This is going to be another one of those weird reviews because … lol

Elle Kennedy has been a hit-or-miss author for me since the beginning of time. When I love her, I loooooooooooooove her and when I don’t, #twitchyX1000. Very rarely am I ever middle of the road. It’s weird, but it is what it is.

You should also know that since I’ve become an audio junkie of sorts, I have learned something that is very difficult to explain, but again, is what it is. I have found on many occasion that *listening* to a story can turn the experience of the story for me 180 degrees both positively and negatively. It’s a phenomenon I have learned to just accept without question. I don’t have a concrete way to explain the reasoning, so I’ll leave it at that.

That being said, if I’d have been *reading* this story instead of *listening* to the audio, I more than likely would have set it down to read something else very early on (probably no later than about 20%) and possibly not even finish the story because it’s cliche and pretty predictable and I could see the writing on the wall so what’s there to look forward to? *shrug* However, Joe Arden and Ava Erikson are really good at captivating and their performance was so stellar that I was sucked in with little hope of getting any sleep LOL They are both incredibly talented and I enjoyed this story more than I expected because they brought it to life and sucked me in.

The plot of Good Girl Complex is realistic and relatable and it happens all the time. It’s a tale as old as night. The haves vs the have nots is as old as Romeo and Juliette and unfortunately, Elle Kennedy didn’t spin it in any way that was original in my opinion. Her imagination was nowhere to be found and there were really more cliches than necessary.

Soooooooooo, this is my drawn out way of saying the story itself gets 3 stars from me but the audio experience gets a shinny 5 star rating :) I’ll be telling anyone who asks me my opinion that if they have a chance to pick audio over ebook, pick audio for this story! #TRUST

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Good Girl Complex, having had mixed experiences with Elle Kennedy’s books. The first book I read by her was The Deal and I absolutely loved it––it’s actually one of my favourite romance novels. Maybe because I loved it so much, it set a very high standard, or maybe the other tropes just weren’t as high on my preference list?…but in either case, the rest of the books in that series (aside from The Legacy, which I haven’t read yet) just didn’t live up to The Deal.

So, now that that’s out of the way, back to Good Girl Complex. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go…but I’m happy to announce that I really liked it! It’s now my second favourite Elle Kennedy book! I really liked the setting (and am happy that she will be writing at least another book set in the little beach town), and I also really liked the characters.

Mackenzie and Cooper had chemistry from the get-go and I loved reading about them. I also really liked the side characters and was happy to find out that two of them will be getting their own book i.e. the next one in the Avalon Bay series! But back to Mackenzie (I’m going to keep calling her that because I wasn’t a fan of her nickname––Mac) and Cooper.

I really enjoyed reading about them and following along, watching their relationship develop. There were some elements in Good Girl Complex that I hadn’t come across in other romance books before, which only made this read more fun. I laughed, I cried, I swooned. I definitely recommend this one and look forward to book 2––Bad Girl Reputation!

This was a really cute, light romance with the Rich Good Girl, Wrong Side of the Tracks Bad Boy premise.

What did I love:
1. I always enjoy Elle Kennedy’s writing - the story, the characters, the romance.
2. I loved Cooper and the way he did support the heroine in her endeavors, especially when she was controlled by so many.
3. I loved that Mac had the means and desire to make her own way and broke away from those who saw her a trophy.
4. Cooper and Mac were really cute together.
5. I loved the secondary cast and particularly Cooper’s brother Evan.
6. It had a cute ending and I enjoyed the book.
7. Great narrators. I really loved listening to it.

I wouldn’t say that there wasn’t anything I didn’t love, it just wasn’t a “I couldn’t put it down” type of book. There were areas that dragged a bit for me, but I still really enjoyed this standalone and am excited to read the next standalone from this world.

Good story!

Description
*USA Today and Toronto Star bestseller*

Full of romance, hijinks, and longing, Good Girl Complex is Elle Kennedy at her very best.

She does everything right. So what could go wrong?

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'll start by saying I love many of Elle Kennedy's books, and her Off-Campus series is one of my all time favorites. I was looking forward to a new series from this author, so I went in with high hopes. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get invested in these characters. Personally, I didn't connect to them and they didn't seem like people I would want to know. I'm a character driven reader, so when this happens I usually just DNF a book. I did stick it out hoping that this author could make them redeemable, but even at the end of the book, I just wasn't invested in these two, nor the friend group. While sometimes characters make decisions I don't like or agree with in books, they usually learn from them and grow, which makes me fall for them. I don't feel like these characters had real growth. I just wanted better from all of the characters (the couple and the friend group) throughout the entire story. I may check out book two after meeting the male main character in this one, because I do think the story had potential that may show up in book two.

Elle Kennedy has done it again. This author is so reliable at hitting the nails on the heads on the characters she creates and the situations they get put through. Writing romance must be so hard to keep things fresh and different from what everyone else is doi9ng but somehow she doe just that, Recommeded!

Loved the opposites attract and betting tropes. Gave me "After" vibes without the toxicity. The ending wrapped up a bit too fast for me and it *really* could have used an epilogue. Read if you want a cute college romance set in a beach town!

man why are toxic people so addicting to read about?! I hate it here. All the characters were pretty mean humans. It reminded me of “After” with how this man went after this girl with very bad intentions. Overall, it was an entertaining read and has me curious about the brother’s story. If you like all the drama and toxic characters this book is for you. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy. This was such a fun read that kept me entertained and grateful that I requested an ARC. I enjoyed the good girl/bad boy storyline with a bit of deceit, well a lot of deceit in there! The chemistry was just right and I would absolutely encourage friends to grab this one for your summer reads!

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martins Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I honestly wanted to love this book, I have loved other Elle Kennedy books but the plot was a tad too serious for my taste and felt like a chore to read when it seemed to be marketed as a more fun rom-com.

Cheesy writing and plot. Cute for the romcom genre with some dramatic flair. Wasn’t for me, but sure to please a more general crowd

I wanted to love this story. I've read many others by Kennedy and always felt entertained. Good Girl Complex seemed to dip into the deep end of fiction. Many things seemed far-fetched, and others resolved at lighting speed. This story was all over the place. It had potential and sex appeal, but the story didn't work for me.

This was a really fun read. I can't wait for the next one. I will be purchasing a copy of this book for my library

nothing original to see here, as it's basically after 2.0. this was impossible to get into for me and i wish i didn't force myself to get through it. from the very beginning, i couldn't connect with either of the main characters or care about their motivations in the slightest. cooper's entire reasoning for pursuing mac in the first place and the whole bet situation made me feel uncomfortable. this trope needs to seriously die. mac wasn't much better since cheating is never okay (even if your boyfriend is such a douchebag that his behaviour sounds ridiculous bc no one is that terrible of a person). still, her cheating on him wasn't justified imo especially bc she didn't even know anything about what preston was truly like. honestly though, cooper was still worse to me bc for some reason, he genuinely THOUGHT he was a great person and justified in his actions??? it's giving mento illness..

Elle Kennedy’s Off-Campus series is my favorite romance series. I jumped at the chance to read Good Girl Complex, the first in her new contemporary romance series and it was love, of course!

This good girl/bad boy story set in a seaside college town has plenty of new adult angst, flirtation, and steam. Mac and Cooper are fantastic together! Apart from their romance, I loved the character development and the very real issues they were tackling, related to complicated family situations. Can’t wait for book two this fall!

Mackenzie (Mac) is a wealthy young adult who's being forced by her parents to go to college, even though she already has a successful career thanks to the multi-million dollar website she launched in high school. She's expected to graduate, marry her high school boyfriend (from the same upperclass social set), and then spend her time focusing on charity work and being a stay at home wife. Instead, she arrives at college and immediately meets the local bad boy, Cooper, and finds herself drawn to him. This is a fairly predictable romance, but I really enjoyed it nonetheless. I loved the central plot point of a young woman standing up for her independence, and the vivid setting of a coastal college town was a lot of fun.

There are no words to describe how let down I am reading this. The writing, the characters, and the plot was all over the place and underwhelming. I was excited to read this especially after reading the synopsis, but it took me a while to get into this book and it felt like it never picked up.

A fun light hearted book that is sure to leave you with a smile. Mac and Cooper come to life and you can’t help but feeling for them and pulling for team clone or team townie or both.

Holy Cannoli, this book was H.O.T! I don’t know what it was, but… damn. Cooper Hartley lived up to his reputation!

I was so wrapped up in this story from the very start. I absolutely loved Cooper’s tough exterior. It’s always the one’s that are hard to love that need it the most! Mac was just the girl he needed:)

I really enjoyed the small town beach vibe. I loved all the secondary characters, even Heidi lol, and hope that this is only the beginning to a new series. I would absolutely die for Evan’s story!

Elle Kennedy is one of my favorite authors. I can’t wait to see where she take us from here!

I highly recommend The Good Girl Complex!

💗 Review by Lys

I was so excited about this book but unfortunately, I just couldn't finish it. I was bored. I didn't even like the characters .

I do not recommend this one.