Hi everyone!
I’m back with another Tuesday release post. February seems to be the month of romance releases - maybe something to do with valentines day - and so today’s post is for one of those romances. Today’s review is of Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy which is out today! It’s not often enough I get to read a book by a Canadian author so i was excited to read this.
This was definitely a cute and easy read. I was drawn to this because of the author and the cover - and the cover definitely sets the vibe for the book in my opinion. After reading it I couldn’t think of a better cover honestly. The book is set in the beachside town of Avalon Bay, where the community is made up of locals and wealthy (and often at least a bit entitled) students from a nearby college. Mackenzie, or Mac as she often goes by, is technically one of those wealthy students although she is quite down to earth and doesn't act all entitled. From the beginning there seems to be a bit of question around what Mac wants to do with her life. In her family’s eyes her life is already planned out with her long-time boyfriend, prep school friends, and a college degree she’s getting just to please her parents. But in truth, Mac just wants to focus on her online business that’s already earned her half a million. Nobody but her seems to see how successful she’s already become without any family or friends help. I admired that aspect of Mac and how much work and dedication she put into creating her business.
When Mac meets Cooper, a local bad boy of Avalon Bay, I found it to be under ideal circumstances. Mac was still in a relationship with the boy she thought she’d end up marrying, and Cooper had less than ideal intentions - I won’t say more so the plot isn’t spoiled. I will say that thankfully there was no cheating which would’ve been an absolute no for me. Much like Mac’s first impression of Cooper, I wasn’t the biggest fan of him in the beginning. I think by the end I still wasn’t the biggest fan of him but he had opened up through the up which I did like. The one thing I did have the biggest issue with throughout the book that mainly came from Cooper was the misogyny. I felt like the views most of the men in the story had about romance and relationships seemed a bit outdated and I wasn't the biggest fan of that. I found those bits to take away from the main part of the book at times.
The side characters in the book I found to be pretty great. I think I liked some of the guys that were side characters better than Cooper. I admired how much a lot of them obviously cared for Cooper and wanted to protect him when Mac first came more into the picture. I thought how Cooper's friends came to like Mac in the end felt genuine and didn't seemed like it was being forced. I really did enjoy the friendships along with the side characters of the story.
I thought the romance wrapped up well in the end and I was happy with the outcome. Overall I thought the book was sassy, upbeat, and a quick read. I'd give it 3.5 simply because the misogyny took my focus away from the actual story a few times. Outside of that I did find a lot of the book quite likeable. I think the concept of the story was quite cute and if the characters appear in the next Avalon Bay book (the next one comes out in October) I’d love to see even more growth from Mac and Cooper, even as side character I believe that would be possible.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Emily Marie