Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐/ 5 stars (1 🌶) 16+
This is a contemporary romance about rich girl, Mackenzie “Mac” who leaves her tech startup that she built after high school, to get her college education at Garrett College in Avalon Bay. She always usually does exactly what her parents and boyfriend Preston tells her, even if she doesn’t agree. She’s basically portrayed as a pushover, who is supposed to finish school, marry Preston, and quit her job after kids to chair charities just like her mom. However, this all changes after she meets Cooper, the bad boy (he also has a twin brother) in town. After Preston gets Cooper fired at his bartending job, Cooper and his friends vow to seek revenge by humiliating Preston: stealing his gf and then dumping her afterwards.

So, some parts of this are truly cute. I love a bad boy meets nice girl trope - but Mac may be a pushover, but she is not that “good” in my opinion. SPOILER: She cheats on her boyfriend of 4 years with someone she barely knows, despite yes, we know that Preston is a complete knob. And Cooper, wow, sure his character kind of redeems himself a little, but he lies to her face at a pivotal part in the story, and his friends kind of suck too. I would have rather she ran off with his brother instead, at least they would have had a fresh start. I wanted to like this more, but this couple had a lot of red flags.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Sadly, Good Girl Complex is just a 3-star read for me. It was entertaining and very readable. I never wanted to put it down, but the hero was questionable from page one and made some bad choices. Cooper had a huge chip on his shoulder, but that wasn't what bothered me. He makes a decision to use an innocent to get back at someone and it only became a bad thing, from his perspective, when she ends up being nice and he develops feelings for her. Not a good look for a romance hero.

I did like Mac even though she was a little too good girl. She and Cooper had amazing chemistry, which jumped off the page. Their relationship felt real as we see them enjoying each other’s company on more than one occasion. So often authors rely on sex scenes to move the romance forward, but that wasn’t the case in Good Girl Complex. I also enjoyed Cooper's journey from an angry townie to a full-grown man with clear ambition. In addition, the secondary characters play a big role in Good Girl Complex and Cooper’s friends are reminiscent of the friend group from the After series, though not all that bad.

I am so weak for the bad boy and good girl trope. It reminds me of my old teenage Wattpad days. This book definitely gives that energy. However, this wasn't for me. I may have outgrown this trope. It was slow and hard to push through. In addition, it was lacking diverse representation. This one wasn't for me & I probably won't pick up another book like this.

This book was really awesome. It was really different but I really liked it. While the whole plot in the beginning I did NOT like. I fell hard for the characters and really enjoyed watching them get to know each other. I LOVED Mac and felt pretty bad for her socially in this story. And what Cooper plans well ICK is my only thought. BUt as the book goes on I really started to like her and him and some of the side characters. This was a really enjoyable young adult romance at college.

This book gets a 4 star because it made me feel SO MANY THINGS! That being said, I found it slow to start and too quick to end- unless there's a sequel coming soon, that ending really felt rushed to me and left a lot of questions. I would have liked to have more things wrapped up. I really loved Mac's character development but I think the start of the book would have benefited from more doubt on her part; that would have made things more believable to me. Still, her and Cooper were SIZZLING and I loved how raw and heartfelt everything between them was. Super glad I read this!

It really feels like Elle Kennedy is one of my all time favorite writers. We all know how good she is, and how every novel she releases most of us fall more in love with her writing style, her characters, and her ability to craft stories, which is why it pains me to say this one was just <i>okay</i> for me.

<i>Good Girl Complex</i> is everything you've come to love from Tessa Bailey: great characters, wonderful writing (including smexy times), an entirely new crafted town and scenery...but the one thing this one lacked for me was originality in the story itself. I'm totally okay with reading the same tropes over and over in romance novels, as long as it isn't predictable; as long as I'm engaged and excited, but unfortunately for me personally this one was just too predictable, which made it a little difficult to be fully engaged.

I still enjoyed it, but I can't say it was my favorite. I am <i>fully</i> on board for Evan's story though and I can't wait for it to be released because no matter what I'm a fan of Elle's for life and I'll pretty much read every word she writes.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC.

Cooper Hartley is a rough-around-the-edges townie with a chip on his shoulder about the fabulously wealthy who send their precious children to Garnet University. And when a run in with a particularly nasty frat clone leads him to want revenge, he decides to go after Preston’s prize possession — his girlfriend.

Enter Mackenzie Cabot, a self-made millionaire at the age of 19, heading to college in a small coastal beach town after her parents tell her a degree is an accessory they’d really like her to have.

And when they say opposite attract they were definitely talking about these two! I struggled with probably the first 40% of this book but once Cooper and Mac’s banter became more enjoyable I could not put this one down. I had to keep turning the page to find exactly what would happen next, even if some aspects of the plot were predictable (an orchestrated dating scheme is always messy, i.e. 10 Things I Hate About You, She’s All That). Thought it might be a DNF but once I got into it, it was the perfect Valentine’s Day read!

This was the first time I've read a book by Elle Kennedy and I really enjoyed it! I immediately loved Mac and Cooper, and their fun and surprising dynamic. Their growing up years were different, but the same, and that brings them together. Watching their relationship unfold amongst their quirky friend group, and gorgeous ocean setting, was super fun and made for a great read!

“Good Girl Complex” by Elle Kennedy
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: contemporary fiction
Release Date: 2/1/22

I really enjoyed this one! There was a decent amount of spicy as well as a fun romance story.
This is a dual POV. MacKenzie is a rich girl forced to go to college by her parents for social status and her future spouse is already arranged. Cooper is the muscular tattooed hot bad boy around Avalon Bay. He grew up with deadbeat parents and could only relying on his twin brother and Uncle.
MacKenzie and Cooper are complete opposites. Will opposites attract?
When Mackenzie meets Cooper all of her previous life expectations get thrown out the window. She begins questioning what she wants. They start as friends and quickly realize their chemistry is unlike anything they have experienced before. Cooper starts seeing Mackenzie for more than a spoiled rich girl and Mackenzie just wants to be accepted by his inner circle.

[spoiler alert]
I am a huge fan of the Briar U series and the Off Campus series. So buying things Elle Kennedy writes is normally a reflex, and I pre orderded Bad Girl Reputation as well, even if I have zero information about the content.
I binged Good Girl Complex in 2 days. There were things I loved, and things I did not like.
Having read other 'few star reviews' I would have to agree that some of the conflicts were resolved too easily and too quickly. It seems pretty unlikely that her parents would cave after Mac's decision to drop out of college, for instance. Also, the way Mac started to connect with the other girls seemed pretty far fetched: climbing on a roof in the middle of a thunderstorm to fix the hole there? Sure (insert eyeroll here).
Overall, there were too many story elements in one book that did not relate to each other.

If you’re looking for a light romance that will keep you wanting more, this is the book for you! This was my first romance by Elle Kennedy and it won’t be my last. She writes in a way that keeps me engaged and makes each character likable in interesting ways.

Good Girl Complex follows the love story of Cooper and Mac, which starts out as an act of revenge for Cooper, but ends with him falling in love. I loved the backstories for the characters, which made me get so attached to them. The rich girl falling in love with a “townie” was such a good storyline.

This reminded me of Abbi Gline's titles when she was self-published and then first traditionally published--a modern spin on the poor boy/rich girl romance with a lot more alpha male stuff than is usually found in today's traditionally published romances. Anyone who remembers the last New Adult boom will understand the appeal Good Girl Complex holds for readers and I definitely think this will be a title readers clamor to get a hold of this spring. Also, fabulous cover!!

Good Girl Complex is a story that follows the same format as all Kennedy’s campus books that I’ve read. It’s a classic new adult novel featuring a college town setting, a girl who’s a little bit sheltered and a “bad” alpha boy, a lot of sexual tension, and a decent amount of angst. Was it me, or was Kennedy’s usual steam toned down quite a bit?

The positive of the New Adult format (for those who enjoy it): it’s emotional and angsty, filled with unlikely couples with a lot of sexual tension, a fair amount of conflict, and a bunch of make-up sex. For me, the negative part is that the plots and tropes can get a little repetitive (to be fair, I feel that way sometimes about thrillers and mysteries too.)

The main plot trope involved in Good Girl Complex (a secret bet) isn’t my favorite, as it always involves the relationship being based on a huge lie.

I liked Cooper a lot but think that Mackenzie needed a bit more character development to make the extreme contradictions in what we’re told about her and what we actually see her do make sense. She’s a savvy twenty-something girl boss who has made a MILLION dollars on a bad boyfriend/girlfriend confessions website yet has herself been dating a terrible boyfriend for four years and seems unaware of the irony. (She also pretty much cheats on him.)

Good Girl Complex had an Outer Banks setting and rich girl/poor boy vibe. It wasn’t my favorite Elle Kennedy book, but I’m a bit more excited by some of the supporting characters (Cooper’s brother and Mac’s roommate) and will keep reading in the series to see what’s in store for them.

This actually hurts to admit, but I couldn't be more disappointed in this book.

I loved Elle Kennedy books in the past, and I'm a huge fan of New Adult romances and the opposite attract trope. Even the slow burn and the rich girl falling in love with the bad boy is my kind of jam. But I just couldn't sync with the way the author wrote it.

Two of the story arcs were big turn offs for me. And that wasn't the only thing I struggled with. Neither the heroine nor the hero were likeable, and their juvenile thoughts and actions annoyed the heck out of me at times. Although I enjoyed the snark and witty banter, in the end I couldn't ignore all the other red flags.

Sadly the story was neither groundbreaking, fresh nor unique. I was hoping/expecting something more from the author.

I was into this book right. from the first page and Mackenzie and Cooper’s characters just drew me into the story. I adored them both. The ambitious and strong Mac and the bad boy Coop with a tender heart. I also loved how Coop is not thrown off by Mac’s success or her social status. In fact, her social status sometimes works against her from Mac’s point of view. The chemistry between them is really hot and just scorches the pages. I loved this book and story and would highly recommend it.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher for an honest review*

A special THANK YOU to #NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read "Good Girl Complex" in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely LOVED this story! Elle Kennedy even has a way of making her readers like the enemies in her stories. I felt such a warm connection to these characters while reading. Cooper and Mackenzie's relationship was just refreshing and addicting to read and made me realize that I have a newfound love of "beach-themed" love stories! Who knew?! :)
I recommend this story to anyone who is in a reading slump or who needs a good book to read to get in the mood for Valentine's Day! I can totally see this as one of those stories that I will want to re-read in the future. Thank you Elle Kennedy!!

Totally enjoyed this story! Great characters, funny, sexy, and was a quick read! Mac and Cooper’s story was a fun read. This book kept me entertained.

This one took me a bit to get into but was a lot of fun - really enjoyed it. It’s young love but with a twist on college and townie love. I also ended up enjoying both characters as well. They learn to grow - stand up for their own lives plus you get a puppy

A cute love story! Mac is in a relationship with Pres, but a townie comes into her life and turns it around.

GOOD GIRL COMPLEX is a great book…if you want something like After fan fiction. I wanted to love this book - I love Elle Kennedy and this one just didn’t fully do it for me. I found the bad boy meets good girl to be over done and just meh. I am glad I read it, but I am not coming away with the urge to re read this book in the future.