5/5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
-
Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for giving me a copy of this book! This is my honest review, all views are my own.
-
Little Thieves is a cunning tale of thievery and spite, coupled with some hilarity and misfortune. The story, a Goose Girl retelling, follows Vanya, the maid who steals Princess Gisele’s identity. She has nearly stolen enough money to buy her way out of the country, but her latest burglary contained a precious god-given token of protection. The god appears and proceeds to curse Vanya, warning her that her greed will consume her unless she can atone for all the things she has stolen.
It’s official: I love Goose Girl retellings! And this one in particular does a great job of weaving the tale’s components with original and unique elements. The writing is descriptive and does a great job of building the world without making it too overwhelming or complicated. The story is not dumped on the reader, nor does it have many slower moments—you jump into the story and take off running. Of course, being a fantasy novel, this book is bound to have some more information earlier on, but otherwise, it’s naturally introduced. Additionally, the dialogue flows naturally and has great comedic timing! The characters are clearly motivated and passionate about their interests, and each central character—both main and side—goes through a gradual change throughout their character arc. It’s very fun to see their relationships evolve—especially the romance! The author doesn’t explicitly state anyone’s sexuality or gender, but the description for how Vanya feels and acts about love definitely sounds like demisexuality (As a side note, there is also casual sapphic, Achillean, and non-binary/genderfluid representation, which is really great to see!). The characters themselves are extremely interesting, and I loved how they play off of one another. This leads to a lot of banter and comedic moments, such as when one character wrote in their journal so many astute observations about another character that the other character was shocked and almost indignant about the description. It made me genuinely laugh out loud!
I’ve fallen in love with this story, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who loves antiheroes, fairytale retellings, and found family. 5 stars.

Little Thieves is the first book in the young adult fantasy series of the same name by author Margaret Owen. Little Thieves is a Goose Girl re-telling, but I am going to be perfectly honest with you- I was not familiar with the tale of the Goose Girl and I still loved Little Thieves. In fact, I loved it so much that I might check out the story of Goose Girl now. Little Thieves is a fascinating story that does not feel like a regurgitation of the same ole tale. I loved how unique this book felt. I quite enjoyed all of the characters, and the narration style with some flash back- fable style tales woven throughout to define and separate the parts of the story. If you are a fan of morally grey characters, then I think Little Thieves is a book that you will fall in love with. 

In Little Thieves, we meet our main character Vanja, who is abandoned by her mother and turned over to the gods of Fortune and Death. Because of this upbringing, Vanja can see her "mother's" hands at work in her every day life, and she uses this sight to her advantage. But Vanja desperately wants to be independent and free from servitude, so when she sees an opportunity to because the princess she is a lady maid to, she seizes it. Vanja then takes over Princess Giselle's life with a pair of enchanted pearls, and uses her royal identity as a way to rob the rich right from under their nose. Throw in a horrible betrothed, a secret plot, a curse and some meddling detectives and you have a really interesting tale that I could not put down. 

There is also a hint of romance, nothing too big, but I did really enjoy the romance that was woven throughout. I also fell in love with the whole cast of characters. They were all really compelling, and well developed. I think a surprising favorite of mine was Ragne. When Vanja steals a token to a god from one of the nobles, she angers said god and receives a curse. The curse is to give her the riches that she wants, by literally turning her into jewels. Throughout the story, Vanja keeps growing Rubies and Pearls on her body unless she can figure out a way to break her curse. I loved Ragne so much! Like Margaret Owen's other novels, she manages to create a vast world with several different plots and a large cast of characters effortlessly. I love her writing style and world building because it is so transportive. If you are a fan of longer character driven stories featuring morally grey main (or villain) main characters, I think Little Thieves is a book you should have on your TBR. I really loved it!

Star Rating:
3.75⭐️

Publication date: October 19, 2021

Read this if you like:
The main character gave me Jude Duarte (The Cruel Prince) vibes. The atmosphere and world building reminded me of The Bear and the Nightingale and Spinning Silver

What I Liked:
⚪️This is YA but the characters and their relationships are complex, well-developed, and interesting.
⚪️The dialogue is funny and sharp.
⚪️The world building is fun and the diverse representation is great. I’m looking forward to more in this series.

What I Didn’t Like:
⚪️The story felt a bit too long. The transitions between scenes were somewhat drawn out.
⚪️Similarly, the pacing felt uneven particularly in the first half but it didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of this one.

Would I recommend it: Yes! It’s a fun read with characters who are scrappy and funny. I was rooting for Vanja and her friends throughout the entire story.

WOW. A HUNDRED WOWS. It has been AGES since I read a captivating, incredible YA book like this one. I can’t even begin to describe just how well-written it was, from the hilarious and snarky narrator to the world-building to the complex and believable characters. I already want to pick it up and read it again.

Let’s start with the world-building, because DANG was it done right. Everything was introduced by Vanja, the MC, in a perfect way. While there was a lot to learn, it was shown by what Vanja did and what she was thinking, rather by long passages of explanation. It never felt confusing or like an info dump, and I applaud authors who can weave their world-building so seamlessly into their narrative.

Vanja was a PERFECT main character. She was hilarious, sarcastic, and so, so real. I loved her strength, her conviction, her intelligence. Sure, she may have been a conniving little goblin, but I’m not holding that against her. I’m fact, it’s probably what I loved most about her.

And did I mention the names she gave our favorite Prefect, Emeric Conrad? Some of my favorites being “a day-old breadstick” and “a personified pocket ledger.” I could not get enough of all her ridiculous banter with that bespectacled boy who clearly thought her antics were waaay beneath him.

Combine these two with the half-god Ragne (who stole the show, in my humble opinion) and a small group of amazing side characters, and you’ve got a story worthy of all the praise it’s going to get.

If Little Thieves isn’t on your TBR, add it RIGHT NOW. If you need me, I’ll be shouting from the rooftops about this one for the foreseeable future.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

If someone had pitched this book to me as "Germanic folklore meets a heist book," I could not have said yes fast enough, and I am ecstatic I did.

For fans of Naomi Novik's "Spinning Silver," Andrzej Sapkowski's "The Witcher," and Leigh Bardugo's "Six of Crows," Margaret Owen's newest book will steal your heart, and the main character might just give it back.

It may take a while for the reader to discover this a beautiful, haunting retelling of The Goose Girl tale, because our main character is not the princess, but instead the maid who steals her identity. While at times Vanja, our protagonist, falls into the Young Adult genre "thief" archetype, she is struggling with more than how to get away with the heist; Owen has created a complicated, and at times unlikeable, main character who struggles with PTSD, abuse, and wanting to be loved by the only mothers she's ever known (who, by the way, are the gods Death and Fortune).

Aside from Vanja, we have a litany of other colorful characters: the daughter of a god who cursed her, the princess who harbors resentment for Vanja stealing her life, a charismatic bard (who was slightly one-dimensional), and the Milo Thatch-esque prefect who's been sent to investigate her crimes. Owen does a good, but not great, job of defining all these characters and giving them their own personalities.

But the setting, mysteries, and page-turning plot make up for any fault in characters. The Germanic and Slavic lore bled from the pages of this book, making each description a delicious treat. Owen also does a wonderful job with the magic system, as well as the portrayal of the gods as fickle and, at times, fallible.

While I wish I could've gotten more from the ending (perhaps a time-skip to see where our cast ends up), I think the ending was more than serviceable and was extremely satisfying. There seemed to be a small nod to feminism at the end, that did feel slightly out of place since I didn't get that theme throughout the book (it seems more to tackle class issues), but did not take away from anything.

In the end, this is a book I look forward to putting on my shelves.

When one feels pushed into a corner what extremes will they go to in order to escape and forge their own path? Vanja Schmidt has been given a life where everything has been decided for her. From being born the 13th child of a 13th child to being given up as a child to Fortune and Death. When her life continues to be driven by her circumstances Vanja decides to take her own life back and try to create a life where she is in charge of her choices. But to break free of her current life means that she has to step on some others lives in order to reach her goal. Driven by her desire to be free Vanja is cursed, and on top of that her "fiancé" is out to kill her. Can Vanja find a way to work with some unlikely allies to create a life where she is free to be who she wants to be or will she be trapped by others choices?

Overall I quite like this book. Vanja is a firecracker of a character, and I like that her back story comes out more and more throughout the tale helping the reader get a more complete look at why she is the way she is. Death and Fortune add an interesting twist to the story. Their interaction with Vanja really adds something which drives the story in a positive manner. Emeric is also an interesting character, whose nerdy, quite presenting self helps to drive Vanja to become a better person. One who realizes that sometimes one doesn't always have to step on others to reach their goals. Honestly all of the characters are easy to get to know and easy to want to stand behind, and the fact they have some of their own personal twists and turns helps make the story not just seem on note. I truly liked this book. I am excited to share it with any fantasy loving reader in the near future.

Thank you Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy.

This book got me hooked at the start, but I got lost a bit in the middle and was left unsatisfied. The main character was a bit grating at times, and it made it hard to really sympathize with her. The plot kept me interested enough to keep reading, but I didn't really fall in love with the characters enough to fully enjoy reading. The ending also left much to be desired in terms of setting up the following book(s) in the series.

This was really good! It is a retelling of The Goose Girl but from the maid's point of view. And wow, it was so well done! I read Shannon Hale's retelling of this fairy tale last year, but the target audience of that series (which I enjoyed) is middle school, while this targets teen/young adults, and you can definitely see the difference. I've read a number of retellings recently, but this one stands out a bit above the rest. For one, it takes a lesser-known tale and completely expands it to create a very interesting world with spirits, lesser gods, witches and warlocks, and shape changers. The protagonist is not the princess, but the maid who took her place. This book started out pretty slow as you learned who the players were and what exactly was going on. In fact, it wasn't until about 25% in that I became truly immersed in the story. But when I got there, I didn't want to stop. Vanja was not always the most likable of characters, but it wasn't so much that I disliked her at the beginning as I got frustrated with her because I wanted her to make a different choice. And yet, the author did an excellent job making you care about what happened to her. I loved the little "once upon a time" passages that took place in interludes that allow you to step back a little and see the bigger picture.

This was not a fast-paced book, but it felt like one of those tales where you sit by a roaring fire with a warm drink and you listen to a storyteller weave the tale throughout the room. I absolutely loved this story and I can't wait to read future books in this series. But even though this book is apparently part of a series, I love that the ending was very satisfying, and while it left you wanting more, it didn't leave you hanging!

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Little Thieves was perhaps one of the most interesting retellings that I have read in a long while. Loosely adapted from The Goose Girl, the story tells the tale of Vanja, a young girl abandoned by her mother at the age of four and left in the care of the Low Gods, Death and Fortune, as her new godmothers. In order to live her own life, she needs money and in order to do that she takes on the persona of several different characters, all with the help of an enchanted string of pearls which aid in her becoming the Pfennigeist(or Penny Thief), a name earned because of the red pennies she leaves in the bare coffers of her victims. On one particular evening of thievery, she is caught byh another low god, whom she offends and who curses her as a result of her greed.
This story was absolutely fascinating. At the very beginning, the prologue hooked me in in such a way that I hadn't been hooked into a book in a long while and the writing got even better from there. I was anxious at times, filled with mixed emotions and dread when ominous things were happening, and really loved how the story developed Vanja's character. She was very a very unlikeable anti-heroine from the start but the callousness of her wore of and I really enjoyed her character by the end. Little Thieves is one of my favorite YA books I've read yet this year and I will definitely be getting a copy.
**Arc Received for honest review**

Very solid read for me! I’ve not read a book from Miss Owens yet, and I can say that I’m very impressed. She did a great job of telling the story of the antagonist and also managing to tell so many plot lines at once to thread into a larger story line.

Little Thieves follows Vanja in what is a retelling of The Goose Girl. After switching places with the princess, previously as a hand maid, Vanja must meet deadline after deadline as this curse she has been placed under runs out of time. Did I mention the princesses’ fiancé (her fiancé for now) is also returning, someone who she must steer clear of?

This book was a wild ride and I highly recommend you give it a go!

I went into this story honestly thinking it was going to be a Little Red Riding Hood retelling based on the look of that stunning cover. I will tell you that I was quite surprised when in fact in was a story about a young girl's journey along the complicated road of finding who you are and want to be, fighting for that identity but learning your personal limits (will you kill to reach your goals, sacrifice your friends, etc), but most importantly realizing you are worth it.

Vanja has felt like she has never been wanted. First her own mother abandoned her at 4yo at the crossroads between Death and Fortune to take because she was the 13th child of the 13th child. Feeling pity on her, the Low God's decide to keep her for a couple years, then leave her to be raised in a castle as a scully maid. Her ill Fortune continues from there where she is beaten and almost starved, worked hard and given very little sleep. She thinks good fortune has turn when she gets asked to be sent along with the Lady's daughter to her fiance the Golden Wolf, but Vanja comes to learn she is just be used as a plan to keep the vile man from hurting her Lady.

Vowing to take her life in her own hands, Vanja hatches a plan to steal the life of her Lady so she can buy her freedom from the castle and the Low God's. She would no longer have to be a lowly servant, but an equal. She can finally be loved for who she is, finally be wanted. The only problem is the wolves are circling ever closer and the Lady is crying 'THIEF!' Vanja may have stolen from the wrong person because now she has 14 days to break a curse or she dies. Nothing she can't handle, right?!?

This story is beguiling and enchanting as it weaves folklore and myth. Romanian or possibly Scandinavian-like mythos brings an old-world feel to this story grounding the world-building in a believable realm that is just beyond the mist. It's gripping and heart-rending as the author unfold the stories of each of her characters, the depth of their development and the time she took to really flesh them out can really be appreciated once the story is complete. As always, it's a story that hits on multiple themes, can relate to different types of readers in many different ways.

** Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to leave an honest review in exchange of a copy of this book **

Title: Little Thieves
Author: Margaret Owen
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Vanja Schmidt knows that no gift is freely given, not even a mother's love--and she's on the hook for one hell of a debt. Vanja, the adopted goddaughter of Death and Fortune, was Princess Gisele's dutiful servant up until a year ago. That was when Vanja's otherworldly mothers demanded a terrible price for their care, and Vanja decided to steal her future back... by stealing Gisele's life for herself.

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 the wrong god and is cursed to an untimely end: turning into jewels, stone by stone, for her greed.

Vanja has just two weeks to figure out how to break her curse and make her getaway. And with a feral guardian half-god, Gisele's sinister fiancé, and an overeager junior detective on Vanja's tail, she'll have to pull the biggest grift yet to save her own life.

Confession: I almost stopped reading this about 15 times in the first 20%. It just started out so slow, and Vanja just wasn’t a very likable person at all. Fortunately, she started learning and changing after that, so she became more tolerable. After that, I enjoyed this story immensely.

The setting was vividly wrought, and the culture was fascinating to me, with the mythology woven seamlessly in, adding depth and nuance to the story. In the end, this ended up being a fantastic read filled with magic, danger, and romance.

Margaret Owen grew up in Portland, Oregon. Little Thieves is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Margaret Owen in exchange for an honest review.)

This was such a fun read!

I absolutely loved the voice of this book. The main character, Vanja, was a delight. She may be one of my favorite characters I've ever read. She was smart, witty, and her inner dialogue was fantastic. Her story, as well as her character arc and journey, were wonderfully written, and I loved watching her grow as the story went.

In fact, the entire cast of characters were to die for. Literally, I would die for Ragne. Everyone from Gisele to Emeric to Ragne holds a place in my heart now! They weren't just secondary characters, there to move the plot along. You got to see their stories as well, and watch them grow. It was a fantastic set of characters to read, and I love that they each held their place within the story and how they interacted with Vanja.

The world as a whole was so interesting. I loved learning about the different Low Gods, and would have really enjoyed seeing more of them. (Though, seeing a load of them at the end was still exciting!) I would gladly dive into more stories set in this world. *fingers crossed*

If you're looking for a fun fantasy read, with a witty and sarcastic main character, an enemies-to-lovers romance, packed with plenty of pain and growth--look no further!

I was very grateful to receive an eARC copy of this book in exchange for taking part in a book tour. I was very excited. This is my honest opinion of the book.

I will admit that I didn’t know that this was a fairytale retelling. I’m not someone who knows all fairytales so it was interesting to learn that it was a retelling of <i>The Goose Girl</i>. I don’t know enough to know whether it accurately related to the fairy tale, but other reviews seem to think it loosely fits.

Vanja makes for a very interesting main character. This is the second book I’ve read recently that had…unconventional protagonists. It’s not that Vanja is a horrendous person, but I’d definitely put her under the morally ambiguous category. She’s a thief, hence the title, but she also does have some reasoning behind her login (even if the reasoning is skewed). I really enjoyed her as a character. She’s quick witted and sarcastic which are two things that I find appealing in a character. I also really enjoyed that throughout the story she began to soften a bit, but never seems to quite lose her edge.

There were a couple of side characters including Emeric, Gisele, Ragne, and Adalbrecht. I will admit that this was kind of an issue with me, but it’s definitely a personal thing and nothing to do with the book. I just have a hard time keeping characters separate in my head and that led to some annoyance for me. I did really enjoy Ragne. I thought she was just a great character, and she stole my heart.

Okay, now the story was really interesting. Vanja is a thief trying to raise money to escape her godmothers. She makes a mistake while attempting a larger heist and finds herself cursed. I loved the idea of it, but I did have a slight issue getting into the swing of the book. I think that’s because, as a fantasy book, things (and the world) have to be explained. Once Vanja was cursed I found that it picked up the pace a bit more and I found myself more interested in the story. Mind you, this was also when Ragne was introduced so I’m not really sure which one led to my interest. The ending did feel a bit light or out of place, but it wasn’t a bad way to end the book necessarily.

I just want to quickly mention my other two issues with this book. I thought at some points that it got overly descriptive, and it just always felt like it slowed the story down a bit. Considering I had a hard time originally getting into this story, the descriptions became a bit much after a while. My other issue is the words that weren’t in English. That sounds bad to say, but it mainly came down to the fact that I found myself having to search out what words meant or else I had a hard time figuring out what was being talked about.

Altogether, this was a pretty good book. A bit more than I would have liked at some point, but I quite enjoyed the characters and the plotline. It was fun and felt controlled. At no point did it feel like things were just happening to happen or that the author had forgotten the plot of the book.

A true romp of a book. Margaret Owen has crafted a world and characters that are so intertwined with each other, it makes reading a true delight. I couldn't count the number of times I laughed out loud, or gasped when Vanja did something particular dangerous or crude. And yet the entire time the story is also a masterful critique on abuse and power dynamics.

Personal favorites were Ragne the shapeshifter and the way in which the Low Gods were used, particularly toward the end. Incredible and witty and altogether fun.

OMG. Maragret Own has TRULY done is again. this book is amazing, immaculate and everything in between! (Will there be a sequel?!?) The worldbuilding was *chef's kiss*: finally a fantasy novel that's immersive and easy to understand. The characters were very layered, I need more <3

CW: abandonment, whipping, abuse, mention of past attempted sexual assault, panic attacks

The author’s debut The Merciless Crow was a favorite of mine because I found it so unique, but I never got around to reading the sequel because it released during the pandemic and I just couldn’t find the right headspace to read and appreciate it properly. But it’s waiting for me on my bookshelf and hopefully I’ll get to it soon. In the meantime, I was very excited for her new book since it’s announcement because I trust her to deliver a very interesting tale. And she didn’t disappoint.

I had never heard of The Goose Girl story before last year and I read a bit about it only in preparation for the release of its retellings like this one as well as Thorn by Intisar Khanani. I never did get to read Thorn but I was quite interested to see how the story would be retold in Little Thieves. What I didn’t expect was the whole fairytale subverted, it’s antagonist given the reins here and the addition of an ensemble cast who make this story a lot more fun. I will say that it took me a while to get into the story - the prose and lines were very attractive and engaging right from the first page but I think it took me a while to get used to the very German (I think) based world. But I think it was at about the 20% mark that something clicked and I couldn’t put the book down after that. The author does a wonderful job giving us a world with cool gods like Death, Fortune, Truth, Justice etc; a story that feels like a dark fairytale but also has a heist like feel, as well as quite a few mysteries to solve, with a few love stories interspersed in between. All the elements blend together very well to give us a thrilling and entertaining ride, while also giving us a few scares.

But the star of this book is our protagonist Vanja. She wears many forms - a princess, a bride to be, a maid, a thief, goddaughter of Death and Fortune - but there’s always something unknowable about her. She maybe looting the nobles riches to earn money so that she can escape, she might be striving hard to forget the life of servitude she used to live previously, she might behave like she is selfish and doesn’t care for anyone and just does everything for herself - but ultimately what she wants is love and belonging even if she doesn’t want to acknowledge that to herself. She is scared that she might be caught, repelled by having to make a choice between her two godmothers, is full of rage against Gisele and her family for treating her like a nobody; but she slowly makes unexpected friends and allies, starts caring for them, shows utmost bravery to save them all, and thinks beyond herself when the moment calls for it. She truly is an unforgettable character.

Emeric on the other hand is an investigator who wants to catch the thief stealing from the nobles. What starts as a cat and mouse game of chase and evasion between them quickly turns into so much more. He is intelligent and earnest and very dedicated, and despite their very opposing professions, Vanja - who is notoriously distrustful of everyone - comes to trust him. They both are represented as demisexual characters which I really appreciated and there are some beautiful lines between them reflecting their feelings.

Most of the other characters play small but significant roles in the story but we never do get to know them deeply because this is a single first person POV story. However, Ragne left a deep impression on me because she is powerful but naive in her own way, a very loyal friend and a sweetheart when in love. Gisele is more hard to like because of her fraught history with Vanja but her altered circumstances and meeting Ragne have changed her, made her more understanding of her faults and given her strength to stand up for herself and others. Joniza only shows up in a couple of scenes but is quite a delightful support. And finally our antagonist who is extremely loathsome and I just kept wanting him to get his just desserts.

In conclusion, this was a fun, entertaining, and very emotionally engaging dark fairytale retelling with a protagonist who keeps making questionable decisions but you badly want her to succeed, and an unexpected group of supporting characters who help her on the way. When I started, I didn’t know it was a standalone but I’m glad it is and the author wraps up the story very neatly. Maybe the romantic plotlines felt a little rushed because of the one book constraint, but I am still pretty satisfied with how much I enjoyed this fascinating story.

Once, many moons ago when I was just a baby Miranda, my friend and I were obsessed with a comic on deviantART. It was part of a challenge where several different artists created characters and storylines set in a world that the person in charge of the challenge had created. Week by week, the artists would post their own comics, and people would vote on which story and characters could go through to the next round.

My friend and I loved the storyline following two outlaws, Annie and the Professor (or as Annie called him, Ginger.) It was hilarious, the characters were well crafted, and the storyline was moving. I loved it so much, in fact, that I followed the artist for the next fifteen years, because I wanted to see what else she would eventually put out.

The artist was Margaret Owen, and I am <i>so excited</i> to be able to read her books.

<i>Little Thieves</i> is a loose retelling of <i>The Goose Girl</i> but focused on the villain of the story, the maid who steals the princess' life. When Vanja steals something she shouldn't and is then cursed by a Low God to repay her debt, she has only two weeks to break the curse before she turns to jewels.

To say this book is a triumph is an understatement. Owen takes the fairytale of <i>The Goose Girl</i> and upends it while still keeping the recognizable bits of the tale. It's creative and the way she uses the bits from the fairytale make sense, in a way that leaves you thinking, "How did she come up with that?" I read the book almost entirely in one sitting. That's how much I enjoyed it.

Perhaps what I enjoyed most was how clearly Owen has taken her ability to create comics and translated it into prose. <i>Little Thieves</i> is bursting with detail that I could visualize very easily simply because Owen knew how to describe what she was seeing artistically in her head into words. I sometimes have trouble picturing what an author is trying to describe; I didn't have an issue here.

All of the things I loved about Margaret Owen's comic on deviantART years ago are present in <i>Little Thieves</i> as well: Wonderfully layered characters, hilarious banter, an interesting world, and a romantic arc that made me squee. Yes, squee. Vanja herself is one of the best YA characters I've read in a long while. She does horrible things, yes, but given the world she grew up in, it makes sense. Owen treats her both with sympathy but also making certain she does, indeed, pay her debts. If the book had simply been entirely of banter between her and Emeric, I would have been over the moon. Owen simply has a way with words that can make you laugh like a donkey -- then pages later, she'll have you tearing up.

Some readers may find the villain to be lacking in nuance, but frankly, the world is full of men like the villain, and I find him all too believably real. The ending may also lack a bit of a punch to some readers; again, I didn't mind it.

I honestly have very little else to say except that I adored <i>Little Thieves</i>, and I'm so looking forward to everything else Owen releases in the future.

The concept is of this one is great, but it draaags! I got to 28% in before giving up. I can’t recall a single thing that happened, and I wasn’t grabbed by the story.

This is one of my favorite books of 2021. The world and characters are so well fleshed out and very easy to picture. Margaret Rogerson has used her trademark wit and clever plotting to whip up a story of a horrible girl, a lawful-good boy, and a kingdom in peril. Without a doubt, this is a novel that leaves you wanting more from this author. I highly recommend this book for teens and adults alike. Please do note the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book, for readers who may be sensitive to topics such as childhood abuse and sexual assault. All topics are, in my opinion, handled with grace and sensitivity.