Title: Good Girl Complex
Author: Elle Kennedy
Series: Avalon Bay #1
Release Date: February 1, 2022
Length: 368 pages
Genre: Contemporary Romance
****Review****
Mixed feelings, mixed expectations, mixed worlds ….. and a story that has enough elements and potential to keep the reader’s attention until the very end. Good Girl Complex is a book in which not everything is black and white, but a whole rainbow of feelings and descriptions that will make you get to know the characters and experience their story …..
She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, a rich heiress who from an early age must adapt to other people’s hopes, other people’s plans, other people’s expectations. Everything must go according to the plan, a plan made by other people. Then who is she? An entitled chick or just an ordinary pawn in the world of the rich ….. Is she even allowed to feel?
He is the bad boy from the neighborhood, everything about him screams danger, get as far as possible on a neon sign, but how can she avoid all the excitement that his words arouse? How can she resist the temptation of his kisses?
One kiss, one risk, one feeling … but can that feeling break the shackles of social norms? Can an unpredictable encounter break the predictability of the prison, called her life?
Elle Kennedy’s style is definitely something that brings about the familiar mix of sweetness and cruelty that I have always liked in her books. As parts of this new puzzle that she has created are slowly being revealed, I am increasingly drawn to the mix of new and well-known elements that are part of her stories. With a light tone she mixes silly with serious topics and forces the reader to become more and more invested in the characters who somehow come to life through the pages, we get to know them, we get to learn how to predict their reactions in a given situation, but more and more we want to reach the end- the finale while at the same time we want it to last a bit longer.
The balance of the descriptors and the details are absolutely perfect, neither too much nor too little so as not to bore the reader, but just enough to get them fully interested in the story. Unlike the previous works I have read, here the level of sexual tension, as well as the emotional attachment of the characters are not so explosive, which honestly suited me at this moment. Mackenzie is a character who is most certainly a perfect heroine, a well-mannered young lady trying to find her way, her place in this world. A girl who is not afraid to see her flaws, nor to face challenges. Cooper, on the other hand, will surely not be on my list of favorite book boyfriends. From the very beginning with that infamous bet, through the petty bourgeoisie, until the stereotyping, the hero in this story did not delight me in any way. To want to revenge upon someone who did you wrong is one thing, but to include innocent people ….definitely not my cup of tea, hot as hell or not. The idea of a story about a princess and a bad boy is quite intriguing, but I’m not sure that creating such a character achieves the desired realization. I think the whole behavior of the gang is incredibly disgusting, to want revenge and ruin the life of someone you have not met is ultimately horrible, to hate someone for being different is repulsive…..
But as we all know, perfection rarely exists, maybe the characters have flaws, we all do, right? But I have to admit that Good Girl Complex has the potential to provide you with a perfect journey into a different world.