I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!

I love dark, gritty, working class characters and this book is absolutely, positively 100% everything I could ever want in a romance. Not even kidding. I read and listened to it in one day because I could not put it down.

If you read Good Girl Complex, you are already familiar with the characters (if not, no big deal because they are all re-introduced, but I do recommend reading that one too because it was also a 5 star read for me!).

Gen - a bad girl - comes back to the college beach town where she grew up for the funeral of the mother that she never thought loved her (she learns SO MUCH about her mom from her dad over the course of the weeks she is there, including a scene that made me WEEP!). Why did Gen leave? Because of a jerky cop who abused his power and continues to do so throughout the book until it all comes to a glorious, empowering head!

And then there is Evan - sexy, swoon worthy, hot headed, book boyfriend extraordinaire - and all the ways he wants to be and has always been and will always be there for Gen. They've been friends and more since they were kids..

If you like strong female characters and open door romance, don't miss this one!

sooo i didnt like good girl reputation but i still wanted to pick up this book since i usually enjoy elle kennedy’s books. this portrayed woman soo badly like the only woman that wasnt weird or mean or whatever was the main character?? this was second chance romance trope without all the good aspects about it, like there was no real development and them getting back together kinda felt out of the blue. (i’m exaggerating but i personally thing it truly felt unnatural). this was also bad girl x bad boy which sounds fun but it was so cliche. anyways this was boring i don’t recommend

This one is 3.5 stars for me. It was a good follow up to Good Girl Complex, but it was slow for me. I think Evan and Gen both kind of got on my nerves, which is why I couldn't get as into it as I typically would. Genevieve especially with the Deputy Randall situation. How can she blame herself for breaking up his family when he is the one that was inappropriate towards her? And how does she not go to his superiors when he first starts using his badge to harass her? With that said, I did like that it was about starting over and how difficult that can be, especially in a small town.

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

1.5 stars unfortunately 🫣.

I wanted to like this SO bad. I usually love Elle Kennedy and was so excited to receive this ARC. Unfortunately this just fell completely flat for me.

The story starts out with our female MC coming back to her hometown after being gone for a year. She left because she felt like she had a “bad reputation” and needed to “fix herself”. So she comes back for a family situation and sees her ex boyfriend at this event. They are literally making out in the bathroom a few pages later. And so the weird cycle of “let’s be together, no we’re bad for each other, let’s be together, no we’re bad for each other” begins. I think what made this so hard was that because the story jumps right in at this point and doesn’t give any background info on the characters or their romance in the past, I emotionally didn’t connect with any of them. So as they had moments of growth, I literally couldn’t care less because I didn’t care about any of them.

The secondary characters were boring and annoying and, again, all “bad”. Which what does that even mean?

Then there’s the weird storyline with a rogue and creepy and predatory cop. Which I hated because ew.

Then we had our actual 3rd act breakup scene that literally lasted .2 seconds and as soon as Gen asked Evan to meet to discuss he literally just forgot all the reasons he wanted to not be with her? It just was not good unfortunately and I’m so so so so sad about it. I wanted to love it. I really did.
Thank you so much to Netgalley for providing me an ARC to review!

Well, that was underwhelming. At least it wasn't problematic like Good Girl Complex, I guess. Personally, I think Elle Kennedy's writing style, as well as her characters are very awkwardly dated. Her stories often read like problematic, early 2010's romcoms. The main female character is always supposed to be a badass, but the way this is shown is by having all the other female characters around her be incredibly one dimensional to make her look better, and the men around her will often openly compare all the women in the book without any repercussions. This book is no exception from this pattern. However, the main problem I have with Bad Girl Reputation had nothing to do with the writing style or cliche characters, as sadly, I was expecting that. It had to do with the lack of plot, stakes, and character growth. This book follows Genevieve and Evan, two exes, however we never really see their relationship develop. They constantly state that they are bad for one another, and then they'll tell a short anecdote about when they were kids and first falling in love. Then, at the very end of the book, after being on again off again for years, they decide their love is worth it and get together, but there is nothing to say that this is the end of their story. We haven't seen them grow as characters or partners. There have been no scenes of their relationship or the status quo changing in ways that it hasn't already done so before. Everything was very cyclic, so when you get to the epilogue, there is no sense that this is the the end or that Genevieve and Evan have at all grown, matured, or even fallen deeper in love. This made the entire reading experience very weird, as I never could tell what point of the plot I was supposed to be at and if things were going to pick up more or if this was it. Overall, I'm sure some people will enjoy this as a quick and easy read, but personally I found it quite dull.

Unfortunately I will not be reading this book. After I was approved for this book some information came to light about Elle Kennedy and at this time I do not feel comfortable using my small curated audience to promote this book. Thank you for the opportunity.

Bad Girl Reputation
Elle Kennedy
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
🌶🌶/5

Second chance romance ✔️
Small town ✔️
Sexual tension ✔️
Dual POV ✔️
Series ✔️

Second in the Avalon Bay series this book follows the story of Genevieve and Evan former high school sweethearts that burned hot as the sun until they didn’t.

Gen, the resident party girl and Evan, the hot headed bad boy, grew up together in AB. They were friends first until they grew mutual feelings and began dating. Both dare devils at heart they thrive on the energy and chemistry that they drew from each other and all of their misadventures. But when one bad night for Gen causes her to reevaluate her choices and make a run for a fresh clean start as a good girl she disappears without so much as a word. She finds herself settled and begins making a life for herself until news of a death in the family brings her back to AB.
One encounter with Evan is all it takes for all the old feelings to come rushing back for both of them. Forced to give up her fresh start to stay and help manage her family’s business Gen tries to avoid Evan at all costs to maintain her reformed good girl ways. But it seems the harder she tries to stay away the harder he tries to win her back. When the incident that caused her to leave town without saying goodbye resurfaces they’re forced to face the question of “what happens when the party girl and the bad boy grow up.”

Thanks to @netgalley for an opportunity to preview this one. It officially releases on October 4th so keep it on your radar! This is the second in the Avalon Bay series so if you’ve read the first - Good Girl Complex - you’ll enjoy seeing and following up on some of the same characters, especially Mac and Coop ♥️

I would give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars. *some spoilers below* After reading Good Girl Complex about Mackenzie and Cooper’s love story, I was pretty excited for the second book in the Avalon Bay series being focused on Cooper’s twin brother Evan and his love interest of Genevieve—especially since seeing Evan struggle a lot in the first book with drinking, getting into fights and sleeping around I was curious to see how things would work out in the end for his character development and growth. As the author says in the acknowledgments, Evan and Gen’s story is about redemption, forgiveness, second chances and the struggles of letting go of the past and trying to do and be the best version of yourself. A friends to lovers story with the smallest “love triangle” (the other guys truly didn’t stand a chance) I really enjoyed seeing these characters who have grown up together for most/all of their lives turn from the party girl and bad boy to respectable, mature adults and get their happy ending. They both had a lot of growing up to do and to change for the better to prove themselves in the eyes of their families, friends and most of all to each other. I’m glad they were able to work things out and be happy together. I loved seeing Evan’s relationship with his mom change and when Gen learned her mom struggled with depression/PPD and understood why her mom was so distant from most of her kids. Overall I really enjoyed the story…just wish there was more/better smut and some parts felt kind of slow/boring for me. I wasn’t always captivated by the story…Can’t wait to read some of Elle Kennedy’s other series! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I read Good Girl Complex about a week ago and was intrigued enough to read the sequel. I had a few issues with GGC with most of the characters being unlikeable so I was hoping I’d like Gen and get to know the characters more. Gen ended up being my least favorite character in the series, even behind the twins who I can barely stand. I do not enjoy the whole alpha male “I will fight you for looking at a girl who is not my property!!!” thing. At least with GGC, I really liked Mac, Bonnie, Alana, and Steph. In Bad Girl Reputation, the existing characters didn’t get any more depth and I wasn’t as fond of them as I was before. I so hoped that I would like this book and I was excited to know Gen’s story, but this book fell flat for me.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This was my first Elle Kennedy so I didn't' go in with any expectations. The writing was great and I got sucked into the plot pretty quickly, but I just did not care about the MCs and it made me not want to finish the book. I will still give her another chance though.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martins Press, and Elle Kennedy for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I didnt realize that this was the second book in The Avalon Bay series but this one definitely read as a standalone. I might have missed a little bit of background but it was easy to understand and get to know the different characters and their back stories. I love the second chance romance trope so I was excited to explore Gen and Evans relationship. This was a spicy and steamy summer romance that reminded me of my summers at the beach. The addition of Harrison and the other police officer made for interesting side story lines! This one publishes October 4th and would be the perfect book to indulge in between all your spooky season reads!

I really enjoyed Good Girl Complex (book 1), however, I really loved this one so much more. Evan and Gen had so much chemistry and heart. I loved the tension and their energy. I was literally rooting for them even when they were downright toxic to one another.

Their character development was very admirable and sweet. They both put in the work to be better for themselves and each other, which gave so much more depth to their relationship. Evan was such softy for Gen and I ate it up every time.

If this becomes a longer series for the other side characters, it will be interesting to see if the author can top this book, because I truly loved every single page. The book was funny, heartbreaking (at some moments), sweet, and overall, everything you love about a second-chance, small town summer romance.

And the ending? I was blushing and giggling over fictional characters, but I loved every second. Such a goodie, and I highly recommend.

Well there folks, Elle Kennedy has DONE IT AGAIN! 👏🏼👏🏼

In her Avalon Bay book #2 we get the story of the stereotypical bad boy & bad girl - Genevieve (Gen) & Evan. All Gen and Evan know is how to live on the edge, raise eyebrows & push the rules - which has also fueled their relationship 😉😍

This steamy & hilarious second-chance romance explores themes of turning new leafs, challenging your own comfort zone & questioning if second-chances really exist. I very much enjoyed the depth that was brought to the characters in understanding their story & background. I enjoyed getting to see Gen & Ethan on a path of self-discovery, which forced them to face what would be considered their normal behavior or tendencies

I also appreciated the family dynamics & how those components were woven into the story. Helping the reader to understand background information, which is formative to creating the depth that the characters displayed. Not to mention, Gen & Ethan had an ample amount of passion, which kept me turning pages to find out what happens next! 😉

Overall I enjoyed this book and felt it was a good follow up & contrast to “The Good Girl Complex.”

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! This book comes out on 10/4/2022! 🙌🏼🎉

3.5 Stars Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy is a second chance romance about forgiveness, growth, and shedding the past you in order to be a better version of yourself. I loved the first in this duology, Good Girl Complex, and was thrilled with NetGalley gave me a free e-copy to review. This one wasn’t quite as good as Good Girl Complex, but I still loved reading Genevieve and Evan’s story.

Genevieve has returned to her hometown of Avalon Bay, SC, for her mother’s funeral and stays to help the family business. Gen runs into her ex-boyfriend, Evan; her first and only love, and the man she left when she skipped town a year prior. Gen ran away to try to rid herself of her bad girl reputation, which included leaving Evan. Together since they were kids, Evan and Gen bring out both the worst and the best in each other, often leaving destruction in their wake. Evan is still in love with Gen and, determined to win her back, decides to shed his bad boy reputation and become a better man, both for himself and for Gen. This was a great story and I flew through it in an evening. I love anything Elle Kennedy writes and hope that she keeps this series going (maybe Alana’s love triangle with Tate and Wyatt is next?).

I don't really have anything good/bad to say about Bad Girl Reputation. If you have enjoyed Elle Kennedys books, you will enjoy this one too!

I think this was a really good follow up to the first in this series. I will probably continue to read the other side stories. Anyone who liked her off-campus series will fall in love with the characters in these books. I hope there is a book on Alana and Wyatt

Party girl Genevie hits her personal rock bottom after a night out goes awry, causing her to leave her seaside hometown to reform her ways. When a year later a personal tragedy bring her back home to see if her reformed ways will stick as she helps out the family business, but when the ex she has been in love with since childhood and resident bad boy Evan is hellbent on getting his wild girl back.
Can these two finally grow up and get a new version of happily ever after or will their pasts catch up and stick with them and ruin things for good?

Very captivating contemporary romance that does tackle some heavier themes. This is the second book in the Avalon Bay series, each book seems like they are connected but can be read as a stand alone which is great and now I need and want to read book 1.

Thank you NetGalley, for giving me the opportunity of reading this book! I am a huge Elle Kennedy fan and was so honored that I was approved to read one of her books. Bad Girl Reputation is the second book in the Avalon Bay duology, now following Gen and Evan’s love story, which was a rollercoaster ride to say the least. We see them having to find their footing, after Gen’s abrupt departure left Evan with a few trust issues. We also see Gen’s inner turmoil as to the reasons behind why she left, the history behind the strained relationship with her mother and the awful trauma from her past. I wouldn’t say you have to read the first book to read this one, but it may put some of the story together in a better way. For example, why Cooper (Evan’s brother) isn’t a huge fan of Gen. Overall, I’d have to say I enjoyed this one more than Good Girl Complex. The passion and fire between Evan and Gen could be felt from a mile away. The love they have for each other couldn’t be tarnished no matter what mess is thrown at them. I can’t wait to see if anything more comes from not only their story but Mac and Cooper’s…I will be first in line to buy that book if there is another continuation!

Elle Kennedy was one of my top authors after reading her off campus series. I didn’t know what to expect with the bad girl reputation and I’ve never read the Good girl complex book so I was intrigued to enter one of her other worlds. It was a good read but I would still prefer her off campus series. I will definitely be reading her Briar U series next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this book as an arc. I am voluntarily leaving a review.

This book is not a regular romance. It deals with death, depression and substance abuse. It’s about redemption and moving on.
Evan and Genevieve have been friends since kids and their friendship turned to love or lust in the beginning atleast . As teens they tested the limits and lived life to the fullest .
No one else matched what they had together but together they were also volatile.
They learn together to grow up, deal with heartbreak and redemption to be the people they are now