I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book. I truly enjoyed reading "A Misfortune of Lake Monsters." The story progressed at a pleasing pace, and the romance was well-represented for a young adult book. I appreciated the friendship among the three main characters and even found myself laughing at their banter. The family dynamics felt authentic and relatable. I am eager to read more from Nicole M. Wolverton in the future.

pretty quirky and fun with some cool characters and interesting vibes. 4 stars. tysm foir the arc. would recommend.

It's a classic monster movie set-up: something hungry is in the lake. This book adds a decent wrinkle, with the Ziegler family feeling the pressure to protect the legend of the lake monster for the sake of the town economy. A real monster presents a complication that forces Lemon to address her feelings for her friends and her future. It's a very real catalyst that helps to move the plot along. The monster plot itself heads in some rather strange directions, stretching my willing suspension of disbelief to its furthest limits. While Lemon's other issues add some interest, they don't get quite enough space to develop. The result is a slightly too violent, not exactly thrilling, read.

This book was a wild ride. On the surface it seemed like a fun lake monster story, following a trio of teenagers - Lemon, Troy and Darrin - in a town where the claim to fame (and tourism) is a lake monster akin to Nessie or Champ. I really enjoyed that we get a dual POV between Lemon (our main character who has to shoulder a lot of family responsibility) and Troy (one of her best friends who is in love with her). Just when I thought I knew where this story was going it got a lot more twisty and out there. Lemon herself deals with a lot of resentment towards the responsibilities she has to shoulder as well as pressure from her family that results in her feeling like she has to give up all of her aspirations. There are definitely characters I had instant dislike for, her grandfather for example, who had a his way or the highway kind of thinking, but even he had a lot of character growth in the story. Overall this was a thoroughly enjoyable story that had a lot more depth than I expected when it came to the characters.

I loved the opening of this one and how this family has been deliberately misleading the town and tourists about a monster that lurks in the local lake. So cool! This was honestly a fabulous debut from Nicole M. Wolverton! I read it in two sittings and couldn't get enough of the creepy atmosphere and wondering who or what the monster actually was. I look forward to what this author does next!

DNF Review

Despite the intriguing sounding premise, the story didn't grab me unfortunately. However, it may appeal to readers who enjoy horror and monster YA novels.

This was a funny and easy read. I think it's more young adult than I was expecting but there are not very many books about lake monsters and this one was fun. A bit far fetched but definitely fun.

I don't usually read YA books but found the description intriguing. This was a fun, truly unique novel with a creepy setting and absorbing storyline. Will read more from this author!

I liked Lemon and Troy from the beginning and I was expecting a regular budding romance with a little adventure that turned out to be a hoax or something. Lemon and Troy did have a sweet relationship, but I was completely wrong about what happened.
The beginning was so dramatic with a pet and a person being taken by what Lemon is seeing as a real monster, when she's been part of pretending the monster isn't real up until then. At that point, though, we meet other interesting people who are full of surprises and the action was completely unexpected.
I don't know what kind of story it would be but I wouldn't mind reading another story in this world. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

This was such a fun read.. If I'm being honest I didn't see it coming. This took me to the teen girl I was and when I wished to have an adventure like the ones I used to read about it. Lemon was very interesting and I did like the group of friends

“Nothing about faking a lake monster is normal and ever will be.”

A Misfortune of Lake Monsters
by Nicole M. Wolverton


Well this was fun! I love seeing that there are more horror books for teens being written and this one is right up there.
We have our local monster stories that keep a small middle of nowhere where town afloat.
I think this is a book that a lot of teens can relate to. There some very real elements in it that make it not just a good horror book for just a good book. This is very light on horror, I would classify it more as cozy horror than anything but still an enjoyable read.

I thought this book had promise but feel short for me. This book is very YA dealing with high school kids. There were some chapters that could have been edited out so it could have just gotten to the point. This book had very light horror. This book just disappointed me in many ways.

Thank you to NetGalley and CamCat Books for providing me with a free yebook in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't know what I was getting into with this book, but I am so happy I read this book. It's fantastic!

A Misfortune of Lake Monsters follows Lemon Ziegler, who has just been tapped to take over her family's secret business: pretending the be the local lake monster in order to keep the family's business, as well as their town, afloat. She's heartbroken, as this means she will not be able to do the things she dreamed of, such as going to college to become a vet. In addition to Lemon, there's Troy Ramirez, son of the sheriff. He's fallen for Lemon, and he knows something's bothering her.

Lemon wants to tell her friends her secret, but before she can, one of her dogs is taken and killed by an actual lake monster. Then the school bully is killed. But because of the history of the lake monster, no one believes her, except for Troy and her other friend. Now, it's up to Lemon and her friends to save the town before anyone else dies.

I've followed Nicole on social media for some time but had never gotten around to reading her books before. Honestly, I wish I had. She is an excellent author, who knows how to tell a compelling, dark, and action-packed tale. With YA horror, there is always the fear that it will hold back, but Nicole doesn't hold back for her readers. As a result, the story takes readers down a dark trail, filled with bodies. Plus, there's a romance between Lemon and Troy that is beautifully crafted. Seriously, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a dark, yet sweet tale. After reading A Misfortune of Lake Monsters, I will absolutely be seeking out her other works.

Thank you to Netgalley and CamCat Books for the advanced copy. The opinion is my own.
A young adult book where Lemon Ziegler has to deal with the end of highschool and having her future aspirations of going to college to be a veterinarian clash with the family business imposed on her. Said family business includes includes impersonating Old Lucy a Loch Ness monster type of hoax that has helped the town stay afloat since before her grandparents time.
The appearance of an actual lake monster not only threatens to drive all that necessary tourism away it threatens everyone's life.
It's a book with two first person POV's, Lemon and Troy's, one of her best friends and also who has had a crush on her for years. Besides the plot twist that certainly takes quite a bit to stomach personally, everything else flows really nice. There are a few monologues where crushes are talked about with all the teenage passion possible, government agencies, a hoax threatened by the real thing, some blood and gore <spoiler>a dog dies</spoiler> and adults needing a good slap.
All in all, I think it's a good book for people that like their plots with teen romance but need some blood to really enjoy it-

“A Misfortune of Lake Monsters” by Nicole M. Wolverton is available now on Kindle and Audible.

Lemon Ziegler wants to escape rural Devil’s Elbow, Pennsylvania to attend college—but that’s impossible now that she’s expected to impersonate the town’s lake monster for the rest of her life. Her family has been secretly keeping the tradition of Old Lucy, the famed (and very fake) monster of Lake Lokakoma, alive for generations, all to keep the tourists coming. Without Lemon, the town dies, and she can’t disappoint her grandparents . . . or tell her best friends about any of it. That includes Troy Ramirez, who has been covertly in love with Lemon for years, afraid to ruin their friendship by confessing his feelings. When a very real, and very hungry monster is discovered in the lake, secrets must fall by the wayside. Determined to stop the monster, Lemon and her best friends are the only thing standing between Devil’s Elbow and the monster out for blood.

Loved this from start to finish. A truly brilliant YA horror novel with a spectacularly unique premise. Could be the great read of the summer!

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I loved this YA horror debut! So much YA horror I read falls short but this did really well. The characters weren’t whiny or obnoxious but well thought out and felt real, and I loved the sweet romance side plot. If you like small town horror with monsters, definitely pick this up!

I had a lot of mixed feelings about this book. I liked Lemon and I was propelled by the lake monster storyline to keep reading. However, Troy and his POV was something I had significant distaste for. I dreaded reading his chapters and honestly it’s why it took me so long to finish this book.
I’m not entirely sure what my beef with Troy and his perspective is but I can for sure pinpoint the way his chapters are written as a pet peeve of mine. He rarely speaks in full sentences and it annoys me to no end.
The story overall is enjoyable and I think I’m being a bit nitpicky in my tastes.

Lemon is your everyday, average teen with an interesting secrets.
I really enjoyed this book about a young girl born into a family tradition that she did not really want. A powerful earthquake happens and a whole new list of problems begin to take over the family lake. Now it is up to Lemon and her friends to figure out what is terrorizing the townspeople and get rid of the threat. There were as many comical parts as there were terrifying parts in this book. I liked the whole idea behind the new threat to this little town. Now that sinkholes are showing up more and more around the world, will these new creatures be the new norm?

I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked this book! I have an issue with teenagers in novels; they always come off as caricatures or as adults trapped in a teen's body. However, I think Wolverton did a great job of creating believable teenagers. The characters were allowed to breathe and be unique without falling into stereotypes or getting pegged into the typical, fictional teenager tropes.

The mystery at the core of the novel was interesting as well, even if I wish there had been more build up or lore to the solution. This took the whole concept of cryptids and local legends and flipped it on it's head. Definitely an enjoyable narrative to read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC

Lemon's family has been keeping a secret, for generations the Ziegler's have been the ones behind Old Lucy the town's (fake) lake monster. Now it's Lemon's turn to impersonate the monster and take over where her grandparents have left off.

We follow along as Lemon tries to balance high school, friendships, prom, a best friend who has been in love with her since forever and having to keep her family's secret when a new monster comes to the town lake and causes havoc.

This was super fun and spooky, just in time for summer. There are small time vibes coupled with time travel and cryptids, what's not to enjoy?