What do you do when the person who sets your soul on fire might be the worst thing for you?

Told in alternating POV's, the story follows Gen and Evan, a couple whose chemistry is so palpable it feels as though you can see it sizzling between them in the air. Their relationship is full of angst, passion, jealousy, and love. When a night of drunken antics leaves Gen reeling, she decides to shed her "party girl" persona and leave it all behind, including the love of her life Evan. Gen returns home to care for her dying mother, and has to confront the girl she was and the boy she left behind. Determined to leave her bad girl reputation in the past, Gen resolves to keep Evan at a distance. Struggling with his own demons, Evan is determined to not let Gen go without a fight. Will she be able to resist the pull between them? Does she even want to? Will the party girl and the bad boy finally be able to make this work?

Elle Kennedy had me invested in Gen and Evan from the first page. If you have ever had a person (relationship, family member, friendship) that brought out the absolute best and worst in you, then the magnetic push and pull between Gen and Evan will feel like you are reading about your own life. The cast of "fuck around and find out" characters were so well developed that it was hard to not feel invested in each of their stories as well (hoping we get to see more character stories from this world). Gen and Evan's story was angsty, suspenseful, and romantic in all of the best ways. This was easily a five star read for me and I can't wait to continue to read more by this author!

Did not finish. I tried multiple times to get through this, but the dialogue was so cringey. The characters spoke to each other the way the "cool kids" would talk in middle school or high school. It also felt like it was trying a little too hard to show that Gen was "just one of the guys" being the only girl out of her many many siblings.

I really wanted to like this. It just felt like it was trying too hard to make everyone "cool".

I usually like Elle Kennedy's books, but this fell flat for me. I was disinterested in the characters and their story line, there were too many characters and it seemed like none of them were fully fleshed out. I enjoyed Good Girl Complex and had high hopes for this sequel. I just did not care for Gen or Evan. They felt immature, and the relationship toxic for both of them.

Wow does Elle Kennedy know how to write a romance. I’m a huge fan of her Off Campus and Briar U books, and though I was a bit more lukewarm on Good Girl Complex, I absolutely loved Bad Girl Reputation. The chemistry between Gen and Evan is incredibly compelling, as is the central question here — as you change and grow, does the person you love do the same?

My favorite part of an Elle Kennedy romance (after the witty dialogue) is that her central couples always feel like friends as well as lovers. There’s plenty of heat to be found here but also a comradery that some romances wind up missing. Despite the obstacles separating them, I never doubted that Gen and Evan were soulmates.

Highly recommend to Off Campus fans and Elle Kennedy newbies alike. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy! I hope to return to Avalon Bay ❤️

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publishing team for this ARC! I was also lucky enough to win a physical ARC from Goodreads for this book so I was very pumped to read this!

However, I was sadly not impressed. This book was a bigger letdown than book one.

Evan and Gen were so immature to follow and incredibly toxic to each other. I understand their story is about second chances and making better choices which is great! Except even when they were trying to make better choices, they went about it so annoyingly. I will admit, this was going to be a 1-start for me until they both started realizing how they needed to be better for themselves and the story improved just slightly so. This two had chemistry sure, but the two of them saw each other in such different ways it makes you wonder if they really knew each other at all. The lack of communication was so frustrating.

Overall, Evan was annoying. Genevieve was annoying. Cooper was annoying. Their "friend" group was a weird and shitty group of friends tbh. Everyone in this damn town was annoying as hell. Sure, Evan and Gen could end up together but honestly, these characters were hard to connect with and care about. Evan just does a 360 and becomes a "reformed" man while Gen just goes on dating both him and Harrison and telling barely anyone about her trying to turn over a new leaf.

I hate to compare series but I'm still so surprised that Elle Kennedy wrote this when Off-Campus/Briar U was so fun and so good. This gets a two-star because of the occasional funny lines that made me laugh.

They say that ex’s are ex’s for a reason. Genevieve and Evan have been on and off since the 7th grade. Gen leaves town because she feels it is the only way for her to make changes in her life and grow up. When she returns for her mother’s funeral she tries to stay away from her ex Evan, she can’t afford to go down that road of causing trouble and partying. Bad boy, Evan has a way with the ladies and will quickly knock a man’s face in for saying the wrong thing to him. Gen constantly wonders if he will change.

The plot of this book seemed interesting. It started slow and I kept reading, waiting for it to pick up but I feel like this one just fell flat. I feel like the book itself was uneventful. The one thing I did like was the forgiveness when it comes to the family aspect.

Elle Kennedy has created a flawlessly layered and enticingly addictive romance that hits all the marks and more. This story Second Chance/Friends to Lover/Enemies to Lovers romance is pure gold and I loved every minute of it. I adore Elle Kennedy’s romances; I know going into one that I am going to read it cover to cover in one sitting and this book is no different.

Gen and Evan have known each other their whole lives pretty much and have been through so much together. These two were the epitome of troublemakers, always getting into mischief together and having a blast while doing it. But something happens to Gen during a night of debauchery that changes her outlook on how she’s been living and what she needs to do in order for her to get her life together. One of the things I loved most about this story was the second chance aspect not only of love but in all things. Her redemption arc was beautifully written and felt so incredibly genuine. Nothing about her felt forced or unreal, it was organic and had you identifying with her character in so many ways.

I felt for poor Evan he honestly didn’t understand what was happening between him and Gen for a long time in this book. You could feel his frustration at not understanding why things changed so quickly and drastically. He tried so hard to hold on to the old relationship they had, but what I thoroughly enjoyed was how he adapted to what was between them now. He listened to Gen and took what she said seriously never making her feel bad or that it was a joke. It spoke volumes about the type of guy he is and how much he truly cared for Gen no matter which version of her he got.

Elle has a brilliant way with her words; they wrap around you like a warm blanket on a cold night making you feel comforted and entertained. You will without a doubt fall into her books effortlessly and completely until the very last page is read, and at the end you’ll have a permanent smile on your face.

2.5 stars - I liked this better than I liked the first book but overall it was fine. The romance didn’t excite me, I didn’t think Evan and Gen had chemistry.

Some spoiler-ish stuff below;

The parts of this book I liked were Evan hanging out with Riley and learning to be a big brother. I think that watching his growth from that was really sweet. I also liked seeing Gen start to believe in herself. But the engagement plot didn’t work for me at all.

Disappointing after loving her Off Campus series. Still thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for access to the arc!

This was an angsty, emotional, and swoon worthy look into Gen and Evan's second chance romance. I knew I was going to prefer this one to Good Girl Complex-Gen was a much more interesting and complex main character than Mac. I loved the character development for both Gen and Evan but particularly Evan. If you've read the first book in the series, you know he is a bit of a bad boy with a penchant for destructive behavior. Watching him mature and find his own path was highly engaging. I love the redemptive arc to their relationship and the intense spark you could feel between them. There was an intense chemistry that was palpable throughout the entirety of the story. I highly recommend this if you love angsty childhood lovers. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.

Okay, I see you Elle Kennedy. This book was funny and fast paced. I loved both the characters and the self transformations they accomplished throughout the book. There were times of pure humor and times of difficult and tense moments addressing social issues we still face today. I really liked that Elle Kennedy didn’t draw out issues in an unnecessary way. There was definitely that push/pull between the main characters but it wasn’t for the entire length of the book. Same thing for when she hinted at something that may have happened to the characters in the past. She didn’t leave you wondering what happened for the entire book. Overall I really enjoyed. I can’t wait for the next book that takes place in Avalon Bay! I’d give this book a 3.5 ⭐️ overall!

Thank you to St. Martins Press and the author for an advanced copy of this book for my honest review.

Bad Girl Reputation in a stand alone but also a sequel to Good Girl Complex as it is the book after in the Avalon Bay Series. It can be read alone however it will “spoil” who ends up with who in Good Girl Complex if you don’t read them in order.

Bad Girl Reputation is a dual perspective book following Genevieve and Evan. Genevieve is coming home for her mother’s funeral after a year away. She left behind Evan, who had been her best friend, boyfriend, and partner in crime since high school. They have a lot of passion but make a lot of bad choices together that kind of spirals their lives again and again. Genevieve wants to grow up, like, yesterday; and Evan wants Genevieve, like, forever. Are they both ready to grow up; or are they holding each other back in different ways?

This was my sixth Elle Kennedy book. I enjoyed the Off Camps series she wrote and decided to read Good Girl Complex and then Bad Girl Reputation. I had to give this book a few tries, stopping and starting. I had difficulties really getting into it. I think that was because there were a lot of characters to keep track of with little description so it was near impossible to become invested.This was an issue I had with Good Girl Complex. I can’t even remember all the names of all the friends and who is with who this week and who is fighting with who right now. It’s a lot. Then this book opened up Genevieve’s whole huge family with her, what, five? Four brothers? In addition to the whole huge friend group etc. I understand that the author is building the world and characters up for more books but we don’t really get enough of these side characters, sometimes I’m not even sure what anyone looks like, there is such a lack of physical description. She did a much better job with the large friend group and character descriptions in the Off Campus books. I never felt as lost in those as I did here.

Evan and Genevieve were very immature for their ages. Then suddenly over a few weeks Evan was all reformed and a new man. I think the author could’ve played with time a bit more here. She often was telling instead of showing in the story so in that vein we could have skipped ahead a few months a least or a year to give Evans character real time to change making it more realistic. I also felt like the main characters of Good Girl Complex had different personalities here than they did at the end of that book so that was weird too.

I understand why some people really liked this book. The second chance trope. The friends to lovers. The meant to be. I just don’t think it was done well. If you’re the kind of person that can look beyond how well something is done and like it for the idea of it, then this book is for you.

This story is about forgiveness, second chances and learning to love again! We all make mistakes in the past and it’s hard to forget that we aren’t tethered to them forever! This was a sweet read. I would highly recommend it to my friends. Elle Kennedy never seems to discount in the romance. Can Gen and Evan over come the past? Read to find out!!

I've been wanting to check out one of Kennedy's books for a while and I'm so happy it was this one! The story was fun and I love that Genevieve is a wild child who lives life to the fullest and stands up for herself. Gen and Evan were a great couple with a crazy amount of chemistry and I loved their scenes together. They may bring out each other's passionate sides, but that's not always a bad thing.

I always appreciate romances where we get each person's point of view. I like seeing how they feel about each other and it was especially great to see how Gen and Evan were working to be their best selves. Evan made a great mentor to Riley and Gen showed she's reliable and strong. They were already good people, but knowing they were happy with the strides they made was sweet.

This went by so quickly and I pretty much tore through it. I didn't necessarily love the couple's friends because they seemed to come with a lot of drama. It seemed like they were all sleeping with each other and it got a bit tangled and silly. Other than that, I really enjoyed this one!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the copy

I was given an Arc copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was my first Elle Kennedy book and to be honest I wasn’t impressed. I really struggled to relate to these characters and at one point their immaturity level was so out there that I had to put the book down. I know this book is about second chances but the journey to get there was so infuriating…(ex. Him crashing her date) the whole thing was awkward and not in a good way.

I had really high hopes for this book but I feel like it was kind of a let down.

Second chance romance in a small town setting. The chemistry between the main characters is good but lacking in the tension i had expected.. overall a swooney easy read about second chances and personal growth wrapped up in a solid romance

Thank you St.Martins press for this ARC.

I have been counting down the days till Bad girl reputation is released! Elle Kennedy is an author that no matter what I will read her upcoming books. I can’t even begin to tell you how many time I have re read her series. However, this book just didn’t do it for me. It was wildly predictable and honestly a little boring. I did not find any connection with the characters and had a difficult time finishing this.

Childhood friends turn toxic relationship. Then try to better themselves. The story plays out exactly how you’d imagine. I’m sad that I didn’t enjoy this book. I still love you Elle, throw some curveballs in the next one.

I enjoyed this book so much more than I anticipated! The second chance trope isn’t my favorite but I think Elle Kennedy did a great job of making things interesting. I really enjoyed watching Gen and Evan’s relationship develop as they try to navigate moving into a more responsible lifestyle.

I will say I didn’t fully understand some of the dynamics Gen and Evan have with their families. They both have really complicated relationships with their parents and I thought that part of the story could’ve been expanded on a little more to make the story more cohesive.

Overall though it was a great time!

12/10 yall, oh my gosh. I've never read an Elle Kennedy book but everyone raves about her and I understand why!!

Gen comes home for her mother's funeral and her ex-boyfriend shows up to pay his respects....and they get caught getting hot and heavy in the bathroom by her family.

Gen has just come home from a year long adventure of becoming sober, bettering herself and finally making good decisions. Meanwhile, ex-boyfriend Evan is still the party boy who gets into mischief every damn day. She tells him to get it together if he wants a chance to be with her for real.

I usually love Elle Kennedy books, but the Avalon Bay series has not been hitting the mark for me, sadly. Evan and Gen are the focus of this book and I think it mostly suffers by the fact that there's no real ramping up or stakes to their romance when we are told from the very beginning that they're obsessed with each other, have been in love for years, and didn't break up because of really anything to do with each other but because Gen wanted to figure out a way to improve herself and she didn't think she could do that with Evan.

I respect that this book is about self-growth and improvement but it doesn't make for a super compelling romance, sadly. There's no real heat or excitement here, despite these being two of the "bad boy/girl" characters. The fact that they both describe themselves that way also is just a tad frustrating because we really don't see them exhibiting any of these behaviors - everything they talk about happened already in the past and so there's nowhere to go from here.

I was more interested in learning about the side characters, but even with them I am not feeling the same love that I felt when it came to the Off-Campus series or the Briar U series. Elle Kennedy's writing still has some great moments that make me laugh, but this feels a bit more like going through the motions than a really compelling love story.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

it was good but i still enjoyed the first one way better. i can still see it being a big hit since tiktok adores elle kennedy!