Format: 304 pages, Hardcover
Release Date: March 31, 2026
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
A young woman must survive the deadly mythical creature she smuggled aboard an airship after a crash landing on a deserted island frees it, setting it on a hunt for the survivors in this thrilling 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.
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.
Scott Reintgen's Devious Prey is a mashup of fantasy and thriller aimed at a Young Adult audience. There are two key players: Pearl Trask and Marken Burke. Pearl, along with her aunt, is a smuggler, while Marken is being sent to face judgment for a crime that will be explained deeper towards the end of the story. The story begins aboard an airship before transitioning to a deadly, magical-wilderness survival story on a mysterious, deserted island, bringing the fantasy genre we know and love to a fresh setting reminiscent of thrillers like Lost and Yellowjackets.
Pearl Trask, a resourceful young smuggler, boards the airship Grand Gesture with her aunt, carrying highly illegal and dangerous cargo: a caged dragoness. Their plan goes sideways when armed soldiers join the voyage, escorting a powerful teen wizard named Marken Burke—known as the “Butcher of West Lily”—who is being transported in chains for trial on mass murder charges. Mid-flight, disaster strikes: the windmaster dies, a violent storm takes over, and the ship crashes on a mysterious, uncharted (and possibly mobile) desert island.
Survivors from the crew, passengers, soldiers, and prisoners must band together amid dwindling supplies and rising threats. But the real danger emerges when the dragoness escapes her damaged enchanted crate and begins hunting the stranded group, using her unique ability to assume the properties of substances she touches. Pearl and the chained wizard become unlikely keys to survival as secrets unravel, old alliances fracture, power struggles erupt, and the line between hunter and prey blurs.
Survivors from the crew, passengers, soldiers, and prisoners must band together amid dwindling supplies and rising threats. But the real danger emerges when the dragoness escapes her damaged enchanted crate and begins hunting the stranded group, using her unique ability to assume the properties of substances she touches. Pearl and the chained wizard become unlikely keys to survival as secrets unravel, old alliances fracture, power struggles erupt, and the line between hunter and prey blurs.
Pearl is a capable, intelligent protagonist with raw backstory that draws readers in, while Marken and other survivors bring complex motivations—trauma, secrets, and shifting alliances keep everyone guessing. The story mixes Lord of the Flies-style social breakdown with Predator-esque monster tension, all set against Reintgen’s inventive magic system in the world of Ten Tides. Devious Prey delivers fast pacing, high tension, and a scene-stealing dragoness.
The magic system feels fresh and integral—layered, controllable as a resource, and tied to the dragon’s shapeshifting abilities. The question later becomes who is more dangerous? Pearl, Marken, or the Dragon? If you enjoy stories like The Hunger Games meets Jurassic Park (with dragons), or appreciate Reintgen’s signature blend of survival, magic, and flawed heroes, this story is definitely for you.
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