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. But 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 that 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. I would recommend Bad Girl Reputation to 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. First off, I have to say that, overall, 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, I enjoyed Bad Girl Reputation a lot more than I did the first book in this series (Good Girl Complex). Furthermore, I liked how, because of reading book 1, I already knew most of the main characters and I was already familiar with some of the storylines; therefore, even though you might be able to read Bad Girl Reputation as a standalone, I highly recommend reading Good Girl Complex first. I loved that Cooper and Mac (the main characters in Good Girl Complex) continued to be prominent characters in book 2; some of their storylines, like Mac’s hotel and Cooper’s drama with his mom, even carried over into Bad Girl Reputation. I thought that it was so cute and swoon-worthy 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, I loved how Gen and Evan’s relationship was passionate, sincere, and rife with history. Lastly, without spoiling anything, I thought that the ending was a “chef’s kiss”. On the downside, I thought that 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. I also wasn’t a fan of all the police corruption nor the conflict regarding the Hartley brothers’ mom because they weren’t as interesting to read about in comparison to the main romantic storyline. The beautiful beachside setting of Avalon Bay makes Bad Girl 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.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Go to Reviews from:
February 2024
|