Description

Shunned and living in an isolated wood, Sylvie comes across a scrawny, wasted monster named Illican: a local legend, a god made flesh.

With their destinies entwined, Sylvie sees an opportunity for redemption, but the woods are watching and nothing goes as planned . . .

Publisher Review

Lush and darkly evocative, with a stifling small town setting that sings to my heart, Local Gods feels as though it’s been woven from the finest strands of folk horror tales like Pan’s Labyrinth, The Wicker Man and Freddie Koelsch’s Empty Heaven. A stunning and all-consuming read — Kat Ellis * Author of The Devouring Light * With shades of The Lottery and The Hazel Wood, Melinda Salisbury has forged a visceral and potent world that rings with magic and emotional truth. Local Gods is a powerful and prescient book, that reminds us that our connection to the natural world is one of blood and bone and we are not the only thing that hungers — Deidre Sullivan * Author of Savage Her Reply * Darkly atmospheric and utterly enthralling, Local Gods is a top-quality addition to the YA horror and fantasy genres and a fantastic starting point for young adult readers looking to get into horror * Joanna Geoghegan, Inis Magazine (Children’s Books Ireland) * An intoxicating combination of the ancient and modern, full of passion and rage * Guardian Best Children’s Books of the Year 2022, praise for Her Dark Wings * Mythical reimaginings remain a big trend, but this one is special . . . an intoxicating look at friendship, love and the intensity of teenage emotions * Observer, praise for Her Dark Wings * Melinda Salisbury is a lush, magical writer – who isn’t afraid of the dark. Her Dark Wings captures the glory of having a real best friend, and the mythic pain of being betrayed by one * Rainbow Rowell, praise for Her Dark Wings * Salisbury’s voice sings at the crossroads of classical and urgently modern . . . Her storytelling is tight and focused and moves at a breathless pace: as all good myth-making should . . . strange, elegant and chilling: I devoured it * Sarah Maria Griffin, praise for Her Dark Wings * Infused with myth, Her Dark Wings is darkly enchanting, bold and unexpected. I loved experiencing this richly imagined world through the eyes of such a well-drawn, nuanced heroine * Mary Watson, praise for Her Dark Wings * Raw emotion; searing prose and a darkly imagined world * Non Pratt, praise for Her Dark Wings * A skilled contemporary reimagining full of friendship and fury * Deirdre Sullivan, praise for Her Dark Wings * Astonishing: an intoxicating, sensual YA that combines Greek mythology with a modern-day love story . . . darkly luscious * The Bookseller, Book of the Month, praise for Her Dark Wings *