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A review by the_ya_assassin
Little Thieves by Margaret Owen
5.0
Thanks to the publisher, the author, and Netgalley for sending me a complimentary eARC of Little Thieves for reviewing purposes!
There’s a saying in the Blessed Empire: Little thieves steal gold, and great ones steal kingdoms, but only one goes to the gallows. I’m not sure I agree. I’ve little interest in kingdoms, but even less in dancing with the hangman. And I’ve gotten very good--great, you might even say--at stealing gold.
*4.5 stars*
Content Warnings:
- Abandonment
- Whipping
- Abuse
- Mention of past attempted sexual assault
- Panic attacks
Wow! This book amazed me in all the best ways and I loved the story. It is a very unique take on the Goose Girl. The way the story was told was awesome as well.
Vanja Schmidt knows that no gift is freely given, not even her godmothers' love - she is the adopted daughter of the Low Gods, Death and Fortune. She was once Princess Gisele's dutiful servant up until a year ago when she switched her life for Gisele's because she didn't want to be her godmothers' servant (they were forcing her to choose whom she would serve) and wanted to forge her own path (like Merida).
The real Gisele is left a penniless nobody while Vanja uses an enchanted string of pearls to take her place. Now, Vanja leads a lonely but lucrative double life as princess and jewel thief, charming nobility while emptying their coffers to fund her great escape. Then, one heist away from freedom, Vanja crosses Eiswald and is cursed to an untimely end: turning into jewels, stone by stone, for her greed.
Vanja has just two weeks till the full moon to figure out how to break her curse and make her getaway. And with feral, half-god, and shapeshifter guardian, Ragne, Gisele's sinister fiancé, Adalbrecht, and an overeager Junior Prefect on Vanja's tail, she'll have to pull the biggest heist yet to save her own life.
First of all, I LOVED Vanja. She was very much an antihero at first and I LOVED it. She was like the female version of Kaz Brekker from the Six of Crows duology, and what could be better than that?! All of the other characters, Gisele, Emeric, Joniza, and Ragne, had developed personalities perfect for the story. Ragne being a shapeshifter and Gisele being LGBTQ+ were some interesting touches that added to the story. Also, did I mention enemies to lovers romance?
Secondly, the worldbuilding was fascinating. Think of a medieval fairytale in Germany mixed with modern language. I wish there was a better developed religious system because the Low Gods were so crucial to the plot. I wish we had gotten to learn more about them, kind of how the Percy Jackson books described their symbols and the myths they were involved in. Speaking of the Low Gods, I think the one turn-off I had with this book was the inciting incident, aka when Vanja was cursed. I didn't like how she was cursed by one of the Low Gods and wished she had befriended Ragne differently. The magic system was pretty well-developed too.
Plot-wise, the story started out very slow. All the pacing was spot-on, there was hardly any action. I also think that most of the story was just Vanja thinking, which was a bit annoying. The scenes were well described and each scene I could actually SEE. It was a great experience. The plot was majorly driven by the characters versus the actual action - I feel like this difference could have been more balanced and made Little Thieves even more of an enjoyable read. There were also some twists that I did NOT see coming.
The ending was VERY cruel considering I'm pretty sure this is a standalone (I PRAY it isn't, but since there isn't another confirmed book yet, I'm assuming it is). The cruel ending is quite similar to what Margaret Rogerson did to us in Sorcery of Thorns. If there is a sequel, I need it ASAP! Overall, Little Thieves is a great book! I will be picking up Margaret Owen's other books soon!
If you're looking for a good heist like Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo or an underrated retelling like Thorn by Intisar Khanani, this is the book for you.
There’s a saying in the Blessed Empire: Little thieves steal gold, and great ones steal kingdoms, but only one goes to the gallows. I’m not sure I agree. I’ve little interest in kingdoms, but even less in dancing with the hangman. And I’ve gotten very good--great, you might even say--at stealing gold.
*4.5 stars*
Content Warnings:
- Abandonment
- Whipping
- Abuse
- Mention of past attempted sexual assault
- Panic attacks
Wow! This book amazed me in all the best ways and I loved the story. It is a very unique take on the Goose Girl. The way the story was told was awesome as well.
Vanja Schmidt knows that no gift is freely given, not even her godmothers' love - she is the adopted daughter of the Low Gods, Death and Fortune. She was once Princess Gisele's dutiful servant up until a year ago when she switched her life for Gisele's because she didn't want to be her godmothers' servant (they were forcing her to choose whom she would serve) and wanted to forge her own path (like Merida).
The real Gisele is left a penniless nobody while Vanja uses an enchanted string of pearls to take her place. Now, Vanja leads a lonely but lucrative double life as princess and jewel thief, charming nobility while emptying their coffers to fund her great escape. Then, one heist away from freedom, Vanja crosses Eiswald and is cursed to an untimely end: turning into jewels, stone by stone, for her greed.
Vanja has just two weeks till the full moon to figure out how to break her curse and make her getaway. And with feral, half-god, and shapeshifter guardian, Ragne, Gisele's sinister fiancé, Adalbrecht, and an overeager Junior Prefect on Vanja's tail, she'll have to pull the biggest heist yet to save her own life.
First of all, I LOVED Vanja. She was very much an antihero at first and I LOVED it. She was like the female version of Kaz Brekker from the Six of Crows duology, and what could be better than that?! All of the other characters, Gisele, Emeric, Joniza, and Ragne, had developed personalities perfect for the story. Ragne being a shapeshifter and Gisele being LGBTQ+ were some interesting touches that added to the story. Also, did I mention enemies to lovers romance?
Secondly, the worldbuilding was fascinating. Think of a medieval fairytale in Germany mixed with modern language. I wish there was a better developed religious system because the Low Gods were so crucial to the plot. I wish we had gotten to learn more about them, kind of how the Percy Jackson books described their symbols and the myths they were involved in. Speaking of the Low Gods, I think the one turn-off I had with this book was the inciting incident, aka when Vanja was cursed. I didn't like how she was cursed by one of the Low Gods and wished she had befriended Ragne differently. The magic system was pretty well-developed too.
Plot-wise, the story started out very slow. All the pacing was spot-on, there was hardly any action. I also think that most of the story was just Vanja thinking, which was a bit annoying. The scenes were well described and each scene I could actually SEE. It was a great experience. The plot was majorly driven by the characters versus the actual action - I feel like this difference could have been more balanced and made Little Thieves even more of an enjoyable read. There were also some twists that I did NOT see coming.
The ending was VERY cruel considering I'm pretty sure this is a standalone (I PRAY it isn't, but since there isn't another confirmed book yet, I'm assuming it is). The cruel ending is quite similar to what Margaret Rogerson did to us in Sorcery of Thorns. If there is a sequel, I need it ASAP! Overall, Little Thieves is a great book! I will be picking up Margaret Owen's other books soon!
If you're looking for a good heist like Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo or an underrated retelling like Thorn by Intisar Khanani, this is the book for you.