Epic Fail

Epic Fail

by Claire LaZebnik

Elise and the rest of the Benton clan move from Massachusetts to Los Angeles when her parents are hired at a very upscale prep school where it's actually surprising if you're NOT the child of someone famous.

Upon arriving, Elise meets Derek Edwards and is both immediately smitten and completely turned off.  Her sister, Jules, falls for the super-cute, super-nice Chase, who is Derek's best friend.  In order to help her shy sister date Chase, Elise must hang with Derek so they can all go out and do things together.

Derek's the hottest thing at Coral Tree Prep and knows it, but doesn't seem to care.  He also doesn't seem to care about Elise, until she starts hanging out with Webster.  Then, the sparks fly for more than one reason.

Can Elise keep all of her sisters on track, while falling for a guy who she can't even figure out?

Final thoughts:  When I started to read this, I'd forgotten it was a modern Pride and Prejudice, but it didn't take long to figure out.  It's almost a point-by-point recreation, except for the high school updates and the lack of a marriage proposal (it's a date to the semi-formal instead).  It's so very obvious in so many ways.  Elise Benton = Elizabeth Bennet.  Derek = Darcy.  Chase = Charles Bingley.  Webster Grant = George Wickham.  Layla = Lydia.  Georgiana = Georgia.  And more...  It's ok, but not amazing.  The characters are a little flat and Elise's parents are frustrating with their strange rules and odd timing for forgetting and enforcing those rules.  This could have been much better, but it wasn't really bad, either.

Rating: 3/5