Devious Prey by Scott ReintgenMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.
This was an interesting concept, a smuggler and a mage both happen to be onboard an airship when it crash lands on a deserted island during a storm. The smuggler happens to have some very dangerous cargo onboard that escapes after the crash. The mage is being escorted to be tried for crimes he claims he didn't commit with his magic bound, but he might be the survivor's only hope to get off the island and back to safety.
I didn't really understand why Pearl and her Aunt were smuggling the dragoness in the first place. I'm not quite sure if that was ever explained. I really liked the concept of the dragoness. She was a unique being with unique abilities. Unfortunately her whole purpose seemed to be to prey on the humans and get defeated. I was hoping her character would be more involved in the plot and explored more. I have so many questions about her kind that didn't get answered and why she was there. I thought the magic system was interesting as well, where mages have to find an anchor to use their magic and sacrifice that thing each time they use their power. I liked that the author tapped into that "there is a cost for using" magic concept.
As for the characters, the book mainly focuses on Marken the mage and Pearl the smuggler. Though there are many other side characters throughout they mainly fade into the background and Pearl and Marken work together to figure out how to get off the island or get back to civilization. There are other twists, turns, and reveals as the story progresses but most of the other characters weren't relevant to the story. Pearl's character gets a bit darker and colder in the second half of the book.
Overall this was a fun YA fantasy. Reintgen is a favorite author, and while this isn't a favorite he has written some of my favorite books in the YA and middle grade ranges.
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