Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-arc of Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy.

I read Good Girl Complex on a whim went I went to the bookstore to pick up a different book. I thought the title was intriguing and the cover also drew me in. What sold me was the synopsis. After I finished Good Girl Complex I was browsing Netgalley and saw this! I quickly requested it, not thinking I would actually get approved (I need to work on my score).

In this novel we follow Genevieve West and Evan Hartley. In the first novel we followed Mackenzie Cabot and Cooper Hartely, Cooper and Evan are twins.

Genevieve returns home to Avalon Bay for her mothers funeral. She plans to leave as soon as she can but her father asks her for help with the family business for a few months. Not being able to say no to her dad she sticks around. In town is her ex-boyfriend, Evan, and as much as she tries to avoid him it is a small costal town and it's hard not to see people. Evan and Gen have a tumultuous relationship, they always seem to get into trouble together. Gen is trying to make better changes in her life and that includes not seeing Evan. They can't seem to move on though.

My Thoughts:
I like the writing style, it is easy to read, entertaining and good if you are tired. It is a good pick if you are just looking for a book to entertain you and distract you from the stress of life for a while and aren't too worried about how good the book is.
These characters are outrageous. It isn't necessarily a bad thing, but in this case it became annoying as the story progressed. In this one Gen and Evan were very toxic together. It was frustrating to watch them sometimes. Though that is part of their story together and the plot. The personal development Genevieve goes through and the positive changes she is making in her life. There is more to the story but that is the bases. Also, the growth that they go on isn't very well developed so while it says they are growing there isn't really enough proof.

Overall I wasn't blown away, but I didn't absolutely hate it. If you are looking for a great love story, this isn't it.

This book was just alright. I had higher expectations for an Elle Kennedy novel because of other series shes written, but this was not her best. I just didn't feel like the characters had any sort of emotional connection and constantly just kept talking about physically wanting each other. Also personally I found Evan's POV unbearable at times.... it was not fun being inside his head. It was a good book to just sit back and read/listen to but nothing really memorable.

A great sequel that tells of the power of second chances. This was an intoxicating tale of growth, decision-making, love, and second chances.A little slow in the beginning but it found it’s pace eventually. I do prefer Kennedy's other series to this, however, it was a fun read and would highly recommend to second chance book lovers!

Childhood friends to lovers turned exes then enemies to lovers again. The energy between Gen and Evan is palpable from the first pages of this spicy and sweet novel. Both Gen and Evan are reckoning who they were together with who they can be going forward, and the sparks are flying! Thank you to #NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for my gifted ARC!

Elle Kennedy never disappoints. As a fan of the Off Campus series, I was so excited to try this book. I started this book and absolutely loved it! I was approved for the audio arc and will be putting my full review under that one.

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

This may be my lowest-rated Elle Kennedy book to date, which makes me very sad. This second chance romance between Gen and Evan just did not work for me. I felt they were both very immature and yes, while they definitely had chemistry, I'm not sure I really believed their relationship was more than that. I also felt like there was some toxicity that the story did not need. While I enjoyed book 1 in this new series, I feel like this storyline just did not grab me, nor the did relationship. I think the story needed a lot more development.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

I thought it was a good book, I enjoyed it.

This was a really fun book! I liked all the ups and downs. I did feel bad for poor Harrison throughout the book as it felt like she was using him. Overall I liked the small town coming home vibes and the second chance romance was done well!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book. This does not influence my honest review of this book.

Rating:3.5/5 (rounded to 4)

I want to preface this review with saying that I did not read the Good Girl Complex before reading the Bad Girl Reputation. From what I understand, I was able to read this book as a stand-alone, similar to the off campus series. All the characters coexist but they all have their individual stories.

This is a childhood best friends to lovers trope which is one of my favorites! However, I think that there was a lot of toxic elements in Gen and Evan’s relationship. I appreciate that they were both trying to work on themselves throughout the book, but I personally believe that those things need to be worked on before a relationship, not during one. It builds an issue of codependency and needing each other in order to better themselves which can lead to more toxic behavior.

There’s also a lot of drama and messy relationships between characters in the book. I appreciated the character development and I lived for the angst. It was entertaining and a quick read.

This book has:
Childhood best friends to lovers
Second chance romance
Dual POV

It was cute and funny, funnier than I expected. Gen should have been a bit more upfront about her new lifestyle with Evan in the beginning but it was nice to see them both grow and improve their lives. Felt like there was more showing with Evan and telling with Gen about their growth but that’s fine cuz she did her work before the book started. I liked how she was still cool with her friends and never looked down on them when she returned and didn’t think she was better than them. It started off a little slow but it then found its rhythm and pacing. They were a pretty healthy couple at the end of the book and it happened organically so that was nice and refreshing. Nothing felt forced

Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy is a second-chance romance about a girl who moves back into her town after years away and just can't stay away from her high-school ex. I found this book leaned a bit into tropes and stereotypes a bit too hard at times, and the characters acted too young/immature for their age. This is my first Elle Kennedy book, so if you liked her other books this may be enjoyable for you--it just wasn't for me. I found the relationship to be a bit toxic and a lot of the drama felt unnecessary or avoidable. Again, if you like EK books or the first one in this series, you'll probably enjoy this one but it felt underdeveloped to me.

Genevieve and Evan have been inseparable and drawn to each other since they young. They lived and loved with reckless abandon and didn’t care about the destruction left in their wake. That is, until Genevieve up and leaves town without so much as a goodbye. Now she’s back in town and ready to shed her bad girl reputation but she knows that means staying away from Evan. Evan is not ready to let her go so easily.

•Dual POV
•character driven
•Small town setting
•Second chance romance
•A bit of spice 🔥

I actually enjoyed this plot and the characters more than the first book. The series does still feel a lot more YA than the authors Off Campus series. It was a good book but not blow my mind amazing book.

Thank you NetGalley and st. Martins press for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

Bad Girl Reputation comes out October 4th!

I tried, but this just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t stand the main characters, especially Evan. And a lot of the dialogue was just too crude.

This was a great read to simply relax and not have to think too deeply. I appreciated the characters and relationships.

The Bad Girl’s Reputation by Elle Kennedy
4.5/5⭐️
Thank you! @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this digital arc!
This book was a whole roller coaster ride but in a good way. I loved the second chance romance trope in this book and how both Evan and Gen tried to be better people not only for each other but for themselves. The back and forth between the two would have annoyed me in any other book but the way Elle Kennedy executed it in this was just perfect. I won’t lie I did shed a tear when I realized that I was almost at the end😭. The Bad Girl’s Reputation will be released on October 4,2022 and I highly recommend that you mark your calendars for that date!

Elle Kennedy does it again. She has easily become one of my favorite authors. Kennedy once again has created a perfect sequel to Good Girl Complex. Real and fun characters that are easy to fall in love with and engaging plot. I'm excited for everyone to read this.

This is the second novel in Elle Kennedy's 'Avalon Bay' series. In the first, Cooper settled down with MacKenzie, and now Cooper's twin, Evan, is reconnecting with the one that got away.
Gen skipped town without a word a year ago. Evan and Gen had been on and off, hot and cold since high school. Gen's only back in town for her mom's funeral. Due to her mother's frostiness throughout her childhood, Gen doesn't feel she's as upset as everyone expects her to be, except Evan, her long time confidant. After reconnecting and nearly doing the deed in a closet at the funeral, Gen makes it clear she's attempting to shed her bad girl reputation, and that Evan has some growing up to do if he wants to get back together.
Overall, this was a really sweet second chance romance. This can be a great trope, but it hinges so much on the crux of the dissolution of their initial romance. I personally felt that Gen's reasons for leaving did not make enough sense--especially with the dramatic flair with which she left made enough sense. I also felt that this book laid too many of the sins of their initial demise at Evan's feet, as well as too many of the general mistakes throughout the book.
The background characters of Avalon Bay are fun, if not an obvious set up for the following book in the series.
Overall, I would give this book a 3.5, rounded up to 4. This was a fun palate cleanser!

Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me – I couldn’t connect with the characters at all. And I didn’t “feel” the chemistry between the two of them considering that this was a second chance romance. I really don’t think adults act like this, but maybe some do. I only got through about 30% of the book before I gave up so this is a DNF one for me. Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an early copy of this book for my honest opinion.

This was such a good second chance romance. I loved Good Girl Complex but Bad Girl Reputation knocked it out of the park. I loved watching Even and Gen grow and mature while working through past trauma. I read this book in one sitting and it is the perfect summer read with funny banter and strong chemistry.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨: After reading and loving book one, Good Girl Complex, last year I was so excited to receive an arc of book two, Bad Girl Reputation and I enjoyed it. It was so fun to head back into Avalon Bay for Cooper's brother Evan's story! Evans ex Genevieve returns to Avalon Bay for her mother's funeral. A former "bad girl" she is trying to turn over a new leaf. I loved Evan and I loved the ruinion of him and Gen. They had great chemistry and I enjoyed the character development they both had throughout the story. Are the characters immature and cliche? Yes, but it's still a fun story to read! I do wish there had been more to the plot thought. I also really loved Harrison and I hope we get a story on him next.

𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙣𝙟𝙤𝙮:
• second chance romance
• small town
• family drama

𝙋𝙪𝙗 𝘿𝙖𝙮: 10/4/22
𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙧𝙚: Contemporary Romance

Thank you St Martin's Press for my gifted ARC! #BadGirlReputation #SMPInfluencer