What a sweet story. I really Enjoyed the age old theme of rich girl dating the scrappy guy. I also enjoyed the developing relationship between Mac and Cooper. They each made mistakes, but they also were finding their own way, together, and separately. I liked that Mac was a young entrepreneur and finally stood up to the stodgy world of her parents. Don’t pass this one up.

I really like this author and jumped at the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. While I liked the story okay, I found it super predictable. Cooper Hartley and his twin brother Evan grew up in the school of hard knocks. They live in a seaside town where an expensive university brings scores of trust fund students to town. Mackenzie (Mac) Cabot is the daughter of wealthy parents who is trying to make her own way. She doesn’t want to go to college and instead wants to focus on her apps she created. Cooper gets fired from a job because of a fight with Mac’s boyfriend Preston. To get his revenge he targets Mac to try to seduce her. He ends up liking her and they become a couple until Mac finds out about the revenge plot. There is also some stuff with both of their parents. Ho hum.

I wanted to love Good Girl Complex, based on the synopsis, but I found the story to be predictable and the main characters weren't particularly likable. The chemistry and the steam were definitely there but I felt like I have read similar (and better) variations of this story before.

Absolutely loved this book! Elle’s storytelling is so enjoyable to read. The chemistry between the characters was there from the start and built beautifully throughout. Dialogue in Elle’s books are always well thought out and make it hard to put down! Definitely worth scooping up!

Fun, addicting and heartwarming!

This books follows Mackenzie rich girl clone as she meets Cooper, hardworking townie!

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the characters were fun and memorable. The book had depth with real emotion. I believe this may be the beginning to more Avalon Bay characters! This is my first book by Elle Kennedy, and I really like her writing style, I was engaged from the beginning and thought it was a very fun easy read!

I was so excited to be given the honor of reading an Advanced Reader Copy of Good GIrl Complex because I've loved Elle Kennedy's college sports romance series in the past. This book did not disappoint! Cooper is the perfect hero, college athlete with the hot looks but living a meager existence in the small town. Mackenzie comes along, not the girl he's supposed to fall for because she's everything he can't stand. Except she isn't. I loved how their romance unfolded and I've got fingers crossed that we get more stories from this group! I voluntarily read and Advance Reader Copy for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own.

As a huge fan of Elle Kennedy's other work, I was beyond excited to be approved for this one! Not only is the cover absolutely adorable, but the book truly drew me in from the get-go. I adored the characters and learning of their backstories, and because of that you fall head over heels in love with them. The ending was extremely satisfying, and it's honestly safe to say that Elle Kennedy did not disappoint with this one!

Thank you to Netgalley & St. Martins Press for this ARC of Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy!

So I feel like I should start this review by saying I have never read an Elle Kennedy book before (I know, I KNOW). Her writing style is relatable and I liked the drama. This would be a great romance book to read over spring break or during the summer. There were parts that made me laugh, and I thought the pacing of this was pretty okay. The banter between Cooper and Mac was fun, until it seemed to get a little repetitive.

Some of the phrasing in this book (things like "wifey") made me roll my eyes, and the whole bet/cheating thing wasn't for me.

I would recommend this if you already love EK's other books or you're looking for a quick escapish romance.

My review of Good Girl Complex will be publicly available on my blog (GiaReadsBooks, giareadsbooks.com) on January 25th. You will be able to find it with this link: giareadsbooks.com/book-reviews/good-girl-complex

Genre: Romance/New Adult
Rating: 3.75 Stars
Spice Rating: 2.5 Stars*
*Some explicit scenes, suggestive language, etc. Not the spiciest thing I’ve ever read but it’s certainly not maidenly.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Elle Kennedy, and NetGalley for sending me a copy of Good Girl Complex in exchange for an honest review.

Review:

Mackenzie Cabot, a trust-fund baby who’s in with the “clone” crowd, is the exact opposite of Cooper Hartley, a self-proclaimed “clone” hater with a wicked wild side. Good Girl Complex follows the pair as they overcome their preconceived notions about each other, battling friends, family, and bias along the way.

Something I love about Elle Kennedy is her ability to draw readers in within the first few paragraphs. I binge read her infamous Off-Campus series in three days and loved it. Good Girl Complex was no different. I was drawn in as soon as I read the first paragraph and binged the entire novel in two sittings. Kennedy knows how to write a good romance novel (we all know this) - her main characters are always fleshed out with complex back stories and enough internal conflict to bring them to life.

Unfortunately, Good Girl Complex fell a little flat for me. While Cooper and Mac were an insanely cute and realistic couple, the side characters in this novel were as one dimensional as they come. Of course, there’s the “mean girl with a vendetta against the main male character”, the “cool chick that befriends the main female character”, the “dude-bro with emotional issues that push the plot forward”, and the “ex-boyfriend who’s such a douche you don’t understand how the main female character was ever in love with him”. It’s a story we’ve all read before and honestly, it disappointed me, especially knowing the kind of love story Kennedy is capable of writing.

While Good Girl Complex wasn’t a bad book by any means, it didn’t elicit the emotion or angst I was expecting when I picked it up. My connection to the characters was lost about halfway through the novel and the ending felt extremely rushed (at least give me an epilogue, Elle!). At the time of writing this review, I’m unaware of any future publications from Kennedy in this universe, but I’d like to see her bring the secondary characters to life in an additional novel(s).

Overall, my experience with Good Girl Complex was average. I didn’t love it and didn’t hate it. I probably went in with higher expectations considering I’ve read another one of Kennedy’s series, but that’s on me. I am, by no means, swearing Kennedy off as an author, and will likely pick up her next publication, whatever that might be.

I did not enjoy this. It was way longer than it needed to be. None of the characters really interested me. I felt like I was told a lot of things instead of being shown. The interactions between the love interests were cringe and lackluster, giving me no reason to root for them. The side characters didn’t help, none of them stood out to me. Only reason I gave it 2 stars is because there was some drama which temporarily entertained me. But overall this wasn’t great.

**This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review**

This was an opposites attract/wrong side of the tracks read. I was completely engaged while reading it.

Mac is not your typical rich girl. Yes, her parents are wealthy, her dad is in politics, and she’s attending an expensive and elite college. But…Mac has already made her own fortune. She’s an entrepreneur and is only going to college to appease her parents.

Cooper, however, is the typical bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks. His home life is in shambles, he has a friend with benefits that doesn’t seem to get that he no longer wants bennies, and his twin is going through something and won’t open up.

Their paths should never cross, but one’s desire for revenge has them on a collision course!

I really enjoyed this book. I loved Mac a lot more than I expected. I was disappointed that Cooper went along with Evan’s plan but he definitely won me over. I did want to know more about Evan and what’s going on with him. Hopefully there will be a book for him! I also adored Levi!

Elle Kennedy never seems to have a miss for me, so when I heard about this book I was ecstatic. I have read her Off Campus and Briar U series and loved them both so my expectations for this book was very high and I am here to say she exceeded every expectation I had.

I'm a sucker for the Good girl and Bad Boy trope and. dual POV and this delivered both in such an amazing way. Mac was a breath of fresh air to me and I couldn't help facing in love with Cooper and developing a soft spot for Evan. The characters were so well thought out and I just can't say enough good things about it.

If you love Coastal towns, bad boys with a heart of gold, and a good girl determined to make her own way then you're going to love this one.

This book is amazing! I love the complex characters and it is something that will draw readers in. I like how you are able to see the characters and build relationships with them! Good Girl Complex is a book that will make you want a sequel!

Good girl meets bad boy, college age romance. Rich “clone” Mackenzie meets hard-working “townie” Cooper. Mackenzie comes from a life where she is constantly trying to please the others around her, whether that be her parents, her boyfriend or the public. She lives a controlled and subdued life. What started as Cooper’s revenge plan, quickly starts to change into him falling fast for Mackenzie.

This book was just so cute! And everyone loves a tattooed, bad-boy character. I found myself routing for Mackenzie the whole time and was so happy to see her character arc. I loved the seaside setting and relatable age rage. It’s a light and fun read that I would definitely recommend for romance lovers!

This was just what i needed from a romance rn! I ate this up in one sitting and i loved the drama, the romance, and the inspiration to be a young girl boss🤩 I got this from netgalley and im so glad for it

I absolutely love Elle Kennedy’s writing style and this book is no exception. I will continue to read everything that she writes. I really hope this is the start of a new series!

This book was everything a girl who loves a small town romance would want. Miscommunication trope, head strong female characters, bad boys with tattoos, and small towns. This book leaves me wanting more from the Avalon Bay crew. I loved all the supporting characters and need more of them. Every single character has strong personality that makes them feel like they’re real. Copper and Mac have such a strong and fierce connection it makes me jealous. I wish I had my own personal tattooed boy who was obsessed with me **swoon**. I hope we can get more peaks at this couple in coming books!

4.5/5 ⭐️ The fact it took me literally two months to read this book was ridiculous but that’s only because of school. I loved these characters and Mac was great. It was just the right length, didn’t speed through anything, and left time for scenes that were important. Watching them fall in love was so cute and the scenery was fun to read about too. This was great!! I love this author alot!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Owning her own business, going to college. Having the perfect boyfriend. She seems to have it all.
Than you have cooper who is has always worked hard for everything he has, with dreams to do more. Having worked hard he resents the college kids in town for having stuff handed to them.
The banter and instant connection between Mack and Cooper had me hooked. Sparks fly and opposites attract.
A cute romance. A must read 💕

I thought this was going to be a She’s All That situation, but it quickly evolved into something else, something much deeper and more satisfying. The rich girl/poor guy, good girl/bad boy tropes are usually not my thing, but I found myself reading this book in one sitting. I have never read anything else by Elle Kennedy before, and this book has me intrigued to check out others by her.

The plot:
When local bad boy Cooper Hartley gets in a fight with rich-kid Preston, he decides to get revenge on him by making Preston’s good girl girlfriend to fall in love with him. Yeah, it’s pretty impossible to write a summary for this story without making it sound terrible.

What I liked:
I always appreciate a dual POV, but I actually wonder if this one might have been stronger as a single-person narrative. I also really liked the twin brother characters, both were fairly well developed and unique - and there was definitely enough to keep me invested in Evan’s story.

What I didn't like:
The ending was entirely too abrupt and the book really needed an epilogue.

Conclusion:
I’m still not entirely sure why I liked this book as much as I did, but it was fun to read. If my local libraries have any of her other books, I’ll be checking those out as well.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for sharing a digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.