Elle Kennedy's strong female leads and heated, slightly dangerous relationships pull readers in for another wild ride of a romance. Though it can be read as a standalone novel, Bad Girl Reputation is the second in the Avalon Bay series; the first novel, Good Girl Complex, introduces Avalon Bay and a group of fiery characters.
Genevieve, after a mysterious disappearance, returns a year later to her hometown of Avalon Bay to face her past. She is there for her mother's funeral and is determined that her homecoming will be brief. With her family's business in need of her help and her ex-boyfriend, Evan, looking for answers as to why she left without a goodbye, Gen realizes that, if she stays, her old life of drinking, partying and avoiding responsibilities will be an easy pattern to slip back into.
Kennedy (Misfit; The Chase; The Deal) introduces Genevieve at a crossroads between her old "bad girl" habits and her new and improved lifestyle. Genevieve and Evan traverse a maze of inflamed emotions amid beach bonfires, sailing races and ice-cream dates that accompany life in the Bay. The dreamy beach town is a backdrop to the alternating perspectives of Genevieve and Evan, who work at forgiving each other and themselves for the mistakes of their past and attempt to propel themselves into a healthy future. Unsure how to be together again without their vices resurfacing, the novel follows their efforts to grow into themselves without losing who they are--or each other. The depth of Kennedy's characters creates a bond that is hard to let go of when the novel ends. --Clara Newton, freelance reviewer