I requested this book on NetGalley because I loved The Merciless Crow and I am always game for a retelling; this story did not disappoint!
First, I loved the main character, Vanja. She’s clever, stubborn, and utterly lovable even though she’s a disaster. I truly felt for all that she had been through and honestly cheered her on through her schemes.
Secondly, I loved the plot. I read this book on two days because I just couldn’t stop reading it. I kept thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it. I desperately tried to slow down while I was reading to make it last, but I couldn’t. It was paced perfectly and kept me guessing.
Thirdly, books rarely make me laugh out loud, but Vanja’s descriptions of Emeric had me cackling. Calling him “a day-old breadstick with a thirst for justice” and “a personified pocket ledger” are just two examples of the excellent descriptions she had for him.

This book was hot and cold for me. I loved the romance and the almost everything to do with the gods, but many aspects of the Goose Girl retelling felt messy. The book stuffed a talking horse in there to call back to the original story even though the horse had no relevance to the rest of the plot, in which all the new elements added by the author were given all the screen time. Either commit fully to reusing the symbols of the original story, for the whole time, or commit to doing a new thing and don't try to make an awkward callback out of nowhere at the end.

This was a fascinating retelling, but something tonally never quit clicked for me, I'm sorry to say. The main character, Vanja, is a child abandoned to two otherworldy godmothers, Death and Fortune. Vanja is 17 when the book opens, impersonating her former mistress using enchantments, and apparently stealing money in order to make an ultimate escape from her kingdom.

I do like an unlikable narrator, and I wanted to like Vanja, but I think what I found hard to understand were the emotions that were making her unlikable. If I can understand why a character is unlikable, I can get behind their intentions and misbehavior pretty quickly, but with Vanja, I never felt that emotional connection. And in a way, what was happening in the story felt pretty haphazard.

However, what I thought worked well for the book and why I ultimately consider it a fairly promising story with an interesting take, is the fairytale setting. The setting felt magical, and I loved the fairytale interludes as well. I thought the mythology of the lesser gods was also interesting.

I wish I had loved this one more because I thought it held so many promising elements, but it just didn't quite land for me!

So brilliant!!! The main character was snarky and a badass and someone I really enjoyed following. All of the characters were full of life, and the slow burn romance was perfect. Loved it. Definitely recommend.

Okay - full transparency, the last 75% of this book is a 5 star for me, no questions asked. The first act simply felt like a car without gas that I had to force myself to push uphill until it could get the downward momentum needed to enthrall me. It was likely something on my end, having never read an Goose Girl retelling or the original, but I just wasn't pulled in by Vanja until the catalyst.

Once that happened though, and all the players came into the picture, I couldn't really think about anything but reading this. It took me a few days (it's 500 pages but it felt longer somehow), but I was committed to the story and finding out how Vanja and her friends got out of the ever-looming danger they were in.

Vanja was abandoned by her mother at a crossroads, left to the gods of Death and Fortune because it was she was believed she'd be horrible luck to her mother. Death and Fortune become godmothers to Vanja, watching over her as she lives as a servant, but they leave her with an ultimatum at her darkest moment - she must claim one of them and become their servant. This is not an option to Vanja, who has only wanted them to be mothers to her, and so she plans her own alternative - assuming the life of the princess she served and planning an escape from the land they command.

Vanja was a tricky character to love, in large part due to the rocky beginning for me, but her motivations and backstory really make it impossible not to love and root for her. I won't spoil that, of course, but if you're asking "how could I love a protagonist who stole a girl's life and sent her to live on the streets," I promise you, Owens answers that question very satisfyingly. Watching her struggle even when her Godmothers offer her help made me look at her differently, wondering what was underneath the original opinion I held. She'd rather die to a curse than accept their help, and that spoke to the broken daughter in me. By the end of the book I was subconsciously adding Vanja to my list of favorite protagonists, so the emotional journey in this book is top notch.

A not insignificant amount of the love I hold for this book is due to Emeric and Ragne - two characters that absolutely steal the show and endeared themselves to me almost instantly. The former, a junior "prefect" (think cop) who is there to investigate the string of burglaries that has landed Vanja in her expansive ocean of Very Hot Water, and the latter who is the daughter of the god who curses Vanja in the first place. They're both representatives of the very real danger that Vanja faces, and yet they are the vital to the solution - along with Gisele, the girl whose life Vanja stole (who actually plays a decent role in this story and while she's the least likable to me, she has some damn good moments). Also - the dialogue and banter between Vanja and both of these characters is amazing, and well worth the read alone.

I loved the plot of this - with enough action and intrigue to keep me guessing while also answering every question I had. Often with a standalone, there will be strings dropped along the way, not tied into the final bow at the end, but Owens does a really good job of not letting anything slip away. I really loved how Vanja's transformation wasn't as cut and dry as she thought it would be, and I was metaphorically biting my nails as she took the reins and controlled her own story at the end.

I'm bad at ending reviews so - good book, glad I read and I'll be preordering.

4.25/5

I really really tried to like this. I was so excited for this one. It started out interesting and then I just got confused and couldn't get back into the story.
I stopped at 42%. 🙈
It just wasn't for me.

Rating 2 DNF @40%

*Sigh* I really, really wanted to like this book. This book has such a gorgeous cover that immediately piqued my interest. After reading the synopsis I was even more excited to read this story. Unfortunately, that’s where all of the excitement comes to an end for me. I tried giving this book three attempts and still I couldn’t get into it. The writing seemed to be all over the place and almost seemed too rushed. While I love a strong female main character she was not at all likable. I found myself rolling my eyes and I had no interest in what would happen to her. As far as plot goes there were too many good ideas instead of just having one overall great idea. Even though this book wasn’t for me I can see how others might enjoy it.

**Received an advanced copy through NetGalley in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

Thank you Macmillan Children’s, NetGalley and Margaret Owen for the opportunity to read and review this title before publishing. I am SO honored to have been able to, and I adored this story.

Vanja was abandoned as a child, only to become the adopted godchild of Fortune and Death. When she turns 13, she learns that she is expected to serve one of them forever, in return for taking her in. Heartbroken and betrayed, Vanja flees to find her way on her own. She becomes a thief, a liar, a betrayer, a survivor. When she’s later cursed by another low god, given until the next full moon to repay her wrongdoings or face Death, she bands together with an incredibly unlikely group to prove the guilt of a murdering, dark magic using military leader. She learns to fight through her own distrust and selfishness, borne from the necessity to survive in a world hell-bent on leaving her for dead.

This is a Goose Girl retelling, and it was a slow burn for me, in a wonderful way. I didn’t blow through it like I do some things, but this didn’t land as slow either. The writing style is beautiful and unique, told in portions as fairytales of Vanjas life and how to became who she is, and made the choices she has. The world building, pacing and plot development was bar none. Absolutely zero info dumping, and a pace that was believable both for the sake of story and for relationship building. Her band of misfits begins nearly all as enemies, only to grow into a heartwarming family. This book isn’t actually about a heist, but the constant scheming and deception that Vanja and her crew need to pull off definitely give it that feel nonetheless.

Speaking of enemies, let’s talk about PERFECTLY DEVELOPED AND EXECUTED ENEMIES TO LOVERS! Ugh. Vanja and her love interest are such an unlikely pair in the beginning, enough so they they really took me by a certain amount of surprise. Vanja is prickly, distrustful, savage, inspiring and wonderful. The LI is clumsy, clever, noble, intelligent, and charming. Their eventual payoff is so worthwhile and swoon worthy.

I went through a large chunk of this book expecting it to be a 4 star read, not for any qualms or problems, but because it didn’t quite ✨feel✨ Like a 5 star read. The last 30% of this changed the game for me. I could not real the brilliance of this air-tight plot, lovable cast of characters, and uniquely built world with anything less than 5 stars.

If you like retellings, found families, German-inspired lore, the feel of a heist novel, and morally grey heroines (who fall for bash fully noble boys), I am telling you, you need to pick up this book.

This one had some bumps for me, but ultimately I quite enjoyed it. I have a difficult relationship with fairy tale retellings; I want to adore them, but so often the plot overwhelms the characters and the worldbuilding. LITTLE THIEVES rescues itself from that, though the storytelling conceit woven into the book, of Vanja relating her own story in the manner of a fairytale, could have been more deftly handled. The book would have stood just fine alone without those interjections.
Vanja herself is a fun heroine, precisely because she's so prickly and unexpected. From about the 20-40% marks, though, she was annoying me mostly because she was so sure of her own cleverness but so absolutely not getting with the program, and it caused some unfortunate tedium in the storytelling. After the halfway point, though, the book really picks up steam. It's much better the less that Vanja is operating on her own, and it's fun to see the different elements come together at the end.

This book blew me away, seriously. We get right into the action and the plot, which was so refreshing. I also felt that this was a very well thought out interpretation of the Goose Girl myth. I absolutely adored the way Vanja slowly became gems... it was a brilliant idea and executed wonderfully. I don't know if there will be more in this world... but here I sit, waiting.

This is one of the most unique things I have ever read and I am now sold on whatever Margaret Owen wants to write.

This book has: a thief raised by the gods of death and fortune, a calculating detective who is very sherlock holmes-y, curses, magic you've never seen before, demi rep, beautifully written relatonships of all sorts (including strained parental relationships, and platonic friends, and friends to enemies to friends again). This has become one of my new favorite books of all time.

This book was fine. Wasn’t my favorite, but it also wasn’t bad. Pretty standard YA vibes. It follows Vanja, the goddaughter of Fortune and Death. All she wants to do is be left alone and live her live without having to serve someone (either her godmothers or princess Gisele). So when Gisele is more or less sold into marriage to a pretty shady guy, Vanja takes advantage and takes Gisele’s place with the help of magical pearls. She steals from various royals in the attempt to get enough money to leave the country (including her godmothers). But then she steals from the wrong person and gets cursed by a low God. What comes next is Vanja trying to break the curse, figure out what the fiance is up to, and still save herself. Relatively good characters, especially the secondary characters. Vanja can be a bit annoying, especially towards the end. The magic was pretty fun, and having gods just randomly drop in always makes things interesting. Come in without too high of expectations and you can enjoy this one.

For the Gremlin girls.

As soon as Margaret Owen started talking about LITTLE THIEVES, I knew I *had* to read it. Taking the story of The Goose Girl from Grim's Fairy Tales and rebuilding it to be about love, and trauma and survival, and the way those things all weave together, she has built an engrossing world that I literally couldn't put down.

No really. I read 80% of this book between Midnight and 5am, and when I say I Couldn't Put It Down, I mean it.

Vanya was a maid who is now pretending to be a princess as she robs the gentry blind so that she can fight for a future where she is indentured to no one but herself.
Gisele is a princess who has been demoted thanks to the theft of her magic pearls, but who has found who she is in the humbling that was served to her.

Both girls are nuanced, and there were SO many times I was crying on yelling or both. This is a heist and a mystery, and it is all blended so beautifully that it's impossible to pull the threads apart.

Margaret has a masterful grasp of tension, character arc, and it is NEVER as on display as in this novel. I cannot wait to see her next book bc everytime I start one of hers I am AWED by how deeply it hooks into me.

TLDR; Gremlin girl fights for her survival and it's a story that absolutely ought not be missed. One of my top 5 reads for this year, no contest.

A dark retelling that has you guessing the entire time what could possibly happen next. Vanja is such a complex MC and I loved unraveling her layers throughout the story. This story started out with you feeling so strongly for Vanja and then in the next scene you question her moral compass but as the story unfolds you are swept on this journey with her. I love Owen’s writing style and this story is so unexpectedly delicious and dark.

This book was everything!!

I absolutely loved and devoured this book. The fairytale retelling was just brilliant, and I found the entire plot to just be so engaging.
Vanja was a great MC, I absolutely loved her demeanor and character. She was so interesting to read about.
I just loved the pacing and the build up of this book, just amazing writing and world building.

This book was an absolute delight. The heroine is morally gray and absolutely captivating. The banter is A+. The worldbuilding is excellent. There were so many twist and turns and it had the feel of a fairy tale in a really great way. Compulsively readable. Highly recommend.

This book is unlike any other fantasy book I have ever read. I'm not sure if Margaret Owen's previous duology is anything like this book, but I may have to read it now in order to find out.
We start the book with a completely unlikeable thief of a character, who the reader cannot help but root for throughout the rest of the book as she grows and learns. Between her sarcastic comments and other dialogue in this book, it takes on a funny tone that was definitely unexpected from the cover and the synopsis.
Add in the fact that this is one of few standalone fantasy novels in recent years, and this book should easily be able to find a broad audience.

This was a very interesting book and premise and I really liked it. I did enjoy the story. I knew several others who didn't but glad to have given this one a try. I do hope others give it a go and enjoy it as much as I did.

Little Thieves is a retelling of the Goose Girl fairy tale by Margaret Own from the perspective of the maid who stole the princess's identity.

The book starts well. Vanja has usurped the princess's identity and is stealing from wealthy aristocrats in order to buy herself a chance at freedom. Vanja's godmothers, Death and Fortune, have made it clear that a certain time Vanja must choose between serving one or the other her godmothers. Vanja, however, is determined to be in service to no one.

After a heist that she hopes will provide the final amount to buy her freedom, she encounters one of the lesser gods who curses her, but gives her two weeks to break the curse.

So much is going on in Little Thieves, the "princess" is soon to be married off to a brute of a man, Vanja needs to get free before that marriage takes place, the real princess is in the village in much reduced circumstances and justifiably angry, a Junior Prefect arrives to catch the jewel thief--and the story devolves in a half dozen ways.

Much of the Little Thieves is very good. I like the idea of telling the story from the POV of the maid that takes over the life of the princess. Vanja can be practical and funny, but at sixteen, she isn't always seeing the situation clearly. The curse is one that is intended to make Vanja consider events in a different light AND has another purpose besides punishing Vanya.

There is a lot going on, suspense, a little romance, a growth experience, all kinds of complications cropping up.

Somehow though, I was never as invested as I wanted to be. I enjoyed it, but didn't love it.

Two of my favorite fairy tale re-imaginings of the Little Goose Girl story are Shannon Hale's The Goose Girl in her Bayern series and Intasar Khanani's Thorn.

NetGalley/MacMillan's
Teens/YA. Oct. 19, 2021. Print length: 512 pages

3.5 stars

This book has all the elements of a YA fantasy story that I love—thieves, tales and myths and gods, magic, fun banter, redemption, a sweet romance, vanquishing evil horse monsters—but the story takes such a long time to get there that I didn’t quite enjoy this as much as I should.

I love Vanja as a main character. She’s funny and relatable and a great twist for a retelling of "The Goose Girl" fairy tale. The side characters are just as great and memorable too, but there are too many to mention or choose a favorite. The world is atmospheric and expansive. (I can easily see Owen writing another story set in this world.) And the magic is fun.

But even up to the end, things happened and I was scratching my head in confusion. I hate when books pull the rug out from under you, making you think one thing and then the narrator backtracking to tell you what really happened. And unfortunately, that’s what happens with the “big reveal” of how they were going to save the day. Which was epic in the end but still left me feeling thinking, “Come on! Why?!”

That paired with the slow pacing of the first half of the story and the number of things happening left me with mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed it, but I didn’t enjoy it enough. Fans of Margaret Owen’s other books and darker fairy tale retellings are sure to enjoy this, though, and I’ll definitely be recommending it.