Genre: Romance
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Pages: 320
Release Date: October 4, 2022
Haven’t read the previous novel, Good Girl Complex? Check out my review HERE!
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.
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Bad Girl Reputation is the second novel in the Avalon Bay series that follows Evan and Gen after their explosive and sometimes illegal highschool shenanigans. Gen returns home after a year-long absence to find her attraction and pull to Evan hasn’t lessened.
Evan and Gen’s chemistry is some of the best I’ve read. They’re explosive when they’re together and every moment is filled with angst and heat. Their pull towards each other is hypnotic and charged. I honestly loved every high and low of their relationship.
Considering how tumultuous Evan and Gen’s relationship is, there’s very little drama. This lack of useless drama as filler allowed Kennedy to focus on Evan and Gen as individual characters as well as a couple. Also, the final hurdle at the end of the novel was dealt with quickly, which I appreciated very much.
Despite all this tension and angst, a large portion of the novel is dedicated to Gen and Evan becoming responsible and mature people with goals and aspirations for their futures. Most of Gen’s development as a character happens off page while readers follow Evan’s development on page. What I enjoyed most about their development was that it wasn’t drastic or completely life altering. This allowed for a believable transition from reckless to more introspective.
I will say that Cooper annoyed me very much. I don’t remember him being such a wet blanket in the first novel, but I might be misremembering.
Overall, Bad Girl Reputation is an angsty and explosive novel about two people who are drawn to each other but have to fight their own inclinations and the boxes society put them in. Also, Evan is as swoon worthy as they come.
*** I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Will you be reading Bad Girl Reputation?
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