To be fair, I did not realize this was a sequel and have not read the first book. All that being said, this one was not for me. Thank you for the opportunity to listen and review.

I really loved Good Girl Complex, so it was a no-brainer to request the sequel when I saw it available on Netgalley 😊 Thank you so much Macmillan Audio for approving me for this audiobook. Release date: 10/4/2022

Meet Evan and Gen. Childhood sweethearts. Troublemakers. Two peas in a pod. That is…until Gen left for the city without any explanation. Now she’s back for her mom’s funeral and staying in town to help her family out.
Is she the same girl that used to cause mayhem around town? Evan doesn’t know…but he sure as hell wants her back.

This book was the complete opposite to its predecessor in my opinion.
At first I was a bit put off by how destructive Evan and Gen’s relationship was but I admit they grew on me! There are so many good tropes in this book, it’s hard to pick my favorite (second chance love, friends to lovers, he falls first…)

The character development in this book is off the charts. The people we meet at the beginning of the book are NOT the same ones we say goodbye to when reading the epilogue. Evan’s efforts to get Gen back, by doing things completely out of character for him, are hilarious and so heartwarming. Props to Elle Kennedy! 👏👏 I absolutely love stories where we follow characters interconnected with each other because any details we get about other people within the same universe are definitely gonna pop up in the next installments of the series and I can not wait.

This was a multicast audiobook, which I always love! But I liked Gen’s narration better than Evan’s. Her pace was so well maintained throughout the story and I found myself looking forward to her parts a bit more. Then again, I always relate more to a female narrator so that might be unfair of me. 👀

For me this book was a solid four stars. I would highly recommend checking the trigger warnings for it however, as it deals with a lot of heavy topics (death of a parent, illness, postpartum depression, alcoholism, drug abuse, toxic relationship, abuse of authority etc.)

Bad Girl Reputation is a second chance romance that follows Jen and Evan as the try to outgrow their former bad girl/not selves. It was an easy and steamy listen with great narration. As other reviewers have noted, the main characters have a lot of physical chemistry but lack emotional chemistry. I didn’t really connect to the characters but I made it through the book and I was very satisfied with the ending.

Elle Kennedy has created a series of romance novels focusing on coming off age and becoming the person you want to be. I really enjoyed Gen and Evan's story with a little glance at the continuing story 9f Mackenzie and Cooper. Kennedy also touches on making peace with your family and your past

I really like this series! The whole small town vibe plus all the antics and the amazing friend group, it all feels very wholesome. I was super intrigued about Gen and Evan in book 1 and I really liked their book. Yes, their relationship is toxic. They do immature things but it gets better, So if you have an aversion for toxic relationships do not read this book.

Gen is back and not for long but of course, that's more than enough to meet Evan, who she left behind without a word. Not gonna lie, when I realised this, I hated her. She pushed him away for very selfish reasons and didn't bother about how that would affect him. Let me tell you, there's nothing cute about their relationship. It's mostly physical chemistry and non stop fighting. There's a lot of push and pull.

What I did like about them? Gen accepts that she made a mistake and puts EFFORT into their relationship. Ethan takes time and is determined to make things work. So, overall it was a good read. I'm excited for the next one, I have a feeling there's gonna be a lot of angst!

I am a huge Elle Kennedy fan and loved her Off Campus and Brier U series, as well as book one of this Avalon Bay series, Good Girl Complex. While I also enjoyed Bad Girl Reputation, it is not my favorite of hers.

Let’s start her with what I loved about this book. I have such a soft spot for small town settings and I love the world Kennedy has created here in Avalon Bay. The supporting characters are a lot of fun and add so much to the overall story. She also does a great job at developing her characters, and you can easily envision them existing off the page as well as on.

Now to the negative. This book relies heavily on my least favorite trope, miscommunication, to propel the story forth both in the past, before we existed in this world with them, and then in the present as they navigate being in one another’s lives again. This left me feeling frustrated with the characters and their lack of mature communication for most of the story.

I listened to this one on audio and while I loved the narration for Good Girl Complex, the narrators of Bad Girl Reputation, along with the echoing quality present in NetGalley’s ALCs, detracted a bit from my overall impression. I would recommend reading the physical or ebook over the audiobook.

While this one fell a bit flat for me, I am really enjoying this series as a whole and hope she continues on with it.

Read if you like:
• second chance love
• redemption trope
• small town setting
• open door romance

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC and ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. The writing wasn't that good and the story didn't pull me in. It was a little too aggressive for me. It was a dual POV. Stopped listening at 25%

After being an advanced listener for Elle Kennedy's Good Girl Complex (and loving it!) I was SO excited to be selected for Bad Girl Reputation. On the whole, I am a bit wishy-washy about this one. It seems as though Gen and Evan's relationship is based solely on physical chemistry (and doesn't really move beyond this), so I found it a bit hard to cheer for them to get together. While they changed and improved as individual characters, they didn't necessarily jive in my opinion. The steamy scenes were great, if that's what you're looking for! Elle Kennedy's writing is wonderful, but the story plot fell flat. The narration was pretty good, though needed to be sped up for comfortable listening.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ALC!

This was somewhat of a miss for me.  It could very well be a "me" thing rather than the book since I read this one before The Good Girl Complex. I alternated from listening on audio to reading on my kindle and I prefered the kindle.  The narration of Evan seemed very rigid and aggressive.  His personality is strong in general and Gen wasn't very likeable either.  Their relationship was solely based on a physical chemistry which made it hard to root for them.  It seemed to be unhealthy in a lot of ways.

Genevieve West left town a year ago because she knew it was the only way to get her life straightened out. Now she is back in town for her mom’s funeral, and she plans to stay far away from her ex, Evan Hartley, so that she doesn’t fall back into her old bad habits. However, it is hard to avoid him in their small town, and Evan is determined to win her back over, even if that means turning over a new leaf himself.

I did not think that Gen and Evan made a good couple, unfortunately. Their physical chemistry was off the chart, obviously, but they did not bring out the best in each other. I did like some of the side characters, especially the brothers, and I would be willing to give the series another chance to read their stories.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy

—This is a very honest review.

This book was not for me. The only reason I finished it was to find out how Randall got what was coming to him.

The writing is good but the story was lacking. The characters didn’t have much depth and the storyline fell flat.

There is plenty of smut so I could see it being read just for that but if you’re looking for romance with a good plot, this isn’t it.

The narration was well done. I liked the dual POV and their voices carried emotion and portrayed the characters as well as they could.


Potential SPOILERS ahead:

Genevieve was a wild, rebellious teen/young adult and her on again/off again boyfriend wasn’t any better. Waking up after a horrible incident with a power hungry cop and some terrible decisions on her part, Genevieve decides the only way to reform is to leave town without telling anyone.

After a year of sobriety, Genevieve comes back to town for her mother’s funeral. She was relieved by the death of her mother because they had a terrible relationship, this was a tell instead of show situation. We knew Genevieve thought her mother was terrible and never felt loved by her but there’s not really any example or story to go along with it.

Then comes Evan(ex-boyfriend) and his truly terrible twin brother. Right away Genevieve and Evan are falling back into their old patterns. Throughout the rest of the story you can feel the attraction but literally nothing beyond that. I have no idea why they even like each other than it being comfortable? The side characters didn’t offer much to the story either. The only one I was remotely interested in was Randall, the villain.

Bad Girl Reputation is the story of Gen and Evan. They were their small town's "wild kids" and when she comes back to town after leaving without saying good bye, sparks fly and tensions are high. He doesn't know why she left and when he does, the work and growth they both do in order to be together is so rewarding. It's steamy and fun. I loved getting a little more from Cooper and Mac. I enjoyed this book while on vacation and the easy way it let me pick it up and dive right back in was just what I needed.

The narrators are good. The speed was a little slow for me. I normally listen just over 1.5 but bumped this up to two because it felt like it read a little slower.

The title of this book caught my eye. I am a former party girl and I am dating a so called "bad boy" type. This book was so steamy but I also appreciated the story line so much! The imperfect couple who met in middle school, grew up, grew apart, and shared their ups and downs together and apart. They obviously have an intense physical attraction to one another and can't leave each other alone. Gen explores sobriety which I love. I related to her so much as far as wanting to still have a social life but also opening her eyes to another perspective of her former self. A wonderful, very well rounded, steamy love story involving family and friends as well as a creepy hometown cop who finally gets what's coming to him.

Genevieve returns home after a year away where she focused on improving herself. She returns home after her mom passes and finds herself surrounded by the things she had fled from the previous year. One of those things is Evan, her on/off again boyfriend who helped fuel her reckless ways.

I am glad that we got to know more about Evan as we learned a little about him in the first book. I like how Gen stood her ground and wanted to be a better person while not giving into Evan's reckless ways. The book tackles dealing with past demons that make trying to move forward in the same area difficult. I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend!

3.5 stars.

Bad Girl reputation is the second installment in the Avalon Bay series. The first book surrounds Cooper and Mac, this one tells the tale of Genevieve and Evan, a second chance romance. I enjoyed this book much more then the first one.

Ex- Bad girl Genevieve West comes back to Avalon Bay after the death of her mother, begrudgingly, she runs into her ex Evan Hartley (an absolute personification of her own personal drug) at the funeral. Things get heated, but Genevieve decides to nip it in the bud and focus on reforming herself, and helping the family company stay afloat, which means no EVAN. Being back in Avalon Bay also means coming to terms with some demons she left behind, namely Rusty, a sleezy cop that has a vendetta against her. Will everyone see that she turned over a new leaf, or will her reputation precede her?

I enjoyed this story, because it is about forgiveness, dealing with past demons, and ultimately moving on. The romance was sweet, and the characters were much more relatable then Cooper and Mac. The second chance romance, one of my least favorite tropes was done well in this. This theme of second chances can also be seen through Genevieve, who just wants a second chance to be a better person.

Special thanks to NetGallye and St. Martin's Press for sharing this digital reviwer copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

** spoiler alert ** Stop it!!! Coming back to this little town that reminds me of Galveston, was so much fun to close out my summer reading! I love me some good heartbreak romance! Grateful this love story spans the time from childhood, as it's just so wholesome!

About halfway through the book when we finally get to hear from Mac, I realized how much I really missed her. But neat to see from another perspective.

I especially loved when the narrators kept to their idea of how the other sex perceives things. It was fun. And exactly how I think my husband would narrate me if he had to...lol

The biggest shock and heartstring-tugging was the topic of PPD/PPA, man this hit home for me. I am extremely grateful the author added this tidbit of backstory because it is truly all-encompassing for that character (her mom, and their relationship). And the perspective coming from her dad, and her realization, shift of her childhood memories. Man, that was so well done. I connected on that level... and thought man, I really hope my daughter could understand one day what it was like for me in those hard times, and maybe realize it was all love.
WELL DONE!

Okay, the image of her dad and brothers on the front yard and porch... YES!! May everyone have a "F*** AROUND AND FIND OUT SOCIETY"!!!

And to round it out "you're going to get sick with how much I love you"... isn't this how everyone wants to be loved?

PS. Can we all get big cat eyes with mom's attempt at a pie <3

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC!! I loved it!!

3 and a half stars

Im in two Minds over this read, i loved the way it was written the relationships between the families and friends.... But i wasn't feeling the chemistry between the two Main characters.

I loved Evan and the Lengths he was willing to go two to make his Childhood sweetheart His girl again.... But Gen.......

I think she Lays too much blame on Evan, i hated how she was dating another guy giving him false hope as she clearly states she doesn't find him sexually attractive, while giving Evan a chance too.

Still there were some fun bits....

🍭 Evan trying to trick Mac.

🍭 The brothers overcoming Hurdles and getting even closer

🍭 Gen's new Job opportunity

🍭 That ending was just too cute

I wonder which couple will go under the looking glass next in this great series......

Thanks to Elle Kennedy, her publisher, St. Martins Griffin, MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for an ARC of this Novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Elle Kennedy, and I will definitely be reading more! I enjoyed the ensemble cast and look forward to getting to know more of the characters. I really liked the character growth that Jen and Evan both demonstrated throughout and how they grew individually before reuniting as a couple. Would definitely recommend!

These books! I love them.

The brothers! I love them.

The friends who are family! I love them.

I loved being back in Avalon Bay and hearing Evan and Genevieve’s story. These two have had a lot of life thrown at them early in life. Gen leaves town and Evan devastated.

One year later after her mother dies she returns to town and tries to avoid him at all costs. She is doing her best to turn her life around and she doesn’t know how to do that with him around.

Losing Gen and having her return has Evan doing everything he can to be better for her and show her he’s changed.

Fall in love with characters and their journey!!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the advanced e-copy and audio copy of Bad Girl Reputation!
I was so happy to hear about this book’s release because I read (and enjoyed) Good Girl Complex last year. These books are apart of a series. They could be read separate, but there are some minor spoilers throughput Bad Girl Reputation that relate to Good Girl Complex – so proceed at your own risk!
Overall, I thought this book was pretty good. It was a fun read and I think I even liked it more than the first one. The audio was so fun to listen too because of the different characters and voices. It made it really easy to decipher who was speaking which can sometimes be challenging with audio books.
In relation to the story though, I felt like the middle was a little slow for my liking. It felt like there was a lot of back and forth and situations that just made the book longer than it could have been, but overall the story was pretty fun. This book was the perfect end-of-summer romance with lots of great character development and growth!