Evan Hartley (Cooper’s twin brother) and Genevieve West are notorious for being an on-again, off-again couple…that is, until Gen suddenly and unexpectedly leaves town without a goodbye. A year later, when Gen returns home to Avalon Bay for her mother’s funeral, she’s determined to prove to her family and friends that she’s matured and ditched her bad girl reputation and that involves staying far away from Evan Hartley. However, it’s near impossible to avoid her attraction to Evan while being back in Avalon Bay, especially since her dad has hired Evan’s company to do some home renovations. Gen believes that her and Evan are bad influences on each other, but Evan is determined to prove to Gen that he’s capable of change and deserves another chance.
Bad Girl Reputation is a contemporary new adult romance with the second chance romance and forced proximity tropes. It deals with themes such as change versus tradition, life and death, family (or lack there of) and friendship, addiction, growing up, abuse of power, good versus bad, as well as love and heartbreak. I should note the characters in this book briefly recount the death of a parent and an instance of sexual harassment, which could be triggering for some readers. Bad Girl Reputation would be perfect for fans of the Off-Campus and Briar U series by Elle Kennedy, the Beach Kingdom trilogy by Tessa Bailey, The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas, The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han, and Every Summer After by Carley Fortune.
In my opinion, the moral of Gen and Evan’s story is that people can be capable of change; I think that it’s summed up nicely by this quote from the novel: “If the 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”.
First off, I have to say that I was a bit disappointed with this series; I absolutely love Elle Kennedy’s Off-Campus and Briar U series so, in comparison, her Avalon Bay series just didn’t live up to my high expectations. But admittedly, Bad Girl Reputation was significantly more enjoyable than the first book in this series, Good Girl Complex. Furthermore, it was great to already know most of the main characters from reading the first installment, along with some of the storylines. Even though you might be able to read Bad Girl Reputation as a standalone, I highly recommend reading Good Girl Complex first.
Cooper and Mac (the main characters in Good Girl Complex) continued to be prominent characters in this book; some of their storylines, like Mac’s hotel and Cooper’s drama with his mother, even carried over into Bad Girl Reputation. It was so cute and swoonworthy that Evan, despite his reputation for being a bad boy, tries to “woo” or court Gen, as if she’s the only girl in the world for him. He even starts doing some heartwarming charity work to try to prove to Gen (and himself) that he can be more than just a troublemaker. Furthermore, Gen and Evan’s relationship was passionate, sincere, and rife with history. Lastly, without spoiling anything, I thought that the ending was *chef’s kiss*.
On the downside, there were some missed opportunities in this book—for example, it probably would have been hilarious if Kennedy included a full description of Evan’s disastrous sailing attempt instead of just briefly recounting it.
The beautiful beachside setting of Avalon Bay makes Bad Boy Reputation a perfect summer read, or a great escapist read for the colder months. If you enjoy new adult romance and the second chance trope, then I highly recommend reading Bad Girl Reputation by Elle Kennedy.
Bad Girl Reputation is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of October 4th 2022.
Will you be picking up Bad Girl Reputation? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
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.
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.
