Very quick, cozy read that is perfect as we make the transition from summer into fall. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of second chance romances unless they’re done right. In this case, I felt that the ongoing “off again, on again” aspect of the romance was very lacking. In fact, I felt frustrated by how they kept stringing one another one.

Despite this frustrating aspect, I did enjoy how quick of a read it is. Thank you to NetGalley for the arc in exchange for a review.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4732980697

A huge Thank You to The author, The publisher and NetGalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed it! I really like it, especially how everything turned out between Gen and Evan!
It is a masterpiece. Truly.

Former high school sweethearts Genevieve and Evan have always brought out the best and worst in each other. After a year apart, Gen doesn’t want to fall back into their old routines. Can Evan convince her he’s ready to be the responsible man she needs?

This followup to GOOD GIRL COMPLEX is just as intense and enjoyable. Gen is working to get her life on track, and Evan is a temptation. At first, he’s too hurt by the way she left him to understand her perspective. They have a lot of work to do on themselves and the relationship, and it’s satisfying to see them find their way back together.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

They were life-long friends and first loves, but when Genevieve returned to Avalon Bay, she was determined to shake her bad girl reputation. Being back with the love of her life in her old stomping grounds could make this goal harder to achieve.

After reading Good Girl Complex, I was excited to return to Avalon Bay, and what a trip it was! I absolutely loved Gen and Evan’s story. It had all the trademarks of an Elle Kennedy romance – snappy banter, heat, humor, and great characters, but it was Gen’s personal journey that really made this something special for me.

I am utter trash for second chance romances, and though Gen and Evan had one of the those on-again/off again relationships, I was rooting for them. The stakes were high this time. Gen was determined to continue growing, changing for the better, and moving forward with her life. She spent a year away from the bay working on herself and was not going to backslide for anyone, not even Evan.

I was so proud of Gen for everything she accomplished. It’s quite hard to keep believing in what you are doing when others won’t allow you to step outside the box they put you in. Being back in the Bay was also challenge because she had to deal with all the naysayers. But, Gen continued to grow and learn more about her aspirations and the things she was capable of. The best part? She was willing to take Evan with her, but he had to commit to growing and changing too. *crying*

No lie, the love between these two was immense, and they had such a strong connection to each other. I found it really touching that Gen wanted to move into adulthood with Evan. She wanted them to evolve together, to make a future together. Watching Evan rise to the level of this challenge showed his commitment to Gen and their relationship.

Overall, I adored rooting for Evan and Gen as they attempted to move their relationship to the next level. They had been such an important part of each other’s lives for so long, and it was a beautiful thing to see them evolve together. Growing up isn’t always easy, but growing together can be an amazing thing. I had a great time revisiting the Bay, and I look forward to a return trip.

I wanted to love this so much, however I felt it was lackluster. The chapters were one dimensional, the story lacked any sort of direction, and the ending was rushed and didn’t have closure.

Last year, Genevieve West suddenly left Avalon Bay, deciding to turn her life around and leave behind her bad girl reputation. But when her mother suddenly dies, Gen is forced to return to Avalon Bay and help her father's business. But in Avalon Bay, it is harder to stay away from who she was before and almost impossible to avoid Evan Hartley, her ex-boyfriend and terrible influence in her life. Evan was heartbroken when Gen left without saying goodbye and is determined to never let her go again. So both Evan and Gen start a journey of self-discovery to see if they can be together without being self-destructive. This was a fun and mindless read! I love Elle Kennedy's books, but this one was less exciting and interesting than her other books. I'm not the biggest fan of the second-chance-romance trope, so I was a little worried that I wouldn't like this one. But I really liked how Evan and Gen grew up in this book and started to work more on themselves, not only to be together but because they wanted to be proud of who they are now. I also loved the banter between the characters, especially between Evan and his mentee. I have so much fun reading all of Elle Kennedy's books, and I can't wait to read what she writes next!

TW: death of a parent, emotionally distant parent, alcohol use/abuse, and others I may have missed.

Actual - 2.75

Evan and Genevieve were childhood best friends and an on-and-off couple their highschool and early adult years. They were both wild at heart whose bad influence on each other caused them to get into lots of trouble - or fun, depending who you ask.

After a very low moment gives Gen a wake up call, she packs up and leaves her family, town, and Evan, without blinking an eye or a goodbye. When her mom dies and she comes back into town as a newly reformed bad girl, she has to face her past and reputation, all while trying to not refall in love with her old friend.

Evan was just going through the motions, he didn’t have any goals or aspirations and it was only faced with the possibility of losing Gen forever, did he look for things to bide his time.

Gen’s closed off personality and stringing Harrison along just to a) make Evan jealius, and b) hope he becomes something more to her because that’s what a normal person should want, was unfair both to him and herself.

She keeps this love triangle going on for the majority of the book but tells us - the reader - very early on she’s only doing it so it will make her keep that distance from Evan.

Cooper and Mac were meh in book 1, and Cooper was almost intolerable here for me.

I did like this better than Good Girl Complex, but I’m starting to think that maybe Elle Kennedy just isn’t for me anymore. The way she has been writing her characters just come across as unlikeable.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this arc, I am voluntarily leaving this review.

Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
Steam: 2/5 chilis
Pub date: 10/4

Good Girl Complex was five stars for me and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this sequel! With all the incredible Elle Kennedy snark, chemistry and spice that I’ve come to know and love, this book did not disappoint.

We’re back in Avalon Bay with its picturesque beach town setting, only this time we are following Evan, Cooper’s twin brother, and Genevieve, his ex-girlfriend and childhood best friend. Genevieve is back in Avalon Bay for her mother’s funeral after her abrupt departure a year before. We learned in the first book that Gen’s vanishing act left Evan heartbroken and he never got over her. Gen’s father convinces her to stay to help out with the family business and she reluctantly agrees, hoping that she won’t run into Evan. Reckless behavior made their relationship toxic, and no matter how in love they were, Gen knew that leaving Avalon Bay was the only way she could get her act together and break out of the cycle they were stuck in. She’s worked hard to fix up her bad girl reputation, but can she convince Evan to do the same so they can be together?

I really liked this second chance, small town, dual POV romance. It’s full of life lessons, delicious steam and enough of a slow burn, will-they-won’t-they to make the stakes high enough for the HEA to feel like it was earned. Evan and Genevieve have a strong emotional connection and their flashbacks to before the breakup were some of my favorite moments. All the fun side characters are back, with a few new additions, and I was reading very carefully to try and figure out who the third book is going to be about.

I love Evan. I think he’s funny and genuine and his attempts to change his ways to get Gen back are both endearing and hilarious. I liked him a lot more than Cooper and his POV was my favorite in the story.

I kind of wanted to shake Gen, honestly. I really didn't like her at first, and while she did eventually grow on me, it took a while. I understand that she hit rock bottom and needed to find a way to shed her old image, but she did it in a destructive way that made it seem like she didn’t care about anyone else’s feelings. I finally started to like her at about 70%, but she’s the reason this wasn’t a five star read for me.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book about second chances and trying to become a better version of yourself. I love Elle Kennedy, I love these characters (mostly) and I can’t wait for book three! Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Elle Kennedy for the advanced copy of this book! Bad Girl Reputation hits shelves on 10/4.

I enjoyed this one so much! A perfect second chance romance, set in a beach community.
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After parting ways for reasons Evan doesn’t understand his ex Gen is back. Both enjoyed partying, and acting wild…until they realize they didn’t want that anymore. And this was the part of the story I loved. Watching them both find the best versions of themselves. When Evan states he’s going court Gen and woo her I was all for it.
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This is the second in the series and I liked this one even more than the first, which I also enjoyed. Evan is a trip and has me laughing out loud a bunch of times.
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I can’t wait to find out whose story is coming next. This is not a hockey romance like the Briar U series but it is equally as well done, and Evan really is incredible (as is Gen). I love a romance that gives me all the feels and this one delivered. The hugest of thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress @smpromance for the e-ARC

This is a good read. At first, I was not so into it, but it picks up and I like it. I would like to read more of this author. I enjoy the book and will like to see more store of everyone who was in the book.

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

“At the moment, shedding my bad girl reputation, I guess.”-Bad Girl Reputation, Elle Kennedy

Elle Kennedy’s Avalon Bay series begins with Bad Girl Reputation’s predecessor, Good Girl Complex. The highly addictive and engaging series follows various couples who hail from dreamy beach town, Avalon Bay. Bad Girl Reputation continues in the realm of Avalon Bay but from the dual point of views of messy on-and-off-again couple, Genevieve West and Evan Hartley. Evan is the smoldering twin brother to tattoo covered bad boy, Cooper. The first book follows Cooper and his typical ‘goody-two-shoes’ girlfriend, Mackenzie. This follow-up story veers off, focusing on Evan who pines for Genevieve deeply following her departure from Avalon Bay. Genevieve’s return flusters Evan who desires a stable relationship with her, but she does not believe they are good for each other.
Personally, for me reading this series thus far has been such a necessary genre disruption from the heavier and darker reads I typically gravitate towards. Bad Girl Reputation, although baring its fair share of drama, complications, and entertainment value, is fluffy and fun for readers. It was such a treat reading this novel and getting a feel for Kennedy’s voice in her writing style. Kennedy holds an extremely addictive quality to her story writing and characterization. I read this book completely in one sitting with ease and I couldn’t put it down. The town’s setting really did give me a summery feel, so I do wish I had stumbled upon it then, but none the less I still enjoyed it greatly.
I felt like these characters were not only believable, but also very lovable for readers. Their chemistry within the romance was very evident. I enjoyed witnessing the character development throughout the story’s progression. I felt that these characters both made great strides to better themselves as individuals in this book, which I really respected. At the start of the book, they were very toxic and overall messy with Genevieve’s continuous lack of commitment and Evan’s stubbornness and brutal determination. Many of their issues were repetitive and it felt as if they were always having the same fight, going in circles each time. Evan was always getting into fist fights, getting drunk, and causing trouble, while newly reformed good girl Genevieve wanted to steer clear of his over-the-top antics. I feel that if they possessed better communication skills the majority of their problems could be easily solved. At times I was so frustrated reading another variation of a fight they had already had so many times before.
I did love that the author decided to depict Genevieve’s sobriety journey from drinking alongside her healing process. It was great to see representation for this struggle, as well as the support of Evan through it too.
At times I did feel that characters from the first book kind of blended together with the ones in this one. Mackenzie and Genevieve were a bit similar in my opinion, but I definitely liked both of them. In my personal opinion I did like Cooper and Mackenzie’s relationship slightly better from the first book than Evan and Genevieve’s. Overall, none of my minor complaints about the relationships in the book negate the fact that I truly enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anybody looking for a drama-packed small-town romance filled to the brim with banter. Pick this book up once it hits the shelves to enter the world of Avalon Bay for yourself!

A companion novel to Good Girl Complex and the second book in the Avalon Bay series, Bad Girl Reputation follows the story of Genevieve, the party girl who up and left her hometown without a word, and Evan, her bad boy situationship she left high and dry. When Gen finds herself back in town for longer than expected, she and Evan easily fall into their same rhythm, until she puts her foot down and insists it’s time they both grow up.

To be honest, this book didn’t quite click for me until about halfway through, when Evan finally begins to grasp that Gen really does want to change and really starts putting effort into both investing in himself, his community, his family, and his relationship with Gen. From there, this becomes a true story of character growth, for both Gen and Evan. Bad Girl Reputation is a very realistic second-chance romance – complete with small-town grudges, family fights, and friend group drama – that will have you laughing and sighing along the way.

✨A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review and advance copy pf Bad Girl Reputation! It’s out on October 4th.✨

🌟: 3.5
🌶: 2

This was my favorite of Elle Kennedy so far. Fun, witty, swoony, it had a little bit of everything you want in a rom-com.

I can’t believe I picked this up after reading Good Girl Complex. But, to my surprise, this one was better! Still not good, mind you, but I could get through it.

I haven’t read any other Elle Kennedy books, but these two books feel so weirdly dated and toxic, and I feel like I was frowning for 50% of this. I can’t think of anyone I’d recommend this to…

2.5⭐️

(2.5/5) DNF @ 40%. This book had promise (Gen moves home after a year away improving herself and reignites an old flame, Evan). Normally, I like second chance romances but this one just seemed toxic. The whole environment seemed toxic for Gen, honestly. She moves away and gets sober only to go out with her friends when she moves home and they tease her about it? And don’t even get me started on Evan. He “just can’t say no” to Gen, except the multiple times that she asks him to leave her alone. Their whole past relationship (making the other jealous, on again/off again, rebellious thing) just seems unhealthy. You know it’s bad when I was like “why don’t you give [bland love interest that Gen takes on a date to make Evan jealous] a chance”? 🥲 Maybe it’s that the characters were in their early 20s and just weren’t mature, but I found it hard to connect with them and because of that I couldn’t keep reading.

If you like second chance romances in a small beach town in the Carolinas with a lil bit of toxicity thrown in, this book might be for you.

This is a very easy summer read. I love how Elle Kennedy makes her characters very realistic and relatable. There are some heavy topics in the book, but I felt they only added to the characters. Second Chance romance is one of my favorite tropes, and overall, I thought the book was well done.

Typically I would not have picked up a book that starred a “bad girl” or “bad boy” (as a chronic goody two shoes myself, I have a hard time relating), but I’m really glad I did because there was more to this novel than the explosive romance. Yes, the chemistry between Gen and Evan is hot, chaotic, and genuinely believable (it’s like Taylor Swift’s song “I Did Something Bad” on repeat), but my favorite part of the book was the second half. Gen and Evan grow individually, and as a couple, making you root for them to succeed.

Now, I said my favorite part of the book was the second half. Honestly, in the FIRST half, the jury was still out on Evan for a while. I liked reading about his upbringing and his familial relationships, because it gave me insight on why he acted the way he did…sometimes. There were some suuuuper cringey moments that I red flagged in my Kindle specifically as “NOT. CUTE.” I really did not think I would like Evan as much as I did by the end of the book. People surprise you though, and they change, which I think is one of the themes of this book. I only wish Cooper did not take until the end of the book to change.

A few other things that did not tickle my fancy were the amount of friends mentioned. Maybe this was a way of setting up the rest of the series, but it got a little confusing trying to keep them straight after they all kept flirting with each other. The Harrison plot was very predictable right from the get-go (it also felt a lot like Veronica Mars and Deputy Leo, especially since there was a rotten sheriff for a villain), but I did think his character was funny.

I think I know who the next book in this series is going to be about, and I will happily read that book when it is published!

Some honorable mentions for Good Supporting Characters are Gen’s dad and brothers, Riley, Mac, and Daisy the cute puppy.

This was my first Elle Kennedy book to read and I can see why she is an instant buy amongst her fans after finishing it. This is the second book of the Avalon Bay Series which I did not realize at the time of reading it. I always recommend reading books in order in their series but for once it may not be necessary. While reading this one, I kept thinking one of the other couples sounded interesting enough to read a separate story about and well you guessed it, the author has already done so. I did not feel at any point that I was missing out on anything without having the read the first book first.

A steamy romance story about a couple who should definitely stay away from each other based on their history...but the physical chemistry between them is begging them not to! They don't waste anytime showing us the powerful attraction between these two either. As I understand it, Elle Kennedy is perfect for those that enjoy the plot and want some spice thrown in as well. The story has dual points of view from Gen and Evan both which I really enjoyed, especially as we got to see why these two haven't worked before.

I think this one would satisfy fans of childhood friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, and second chance romance tropes as the author really manages to pack it all in.

Thanks St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review above!

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐒 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐘 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐃 𝐁𝐎𝐘 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐖 𝐔𝐏

Genevieve is confident & FIERCE! A wicked attitude that is so reminiscent of my absolute favourite FMC of Elle's - 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘑𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘯.
Gen has her demons. She is so broken. She blames herself for her past that should have never been put on her. The reason she left Avalon Bay & Evan with no explanation & no goodbye. But the death of her mom brings her back to town temporarily – at least in the beginning, it’s supposed to be.
These two KILLED ME. You can feel their pull to one another, they’re magnetic. They have so much built-up tension after everything & being apart for a year.

𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐌𝐒 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆’𝐒 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎𝐎 𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈 𝐂𝐀𝐍’𝐓 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐔𝐏

𝐈’𝐌 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐑𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐌𝐘 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇. 𝐈 𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐈’𝐕𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄. 𝐈’𝐌 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐅𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐍𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐌𝐘 𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐍

𝐀 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐏𝐔𝐒𝐇-𝐀𝐍𝐃-𝐏𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆.
𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐈’𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐇, 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐄.

Evan Hartley BROKE MY HEART... the whole way through the first book I was thinking what a brute Evan is, but in reality, he just has the biggest heart & all he really wants is to be loved. He loves Gen so much he would do absolutely anything to show her that.. so, he does.
Evan gets his bad boy self in check & does everything in his power to change for the better; to grow as a person.
There is so much growth in both Gen & Evan throughout. Gen learns to be strong for herself & not let her fears run her life. No more running. She learns how to let go of self-placed guilt & moves on from her bad girl reputation.
This book will not only be a favourite of the series, but a favourite of Elle’s thus far! I couldn’t put it down & I adore this couple so much.

𝐈 𝐂𝐀𝐍’𝐓 𝐑𝐈𝐏 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐘𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅 𝐀𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓.

..𝐖𝐄 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐖𝐄 ’𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑. 𝐖𝐄'𝐕𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐍.

🌊 🅁🄴🅅🄸🄴🅆 🌊

Out October 4th

𝙽𝚎𝚠 𝙰𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚛𝚢
𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎
𝚂𝚖𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚃𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚁𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎
𝚂𝚞𝚙𝚎𝚛 𝚂𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚢 🔥🌶️🥵

We're back in Avalon Bay in Bad Girl Reputation! In book one, Good Girl Complex, we got to know Cooper, one half of the Hartley twins, and his now-girlfriend Mackenzie "Mac" Cabot. In book two, we follow Coop's twin Evan and Genevieve "Gen" West, Evan's "bad girl" ex-girlfriend who left town a year earlier.

Gen turned her life around while she was gone. She got sober, stayed out of trouble, and held down a job. 👏 After returning home to Avalon Bay, Gen knows she needs to keep her distance from "bad boy" Evan. After all, she's a new woman and he's still up to his same old tricks. But the chemistry between the two is one thing that hasn't changed, and Evan is determined to change his ways for another shot with Gen.

Sometimes escaping the past is harder than we think....

💭 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: New Adult is hit or miss for me. I have a hard time relating to much of it (probably because I'm almost 40 😆). But this one was a hit! I actually really enjoy the Avalon Bay series. Like Good Girl Complex, Bad Girl Reputation kept me engaged and invested in the outcome. The characters are flawed but likeable, and the spice was 👌! Definitely recommend for folks who enjoy spicy NA romance.

I read this in two formats: ebook and audiobook. The audiobook was really good!! The narrators, Summer Morton and Lee Samuels, do a fabulous job with their performances.

I'm looking forward to book three!💕

Thank you to the following for my gifted copies in exchange for my honest review:
NetGalley
St. Martin's
Macmillan Audio
Elle Kennedy