I enjoyed this audiobook and story of Evan Hartley and Genevieve. Evan was the bad boy brother in Good Girl Complex, so it was good to hear the story of the Hartley brothers continue. It was not a new to the world story line. Past lovers turned enemies and back to lovers trope. But it was enjoyable.

I really enjoyed how Evan and Gen both grew as humans and therefore they were able to rekindle their relationship better. But biggest critique is that it was a very long audiobook considering the story line.

This started out so strong- SO strong. I loved how real it felt, especially with the relationship the fmm had with her parents. It really grabbed me. But then it went… no where. Absolutely no where. Just a lot of back and forth, but most of it was stagnant. Very underwhelmed. The spice was also very cringy. I think the best part of this book was the mmc’s character development, but that was still minimal.

This book was a fun read but definitely dealt with some heavy subjects. I wanted so much to love Evan but he honestly was so toxic through most of the book. I was rooting for Harrison the whole time. While the ending went as I expected, I just felt they weren’t good for each other. Regardless, the book was well written and I enjoyed it. Definitely recommend!

TO PREFACE: I requested this book through NetGalley before I decided to stop supporting Elle Kennedy. In many of the Off Campus series books, she fetishizes WLW. More specifically her MMCs objectify and fetishize WLW relationships. I am not recommending this book or any of her other works, but I do also want to give an honest review of this because (spoiler!) it was terrible.

Gen and Evan are Avalon Bay's rebellious, bad girl/bad boy, on and off-again couple. All throughout high school, both were constantly getting into trouble and partying. Gen comes home after her mother's funeral and hopes to get her life together, but being around Evan influences her to veer off her straight and narrow path to reforming her life.

This story depicts a version of a second chance romance. This book fell right into the common pitfalls of the trope that ruin it for me. I was wholly unconvinced that these two are in love with each other. The entire story read as if they were only together for two things: sex, and someone to do terrible dangerous things with.

Oh, that's right. The other problem. These two are absolutely terrible, horrible people. They treat each other HORRIBLY. For the first 60% of the book. I did not enjoy either of these characters. Hated them, actually. It's not cute or attractive to be a sloppy, drunken mess all the time and break the law constantly once you're an adult with responsibilities and a career. I know the plot is that they're both getting their act together but they were just so intolerable for the first 60% of the story that I didn't even care about them cleaning up in the second half.

Also, every Elle Kennedy book I've read feels like it's stuck in the early 2000s, in terms of questionable/problematic jokes, views of relationships, gender roles, and humor. Not a fan. The writing is like a bad early 2000s movie:
"I don't know where my life took a turn off the misspent youth, coming-of-age CW drama and wound up stranded inside a Hallmark movie, but this must be what blondes feel like every day."
"Girls are such sore losers."

This book was tough to get through and I truly cannot think of one part of it I liked. That's a lie. I liked the part at the little girl's birthday party where Evan sat and painted with her. That's it. Just that two sentence moment.

This book is perfect for a beach read or a summer, quick read. Evan and Gen are childhood best friends turned lovers, but after a rough night, Gen leaves town and Evan behind. A year later, Gen’s mom passes away, forcing her to return to the town and face the consequences of that night and Evan.

I enjoyed this storyline more than Good Girl Complex. If you love a second chance romance, this is the book for you. It also has a good a balance of spice and plot. I do love the duel POVs and how possessive Evan was, but it was hard to connect to Gen for me. I also felt like their relationship wasn’t much more than physical attraction but again, this was a good, quick and easy read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Before I had requested this book on NetGalley I hadn’t realized that it tied in with the Avalon Bay series, so I went back and read “Good Girl Complex” first before I read this one and I immediately loved them both. Bad Girl Reputation was a second chance romance between Genevieve and Evan. This series gives all the small beach town feels and I loved every moment. The characters are well written and you can totally feel like you're invested into the story with them. I really hope there will be more parts to this series coming up because I need more Avalon Bay!

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC of Bad Girl Reputation.

Gen returns to Avalon Bay (after leaving without a word) after the death of her mother. Her father asks her to stick around and help with the business. She agrees, but makes it clear she has no intention of staying. Evan still has it bad for Gen and has been lusting after her for the year she's been gone. Cooper, Evan's twin, thinks Gen brings out the worst in Evan.

Gen is a tough woman. She smart and confident. Evan won't let anyone get in his way when it comes to her. Not even Harrison.

Second chance romances are my jam. While the characters were immature and irrational, I did really enjoy this story. Good Girl Reputation gave a nice look at Evan, but only the one sided glimpse of Genevieve. I liked that we got her POV in this story.

If you're looking for a quick entertaining read, I highly suggest picking up Good Girl Reputation and Bad Girl Reputation. I can't wait to see what comes next.

Finished this read with my buddy Kaitlyn.
We read the first book in this series together and knew we had to read the second one together too!! I enjoyed this storyline and the characters a lot more than the first one. This story is based on the other twin brother which I enjoyed. If you like second chances and a dual pov that is character driven, you’ll enjoy this one.

Thanks to St Martin’s Press and Netgalley for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

Publish date: October 4, 2022

This book was all that I hoped it would be! This is the story of Evan and Gen and how they transform from a toxic relationship to something much healthier. There were lots of bumps along the way and just the right amount of angst and longing that I want when I'm reading a book like this. Just enough spice too! I definitely recommend this book and also look forward to reading the first book in this series that tells the story of Cooper and Mac.

While Elle Kennedy can always be relied upon to serve a classic romance novel, Bad Girl Reputation was an exciting new twist for fans of her previous works. Following a complicated couple through difficult life transitions, Kennedy was able to not only have me rooting for Gen and Evan to end up together, but also hoping that they would end up finding the best versions of themselves along the way. Kennedy did not disappoint with this one, and I cannot wait to see what else she has in store for the Avalon Bay series in the future.

The book was very well written and I would expect no less from Elle Kennedy. This particular couple was not my cup of tea and I just didn't love their dynamic together. I would still recommend reading if you loved the first of the series and if you like Elle as it was a good book overall.

BAD GIRL REPUTATION is a contemporary, new adult romance from genre superstar Elle Kennedy. An on-again-off-again pair of childhood sweethearts give it one last try in Avalon Bay novel number two: Evan and Genevieve's story.

I think Elle Kennedy is so smart and have loved her other work, including book one in this series "Good Girl Complex." That said, this title was a slower read for me. The issues keeping the couple apart were primarily communication based which I found frustrating and the plot moved pretty slowly for me. I'm still a lifetime fan of this author, but recommend starting somewhere else. THE DEAL is still my favorite piece of Kennedy's work.

I LOVED Good Girl Complex so I KNEW I had to get my hands on this book! I love a good crossover. Genevieve and Evan have the perfect background in GGC and it really brought to light everything in this book. I love some steam too

It's nice to see Kennedy working outside her comfort zone, even if this particular book wasn't a great fit for me.

What can I say other than that Elle Kennedy knows how to write precisely what I needed her to write regarding this book. Now I usually am not good with second chance romance books but when it comes to Elle Kennedy she knows how to write them this book brought me back to the off-campus series days with a second chance romance like "The Mistake" and just like that book she crushed the soul concept of a second chance romance. So, when it comes to Bad Girl Reputation Elle Kennedy blows me away with these characters and how they developed together, that's the thing I loved most about this book is that you have a couple that is developing together. Gen as a character I could read more of her any day, she grew with her separation from Evan and she realized she needed to succeed without him and hoped if she was gone he could grow too, but that didn't happen. Evan needed Gen there to help him grow because he believes that he is his best with her around and he wanted to grow up with her not without and it took losing her to realize that. That right there is everything I loved most about this book was the growth these characters had with each other and separated and just as Evan said
"If change is going to stick, you have to want it to. That means doing it for yourself, not only because you're trying to impress someone else. Change or don't. Either way, you're the one who's got to live with the result." That quote is my favorite out of this whole book for the fact you take a lot away from it. So overall I am giving this book a 4 out of 5 stars for the fact that loved this book but I was always waiting for something else to happen, like the other shoe-to-drop kind of thing. But this book was amazing definitely would recommend it.

“𝐵𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑒, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒’𝑠 𝑛𝑜 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠”—𝐼 𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑢𝑠—“𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝐹𝑟𝑒𝑑. 𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟. 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛.” “𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑒.” “𝑌𝑒𝑠.” 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛. “𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑢𝑠.” “𝐼 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑦.” 𝐵𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑙𝑠𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑠ℎ𝑒’𝑠 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒. 𝑁𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝑆ℎ𝑒’𝑠 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡.

I thoroughly enjoyed this second chance romance between Genieve (known as Gen or Fred) & Even. If you are looking for a quick read where you can just enjoy the story for what it is, then this one is for you.

Gen is firey and independent, which I am always attracted to in an FMC. Growing up with all brothers she knows how to hold her own. Even is Trouble, spelled with a capital T. Yet, a total cinnamon roll when it comes down to it. He craves love and stability, just doesn't know how to get it.

Even & Gen have grown up together & their relationship is a constant pull of turmoil & bliss. It's messy and imperfect but it's them. Throughout the story, you will see the growth in their relationship & how much they want to be better for themselves as well as each other.

The Bad Girl Reputation is the second in the Avalon Bay series, following The Good Girl Complex. It reads much quicker than the GGC & personally I felt the ending wasn't as rushed, which I appreciated.

Read if you like:
Dual POV
Second Chance Romance
Friends to Lovers
Small Town
Fiesty FMC
Bad boy (secret cinnomon roll) MMC
Steamy Romance

I love a second chance romance specifically when the characters go through a self discovery and finding themselves which allows them to fully be together in a relationship. The chemistry between these two was palpable, it was a light amount of spice with a good plot.

This was a fun and cute read overall, and I definitely loved some parts, but overall it just didn't hit a high note with me, and I think it was because of the back and forth waffling with Gen. You could absolutely feel the chemistry between Evan and Gen and obviously they were meant for each other so it frustrated me that they were their own obstacles I guess! But I know there has to be a plot :) I really enjoyed the side plots of Evan's relationship with his brother as well as their relationships with their mom, and Mackenzie was one of my favorite characters too. I will definitely read the first one in this series though (oops) since I liked their characters so much.

If you are already an Elle Kennedy fan, then you will love Bad Girl Reputation! I thought this second book of the Avalon Bay series was even better than the first! Our main characters Gen and Evan are extremely relatable. This is a second chance romance and both characters go on a little bit of a self discovery journey separately before reuniting. The chemistry between Gen and Evan was hot! Overall, it was a great story and the spice was just right. 4/5 stars.

Loved this second installment in the Avalon Bay series!
Genevieve West and Evan Hartley circle each other hungrily, but they have always created dangerous sparks whenever they gave in to the hot passion between them.

There are some heavy themes: addiction, alcohol abuse, mental health issues, as well as a run in with an old nemesis who happens to be a member of the long arm of the law in that town - and he is NOT cutting Genevieve any slack this time.

No spoilers, but I like that the author took a few familiar tropes and turned them on their ear. (One particular reversal reminded me of a very famous Friends episode!)

Mac (MacKenzie Cabot) and Cooper Hartley are back in supporting roles. (I got a huge laugh out of the scene where Evan pretends to be Cooper to see if Mac could tell the twins apart: Mac was NOT amused, however!)

You will have fun with this one. I certainly did! My thanks to the author, Elle Kennedy, her publisher, St. Martins Griffin, and NetGalley for an ARC of this Novel in exchange for an honest review.