Member Reviews

A beautiful story of love and life. Trying to improve and be a better person, to outgrow their wild youth.
Genevieve is afraid of what her future would be like if she keeps on her path of wild parties and not taking life seriously. Evan is on the same path. They both love each other but aren't sure how to navigate the future without the craziness of the past.
Somehow they figure it out together and decide that the future looks even better than they thought.

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Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy
I listened to the audio version of the book narrated by Lee Samuels and Summer Morton. I really enjoyed both narrators. They were very emotive, and had distinctive yet pleasant voices that made it very easy to follow along. I didn’t realize when I requested the book that it was the second book in the Avalon Bay Series. I thought this book could be read as a standalone just fine. There were definitely references to the main characters from the first book, but it didn’t bother or confuse me. I thought enough information about them was provided and made it easy to understand the story and what was going on. I’m a sucker for second chance romance, and throw in a little spice, made for a very enjoyable book.
Many thanks to Elle Kennedy, NetGalley, and Macmillian Audio for the advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Who doesn’t enjoy a bad girl with reputation in its book title? This is exactly why I had to pick up this audiobook by@ellekennedy33 and narrated by Lee Samuels and Summer Morton. Thank you @netgalley for giving me the opportunity to listen and review this amazing audiobook.

This is my first book by Elle Kennedy and it will not be my last either. The story centers around Genevieve West and Evan Hartley. The second book in the Avalon Bay world and it is a second chance for love/ small town contemporary romance.

The narrators for Bad Girl Reputation are simply phenomenal and definitely bring the story to life in all its glory. There is just so much chemistry between these two narrators that simply make the story pop into action. Throughout the story you definitely want these two to finally get together and obtain their HEA.

Elle you have written such a fantastic story with love, redemption and second chances at love. I love small town romance and this was definitely it for me

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When I requested this book I had no idea that it was the second book in the Avalon Bay series. Luckily this book can be read as a standalone novel. This book was good, but I didn't particularly care for the main characters and there really didn't seem to be much to their romance other than physical attraction which was disappointing.

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I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Saint Martin’s Press for the advanced reading copy of Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy.

This is the second book in the Avalon Bay series. I was fortunate enough to be given an advanced reading copy of both books in this duology.

Bad Girl Reputation is a second chance romance/friends to lovers romance. It follows two perspectives. The first perspective being Genevieve (who is briefly mentioned in the first book as the bad girl ex to Cooper’s brother, Evan). Genevieve and Evan have had a past relationship filled with plenty of faults and lots of passion leaving Gen to try to restrain herself from running into Evan in their small town.

The second perspective is local bad boy, Evan (twin brother to Copper, from the first book). Evan has been pining for Genevieve since the first book. He wants nothing more than to get back on her good side even if that means changing himself.

I highly recommend starting with the first book in the series, The Good Girl Complex (I rated it 5 stars). It is a dual perspective romance novel. The first perspective is Mackenzie (Mack). Mackenzie has her life planned out. Graduate from Garnet, marry her rich boyfriend Preston, be a doting wife and mother, and join her mothers charity organizations. She is a self proclaimed good girl always wanting to please her rich parents and even wealthier boyfriend/boyfriends parents. That is until the night she meets bad boy “townie” Cooper who makes her think maybe there is more to life.

The second perspective is local bad boy, Cooper. Cooper hates “clones” and when one gets him fired at the start of the novel he seeks revenge by stealing his girlfriend.

If you are a fan of Elle Kennedy’s previous work, especially her Off-Campus Series, this one is for you!

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Elle Kennedy has done a bang up job in this not so innocent romantic comedy.

Readers are sure to love Genevieve and Evans playful interactions, steamy connection, and undeniable chemistry. Personally I would have loved to see a bit more character grown but overall I enjoyed this angsty, in an out love tale of opposites attracting.

3.5 stars only because I didn’t find the Steamy scenes well written

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Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy is the second in the series and it is everything I needed. Genevieve West, former bad girl, returns home for her mom's funeral never intending on staying. The only girl with 5 brothers, Gen decides to stay to help her dad with his business. While home sparks fly with her ex-boyfriend, Evan Hartley. But, what are Evan's feelings towards Genevieve after she left town without warning months ago? Will Genevieve stick with her new good girl attitude, or will being home reignite the bad girl inside her?

I loved the interaction between Genevieve and Evan.

A bit steamy!

A quick read that flies by and kept a smile on my face the whole time.

I would definitely recommend Bad Girl Reputation to all, especially those who love romance reads.

Loved the narration by Lee Samuels and Summer Morton which helped with the dual POV.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Genevieve grew up in a beachy tourist town with a rough and tumble group of friends who loved to party and have a good time. She and her HS sweetheart Evan were a wild pair who often got into a lot of mischief. After a night of drinking that turns sour, Gen leaves her hometown and starts anew in a new city and tries to shed her “Bad Girl Reputation”. After a year away, creating a sober life, she returns to her hometown for her mother’s funeral. She stays to help out the family business. Of course Evan is still there but she tries to avoid falling into old habits and prove she’s not the girl she once was. That includes not falling back into a relationship with Evan. But their attraction is undeniable.

Overall, I would rate this story 3.5 stars. There were parts of the story that were sweet. I laughed at Evan’s budding relationship with his “Little Brother”. There were definitely some pretty steamy parts at times too. I loved that there was some resolution to both character’s relationship with their mothers. I like how the author showed their growth throughout the story. Overall, the plot felt a little lacking in depth for me. I also found it hard to follow the extra character from the friends group and their relationships. Since this is a series, I think the author was trying to add some foreshadowing into books to come. For me personally, I had a hard time connecting with the characters and the stage of life they were in- mid 20s trying to figure out who they are in life. For a reader in that stage of life or just coming out of it, I think this would be closer to a 4 star read.

Narration: Since this story was told from a dual perspective, Gen/Evan, I appreciated that there were male and female narrators for both POVs. I found the male narrator to be a little monotone but not to the point of being unable to focus on the story. The female narrator did a great job of adding inflection and emotion.

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Sequel to A good girl complex but just not as good. 3.5 Stars.

I received an Audiobook ARC copy from #netgalley.

Picks up shortly after Good Girl complex but this book is about Evan and Genevieve.
On again off again until she bails outta the blue without a peep.
It's 1 year later and she's back in town .


Will they pick up where they left off or will Evan even talk to her since she ran off without a word?

Cute book but 3.5 stars since for me Good Girl complex was better and I gave that 4 stars.

Definitely open for a book 3 though!

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I liked this better than good girl complex up until the 3rd act breakup AT NINETY PERCENT. That was so damn unnecessary and tbh I really don’t know if I’m into reading any other Elle Kennedy books 😂 I did love gen as a the FMC. She had great character development and I really loved how she came to love herself through everything she had been through

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Audiobook review 🎧



Even though Bad Girl Reputation is the second book of a series, I feel like it could do well as a stand-alone. I didn’t read Good Girl Complex yet (it’s on my tbr 😭) I wasn’t confused while listening to Bad Girl Reputation. Elle Kennedy gave a lot of background info about Cooper and Mac here and there and that helped a lot.

The voice actors were casted really well. They brought the characters to life and really told their stories.

Bad Girl Reputation begins when Genevieve returns to her hometown for her mother’s funeral. She’s forced to face the reason why she left… and her ex, Evan, who still doesn’t know what happened to them.

I really enjoyed Gen and Evan, despite how immature they are. The ending was pretty anticlimactic though. Wasn’t sure what I was expecting but it didn’t feel like any special.


What you’ll find:
Small town romance
Bad boy
Second chance romance
Some spice

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I didn't really connect with this book as much as I thought I would. I really didn't like the main character, Genevieve, because it really felt like she spent the entire book punishing herself and everyone around her for mistakes that in retrospect, weren't even that big of a deal. I didn't love the way the book handled the sexual assault/harassment storyline. All of the characters are supposed to be in their mid-twenties or older but they all acted somehow simultaneously like teenagers but also in the most unrealistic way imaginable. By the end, each character had somewhat grown on me, and the book really captures the vibe of a small town - the drama, everybody knowing your business, etc - but it felt too little, too late in the grand scheme that I couldn't connect until the book was almost done.

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I loved Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy! It is the second book in the Avalon Bay series, but can definitely be read as a standalone. I read both books, and can say you should definitely check out the first book! While the first book, Good Girl Complex, follows the story of one of the Hartley twins, Cooper, this book focuses on the other, Evan. Here's the back story - the twins are locals in a tourist town that also has a high priced college. The college is more of a focus in the first book, but they is about second chance love between high school sweethearts, Evan and Gen as they attempt to move past their reckless youthful self and find their more mature counterparts.

This is a great second chance romance and I really enjoyed seeing each character grow and try to figure out their identity as an adult. I liked how this book talked about how getting older doesn't mean you have to lose your spark or sense of self as you figure out your priorities -- some pretty cool concepts for a romance to tackle. The book also discusses second chances with absent parents and trying to make amends.

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was great! Very emotive and had distinctive voices for each character that made it easy to follow.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book.

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I really enjoyed this audiobook. I actually didn't realize until the 2nd chapter that I had read Good Girl Reputation from Elle Kennedy. I liked how the chapters changed the POV and the realistic plot. Great character development throughout the book as well.

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even though this is the second book in a series (Good Girl Complex is the first), i thought this book could be read as a standalone just fine. there were definitely references to the main characters from GGC, but it didn’t bother me, i wasn’t confused, and i thought elle kennedy provided enough information about them that I still perfectly understood the story.

this book was good - i enjoyed the premise and thought it was equal parts deep, growth-oriented, and spicy. i liked that both the main characters had their moments of introspection, self-love, and fallbacks, but leaned on each other to further their relationship with each other, with their family members/friends, and ultimately with themselves. i also really liked the message of outgrowing a reputation and proving people wrong, something that i feel like a lot of people can struggle with as you grow up and mature.

all in all, i didn’t necessarily feel like this one was anything special, but i did really like the storyline, the characters, and the family dynamics

SO… even if you didn’t read good girl complex (or didn’t like good girl complex), don’t write this one off!

thanks to netgalley, st martin's griffin, and macmillan audio for the arc of this book in exchange for a review!

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I was pleasantly surprised by Bad Girl Reputation. From the summary of the book and the way it starts, it seemed like it was going to be a very typical paint-by-numbers romance novel. I’m happy to be wrong, this was a lot more than that.

The story starts when Genevieve comes back to her hometown for her mother's funeral. She has a lot of history in her hometown. Mostly with her ex-boyfriend Evan.

I really loved Gen and Evan together. They both will do anything for each other including trying to stay away from the other if that’s what’s best. I said this book was more than other romance novels, Gen and Evan's relationship is one of the main reasons why I say that. This is not a book about second, third, or even fourth chances. This is not about someone trying to right a wrong from the past. This is about growth. Evan and Gen did not need to give each other another chance, they needed to grow as adults to be able to handle a relationship, and that’s what you are witnessing throughout the book. I really loved watching both of them grow.

The theme of growth even made it to some secondary characters, most notably Shelly, Evans's mom. Evan was just waiting for Shelly to go back to her old ways but like Evan, she grew and matured.

I like being surprised and that’s what Bad Girl Reputation did for me. I would definitely recommend this one.

Final Score 4/5

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Loved this one! Such a great audio and I loved both narrators. I recently started reading Elle Kennedy’s books and I have quickly fallen in love with her writing. Her stories and characters are so good and I love how I always feel so invested. I’ll definitely need a physical copy of this one for my shelf! So good!

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Bad Girl Reputation is the second book in the Avalon Bay series, but it can also be read on its own as it's a character-based series. I enjoyed it even more than Good Girl Complex. The best part of Elle Kennedy's books are the characters and their relationships, and former bad girl Gen who returns to her hometown to help her aging father is so relatable! She struggles with reconciling her current self with her high school reputation, and when she runs into her hot, rebellious ex things heat up and get even more complicated, but it was also also heartwarming to see how they had both changed and grown as young adults. Lee Samuels and Summer Morton were the perfect voices of Gen and Evan in the audiobook, they really brought the characters to life for me!

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🔥BOOK REVIEW🔥

Title: Bad Girl Reputation
Author: Elle Kennedy
Publisher: @macmillan.audio
Pages: 320
Pub Date: 10/4/2022
Goodreads Rating: 3.67
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I enjoyed this audiobook, but I didn’t love it. It just didn’t grab me. I think it’s mainly that I was never taken in by any of the characters. I never found myself caring what the outcome of the story was. The conflict in the story didn’t stir anything in me and seemed to easily resolved I guess. There was character development, but it didn’t much affect me as a reader. I’m big on character development, which I realize is a personal preference, so this may not matter much to other readers.

The book has all of the elements a story needs, but just never swept me off my feet. I can see others enjoying it.

You may enjoy this if you like:
🔥Bad Boys
🔥Small Town Setting
🔥Second Chance Romance
🔥Redemption
🔥Close Family Relations

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Bad Girl Reputation
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

My review of Bad Girl Reputation will be posted to my Instagram @chronicledbycait on Monday, September 19th 📚

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC of Bad Girl Reputation in exchange for an honest review!

This is my second book I’ve read by Elle Kennedy and I’m hooked!

I read Good Girl Complex and while this is the second book in the series, I think Bad Girl Reputation can be read as a stand-alone!

One year ago, Genevieve took off without a word to anyone, least of all to Evan - the boy she’s been off and on with since middle school.

When her mom died, Gen comes home and is forced to face the reason she left and more importantly she’s faced with Evan and all the questions she’s not sure she has answers to.

But they can’t ignore the pull that keeps bringing them together. Falling into their old toxic traits, Gen tells Evan that she’s changed. Evan realizes that if he wants her, he’s going to have to change too.

This story is the perfect example of how it’s important to grow individually AND as a couple.

A little spicy, and a lot sweet, this second-chances story had me smiling on numerous occasions and heavily invested in their story.

Bad Girl Reputation comes out October 4, 2022 and you’re not going to want to miss it! Preorder today!

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