Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy.

Brief Synopsis:
In this story, Genevieve returns home following the passing of her mother and is forced to deal with everything she left behind. She tried to run away from her “bad girl reputation” and turn a new leaf in Charleston, and one person she attributes a lot of her bad behavior to is Evan, her ex-boyfriend. Gen has to stay home and help her family out with their business, and this gives Evan time to try to pursue her again. She is unsure how she can be around Evan while trying to salvage her reputation, and would rather stay away, but he doesn’t want to accept that. The story takes off from there!

Things I really liked:
- Evan’s internal and external dialogue made me laugh out loud multiple times; his sense of humor is dry, snarky, and right up my alley.
- The growth in this story on multiple fronts: self-growth, growth in familial relationships for both Gen and Evan, and growth in romantic relationships.
- Evan being a big brother to Riley was wholesome and was good for both of them. This and Daisy (beautiful golden retriever) just made my heart happy.
- Their friend group and families were comforting to read about. Gen’s huge family full of brothers, and her relationship with her dad was especially nice, following their great loss.
- The atmosphere - the piers, beaches, motorcycles, bars and restaurants near the water.. this made for a perfect summer vibe.

Things that bothered me (not much):
- When Gen first came back, she unfairly cast a lot of blame on Evan. This made Evan feel like there was something wrong with him, and he felt responsible for things that went wrong for Gen. Gen comes to realize that not everything was linked to Evan and takes responsibility for her own actions, which I appreciated, but it did make me hesitant of Gen at first.
- Cooper is a very abrasive person. I did not read the first book, so I didn’t get a deep dive into his character, but he was very judgmental of everything Evan did, and the way he talked to Mac sometimes rubbed me the wrong way.

Overall:
This book focuses on a lot of growth, as I mentioned above, and also allowing people to change. The characters realized that they needed to allow others to change, just as they were allowing themselves to make changes - if you don’t let someone prove to you how they’ve been working on themselves, then how can you expect others to see how far you’ve come yourself? I also liked how the characters began to give themselves credit for the actions they were taking to improve themselves, and to realize that there is a balance between dulling yourself and living life too radically.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book, and I recommend it to anyone, even if you didn’t like the first book in the Avalon Bay series. Evan and Cooper are very different characters, and this story digs into self-reflective topics without going too deep, making it a fantastic lighter summer read.

Review posted on Goodreads.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! This book was cute! I love a good second chance romance and loved the history that Gen and Evan had! The book fell just a tad short on some chapters but this was a cute follow up story to the first one with Coop and Mac. Solid 4/5⭐️

Bad Girl Reputation is the follow up to Good Girl Complex. This is a second chance romance between Gen and Evan. Second chance romances are a hit or miss for me, but I really appreciated this one and the lengths Evan went to work on himself to be better for Gen.

Overall, I thought this was a charming story. It’s a quick and light read with a cute romance and great relationships. I read it after a particularly heavy book, and it was the sweet, light read that I needed. I think readers who enjoy contemporary romance or rom-coms will probably enjoy the book.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

I LOVED THIS BOOK. I’ve been in a bit of a rom-com hole lately, reading so many and not finding any of them actually satisfying. THIS ONE, however, broke the mold. It was the perfect about of pining, of sex, of backstory, of storyline. I’m prepared to read everything Elle Kennedy writes.

The cutest little beach read! Fast paced and hilarious. It made me go back and read the first one. It has everything that Elle Kennedy is known for-inner circle, really good banter. Personally, I’m not a fan of the friends-to-lovers, goofy boy, bad girl tropes, but Kennedy does it well. It was a really fun read with a great setting. It reminded me of reading Sarah Dessen in high school. Thank you, St. Martin’s and Kennedy for the ARC!

I graciously received this book as an ARC from NetGalley but all opinions are my own.
Unfortunately this was not my favorite book from Elle Kennedy. I was between 2.5-3 stars because there were pieces I really enjoyed but as a whole this story felt choppy and rushed.
Positives: I enjoyed the second chance romance and coming of age aspects of this book. I think it demonstrated facing your past and overcoming past reputations well and I really enjoyed Gen’s character development.
There were several moments in this book that made me chuckle and laugh out loud with the banter and commentary. I enjoyed the overall personality of Evan and Gen as well as Mac and Cooper from the previous book.

Negatives: I was not sold on Gen and Evan’s relationship. They have this extensive past but then after a year of being apart they push each other away, to then become f*ck buddies, to then break up and ultimately have this sudden whimsical reunion/proposal in the last chapter? I just wasn’t invested in their love story.
Another flaw was that the book seemed choppy or to abruptly change perspectives or jump in the plot where I was confused. It didn’t have a seamless flow of events and was difficult for me to read sometimes. I had to flip back and reread some parts.

Overall this was a cute read and I enjoyed reading it, but I felt like some things need to be smoothed out to flow better and this couple was just not for me. If there is going to be another book in this series I would definitely pick it up and I will continue to read other books by this author in the future!

Genevieve West was a former bad girl. When she returns home for her mother's funeral she is determined to stay away from her ex-boyfriend, Evan Hartley. They had a very passionate relationship that was filled with turmoil, and he was the one that she shared all of her bad girl times. The minute that she sees Evan, she knows that their attraction is still strong, but she is resolved to walk a new path. She actually goes out on a few dates with a local policeman that she knew from high school. Evan knows that they are meant to be together, and he is convinced to change to keep her in his life. This is a good book that I highly recommend

This was my first read by Elle Kennedy and I thought it was cute. The underldying backstory was really well written and I always love the idea of someone proving to themselves and others that they are not who they used to be.

Evan and Gen are really complex characters and the back and forth, push and pull between them is beautiful. For a first love that seems to still be holding on, I loved how their relationship didn't necessarily feel overdone as some of those can feel in other books.

It was a very slow start for me though. The first few chapters felt very slow and it took me a bit to finally get into the book where I.couldn't put it down (I think that was aroumd chapter 12). Overall it is a cute sequal to the first book in the Avalon Bay series (which now I need to read) and has spice, self discovery and a cute relationship to keep everyone entertained!

I loved the first book so I had high expectations and wow did it meet them! I love this story and the mcs I desperately wanted more every step of the way (in a good way). Can’t recommend this one enough

"**Thank you to the publisher and author for sending me a NetGalley copy in exchange for an honest review.**

The latest from Elle Kennedy comes a book about redemption, changing the course of your future while giving love a second chance. This story of redemption follows Genevieve “Gen” coming back to Avalon Bay with her mother passing and testing out a re-invented self. From the beginning we get glimpses of her life as a bad girl and her long standing history with Evan, her ex-boyfriend and defiant bad boy. Though engaging witty banter with 90s references, it’s hard not to fall in love with the couple as they look at working through their past “bad” behavior almost together. The story was quick to get into, especially if you read the first book of the series: Good Girl Complex, but the characters lacked a bit of depth and outlook on the future during this forgiveness story. Overall good read but didn’t have the steamy scenes or character interaction to make Gen and Evan make it to the top of the best couples list.

Bad Girl Reputation is the second novel in the Avalon Bay series focusing on the love story of Evan (Cooper's twin) and Genevieve. Admittedly I wasn't too fond of Evan when I met him in Cooper's book. He seemed to be immune to growing up, more than a little naïve, and so very impulsive. While he still has some of those characteristics in Bad Girl Reputation, we get to understand him and watch him make choices that show his willingness to grow and learn and be better. So how does he get there? Genevieve.



Genevieve left town after a particularly terrible incident and used the year away to make some changes that would keep her out of trouble and give her a better life. She only comes home for the funeral of her mother and to temporarily help out her dad's business. While home she had many opportunities to test out her new self and that first opportunity starts with Evan. These two seem to bring out the worst decision making in each other because as soon as they're together, they forget the rest of the world exists and that anything else matters...at least in the beginning.



After a series of conversations, both Gen and Evan set out on a path to continue to make better decisions for themselves and to create a future that would give them a healthier relationship with each other and the community. I liked how both of them really fought to develop and keep their better selves, despite the skepticism of the people who seemed to know them best. They didn't let doubts deter them, didn't backslide all that much, and supported each other in trying to be better humans. Even though I even had doubts at how good they could possibly be for each other at first, because of how destructive they seemed, their insistence on staying on their paths of responsibility and showing that they weren't putting on a show was convincing and made me actually question my own bias when it comes to giving people room to change.



I'm hoping, since there are several secondary characters who seem to be hiding some things, that this book doesn't mark the end of the series but is just getting us started on what's happening in this friend group in Avalon Bay.

I was lucky enough to receive an e-copy of this book in exchange for a review. Like all my reviews, this one is 100% honest.

This is a story about shedding your past and becoming a healthier, more adult version of yourself. Genevieve and Evan were always on again/off again and were even worse influences on each other.

I really enjoyed this story, especially watching both Gen and Evan become the people they needed to be in order to grow independently and as a couple.

This was my first Elle Kennedy novel and it won’t be my last!

I loved the angst, the drama and of course, the spice was a nice addition.

** This is book 2 in the Avalon Bay series, you do not need to read book 1 in order to follow this story

Can I just say Elle Kennedy has served me with one of my favorite romances of the year! Normally with second chance romances you have to believe the leads already have a chemistry/attraction to one another from before, and that can be tricky to do. But this woman gave me everything I could’ve wanted with Genevieve and Evan💕!

The way both of these characters were able to be so vulnerable and honest with each other and grow was probably the best part (and those scenes of banter and spice were 🥰🥰🥰🥰)

I’m sad my time at Avalon Bay is over but if EK ever decides to write another romance in this world (maybe Alana?) I’d be all for it!

Time to go manifest my own romance with a man who grows/wants better for me 🥹❤️‍🔥

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin for providing the arc for an honest review.

If you’re into second chance romances, angst, and small town love, look no further! This is the 2nd book in the Avalon Bay series and it follows Genevieve and Evan’s (Cooper’s twin) relationship. Gen has come back to town after her mom passed away and decided to stay a bit to help out with the family business. Evan, ever the romantic, decides this means things can get back to normal between them. Oh, but he’s wrong. Gen wants nothing to do with the person she was with Evan. Evan and Gen work hard on themselves throughout this book. It delves deep into their insecurities and vulnerabilities and I loved every second!

I enjoyed this book as the trope of second-chance romance is always interesting to read. Gen and Evan's relationship was raw and real. It was easy to relate to the toxicity we can put up with because of love. However, we see the push/pull and the on/off relationship they refer to throughout the book. We also see the necessary changes each character went through and their development throughout. The arc of exes to lovers was executed well with his light read. We truly get to see how two people who feel a connection come back to each other once they work on themselves. Overall, the conflict was a bit repetitive, but it did exaggerate the toxic relationship. The characters were not likeable at first but through changes they redeemed themselves. The small town setting is one of my favourites, so I enjoyed that aspect as well.

3.5 ⭐️

This was cute. I definitely liked the vibe of this book more than Good Girl Complex. This is a second chance romance between Gen and Evan. They both grew up in the small beach town of Avalon Bay and were constantly out getting in trouble drinking and partying during their high school years. The two of them were best friends which eventually evolved into more. Gen ended up moving away a year before this book takes place and is now back in town for her mom’s funeral where of course she runs into Evan. She sticks around for a while to help her dad with the business and of course Evan is still in town...

This book focused a lot not only on the development of their relationship with each other but also on the development of themselves as individuals. There’s a ton of growth over the course of the story that I though was really unique/interesting. I also loved that this was bad girl/bad boy because I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that would actually fall into that trope so that was cool! Same as the first book I loved the small town setting combined with the new adult themes. Overall it was a cute read and a great addition to the series.

THIS ONE. It was everything I wanted and everything I didn’t know I needed.

First the tension. I wanted Gen or Evan to just rip their clothes off. It was time.

Second. Friends to lovers to not friends to lovers again? Sign. Me. Up. I love it so much. The way Gen knew all of Evan’s personality traits and habits. And vice versa.

Third. When two people become a better version on themselves for someone they love? *cue me crying*

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and netgalley for the e-arc for an honest review.

I don’t really have anything good to say about this book. It started off with the MC and LI almost having sex at her mothers wake? And like as someone that really hates their mother even I found that very off putting. I also hated every single character from the start. There was really nothing redeemable here. I wish I could scrub this book from my mind.

I loved Gen & Evan! These characters were so refreshing with their honesty about the struggles while trying to make changes in their life. This wasn’t the usual romance with the couple meeting and slowly falling in love over the course of the book. These characters have been together for years but needed to overcome destructive patterns of behavior individually before they could grow together as a couple. This was a cute story, with a fun beachside location, and good messaging.

I wanted to love this book. Or at least enjoy it, but I couldn’t. These characters were weirdly immature. Our main characters views of each other were completely different versions of the characters we got when it was their pov. I was so thrown off by this “Gen is a bad girl walking on the wild side” view from Evan and then this “Evan is so addictive, but I have to be a better person” vibe we got from Gen pov. It was very confusing and felt in-genuine. Ive read a few other Elle Kennedy books and while I didn’t always enjoy the plot points, these were very quick and easy reads that I could finish in a day or two. This one felt very dragged out and I struggled to get into the story and get through it. This gave me very Flock vibes and wanna be Outer Banks feels and I’m very tired of the “the townies know how to have a good time” troupe, it just comes off as trashy and stereotypical. I didn’t like the other brother and his judgy personality. It all just felt a little too stereotyped for me and too cookie cutter. It’s probably a win for a lot of people, but I didn’t enjoy it.