I love Elle Kennedy's writing so so much , I also loved getting to know the other side of Evan. While this book was steamy it was super predicatble but an easy read. I will alaways reccomend Elle Kennedy

Wow. Wow. Wow! I could not put this book down. I do not know what Elle Kennedy puts in her books but they are like crack to me. I hadn't read the first book in this series "Good Girl Complex" because it has a fairly long wait at the library but when I was given the opportunity to read this book I couldn't pass it up.

A girl with quite the past comes back to her hometown for her mother's funeral and while trying to stay on the straight and narrow runs into long time ex and bad boy Evan Hartley. Now those who have read the first book have seen Evan before (I instantly finished this book and bought and devoured the first one) with his sweet yet tough twin Cooper Hartley.

For me this book had just what I was looking for. Sexual tension, good chemistry between characters, banter, a main character who wants more for herself, and actual depth. This is not one of those romance books that relies on the miscommunication trope to move the story forward. There are reasons the characters wouldn't make sense together, but there are reasons they keep coming back together too. If you are a fan of second chance romances and books where the guy falls harder first then this is it. A relationship that grows from an immature toxic one to one that you are rooting for is there and I am here for it. Bad boy and wild girl exterior aside they really are sweet characters who you root for each step of the way. Especially because they bring out such fiery sides in each other and finding a way to bring the fun side out without losing their way is so endearing to watch. Due to the fact that the storyline also revolves around the death of ones mother and the estranged mother trying to re-enter the others life it is great to see the soft side of these tough characters. Honestly I can't wait to see what other characters we get to see next. I will definitely be reading all of those. I can already see the makings of some ground work she has laid out in this book for other characters storylines.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a second chance romance set at the beach. If you are trying to move on from a toxic ex I don't recommend because man they make it look so good. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book! I can't wait to buy a physical copy!

I absolutely loved this book!

It was the first Elle Kennedy book I have read and I'm so excited to pick up another!

This is the second book of a series, however you can definitely read it as a stand alone. I did not feel like I was missing any back story.

I loved Gen so much. I found myself the whole way through the book cheering her on and torn on how I wanted the book to end.

Gen and Evan's history at times made me think she should move on, but then I'd get sucked back into their relationship and my heart wanted them to end up together.

This book was well written and I found myself not wanting to pause (audiobook)!

Lots of laughs, face palms, and some blushing!

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!

I love dark, gritty, working class characters and this book is absolutely, positively 100% everything I could ever want in a romance. Not even kidding. I read and listened to it in one day because I could not put it down.

If you read Good Girl Complex, you are already familiar with the characters (if not, no big deal because they are all re-introduced, but I do recommend reading that one too because it was also a 5 star read for me!).

Gen - a bad girl - comes back to the college beach town where she grew up for the funeral of the mother that she never thought loved her (she learns SO MUCH about her mom from her dad over the course of the weeks she is there, including a scene that made me WEEP!). Why did Gen leave? Because of a jerky cop who abused his power and continues to do so throughout the book until it all comes to a glorious, empowering head!

And then there is Evan - sexy, swoon worthy, hot headed, book boyfriend extraordinaire - and all the ways he wants to be and has always been and will always be there for Gen. They've been friends and more since they were kids..

If you like strong female characters and open door romance, don't miss this one!

This was a 3.5 for me rounded down to a 3! I enjoyed listening to this audiobook it was a nice listen that I could pick up between books, on walks, etc. I think I made the mistake of not reading Good Girl Complex first but didn't find that it hindered my experience reading this second installment as I did not realize it was part of series. So, that is something to keep in mind for why I maybe did not enjoy it as much as I could have.

I think Elle Kennedy writes in a way all of the characters she writes are borderline unlikable or cringey when it comes down to it they just all start off so immature and I think that is why the character development for me is great because the bar starts so low.

I definitely can't wait to reread this when it comes out in a physical copy after I read the first book in the series!

I've already reread this book, only this time I was lucky enough to be able to listen to it on audiobook!
The duel narrators were perfection! They were engaging and made me love listening to the book!
This is easily becoming one of my favorite reads of the year and a nice comfort read.
Thank you NetGalley and MacMillon audio for an audiobook ARC of Bad Girl Reputation!

Original Review From First Read:
Okay, so you know how there are books that you never want to end?! That was how I felt reading this!

Bad Girl Reputations follows Genevieve as she comes back into Avalon Bay after the death of her mom. She runs into her ex-boyfriend, Evan Hartley, and almost immediately is faced with dealing with her past.

I really loved seeing the character progression from both Gen and Evan. Many times in romances, the characters' growth isn't until the end; but with these two, the changes happen throughout the narrative. I always appreciate a duel POV from the female and male love interest as well!

My only drawback was how Cooper was portrayed through this book, as someone "high and mighty" on dating advice, when he started dating Mac as a bet in the previous book.

Overall, the drama, the spice, the romance? Give. Me. More!

The biggest thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in return for a review!

This was one of the audiobooks that I found myself actively rooting for the two main characters to NOT get together, which is never the goal with a romance book. I just thought that their relationship was very toxic and Evan especially was slightly to macho-man for me (especially the amount of times he commented on Gen's body - I had to stop and look up if Elle Kennedy was actually a man, since that's what the female descriptions came across as). Evan also never really changed - Gen showed some real growth and character development, but I don't think I can say the same for him.

I also found parts of this book to be very repetitive. Often, the characters would think something and then say the exact same thing only a few lines later. This book would have been shorter and the pacing would have maybe been better if they only thought or said something - both was just too much.

I also found that this book was often trying to do too much. It was a romance book, but it was also about grief, but it was also about self-improvement, but none of these things had enough time spent on them OR they had too much time spent on them - there wasn't really a happy medium.

(As a side note: as an identical twin myself, I found myself laughing at some of the descriptions of Evan and Cooper. Like the fact that Mac is able to tell them apart as a way to show her love? Any close friend or even acquaintance should be able to tell identical twins apart, especially when they're older. But, again, maybe I'm biased)

I thought the narrators did a good job, and they were the reason I somewhat liked and wanted the characters to show growth and get what they want.

I personally have quite enjoyed the Avalon Bay series and this book was no different. It is an easy, entertaining second chance romance story that warrants 4 stars. The chemistry between the FMC and MMC was hot and kept me engaged throughout the duration of the book. I feel like the tone of this series is a deviation from the college age romances we have seen from Elle Kennedy in the past, but I find that to be a good thing. These are beach town kids who grew up in a tourism centered community, and the characters fit given the location. Continuing right along from the first book, we now get to experience Cooper’s twin, Evan, and his high school sweetheart, Gen gets their second chance at a relationship as they transition into adulthood. The story begins with the death of Gen’s mother which is what brings her back to Avalon Bay, and we see a back and forth of Gen and Evan trying to mature and develop into well-adjusted adults leaving the stigma of their crazy, adolescent years behind. Although this could be read as a standalone, I found it interesting to dive into this story with the bias of how Gen was referred to in the first book. Based on the way Cooper talked about his twin brother’s ex-girlfriend, I expected Gen to be this off her rocker crazy, party girl. We find out that Gen was not that person at all and simply a young, twenty something trying her best to grow the hell up. I have seen in other reviews negatively refer to these characters as immature and I just think, well yes, these characters are acting age appropriate! That is exactly what I want out of a contemporary romance. I exclusively listened to this book in audio format and found the narrators to fit the characters and enjoyed their voices. I must admit that the narrators from book one are two of my all-time favorites, so I was a little skeptical of Lee Samuels and Summer Morton but I thought they did an excellent job. I also liked that two different male narrators were used for Cooper and Evan, because they’re identical twins. So much time is spent describing how they are different, I think it was a wise choice to use two different narrators. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys college age/young adult romance stories with depth and just enough steam to keep you wanting more. I certainly have more Elle Kennedy books in my TBR list and I would also give these narrators another listen as well.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and Elle Kennedy for an advance listening copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I didnt realize that this was the second book in The Avalon Bay series but this one definitely read as a standalone. I might have missed a little bit of background but it was easy to understand and get to know the different characters and their back stories. I love the second chance romance trope so I was excited to explore Gen and Evans relationship. This was a spicy and steamy summer romance that reminded me of my summers at the beach. The addition of Harrison and the other police officer made for interesting side story lines! The narrator did a great job bringing all the characters and the plot to life for me!! This one publishes October 4th and would be the perfect book to indulge in between all your spooky season reads!

Party girl Genevie hits her personal rock bottom after a night out goes awry, causing her to leave her seaside hometown to reform her ways. When a year later a personal tragedy bring her back home to see if her reformed ways will stick as she helps out the family business, but when the ex she has been in love with since childhood and resident bad boy Evan is hellbent on getting his wild girl back.
Can these two finally grow up and get a new version of happily ever after or will their pasts catch up and stick with them and ruin things for good?

Enjoyed the casting for the narrators though don't like when when you have multiple narrators and the male still does the female part and female does the male part.

Very captivating contemporary romance that does tackle some heavier themes. This is the second book in the Avalon Bay series, each book seems like they are connected but can be read as a stand alone which is great and now I need and want to read book 1.

This was okay, I liked the bad boy vibe but at times I couldn’t stand him but maybe that was the point. There connected was toxic at times but what girl doesn’t like a bad boy!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this book as an arc. I am voluntarily leaving a review.

This book is not a regular romance. It deals with death, depression and substance abuse. It’s about redemption and moving on.
Evan and Genevieve have been friends since kids and their friendship turned to love or lust in the beginning atleast . As teens they tested the limits and lived life to the fullest .
No one else matched what they had together but together they were also volatile.
They learn together to grow up, deal with heartbreak and redemption to be the people they are now

I DNF’d this audio at 30% 😞

The narrator did a fine job.

The characters……I didn’t care. More and more Gen and Evan just made me angry. They were juvenile, disrespectful to everyone, and extremely self-centered. And maybe that is the point and I should have pushed through to the end.

I was also not drawn to the immediate sex and nudity. Though I guess the title should have tipped me off 😆

After skipping town for a year, notorious bad girl, Genevieve West is back in Avalon Bay to attend her estranged mother's funeral. Gen's plan is to get in and get out as quickly as possible, all while avoiding her feelings...and her bad boy ex, Evan Hartley.

It doesn't take long to run into Evan, and for all the feelings she thought she had let go of to quickly rise to the surface. Can you say funeral bathroom sex?!

Bad Girl Reputation is the second book in the Avalon Bay series, a follow up to Good Girl Complex. Good Girl Complex was good girl meets bad boy. The main character, Mac, breaks up with her long term + trust fund boyfriend, rebels against her parents and finds herself. In this installment our main character Gen is not only falling for the bad boy, she is "bad" herself. This dynamic is new to me and I really enjoyed it. I love the dual perspectives switching between Evan and Genevieve. There are multiple different storylines all going on at once, dates with a local cop, adopting a "little brother", updates on Mac & Cooper, and Evan and Gen's romance. When they get together the spice is off the charts for sure but I would have liked to see more of them and less of the background noise so to speak. I still enjoyed this story and loved the narrators. Their voices really fit the characters and made this story come alive for me!
3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

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

•Second chance at love
•Love triangle
•Small beach town
•Redemption
•Strained parent relationship
•🌶

I hadn't read the first book in this series so perhaps I would have slightly more of a connection to the world if I had but overall I really enjoyed this story.

I love the character growth for each individual main character and their growth together as a couple. I am a sucker for a second chance romance. This was an enjoyable read with some spice.

I recommend this one.

Bad Girl Reputation follows former bad girl Gen and local bad boy Evan. Gen moves back to her hometown to help out with her family's business, there she runs into her ex-boyfriend Evan. The two find that they're still drawn to each other, but Gen is determined to not go back down that road because she knows it'll end with her returning to her former bad girl self.

For me, characters are the most important part of a book. If I don't like the characters, I'm not going to like the book. I hated both the main characters in this book. I found them to be extremely annoying and toxic to not only each other but also their friends. In Gen's case, her friends were just as toxic as her. I can get behind characters who aren't necessarily good people if they're written in a way where they're likeable despite their flaws. But these characters were not likeable at all.

I didn't love the first book in this series, but I liked it enough. After reading this book, I'm questioning everything I liked about the first book. This book was definitely not for me at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an audiobook copy of this book!

Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy 
3.5 stars
1.5 stars spice
TW: Death of a parent, sexual assault, mental health

A spicy scene in the first chapter had me intrigued, Elle Kennedy! Bad Girl Reputation is about Genevieve (Gen) who is working through self growth to rid herself of the bad girl reputation she accrued. She was a wild child who's partner in crime was also her forever boyfriend Evan. 

Being back in her hometown for her mother's funeral has Gen contemplating if the changes she's made in her life are sustainable. Evan looked towards his old girlfriend/ best friend to be his sun, to revolve around her again. Gen needs to find out for herself if she has the strength to keep the changes she made. Can she keep her new life on the straight and narrow without losing who she is herself?

I wanted to love this book. The chemistry between Evan and Gen was palpable. However this book focused heavily on both characters' self growth and how they matured. It gave a long look into some gritty situations (check trigger warnings) and focused on Gen's perspective. She has a childhood with an absent mother which all seems to have contributed to her wanting to be seen. Even bad attention is attention. The last third of the book really felt like all the strings came together and propelled the story forward. I really wanted to see how it would all turn out. 

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed the way the narrator's voices added to the story. My real issue was that the audiobook had a slight echo and it was distracting. I'm not sure if that was the NetGalley player or if that's the way it was meant to be. 

This book is in a series but I read it as a standalone. I will be going back to read Good Girl Reputation, not because I needed it for context but because I am attached to this community. 

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, Elle Kennedy and Netgalley for my advanced audiobook, this is my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review!

DNF @ 50%

Unfortunately, this one was just not for me.

A few comments that I feel are worth mentioning:
The lack of diversity in this series is a real shame. Additionally, all of the characters in this story seem to be immature and irresponsible in just about every way. Also, some of the vocabulary used in this book was just bad. How about we refrain from calling unhoused people hobos in 2022? Overall, these characters are way too old to be acting and saying the things they say.

In a return to Avalon Bay, Elle Kennedy revisits some of the beloved characters we already know. She takes us on a story of love, redemption, and a bond too great to break. I love this book and the way she intertwined past characters but without making it essential to read the prior books. The delicate way she dealt the good cops and bad cops showed a nice balance in this difficult time. Overall, it was a fantastic read and I enjoyed listening to it. Thw performance was excellent.

I really loved the first book on audio but this one didn’t sit right and I think it was the male narrator. He just wasn’t for me. I’m going to purchase the physical copy and still share it on my Amazon Live show podcast because I’m still a huge Elle Kennedy fan. I won’t be sharing a negative review anywhere but will share the physical copy and review. Thank you!