"The most charming cannibalism novel I've ever read!" —Sarah Beth Durst, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"A must-read queer YA fantasy that will delight readers." —C. S. Pacat, New York Times bestselling author

In this delightfully cozy and creepy YA romp, a cave monster masquerading as a search-and-recovery guide intends to find and eat a lost wizard—but catches feelings for him instead, perfect for fans of TJ Klune and Andrew Joseph White.

Theory has a monstrous secret. He isn’t an ordinary search-and-recovery guide at Fiendworld, the world’s premier magical sinkhole turned amusement park; he’s a cursed, human-eating mantis. Fortunately, he’s found a workaround: when retrieving the bodies of lost adventurers, he snacks on a finger or two.

Until his latest assignment, when he’s tasked with recovering the missing son of park management—the descendant of the very wizard who cursed Theory in the first place. Worse, when Theory finally tracks him down, the wizard is somehow still alive.

Nim has no interest in being rescued. Determined to reach the bottom of the sinkhole, he refuses to let Theory take him back to the surface. Armed with little more than optimism and a persnickety enchanted backpack, he recruits Theory to help him continue downward—whether Theory likes it or not.

To survive, Theory and Nim must brave man-eating fish, walls of tentacles, and devastating secrets: both their own and ones the park desperately tries to keep hidden. And along the way, they may just discover that they’re stronger together than apart.