Review: Bad Rep by A. Meredith Walters

Bad Rep

Author: A. Meredith Walters

Publication Date: December 21, 2012

~Synopsis~

Maysie Ardin is soaking up the summer before her junior year of college, shopping, hanging by the pool and shopping some more. But when her black belt in spending lands her in trouble with her parents, she is forced to take a second job at a local bar to dig herself out of a deep financial pit.

She thought she’d be miserable. But then Maysie didn’t count on Jordan Levitt, the hot, pierced and tattooed, drum playing bartender who also happens to be very interested in her. And the feelings are totally mutual.

It had the makings of the perfect romantic set up. Boy meets girl. Boy likes girl. Boy has girlfriend? Okay, maybe not.

But attraction is a hard thing to ignore and soon Jordan and Maysie find themselves in the middle of a gossip induced firestorm. Maysie has to learn whether she can set aside her fear of public disapproval in order to be with the one she wants. Or will she let the opinions of others dictate her life and her heart?

~Review~

A. Meredith Walters is an incredible writer and I fell in love with Find You in the Dark and Light in the Shadows. Because of these 2 books, I think I had super high expectations for Bad Rep and therefore, I was a little let down. Bad Rep was a good book and I enjoyed reading it but it didn't live up to my expectations for it.

Maysie was an okay character, but she wasn't one of my favorites. I felt like she was a little whiny and self-absorbed. I felt really bad for all of the things she had to go through, especially since it wasn't all one-sided but she knew there would be consequences for her actions. I don't think she deserved all of the things that happened to her because, even though she did something that was wrong, it was not to be malicious and she was truly sorry. Everything she did was because of how she felt for Jordan and then she pushed him away instead of working through it together. I did like the way she grew up a little at the end and stood up for herself finally. 

Jordan was a good guy and he had this instant connection with Maysie that he couldn't explain. However, I didn't like the way he pursued her while he was dating Olivia and I give Maysie credit for really trying to stay away from him. He didn't make it easy for her. I felt like he should have broke things off with Olivia before getting involved with Maysie because his actions had consequences too and they ended up costing Maysie more than him. I also didn't like that Jordan let Maysie take so much of the heat for what happened without standing up for her more. Granted, he may not have known about all that was going on but he had a hand to play in everything. In the end, he did man up stand by Maysie like he should have from the beginning.

Overall, this was a well written book and the story flowed really well together. You could really feel the chemistry that Jordan and Maysie shared from the writing and you could feel the tension from the situation they were in flow off the pages. I am interested to check out Perfect Regret and see how the author will handle Riley & Garrett's story. 

~Quote~

"You know, I say do what you want. You have to do what makes you happy," I said. Jordan smiled. "That's what I'm trying to do," he said and I had a feeling he was talking about more than just his music." ~Maysie (Bad Rep by A. Meredith Walters)

~IPOD Picks~

"I Need Your Love" by Ellie Goulding & Calvin Harris

"I Knew You Were Trouble" by Taylor Swift

"Love Somebody" by Maroon Five

Sources

Synopsis: Goodreads

Cover Photo: Goodreads