Bad Girl Reputation is the follow up to Good Girl Complex, a book which I absolutely adored. BGR follows Evan, Cooper's twin, who's been in love with Gen (Genevieve) since he was young. Their off again on again relationship was extremely hot, but equally extremely cold, especially when Gen up and moved away without notice a year ago. Left wondering what went wrong, Evan quickly reconciles with Gen when she's in town for her mother's funeral. Upon finding out that Gen is sticking around for awhile, Evan vows to win Gen back, but both of them know they can be as bad for each as good.

I did like this, it wasn't even as close to as good at GGC unfortunately. I was so excited to receive the ARC for this! The story is written in a similar fashion, but I really missed the inclusion of the town, of their friends more and of Cooper and Mac. All that was present, but not enough, it definitely missed that aspect. Because this was a second chance romance, it did become a bit repetitive, we're bad for each other, but no one makes me feel this way, over and over again all throughout the story. While there was a connection between Gen and Evan, for me the story really lacked the build up, they just keep going back to each other over and over, then separating, going back, it really lacked that tension. I liked the supporting plot, and the character development through the story, especially Evan's relationship with Riley. I wish we got to see more of Gen and Mac's relationship. I just wish for more all around, more story, more development, more of Evan and Gen in the past, etc. I think the story would have benefitted a lot if it was longer and a tad more similar to GGC. All in all, it was good, it kept me interested! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free preview in exchange for an honest review.

An enjoyable spin on the typical with the focus on a bad girl this time trying to reform her ways. Gen is a great character - with realistic need to grow up and find her way while battling her reputation she earned in a small town as a wild girl growing up. It was nice to have the bad girl be the MC for once, she’s not a virgin and she’s not super sweet or shy or awkward - she’s fierce! I also really like Evan in this book (I read the first one and also enjoyed it). Gen really challenges him to grow up and be more than just a bad boy and it was great to that growth from the first book from a bitter womanizer.

I’ve enjoyed this series so far and look forward to reading the next installment.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for our gifted copy of Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy

Rating: 3 star
Genre: Romance

I really enjoy this author and I wanted to like this one, but it was a miss for me. It just felt like a really young, toxic relationship that I couldn't get into. Maybe that's just me showing my age!

If you love turbulent, new age romance books, you might enjoy this one.

Elle Kennedy is one of my all time favorite authors. Her books just makes me smile every time. Whether its the interesting characters or scenarios, I cannot stop reading. . Which was why I was super excited to receive a copy of the book!!
This book was the second book of a series, I have to admit I didn't read the first one, but you don't need to read it to catch up. And yes, I will read the first book. So it can be read as a standalone.
The story was about Genevieve coming back home after a year away to get herself together and to escape her bad girl reputation. She did that by ditching her on/off again boyfriend Ethan. As usual with second chance romance, it was pretty much given what will happened to these two people from the beginning. Unfortunately, the first half of the book wasn't too great. More meh for me. I believed the hot chemistry between them but didn't understand why there were together in the first place. I needed more of their shared happy history. The second half was so much better and Ethan turned out to be a great guy. I especially loved how he tried so hard to be a better person. I would say the secondary characters were okay, some I would ditch in a heartbeat, but others like the siblings and Riley were amazing. The epilogue was cute and sweet. I can guess what the next book in the series would be about and I cannot wait. Overall, if you are a fan of EK you will enjoy this book!
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I had a hard time getting invested in the story. It just didn’t seem to have that wow factor that I was hoping for. I love Elle Kennedy, this book was just not my favorite.
This is the second book in the Avalon Bay series, but can easily be read as a stand alone.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

E-arc provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've read and liked Elle Kennedy's other series and was really looking forward to this one. The story started in a promising way— two exes reuniting after one year post a messy separation, them trying their best to stay apart but being drawn towards the other, childhood best friends to lovers, interesting friendships/family dynamics.

Even with all this, I had a hard time getting invested in the story.

Genevieve and Evan were interesting characters. They have explosive chemistry and definitely had their moments, but their push and pull relationship was toxic. Which I don't mind if done well, but it was kind of half baked here. Most of the drama happens towards the end and I felt the plot was wrapped up in a rush due to this.

Nonetheless, this is an easy, one-time read and people who enjoy small town and/or sexy, second chance romances will like it!

I’m a huge fan of Elle Kennedy’s writing. I really loved this book. It felt different from the rest of the books of hers that I’ve read. It was definitely a story about redemption, love, forgiveness, and second chances. Where Good Girl Complex made me laugh and was generally happier and lighter this book gave me all the feels. It had much more complex characters and dynamics and I really appreciated the difference. I love Gen and Evan and loved getting to see Mac and Cooper and the gang through a new set of eyes. I love how passionate and fiery Gen and Evan are. I absolutely loved this story and it’s not so much a romcom because of the heavier topics but I still enjoyed it. It’s definitely different from the usually happy goofy romances but I loved the raw realness of it.

I really appreciated the epilogue and seeing the changes and updates on the characters. I really love the Avalon Bay group and can’t wait to see who’s story is next.

If you’re a fan of Elle Kennedy’s books I think this is a must read and if you haven’t read her books I highly recommend them.

Thank you St. Martins Press/ St. Martins Griffin for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you know anything about me, you know second chance romances are my absolute jam. My favorite trope. The crème de la crème of contemporary romance, some might say. So when I found out BGR fell into that category? I had to have it.

BGR follows Genevieve, a rebel who left the small town of Avalon Bay for greener pastures. The death of her mother brings her home, where her father and brothers rope her into helping with the family visit. Her stay ends up longer than she anticipated… leaving her just enough time to run into her very tall, dark, and tattooed ex, Evan.

Genevieve and Evan’s reconnection is INSTANT. Their chemistry? Perfection. The tension? 🔥steamy🔥. I couldn’t help but root for the MCs not only to reconcile, but also to accomplish their goals throughout the novel.

thank you so much to netgalley and st. martin’s press for the arc! elle kennedy has been a favourite author of mine for awhile, to be completely honest i didn’t love good girl complex all that much but i did enjoy bad girl reputation significantly more! still i was left wanting a bit more, in terms of romance and the second chance lovers. also the change in evan from book one to book two was very harsh while i understand why it was done i think it needed to be a bit less instantaneous. i did quite like gen, i liked seeing her grow as a person and her journey. i did love when gen and evan were together they are very cute and the ending did have my heart! if kennedy is going to continue with more avalon bay books i hope to see a bit more of the wow factor we got with the off campus/briar u series! but i do think she did a good job conveying a peoples’ individual self journeys in growing up! overall an enjoyable read!

Full disclosure, I didn’t read Good Girl Complex before this, but thought it read just fine as a stand-alone (although now I HAVE to read it to get the origin story for Mac & Coop).

This book took awhile to pull me in. Gen & Evan definitely have a toxic history, and I wasn’t convinced there was anything between them beyond lust until close to the end.

That said, there was definitely strong character development throughout & I was totally rooting for them. I realized ~75% through that I was doing exactly what Gen was and blaming Evan for all of their poor choices as teenagers. And that’s not fair! Teenagers are dumb sometimes!

In the end, think this was a fun, mostly lighthearted romance with characters that kept me thoroughly entertained.

3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the e-arc for an honest opinion.

Please take in mind it’s my opinion, and everyone is allowed to have one.

This was such a cute and easy read, I read this book in one setting. I also liked this book more than the second book, don’t know if it was because they already had chemistry and it only developed more, or because I felt like the storyline was better.

Do hope we will get to see more couples because I am curious about some!

Genevieve “Gen” West is a reformed “bad girl”. After the passing of her mother, Gen returns to her home town hoping to prove to everyone that she has shed her wild child ways. Her one temptation is her on-again-off-again ex-boyfriend, Evan Hartley. Can Gen show everyone that she’s turned over a new leaf and avoid her bad boy ex?

Bad Girl Reputation is an angsty, will-they/won’t-they second chance romance. The maturity of most of the characters, especially the main two is questionable. Throughout most of the book they could be easily mistaken for highschoolers with their behavior and attitudes. Gen and Evan’s chemistry is definitely palpable which makes sense since they had been together in the past.

While this is the second book in the Avalon Bay series, it can easily be read as a stand alone.

I read many books from author Elle Kennedy and will continue to do so. Although this was not my favorite, I look forward to seeing where she takes the series in the future.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press!

"If the change is going to stick, you have to want it to. That means doing it for yourself, not only because you’re trying to impress someone else. Change, or don’t. Either way, you’re the one who’s got to live with the result.”

This book is about Evan and Genevieve's love story, If you read Good Girl's Complex, Gen's the reason why Evan's personality is like that, even after spending a year apart, they always have that undeniable attraction to each other, having a push and pull scenarios in the book, I love that both characters have character development and the realizations as an individual and as a couple.

I really enjoyed the banter between these two♥️ Can't wait to share this amazing book with my friends!

Book will be released on Oct 04 2022😍

Read if you like:
Childhood friends to lovers
Enemies to lovers
Second chance romance
Grumpy/Sunshine trope

Thanks @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the arc!

3.5

i love the second-chance trope, but i didn’t care all that much for the back-and-forth between evan and gen. i think i may like coop and mac’s relationship in good girl complex more. (granted it’s been a while since i read the first book) i felt like this was missing pieces here and there. that being said, it flowed easily.

#netgalley

This was... disappointing to say the least.

Anyone who knows me at all knows the Off Campus series is by far my favorite book series of all time, so I was so excited to read EK's newest series.

However, this book was a complete and utter mess. My biggest problem with this story is that I felt absolutely no connection to the characters and really didn't care about either of them individually or as a couple. This is a (kind of?) second chance romance story, but we don't get to see them actually fall in love. Instead, we are simply told that they loved each other in the past and now that she's back in town they pick things up again.

I felt like the pacing was all over the place and really disliked the first 50% of the book. The last half was slightly better, but not enough to redeem this story in my eyes. There was simply nothing about this story that drew me in or made me want to keep reading.

I enjoyed this! I appreciate that this is a romance story that doesn’t shy away from real issues that couples can face, especially in youth. I thought that some of the character arcs felt a little rushed or otherwise not believable, but Gen and Evan’s chemistry was very convincing. Still, I found myself sometimes hoping that Gen would move back to Charleston because, at the end of the novel, I felt that the couple still had a lot to work through.

I just really was not into this one. When it comes to a romance, I usually know within the first few chapters if it'll be a good read or not. With this one, I just didn't get that feeling and I often don't waste my time on reading things I'm not into. I'm sad to say I wasn't a fan.

Bad Girl Reputation is the second book in the Avalon Bay series, and follows Evan Hartley and his childhood sweetheart-cum-ride or die, Genevieve. When Gen returns to the Bay a changed woman, ready to grow up and make something of her life, she’s thrown right back into Evan’s orbit. It turns out they’ll both need to try something new: adulting.

While I enjoyed Gen more than I thought I would based on Avalon Bay #1, there wasn’t much to this story. I really fell in love with the banter and chemistry between Mac and Cooper in Good Girl Complex, and I felt that this element was lacking in BGR. Perhaps I didn’t connect with the story and plot this time around, but I didn’t find myself spellbound by this couple.

Overall I would give this a 3.5/5. I do hope Elle Kennedy continues the series, as there are a few other characters I’d love to read about!

Bad Girl Reputation is a continuation to Good Girl Complex but can be read as a standalone. This follows Genevieve and the second Hartley twin, Evan and their amazing, angsty chemistry.
Genevieve, or Gen, is back in Avalon Bay for her mother's funeral. She left over a year ago, determined to put her life in order, and that includes leaving her relationship with Evan behind. However, as always, they just can't help themselves when they're around each other.

This is a story of redemption and reformation and growth as a couple. At least that's what it was trying to be. I understood the intent but it just fell a little flat for me. Evan and Gen had a toxic relationship, from their high school beginnings and brought out the worst in each other. Evan was supposed to be a bad boy but I didn't really get that from him. Maybe a bit immature but bad boy was a stretch. Also, his redemption arc wasn't that much of a change. He volunteered and all of the sudden he's a "good guy" and worthy of Gen's love? This one just didn't work for me.

Thank you, NetGalley and St.Martin's Press, for the ARC

This book was kind of blah at first, but once it picked up I really enjoyed it! I love Elle and the way she builds the storyline. Great book!