ARC Review Book Review by A Book Wanderer

ARC Book Review | Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy

Title: Good Girl Complex
Author: Elle Kennedy
Genre: Romance, New Adult
Published On: February 1, 2022
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Source: digital
Pages: 336

Synopsis:

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. 

My thoughts

(Spoiler free)

You won me over, Elle Kennedy. I tried so hard not to like this book about beautiful, wealthy, privileged college kids who fall for sexy, troubled, tattooed working class locals. But you sucked me in with all your angst and drama. 

Bring on the mega book hangover. 

When I started Good Girl Complex, I was very much on the fence. I was turned off by the big chip on Cooper’s shoulder. I didn’t know if I could stomach another book about rich verses poor. But mostly I was skeptical of the fact that our heroine created an app about boyfriend fails yet has no idea her boyfriend of four years regularly cheats on her. (Don’t worry, this isn’t a spoiler since it’s revealed at the beginning of the book.) They have the same friend circles, they live in a time when everything is put on social media, and no one has accidentally slipped that he’s unfaithful!? I just wasn’t buying it. Yet.

But Elle Kennedy has breathed such life into each one of her characters, that they slowly wormed their way under my skin and had me believing. 

This was my first book by Kennedy, and from the other reviews I’ve seen, it’s a departure from her usual sports-themed plots. But I had nothing to compare it to, and that definitely could have helped my enjoyment of the book.

In the beginning, these characters might appear to be predictable versions of their stereotypes, but I soon discovered they weren’t. Both our main characters have pasts that are holding them back, and they have ideas about each others’ backgrounds that are prejudiced, especially in Cooper’s case.

Told with dual point-of-views, it works perfectly in this story. It amps up the tension and heartbreak knowing their tortured thought processes as they navigate their new territories.

Cooper is not the typical bad-boy alpha male. At his core he’s kind, loyal, and determined. And while I started this book questioning his character, by the end I was one hundred percent a fan. And Mac isn’t the predictable spoiled rich girl. She’s independent, fierce, smart, and driven, as well. 

“It’s easier to dismiss him as just another hot guy with too much attitude, someone not to be taken seriously. Then he’s all sweet and kind and gets my head messed up. Drags my heart into it, kicking and screaming.”

Elle Kennedy, Good Girl Complex

All the side characters are fascinating, too. Especially Cooper’s twin, Evan, who I predict will have his own story next. And I’m here for it!

Even though I knew how this one would play out, I was whole-heartedly along for the ride. It’s been a while since I stayed up into the wee hours to finish a book, and I had so much fun reading this one!

Thank you to the publisher St. Martin’s Griffin and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.

(All quotes are taken from the advance copy and are subject to change in final print.)

Rating:

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Indiebound | Amazon

(Levels inspired by The Well-Read Librarian from Sourcebooks)

About the Author

Elle Kennedy
Elle Kennedy

A New York Times, USA 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 currently writes for various publishers. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!

ellekennedy.com

A Song For A Book

Good Girl Complex is just the kind of book that inspires me to make a playlist. It’s begging for one. Especially when I can’t find one created by the author. 😉 So included down below is my inspired playlist on Spotify, and I’ll be highlighting “Take Me Home” by Us the Duo, which perfectly captures the new-found family Cooper and Mac have found with each other.

I won’t be happy ’till I’m with you
Home for me is where you are
These four walls are nothing without you
Home for me is where you are

They tell me that I’ll make it
It’ll only be a while
But a while lasts forever
Without you

Send out the alarms
I’m all alone
Wrap me in your arms
Take me home
Take me home
To your arms

Will you be adding Good Girl Complex to your tbr? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!

10 thoughts on “ARC Book Review | Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy”

  2. Great review! I’m really looking forward to reading this one because I really enjoyed her sports romances and I have to admit I’m just really intrigued by everything you’ve said about these characters. 😃

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