Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Release Day Review: 5 Stars for Good Girl Complex (Avalon Bay) by Elle Kennedy

Good Girl Complex

She does everything right. So what could go wrong?

Mackenzie “Mac” Cabot is a people pleaser.  Her demanding parents. Her prep school friends. Her long-time boyfriend. It’s exhausting, really, always following the rules. Unlike most twenty-year-olds, all she really wants to do is focus on growing her internet business, but first she must get a college degree at her parents’ insistence. That means moving to the beachside town of Avalon Bay, a community made up of locals and the wealthy students of Garnet College.

Mac’s had plenty of practice suppressing her wilder impulses, but when she meets local bad boy Cooper Hartley, that ability is suddenly tested. Cooper is rough around the edges. Raw. Candid. A threat to her ordered existence. Their friendship soon becomes the realest thing in her life.

Despite his disdain for the trust-fund kids he sees coming and going from his town, Cooper soon realizes Mac isn’t just another rich clone and falls for her. Hard. But as Mac finally starts feeling accepted by Cooper and his friends, the secret he’s been keeping from her threatens the only place she’s ever felt at home.


Get the eBook:

Kindle | Apple | Nook | Kobo | Google Play

Get the paperback:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Chapters Indigo | IndieBound | The Book Depository

 Add to Goodreads 

 

What I thought about Good Girl Complex

When I heard that Elle Kennedy had a new adult/college-age romance happening, I couldn't get my hands on this book fast enough. It's the best book I've read so far in 2022.

The book starts out with a fight between Cooper, a "townie" and Preston, a rich "clone" as the townies call the students at the local Garnet college in Avalon Bay. When Preston gets Cooper fired from his job, a revenge plot is hatched that involves humiliating both Preston and his clone girlfriend, Mackenzie.

I wasn't a big fan of this revenge plot -- it was just downright mean and nasty. But what I did like is that Cooper's group of friends rally around him and while they egg him on, they also have his back. When things backfire and Cooper ends up falling hard for Mac, well, things don't go so well for him, so you might say he does get his just desserts.

I did like Mackenzie. I loved her spirit and determination and drive toward doing what she wants to have a fulfilling life, not what her parents want. That's a bit of a tough lesson for her that causes a rift in her family. Everyone is dealing with change -- some are doing well with it, others not so much. There's also some family drama on Cooper's side, and I loved Levi and how he took care of the boys when they needed support.

I thought Good Girl Complex hit the mark when examining the choices that can be made at that college age. The romance between Cooper and Mac is sweet -- they develop a friendship first that leads to deeper feelings. There's quite a few references to perfect pecs and jeans that hang on the hips just so. Overall, this was a book that I wanted to fall into and read in one night and while it might have taken me two nights to read this, it was a quick read for me. I'm eager to see what other characters will get books in this Avalon Bay series.
 

About Elle


 

New York TimesUSA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a B.A. in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer, and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager.

Elle writes romantic suspense and erotic contemporary romance for various publishers. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!

Follow Elle Online: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter 

No comments:

Review: Hott Take (Hott Springs Eternal, #2) by Serena Bell

    The hard part isn’t acting like we’re falling for each other. It’s pretending we’re not. Shane: My grandfather’s will has me betwee...