Book review - A Misfortune of Lake Monsters

 

Title: A Misfortune of Lake Monsters

Author: Nicole M Wolverton

Genre: horror

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Rating:

 

doesn't quite live up to it's potential

Summary (provided by publisher): 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.

My opinion: 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.

 Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley