Okay for this book think Romeo and Juliet/West Side Story meets Outer Banks. We have the rich girl that is bored out of her mind paired with the hot bad boy local from the wrong side of the tracks. Did I mention he’s a hot twin? Okay anyway so stereotypical tropes galore but add a revenge plot with secrecy and you have the story.

I really loved the beginning of this book I tore through it. But about 60% in there was so ouch wasted time and then BAM bad things, BAM ended no epilogue. I was a little salty about zero epilogue. I really want more of Avalon Bay and I’m hoping the twin brother along with some of the other girls get their own story here. There’s room for more.

I LOVE Elle Kennedy books. LOVE THEM. I devour them and can’t put them down. I love the characters and her writing is charming and paced well. But this story I didn’t love the set up with cheating despite her boyfriend being a horrible human. I didn’t like that he just kind of blip disappeared. And Mackenzie needed some reality checks.

Cooper is a gem, I love him and his tattoos he’s an angel even though he’s not. But dang he was sexy. He’s so wrong and everything I love in a bad boy with a heart of gold. I loved their friend group. I truly hope we get more of them and I really want more resolution or just something else from this story.

It was a good Elle Kennedy book I would still recommend and honestly it made me want to go read The Deal again.

Mac and Cooper are from opposite sides of the tracks and if not for a run-in with Mac's boyfriend they probably would never have met. Cooper has worked hard for every thing he has and his upbringing was polluted with addiction and absent parents. He's jaded by the rich "clones" that blow into town and take what they want and leave his town on the same high class they came in on. When he gets a plan to enact revenge on one of these said "clones" he has to form a false relationship with Mac, but he quickly realizes that she may look like the "clones" she's far from it. Growing up she followed the rules, toed the line and Cooper sees another side to her, a side that would break her away from the mold her family has put her in. These two have undeniable chemistry and I adored Mac's character and the strength. But when a relationship starts off with false pretenses there is bound to be a wake up call and theirs broke my heart! It's a beautiful story with small town feels, steamy times, and a strong leading lady!

3.5 to 4 stars

This is a small town, opposites-attract, rich-college-girl-meets-townie romance with a bit of a twist.

Cooper Hastings has roots in Avalon Bay even if they are kind of rotten. He works hard, is loyal to his twin and friends, and makes money where he can. An altercation with a rich college guy causes him to lose his job and extra cash. So he and his friends cook up a revenge scheme...and it involves befriending the jerk's girlfriend.

Mackenzie Cabot is a rich Princess but also has her own self-made company and money. But her parents and longtime boyfriend have expectations for her that she is trying to meet. She does not even realize the seriousness of her discontent and unhappiness until a tattooed, persistent, charming guy barrels into her life. She tries to be the good girl, but deep down that is not who she is. She has fire, humor, passion, and her own goals. Cooper's friendship draws her out and makes her want to live for herself and follow her own dreams.

And Cooper realizes she is more than just a rich girl and finds himself under her spell and inspired to be better. He gets caught up in enjoying life with her and trying to ignore what started it all in the first place.

But starting out on a foundation is lies and secrets can be dangerous. These two also come from different backgrounds, circumstances, and ways of thinking. But they also seem to be able to understand each other in fundamental ways. They have witty banter, fun rapport, and good chemistry. But is it enough?

I have to admit there are some situations and tropes that did not appeal to me about this story, but overall she made me like Mac, Cooper, and believe in them as a couple. This brings a whole new cast of characters in a new boardwalk town. Some of them are likable, some had to grow on me, and some just annoyed me. But there seems to be some other stories brewing that could continue the series especially with his twin brother, Evan, and maybe playboy friend, Tate. I assume there are plans for more since this one did not have an epilogue.

As always, another read from Elle Kennedy that I loved! I love the story of a character going against expectations and I loved the setting of this one too. Overall, definitely recommend!

The Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy knows exactly what it wants to accomplish and accomplishes it exceptionally well. Both the characters and the plot contribute to the narrative. The comparison of the two distinct worlds in this novel is so well rounded and convincing that I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

I'm a fan of Elle Kennedy and was excited by the blurb and the prospect of this new book from this excellent author. Unfortunately, I didn't love Good Girl Complex as much as I hoped that I would. I enjoyed it, but there were just things that I didn't connect with.

Cooper is what is consider a "townie" and Mackenzie is a student at the local college. Mackenzie's family is well off and also as a student, she's considered a "clone". While "townies" and "clones" don't usually interact, Cooper has found out that he has a reason to establish a relationship with Mac. The two become friends, and as you can imagine, things end up taking a more romantic turn. The question is, can they overcome all of the issues that rise up to cause friction in the relationship?

While there were things I liked about the book, I had a really hard time connecting with the characters. I wanted to love them and wanted to really care, but for some reason, there was something lacking for me. I wish I could put my finger on why, but I can't. While this wasn't my favorite Elle Kennedy book, it's still well written and I'll check out her future works for sure.

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

This was a good book - a quick read. I think young, college aged women will really enjoy this! As a middle aged women, it felt a bit undeveloped. But I enjoyed it regardless!

This is a rom com for the NA crowd (or those looking for something very light). Mac, a college student and influencer, falls for Cooper, a townie and bartender with a secret about how their relationship started. She's got a worm of a boyfriend in Preston, high pressure parents, and well, a good friend in Cooper. Can their love survive once she knows the truth? No spoilers from but you know......Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

the synopsis of this book is extremely misleading. the events that take place in this book were a complete surprise. the tropes and the main plot are my least favorite ever, and i would have never picked up this book if i knew it featured them. the hero was cute, but the heroine not so much (she was a annoying). i didn’t feel connected to any of the characters. i did finish it because i love the off-campus and briar u series, so i wanted to give it a chance.

Sassy, sexy, smart banter? Check.
Sweet and decent girl meets tattooed troubled boy? Check.
Super hot chemistry? Check.

Elle Kennedy has done it again! As usual, I love her work, and look forward to rereading this as soon as I get my hands on the physical copy.

Good Girl Complex is a new adult/opposites attract romance by Elle Kennedy and I was so ready for it. I am such a fan of Elle Kennedy’s. In fact, I think her ‘Off-Campus’ series is my all time favorite sports series. When I saw the blurb and cover, I couldn’t wait. Unfortunately, this one missed the mark for me.

Cooper is a ‘townie’ and Mackenzie is a rich student at the local college. The townies and the ‘clones’ don’t mix, but Cooper has a reason for wanting to get Mackenzie to be friends with him. The friendship eventually turns into so much more. But there are tons of obstacles between them, and her money is just a small part of it.

I think my biggest problem with this book is that I found most of the characters unlikable. They had moments that I liked them, but more often than not, not only the main characters but also the secondary characters weren’t great. It’s hard when you don’t love/connect with the characters to love the story. Cooper’s twin brother Evan might have been my favorite. He really grew on me as the story progressed.

Elle Kennedy’s writing is always fantastic and I enjoyed parts of this story, but overall it was just okay for me.

This story would make a lovely beach read. Cooper is a local resident in the small beach town of Avalon Bay. He is also a twin. He has to work several jobs to make ends meet. He is handsome and broody. Mackenzie is a freshman at the local college. She is from a wealthy family. She is only 20 but has already started her own company and made money of her own. A plot for revenge is in the works when these two first meet. Nothing from this point on goes as planned. The story explores family dynamics from both characters perspective. It sees them growing closer together as they realize they have more in common than differences. It is a very smartly written story that allows that characters to fully blossom.

Elle Kennedy is back again with a New Adult romance, this time set in a small beachside college town where the lower class townies are often pitted against the uber-rich students and their families.

After a trust fund student gets Copper fired from his bar job, he decides to get back at him by stealing his equally high-class girlfriend, congressman's daughter MacKenzie. MacKenzie is disinterested in seemingly everything but running her profitable website where girls post embarrassing stories of their boyfriends or exes. Though she knows she shouldn't she is drawn to Cooper and his "bad boy" lifestyle and has to figure out how far she is willing to go to get the life she wants.

I was excited to jump back into Elle Kennedy's fun college worlds again, but from the start, the premise bothered me. The juvenile bet seems better fit for a cheesy 90's rom-com than a modern steamy romance book. Also, I feel compelled to mention that there is cheating in this book by the main characters. And yes, even if the person she is cheating on is scum and also cheating on her, I was put off by that as soon as it came up and it soured the rest of this book for me.

On the plus side, this book has Kennedy's signature charm, banter, and chemistry that was fun to dive into again, but Cooper and MacKenzie both aren't the most likable characters which brought this book down a bit in my eyes, Even though I disliked the bet, I liked Cooper and how he grew throughout the book. However, it was hard for me to sympathize with MacKenzie and her whining about being forced to attend a prestigious college when I am over here drowning in debt from my time in college. I felt for her with her situation with her parents and how she felt they didn't truly understand or loved her. But when she threw a fit about how she didn't feel she needed college since she already ran a website, she lost my support.

It's missing the carefreeness of the Briar U universe but if you are in the mood for a beach side romance, this might be the pick for you,

While I admire that this novel wasn't afraid to discuss real world issues, i.e. poverty and social hierarchy, this was almost too much for a romance story. This book sounded like it would be a charming vacation/beach read, like most romances, yet the first chapter begins with an attempted assault. I'd suggest including a trigger warning. Also, I didn't realize that it was going to be dual perspective. This made it difficult for me to decipher who was who, and the barerage of characters and dialogue didn't help with that. It reminds me of reading the first act of a play with a wide cast of characters.

Reading more like a young adult book than adult fiction, I wasn’t ready going into this one. It was fine, but I found my attention wandering and, I just didn’t care about the main character. She already had everything at such a young age, and I didn’t need to root for her.

I adored Kennedy’s previous series, The Off Campus series, but unfortunately this book was a miss for me and as of so I will not be reporting this review on my goodreads account as I feel I wasn’t able to come to a clear conclusion on how i feel about it. The first half of the book is hard to get into, wether from the characters being hard to like, or the plot itself sometimes being confusing. The second half definitely was better, all the characters definitely grew, but were still not to the extent I would have liked to see. The thing that made me want to really put down the book was the cheating. Even though it was theoretically “ok” due to the other person cheating first, honestly the best situation would have just been to have a really big and dramatic breakup scene rather than… revenge. It very much put me off and did make me not want to finish the book. Other than that it was a decent book, but not up to the standards I have previously thought of the author.

So the MC in this book thinks near the beginning how she doesn't understand how people cheat and why they don't just break up with their partner. And then she cheats? I don't get it. Her boyfriend was horrible yes but she should have done what she threatened. And also that one lie would have been a deal breaker for me. This book was dissatisfying.

First let me say, a huge thanks to Elle Kennedy for giving me an arc of Good Girl Complex. I'm obsessed with their Off-Campus series, and their new novel does not disappoint.

I devoured this book in a span of 24 hours; Miss Kennedy what are you putting in your books that make the readers glued to the pages?

Good Girl Complex follows a dual pov of Cooper and Mackenzie's relationship. After Cooper ends up in a bar fistfight with Preston, he ventures out to get revenge. But instead of targeting Preston, Cooper devises a plan to break up Preston and his girlfriend, Mackenzie by making her fall in love with him.

I loved the dynamic of Cooper and Mac's relationship; their relationship + the setting of the story felt very similar to Ryan and Marissa from the iconic tv show, The OC. If you love The OC, pick up this book!

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I heard that Elle Kennedy was coming out with a new NA bad boy, good girl contemporary romance set in college at a beachside town, I was immediately sold. The story follows Mackenzie Cabot, as she moves to Avalon Bay to go to Garnet College under her parent’s wishes. There, she meets Cooper Hartley, the town’s local bad boy. Coop assumes that Mac is just a superficial, rich girl at first but soon realizes there’s more substance to her. The two become instant friends and continue to grow their connection. However, what Mackenzie doesn’t know is that Cooper is hiding a secret from her that could jeopardize their relationship. Right off the bat, I loved Mac and Coop’s banter. They had such great chemistry. The humor was so good, it had me laughing out loud from the first couple chapters. I honestly couldn’t stop smiling because this book was so cute. And a huge plus, this book is written in dual perspectives. Both Mac and Coop were such well-developed, interesting characters. My favorite scenes were the ones where they’d just spend hours talking to each other, opening up, and being completely vulnerable. I really connected with them because they just felt so real. Not only that, but I loved so many of the side characters as well. The friend group dynamic was so fun to witness. This is the perfect summer read! I loved the beachside vibes in Avalon Bay: the boardwalk/pier, sunsets on the beach, bonfires, festivals, and carnivals. Honestly, the biggest flaw of this book is that there is no epilogue (I NEED MOREEE)!! But it’s okay because the ending did not disappoint at all. It was so adorable, my heart was about to burst. I will say though that the trope/conflict in this book (you find out at the beginning, but I won’t spoil) isn’t my favorite and is VERY MESSY, but it somehow worked in this instance. It’s a little cliché, but I have no problem with that. This book gave me so many butterflies, made me scream, made me laugh, and had me smiling the whole time! 4.5/5 stars!!

If you’re a fan of contemporary romances, especially the good girl/bad boy or poor boy/rich girl tropes, I definitely think you’ll love this one! <3

I am currently obsessed with Elle Kennedy. I read The Deal a few days before picking this book up and didn't expect to be just as much in love with Good Girl Complex. I loved this Outerbanks vibe romance with a "townie" and a "clone". More than anything, I loved watching both Cooper and Mac find themselves and how to do life on their own terms while also finding each other. What started as a revenge bet turned to so much more and while that bet vibe made me so nervous, the pay off was so rewarding.