This was a great read! I loved the detail she provided about the characters, setting and background. This is a solid coastal romance with excellent character development and storyline. Kudos!

3.5 stars rounded up

This is one of those books that takes a bit to get invested in. But hey, I liked it once I got past the first bit.

Good Girl Complex follows Cooper and Mackenzie.

As Mackenzie navigates college, it becomes clear that she isn't your typical freshman. She is the CEO and founder of her own company and made a deal to attend college after a gap year. While she's not looking forward to the classes, she is looking forward to spending more time with her long-term boyfriend, Preston.

Cooper just got fired from his part-time job. After getting in a fight with a college dude who was harassing one of his friends and colleagues, the college dude gets Cooper fired. After learning that college dude, Preston, has a girlfriend, Cooper and his friends hatch a plan to break them up by "seducing" her away from the jerk.

The problem? Mackenzie, the girlfriend, is nothing like what Cooper was expecting and he starts falling. Mackenzie, on the other hand, is struggling with her attraction to her new friend, Cooper, and her loyalty to her boyfriend and family.

I'm actually a little torn with how I feel about this. If I had known about the bet going in, I probably would have skipped it. I really don't like the male lead betting that he can get a girl to fall for him. There's a handful of exceptions but as a rule, I really try to avoid it. Additionally, I really am not the biggest fan of cheating stories. But Mackenzie's "this is wrong" moral compass made it bearable and also Preston, the boyfriend, being a cheating jerk.

But, this book had some cute scenes (and a golden retriever) so it wasn't too bad. I also really liked a few of the friendships - especially the female friendships! And luckily for this book, I did start to ship the main characters fairly easily.

Also, this is solidly in the NA category, which is fun! I really like seeing more NA getting published. The main characters are 20-21 and 21-25 (I can't remember if Cooper's age is directly given).

All in all, this is a cute rom-com, if you can get past a few of the not-so-cute things. It also seems like a start of a new set of romances for Elle Kennedy set in Avalon Bay, and I have a feeling Good Girl Complex hinted at some of the major players in future books.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the eARC of Good Girl Complex. I really appreciate the opportunity to read this!

TW/CW: drinking, smoking, sexual harassment, lying to significant other, fighting, minor blood / injuries, cheating (both emotional and physical), consensual sexual content

This book definitely falls into that nebulous NA category that is just such a hard sell. The characters and premise feel well-worn, and the prose itself is on the flat side, especially for a dual perspective. There are books that do the enemies-to-lovers trope more effectively.

Did you really fall into the lockdown, BookTok hole, if you didn’t read Elle Kennedy’s BriarU and Off-Campus series? I haven’t seen two series promoted more online than Kennedy’s best-selling hockey romance series. For many fans, her February 2022 release “Good Girl Complex” is a new era for Kennedy to go beyond just being a hockey romance writer.
After moving to Avalon Bay for college, Mackenzie “Mac” Cabot sets her sights on keeping her Internet business growing and playing the part of a dutiful daughter and girlfriend. One fateful night at the local bar throws local bad boy Cooper Hartley into her orbit–testing her limits and rational thoughts. Cooper soon realizes Mac isn’t another rich kid “clone,” and a friendship built on a secret blossom between the two. As Mac finally starts to be accepted in Cooper’s circle and in herself, the secret threatens to tear down everything the two have worked for since meeting.
Kennedy’s characters are often heartfelt and relatable to the point where you ask if they’re real. Yet, precocious Mackenzie and rakish Cooper fall flat compared to her beloved characters. Their chemistry–although explosive together–doesn’t make up for their bland, individual characteristics. Additionally, Mackenzie’s so-called “good girl complex” is rarely played upon in the novel and seems to be discarded after Cooper mentions it once.
Mackenzie and Cooper might be lackluster characters, but their underlying themes of personal growth, emotional abuse, and abandonment are written with Kennedy’s usual care and honesty. Nevertheless, the rest of the plot and the over-arching conflict is predictable from the first chapter and anti-climactic at the presumed climax.
The most disappointing part of “Good Girl Complex,” you might ask? The spice, the romance. The spice and sexual tension were blander than food at a Midwestern Thanksgiving dinner–which I have had the unfortunate pleasure to experience. If Mackenzie and Cooper’s relationship had been delayed a hundred pages and the sexual tension capitalized in the meantime, “Good Girl Complex” would have been infinitely more satisfying and swoon-worthy.
A lackluster release with minimal redeeming qualities, “Good Girl Complex” had the potential and foundation to be another of Kennedy’s swoon-worthy, steam-filled romance novels.

I LOVED this book. The beginning didn't get my interest at first but then...... but then had to see how it ended. Thank you for the advanced copy. I loved all the characters, and how the story played out.

SPOILERS AHEAD!
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4.5/5 stars; I received this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.. so here we go!

I read my favorite booktoker’s review of this book and was terrified that I wouldn’t enjoy it.. but I really really did! I am a sucker for beach themed books, and I loved the characters in this book! I can see the resemblance between the After series and this, but I mean, it’s a trope, someone else is going to write about a similar concept, but change the details, and I loved how EK did this story do I didn’t mind; I didn’t give it 5 stars because at the end I was left feeling incomplete, and empty.. but I kind of wonder if this is the last we will hear of Cooper and Mac or if EK will write more stories surrounding the characters of Avalon Bay, like how she wrote the off campus series; if we don’t get more books surrounding Avalon Bay I’d at least like an epilogue or more chapters of Cooper and Mac; like how is the hotel, how is the furniture business, etc etc; this can’t be the end :(

Love a good opposite sides of tracks romance! Mac and Cooper’s story is fun and spicy. Elle Kennedy does not disappoint!

This book was really cute! I fell in love with the Off Campus/Briar U series by this author so I was really excited to see her new release :) I really liked all the characters in Good Girl Complex, it gave me a better understanding of the main characters, Mac and Cooper. I of course love a man with tattoos plus he has a twin! Could it get more perfect. I feel like they both grew as individuals which is think is important before entering a full fledged relationship. Definitely looking forward to a continuation of the Avalon Bay group of friends!

a fun summery read! great set up between the tourists (clones) and the townies and how not everyone you meet is everything you think. really enjoyed this one!

Well. It's been awhile since I've had to call an audible on a book two chapters in and not finish it. Kennedy is certainly a skilled writer, sketching the culture of her fictional town clearly and succinctly. She captures voice well and she writes her characters with lots of life and personality. However...I couldn't stand either main character. They were both grating, and, for me, unlikeable. At least they annoyed me in different ways?

Perhaps someone with more tolerance for the NA genre would get more milage out of this. Maybe the characters are supposed to be...difficult at first. But for me? Not MCs that I care to spend more time with.

I really enjoyed the story of Mac and Cooper. Mac sets out to go to college because her parents force her and is perfectly content in a relationship with Preston, the high school sweetheart. Little does she know Preston has a reputation for cheating and being a jerk. When Cooper loses his job because of Preston, he sets out to steal his girlfriend as revenge. Of course, Cooper the townie twin, was not supposed to fall for her, but yet they end up slowly falling for each other. The writing was great, I liked the characters and the bits of passion between Mac and Cooper really kept me drawn in. Can't wait to read more from this author!

Elle Kennedy does it again! This was such a cute, fun, and sexy read. In this, we follow good girl with an inner wild child Mac Cabot during her freshman year of college. She meets local bad boy Cooper Hartley who helps her realize that she really doesn’t need to hide who she really is to fit other people’s expectations. This made me laugh. It made me cry. I loved it. Oh, and did I mention there is an adorable puppy? I love puppies! Well, any animal side characters really. So freaking sweet.

Let’s talk chemistry. Elle Kennedy has a way of not only building an emotional connection between her characters but also the sexual tension is always on point for me. The attraction between Mac and Cooper was there from the start but Mac is in a relationship and she isn’t the kind of girl that cheats. So the two become friends instead and gradually that friendship becomes something more. I love that the sexual tension was always present even though they focused more on getting to know each other and developing their friendship first. It kept me engaged throughout the book and waiting for that moment when things would change in their relationship.

I wasn’t a fan of the whole “bet” situation. I’ve outgrown that and set that behind me a long time ago as something I enjoyed in my stories. Let’s not revisit the “She’s All That” period of my life, shall we? Ok, good. Glad we are on the same page there. Anyhow, I don’t think it was really necessary for the story. The revenge plot side of things was enough to propel the two together in my opinion. I also would have liked to see a little less petty girl hating girl over a boy thing. All that said overall I still really loved this book.

Good Girl Complex was funny, at times heartwarming, and downright steamy. If you enjoy New Adult romances set in a college town setting then give this one a try. I really enjoyed it and can’t wait to see where the series goes from here.

Meh. My initial thoughts were "addictive and page-turning," but as Good Girl Complex wore on, I felt the author lost sight of their initial aim, and this book became all about the main characters' relationship. As a lifelong-sufferer of the so-called good girl complex, I would've liked to see the author maintain that concept throughout the entire book rather than up to a certain point. Otherwise, perhaps a different title is in order.

Beach town romance akin to Outer Banks and the After series.
Mackenzie 'Mac' Cabot is struggling in her first semester of college after a gap year to start her business. She feels unfulfilled in the classes she's taking, floating through the success of her business with no real challenges to resolve, she needs something new. In the midst of trying to find what that is, she meets Cooper Hartley, tattooed bad boy of Avalon Bay. Cooper's been complacent in his life for a long time, fine with letting everyone think what they want of him and living his life. What starts as a bet to mess with Mac's long time boyfriend threatens to wreck everything Cooper's ever built.

Overall, I enjoyed the story line more than I did for "After". That's what this entire book reminded me of. The romance is steamy, beautiful rich girl is unsatisfied and meets the no-good townie who just needs someone to believe in him, yadayada. It was an enjoyable read and the romance was cute, not a fan of the whole "cheating but with the one you're supposed to be with" kind of trope, but other than that Cooper is fairly likeable and Mac grows on you eventually.

3.5/5
🌶🌶🌶.5/5


Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for this ARC. This is a voluntary review.

Such a sweet romance! I love everything Elle Kennedy writes and Good Girl Complex was no exception.

- Author Sarah Robinson

Based on the synopsis, I knew that I would like this book... So I was a little bummed when it didnt turn out like that! I actually went back and read the synopsis several times because I just was a little confused.

All that to say I have given this 3 stars, because there were parts that I did enjoy... but sadly the things the I didnt like far outweighed the good.

The characters were so immature (with very little growth), I liked the friendship aspect, but as soon as they hooked up it became all about the sex and the friendship aspect just fell away - I felt like it never returned. Yes, it was great that Cooper was supportive of Mac and all that she had accomplished, but it played against her ex's disdain for everything that she did, and I felt that it made his support seem less genuine. I could go on, but I won't, since pretty much all the character interactions (main and side characters) follow along this same line - one person is mature and other is spiteful and immature and on and on!

Sadly this one was not for me!

Review: Mac and Cooper are from two different walks of life, and while Cooper knows exactly who he is Mac is trying to figure out how to be happy in the confines of her parents plan for her life. Enter a jerk boyfriend and a bet and shake it out and you get romance, family drama, dreams coming true and a happily every after.

Elle Kennedy has a knack for writing those bad boys so you know there is more to them than meets the eye. Cooper and his twin have had a long struggle trying to make something of themselves and prove that their lives are worth just as much as the rich kids going to the nearby private college.

Mac might be a rich kid, but she's also an Entrepreneur and she made her first million before she finished high school without any help from her parents. They want her to be a carbon copy of them and she knows college isn't what she wants, soon she'll find out if she's prepared to step into the life they want for her.

Synopsis: Mackenzie “Mac” Cabot is a people pleaser. Her demanding parents. Her prep school friends. Her long-time boyfriend. It’s exhausting, really, always following the rules. All she wants to do is focus on growing her internet business, but first she must get a college degree at her parents’ insistence. That means moving to the beachside town of Avalon Bay, a community made up of locals and the wealthy students of Garnet College.

Twenty-year-old Mac has had plenty of practice suppressing her wilder impulses, but when she meets local bad boy Cooper Hartley, that ability is suddenly tested. Cooper is rough around the edges. Raw. Candid. A threat to her ordered existence. Their friendship soon becomes the realest thing in her life.

Despite his disdain for the trust-fund kids he sees coming and going from his town, Cooper soon realizes Mac isn’t just another rich clone and falls for her. Hard. But as Mac finally starts feeling accepted by Cooper and his friends, the secret he’s been keeping from her threatens the only place she’s ever felt at home.

I really enjoyed Good Girl Complex! The characters are delightful and the chemistry between the two main characters was insane. Anyone looking for a funny, light read- this is definitely for you!

I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun read set in a very cute beach town with lots of interesting side characters!

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this E-ARC! I am a huge fan of Elle Kennedy's past work so I was very excited to get this ARC. Good Girl Complex was REALLY good! The tension between Cooper and Mac is amazing and I really loved that it was a Duo POV so I was able to be inside both character's heads. Mac is the rich girl in town and Cooper is the cocky bad boy with the tattoos yet they still fell in love. Also Cooper likes dogs (small golden retriever named daisy) so that makes me like him even more!!! Also he has a just as hot twin brother named Evan! This book is perfect for those who liked After and outer banks, Elle Kennedy doesn't disappoint and I'm excited to read all of her future books!
- @Shelvesofrachel on Instagram