Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy
Contemporary Romance
February 1, 2022
Macmillan Audio
ARC
Review by Jen
If the series Outer Banks and the book, After, had a baby…it would be Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy. Kennedy is one of my favorite authors, and this book, while predictable, hit all the right spots for me.
The story takes place in a college beach town. We have the townies (Pogues for you Outer Banks fans) and the rich college kids.
Mackenzie is a rich college student with a trust fund. She took a gap year to travel and build out a successful website business. She’s a slightly older college freshman, and not super excited to be in school. She’d rather be pursuing more entrepreneurial activities. Cooper is a townie. A hot townie with tattoos. Most definitely the best kind. Cooper has had a rough life, as townies do. He’s also a twin. He and his brother live in their slightly in need of renovation, family home. They belong to a very tight knit friend group who all despise the rich college crowd. They call them clones because they’re all alike and completely spoiled and uninteresting.
While at work one night in a bar (I’m imagining Patrick Swayze in Roadhouse at this point), a rich prick fraternity guy named Preston is inappropriate and lecherous with one of the girls Cooper is friends with and Cooper gets in a fight. The rich kid threatens that his daddy, who owns the entire town, will seek revenge. Poor Cooper is fired. This is when Cooper and his friends cook up a scheme for Cooper to find Preston’s girlfriend and steal her away, then parade her in from of Preston. They think it’s the ultimate clapback.
Preston’s girlfriend is Mackenzie. It doesn’t take long before Cooper and Mackenzie bump into each other just by accident. Mackenzie is very clear that she has a boyfriend, but they strike up a friendship. Mackenzie isn’t your typical clone. She’s independent, has a slight wild streak and isn’t pretentious at all. They have a great time together and there’s major sexual tension. Mackenzie doesn’t want to cheat on Preston. She also really wants a boyfriend who supports her dreams and Preston isn’t it.
The story isn’t particularly original, but I really enjoyed listening to this book. I love stories with women who go against what’s expected of them and succeed. I liked Cooper and his friend group. He’s a good guy who made one mistake- he never confided in Mackenzie about his fight with Preston, and the bet. A classic romance miscommunication. I also understood why- in his mind the prank was over, and he told his friend group that he wasn’t going through with it, he really liked Mackenzie for who she was. Lots of witty banter and I love the bad boy, good girl, opposites attract trope. This was a sweet easy book that made me happy.
The narrators were great. How can you go wrong with Joe Arden? The answer is….you can’t. He is perfect. I need him whispering in my ear at night as I drift off to sleep.
Grade B
This one sounds good! Adding to my TBR.
I really loved your review of “Good Girl Complex” and your comparison to the mix of Outer Banks and After intrigues a lot. Elle Kennedy has a way of hitting the right notes, and your insights into the characters, Mackenzie and Cooper, make it even more appealing. Have you considered exploring additional contemporary romance novels? When I was working on literature review, I checked this resource https://edubirdie.org/ which a platform that provides recommendations for captivating reads. Your description of the townie life and the rich college crowd clash adds an exciting dynamic to the story. Waiting to more of your reviews and recommendations.