I really enjoyed this book. The characters had some dimension to them, and the added bonus of Cooper's close-knit friend group made for a fun read. I really enjoyed Mac and her choice of a different path than college and still being a smashing success. I love a strong female/girl boss lead and this book did not disappoint. A few moments of steam, but mostly the focus is on the friendship Mac and Cooper are growing. I can't wait to look up some other books by this author!

Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher through Net Galley. All opinions are my own.

Good Girl Complex is a contemporary cross-class romance which is weighed down by its formula, and while the author gives an excellent view of her working-class hero, she doesn’t deliver on the heroine’s wealthy side of the class divide.

Mackenzie - Mac - Cabot is just one of the many filthy-rich brats who pass through Garnet College. At least, that’s what townie Cooper Hartley presumes. So it won’t matter if he uses her to get revenge on her boyfriend Preston, who threw his daddy’s money around to get Cooper fired. Cooper and his friends semi-drunkenly plot for Cooper to win Mac over and then drop Preston for him, whereupon he will laugh in both of their faces and stride off. Of course, he will fall in love with Mac and swear everyone to secrecy about his original intent. Of course this isn’t going to work.

If I had known this would be a ‘big secret’ book, I probably wouldn’t have picked it up, because it’s a trope which, like ‘secret baby’ or ‘shooting people before antibiotics’, almost never works for me. Sitting around and waiting for the formulaic revelation is a frustrating combination of uncomfortable and boring. I would love to read a secret reveal with an original spin, such as the characters talking to each other and working through it, but… this is not that book. At least Cooper and his friends debate the ethics of his plan, and they do put in the caveat that Cooper cannot initiate any seduction (Mac has to kiss him first, etc).

I’ll try to outline what might and might not work for other people for whom that specific plotline may not be a dealbreaker, or is perhaps even be desirable.

The beach town setting, and Garnet’s college/townie tensions are well developed. I liked the dynamics of Cooper’s ‘set’, a group of townies who would die for each other but also probably draw dicks on each other’s faces when they’re passed out. It’s a funny, authentic representation of immature new adults who have, of necessity, had each other’s backs since kindergarten. Evan, Cooper’s twin, with his self-destructive behavior and desperate faith in their user mom, caught my attention in spite of clearly being the hero of the inevitable series sequel. Cooper’s erstwhile hookup Heidi proves to be more than a one-dimensional vicious ex, and we realize that Cooper actually merits her bitter resentment. Cooper and Evan’s relationship with their uncle Levi is touching, and their mother is a realistic portrayal of an abusive parent, love-bombing interspersed with abandonment and exploitation.

Mac, by contrast, is not as well-drawn or as internally consistent. It felt as though the author has made Mac’s family horribly dysfunctional because she felt she had to do something to make us feel sorry for Little Miss Trust Fund. I don’t mind a messed up family - see Cooper’s mom -  but while that level of neglect and trauma has profoundly impacted Cooper’s personality and ability to have a relationship, Mac seems completely unaffected by her toxic upbringing. She has a strong sense of self-worth despite stating she thinks her congressman father conceived her for voter appeal, and she demands fidelity and love despite living among the set where it’s expected for a husband to have a wife and a “Marilyn” (a mistress). Where and how did she develop these feelings?

In addition to Mac’s family money, she has made her own millions with an app called BoyfriendFails. While I don’t question that Mac could have hit it big on an app, she doesn’t spend anywhere near the time on it that she should given that she remains the CEO. Nor does she have any passion for tech (or gossip) which would explain her success. Additionally, in the book, she falls in love with and buys an old hotel. If she owns and is running an app, it’s unlikely that she’d have the liquidity to buy property (ad revenue, as AAR can sadly tell you, is not what the author seems to think it is). Let her have sold the app, or have her money come from real estate - something to be more consistent.

Overall, I’d say this is a solid New Adult book, and I desperately appreciate that it isn’t full of horrible angst and navel-gazing. There are some terrific secondary characters, and even the flatter ones like Mac’s roommate do more than just advance other people’s stories. Even Preston, the boyfriend, is interesting in his ability to maintain two faces (although Mac’s obliviousness to his duplicity is sort of moronic). Also, there is an adorable golden retriever. I just wish it hadn’t all been overshadowed by waiting for the ‘Hey, he did this on a bet!’ hammer to drop and the obligatory separation/grovel formula to play out.

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This book was cute! I really like the authors writing style. I’m glad I gave us want to chance because it was a cover pick. I will definitely be looking out for this authors other work from here forward

Book covers like this are deceiving but I took a dive and went for this book. I enjoyed it! It was funny, sweet, and steamy at the same time. I loved the characters, especially Mackenzie. She was badass and successful for her young age. And Cooper...well he was just sexy and the chemistry between the two was on spot on.

If you are looking for a fun, new adult romance---this is the perfect book for you.

I am so so glad I requested this book. I'll admit I haven't read Elle Kennedy before, despite the numerous TikToks and Instagram posts telling me too, and after this I just may have to buy up all her writing. I've never been one for the good girl/bad boy trope, nor the rich girl/broke guy trope, but somehow this book got to me. I'll admit sometimes the dialogue fell a little flat for me, but I genuinely love the development of the characters. And SPOILER ALERT, I was a little let down by how quickly Cooper forgave Heidi for all the crap she put Mac through. But damn I do not particularly care for everything that I didn't like about this book, because I was too busy enjoying the love story, as well as a bunch of girlboss moments from Mac. Such a great(and steamy) read!

This is a cute, quick read. I found it to be a bit predictable, like a 2021 version of the movie She’s All That. The characters are easy to envision in a small coastal town, rich kids versus working class kids and the typical drama between them. I liked picking this up each night and falling right into place with the rhythm of the book. It’s not meaty, just nice light romance, a little drama, some comedy.

Thank you to St. Martin Press for the ARC.

A fast-paced fake-dating adjacent love story that pulls you in from the first page. I couldn't put the book down and finished in 2 days. I'm hoping that we'll get more from the Avalon Bay gaggle of friends - let's get an Evan story!

Considering my strong dislike for the heroine early in the book it's no surprise I ended disliking the story as a whole. I didn't care much for the hero either to be fair. His initial intent for seeking out the heroine being nefarious and juvenile at last doesn't leave much room for appreciation. That being said Cooper does show some cute sides during his pretense/real relationship to Mac.
Supporting cast was awful.

I was lucky enough to be granted access to an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I went into it with high hopes and was very happy with the outcome. I have loved every single Elle Kennedy book I’ve come across and this is no exception.
I loved how this book was a seemingly an easy fun read but dealt with harder topics under the surface. I thoroughly enjoyed how conflict was dealt with through out the story. I especially love how the revenge plot line was dealt with in a way that wasn’t radioactive in toxicity.
Mac and Cooper were great characters and like always I found my self falling in love with not only them but the side characters as well.
Looking forward to whatever is coming next

What can I say about The Good Girl Complex… it’s nothing groundbreaking. The plot and characters are ones I’ve read a hundred times, one rich one working class, absent parents, a dead parent a dead beat parent, brooding, lies of omission and jealousy. And yet Elle Kennedy somehow takes all those stereotypical things and writes a book I want to read.

Sometimes I want a book that is going to shock me but other times I want to know what I’m stepping into. I want to know I’m going to enjoy it and that’s what I got with The Good Girl Complex. Even though I’ve met other versions of Mac and Cooper I know what I’m getting with them and I’m happy about it!

I loved the small town vibes and the dreams the MCs had for themselves and each other despite what direction life was pushing them in. The chemistry was A+ from their first meeting right until the final page. Steam, wit and great writing are staples of EK’s books and each book always feels fresh.

So while I started this seeming like I wasn’t a fan, I was! I just think it’s important to know this book is like getting home from a long day and putting on a pair of Roots sweats, oversized sweater and a pair of slippers! It’s a comfort read through and through!

Thank you to St. Martins Press for an eARC in exchange of an honest review!

Good Girl Complex tells the story of Meg, a goody-two-shoes rich girl, and Cooper, a bad boy with a troubling past.
The premise is filled with a lot of tropes and sadly the book also felt like it was filled with a lot of them.
While I really enjoyed how atmospheric the fictional town of Avalon Boy felt and how comfortable to read the writing style was, I was a bit disappointed with some of the other aspects.
I personally felt like there was not enough tension between the two main characters and some of the plot points either felt too unrealistic or were very easy to solve.
Nonetheless, I would recommend the book to people who are looking for a lighthearted and quick read!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the copy!

3.5 stars?? I originally was thinking 4, but now I’m conflicted.

I really liked some parts of this book, and other parts I really hated. The author simply made some choices in this book that I feel should just be left in the past of the romance genre. The premise of this book sounds pretty normal, but it completely fails to mention that this book contains the “bet” trope?? I’m sure you know the one I’m referring to, where the male (in most cases) makes a bet in reference to the female and the romance builds off of the male perusing the female in order to complete the bet. At the end of the day it is fiction, but I really just feel like this trope just really isn’t amazing. It promotes the bad intentions these relationships are built off of, and the mess of lying and betrayal it causes throughout just ends up being a mess. And in every case the girl forgives the boy, and all is well. And I just feel like it shouldn’t be?? Regardless of what the boy ends up feeling for the girl, going after the girl with horrible intentions isn’t excusable at all to me. The only reason I still rated this high is because the extent it went to in this book wasn’t too bad?? I don’t want to spoil anything but I’ll say it’s just not at the same level of toxicity that other books with this trope seem to have.

However, besides the horrible trope it was built off of I did actually really enjoy the romance between Cooper and Mac throughout this novel. It was interesting to see the parallels between their seemingly opposite childhoods. And overall I wouldn’t necessarily label them as toxic I just think Cooper’s intentions with Mac in the beginning could have been better, and he definitely should have confessed much sooner, instead of letting the mess of Mac finding out occur.

The beachside setting of this book was also nicely developed, and definitely made the book more light when the storyline got dark at times. The writing itself was easy to read and pretty straightforward, which I prefer in this genre. Kennedy also threw some elements into this book that I really enjoyed, such as Daisy the dog and Mac’s large purchase that I won’t spoil.

I think an epilogue could have made this book stronger and answered some questions I felt were unanswered. Nevertheless, I still recommend checking this out when it releases on February 1st of next year. I haven’t read any of her other books, so I can’t speak on how this compares to them, but I’m sure fans of her other titles will enjoy this as well.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for providing me with this eARC (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review. This review will be posted immediately to my Goodreads and BookBub.

I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC if this book and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Who doesn’t love hot twins, a sassy female, and the rich/poor divide coupled with a small beach town? I loved Mac and Cooper and their group of friends and all of the ups and downs that brought them closer together and further apart! I definitely recommend this book for a fun, sexy, can’t put down read. Definitely check this one out!

I thought I would enjoy this book and I really didn't. I found Mac to be an annoying narrator, stuck in her own world, self-obsessed, and convinced she was better than everyone. If anyone uses the phrase "my first million" more than once, you know it's a problem. And she never got better (not that I think being friends with 'the poor' should've made her humble but I was kind of expecting that plot device), she remained annoyingly rich and self-centred right through the book.

As someone who has never read Elle Kennedy before, this isn't inspiring me to pick up another of her books.

This was such an amazing book! I love the bad boy/ good girl romances (cause who doesn’t) but I can never find one that does the trope justice... until now! And if that wasn’t enough it’s literally such a quotable book! Mac and Cooper are amazing characters and I absolutely love them! This book is a must read!

This was a personal selection, and not at all for educational purposes. A cute summer time beach read that I think many who enjoy rom-com’s and Kennedy’s past work will enjoy!

Elle Kennedy's NA indie romances have always been an auto-buy for me so I'm happy to see her traditionally publishing them now, and overall this book was a fun and enjoyable start to a new series, with the only downside being that the ending felt a bit rushed. Looking forward to the next one for sure, though! (Also it made me want to binge watch Outer Banks but that is entirely on me and not the author. :))

From the first paragraph, I knew this book would be a good one. I immersed myself into the book from the first chapter and I cannot say enough good things about this book! Honestly amazing! The writing is incredible and the plot is just one to die for. I am absolutely obsessed with this book. My favorite part would have to be the character development throughout the book. Character development is something I look forward to and this book did not disappoint.

Elle Kennedy is almost always a slam dunk and this book was no exception! The plot itself was very familiar but I wasn't bothered. It was swoony and fun and exactly what I needed this past week.

I'd recommend this book to readers looking for a romance about people in their 20s. Each of the main characters was dealing with a difficult family situation and figuring out how to balance what they wanted out of life vs. what was expected of them.

As always, I'm interested in the character names. My favorites belonged to twins Cooper and Evan and their uncle Levi.