A review by let_therebebooks
Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

“We’ve all got a post. Things we’d rather people  not judge us for. How can anyone grow if we only let them be who they were yesterday?” 

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review an early copy of Elle Kennedy’s newest book, ‘Bad Girl Reputation.’ 

This one was just okay. I didn’t hate it, and I definitely didn’t love it. I prefer the first book, ‘Good Girl Complex’ to this one for several reasons. 

Was the story good? Yes. Was it problematic? Also yes.

Let me just get to it: Genevieve (Gen) and Evan have a very toxic relationship. It’s so toxic, that the charm of the ‘second chance romance’ is lost. While there was definitely chemistry between them, the way they were towards one another, and the ups and downs, were too much and very unhealthy. Not saying every relationship is perfect but, this one didn’t give me great vibes. 

There was a lot of growth with both the main characters, almost making this book a 4-star read for me, however, the story was way too repetitive. I lost count of how many times Evan mentions that they are drawn to one another and Gen mentions how they were bad together and did stupid, reckless, stuff. We get the point already! But the blow pop story, super cute! And female empowerment at the end, when something happens. 

“The best gift we give ourselves is respecting our needs first.”

It was interesting reading Evan’s POV because in the first book, where we follow his twin brother Cooper’s POV, Evan seems pretty sleezy. But when you read his POV in this one, he actually is a pretty decent guy who just has a lot of emotional baggage he needs to go to therapy to, to work through. 

And my god. The steam in this one was HOT. The first book was tame on the steam, but this one multiplied it by 7. I know Kennedy is known for her steamy scenes (hello Off-Campus series), but damn. I mean the book starts off with some serious steam and it just continues to the point where it (almost) feels like a filler for space.

I would absolutely love to see more stories in this series following characters like Craig and Alana. Knowing Kennedy, I imagine we will see an announcement soon of their being more installments (hopefully). 

“I’m my favorite self when I’m with him - and also my worst.”

T/W: verbal and emotional abuse, mention of sexual assault, parental death, grief, addiction 


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