Thank you NetGalley for this audiobook of Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy.

I recently read the actual book and decided to read the audiobook which was even better than the book. The narrators were great,

I definitely didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did when I first started it. I thought I would be too annoyed with the rich kid/hard done by jerk boy attitudes but it ended up really working for me. While this book was wildly predictable, I still enjoyed the story and falling in love with the characters. I really enjoyed the character dynamic of the close friends group and obviously the bad boy chasing the good girl trope worked for me overall. Without giving away any spoilers, there were quite a few things that rubbed me the wrong way throughout the book, but I enjoyed it enough to set those aside.

I will say that the audio was not great quality. I listen to audiobooks at 2.0x speed and it sounded quite distorted and full of echos, which really took away from the book. I won't be listening to any further audiobooks from netgalley until this is resolved.

I loved the audio of this book! The narrators were great. The characters were well developed and the plot was lovely. The book was fairly predictable but that’s generally exactly what I want when picking up a rom com book. I will definitely be reading the rest of the series when it is released.

There is a fine line between being a bad boy and an asshole, and Cooper Hartley is an asshole. I went into this book with high hopes but was very let down. There were too many tropes: bad boy/good girl, rich/poor, cheating, so much sex. Then there was family drama added in, too. This book was just trying to be too much that it felt flat on everything. The characters are all pretty unlikable except for the twin’s Uncle Lee (and yea… twins trope too, and I ended up liking Even better than MC Cooper). Cooper lies to Mackenzie repeatedly and then just begs for forgiveness when she finds out. She gets mad at her boyfriend of 4 years for cheating on her, and then turns around and cheats too. There was also instant love after barely knowing each other and talking about growing old together. I just can’t. *end rant*

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review

I was so excited to get this book and I definitely don’t regret reading it. There was some good humor, an interesting plot and there was some good spice in it.
I didn’t enjoy the somewhat justification of cheating that takes place in this book. That’s not my cup of tea. I feel like it could have been avoided while still furthering the romance. Overall, I enjoyed the book but I was expecting a little bit more out of it.

4.5 out of 5!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the narration, I think both of the characters did a great job. It was an enjoyable book to listen along too.

I have read previous books by Kennedy, most of her self-published work, and so I went into this book thinking it might not have the same amount of steam because it was traditionally published but BOY was I wrong. Listening to this on audio, I had to skip over some of the scenes as they were very steamy, and listening to them came across differently than if I was to read them on the page.

I enjoyed the incredible plot points there was more to the book than just the romance. A big component of this book was family dynamics and how to balance living your own life and family expectations. I enjoyed the twists and the pacing. I really like how so much happened before the mid point of the book was even reached. It was not the kinda book where you have to wait for the last chapter for them to live happily ever after which made this relationship resonant with me and feel real.

The only thing keeping this from 5 stars for me is the ending. It felt so abrupt, I was just like "that's it?" It left me wanting more. and I really hope we get Evan's story next.

Elle Kennedy does new adult RIGHT!! Once again we are given a fantastic summer read filled with drama, young love, and life that seems a smidge out of reach. I adored cooper & his bad boy persona, he is the perfect small town heartthrob we needed & Mackenzie is the strong, independent, take no bs female lead that was perfect for this book! I loved how Macs character developed throughout the book & we see her becoming more and more assertive.Good for her! Overall it’s a good choice for a fun summer read. The only thing that makes me cringe in almost all of Kennedy’s books is the constant name dropping of high end brands…I could really care less if someone’s carrying a Chanel bag or a bag from SHEIN..

Ok this was actually adorable and so happy I got to read this! It kept me on my seat the entire time wondering when things would explode into Cooper’s face, and Elle just kept me waiting 🤣 I absolutely loved the chemistry between these two and I’ll be shipping Cooper and Mack for eternity.

I really enjoyed this book. It went beyond a typical chick flick and I really came to love the characters. I would recommend this book to a friend.

Good Girl Complex
Avalon Bay, Book 1

I Picked Up This Book Because: They hype.

Media Type: Audiobook
Source: Netgalley
Dates Read: 2/11/22 - 2/14/22
Stars: 3
Narrator(s): Ava Erickson, Joe Arden

The Characters:

MacKenzie “Mac” Cabot:
Cooper Hartley:
Evan Hartley, Preston, many residents of Avalon Bay

The Story:


Writing: Good. The story is straight forward without any need to suspend belief.
Forward Motion: Good, nothing dragged.
Overall Interest: Revenge is not really my thing plus I didn’t really like the characters. I thought about DNFing multiple times but stuck it out.
Length of Reading Time: Fine.
Re-read-ability: No.


The Random Thoughts:



Challenges:

A to Z Reading Challenge 2022 - G
Goodreads Book Bingo 2022 - N5 - A book published in 2022.
Year of Smut 2022 - A romance where the female lead works in STEM
Birth and Beyond Reading Challenge - Yeah Baby - Revenge
2022 Monthly Keyword Challenge - Good

Wonderfully narrated by Ava Erickson and Joe Arden, Elle Kennedy’s The Good Girl has a more intense/darker feel to it than her other new adult series Off-Campus. It’s an emotional romance about a people-pleasing good girl who starts thinking about what she wants for her life because of her friendship with an angry, local bad boy, who discovers everything he thought he wanted for his life is not enough for him anymore. Mackenzie “Mac” Cabot reluctantly starts college after a gap year spent growing her business. She suppresses her secret, wildest impulses to avoid fighting with her controlling parents and her boyfriend since high school. But when she meets Cooper Hartley, a beachside town construction worker/bartender, he threatens her control over those impulses. One of the most primal and blunt people Mac has ever met, Cooper scares her but also excites and makes her feel safer than she’s ever felt before. She should avoid him at all costs, but she becomes friends with him anyway. And somehow, their friendship becomes the most essential and substantial part of her life.

Before meeting Mac, Cooper viewed people with wealth and advantages with distrust and contempt. But because she’s nothing like those clones, Cooper can’t help falling in love with her. She looks at him like he’s someone special—a better man than he actually is. Though he doesn’t deserve her, wants to be the man she sees in him. Mac gains Cooper’s friends and brother’s acceptance and friendship, but it’s not easy. Unfortunately, horrible secrets Cooper’s been keeping from Mac emerge in the worst way endangering their relationship and the first place Mac has felt comfortable being herself and started making a home. Erickson’s and Arden’s narration in these scenes is powerful.

Kennedy’s vibrant description and snarky, humorous, and sharp dialogue make the novel work. The heroine’s and hero’s interactions are intense, emotional, funny, and steamy., and the novel's best part is this interaction and their interactions with the other characters, especially his friend circle, her roommate, and her boyfriend’s friend circle. These interactions help the characters and story evolve naturally. Unfortunately, most of the characters are unlikeable and hard to root for, even Mac sometimes.

Erickson’s and Arden’s narration perfectly captures the character’s personalities and the novel’s shifting moods, tones, and depths of emotion in Kennedy’s narrative. Ava’s narration is excellent for the characters—female and male. Her voices for Cooper and Ava are perfect. I love how she captures Mac’s naivete, uncertainty, drive, excitement, and passion for Cooper. She nails the haughty, bored voices of the girlfriends in her boyfriends’ social circle so well. Arden’s narration shines in the emotional and humorous scenes.

Although I didn’t love it as I had expected to, readers looking for steamy, angsty, opposites-attract romances may. It's my expectations, yet again. Romances about and chase their dreams. The Good Girl Complex is a thoughtful, angsty, steamy, romantic opposites-attract romance about family and how two people come together from different worlds that inspire each other to follow their dreams and fight for the life they want instead of settling for what others choose for them.

Basically After. (The book) the relationship was super toxic and just annoying. Basically the main character is dating a man who is not the best dude but instead of breaking up with him she meets this amazing guy (who isn't actually amazing) and starts cheating on her bf early on in the book.

Come to find out they are just playing the main character and are using her to get back at her bf. It just is all so ridiculous and I guess if you like the bet trope then go for it but it was just a book full of condescending toxic people and if you enjoy that then go on and read it.

Narrator voice was not enjoyable.

This was such Saucy, and sultry read. I loved how much tension there was between the two main characters, and enjoyed their banter. The narrators did a great job of keeping my attention. The story is really cute and enjoyable, while being spicy! This is the kind of read that makes you want to curl up with a glass of wine to enjoy. I would definitely recommend this to my friends!

Thank you to Elle Kennedy, the narrators, the publisher, and to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have been waiting for this book! Mackenzie comes from a wealthy family that expects her to follow the rules even if they stifle her. She thinks she’s dating the love of her life until she meets Cooper, who gives her butterflies and makes her see sparks. Mackenzie finally stands up for herself to her parents and seems to be living her best life until she discovers a lie that threatens to tear her and Cooper apart forever.

Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the audio-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
I will admit that I was a bit hesitant of this one at first. I don’t normally love the rich one & poor one trope. I often find that I don’t like the way that the opposing classes are described and talked about. This one was no exception as the stereotypes were very strong. However, the story line was interesting enough for me to keep listening.
At the start of the book, I hated Mackenzie and her boyfriend. I found it hard to like the characters in general but just the way that they acted was a huge turn off for me. One thing I did love though was the journey that Mackenzie went on throughout the book. I enjoyed getting to know her more and see her grow from some toxic situations.
Overall, the story was okay. I felt like the first half and the second half of the book could have been split into two books with a bit more detail and information being given to both. There is a lot going on in these characters lives as well as the base romance of the book. While I feel like this is often a great replication of real life, for this story it felt like a lot at times. The whole hotel storyline I probably could have done without. I felt like there was so much opportunity for Mackenzie to grow without that added in as it just created more information to try and follow. Even Coopers family drama – I would have loved to see that be an entire book itself. I felt like the author has some great story ideas, I just wish the execution was a little stronger.
In the end it was a nice listen to take me away from my own world and dive into the hustle and bustle of something else. If you like the upper/lower class trope than this one might be more enjoyable for you than it was for me!

I love Elle Kennedy's writing. It's so easy for me to get into and get swept up in the story. This was a fun and fast romance between a rich girl with a strong drive and a townie boy looking to get a little payback. The story doesn't try to surprise you, and you know exactly what's going to happening from the beginning, but it's still an enjoyable ride and I thought Cooper and Mac have solid chemistry and I really enjoyed the supporting cast.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Elle Kennedy is one of those authors that i know the story is going to be one of the best ill ever read and this book didnt disappoint. It mad eme call in love with romance again

** spoiler alert ** I really wanted to love this book. It just felt too predictable to me. I didn't really fall for these characters at all. I didn't find myself "rooting" for anyone. I can relate to Mac, in the sense of having to choose her own life over what her parents want for her, and essentially being disowned, but the moment she and Cooper break up, she decides to reach back out to them? I did enjoy Mac and Cooper's intimate moments, relating to one another in ways that you don't think two opposite people can. I guess I just expected more. Also, no Epilogue?!?!!

Overall, I'm glad I read it. It was an easy read... just not one I'll read again.

Flirty, fun, and really enjoyable! While nothing about this book was surprising or unique, I really liked it! Nice change of pace from some heavier titles I've really read.

This one took me a bit to get into but was a lot of fun - really enjoyed it. It’s young love but with a twist on college and townie love. I also ended up enjoying both characters as well. They learn to grow - stand up for their own lives plus you get a puppy