This was not my favorite. I found myself struggling to finish it because the redemption of the characters seemed too unbelievable.

3.5 rounded to 4⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC for an unbiased review.

First of all, I LOVED Good Girl Complex. I read it as an ARC as well, and was a BIG fan, so I was SUPER excited to read Bad Girl Reputation early.

It was an easy and enjoyable read. I liked Gen and Evan as individual characters. I don't want to give spoilers on this review, but I will just say that I did feel that their relationship was a bit scattered. That may just be my personal preference because the constant push-and-pull relationships are not my favorite (although I knew what I was getting into, so that's on me).

HOWEVER, I did enjoy seeing Cooper and Mackenzie again! And it made me LOL several times, which I greatly appreciated. I also enjoyed their personal growth...even among side characters (one in particular - no spoilers).

If you enjoy small-town, second-chance, back-and-forth relationships, this is the book for you!

I liked Good Girl Complex and I REALLY liked Bad Girl Reputation. Bad Police characters always make me mad in books because I happen to be married to one and that stereotype really sucks for the many many ones in real life that don’t play the “rules for thee and not for me” card or treat people like crap. NEVERTHELESS, I powered through and was happy with how it played out in the end.

All of the characters introduced in this book really do find some amazing second chances & redemption in ways I was happy for. Sometimes I read books to make myself uncomfortable, sometimes it’s to learn & sometimes it’s just because I need a good ol happy ending and some laughs in between. That was this. 👏🏼


Thank you to NetGalley for the E-ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Bad Girl Reputation was a quick, fun read. Though it was better than Good Girl Complex, the first book in the Avalon Bay series by Elle Kennedy, it still left me wanting. I loved Kennedy’s Off Campus series and this new series just leaves me wanting the way those hockey superstars never did.

This book is the second book in the series and follows Evan Hartley, yes, the very same Hartley of the bad boy Hartley twins, and his runaway ex-girlfriend Genevieve West. Genevieve is back after her mother’s funeral and Evan is bound to win her back while Gen is determined to shuck her bad girl reputation and to do that, she must avoid Evan.

While the story left me wanting a bit the setting is beautiful and had me wanting to take a seashore vacation. The Hartley twins are hot in their bad boy attitudes and the way they love their women, I’ll give them that. The relationship between Evan and Cooper has its ups and downs but ultimately, they always have each other’s backs but what I really enjoy is the relationship between Mac (Cooper’s girlfriend) and Evan and how she tries to be there as a friend for Evan.

If you’re a fan of The Outer Banks and Ana Todd’s After series than you would probably enjoy this book/series. Even though this is a standalone I do suggest reading Good Girl Complex first since you meet important characters in it.

Elle Kennedy is easily one of my favorite authors, so I had high expectations for this book. Once again, I was not disappointed. I loved Mac and Cooper, but honestly… Even stole my heart. His love for Gen is so pure despite their past, and he truly would do anything to see her thrive. One of my favorite book boyfriends for sure. Will continue reading anything this author releases!

Elle Kennedy has done it again. Bad Girl Reputation had me hooked the entire time. Gen and Evan’s push and pull relationship kept me engaged throughout the entire story. I wish we got a few more stories from when they were younger, but I still think this was a good, engaging read.

3.5 stars

I was so excited to have gotten accepted for this book on NetGalley since I enjoyed Good Girl Complex so much, the first book of this series! In this book, the MC is Evan, Cooper's twin from the first book, and Genevieve.

This book is a second chance romance that also deals with changing and growing up. Generally, it was enjoyable and a all round solid book. I just wasn't invested in the characters so much as I was the first book, but that's a me thing!

I'm interested to see if there will be more books in the series! I have a hunch that's a yes!

Thank you to NetGalley and SMP for the earc in return for an honest review.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, St. Martin’s Press and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


Awesome. Delightful. Wonderful. What a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel!

The Good: the stakes in this book felt higher than in the first book (Good Girl Complex) and it is nice to see Mac and Cooper continue their relationship from the sidelines in this sister sequel. Likewise, it was great to see a semi-toxic couple try and become better people. Gen leaves town after deciding she needs to get her life together and she can’t do that stuck in her old habits—and she does! She becomes a better, less self-destructive person.

The West family was entertaining, even if you don’t see a lot of them in the grand scheme of the book. Likewise, unlike Mac in the first book who struggles with her privileges and expectations placed upon her, but always has that safety net of money, it was nice to have a main character whose struggle was trying to defy an earned bad reputation—and trying hard at that.

The Bad: I had this issue with the first book, and it is shown even more in this novel, but the friends don’t actually seem to like each other. Between complicated (semi-incestuous) FWB situations and being a “bitch” just so their sexual partner doesn’t get too attached, you never get a sense of why this group of people spend time together. They spend more time sniping at each other and using each other to make their conquests jealous than…actually enjoying being friends? I miss the easy friendships of Off Campus and Briar U where it did not seem to be a competition for romantic prospects or perceived slights by friends.

Similarly, there are moments in the relationship between Gen and Evan where it comes off more co-dependant than healthy, even if they end off in a better place than they both began in the beginning of the novel.

The Complicated: I am trying to work out why I am not as comfortable in this world as I was in the authors’ previous series. Both contain young adults making bad decisions, drinking too much, drug use and risky behaviour, but something about seeing it outside of a 4-year college context feels dark to me. Without that time-line of graduation to potentially get people to “Adulthood,” there doesn’t seem to be much of a narrative path for these characters who don’t expect much out of their own lives. This series feels darker than the authors other college-age series for that reason.

Overall, I liked this novel much more than the first in the series, and look forward to the next.

Bad Girl Reputation is the second book in the Avalon Bay series. I read the first book Good Girl Complex and I have to say I enjoyed this second book a lot more.
This story follows Genevieve West who has just returned home for her mother's funeral after leaving town to go "grow up". When she left town she left behind her boyfriend Evan Harley. Now that she's back home she is navigating how to integrate herself back into life around her friends, family and Evan.
If you enjoy second chances, small town romances, character growth, and heroes that only have eyes for the heroine I think you'll love this one.

This series is very fun. Don’t love the push and pull trope, so this book wasn’t as enjoyable as the first. The chemistry between the characters is extra steamy tho!

I really loved the second chance romance story of Genevieve and Evan. I did feel like their relationship was a little based on sex and didn't love that multiple times throughout the book Evan commented on the bodies/looks of other women, it felt like even though he obviously loved Gen, he still had eyes for others. I also felt like the conflict resolution at the end didn't make total sense. He felt he was bad for her, she said she loved him and they get engaged. It didn't make a ton of sense to me how quickly they got back together without even really discussing the fact that he said a few pages before she seemed depressed. Overall, I loved the story and their chemistry, just felt like a few stories within the book could have gone deeper.

Bad Girl Reputation is the sequel to Good Girl Complex. It features Genevieve and Evan, two exes, and their second chance at love.

Evan comes off as very immature to me and kind of a try hard, to be honest. The back and forth games between him and Gen do not work for me. I read on further into the book and I still really dislike Evan. He’s immature and rude and downright disrespectful when he shows up at Gen’s date.

Gen herself is fine, as far as a main character goes. She has a lot on her plate and she’s managing it sober, which is new for her but she seems successful. I was slightly annoyed that she had a glass of wine at dinner with Harrison—why would she do that if her sobriety is so important to her? And she’s so strong-willed. It just seemed out of character for her.

The story wrapped up nicely with a solid happily ever after, but this still wasn’t a great book for me. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and, by extension, with the story. 3/5 for me.

I may have never read anything by Elle Kennedy before, but I can promise you this won't be my last read of hers! It did take me a minute to get into the story and connect with the characters, but once I did it was impossible to put the book down! Thank goodness for easy dinners, because I read this straight through until after bedtime! Evan and Gen are endgame y'all, and I'm in love! See y'all on another page!

What I liked about the book:
1. I legitimately liked the main characters in this one. Gen was on a self-reflective, transformative path the whole book, and I love watching characters go through transformations.

I loved that this book made it very clear that Gen was changing for herself and not for Evan or anyone else. She changed for her own well-being which is fantastic!

I also loved that Evan supported her growth through her transition and definitely helped her to keep perspective on what things made her her versus what things made her destructive to herself. I loved that she didn’t lose her feist or her spirit, she really just grew up.

Speaking of transformations, Evan had one too! He was already the bad boy, ooey gooey goodness that I love, but then he totally put some of his more destructive habits behind him for the sake of winning his childhood sweetheart back and getting out of his bad boy funk. He was able to enrich the lives of the elderly, the youth, and his own family by the steps he made to put his own destructive habits behind him. I also appreciated how he realized drinking was a problem for him, but he also didn’t want to just quit entirely. He wanted to be able to do things in moderation rather than go all out, i.e. have a beer at poker night instead of going on a bender. For someone like myself, that seems like a much more sustainable long-term solution than going completely straight-edge. To each their own, but I liked this approach especially compared to Gen’s straight-edge approach.

2. To me, childhood sweethearts is one of the best tropes out there, and this one was done right. I really felt the connection they had having grown up together and having seen each other through a bunch of shit. This solidified my rooting for them from the beginning. There came a point in the book where I was worried we weren't going to get the HEA, and I was ready to judge this book hardcore with a 2-star rating. FORTUNATELY, we got our HEA!

3. I had already fallen for Evan in Good Girl Complex, but this line had my sliding all the way home for this man:
“I do,” he says. “Want a big family, I mean. I’d even be the stay-at-home dad. Do all the diapers and make lunches and all that.”

As a financially independent, mom of one with a crazy-ass work schedule, the fastest way to my heart is saying you’re not only willing, but are comfortable enough in your masculinity, to be a stay-at-home dad. Add in a guy with the moves of a playboy and the trademark Hartley smirk, and I’ll be your sugar mama any day of the week.

What didn't do it for me:
1. While book 1 of the Avalon Bay series had really mixed messages about cheating, this book had the terrible plot of using a nice guy for your own selfish needs. Gen knew she didn’t really like Harrison, and she had no sexual attraction to him, yet she kept stringing him along. This was especially bad when she was basically jumping out of bed with Evan every night to get into Harrison’s car the next morning. Harrison deserved better.

2. I’m honestly scratching my head a bit thinking about if there is going to be another book in the series. Seems like there may be something in the works for Alana + Wyatt + Tate. However, I don’t like these characters enough to deal with their drama. I may read a Heidi + Jay book, just because that’s opposites attract for sure and that could be fun!

Special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Review for “Bad Girl Reputation”
By: Elle Kennedy

Book at a glimpse:
👱🏻‍♂️👱🏻‍♀️ Dual POV, friends to lovers
🌊 Second (third, fourth, fifth) chance for childhood friends
🐚 Beach Town
😈 Bad boy and girl
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥

Genevieve has a bad girl reputation and a past to prove it, which prompted her to up and leave Avalon Bay a year ago. Due to a death in the family, she returns home and shows her family that she is now a clean, responsible adult. But one moment of being in the presence of Evan, her first love and worst habit, has her questioning if she can maintain her newly found image.

Evan and Genevieve have been best friends and inseparable since their first kiss in 8th grade. They love big and fight big. As equal as their love for each other, bad choices and negative influences are a part of them. They are both like moths drawn to each other as the flame. But this flame that continually draws them in is one of mutual understanding and dysfunction that only the two of them can ever understand.

Tension stirs as Genevieve dates what has to be their arch nemesis, a cop. Can Evan’s old ways rekindle the sparks that always ignite? Can he prove to her he can shed his bad boy rep and adult up to be who sure needs? Or will he be a bad habit that she ultimately has to drop to stop the cycle?

Full of angst, pull and push, coming of age and the Elle Kennedy spice we all love, Bad Girl Reputation delivers!

While I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I could only give it 4 stars. I am very much a mood reader and my reviews tend to be based on how books made me feel and how much I wanted to keep reading. Did I ever want to DNF this book? No. But could I not put it down? Also no. But that’s not to say it’s a bad thing. This book felt like a vacation. I read is leisurely and didn’t feel that panicked ‘I need to know what happens but don’t want this to end’ feeling. I enjoyed the journey. If you liked Good Girl Complex or any of the Off Campus/Briars U books, I think you’ll enjoy this.

I'm so thankful for the chance to read the next Avalon Bay book! While I adored the first book slightly more, I did appreciate the return to Avalon Bay, these characters and the premise of this story.

I enjoyed Gen and Evan's story - the will they, won't they, as well as the almost redemption arc, where they are both better themselves. I appreciated Gen's story slightly more, her ability to better herself and make healthier choices simply for her - while Evan's development seemed tightly tied to his want for Gen.

As always, the steamy scenes were *chefs kiss* and you could feel the tension and passion between the two characters.

I'm hopeful there will be another book in the series - just based on some of the relationships (or non relationships?) between some of the side characters - other people in the larger group of friends.

CW // substance abuse; sexual assault; corrupt cop

Elle Kennedy does it again!!!

I absolutely love Elle Kennedy’s books! Her ability to create characters that I connect with and root for is incredible. I adored this book! It was such a fun and romantic read. I love that it was about second chances, and not just in love but in life. The chemistry between Genevieve and Evan was so swoon worthy that I had a permanent smile plastered on my face while reading. The banter was top notch which is to be expected when reading an Elle Kennedy book. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you #netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book - and Gen is the kind of main character I truly resonate with. Strong willed yet swayed by matters of the heart. I couldn't wait for each new development in Gen and Evan's relationship!