I was excited to be selected for this ARC via NetGalley as who in Romancelandia doesn’t know of Elle Kennedy? I have read her for years, more frequently as an author of hockey romance. So, I was excited to see her take on a small-town contemporary romance.

Check out my more detailed thoughts below…
Characters: The character of Genevieve was someone I was definitely interested in meeting. She was mentioned often in the previous instalment, but as a more elusive figure. So she’s back in Avalon Bay because of the death of her mother and back into Evan’s life. Gen decided to revamp, and turn her life around, this arc was so well navigated by Elle. Gen’s love interest is her ex, Evan. He is the twin brother of Cooper (from the last book Good Girl Complex). Evan is kind of trouble, but such a sweetie. It was nice as someone who had read the previous book to see Coop and Mac from an outside perspective through Evan. It was also super satisfying to have an expansion on the storyline of Evan and Cooper’s mom.
Setting: I love this little town. Mostly because Elle has introduced the big cast of characters and I am intrigued to see whose story gets told next. There are definitely some compelling stories there. The small-town nature of it all means checks in and new angles, both A+ in my book.
Pacing: This book just flew by and I enjoyed the fast pace. The ending did feel a bit too rushed. This is an issue I saw in the first instalment too, so it is just a bit of a weak point. This book did have a better wrap-up than the previous one, so lovely to see some improvement.
Romance: Gen and Evan are childhood besties who started dating in their high school years. Gen left town abruptly and broke things off. Despite all those years apart, Gen and Evan still had great chemistry. Damn, they are super hot. Evan and Gen are why it is so fun to read second chance romance. Not only did they give love a second chance they gave themselves a second chance. They not only gave each other another chance, but they also gave others in their life another chance. I love that overall message of self-improvement not for vanity, but for betterment and happiness.

Fantastic story of getting a second chance in life and love, Bad Girl Reputation follows Genevieve and Evan after Gen moves back to town after a year away. While gone, she worked hard to remove her party girl persona - but will it last?
I love a story of a hard-won redemption and Gen’s is a great one!
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

I love everything that this author writes and this was no exception. It was so much fun to read!! The characters, the setting, the drama. Everything was so good.

Solid second chance romance. I was crazy about Gen West & Evan Hartley. Their crazy, wild days, hot chemistry and growing up in all the right ways was laid out with finesse. I thoroughly enjoyed this and can definitely recommend.

I love second chance romance and really enjoyed this book!! I didn't read Good Girl Complex, which I didn't think was completely necessary - but I still wish I read it first!

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this ebook ARC! This was a fun romcom with messy characters and good steam. I enjoyed the second chance romance with characters trying to grow up. I love an angsty, love/hate relationship. This is the second book in the series but definitely can be read as a stand alone! This one published last week, check it out!

This was a nice redemption and coming-of-age story. Probably one of the better Elle Kennedy books I have read.

Big reputation, big reputation, ohhhh Genevieve’s got a big reputation.

Genevieve has returned to Avalon Bay for her mother’s funeral. As funerals go, this one was pretty uneventful…. Until her on again off again Ex boyfriend Evan Hartley made an appearance. Now in the town until further notice helping her dad, Genevieve is set to forget all about Evan and her past shenanigans.

Yet, Evan is set to show Genevieve that he has changed, He wants a stable relationship with her and the promising future. But with G starting to change around her life, is there room for bad habits to stay? With Evan lurking in every date location, house remodel and small town bar, things are about to get pretty messy.

I enjoyed listening and reading Bad Girl Reputation. I was instantly drawn to the enemies to lovers connection that Genevieve and Evan had. Elle Kennedy wrote a sexual scene in the first chapter that set up the drama for the rest of the story. This can be read as a stand alone in the Avalon Bay series and I recommend the audio. Lee Samuels and Summer Morton shine as both leads and bring the story to life.

Thank you MacMillian audio, St. Martin’s Press romance and Netgalley for my earc/alc in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own,

3.5 🌟

Gen and Evan were together from Freshman year and had a long history of getting into trouble in their small town of Avalon Bay. Gen left town to “grow up” but was forced back home after a year away when her mom passed away. While back in town, her and Evan are drawn to each other and their history together is too compelling for either of them to ignore even if they should.

This was my first book by Elle Kennedy and I didn’t hate it. I also didn’t love it. It was quite a bit over-dramatic and I didn’t quite understand why the two main characters couldn’t be together. Elle Kennedy’s writing was the star of this show. I enjoyed her writing and I did find myself drawn into the story at points even when I didn’t completely believe the premise of the story. If you’re looking for an easy, dramatic read with young adults figuring themselves out (kinda like the show, Outer Banks) - this book is for you!

This book was unfortunately a let down for me. I had zero investment in these characters or storyline. The character connections fell very flat for me. I would have DNFed this book if I had not received it as an ARC from Net Galley. I would not recommend this read nor am I sure I will read more from this author.

Such an easy read, if you are looking to just kick back and enjoy the ride, this one’s for you. Don’t think too much about plot holes or character development just jump in and have a blast!

Oh, look at that cutesy cover!

I was right about the second one catching my eyes more. Bad Girl Reputation was definitely better than its predecessor. It definitely has a better writing style and less cringe. This has one hell of a delicious grumpy/grumpy trope and I adored it. Evan is the so-called bad boy twin from the first book and Genevieve is his bad girl soulmate but with the wish to be better. I adored the hellfire that these two caused and I got genuine butterflies while reading some of their moments! The blow pops, their bond, the fun, their secret place...

Their love for making each other jealous was steamy. So were their spicy scenes. There weren't an obscene number of them but there were enough of the big chapter scenes and also smaller steamy moments are interwoven through the story.

Cooper and the girls in this book get on my last nerve. Without them acting like a bunch of kids this book would have been that much better. Their mum was a nice addition and I liked the parallel of her change with Evan's change. The Big Brother thing is new to me and I adored it. The conflict surprised me but I enjoyed it, and Gen's resolution of it and her speech were to die for.

Also, Daisy!!!!

This dual POV book follows, Gen & Evan two old toxic flames trying to reconnect after Gen comes back into town after a year long hiatus, for her mom’s funeral. Old flames never dying. They test each other if this can truly work by unlearning their old patterns.

This was my first Kennedy book and I heard many good things about her writing on booktok, but needless to say I am not the targeted audience for this book. Didn’t connect with the main characters, their personalities lacked any interesting qualities and to make up for this was the physical chemistry between the two. The whole reformed bad girl troupe felt short on the character development. Couldn’t wrap my brain around what’s going on with the side characters. They were briefly mentioned with their own dilema going on then instantly forgotten about.

This overall gives CW Riverdale vibes. It had potential but the mark was clearly missed.

I’ve got to be honest, this wasn’t my favorite Elle Kennedy book. I definitely prefer the first book in the Avalon Bay series, but this one still had a lot to enjoy.

Evan was a lot in this book. I felt like he had more depth as a secondary character in Good Girl Complex than as a main character in Bad Girl Reputation. He was very persistent to the point of being annoying in his initial pursuit of Genevieve. He does have character growth and becomes much less annoying as he stops being so childish. But the growth felt pretty expedited and forced into the book as a way to make Genevieve fall for him. It felt less like he was growing up for himself and more like he was manipulating the situation to be with her, though it doesn’t end feeling as forced.

Genevieve was a decent character, though she did feel a little two-dimensional at times. I admired that she tried to distance herself from Evan to ensure that she could move forward with helping out her dad and staying out of trouble with the law. She kept her options open in terms of dating, and even if that meant that she wasn’t 100% honest with herself or her prospective partners I respected it. It was great to see Gen grow more confident in herself and what she wants from her future.

Evan and Genevieve definitely had chemistry and a long history. The steam was great but I also loved how their history together still impacted them as adults. The had so many inside jokes and were able to communicate with each other in such small, unnoticeable ways. Their relationship was super unhealthy and toxic for each other so I enjoyed seeing that change throughout the book.

Evan was going through a lot in this book with regards to his self-reflection/development and his relationships with his brother and mom. Although his journey often felt forced in regards to his relationship with Gen, I liked seeing it in relation to his brother and mom. It was really sweet to see how far his mom came after the events of book one.

I don’t want to spoil too much so suffice to say it was a good book but not my favorite. The relationship dynamics amongst the characters were definitely fun to watch as they changed and developed throughout the book. The romance honestly wasn’t my favorite but it’s just not the vibe I love. Of course I’ll keep reading Kennedy’s books and I still recommend this book, but it wasn’t my favorite.

I love Elle Kennedy and this sucked me in from the very beginning. I love being back in the Avalon Bay world and reading about Evan and Gen. The writing is great, the characters are so much fun. I can't wait to read more books by Elle!

I had been anxiously waiting to return to Avalon Bay to learn more about Evan and Gen's story. I loved how they realized they needed to each grow from who they had been as teenage first loves before they could ever consider working in a relationship as adults. Elle Kennedy does a wonderful job of writing complex characters that you can get lost in the pages following. I really enjoy the bad boy with a good heart angle I've noticed in this series, and the added element of Gen being rumored to be a former bad girl made this book all the more better!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I picked up this book not expecting much, maybe a little romance and a little smut but not much more than that. I had a long plane ride so I figured it would pass the time. I actually enjoyed it WAY more than I thought I would. The characters actually developed over time, at first I thought they were all jerks but they grew on me. There were also a few moments that I found to be laugh out loud funny. It was raunchy at parts but overall enjoyable. Really made the time on my flight zoom by, so much so that by the end I wanted to flight to go just a bit longer so I could finish the last 20 pages.

A fun, steamy, second chance romance about childhood sweethearts Genevieve and Evan.

Gen and Evan were two wild kids growing up with nothing to lose, until one day Gen gave it all up and walked away from everything, leaving Evan heartbroken. Now one year later, Gen is back for her mother’s funeral. Evan wants to pick back up, but Gen has changed and doesn’t trust herself not to fall back into old habits.

I enjoyed reading Bad Girl Reputation! I loved all the second chances for different characters in the book, and it was fun catching up with Cooper and Mackenzie too!

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy. Bad Girl Reputation is out now.

4.5 Stars.
𝐎𝐡𝐡𝐡𝐡 𝐄𝐯𝐚𝐧. 𝐎𝐡𝐡 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐧!!! ⁣
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This book was 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 than just a second chance romance book. It's also about learning to 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩, 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨. ⁣
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Genevieve and Evan were both inseparable when they're younger. Their hands will always be all over each other, making one another jealous, 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞. Gen left town without saying bye to Evan, and that 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘌𝘷𝘢𝘯. ⁣
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Elle Kennedy totally 𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐃 me from 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘥 with this story. It totally 𝐠𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬. I seriously loved when a 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭. There's just something really sweet about that. ⁣
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I can't wait to see whose book is next.

Genevieve West returns to Avalon Bay for her mother's funeral and stays to help her father with his business until he can find someone else. A year ago she escaped town without a word to her ex after their on again/ off again relationship made her hit rock bottom. The constant drinking and partying when Evan is involved leads her to make stupid decisions and she's over it. She's determined to avoid him this time around and turn her bad reputation around. But Evan has other ideas. He refuses to give up on them, even if it means turning his own life upside down to keep her.
This was a cute small town romance, part of a series but can be read as a standalone. I liked reading about Gen and her protective brothers. I didn't read the first book in the series, but didn't feel like I was missing anything in this story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.