Thank you to NetGalley, Elle Kennedy, and St. Martin’s Press for providing this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was not my favorite Elle Kennedy book. I felt the same way with the Good Girl Complex. Just not my cup of tea. There were definitely parts that I enjoyed, but I did not enjoy every aspect of the book. I felt like the romance was overshadowed by Gen and Evan. I also did not connect with them like I had with other characters that Elle Kennedy has written.

This review will be posted to my Goodreads and Amazon accounts immediately and to my instagram account @ginganinja333 on October 4, 2022.

I am a big fan of Elle Kennedy and was really looking forward to Bad Girl Reputation, the second book in her new Avalon Bay series. Bad Girl Reputation is about Genevieve (Gen) and Evan who have had an on again/off again relationship since high school. Gen left town a year ago without saying a word to Evan to try and shed her bad girl reputation. Now she’s back for the time being but doesn’t want to fall back into old habits. Evan wants to pick up where they left off and remind Gen of the good times they had. Has Evan changed any of his wild partying ways while Gen’s been gone? Can he change them now that’s she back and he wants a second chance?

This is a contemporary romance and while there is definitely a romance in this book, I think it is overshadowed by the growth Gen and Evan make individually. Both Gen and Evan are pretty immature in a couple different ways which was challenging for me to read at times. But I was happy that they took strides to grow up, be more responsible, and take life a little more seriously. I didn’t fully connect with Gen and Evan but I still liked their characters for the most part. The “wooing” was cute despite the date crashing. I think that Riley really stole the show though.

One thing I really liked was seeing the other characters we were introduced to in the first book - even though I thought Cooper was a huge jerk in this book. Bad Girl Reputation was good but lacked the “spark” I normally feel when reading Elle Kennedy’s books. ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 for me. If you liked Good Girl Complex, I would give Bad Girl Reputation a try! I will read the rest of the series.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinion.

After being felt up by a cop in a bar and (illegally) entering the house of said cop, turning his wife and kids against him, Genevieve flees town, never to be seen again. That is until her mother’s funeral where she spots her ex, Evan. Twin brother of Cooper from Elle Kennedy’s hit novel, Good Girl Complex.

Evan and Gen have a love that is undeniable. Their chemistry is so obvious and that’s what I loved so much about this book. They both recognize that in order to move forward with their relationship, they both have to grow and change as people and get out of their “bad boy/girl” persona. They face a lot of challenges along the way, officer Randall being one but they overcome the challenges and realize they’re better together than apart.

I should also add that as readers, we see the sheer importance of family no matter big or small. With Evan, it was the rekindling of his relationship with his mom and with Gen, it was seeing her dad’s compassion and love for her through the hard times as well as the support and protectiveness from her 5 brothers.

This book is AMAZING. If I can recommend one thing, it’s PRE-ORDER THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW. From the beginning of the book the characters were amazing, the plot was great and the banter was hilarious. I absolutely loved this one and can’t wait for my physical copy in October!

I enjoyed this advanced copy that was a little bit of sequel from the previous book. The good girl complex.
I enjoyed the first love story and coming back and changes.
Recommend.

So… I’ll be honest: second chance tropes are not my fave but Kennedy’s was redemptive. It’s clear from the very beginning that Gen and Evan their issues: they are both very flawed. And while the coming together at the end after they’ve grown up is sweet, it wasn’t my favorite Kennedy read.

I did really enjoy their story… it’s still a great spicy read! Fun for the beach or pool…

ARC given by NetGalley.

Bad Girl Reputation is a second chance romance. Loved it. I liked Good Girl Complex but this one I loved. Gen and Evan are such flawed characters yet they grow and learn together in order to love each other and stay together. Beautiful story.

I absolutely love Elle Kennedy. Bad Girl Reputation falls somewhere in the middle of her books for me, not my favorite not my least favorite. These main characters are COMPLEX. As she says in her author's note, this is a story of redemption and that means that they definitely have their flaw to begin with. I spent most of the book wondering whether I liked them or not lol. Not as lighthearted as her Off-Campus or Briar U series but still fun!

Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the free arc!

I LOVED this book as a summer beach read. I adored Gen and Evan's chemistry, as it was explosive and full of angst. It was a quick read, and I enjoyed it, but I preferred other books like The Deal by Elle Kennedy more.

I loved Good Girl Complex so I was so excited to read the sequel, Bad Girl Reputation. Unfortunately it did not have the same magic as the first one. There just wasn’t enough plot or conflict to keep any momentum going in the story. I lost interest about halfway through and ended up giving up at the 60% mark. This story could benefit from some major content editing. It was very long winded, filled with pages and pages of mundane and repetitive happenings that really didn’t move the story going. But then again, there really wasn’t much of a story to keep going…the plot was extremely thin. I have loved Elle’s books in the past, I really hope this one goes through some much needed revisions before it gets published. Thank you the Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

I know there are some readers who like the bad boy/bad girl trope, but it's not really my cup of tea. This book was really shallow, lacked any plot, and was just unapologetically full of toxicity. Not for me.

3.5 stars

From the minute I heard about Evan & Gen's relationship in the first book I knew I needed to read this. I love a good second chance romance where the couple not only works through their issues together but also focuses on bettering themselves and this had it all. I found that I was able to connect with Evan and Gen much better than Cooper and Mac from book one. They fit together so well and the way they talked to one another just felt so fun and effortless. The only thing I didn't love was how a lot the plot points that felt really big throughout the book were dismissed so quickly at the end but I would still definitely recommend picking this up once it comes out!

This has all the fun, sweet elements I wanted in a book, so cute! I’d definitely recommend it to my family and friends.

Elle Kennedy does it again with a beautiful second chance romance. She takes the reader through a childhood love story with a grown up twist. What do you do when your true love love only brings out the worst in you? You grow up. This book was beautiful in showing that not only do you need time to discover who you are outside of a lifelong relationship but that maturing as a person doesn’t always mean growing apart as a couple. The story was beautifully written and the characters were truly relatable.

3.75/5⭐️
First and foremost, special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ St. Martin’s Griffin for sharing this ARC digital copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

If you read Cooper and Mac's story, get ready for another angst filled love story with spice.

A year after leaving town without so much as a good-bye, Gen returns to Avalon Bay for her mother's funeral and to help her father and brother's with the family business. Meanwhile, Evan has been pining for his childhood sweetheart for the last year since Gen left town.

Gen hit rock bottom after a night on the town with friends and decided to pack her bags and head to Charleston. She has been trying to get her life together, hold a steady job and leave the drinking/drugs in her past, along with her addiction; Evan. Upon returning to Avalon Bay, Gen and Evan quickly fall back into one another's lives. When Evan finds out why Gen left town a year ago, he realizes that things have changed. Gen doesn't want to go back down that path and so she tries to keep Evan at a distance.

If Evan wants the love of his life back, he's going to have to get his sh*t together, mature and become a responsible adult. Could his plan work? Will he be able to win Gen's love back? Or will good-guy, Harrison sweep Gen off her feet instead?

Gen and Evan have an almost toxic relationship: filled with jealousy, extreme chemistry, sexual tension, bickering and lots of make-up sex. However, they can't help themselves, always coming back for more. However, it works for the story and they eventually grow up together and help one another out.

I enjoyed their story and the characters grow on you the more you read. I definitely recommend Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy

I really enjoyed this book! I was already intrigued by our hero, Evan, and elusive heroine, Genevieve, from pieces of them we got in Good Girl Complex. I was so ready to hear their story! Returning to Avalon Bay was such a trip. Elle Kennedy has created a world and characters that are so relatable and interesting. I appreciated the issues Evan and Gen faced, along with some of the problems our returning characters are still dealing with. The look into this couple's relationship and how they've coped (or not coped) with their issues was so very real to me. This couple has been together from a very young age and struggled with how to grow in their relationship while they're growing up. From the glimpses of their past we get, it's obvious that Evan and Gen are very much in love but also in a toxic relationship. I loved Elle Kennedy's way of showing how passionate and in love this couple was but also how volatile they could be. How easy it was for them to slip into past habits or fighting, drinking, and getting what they wanted from the other by means of jealousy. I resonated with Gen and her reasons for leaving town. Hitting her rock bottom as a party girl and not wanting to deal with the fallout or embarrassment of her situation, when she wasn't wholly at fault. I liked seeing her growth which pushed Evan to want to be better as well. I loved Evan's relationship with Riley and how he was a positive influence in a teenager's life, when at times he felt like he was only good for partying or starting trouble. I appreciated the dynamic with Harrison and the mostly mature way it was resolved. I liked that it didn't result in a full on blow out, which was what I was kind of expecting as another one of our couple's conflicts. I also enjoyed reading about Evan's evolving relationship with his mom and giving her another chance. Realizing that people are capable of change, no matter their age. My only complaint is that I wanted more of Evan and Gen once they finally got together as a couple. I wanted more than the dinner scene as the epilogue with their family. It was a nice ending, but I found myself wanting more of them and feeling like it wasn't enough after everything they had been through.

After the death of her mother, Genevieve West returns to her hometown and agrees to temporarily stay to help out her dad. She now has to face her ex-boyfriend Evan who she ghost a year ago when she suddenly left town needed to escape from her lifestyle of partying, excessive drinking and their tumultuous on again off again relationship. Although her feelings for him are still there, she’s worried getting it involved with him again will mean the return of her bad habits she worked so hard to break.

Genevieve and Evan have good chemistry, and a rich history. The first introduction to them as a couple gives you a great idea how their relationship dynamic and has you rooting for them right away. I also found outside of them as a couple, there’s lots of details about their town and the other people who live there that really round out the world.

I only have a few minor complaints. At times I did find it to be really slow paced, which for the type of book it is didn’t really work in its favour in my opinion. Secondly, a big aspect of the story is Genevieve maintaining her sobriety. Near the end of the book Evan makes a comment about how it’s okay to let loose sometimes and she just has to learn moderation. This isn’t something that’s ever brought up or really addressed again and I just felt like it wasn’t necessary.

Overall though I think it was a really fun and cute second chance romance. Definitely would make for a great summer / beach read!

A review for this book will be uploaded to my Tiktok @thisisris within the next month, and a link with be added to this review on netgalley once it is.

Absolutely loved this book from the first page!!! I honestly did not want to put it down. Gen and evan have a such great chemistry that i couldn't get enough!! And the spicy scenes🔥🔥

The Hartley twins are back again! This is the second book of this series. In the first book Cooper and Mac find love. Now it’s Evan’s turn!
This story centers around Evan and and Genevieve. They have a wild past and were both trouble makers in high school. Something happens that gives Genevieve a wake up call. She leaves town and leaves Evan with no warning. She returns to town and is now on a new path of sobriety. She thinks Evan can’t be pet of her new life but they are like magnets to each other. This is their second chance romance!
I enjoyed this one more than the first book. I liked to see the characters grow and change for the better.
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this!

If you're looking for a quick easy read, this is it!

Gen and Evan obviously have their issues. Yes, they can be immature at times but I truly enjoyed watching their relationship evolve. I loved all the work Evan put in to becoming a better person for Gen. And the chemistry between them was first-rate. I just wished there were more steamy scenes.

This was such a fun read and I will be continuing the series!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!

4⭐️ This book was such a nice quick and easy read. It is the second book in the Avalon Bay series and I enjoyed this book more than the first one. This book follows the other Hartley Twin Evan and Genevieve and how their relationship evolves. This book gives off the summer vibes with the small beach town as the setting. I am glad I read the first book in this series for more context on all of the characters in this series. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series (I hope it is Alana’s story).

Tropes:
-Small town
-Reformed bad girl
-2nd chance
-Childhood friends to lovers