Just to preface this, Cooper Hartley is the bad boy love of my life!

4.5/5 stars

OMG Elle Kennedy has done it again. I haven't read any of her other books besides the OffCampus/BriarU series but I had great expectations considering that I loved those two series and this book did not disappoint.

It was the rich girl/poor boy trope and I absolutely loved it. Set in a quaint little town, Cooper and Evan Hartley are twin brothers who live in a town where there are a bunch of rich kids due to the college in the town which is a hub for all the trust fund kids they call clones because they all act the same. Cooper, our main character, works two jobs trying to save up enough to start his own business yet the book starts with him losing one of his jobs as a bartender after getting into a fight with one of the clones. He tries to exact revenge from him by chasing after the clone's girlfriend, who's our other main character and he realizes that not all clones are the same as he thought.

I absolutely adored Mackenzie. Her constant back and forth banter with Cooper wasn't over the top but showed that she wouldn't back down from a fight. A lot of times authors will try to overdo it to add the banter to their books but it was done to perfection here. She stood her ground and her character arc which allowed her to defend herself and her preferences were done in such a natural way. She didn't go straight from being super meek to a badass, we actually got to see the slow growth.

I loved the rivalry between the townspeople and the rich trust fund brats and that very obvious divide between the two. All of Cooper's friends were a delight to read and I loved how Mackenzie slowly won all of them over in her own way. They were hesitant to let her in but she proved herself and accepted her. I do hope we get more books in this series about some of Cooper's other friends, his twin Evan, and Mac's friend Bonnie who were all such a treat to read. One of my favourite parts was when at one point Cooper's friends were trying to get girls in a really cute, yet hilarious way. (I'll let you guys read to see what)

The only reason I took off half a star is that the ending seemed a bit incomplete to me. I would've liked an epilogue to see how everything truly wrapped up. The book ended with the conflict being resolved but it kind of ended there. The conflict was resolved in a perfect way yet it felt rushed and I kinda wanted to know what happens next with Cooper and Mac so it was lacking a bit.

Overall, this book was a completely heartwarming page-turner. I am so glad to finally pick up another Elle Kennedy book. This ARC couldn’t have come at a better time. I was craving a NA romance and obsessively anticipating the release of The Legacy of Elle Kennedy.

Keep an eye out for this book when it releases in February 2022.

Happy Reading :)

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bad boy meets good girl, sparks fly. Elle Kennedy creates an electrifying love story with Good Girl Complex. As a romantic novel, it gives the reader everything you want out of a good romance. The tension between Cooper and Mac is fire and the banter is so witty you’ll want it to write the essay you put off to devour this book. This story is light-hearted and fun, but its characters give it a beating heart that makes you love it more and more with every page. I recommend this for people who love sexy, summer romances. If I had to give a reference for this book: Think Outer Banks (TV Series) meets After by Anna Todd in the best possible way.

Two individuals from the opposite side of the tracks that meet under circumstances that lead them to be together in a rough and sensual way...

Another Elle Kennedy masterpiece. A piece of work that I have been waiting for, I have been craving for this kind of Elle's writing. I was starting to go downhill with her previous spin off books, and this book made me turn around and fall in love with her male characters once again. And falling for Cooper has made me a tiny bit obsessive with his personality and vibes, though his initial intensions made him a jerk, it's the slow realization that Mac is not like the other rich assholes, is what makes Cooper a man for loving her the way she is and defending her from his once awful friends.

I am looking forward to see what else Elle has up her sleeves in this hopefully to be series. I need Evan's book, and pretty much everyone including Katie and Bonnie. I just know that she is going to write their story, and if she doesn't then oh well... But I am hoping that she does because it's a series to read for sure. With that being said, I am glad she strived with this romance because she did not disappoint in the least. And her OG readers will sure love this story as well and bring back the best kind of OFF CAMPUS vibes without the sports trope part of it.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!


So I didn't look too much in to the plot before starting. Think "She's All That" but with a revenge plot...which felt weird. It's a very early 2000s thing to do and I don't feel plots like this belong in 2021. Honestly I wouldn't have read it if I'd known! Plus there was the cheating aspect which make me feel yucky.

But the upside was the romance itself and both MC's character developments.

Elle Kennedy has done it again!! Whenever I pick up a book by her, I already know it's gonna be a good time and she has yet to disappoint. This is one of my favorite new adult romance books!

To give you a quick run down of the book, it takes place in a beach town called Avalon Bay. The drama starts quickly when a townie named Cooper Hartley gets fired for protecting a coworker from a "clone" (rich boy) named Preston. Now, Cooper has his eyes set on revenge and what better way to get back at the guy who has a picture perfect life than to seduce his beautiful girlfriend. However, in a plot twist that he doesn't see coming, Mackenzie ends up being completely different than what he anticipated...

All I can say is WOW! I loved Mackenzie as the female lead, she grew so much as a character and was a force to be reckoned with. That combined with Coopers sex appeal and bad boy image made for hilarious banter, a steamy romance, and great plot development. I was completely hooked from the first chapter and could not put this book down. My only very minor bone to pick with this book is that I would have LOVED an epilogue to see what ends up happening with the characters after the final chapter (unless Elle plans on giving us another book in this universe, then hey I can keep waiting). Other than that, I loved this book wholly and highly recommend you add it to your TBR.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me an eGalley of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I overhyped this book so much in my head that it was destined to fall short in some way. I saw the words "Elle Kennedy" and "new college romance series" and immediately thought we were getting Off Campus 2.0. This book isn't that, so I was left slightly disappointed based on my own incorrect assumptions about what this book would be.

That being said, this was still a great romance book with a fun group of characters and I'm excited to see how the other books in this series will play out.

Things I liked:
-The writing style. I'm just a sucker for the way EK writes. The chapters are short and the dialogue is always realistic so it makes the book extremely easy to read and get through.
-Chemistry between the main characters and their connection to the side characters. There was one scene in particular about halfway through when the characters were first getting together that left me screaming out loud because it was so cute and swoon worthy. The main characters have great chemistry together and I was rooting for them from the beginning. The side characters were entertaining as well, and I'm excited to read more about them as more books are released.
-FUNNY!!! Despite the fact that this book deals with some hard topics and has its heavy moments, there are great moments of comedic relief thrown in there. I'll just say one word - Patricia. (Trust me, when you read it you'll get it).

Things I didn't like:
-The main premise of the book/reason the characters got together. It's very icky and rubbed me the wrong way, but I do think the resolution of it was handled nicely in the end.
-NO EPILOGUE. Literally a crime that the book ended where it did and there was no epilogue.

Overall thoughts:
Another solid contemporary romance from Elle Kennedy. It didn't fully live up to my expectations, but that's entirely my own fault for setting the expectations so high.

Reader warning: This book contains a cheating trope, which I know a lot of us hate (myself included). I personally thought it was resolved nicely in the end, but it's definitely a large part of the story and something to be aware of while reading.

I adored the Off Campus series by Elle Kennedy, one of my favorite NA series ever. I had high hopes for Good Girl Complex and unfortunately for me the book fell short.

I don’t love rich girl/poor boy tropes, combined with the cheating happening through out the book, I just really struggled with this one. I do hope if this is a series the next book will be about Evan, he was a great character.

I’ll always recommend Off Campus, but reading this book makes me wonder if I outgrew Kennedy’s books. 2 stars.

3.5 stars! I really loved the entire premise of this book. A rich, trust fund girl meets the grumpy, trouble making townie. And said rich girl has a douchebag boyfriend. It’s a recipe for a fantastic story. I actually got Outerbanks vibes the whole time which I enjoyed. With that said, I felt that this book was VERY repetitive. Both characters have mommy/daddy issues that were constantly brought up, money was always being talked about, and the two characters fought a lot. I also thought the book had a ton of loose ends that could’ve been fixed with an epilogue. Did Mac ever open her hotel? Did Evan get over his ex? How’s the furniture business doing? Also, this didn’t change my rating, but I thought the whole “boyfriend fails” website was a little odd…but the spice was great, the characters were fantastic (especially Evan and Daisy), and it had a happy ending. If this book had an epilogue, I’d most likely bump my rating to a 4!

*thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I love the I-should-hate-you-but-I-love-you trope and let me tell you, this book delivered. I've loved every Elle Kennedy book I've read and this one was no different.

Mac comes from a rich family and embodies basically everything Cooper hates. And somehow they can never keep away from each other for too long.

I'm a sucker for beach town love stories and this is definitely up there in my favourites! Mac and Cooper were great MCs, and I loved both of them and their chemistry. The sexual tension between these two was out of this world. Mac's character development specially was *chef's kiss*

I was at the edge of my seat the whole time at how the story would play out and it was so much fun!

The one thing I'll say though is that I really wished we could've had an epilogue. It would've been the perfect bow to wrap the absolute gift this book was.

Am I surprised that I loved another Elle Kennedy book? NOPE! Elle Kennedy knows how to do romance in a way that feels real even though we all know romance books are pretty unrealistic. This book had me hooked from beginning to end because I was so interested in the character dynamics! I love dual perspectives in books and in this one I especially loved reading Cooper's parts!! Something about reading about a man falling in love hits so much harder than reading it in the woman's perspective. Overall, it was such a fun, cute, steamy, and a super enjoyable read!!

This is the first Elle Kennedy book that I have read outside of the Off Campus/Briar U series and her voice is just as clear and strong as it usually is. Fans of her books will get a kick out of Good Girl Complex, it really does hold true to her style even without the college hockey angle.

Set in a quaint college town in the Carolinas where the disparity between the locals and the college student is very evident, townie Cooper gets into a brawl with clone Preston that results in Preston getting him fired from his job at the bar - a job Cooper needed. Pissed off and out for blood, Cooper and his friends hatch a plan for Cooper to steal Preston's long-time girlfriend Mac, a rich college Freshman who is new in town. What Cooper didn't expect though was the friendship and eventual very real romance that would blossom between himself and Mac.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, though I do think that there were long stretches of the book where it felt like not much happened, especially when you consider that Mac doesn't find out about the revenge plot until about 80% of the way through. By the time she discovers the truth it really feels inconsequential considering her and Coop built up a pretty strong foundation between them. The plot involve Coop and his twin brothers Evan's mother also seemed to be a bit out of place and unnecessary for the overall plot of the book when it happened, too.

I do enjoy that Elle Kennedy's books tend to have pretty solid groups of friends involved as I always feel like that adds to the story and give us a more complex and complete world to visit even when we are just focused on the main couple.

All in all, if you're a fan of Elle Kennedy's work, you'll enjoy this.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the e-ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is perfect for a ladies book club!! I loved the cover and everything in between! Highly recommend.

First and foremost, a big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for another fantastic addition to my vacation! Elle Kennedy did not disappoint!

I would not call myself a convert, but I am slowly becoming a raging contemporary romance enthusiast. This was (and is) a big change for me from reading 100% paranormal/fantasy books. But, let me tell you, it’s authors like Elle Kennedy that grab you kicking and screaming that made me see the light. For that, I am so grateful!

My only gripe about the genera in general is that it’s very formulaic. Meet love interest, un said underlying issue that will come up 70-80% through the story that will brake them up, split, get back together, the end. HOWEVER, it does not take away from the rush of the fall and the joy of them getting back together. That is all on the author and Elle did a beautiful job. I LOVE it when a book makes me cry. Which may sound weird, but I love being pulled in all directions by a good story.

Ok. Yes. I almost always end a book wanting to know what happens next, but this book is all that times two. The way it ended also lends itself easily to a follow-up, and I have no doubt it would (will be?!?!) be AMAZING. Additionally, I really want to know about
Bonnie. . . Ok, who am I kidding, I want to know about ALL OF THEM! Especially Evan.

Elle’s characters are so delightfully robust. They all have their own personalities and quirks.

I hesitate giving details in reviews because I don’t want to give anything away that I would want to be a discovery while reading. BUT, one of my favorite aspects of Mac and Fox’s personalities is their ambition. This is something you learn quickly and does not take away from any fun details. It is so refreshing though that I wanted it highlighted. I tend to gravitate to older characters, but the work ethic behind these two makes them seem older than they are. It also covers a few tabu topics very well.

If you love sweet stories and fantastic writing, then look no further. This book is for you.

I have been a huge fan of the way Elle Kennedy writes the romance between the couple's and the friendships.
Unfortunately this book failed to reach her usual standard of romance or friendships.

I loved Cooper and Mac and all the side characters individually.And the character development of both Cooper and Mac is *chef's kiss*.The romance truly felt lacking.There were some great moments here and there but it was not cohesive and I would have loved an epilogue and I was sad when there was no epilogue.

The friendships were not really great but it might be because of the situation in this book...and it felt like the friendships bond was said rather than shown.

I LOVED LOVED LOVED Cooper and Mac's relationship with Evan.The highlight of the book. I also loved Bonnie,Tate ,Alana ,Heidi and did I mention Evan? LOL.

There were some really CUTE SCENES between Cooper and Mac.This book had many things working out for it while also many things falling apart.

This was a good, fun read but disappointing from someone like Elle Kennedy.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable novel with great characters. The main female protagonist, Mackenzie (Mac), in particular, has a lot of depth and her character develops believably throughout the story. The tension between rich college girl Mac and the "townie" friend circle of her boyfriend Cooper underlies the narrative and propels the storyline forward as the reader waits for the inevitable catastrophe when Mac discovers the deception involved in her relationship with Cooper. The novel is immensely readable and the writing flows well, as the story's pace increases towards the final revelation and resulting emotional devastation for both Mac and Cooper. The evolving romance between the pair is touchingly and credibly depicted as they grow to truly know and trust each other, giving the story's emotional climax a real punch.

From the cover, my interest in this book was there from the get go! When I said I enjoyed this book from the beginning I mean it! I loved it! This book was a quick, easy read! I literally read it in 1 day. Don’t even get me started on the characters!!*chefs kiss* I loved all of them! The dynamics in regards to the friendships and just family in general made me cry! It was just too beautiful! I’m really hoping there will be books for Evan and Tate!! I would love to experience their minds and overall journey! Now for the amazing couple that is Mac and Cooper, they were great!

Mac is this rich,”trust fund” chick that is somewhat content with the life that she has been raised in until Cooper. Here comes Cooper, who’s this blunt, raw, no nonsense local bad boy and you have an amazing story! They literally had everything without it being cliched or boring! I loved the tension between them, even the description of their feelings towards each other! This book has made my day, and have me wanting more!!

I 100% recommend this book. It was an experience! Please do yourself the favor, it will be the best decision you will make!

3.5 stars - a light romance book was just what I needed after a reading slump. The writing was good and I enjoyed the storyline. I would have loved the book to go for a bit longer than I did but overall a good read!

I loved the novel from start to finish. First, the setting drew me because of the small coastal college town riddled by past hurricanes whose locals relied alternately on the tourists during the summer or the wealthy college students during the school year. The perspective Cooper and the other “townies” had about the treatment they received at the hand of those who lived entitled lives was written so well through the main and secondary characters.

Cooper and Mackenzie come from opposite sides of the tracks and meet under dubious circumstances that drives the story. I loved how Mackenzie knew what she wanted but needed the encouragement and inspiration to be true to herself. And Cooper - the bad boy who turns out to be so much more than he believes he can be.

I don’t know if the book is supposed to be inspiring, but it made me think about families and about not letting others define who you are.

I'll admit when I first started this I was very hesitant because it has some tropes that are literally some of my least favs. But I decided to give it a shot and I really enjoyed it! The conflict was less stressful/anxiety inducing than I thought.

Cooper was such a hot, tattooed, bad boy with a major grudge against the rich crowd. Then he meets Mac, the rich good girl looking for more. This gave me major After vibe but better and less frustrating! I really loved the connection, friendship between Cooper and Mac. At first, Mac frustrated me but I really like how she eventually stood up for herself! I loved seeing her growth!

This was a great friends to lovers, college romance and even though it had a trope that isn't my fav I thought it was handled well! I do wish we go a little more at the end but I really hope we get more of them in hopefully Evan's story too!!

Suck a fun read! The banter, friendships, and chemistry were great. This was a fast, easy read. Loved the bad boy falling for the the rich girl, Cooper and Mac were perfection. This is one of those reads that will get you out of that reading slump for sure, I enjoyed it so much!