Epic Fail

Epic Fail was a fabulous cute, feel-good novel! Elise Benton is determined to be different from all of the other girls at school when it comes to the very handsome son of two famous movie actors. While everyone else falls at his feet and lets him do whatever he wants, Claire treats him with just a little disdain and a whole lot of caution. Despite his rare smiles and nice moments, she goes off with Webster Grant, who turns out to be more than a little disappointing.

This was a fun, very quick read (that I picked up and finished in the course of an evening). Elise is a strong-willed young woman determined not to fall into the "traps" of the celebrity town that she has just moved to. Derek is a reserved guy wary of any and all attention because most of it comes solely as a result of his parents' celebrity status. Despite their differences and some arguments, they tend to get thrown together frequently she Elise's sister, Juliana, is fairly shy and reserved and begs Elise to join her when hanging out with Chase, her boyfriend.

While you may be wary of reading yet another Jane Austen retelling, Epic Fail is actually a fun book to read. This book relies on its characters and their chemistry to move the plot along and Ms. LaZebnik did a fabulous job with doing just that. While I have to admit that a lot doesn't happen, the author is completely successful and pulling you into the lives of the characters and actually making you care what happens to them. I would definitely recommend this one if you're looking for something that's quick and fun to read.

This is a completely mediocre book. The premise is interesting enough-if a bit overdone. You know, amazingly handsome and popular boy acts like a complete, mysterious jerk to the totally average girl, they are thrown into situations together, then they fall in love. I was hoping that the Austen-influenced storyline might freshen it up, but if comes off as just another YA romance. Frankly, I would be embarrassed to connect these two novels.
Elise is annoying, and doesn't have any of the witty charm her Austen counterpart, Elizabeth, had. LaZebnik attempts to give her some clever one-liners, but they end up falling flat. I actually cringe when I read Elise's attempts at humor.
The rest of the cast of characters function well enough as flatter, more boring versions of their Austen characters, except Mr. and Mrs. Bennet. When LaZebnik tries to show Elise and her father's close relationship, it seems cheesy and unrealistic.
The characters are disappointments, but they're not the worst part of the book. The thing I just couldn't get past was the writing. I think Elise was supposed to have an independent, sassy voice. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Not only are her jokes not funny, but the dialogue is stilted and completely unrealistic. The only word I have to describe LaZebnik's writing is cheesy.
All in all, if you are a young adult reader on the lower end of your teens who is looking for a simple, mindless book to alleviate the boredom, this will probably work. I mean, it's not necessarily an awful book, it's just not very good. But if you are looking for a true modern take on Jane Austen-including intelligent banter and intriguing characters-then this is not for you.

I love a good retelling. Especially when the retelling is of one of my favorite books. Epic Fail is Pride and Prejudice in a new, more modern setting.

What you will find in Epic Fail is a fun twist on the setting and character roles. The story is straight forward-- obviously. There really isn't much that would be considered a surprise if you're already familiar with the classic. The one twist I thought was clever as making Ms. Bennet the principal of the sisters' high school. That really allowed for her to play up the annoying, busy-body role.

One thing worth noting is that the classic Elizabeth Bennet didn't come across as strong in the retelling. We all know Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice. She was a cut above the rest. But in Epic Fail she seems to blend in with the cliche of girls caught gawking at a pretty face. Oh well. It was still a fun read.

I really liked this book. The main character had a personality even when there was no dialogue between characters. She was funny and slightly sarcastic, which was perfect. The story's narrator was named Elise Benton. She had moved to L.A. from Massachusetts and goes from public school to private rich kids school. Her sister starts dating this guy who is best friends with the most famous kid in school. Elise has to spend a lot of time with the kid because her and her sister is close. But the popular guy is enemies with Elise' s friend at the school, so that brings conflict.
This book was really good, it left me thinking about it even when I wasn't reading. Only thing, I noticed that the book seemed to be missing a word in like two sentences in my kindle book. However, it was easy to tell what it would have said and it didn't prevent me from liking the story. That was the only reason for the four stars. It would have been five all the way.

Epic Fail is seriously too cute for words. This book is so addicting, I found myself up till the wee hours just so I could finish it. Was it worth it? You bet!

Epic Fail is a modern retelling of the classic novel Pride & Prejudice. Instead of a gush Victorian setting, you get a private school designed for the rich and famous. And instead of Mr. Darcy, you get snarky, brooding but amazing Derek.

If you remember earlier this year, Elizabeth Eulberg released a very similar book called Prom & Prejudice. Take out the prom concept, and you have Epic Fail, only better. Not only is it absolutely hilarious, the story just flows perfectly. I loved Elise as the main character. Her wit and loyalty for her outrageous family was pretty much everything I love about any main character. Place her next to Derek, and you have a combination made of win.

Now, the story isn't ALL fluff. You still have the same basic problems Elizabeth Bennett had to deal with in P&P. Examples? Oh, well, mis contriued conversations, poor judgement in characters and deceptive siblings all play a role in this must read summer book.

From lovable characters to teenage love and drama, it's no surprise I fell in love with this book. If you're looking for a light read that will make your icey heart go pitter patter, I recommend checking out Epic Fail. Fans of Pride & Prejudice, Prom & Prejudice and even the movie Easy A will devour this book in one sitting. Really, it's that good!

Can I just say I absolutely loved this book??? I can't even remember the last time I finished a book in less than a day, let alone less than 10 hours during the school year. Yeah, it's that good. I was cracking up while reading it. Out loud. Completely embarrassing, but totally worth it. It's definitely the funniest and cutest book I've read in a very long time. I genuinely loved every character, even the background characters they were all so developed that I instantly adored each of them. I also liked the fact that Elise didn't just suddenly "fall" for Derek because he was insanely famous. She actually wanted to not like him for that reason, but she quickly learns that first-impressions are often very, very wrong. I loved relating to every choice Elise made, living in her shoes, falling in love alongside of her, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book to anyone who loves a good Chick-Lit read!! Please, please go read it right now!!

-Kit
Readingteen.net

Content:

Sexual content: Moderate
Profanity: Heavy
Violence: None
Other: They go to a party where alcohol is not allowed to be served, but a guy mentions he could ask around and find them some if they want it, they don't. Also, some mention of background characters drinking and doing drugs.

For more info click here.

I won this from Good Reads

Elise Benton transferred school and is now going to Coral Prep Tree in California with her three sisters. She's closest with her older sister Juliana, who's a senior. Elise lays eyes on Derek Anton, son of Melissa Anton, a famous actress, and apparently, he can't stand people talking about his family or looking at him. Elise tries to be nice but with the slightest mention of his family, Derek becomes rude and distant. She's having trouble figuring him out. Juliana likes Derek's friend Chase. This doesn't make things easy for Elise since Derek told her that she shouldn't be hanging out with the social outcast, Webster Grant. Elise thinks that Webster's charming. Mix catty girls, a famous, uptight boy, and a head over the heals in love sister = epic fail or could it be an epic win?

Some parts of this novel were pretty predictable, but I really liked it. There were some parts I didn't see coming. People that don't like fluffy books probably won't like it, but I like reading fluffy books. Books like these always leave a smile on my face. There were some things I didn't like though. I understood where Derek was coming from but it was annoying how quick his attitude changed. I didn't like that Elise apologized for talking about his family. I did end up really loving this book.

In my never ending quest to find something to help me cope with the end of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, I picked this book up, a modern day high school adaptation of P&P. It's...pretty much what you'd expect. Darcy (aka Derek) is the kid of some rich movie star. I love the YA category, but this is a pretty sub-standard version of the story, pretty much just doing the bare minimum of work. It's cool to see how the story translates to the modern day, and I love seeing how different authors interpret the original events (particularly the twist with Lydia and different portrayals of Georgiana), but some of the stuff in this book just felt really forced and awkward and characters I wanted to see more of didn't get a chance to shine. If you're looking to fill your collection of P&P adaptations, sure, go for it, but I know there is better out there, so I'm going to keep looking. Thanks for setting the bar so absurdly high, Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

The author, as usual, tells a good story. I have read all of her books, and she does not disappoint. Since this is a re-telling I won't give summary--see product description for that.

Epic Fail takes the characters that we all know and love and keeps them recognizable, mostly by keeping similar names and/or using the same initials for all the characters. Where this modern take of P&P falls a little short is that some of the scenes between Derek and Elise are a little flat in comparison to the original. Also, the ending was a little abrupt--as another reviewer stated, I too turned the pages at the end looking/expecting a little more. Something similar to P&P's epilogue chapter would have done wonders and probably left me without that unfinished feeling.

This was written for young adults, who may or may not have been exposed to Pride & Prejudice, and overall it was a success. It was a fun, light read that quite honestly I couldn't put down. Comparing it to other contemporary re-tellings, this is better than most--and I have read a lot of "modern-day P&P" stories. You will not regret taking the time to read this.

I almost didn't read this book after reading some negative reviews, but I'm glad I did. It was funny and fast moving. I read it in one sitting. Of course it wasn't just the same as p&p, but. Modern and a good story. It was not sleazy with too much graphic cr## which ruins many a good plot for those of us who are not voyeurs. Just enough good romantic tension and action. I now want to find more stuff by this author. Nice job.

First I will get the obligatory "I love Jane Austen/Pride and Prejudice" out of the way. There. Done.
This book had very obvious parallels to PAP, but it did not quite reach the quality of said book. It was basically a retelling in the modern era; there was almost nothing different about this story. Therefore it was very predictable and not unique at all. It basically had all the annoying drama I disliked in PAP with none of the elegant storytelling that made the reading worthwhile. Thus, this book gets 3 stars, which for me means "well it was OK, but I'll never read it again because it just didn't have that special magic that makes a book stand out from the 100's that I read." If you like sappy, dramatic, mildly romantic teenage misunderstandings, read this book. If not, go try out "Emma" because Knightly is even better than Darcy ;)

I really loved this adaptation of one of my favorite books... if you haven't read the original, don't worry, and if you have, don't stress over what will be the same and what won't. It really is a fun ride. I loved the relationships between the sisters and how the adaptation was handled. This was my first Claire LaZebnik book, but I am pretty sure it won't be my last!

A great, fun, quick read!

I really enjoyed this book, and thought it was pretty good. I wish that it was a little llonger and that the author took more time explaining certain parts but other than that it was amazing. I definitely suggest giving this book a read if you have time.

I knew before hand that this book was an adaptation of pride and prejudice. It truly is which is good and bad. It was good because I was curious to see how the author would transfer the story to a modern setting but bad because I knew what would happe. Good book!

This is a sweet, wonderful high school romance. Although I am long past my high school years I read the reviews on this book and thought I would give it a try. What a pleasant surprise! I enjoyed the flow of the book and the quirky main characters. If you are looking for a light read (young or old) I suggest you give this book a try!

Adorable story, easy read and likable characters. I love the relationship between the sisters, very believable because they seems to act their age. The mother is crazed and the father, well he's a dad who has all girls!!

This modern take on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice delves into the lives and personalities of the Benton sisters and their efforts to fit in at their new. star studded high school. It brings to light the exaggerated personalities of modern day teens.