Mundie Moms

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Book Review - Epic Fail

Written by: Claire LaZebnick
Published by: Harper Collins
Release Date: August 2, 2011
Source: Publisher
4 stars - I really liked this book. Go pick it up. It's made of win.

Synopsis (from Harper Collins): Will Elise’s love life be an epic win or an epic fail?

At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.

As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.

Who doesn't love to read a romance in the summertime? Well, I obviously do and any story that keeps the structure of my beloved Pride and Prejudice is definitely worth the perusal.

Claire LaZebnick brings the rhythm of Pride and Prejudice's plot into the modern day setting of Coral Tree Prep School in Los Angeles. Imagine a school where every kid is not only privileged but also related to a movie star or someone famous. Then imagine a more academic family moving from snowy Massachusetts to sunny L.A. because of their parent's jobs. What if that family consisted of four daughters, and contained the new principal of Coral Tree as well as a new teacher there? Okay, now you are all with me.

Epic Fail is told from Elise Benton's point-of-view. She's the second oldest daughter and the one who is partnered up with Coral Tree's resident hottie, Derek Edwards. They are brought together only because Elise's older sister has fallen for Derek's best friend and sisters tend to stick together. You can already tell that I loved that sibling bond part, right? Well, I did. But, my heart went out to Elise as the moments of awkwardness and misunderstanding grew between her and Derek. Yes, I've read P&P dozens of times and yes, I fall for the plot's high and lows every time. This adaptation had them all but tweaked them just enough to keep me interested.

If you are looking for a smart, funny romance be sure to pick up Epic Fail when it comes out in a few weeks. As for me, well, I have to do something about that dreamy look in my eye that manifested itself after I turned the last page.

9 comments:

  1. Great review Sophie! I just received this in the mail to read and I can't wait to dive into it.

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  2. Glad you got it; hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :)

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  3. Oooooh this one sounds great! I will definitely be looking for it. Thanks for the review Sophie!

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  4. Cynthia, I know you will like it, for sure.

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  5. Oh! This sounds really good...I'm gonna have to go find a copy now. :)

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  6. I want this book....though I didn't know it had some from Pride & Prejudice in it

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  7. Jessica - It will be out on August 2nd but will be released in paperback which is great for this MM's budget.

    Alba - The back of the ARC mentions that it is a "hilarious, modern romance inspired by Jane Austen's classic". I'm fairly sure the publisher's will leave that in for P&P fans like myself.

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  8. I'm so excited to get this book now :)

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  9. Vy - Hope you like it as much as I did. :)

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