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 . . .



Melinda Salisbury is the four-time Carnegie nominated and bestselling author of multiple teen and young adult novels, including the Sin Eater's Daughter series, Hold Back the Tide, and Her Dark Wings, a Guardian Children's Book of the Year 2022 and a Reading Agency Book of the Year 2022 pick.





Her first novel, The Sin Eater's Daughter, was the bestselling UK YA debut novel of 2015. Collectively her books have been nominated and shortlisted for numerous national and international awards, including the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, the YA Book Prize, the Branford Boase, the Edgar Awards, the 2016 and 2019, 2021 and 2023 Carnegie Medals, YALSA Best YA 2022, Eason's YA Book of the Month, and more. Her books have been published in sixteen countries to date.





Melinda also works as a writing mentor and development editor and volunteers at a local independent cinema on the East Sussex Coast.



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 Kölsch's Empty Heaven. A stunning and all-consuming read



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



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



An intoxicating combination of the ancient and modern, full of passion and rage



Mythical reimaginings remain a big trend, but this one is special . . . an intoxicating look at friendship, love and the intensity of teenage emotions



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



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



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



Raw emotion; searing prose and a darkly imagined world



A skilled contemporary reimagining full of friendship and fury



Astonishing: an intoxicating, sensual YA that combines Greek mythology with a modern-day love story . . . darkly luscious