Just as excellent as the first book in the series - Good Girl Reputation! A lifelong "bad girl" with a good heart has had her ups and downs in life and comes back to her hometown following the death of her mother. What you see right away is that she isn't a bad person, she's just been in some bad situations. Her former bad-boy boyfriend is also in town and sparks fly between the two of them, just as they always have. I loved this book!

Gen used to be a chaotic party girl and upon returning to Avalon Bay for her mothers funeral she wants to stay away from partying, stay sober and avoid her ex-boyfriend Evan for good measure. Of course, she immediately runs into Evan after her mothers funeral and there are still remaining feelings on both accounts. Determined to stick to her new leaf, Gen turns down Evans advances and starts going on dates with someone new. Evan then tells Gen he is going to court her to win her back without getting straight to physical intimacy and prove himself to be a reformed bad boy.

Aside from the romance and dealing with the grief of losing her mother, Gen also has to deal with the trauma from being SA’d and continuously harassed by a local police officer.

I enjoyed the chemistry between Gen and Evan and I also quite liked that this novel she’d light on the abuse of position and power that can be wielded by a police officer/ someone who is in a position of power and presumed duty to protect.

4 stars!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

"...a year gone, and I’d finally trained myself to stop thinking about her every time this thing or that reminded me of another time when. So of course, just when I’ve almost got her out of my system, she’s back. A fresh, unfiltered shot straight into my bloodstream when I was damn near clean. Now all I taste are her lips. I feel her nails down my back every night while I’m lying in bed. I wake up hearing her voice. It’s infuriating." Ahhh that sounds of juvenile love. Honestly are these character immature? yes. Are they infuriating? yes. But when you just sit back and accept them for their flaws this becomes so much more enjoyable. This second chance romance gives you all the teenage angst and more.

I was a bit underwhelmed by the first book, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much more I liked this one.. Genevieve and Evan have a much more compelling romance and their chemistry made the story so much more enjoyable. I love a good second chance romance, and I think the small town aspect to this really added to the yearning between the love interests.

Loved reading the second book in these series. Second chance romance is not usually my go-to, but Elle Kennedy never disappoints.

This book was fine but very underwhelming compared to the first book in the series. I didn’t really care about any of the characters.

So, this author knows what she's doing! What a great read, great characters that had chemistry, and it was paced really well!

This is the second book I have read by this author. I requested this one since I enjoyed the first. Admittedly, I enjoyed the first book more, but I did enjoy going back to this town and these characters.

Sad, because I really enjoyed the first book in the series, but I almost had to DNF this one at first because Evan and Gen’s toxic relationship was really difficult and cringey to read… It did get better but I kind of feel like their “character development“ was rushed and then they were just happily together with really nothing to show for it.

First I’ll say I love Elle Kennedy, I’ve read all of the Briar U and Off-Campus series and Good Girl Reputation. So maybe it’s because I had high expectations for this book that it let me down…but I didn’t like this. It was honestly kind of boring.

The characters felt immature and bratty. Not just the MCs, but their whole group of friends. Jealous, toxic, catty, in need of therapy, the list goes on. And there are too many side characters.

I had to struggle through the first 2/3 of the book and then eventually put it down. I only went back to finish it months later because this was an ARC and I wanted to give my thoughts.

Hopefully it’s just this series and it’s just that I can’t relate to the characters of Avalon Bay. I’ll give Elle Kennedy another chance but I don’t think I’ll read the third book in this series.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The title sucked me in & this book was such a fun read. I loved the chemistry of the characters and the happily ever after.

thank you net galley and publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this one even more than the first in the series. I loved getting to see more of returning characters. Could also be read as a standalone.

Read if you like: second chance romance, childhood friends to lovers.
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I love Elle Kennedy’s books and thoroughly enjoyed this one. It takes place after the first book in the series and focuses on Cooper’s twin Evan and his ex Genevieve. Gen is back in town which shakes up Evan’s world. He tries to get her back, but she is determined to shake her bad girl reputation and that includes the bad boy.
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I really enjoy these tropes and while this book was very dramatic, I enjoyed it and wanted to keep reading!

I am a big Elle Kennedy fan and have read multiple of her other standalone series. Bad Girl Reputation was good. I would not say it was great in comparison to some of her other works, but if a reader is looking for a solid contemporary romance, this will do the job and do it well. One issue I did have with this book was that the characters were annoyingly immature at times. And it did not seem like this was intentional either. I understand that based on their age they should be immature but if that is the case it should be consistent. The wishy-washy nature of them being mature in some instances and immature at others made them overall frustrating and inconsistent characters.

This was an interesting gripping story. I enjoyed watching these characters as they explored and learned to love. This was not the best read of the year but a fun ride none the less.

I know a lot of people like Elle Kennedy and don't get me wrong I do too, but this one just felt like a miss? I really like the tropes that were there but didn't actually like how they played out and also if you're going to write in a corrupt cop maybe do it properly? I don't like the how the men treat the women in this book and honestly other than finishing The Deal series I will not be reading more of this going forward.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

this was...not good. a slog to get through, a really toxic romance that was romanticized for no reason, and flat characters who made me feel nothing but annoyed. maybe i just wasn't in the mood fo a romance when i read this, because it seems like i'm in the minority with my opinion here, but i did not enjoy this whatsoever.

i don't think i've really enjoyed an elle kennedy book since her briar u series, so i might have to call it a day with her. (but on the other hand, the next book in this series has the friends-to-lovers trope, so honestly, who knows?)

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Solid read from Elle Kennedy. I really enjoyed the story and the journey for the characters. I have enjoyed all her books so if you're looking for someone new to try definitely check her out!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Did not finish.

My apologies for not finishing this title. The subject matter did not appeal to me and I would prefer to be honest and say that I did not finish rather than give it a bad review.

4 stars - I loved reading Gen & Evan’s story, specifically about their growth as individuals. It’s clear from the beginning that they both have a lot of baggage, both as a couple and on their own, and they spend a major chunk of the book working on themselves, for themselves. A very endearing read!