Devious Prey
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
A New York Times bestseller!
“A white-knuckle rush.” —Chloe Gong, New York Times bestselling author of Coldwire and These Violent Delights
An airship’s crash landing frees the deadly mythical creature hidden aboard, leaving the girl who smuggled it and the rest of the survivors to be hunted in revenge in this “swashbuckling” (Publishers Weekly) young adult fantasy adventure from New York Times bestselling author Scott Reintgen.
When an airship’s windmaster dies mid-flight, the crew and its passengers are swept out to sea by a violent storm. They crash on a desolate island, but they’re not alone. A dragoness had been stashed in the hold. After escaping a damaged cage, it begins preying on the surviving travelers in the hopes of remaining free.
The stranded group’s best chance of making it home alive is the young woman who smuggled the dragoness on board in the first place—and the mysterious teen boy who was led onto the ship in chains before takeoff. Both have secrets that could help them survive on the island…but those same secrets could deliver a death sentence if they ever make it home.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A dirigible carrying dangerous cargo crashes, inciting a bid for survival in this swashbuckling fantasy from Reintgen (the Dragonships series). When armed soldiers board the Grand Gesture, young smuggler Pearl tries not to panic about the contraband dragon she and her aunt Hath snuck aboard. If they're lucky, the men will be too focused on the prisoner they're transporting—powerful teen wizard and accused murderer Marken—to pay Pearl and Hath any mind. Then the Grand Gesture is blown off course and shipwrecks on an uncharted desert island. Upon discovering that the dragon has escaped her enchanted crate, Hath tells Pearl to keep quiet and hope for a speedy rescue; warning people will just make the two women targets. After the creature starts hunting castaways, however, Pearl pleads with the soldiers to unbind Marken's magic, reasoning that the wizard's powers would give them a fighting chance, but the soldiers refuse, forcing Pearl to ponder mutiny. Worldbuilding takes a backseat to breathless pacing and high-stakes action. The lean plot features some seismic twists, and the shy attraction that sparks between Pearl and Marken injects a healthy dose of heart. Characters cue as racially diverse. Ages 14–up.
