Scorpion Deep by CG Drews

A dark, intoxicating and deeply unsettling queer YA horror about a lonely boy and a sinister sea god risen from the deep, from the bestselling author of Don’t Let the Forest In and Hazelthorn. Perfect for fans of Frances Hardinge.

The only thing Jonathan wants from the mouldering isle of Kelcarrow is to escape. Summer is ending, and when his friends leave for college on the mainland, Jonathan will be alone with nothing but the ocean’s haunts.

In an act of wild desperation, Jonathan pays a tithe to Scorpion Deep - an eldritch sea god - and, to his horror, awakens him from the murky depths. As scales grow down his spine and Scorpion Deep’s obsession darkens, Jonathan realises the only way to end the nightmare is to destroy the monster.

But the price must be paid in blood.