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Jackson High #2

The Good Girl & the Bad Boy

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I didn’t mean to destroy the guitar of Jackson High’s Bad Boy.
I swear! Sure, I ran it over with my car…
It’s true he’s been my enemy since 10th grade…
But it was a total accident.
The other bad news?
That Bad Boy--the one I just pissed off--
Yeah... I’m stuck writing our school’s advice column with him.

Only he uses my guilt to trick me into doing his work.
For three weeks!
Until I find out he lied.
Oh, heck no. This bad boy has crossed the wrong girl.

I call him out on it. In front of the whole school.
Check mate, bad boy.

“It feels good to be bad,” he whispers.
“I refuse to be the Bonnie to your Clyde,” I lie.

A few Bad Boy smiles later and I'm the Bonnie to his Clyde. (I know! I know!)
We end up in the principal’s office.
And I’m breathing into a paper bag, freaking out about the trouble I’m in.
But that’s not the worst part.

The worst part is…
I’m afraid I’m falling for the bad boy.

Warning: this book contains a few mild curse words, a couple of *earth shattering* kisses, guitar abuse (if you are against the abuse of musical instruments, maybe skip the end of chapter 3), twin angst, and an "adorably cute" romance between a good girl and a bad boy.

*Previously published as Where the Wild Boyfriends Are

196 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 17, 2020

587 people are currently reading
656 people want to read

About the author

M.L. Collins

11 books106 followers
M.L. Collins has done stuff. Good stuff. Bad stuff. Fun stuff. Boring stuff. She believes in true love, laughing loud and often, being kind, and assuming the best in people until they show her otherwise.


She loves classic rock, old Motown, and ’90s country music. Just try to stop her from dancing. Although, please don’t, because she loves dancing. (But, for the love of Pete, do stop her from singing; only people who love her dearly should have to suffer through that.)


She hates naps, dill pickles, and scary movies. Loves windy days, dogs, and LOTR. She’s an unashamed lover of sprinkles on cupcakes.


M.L. loves reading and writing quirky sweet romance novels that makes you snicker, swoon, and sigh.

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5 stars
479 (42%)
4 stars
360 (32%)
3 stars
219 (19%)
2 stars
44 (3%)
1 star
13 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
Profile Image for Hannah:).
516 reviews18 followers
February 18, 2022
Rating - 2.5 stars

Ugh, first this can barely be classified as enemies to lovers - they WERENT exactly enemies.
second, just tooooo boring and shallow
the romance just had no feeling in it...

sorry no but this was just something i had to work hard not to dnf:/
Profile Image for ضحى الحداد.
Author 3 books640 followers
April 1, 2023
3.5 Stars
I have to say this was even cuter than the first book, I am really enjoying this series so far
In this book we will follow Grady and Lacey, they are the polar opposites in everything, while Lacey is the straight A student who wants to do everything perfectly, Grady is the "bad boy" who is always late for class and loves his guitar more than anything else, in a twist of fate they get partnered up in a class project to write in the column section in the school's newspaper .. their relationship wasn't a smooth sail, but the more they get to know each other the more they understand .. that love can come from the most unexpected places
the book was nice and I enjoyed reading it, there wasn't any huge tension or drama but it was smooth, it reminded me of "Perfect chemistry" and I LOVE that book
can't wait to continue with this series
Profile Image for Dani.
70 reviews2 followers
January 31, 2020
I LOVED this book and I love this author! I was pulled in by the titles, they remind me of childhood books I used to read. The clever chapter titles and quirky humor had me drawn in through the whole book. This book has two lovable characters, families you hate and love and of course the evil step sibling. I even got attached to the sub characters and hope I get to read about their happy endings as well! This book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time with this adorable YA and I can’t wait to see what M. L. Collins does next!
Profile Image for Erin.
918 reviews104 followers
September 22, 2025
2.5 stars. It was cute, but the writing wasn’t my style.

Plot- Cute YA plot.

Characters- This was where the book shined! I loved Grady, the MMC. He was cool, sweet and fun. And totally whipped.
The FMC was great, too. And I loved her female friendships!

Romance- Very sweet. Loved them together and the progression of their relationship. I’m convinced Grady is head over heels, but their relationship is still new and needs time to cement. So I was very disappointed that it ended in a HFN, where they plan to do a long distance relationship for their entire university degrees. What?!

Writing - This was the problem.
Rushed ending, overly insightful teenagers who spoke about themselves like psychologists, and a little heavy handed with the self-help instructions.
Also: unrealistic, robotic dialogue and odd reactions made the characters hard to relate to. And kept pulling me out of the book. This was especially true at the end.

For example:
- Lacey did something atrocious that made no sense to him, but he said he trusted her and never even asked her to explain. It makes no sense that they would get thru it without her explaining herself immediately. I mean, fine, trust is great but what about plain curiosity? SO WEIRD.
- Grady had some huge bombs dropped on him at the end and he didn’t even act surprised. His reaction was so robotic.


Content-

Language- only one a-word
Spice- no sex or talk of sex. Some kissing, but not descriptive making out.
Violence- no
Substance abuse- no
Cover- i like it
POV- dual POV, first person
Cliffhanger- no
Format- KU

⚠️ Trigger warning: parents who emotionally neglect and demean their son, on-page
Profile Image for Elisabeth Rose Basil.
1 review
January 13, 2024
I totally loved this book. Not only did the boy fall in love first, but I felt like the whole process was sickeningly sweet, in a good way.
I also liked the fact that I could relate to the personality and mentality of the female protagonist (the feeling of having to be perfect because not only that’s what’s expected from you, but it’s also the only thing that makes you stand out, since you feel like everything else about you is average + the honest need and impulse to be nice to everyone no matter what, constantly trying to be the better person).
About the family circumstances of both of them… the boy’s situation was sad and frustrating at the same time (how could any parent just give up on his/her kid like that?!?) but this kind of things do actually happen, so… but the girl’s was not only a nice contrast, but also what family is all about.
As for their friends, the dynamics of the relationships were well written and I really enjoyed that. Also, the twin thing… really cool;)
Profile Image for Danna.
462 reviews7 followers
January 14, 2021
יותר מידי דמויות שלא מוצגות כראוי וחסרות חשיבות.
הספר נופל לכל. המקומות הצפויים.
Profile Image for Camille.
20 reviews1 follower
July 11, 2024
Cute lil book from kindle and pretty short
1 review
January 26, 2020
Where the Wild Boyfriends Are is an adorable YA romance that makes you feel an emotional connection with the two main characters and their struggles. It is filled with sweet, touching moments, as well as moments that keep you on the edge of your seat. I will anxiously be awaiting the next installment!
Profile Image for Vibliophile.
1,593 reviews129 followers
January 18, 2020
A CinderFella story with Ferris Buehler moments

WARNING: There are characters in this story who you will want to fold, spindle, and mutilate!

This was the best YA I've read in a while. Like all good stories, it has a hero & heroine you can't help but love, along with some pretty wicked villains. It's seriously fun!

Lacey is a straight-laced (pretty sure that wordplay was deliberate, lol) overachiever. Grady is a rule-breaking slacker. However, like all stereotypes & pigeonholes, that doesn't begin to tell the whole story.

As the 2 are forced to work together, we begin to discover the missing pieces & fit them together to get the full picture. It's a mix of hilarious & heartbreaking, yet surprisingly, it's never a downer or even angsty.

The plot is handled in an original way that was absorbing & entertaining from beginning to end - I'm totally looking forward to the author's next installment!

*Clean romance level: sweet kisses, nothing graphic

*Language: some minor use of common swear words (sh--, d---, h---), no f-bombs (a couple of "effins")

*Religion: No abuse of God's Name - thank you so much to the author for being so considerate of your readers!
Profile Image for Booktastically Amazing.
587 reviews465 followers
Want to read
December 28, 2020
Okay, okay, it might SOUND clichéd. AND it might LOOK clichéd, and it might--okay, everything encompasses clichéd. But I resist it. Instead, I'm going to read it. Like the nice being I am. Because I appreciate trees.
Profile Image for Sophie.
139 reviews
February 3, 2022
3.5 Stars

So to my delight, this one was so much better than the last book in this series. However, some things just stayed the same. First, Grady isn't really a bad boy. He is a football/lacrosse captain!! who plays music. He might be a little bit crumpy and sleeps a lot. But he is actually quite nice. In fact so nice, that other characters in the books even say, that he is nice, even before he gets together with Lacey.

I did love lacey, maybe because I can relate to her. Being the odd one out in the family and trying to cover that by putting all in school and college. However, I just don't like when people say o you have to loosen up and by that, they mean breaking the law. You should not care as much about your GPA as much as lacey does. However, you should also not break the fricking law. It is not cool or anything like that.
For example, and yeah spoiler alert, she covered for her sister or sang on the stage even though she was awful. Those are things you can do, that bring you further in life. Breaking the law not so much.
And if we already talk about the ending. I kind of liked and disliked the ending for being that sudden and fast. Sometimes the problem is too stretched out, however, Grady did not even apologize to her. She just accepted that he was back, and yeah that's it. Like come on, give us please a little more, communication is key!!!

So enough for the rant, the things I did like, Lacey, her twin sister and the whole sisterhood thing, the family dynamic (such a cool family), the column, I found it a clever way to include the situations and also advice was really fun to read and also kind of helpful :D
She also included the whole consent thing again in a much better way, which I appreciated.

All in all, not mad about it, not my fav either. Im curious how the other books in the serious will went. im excited for Bernie's. I love her.
Profile Image for Alys Ramirez.
272 reviews
March 26, 2024
3.5 stars

This was a sweet enemies-to-lovers book 🥰
If you ask me, Grady’s been crushing on her for a while now. The way he said he had a main reason for staying away from her. And how he preferred her to be angry because she was easily to deal with.
I hate Chad. And his family. Their messed up. I don’t understand how the mom — don’t understand moms that don’t pick their kidsover their husbands. Maybe it’s because I know there are very few things my mom wouldn’t do for me, but the fact that they would choose a man over someone they were destined to love, care, and protect? Ma’am, you brought them into the world, you should take care of them. Love them. Protect them.
Lacey was little miss perfect. I didn’t dislike her, she was just a littleexcessive. And I’m glad she’s fixing her relationship with Tracey.
I love that we get to see parts of the next book in the book prior to it. Like, we started seeing Kingsly and Bernie now.
We get to see how they interact with others, and then when we get their pov, do we see the characters we just read having their interactions. And I LOVE THAT ✨
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Lb.
155 reviews1 follower
June 4, 2025
Lacey and Grady are classmates they end up having to work together on the school's advice column but ugh, why is Grady so lazy... Lacey is having to do all of the work for it. Grady feels that this will make up for the fact that Lacey ran over his guitar and makes sure to lay the guilt trip on nice and thick.

While getting to know each other better they realize that not everything is as it seems and maybe they don't dislike each other at all, in fact it could be the exact opposite.

Really cute quick read with some humor (like when we find that Lacey isn't amazing at "everything" when she joins the talent show). I did feel that the end was wrapped up a little too quickly and maybe not "as much" time for our couple to get to know each other better.

wrote more on my blog: https://elbyslibrary.blogspot.com/202...

*young adult *age appropriate (high school) *opposites attract *bad boy/good girl

*Enemies (sort of but not really)--> more *LFC is a twin but complete opposite

*reverse Cinderella story
Profile Image for funkelbunt.liest.
348 reviews5 followers
February 6, 2024
I just LOVED Lacey and Grady. Can't really say why, but I just did and it could have been an awesome book, but it was just good. Or maybe great, but it was just too short.

So if I could give half stars it would have been 4,5 just because I loved the MCs so much.

I'm repeating myself, but I enjoyed this book a lot. I just didn't really get why they hated each other or why they fell in love for that matter. Because of the length there just lacked depth and I would have loved 100 or even 200 pages more to get to know them better.

But I liked Gradys backstory (even if it was a bit cliché) and that there was no cheesy happy family ending for him because some families just suck and even if it hurts it's sometimes better to just accept it as it is.

Haven't read the last one yet, but I think this is my favorite of the series.
Profile Image for Tiffany.
1,534 reviews14 followers
April 25, 2020
This was a cute book. I’ve really been enjoying this author’s works. The book is clean with some mild language. I did have to laugh at this, however,

“Are there going to be representatives from various collegiate music programs? Say, Juilliard for instance.” “As a matter of fact, Mr. Burnett, there are.” Miss Carver nodded. “That’s why it’s called a ‘showcase.’”

Note to all authors everywhere, music scouts do not exist. Music is a competitive enough field that schools don’t go looking for applicants. Juilliard has its pick of the best of the best it would not send representatives out!

Contains: mild language, kisses
Profile Image for #aPerson.
20 reviews17 followers
September 7, 2021
LOVE IT SO SO SO MUCH. Honestly I mean I was a little hesitant at first but it tured out to be a great read.

So basically Lacey is the local all-around nice girl. She volunteers and helps everybody, and everyone see's her as perfect. Her twin sister is the opposite, she's goth, badass and talented. And she envies her for the fact that she's so free and just so
so
so HER.

So when all-around BADYBOY comes and rocks her world.. Shes more than a little hesitant to let him in... but he proves her wrong... he's not just a badboy-player... he's also just a man wanting to feel loved...

i don't really know if this is a good review or not but it is what the book is!
Profile Image for Nancy G Boyd.
20 reviews
January 30, 2022
A relatable high school romance with sibling drama, family trauma, and a whole lot of happy ending. So far this series is one of the best I’ve read and I can’t wait to read the next book.

Gradys love for music is something everyone can relate to, but so is Laceys obsession for perfection. My favorite thing about these two characters is how much they help each other grow day by day. It makes your standards for love go up in scale tenfold (or it did mine at least).

Once you pick up this book it will be hard to put it down, you’ll be sucked into the dramas of Jackson High even more than you already was.

Happy reading ❤️
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
57 reviews2 followers
April 28, 2021
my favourite of the series<3

i just really like the couple, the plot lines were good, the ending was kinda odd in a sweet way

i would've loved and appreciated a longer more in depth book with the same characters

my favourite scene was probably the detention where she pretends to be her sister, and when Grady realises it, it's just so sweet

'something in me was deeply flawed. something that made me unloveable. and something about Lacy's earnestness and sweetness made me feel otherwise for a few precious moments'
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Denise.
20 reviews
June 10, 2020
Loved this book! Some swearing or I would have given it a 5 star rating. The book of traversing high school and TX, brought back memories of graduating from MAC in NE SAT. Lace is known as Perfection Princess who needs structure and Grady is the sporty, acoustic singer who has difficulty trusting, Their stories resonated with me about letting go of perfection, trusting, and being present in the moment. Words to live by, right!
Profile Image for Ginny.
64 reviews
August 15, 2021
There's a side of me that really wished Barry and Chad had a different ending. I was waiting for some epic punishment or justice. But I can also appreciate the writer making Grady and Lacey take the high road, so to say. that they choose to focus on the road ahead being together happy, chasing their dreams, being with the good and positive people in their lives ...while leaving the jerks behind and maybe someday the smarmy bastards will get their comeuppance
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for nick.
171 reviews3 followers
February 5, 2023
I don't think the characters had anything special about them to make the story unique. Especially because this is a stereotypical good girl/bad boy trope. Even the family dynamics issue that both mcs had was not enough to make me interested in them. It was short enough for me to finish quickly tho.

on the low end of 3 stars🙃
11 reviews1 follower
March 11, 2020
Sweet YA romance

This is the 2nd book in this series but a stand alone book. I really enjoy Ms. Collins style and her characters are a breath of fresh fun air. I always have a few laugh out loud moments. Cute story!
Profile Image for Jennifer Showalter - .
586 reviews6 followers
April 9, 2020
This was a spectacular second book to the series. A sharp twist to the story had me up and out of my seat.... literally. She took even more care with the characters to deliver a flavorful, decadent read that was delicious from cover to cover.
Profile Image for Mrs. Jamie Christie.
86 reviews1 follower
January 22, 2021
Wow just wow

Loved this book. So many truths on holding yourself back in different ways and also about the power of freeing yourself. It was encouraging. Thank you for writing this book!
Profile Image for Rebecca.
4,059 reviews
March 7, 2021
Must Read

Wow I can’t believe his so called “family” especially his mother after everything he’s been through. She’s as horrible as her husband and his kids . I’m glad he has Lacey and her family.
Profile Image for Misty.
286 reviews2 followers
June 15, 2021
Better than great

I love this book so much. Lacey is hilarious and Grady is definitely BBF material. I loved them falling in love. The only thing I hated about this book was Grady's family. They suck big time. This whole series just keeps getting better and better.
97 reviews1 follower
July 25, 2021
Boy Cinderella meets his Princess

This book took me on an emotional rollercoaster…of the very best kind!! Stupid families suck. Good bad boys are the best and witty, sassy, perfect princesses are “the bomb”.
And any referral to Ferris Buhler is always and absolute win!
Profile Image for Liliana.
444 reviews
April 26, 2022
Young super young (zero parolacce e qualche bacetto). Lui ha solo la nomea del bad boy, per il resto è uno zuccherino; lei perfettina. Anche questo libro, come il primo, non particolarmente memorabile.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews

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