Elle Kennedy's latest offering is the perfect mix of second chance romance and a little attempt at the reformed bad boy. After reading Good Girl Complex, I couldn't wait to get Genevieve and Evan's story. So, when the opportunity to read Bad Girl Reputation early presented itself, I snagged it.

The chemistry between these two characters is off the charts. They've had an attraction since they were young and it definitely hasn't faded. Yet, Genevieve is trying to ignore it in order to maintain her new reformed personality and keep herself on the "straight and narrow path." She views Evan as a temptation she can't risk. Meanwhile, the minute she steps back into town, it's like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Evan is instantly on high alert and ready to pick back up where they were before. Seeing Genevieve's attempt at disinterest confuses and frustrates him.

As the book progresses, the reader gets more insight explaining why Genevieve left town and changed her lifestyle. You also see how painful her absence was for Evan and how protective his brother is of him after seeing the devastation. The challenge will be whether or not Gen and Evan can work through the changes they've both gone through and still love the people they've become without falling into their old, unhealthy behaviors. They have to both accept that they aren't to blame for the other person's decisions - good or bad.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well developed and easy to connect with. The ending was satisfying and gave me a feeling of satisfaction.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

Unfortunately, I have to say I was disappointed by this book. It was not a bad book, but it also wasn’t my favorite. I am a big fan of the Off-Campus series by Elle Kennedy so I had high hopes for Bad Girl Reputation. This series, much like her others, is a “standalone series”, so each book CAN be read independently, but they all tie together. I hadn’t read the first book, Good Girl Complex, prior to reading this one, and I will probably not end up reading it.

Even though I was disappointed by the book, I found it to be an enjoyable enough read and was happy to pick it up each day. It was a quick, easy read and fulfills the childhood best friends to lovers and second chance romance fairly well. It also deals with parental trauma as a secondary theme, which added a layer of depth to the storyline. But overall, I did not bond with the characters, and I did not love the plotline. While it may not have been the book for me, I do think many romance readers will find it to be what they’re looking for.

Evan! I am so glad he got his HEA! I loved him in Good Girl Girl Complex, so I couldn't wait to read his story. I loved his character growth and how he became a better person because of his love and devotion to Genevieve. He was sexy as hell! The dialogue between these too was super fun and flirty. Both characters had a lot to overcome and I enjoyed watching them work their way through their baggage. This was such a great summer read. I love Elle Kennedy's stories, and I can't wait to read the next book in this series!

♥ Review by Lys

Bad Girl Reputation is a fun and romantic read and all about the second chance romance. I wasn’t sure going into this book how much I would love it but it drew me in and I couldn’t stop reading.

These two characters used to be high school sweethearts that are toxic for each other but can’t get enough of each other. But then one Gen our main character ups and leaves the town and most importantly, Evan.

What brings Gen back to her hometown is her mother passing away and coming to town for her funeral. But she isn’t coming back as fun partying Gen, but as a more grown up Gen.

You see Gen try to morph back to her old life without the self destruction tendencies. But Evan seems to pull out her old self that she doesn’t want to come out. You see Evan’s shallow attempts to get her back but fails miserably when he realizes that his own antics won’t work anymore.

I really love the chemistry between these two characters. It is really what sucked me into the story. The push and pull dynamic of their relationship really pulled on my romantic heartstrings.

Even though this was a cute read, the character's motivation did not make sense. Gen, even though she is trying to be a better person still didn’t mind having booty calls with Evan while dating a different guy. That issue was never really addressed at the end.

Another thing is the quick wrap up at the end. It was really rushed. The problem that actually arises to threaten them apart wasn’t fleshed out and didn’t make sense to the story line. All that resistance in the end from Gen just was tossed out of the window and I still didn’t understand why because it felt forced, and it happened quickly.

All in all, I loved this read and would recommend it to romantic readers.

This is my first read of the Avalon Bay Series but I have read many of Elle Kennedy’s other books. Her Off-Campus Series is one of my favorites so I was very excited when I got the early copy of Bad Girl Reputation. Kennedy’s writing style is always very engaging but Genevive and Evan’s story fell a bit flat for me. I enjoy second chance romances and the friends to lovers trope but I wanted more from the characters. There could have been more push and pull between them which is always my favorite. Although I wanted more from the characters, I did love the witty banter and the growth Gen and Evan experienced and am interested to read the next book in the series.

3. 5 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the early copy

Out 10/4

Thank you to St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an Advanced Copy of Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy!

Let me start off by saying Elle Kennedy is one of my favorite authors. The Deal is a comfort book for me, and I find myself re-reading it all time. This book/series doesn't do it for me as much as her other books. Don't get me wrong it's a good book, and I enjoyed reading it, but I didn't love it.

Some things I loved: The continuation of development of characters and story lines from the first book - Good Girl Complex. I love seeing characters again. I loved the best friends & lover vibes. Elle also did a great job of having the sexual tension and passion just oozing off the pages. I appreciated the growth of both of our main characters - realizing they needed to do better not just for themselves but also each other.

Some things I didn't love: It just felt chaotic and kind of everywhere which may as well been the vibe she was going for.- it fit with the character's personalities and lifestyles. I also felt like their issues were portrayed a little excessively.

But I'll close again, I will always love Elle Kennedy and she will always be an auto buy for me!

This is the second book In the Avalon bay series and I won’t lie and say I wasn’t disappointed because i definitely was. I expected more of a couple with the history they had, I wanted more angst the push and pull woulda been amazing but it just didn’t have that spark.

Did I love the characters? Yes I did.
Did I love their chemistry? Sadly, no.

I was excited for this and had hopes it would be better. Especially with their history and how Evan was my favorite character in the first one. But it just didn’t have it, something about it felt off and kinda forced.

I did love the characters and the way they grew separately and learned from their mistakes but their scenes together, it just want there for me.

3.5 stars. Bad Girl Reputation is the second novel in Elle Kennedy's Avalon Bay series, residing firmly in the new adult/contemporary romance genre. The story is largely character driven, a tale of the party girl and the bad boy, and what happens when they decide to grow up. Can they ever move on from their past reputations in a small town, or are they destined to repeat old habits?

Kennedy's writing style is enjoyable for me, always easy to get into and follow. In this one, I did feel a bit out of touch (aka old) with some of the slang used. There was a lot of push and pull, will they or won't they between the leads. I liked that they both eventually realized that growing out of their reckless pasts, and wanting for each other, didn't mean they had to change everything about themselves.

ARC from St. Martin's Griffin Press via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions in this review are my own.

The bad girl, Gen, is back in Avalon Bay. Is she reformed? Does her reputation precede her? This book follows the Gen as she navigates her way through her reintroduction to her home town and the rekindling of her romance with the HOT Hartley twin, Evan. You will be entertained by Elle Kennedy’s storytelling, especially with the sprinkling of spicy scenes!

This book!!!!!

This freaking book!!!

I was lucky enough to get the ARC of this book as an ebook and audiobook so I got to read it and listen to it.

I really thought, after reading good girl complex, that the second in the series would not be as good and boy I was wrong!

I love Gen and Evan so much together. This is a wonderful second chance romance - with both characters realizing their flaws and working on themselves for themselves, and also for each other. I also really enjoyed the Big Brother aspect that allowed Evan to grow more. His relationship with his “little brother” was so sweet and funny.

This is the first book I’ve read that was bad boy and bad girl - which I didn’t expect to enjoy but it was done so well!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for giving me the ebook and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook to read in exchange for an honest review.

Genevieve West is back in town attending her mother’s funeral. She hasn’t been home in over a year since the day she just up and left her hometown. Gen not only left her family, but her longtime boyfriend Evan Hartley. Zero warning, zero notice. Why? She thought her life was out of control, that together she and Evan were dysfunctional. That they were codependent of each other’s bad habits. Gen thought she needed to move. She had her reason which was the catalyst that set her leaving in motion.

So now that Gen is back in town, her father asks her to stay and help manage the family business. Gen knows that if she stays in town, she is going to see Evan. Will she be able to stay away from him? She doesn’t want to revert to old behaviors and she knows the pull for them to be together is strong. At first I didn’t really like either MC,
but at about 45 percent in, things started to change. Before that, this very much read more like a high school drama.

I just couldn’t get on board completely with the the catalyst for Gen leaving. It just felt like it wasn’t a strong enough reason to warrant such a drastic decision. It didn’t completely vibe with me, but as more was revealed Gen’s reasoning seemed more feasible. Without going into specific detail, I still feel like there could have been a conversation before such a finite decision was made. A lot of heartache could have been avoided. I would think just disappearing without a word would create more issues than staying…and it did.

Overall, I ended up liking both MC’s at the end and Evan really turned out to be the one that held on to love for them both. Unconditional love- he gave that to Gen and in the end it came back to him. 3.5/5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 This is book two of a series, but can be read as a standalone.

Releases 10-4-22

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I think that New Adult books just are not for me. I didn’t connect to the characters and couldn’t root for the second chance romance here even though I wanted to.

Everyone felt a little flat.

The storyline of this sequel is so much better than the first book! I enjoyed seeing Evan grow so much in this book. I didn’t particularly like Gen, but Evan stole my heart reading this! Super cute while still spicy and I couldn’t put it down!

eview: bad girl reputation by elle kennedy

rating: 3.75/5 ⭐️
release date: october 4

synopsis: this is the second book in kennedy’s avalon bay series. this one follows evan and genevieve! the two have always had an on-again/off-again relationship. they’ve been best friends, lovers, enemies… bad influences on one another. when gen’s bad girl reputation catches up to her, she deicides to leave avalon bay–and evan–behind. but after her mother dies, she is forced to return back to the bay, where evan is waiting to win her over once and for all.

review: i thought i was going to like this book more than i did. i absolutely loved good girl complex, so i was a bit disappointed. why didn’t i like this one? hard to say. i usually adore friends to lovers and second chance, but i think it’s because of the slow burn aspect that builds and builds. this doesn’t build because these two characters have always kind of sort of been together, and we just jump right back into their relationship. i think i would’ve liked it more if we got more of their backstory. there are some flashbacks but it feels incomplete and that wouldve been a game changer, then we could have had the slow burn AND the hot and heavy back together. that being said, this book was still super cute. a quick read. love the dual POV. i think Gen was the shining star of this book, she grows so much and i liked being in her head more than evan (sorry evan).

if like kennedy’s other books give this one a go! thank you to netgalley for my e-arc in exchange for my honest review

𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪: 𝗕𝗮𝗱 𝗚𝗶𝗿𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝘂𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗘𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗱𝘆
⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

To keep it short: this series is not for me. Not to say some people won’t really love it. When I read Good Girl Complex, I didn’t really enjoy it, but I was very intrigued with Evan, the twin brother that BGR follows. Evan and his mysterious ex girlfriend “Gen” are the reasons why I requested this.

Turns out this one missed the mark for me as well. The plot had good bones. Toxic relationship with substance abuse, absent parents, learning to trust again and grow together as more mature adults. I personally felt like all of these themes were touched upon at surface level. The story felt predictable and repetitive.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the opportunity to read and honestly review this early.

I was very excited to read this book because I didn't love book 1 in this series. While I do think I preferred this one, I wasn't totally enamored with this one either. Some of the side plots felt very odd (the dad throwing the business on Gen, the harassing cop) and didn't add much to the story overall. I did really enjoy the chemistry between Evan and Gen and appreciated both of their journeys. I'm always a sucker for a second chance romance.

As with all books, this is just my personal preference and headspace while reading. You may read and love! Thanks so much to St. Martins for an ARC of this book!

Book 2 in the Avalon Bay series ~ I suppose it's okay to not read book 1 first, but Mac and Cooper make appearances in this installment. On the flip side I can't say I really remember if Gen was in much of book 1.

Featuring ~ dual 1st person POV, death of a parent, absentee parent, high school sweethearts, bad girl to good girl, toxic relationship, small town, twins, some steamage, second chance

Genevieve & Evan
Genevieve is back for her mother's funeral after leaving town a year ago without a word as to why. Her father convinces her to stay and help out in the family business. She's hoping to avoid her ex boyfriend, Evan, but that proves to be difficult in such a small town. They never really got over each other, so they can't seem to stay away from each other now. Can this former bad girl turning good girl sway Evan to grow up too?

Rusty was the worst, most dreadful character ever. Harrison was so sweet and I felt bad that he was led on, but it seems like he might get his own happily ever after.

All in all, there were some frustrating moments between these two, but they had some good chemistry and banter.

I was fortunate enough to receive a kindle copy and the audiobook to review. Lee Samuels and Summer Morton are our narrators for 10 hours and 24 minutes. While they did a good job the narration was just so slow at 2x and I couldn't speed it up to 2.5x because it skipped, but I got through it just fine. I am happy there weren't the same narrators as there were in book 1.

I loveeeed Good Girl Complex so I needed to read this one. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint - I read this all in one sitting! Elle Kennedy created such a great story and MCs, I loved every minute of this. I am a sucker for a good rom-com and second chance romance story, and this was giving One Tree Hill vibes. All of the characters were very likeable and you just get sucked into a story that tugs at your heart but still makes you laugh. Thank you so much for this ARC, I enjoyed this one so much!!

BOOK REVIEW: Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️

REVIEW:

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

I read Bad Girl Reputation immediately after I read the first book in the Avalon Bay series, Good Girl Complex. I will keep to the positives first. I did like the expansion on the characters from Good Girl Complex and getting to know some of the others that live in town. I did like Evan repairing his relationship with his mom and his character growth. I did like the spice that Elle Kennedy works in even though it’s over quickly.

Now, Evan and Gen were just not my cup of tea. Their relationship was toxic from the beginning. I understand showing character growth and change with age, but the we need to stay away we’re bad for each other to the I can’t keep my hands away from you whiplash was constant. The shadow of the reason Gen left felt like it was added just to keep the story moving and even that was too much. The story was very predictable and bland. I didn’t mind Good Girl Complex but Bad Girl Reputation wasn’t for me.

Genivieve left town to conquer her addictions, including to Evan, her boyfriend with whom she had a volatile relationship. Now, Gen's come back because her mom died and she's staying for a bit to help her dad. Evan's still stuck on her but can they renew their relationship without the drama? Should they? Evan's twin brother doesn't think so and Gen has another boyfriend. But this is a second chance romance so you know what's going to happen. They both get their chance to tell the story,, a nice device for this situation and these two, who actually conveyed to me as very immature. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A fast entertaining read with a surprise or two.