Good Girl Complex is my first ever Elle Kennedy book and it did not disappoint! I’m not usually a fan of the cheating or rich girl/poor boy tropes, but I could not put this one down. It didn’t take long for me to be won over my Mackenzie and Cooper’s relationship. This book is full of heartfelt moments, humor, angst and spice. The small down beach setting also made it the perfect, easy summer read. Overall, I enjoyed this so much and am looking forward to picking up some of her other books!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy will be released on February 1st, 2022.

SPOILERS AHEAD
Ok, as someone who doesn't like the bad-boy-good-girl-rich-poor romance trope, the only reason I even wanted to read this book, after reading the blurb, was what had first drawn me in to it. The title. The cover.
And later on, the characters.
I really liked the change I saw in them after they met each other. Cooper went from being a callous, I-can-not-care-about-anybody-but-a-select-few-because-the-world-didn't-care-about-me jerk to someone a little more open, sensitive. Mac started to gain the self-confidence and courage to follow her dreams of dreams and the clarity to see some fixtures of her life, like her horrible boyfriend, as more of what they actually were.
The sex was hot. If you like that sort of thing? I mean, it wasn't boring, and the slow-burn forbidden facet of it made it a little interesting.
That said, Mackenzie deserved better. I couldn't believe she had to go through figuring out so much of her relationship with Cooper was a pretense. And the dual perspective made it worse for me, as a reader. I spent so much of the book wanting to punch Cooper for being such an idiot. When Mackenzie finally realized the truth and left him, I cheered for joy.
And yet, seeing how sad that left her, maybe it's for the best the book ended as it did. More than anything, she deserved to be happy.
There were vivid scenes of walks and dates and fun that made me wish for cotton candy and the ocean and crowded clubs, so far away from where I'm currently sitting. In that aspect, this book completely did it for me.
Even if this book isn't your cup of tea, it'll give you a change of perspective and a chance to think. You'll find yourself rooting for characters you can't help falling in love with and getting a glimpse into two very different worlds and where they combine.

Great book! I enjoyed the "good" rich girl and the "bad" poor boy from the other side of the tracks story. Cooper is the more complex character and I was drawn to his story more than Mackenzie's story. While Elle does a great job explaining Mac's naivete towards her boyfriend, it's hard to believe that she could think he was loyal when she is painfully aware of her parent's and her friend's relationships. A young, good looking, extremely rich college boy faithful to his girlfriend 2 years younger than him while she was in high school?

I truly did enjoy Cooper and Mackenzie's story and would look forward to other books that focus on the other characters introduced to us.

I loved this one! Especially for someone who considers herself the ultimate good girl. It was nice having a heroine who always tries to do the right thing and people please. It was so relatable. I loved how she met Mac and her world completed changed and he allowed her to open up and experience a life outside the rules she is so used to following. Highly recommend. I’m already getting casting ideas in my head.
Premise

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. Unlike most twenty-year-olds, all she really 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.

Mac’s 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.

Elle Kennedy is the queen of new adult college romances, and Good Girl Complex is another go-to read now from this genre! I absolutely loved the concept (a "bet" to date the lead female) but obviously real feelings are caught.. The angst and lead up was wonderful. I loved the twists and turns, and Kennedy just has such a gift writing characters that are relatable. I laughed, I got the feels, it was a wonderful reading experience and I totally recommend!

Batten down the hatches and guard your loins because Cooper is here and your heart doesn’t stand a chance! I love guys like Cooper who come off as arrogant because of their amazing looks or charismatic personality and with one simple grin they completely take your breath away, but at the same time they are guarded. It takes a lot to crack their hard exterior and I just love when girls like Mac are able to chip away the facade they tend to put up.

Cooper and Mac are fun together. They are naturally playful with one another and their attraction and chemistry was evident from the first encounter, but they have moments where they connect on a deeper level that goes past their beyond sexual attraction. Despite their obvious difference, there is a commonality they are able to find within each other that allows them to be themselves around one another rather than a version that others expect.

The only drawback for me was the ending of the book. Everything seemed to wrap up so neatly and perfectly that it seemed out of place with the kind of build-up leading up to it. There were a lot of factors and situations that seemed like it should have caused more of a response than what was given. But though the ending wasn’t what I was expecting, overall the book was a great read. The characters were fun and endearing and I was so badly for every single character in the friend group to have their own HEA. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC.

This is actually my least favorite trope, rich girl/townie boy, I usually hate it but Elle Kennedy does it so well and makes you like all the characters so much. Mackenzie is not entitled and has made a name for herself without it just being about her parents money so she is very easy to love.

Kennedy does a great job of showing that money does not equal a loving family and that family is who you make it to be. I just adored Cooper 😍. He is such a redeemable character and I was rooting for him to get the girl the whole time.

I really REALLY hope this becomes a series because I want to see the other main players find love, especially Evan!

I will highly recommend this one when it comes out!

Sweet, wealthy, decent girl meets with tattooed, troubled, fiery bad boy formula has a special place in my heart!

At this book: sassy, smart, sexy banters and super hot chemistry between the characters hook you up, providing you entertaining, steamy, feel-good romance vibes.

A little Gilmore Girls meet Outerbanks and After series vibes make you enjoy this lovely plot!

Here’s the love triangle members:
Mackenzie ( Mack) : sweet, obedient, easy going, lovely heroine who has fiery and stubborn side she shares with Cooper
Cooper: hot tempered, smart, charismatic, flirty bad boy who likes to push buttons of Mack to extract her hidden emotions
Preston: trust fund boy, typical cheat, obnoxious douchebag!

There are multiple story lines move a little slowly and entire book was a little bit long but characters’ chemistry, their self growth and second chances storylines are still interesting enough to keep your attention intact!

Mack: a sweet girl of her family, always a pleaser whose future are already mapped out: graduating from her preppy school, joining to sorority, marrying with her rich and gorgeous ( that’s what she thinks) boyfriend Preston!

But Mac is smart enough to succeed better things in her life. She already earned half million by her online business ( see, she’s baby Kylie Jenner with so much potential) but now she starts her life in college and this new experience brings out so complex feelings and new perspectives.

That smoking hot bad boy Cooper make her question her own life, ideals, realities and challenges her to take risks to pursue her dreams.

When Mac dumps the pretentious ass of her boyfriend, she starts to date with Cooper but when she finds out the secrets he’s hiding from her and main reason behind their relationship, she has to gather the pieces of broken heart and shape her life and rethink her decisions from the beginning.

It was sassy, enjoyable, easy to read romance! One of the highly recommendable reads of next year! If you’re fan of the author and enjoy her previous Off- Campus series as much as I did, this book is great fit for you!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press / St. Martin’s Griffin for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This book was like a warm beverage for the soul. I was sucked in and could not put it down! The concept was so unique, I loved this book.

I absolutely loved this book from the beginning. To be candid, I was expecting a another run of the mill romance novel (which I still love) but nothing beyond that, and boy was a I pleasantly surprised.

Our protagonist Mackenzie aka Mac aka princess has always been a good girl following her family's expectations of going to a nice preppy school, joining a sorority, marrying her trust fund baby boyfriend, Preston, and then putting her college degree aside and being a "good housewife" that attends charities and supports her husband.

Except this is not what Mac wants at all. In fact she is capable of far more, she started her own online company that gave her half a million dollars before even going to college, and the only reason she agreed to go to college is because that was the "halfway point" her parents were willing to meet her at in exchange for taking a year off after high school.

When Mac gets to college, she is suddenly confronted with many new feelings and experiences, one of whom is the deliciously gorgeous Cooper, one of the Hartley twins, the two "hottest townies" on the block.

Cooper wants to win her over as a personal vendetta against Preston for getting him fired, but then these two realize they have a real connection, and they both learn what limits they are willing to push and how much growth they need to get rid of their past traumas and see if they are willing to leave their presents and futures to risk a relationship with each other.

This book gave me all sorts of Gilmore Girl vibes. To be honest, I felt like Mac was mostly Rory with a little bit of Lorelai mixed in there. Preston was definitely Logan and his (Logan's) family felt very much like Mac's family. Cooper reminded me a lot of Jesse in that he expanded Mac's horizons and egged her to take on new challenges and be her authentic self, though he was much less of a problem child..that would be his twin Evan :)

I have a lot of favorite quotes, that I look forward to sharing on my social media platforms once the book is officially published!

All in all this was a phenomenal book and definitely has a 5/5 star recommendation from me! I hope you all pre-order your copy and I am so grateful for NetGalley, Elle Kennedy, and St. Martin's Press for my gifted copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

This book did a great job creating complex and engaging characters that make readers feel something for them. The plot was well structured and the story was overall engaging and enjoyable.

I really really loved this and I’m not surprised because Elle Kennedy has always been a go to author for me and I can’t call this anything but another Elle Kennedy masterpiece I really loved this.

It’s the very beautiful concept of two individuals lost in the world who have been brought together in such a sensual way you can’t do anything but keep reading and rooting for them.

I will say, i loved loved loved the characters. This somehow always happens. I adore everything written by this author and her characters have never ever been misses for me so I appreciate the characters more the more.

I gave this 5 stars because it touched me in ways that other romances dont and I believe only Elle Kennedy is capable is doing that. This is 5 out of 5 stars and was an absolute delight to read.

The bad boy/townie and the wealthy “good girl” is a trope I love. And a bet is involved, so it’s also fake dating, etc..
I’ve read and loved books in the double digits of this author, so I was really excited for this book.
I liked Cooper and Mac. I never completely “connected “ with them, though.
The chemistry was good, the journey Mac takes was good for me. I liked that she was rebelling in mature ways, taking control of her future.
I liked the storyline, but things moved a bit slow or they moved too fast. Kind of no in between in my opinion.
It had so much potential.
The pace was off, the characters weren’t engaging enough to me. The conversations were ok, just not “wow!”
It was all pretty ok, but I know the authors previous books and they are five star phenomenal.
So, I know how amazing her banter can be, how lovable and amazing her characters can be… I hate to say that this one fell short for me.
I liked some of the secondary characters.
Evan in particular has charisma and he has that sexy, bad boy who’s broken thing going for him. He has some fun banter and antics as well.
Some secondary characters I really despised and that’s normal, we need “bad guys”, but then there’s a total turn around at the end for one that just didn’t add up for me at all. It wasn’t consistent with what was shown in the story. This was when I became really confused and disappointed.
I’m really sad that I didn’t love this, I’m sad to not be able to give it a good review.
I’ll read the authors future books, she’s an absolute favorite.
This one unfortunately just didn’t do it for me.

I'm not quite sure how to review this book without giving away major spoilers (read to the end if you'd like to see some of my thoughts that might spoil the book for you) - so I will say that I really ended up loving both Cooper and Mackenzie (Mac) in Good Girl Complex. This book was complicated and messy...but somehow it really worked. I loved not only Mac and Cooper but all of the secondary characters in the story as well.
I was rooting for Mac and Cooper as soon as they first "met." Their chemistry and banter was always so fun! I loved how they were both stubborn and feisty. And I liked it how they didn't always see eye to eye on every topic. Somehow that part of the romance felt so real. Cooper and Mac had their own differences and ideas and they fought about them...but they also always talked it out and saw the other side.
Good Girl Complex was funny, sweet, sexy and yes at times made me feel that angst that I love so much with Elle Kennedy books. I definitely recommend this book and hope that we get to see more of the characters from this universe.

CW: parental abuse/neglect, cheating, alcoholism (death of parent off page)

This book pulled me into the characters almost immediately! 
Mackensie, the beautiful, wealthy, smart college student. 
Preston, the narcissistic, problematic, long-term boyfriend.
Cooper, the tattooed bad-boy, twin and third member of the love triangle.

An altercation happens early in the story between Preston and Cooper providing the main premise for the story.  Revenge.  Cooper will be avenged by stealing away Preston's girlfriend! Ok, A little cheesy but it is still a pretty fun story.  The storyline takes its time to develop spanning several chapters and we get to know a lot about the main players.  Will Mackensie leave Preston and choose Cooper?  Will she stay in school? Will she defy her parent's wishes?  This part of the story was a little slow.  I kept waiting for all the questions to be answered so that I could move on to the main part of the book.

Thankfully, the story really starts to pick up once the decisions are made.  I really enjoyed the interactions between the main characters, especially Cooper and Mackensie.  They have some serious chemistry on the page!  Of course, everyone else knows the "real" reason why they are together and much is done to try and prevent Mackensie from learning the truth.  Of course, the inevitable happens and Mackensie learns the truth creating the standard "boy and girl must break up" romance storyline. 

This book is actually a lot more mainstream and tame than other Kennedy novels but it didn't make it any less enjoyable.  It is a fun, steamy, sexy, if somewhat formulaic, romance novel.

I absolutely love Elle Kennedy's books so it is no surprise to me that I loved Good Girl Complex as well. The dynamic between the main characters; Mackenzie and Cooper; was electric. I just wanted to keep reading to see where the relationship was off to next. the stereotypes set in the begin of the book for the typical rich kid and bad boy were shattered between the two. I never got the bad boy vibe from Cooper anyways. Together they were the perfect mix of fire and ice. I can't wait to see if Elle Kennedy turns this books into a series with some of the other outstanding characters written.

I'll start with saying, I absolutely loved this book! Right when I was about to completely write off romances being for me this one stole my icy heart. I was hooked from the very first chapter and felt like I was living in Avalon Bay. It so resembled many seaside towns/ small university towns I've frequented. The way Kennedy has you fall in love with both Cooper and Mackenzie was fantastic. I felt for them the whole way through and was rooting for them both.

I found it to be a very fast read, I couldn't put it down. With just enough steamy bits to keep anyone entertained as well! Throughout I kept wondering what would happen and how things would end which kept me on my toes and kept me really intrigued throughout the entire book.

I also loved all the side characters, the brothers relationships, the friends and family were all so entertaining! I would highly recommend this book.

4.5 stars!
Elle Kennedy has done it again. It’s an utter crime that this book doesn’t have an epilogue yet.

A big thank you to St. Martin’s Press for this advanced readers copy.

Good girl complex follows Mackenzie “Mac” Cabot and Cooper Hartley. Mac is the typical good girl. She’s always trying to please her parents, her prep, school friends, and her long-time boyfriend. Cooper is the opposite. He’s sexy, raw, and has an “I can do whatever I want attitude”. He hates the snobby rich kids from the other side of the tracks and thinks they’re all the same, until he gets to know Mac…

Elle Kennedy did an amazing job with bringing these characters to life. Even the side characters were entertaining and well developed. The chemistry between Mac and Cooper was so raw and didn’t feel forced, and the pacing in the book was also done really well. Every question was answered and the flow of the events were perfect. We got tension, banter, and character development… I mean cmon.

Cooper and Mac’s relationship wasn’t built on the best intentions (no spoilers), but watching their love story unfold as they found themselves along the way was so worth it. Their rocky start is a huge part of the plot and Elle Kennedy pulled it off flawlessly.

A fun contemporary for fans of new adult romance. This one will be enjoyable for fans of the authors previous Briar U and Off Campus series. I didn’t fully connect with this one as I realized that I’m not really into new adult. I can also criticize the lack of diversity in this romance.

She cute. She steamy. We love a New Adult romance that isn't afraid to GO THERE. Good girl/Rich boy trope with allllll the feels. Heart eyed emoji times 700!