Elle Kennedy

Bestselling author Elle Kennedy returns to Avalon Bay in this sexy second chance story about two exes who can't stay away from each other, Bad Girl Reputation.

When former bad girl Genevieve West returns home for her mother’s funeral, she’s prepared to keep her distance from her ex-boyfriend, Evan Hartley. Their history is rife with turbulence. And passion. A heck of a lot of passion...which she’s trying desperately to forget.

But it’s impossible not to run into Evan in the small coastal town where they once ran wild. And the moment she sees her gorgeous ex again, it’s clear to Gen that Evan is still as unruly, sexy, and irresistible as ever. This time around, however, she’s resolved to walk a new path. No more partying. No more foolish mistakes. Her plan is to temporarily remain in town to help her father run his business, but the second he finds somebody else, she’s out of there.

Evan has other ideas. He knows they can be good together, but he just has to convince Genevieve of that, even if it means turning over a new leaf himself. But can a bad reputation ever truly be shed? Do second chances really work? Genevieve and Evan are about to find out.

an addictive second chance romance (An Avalon Bay Novel, #2)

Bad Girl Reputation

The book was alright , an easy read overall . I would say the story seemed cliché and superficial on some occasions . The character development was not very major throughout the book and in my eyes the chemstry between Evan and Gen wasnt very palpable ( except their sexual attraction towards eachother  and their old memories growing up ) .

A quick read and I ll give the book a 2.5 rating . 

Irina Oana Norea

The book was alright , an easy read overall . I would say the story seemed cliché and superficial on some occasions . The character development was not very major throughout the book and in my eyes the chemstry between Evan and Gen wasnt very palpable ( except their sexual attraction towards eachother  and their old memories growing up ) .

A quick read and I ll give the book a 2.5 rating . 

Doris Ivandic 

Bad Girl Reputation brings readers along on the journey of former ‘bad girl’ Genevieve West as she returns home for her mother’s funeral after being gone for a year. The last time Genevieve was in town, she decided to leave without informing anyone of her departure – including her former best friend and ex-boyfriend Evan Hartley. Now that she has finally returned to Avalon Bay, Evan wants to convince her that they could be good together. He’s desperate to know why she left without telling him and why she’s adamant on staying away from him. They are quick to notice that the passion remains as strong as ever, so how long can Gen avoid giving Evan a second chance? Will a bad reputation always remain, or can it be improved in the name of love?

If you are a lover of second chance romance or looking for a fun summer read, this might just be the book for you! This book was written in classic Elle Kennedy style, however in a sense it still felt different from the Off-Campus series that you might be familiar with. I found myself appreciating the moments that discussed grief, family dynamics, and the message of there not only being one correct way to feel – people are different and react with different behaviors when facing tough situations. Moreover, the romance provided great tension and a will-they-won’t-they storyline. I loved the chemistry between Gen and Evan. Even if they knew everything could go up in flames any second, they could not bear to stay away from each other. It was as if a magnetic force was constantly pulling them together. I’m always a sucker for the childhood friends to lovers to strangers to lovers trope, thus I was immediately invested. I adored how well they knew each other despite being apart for some time. It felt as if there would always be an underlying understanding between them. At times, the characters felt a bit immature, and they made questionable choices, but in a sense, it was nice to read about someone who didn’t have it all figured out and to watch the characters attempt to grow. I wish we could have seen more of Gen and Evan’s past instead of the little bits of information we got from the anecdotes when they went down memory lane together. Some parts felt a bit slow or dragged out to me, and I didn’t find myself completely adoring the characters, however this was still a very entertaining read! If you want to dream yourself away to a place of summer, trouble, and second-chance romance, this is for you. 

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press for sending me an ARC of this book!

lea.

5 stars ⭐️ finished it. loved it. a solid 5 stars from me. if you are planning to read this book, please do. you can read it on its own, without having to read the first book in the series (good girl complex). although, reading that one would help you to get a lot more context into the world of avalon bay, the friend group, the backstory of evan and cooper's relationship with their mom, etc. but you can still read this, as i believe that it does act as a stand-alone, too. p.s. good girl complex's main trope is cheating, so, if that is not your cup of tea.. don't read it. just read this one lol i love evan. he's the cheeky twin, the trouble-maker. while cooper (the older twin) - who is a little bit more reserved but can still be a trouble-maker at times. i enjoyed seeing evan's effort to win genevieve's heart again idk maybe i am just a sucker at this point haha i love genevieve's backstory too. finally, a character with an actual backbone (sorry mackenzie). are both, evan and genevieve, a tad bit problematic and immature, sometimes? sure. but, anyhoo. ah!! i cannot wait for the 3rd book to come out this year <3

Júlia Dinis

Samantha Huster

I liked this one significantly more than the first one. The characters in this one learn about some growth and actually have a very realistic journey toward self-discovery and coming back to each other. Evan is also way more likable than Cooper which is a sentence I never thought I'd say after book 1.

Sara Uribe

I received this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

How dreamy!

Can I tell you how much I really love this series? Seriously, Elle Kennedy is such a wonderful writer. At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like Genevieve (Gen) and Evan, but after a few chapters they really won me over, especially with how relatable they are. Their story is all about forgiveness, healing, and second chances. Gen and Evan fit together so perfectly together, I honestly couldn't see them with anyone else. No matter how hard they tried to be. I had the pleasure of listening to this on audio and both Lee Samuels and Summer Morton did a fabulous job bringing these characters to life. I seriously love listening to books on audio because it brings everything about the story even more to life and really creates a vivid movie or show in my head. This series is one you should absolutely pick up if you're looking for a small town, second chance romance, with relatable characters that are truly captivating!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 about a year ago and liked it enough to pick the 

 when it came out. This wasn’t a book I was particularly excited to read because I didn’t fall in love with Avalon Bay or the characters. 

This book just wasn’t it. I wanted to like Evan and Gen’s story. However, there isn’t a plot to this. Evan and Gen can’t stay away from each other but they can’t be together because they’re bad influences on each other. I think that can be compelling for a second change romance but it didn’t work here. I wish we would’ve gotten a deeper dive into both characters’ journeys. I think that would’ve made for a more emotional story. Especially because both Evan and Gen had heavy things they were dealing with, but all of that got brushed over by time jumps. 

I didn’t really love the characters either. I liked Evan the best. Cooper was annoying in this one. Gen was annoying too. 

I wish this was better than it was. I think the potential was there, but the execution wasn’t good. 

Kendall Deranek

I read Good Girl Complex about a year ago and liked it enough to pick the Bad Girl Reputation when it came out. This wasn’t a book I was particularly excited to read because I didn’t fall in love with Avalon Bay or the characters. 

This book just wasn’t it. I wanted to like Evan and Gen’s story. However, there isn’t a plot to this. Evan and Gen can’t stay away from each other but they can’t be together because they’re bad influences on each other. I think that can be compelling for a second change romance but it didn’t work here. I wish we would’ve gotten a deeper dive into both characters’ journeys. I think that would’ve made for a more emotional story. Especially because both Evan and Gen had heavy things they were dealing with, but all of that got brushed over by time jumps. 

I didn’t really love the characters either. I liked Evan the best. Cooper was annoying in this one. Gen was annoying too. 

I wish this was better than it was. I think the potential was there, but the execution wasn’t good. 

This was a mid read for me. I really liked the past that they had; it weirdly made things more interesting and romantic, but I just know that I’ll probably forget this plot by tomorrow. 

Sarah Campbell

This was a mid read for me. I really liked the past that they had; it weirdly made things more interesting and romantic, but I just know that I’ll probably forget this plot by tomorrow. 

Nevertheless, it was pretty good. 

I think this series receives a lot of differing opinions. Mine would be I liked this book more than the first. Granted I can’t remember much about the first one when I read it last year but I think that also says something about the series. This one I think have a better plot line going into it and the characters were much more tolerable than in the first book. I do think some parts could have been better. The throes act break up happened so late in the book that it felt irrelevant because there was nothing to it. Especially when you are constantly talking about why they can’t work and when the step is taken for them to no longer be together it pulls back literally the next chapter like all of that build was for nothing because I never saw the acceptance to the change. I haven’t decided if I’m want to continue reading the series yet. I wanted to know Evan and Gen’s story because of the build from the first book but don’t know what I should do yet. 

Priscilla Stanfield

Funny spicy second chance romance. Good easy book to read.

Megan caddick

Funny spicy second chance romance. Good easy book to read.



Skye

A fun follow-up novel to the first in the Avalon Bay series, Bad Girl Reputation finally lets us see who has Evan Hartley so angsty!

read if you like:
♡ second chance romance
♡ high school sweethearts
♡ reformed bad girl/bad boy
♡ beach towns 
♡ boy pines for girl 
♡ redemption / forgiveness 
♡ complex family dynamics 
♡ great banter

trigger warnings:
☞ parental neglect
☞ parental death 
☞ abusive/manipulative authority figures

thank you to SMP Romance for sending me an advanced copy of this book!

Beatrix Haase

Nash

Another great book by Elle Kennedy. 
The second installment of the Avalon Bay series. 

I fell in love with the first book and was definitely looking forward to this book. Evan's story had a lot of promise since the first boon and I am here for it. In the first book, we see him as self-destructive and many other adjectives that don't paint him in the most extraordinary light but still with a heart of gold. 

When I first started to listen... I couldn't help but cringe at what he was thinking or how he was acting. I thought I was going to be disappointed by this one. Everyone is trying to get their lives together and certain characters are just so awfully destructive. This is a very weird little town. 

Genevieve is a great female MC. She is trying so hard not to go back to her old ways and disappoint her family. She wants to do better in life. I loved her. 

I feel like the final act of "I cannot believe this is happening. I'm not good for you. You need to stay away from me." was super rushed and felt as if the author was just getting it out of the way to get to the happy ending and I wanted more in that part.

Overall, really enjoyed the story. Cannot wait for the next book!

Emma Kamer

An Avalon Bay Novel

High school sweethearts, second chance romance, bad girl turned good trying desperately to outrun her old reputation. I really enjoyed this book and reminded me a lot of a past hs relationship of my own. Some things in this book were pretty skimmable and some more information into their high school years would have been nice, but overall a nice, easy flowing book. 

Pretty spicy and no slow burns over here! 

High school sweethearts, second chance romance, bad girl turned good trying desperately to outrun her old reputation. I really enjoyed this book and reminded me a lot of a past hs relationship of my own. Some things in this book were pretty skimmable and some more information into their high school years would have been nice, but overall a nice, easy flowing book. 

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 

Pretty spicy and no slow burns over here! 

Kiley H

This book was okay nothing super special but still a good read, I think I like Evan and Gen better then Mac and Coop so this book was better then the first to me :)

mena 

okay, so i’m a bit disappointed… not a bit actually, TOTALLY disappointed. i was expecting a totally different thing. it pisses me off bc it had so much potential to be a good book to have a good storyline but elle kennedy kinda screwed up. it was totally NONSENSE. there was no big climax and no plot. it just went crazy. i don’t know how to explain it. idk if my taste in books changed but i actually loved good girl complex. maybe its me or maybe not. but evan and genevieve scream WTH nonsense TOXIC sh*t. EVERY DECISION THEY MADE WAS STUPID like the reason they break up b4 makeup. anyway goodbye book u had so much potential…

Shawna Delellis

From the first mention of Gen in “good girl behavior” I wanted to know more. I was so excited to learn her story was coming next. 
Plus learning more about Evan.. Bad boy with a motorcycle? Yes please

The push and pull of rekindling an old love was making my heart hurt, I was rooting for them every step of the way. I love the fire Gen holds and how Evan is constantly at her mercy. 

This was a wonderful story about growing up and putting yourself on a better path. Trusting yourself to make the right choices and hoping those in your life make the right choices for themselves.

The Hartley twins have stolen my heart, along with Avalon Bay and Elle Kennedy never stops amazing me with unique and sweet stories of love.

Jennifer mitchell

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was... disappointing to say the least.

Anyone who knows me at all knows the Off Campus series is by far my favorite book series of all time, so I was so excited to read EK's newest series.

However, this book was a complete and utter mess. My biggest problem with this story is that I felt absolutely no connection to the characters and really didn't care about either of them individually or as a couple. This is a (kind of?) second chance romance story, but we don't get to see them actually fall in love. Instead, we are simply told that they loved each other in the past and now that she's back in town they pick things up again. 

I felt like the pacing was all over the place and really disliked the first 50% of the book. The last half was slightly better, but not enough to redeem this story in my eyes. There was simply nothing about this story that drew me in or made me want to keep reading.

Kasey Montagnat

I read this book a week ago and forget what happened so just gonna rate it 3 stars lol

Courtney

3.75/5⭐️
First and foremost, special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ St. Martin’s Griffin for sharing this ARC digital copy with me in exchange my honest opinions. 

If you read Cooper and Mac's story, get ready for another angst filled love story with spice. 

A year after leaving town without so much as a good-bye, Gen returns to Avalon Bay for her mother's funeral and to help her father and brother's with the family business. Meanwhile, Evan has been pining for his childhood sweetheart for the last year since Gen left town. 

Gen hit rock bottom after a night on the town with friends and decided to pack her bags and head to Charleston. She has been trying to get her life together, hold a steady job and leave the drinking/drugs in her past, along with her addiction; Evan. Upon returning to Avalon Bay, Gen and Evan quickly fall back into one another's lives. When Evan finds out why Gen left town a year ago, he realizes that things have changed. Gen doesn't want to go back down that path and so she tries to keep Evan at a distance. 

If Evan wants the love of his life back, he's going to have to get his sh*t together, mature and become a responsible adult. Could his plan work? Will he be able to win Gen's love back? Or will good-guy, Harrison sweep Gen off her feet instead? 

Gen and Evan have an almost toxic relationship: filled with jealousy, extreme chemistry, sexual tension, bickering and lots of make-up sex. However, they can't help themselves, always coming back for more. However, it works for the story and they eventually grow up together and help one another out. 

I enjoyed their story and the characters grow on you the more you read. I definitely recommend Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy

is it possible to give less than half a star 

reagan weissenburger

dnf at 45% 

is it possible to give less than half a star 

Evan was one of my favourite characters in Good Girl Complex so I was super excited to start this and read more about him.

“Seriously, though. I keep waiting for the grief to hit, but it doesn’t come.”

This was a quote that I had to include here because it really hit me. Grief is such a strange thing and it affects everyone in different ways.

“I can’t be responsible for your happiness, Evan. I can barely account for myself.”

I think this is an important quote to highlight. You should never allow someone to feel responsible for your happiness or well-being. It’s not healthy for either parties involved. Be happy for you.

I have to admit that I laughed multiple times reading this. The banter and overall things that Evan would say had me giggling on numerous occasions.

“You’re going to get sick of how much I love you. Totally disgusted with it.”
“I’ll take that bet.”

I loved this. I am not afraid to admit that I am an absolute sucker for predictable rom coms when they are like this.

I was totally ready for the premise but felt like it didn’t fully deliver. A lot of this was unfortunately skimmable. It was heavy on the telling not showing with what felt like most of the character development in internal monologue. For it being a second chance romance there was also quite a bit of context missing as well to their previous relationship and how it was truly different in current time. Especially for Elle Kennedy this one missed the mark in my opinion.

Bad Girl Reputation an addictive second chance romance (An Avalon Bay Novel, #2)

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