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rusereviews's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
(3.5 rounded down to a 3)
Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy is a contemporary second-chance romance. I listened to the audiobook, which clocks in at ten and a half hours and is narrated by Lee Samuels and Summer Morton. We follow are two main characters with alternating first-person points-of-view.
Genevieve West just returned home to Avalon Bay for her mother's funeral. Known as a "bad girl" while she was growing up, she's attempting to turn a new leaf. To help with that, she knows she should keep her distance from her ex, Evan Hartley. That may prove difficult, though, as their coastal town is pretty small and Genevieve's agreed to stay for a bit to help her father run his business.
Though this is the second book in the series, it can be read as a standalone, which is what I did.
This was a pretty okay read. Though both main characters felt very immature to me, they both grew and developed as individuals over the course of the novel. There's a lot of learning how to love and forgive both themselves and others.
This is a character-driven story, and there isn't much plot here. But it was a pleasant way to spend a day listening to an audiobook.
The chemistry between the leads was great, but for a time I was wondering if that's all they really had going for them. They definitely had a fairly toxic relationship at the beginning of this book.
Tropes in this book include: second-chance, high school sweethearts, small town, toxic relationship, twins
CW: death of parent, absentee parent, addiction, sobriety, drug use (on-page) and abuse, alcohol abuse, mental health issues
The publisher provided a audio ARC of this book for me to review. All opinions contained herein are my own.
Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy is a contemporary second-chance romance. I listened to the audiobook, which clocks in at ten and a half hours and is narrated by Lee Samuels and Summer Morton. We follow are two main characters with alternating first-person points-of-view.
Genevieve West just returned home to Avalon Bay for her mother's funeral. Known as a "bad girl" while she was growing up, she's attempting to turn a new leaf. To help with that, she knows she should keep her distance from her ex, Evan Hartley. That may prove difficult, though, as their coastal town is pretty small and Genevieve's agreed to stay for a bit to help her father run his business.
Though this is the second book in the series, it can be read as a standalone, which is what I did.
This was a pretty okay read. Though both main characters felt very immature to me, they both grew and developed as individuals over the course of the novel. There's a lot of learning how to love and forgive both themselves and others.
This is a character-driven story, and there isn't much plot here. But it was a pleasant way to spend a day listening to an audiobook.
The chemistry between the leads was great, but for a time I was wondering if that's all they really had going for them. They definitely had a fairly toxic relationship at the beginning of this book.
Tropes in this book include: second-chance, high school sweethearts, small town, toxic relationship, twins
CW: death of parent, absentee parent, addiction, sobriety, drug use (on-page) and abuse, alcohol abuse, mental health issues
The publisher provided a audio ARC of this book for me to review. All opinions contained herein are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Addiction, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Mental illness
eviecheesepuff's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I really loved Good Girl Complex, so it was a no-brainer to request the sequel when I saw it available on Netgalley š 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 isā¦until Gen left for the city without any explanation. Now sheās back for her momās funeral and staying in town to help her family out. Is she the same girl that used to cause mayhem around town? Evan doesnāt knowā¦but he sure as hell wants her back.
This book was the complete opposite to its predecessor imo.
At first I was a bit put off by how destructive Evan and Genās relationship was but I admit they grew on me! There are so many good tropes in this book, itās hard to pick my favorite (second chance love, friends to lovers, he falls firstā¦)
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. Evanās efforts to get Gen back, by doing things completely out of character for him, are hilarious and so heartwarming. Props to Elle Kennedy! šš 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 def 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 Genās narration better than Evanās. 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. š
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.)
Meet Evan and Gen. Childhood sweethearts. Troublemakers. Two peas in a pod. That isā¦until Gen left for the city without any explanation. Now sheās back for her momās funeral and staying in town to help her family out. Is she the same girl that used to cause mayhem around town? Evan doesnāt knowā¦but he sure as hell wants her back.
This book was the complete opposite to its predecessor imo.
At first I was a bit put off by how destructive Evan and Genās relationship was but I admit they grew on me! There are so many good tropes in this book, itās hard to pick my favorite (second chance love, friends to lovers, he falls firstā¦)
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. Evanās efforts to get Gen back, by doing things completely out of character for him, are hilarious and so heartwarming. Props to Elle Kennedy! šš 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 def 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 Genās narration better than Evanās. 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. š
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.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
I really loved Good Girl Complex, so it was a no-brainer to request the sequel when I saw it available on Netgalley š 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 isā¦until Gen left for the city without any explanation. Now sheās back for her momās funeral and staying in town to help her family out. Is she the same girl that used to cause mayhem around town? Evan doesnāt knowā¦but he sure as hell wants her back. This book was the complete opposite to its predecessor imo. At first I was a bit put off by how destructive Evan and Genās relationship was but I admit they grew on me! There are so many good tropes in this book, itās hard to pick my favorite (second chance love, friends to lovers, he falls firstā¦) 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. Evanās efforts to get Gen back, by doing things completely out of character for him, are hilarious and so heartwarming. Props to Elle Kennedy! šš 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 def 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 Genās narration better than Evanās. 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. š 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.)cheyreads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was the perfect second chance childhood love romance read for the summer. The characters were lovable but had an edge of realness to them. The interpersonal relationships within this book were realistic and clear. Although there was a lot of characters it was easy to remember who was who due to how each character was truly their own person. I really got to know each and everyone of them to some extent. The flaws within the characters just made them even more relatable. I never felt the negative biases against peoples life choices that make me feel judged that sometimes be a theme within romance books about turning your life around.
It was hard for me to put the book down at points. And I can't wait to read more about Avalon Bay, the characters, and their love stories. This book was a HEA.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Violence, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Addiction
Minor: Cancer and Police brutality
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