“I am a daughter, lover, legend, ghost. I am the Pfennigeist. I am Vanja Ros. And this is my story.”

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, for granting me an advanced reader copy of Holy Terrors.

Margaret Owen has done it again.

The final book in the Little Thieves series has been a total page turner. I loved the first book, I adored the second book and I COMPLETELY fell head over heels for the final one.

Watching Vanja’s journey to self love and self discovery has been a tear jerker. She is literally the bravest girl I have ever known. The characters are again : AMAZING. The storyline: CHEF’S KISS. Everyone has their own lives and it never feels like they’re just there to fill in the gaps. The writing is even more amazing this time??!! And the plot twists !?!? The whole angst and pining and the whole ass sherlock holmes shit. The banter between Vanjameric. Lilje. Kirkling. Gisele. Benno(my sweet sweet boy). I loved every second of the book and would give my right kidney to have my memory erased just so I could read it again.

Vanjameric’s story has come to an end but my love for them will never end. mic drop.

This last book is more similar to the first book, which made me realize how full circle the story was going to close out. All the hard work done in books 1 and 2 were going to be paid off in full swing, and I sat up as a reader and started paying close attention to the mysteries Vanja and Emeric had to solve.

HOLY TERRORS was gas gas gas all the way to the end with brief stops of soft moments that doesn't let you breathe, but forces you to cry instead (and I cried many times, I like the angst thank you). I think part of the fun is being in Vanja's head. She is still a terrifyingly funny character despite her dire circumstances. I adore her so much and I have to give Owen credit for being able to write first person so incredibly, because it's a skill I haven't seen done well in a long time.

On more craft and prose: I don't know anyone who is as gentle with their readers like Margaret Owen is. Consistently, she acknowledges that there is a lot of pain in the world, and people have wounds and scars much like her characters do. Not only does she acknowledges it, but she provides care, advice, and space. Owen is an unbelievable writer; I aspire to achieve an ounce of her skills.

Overall, a beautiful ending. Everyone should read this series. Every writer should attempt to make a series as compelling as this. I'm so glad LITTLE THIEVES was written because I can now embed it into my soul as well.

(And to those curious, yes, please read THE FALLOW YEAR on ao3. It helps.)

While the premise was nice, the writing was... not what I expected. I wanted more from the characters because I felt that what was on the front cover and the front flap was not what we were given.

Title: Holy Terrors
Author: Margaret Owen
Genre: Fantasy, YA   
Rating: 5 out of 5

It's been nearly two years since Vanja brought down the cult she started, and she’s still paying the price. As the Pfennigeist, she bucks the law in order to help the desperate and haunt the corrupt all across the empire—and no matter what, she works alone.

But an impossible killer is tearing through royalty, and leaving Vanja’s signature red penny on every victim. Suddenly the Pfennigeist is no longer a folk hero but a nightmare. When even the Blessed Empress falls, the empire’s seven royal families must gather to elect her successor within a matter of weeks, or risk the collapse of reality itself… even though it puts every house in the killer’s sights.

Vanja tells herself she’s wading into the royalty’s vicious games only to save the name she made, and the loved ones also in jeopardy. But the Order of Prefects has also put their sharpest official on the case, the one who swore he’d always find Vanja—until she broke his heart. Journeyman Prefect Emeric Conrad may no longer be the boy Vanja knew, but they’ll have to work together one last time to have any chance of surviving the deadly catastrophe coming for them all.

With bloody conspiracy, sinister magic, and old adversaries closing in, it will take everything Vanja has to save not just the people she loves, but the future she’s fought for.

I really loved this! Vanja’s voice, her wry sarcasm, is just so on point it had me laughing all through the book. She’s a great character: she can see her flaws, but she just goes ahead anyway—and somehow it works out for the best (mostly). Emeric is so uptight it makes me laugh—and Vanja’s descriptions of him are even funnier. Junior and the sausages probably made me laugh the most.

As far as the murder mystery…I never had a clue what was going on, who was going to die next, or who the murderer was—much less how Vanja was going to figure out the whole mess. I enjoyed all of this book immensely!

Margaret Owen has a degree in Japanese. Holy Terrors is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 4/1).

Holy Terrors
by Margaret Owen
Pub Date: Apr 01 2025

It's been nearly two years since Vanja brought down the cult she started, and she’s still paying the price. As the Pfennigeist, she bucks the law in order to help the desperate and haunt the corrupt all across the empire—and no matter what, she works alone.

But an impossible killer is tearing through royalty, and leaving Vanja’s signature red penny on every victim. Suddenly the Pfennigeist is no longer a folk hero but a nightmare. When even the Blessed Empress falls, the empire’s seven royal families must gather to elect her successor within a matter of weeks, or risk the collapse of reality itself… even though it puts every house in the killer’s sights.

Vanja tells herself she’s wading into the royalty’s vicious games only to save the name she made, and the loved ones also in jeopardy. But the Order of Prefects has also put their sharpest official on the case, the one who swore he’d always find Vanja—until she broke his heart. Journeyman Prefect Emeric Conrad may no longer be the boy Vanja knew, but they’ll have to work together one last time to have any chance of surviving the deadly catastrophe coming for them all.

With bloody conspiracy, sinister magic, and old adversaries closing in, it will take everything Vanja has to save not just the people she loves, but the future she’s fought for. In this thrilling final chapter of the Indie Next series Little Thieves, New York Times-bestselling author Margaret Owen shows us the pain and beauty of choosing which demons to face, and which to forgive.

Good lord this was a hefty book. I am almost scared to see how thick the physical copies are.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillian for an advance copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

This book seriously could have been split in two, I feel like the story we ended with is so drastically different from the start of the book. For good chunks of the story I didn't even know what was going on, I was just going along with it. But then we get some scenes with Vanja and Emeric that are just....*chefs kiss.*

The first half of the book is very political. The world needs a new holy emperor, and the candidates keep being killed off. There are guesses on who is doing it, but Owen found a way to surprise me with that reveal. Then we find that Vanja and her Pfennigeist powers are shifting into something she does not enjoy, but we don't really know why or how she will solve it. Plus, the power of the Prefects is also wonky with no real rhyme or reason why.

Then we start getting time jumps, and multiple timelines, and.....the story gets a bit convoluted. Everything plays a part in the story as a whole, but there were times where I found it hard to understand what was happening and what was real or not. These are the parts I was just along for the ride, and I still found them enjoyable.

The book gets pretty crazy toward the end, and there is a lot of commentary on the power of stories and how easily the "powerful people" can be corrupted by their own power. Vanja, of course, brings everything crashing down in a way only she knows how. Even with faced with disdain from those around her, she still sees what is right and knows how to fix it. Even without the Low Gods on her side.

Overall, this book is a wild ride from start to finish, with no real slow parts in between. The story shifts and grows as the story goes on, and Vanja has a greater character arc than the first two books combined. I enjoyed this one more than book two, but nothing will ever beat the first in this series. I am happy with the conclusion of this trilogy, and I can only hope for the best for these characters moving forward. Thanks for letting me part of this world one more time.

Content warnings: violence, death, torture, surprise pregnancy, murder, classism, child abuse, emotional abuse, abandonment, sexual assault, blood, police brutality

I am literally sobbing, I will never be over this. I love this series, I love these characters. I can’t believe it’s over and done, and I am going to go cry for the next 24 hours, thank you.

Thank you so much for allowing me the honor of reading the ARC.

The Little Thieves trilogy has been one of my absolute favorite series I’ve ever read! I’m so excited to receive an eARC of Holy Terrors from NetGalley!

I was so glad to be sucked back into this world with these characters. Vanja is such a lovable character, flaws and all, with such a great sense of humor I laugh out loud. Every character from the main characters to the side characters all return for this final installment and I missed every single one of them!

This final book was the cherry on top of a fantastic series. Literally, this is the way every single book series should end. There was action, humor, and so many twists and turns that it kept me on my toes the whole time. Everything came together in such a great way that I teared up at the end. Vanja and Emeric’s relationship has my whole freaking heart. From beginning to end, they are seriously just the cutest ever. I’m not really one for “book boyfriends,” but if I did, Emeric would be near the top for sure. We love a nerd! There were quite a few extra characters for Holy Terrors that it did get a little confusing at times to keep track of who was who but it wasn’t too bad.

Honestly just the best end to a series I’ve read in a really, really long time. Definitely in the top books I’ve read this year so far! Add it to your list because you won’t regret it! Thanks again to NetGalley for an eARC!!

Thank you, NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

It's been two years since Vanja brought down the cult she started, but as the Pfennigeist she bucks the law in order to help those in need and she's becoming a symbol for them, haunting corrupts, helping people. Even though she works alone, after leaving Emeric.
But there's a killer killing royalty and blaming her, leaving her signature red penny on the victims. The Pfennigeist is no longer a hero, but a criminal and Vanja herself could risk to change, if she doesn't do something soon. When the Blessed Empress falls, the empire's seven royal families are gathered for an election or risking the reality itself, Vanja and Emeric's paths soon intertwined again. Now a Journeyman Prefect, Emeric has to work again with Vanja in order to find out the real culprit and protect their loved ones.

With conspirancy, magic, pearls, evil brothers, old adversaries, Holy terrors is the last chapter of the trilogy started with Little Thieves and it's gonna break, hurt and heal your poor heart! Reading this book was an experience. I was moved, I laughed, I cried, I wanted to hug and slap Vanja and Emeric, to hold them and protect them from the world and magic and to give them their happy ending.
Wow. This book was a journey. Not only a murder mystery intertwined with gods and magic, but also the final step of Vanja's journey of self-healing, self-love and self-worth, started in the first book.
After leaving Emeric, fearing their relationship could hurt his career, after that painful cliffhanger, Vanja, through Margaret Owen, came back with a bloody conspirancy, gods and love, old enemies and friends and the chance to heal everything and everyone.
I LOVED this book with all my heart. It was funny and brilliant and full of twists and mysteries and magic, incredible and unexpected moments.
Stunning from start to finish.

margaret even if you stabbed me in the heart a thousand times, i would still experience less pain than this book caused me.

one more dance!?
ONE
MORE
DANCE????

i’ll never recover and never reading another book cause nothing will ever compare.

Holy Terrors wrapped up the Little Thieves trilogy nicely, though it didn't quite match how much I enjoyed the second book. I remain frustrated with Vanja, and the universe-hopping left a little to be desired.

Wow just wow. I am a little loss for words right now and very emotional with this ending. This series is so important to me because it was truly the first fantasy book I read where my own community was effortless displayed. The best part was in this world being a part of the LGBTQ+ community was normal, and no one seemed to even think twice about it. There was not "coming out" and everyone effortlessly flowed with who they loved and wanted to be. Margaret will never know how meaningful that is to me.

I will say I am sufficiently OVER THE MOON with the ending, and I am heartbroken that it is over. Vanja is one of my top favorite FMCs. She is perfectly flawed and hilarious; she always makes me laugh with her snarky comments. This book was everything I needed from adult Emeric and adult Vanja; I really felt their growth in this book. They finally began to understand themselves and each other, which was what I hoped for most in this series. Despite, Vanya being the "runaway bride" most of the time in this series for once I felt the script flip on her and she had to really look in the mirror in this final installment. I was truly afraid for Vanya in this one because I felt that she was not going to get out of this one alive, I was biting my nails at every turn and was terrified that Margaret was going to kill my dear Vanya. Thankfully all my favorites lived through the horrors of a final book in a series, and I was happy in the end. Owen perfectly tied this book up and still had me on my toes even in the last couple of pages, she introduced a new "who dun it" plot and we saw a side of Emeric and Vanya that we had never seen before. Owen introduced new characters and lore effortlessly and was able to tie it into the ending without any loose ends. She brought back old characters and all the people you love and hate. It was the perfect culmination of this series; I felt that at the end it was the perfect circle for Vanya. Throughout this book and series, I laughed, I cried, I gasped, and I held my breath, and I kept falling more and more in love with these characters and this world. I wish I could forget it all and read it again for the first time.
Margaret Owen is an AUTOMATIC buy and read for me for the rest of my life. This series is one of my most favorite and I would read 10000 more pages of this world and these characters. She could keep writing and I would keep reading and buying. This series is unique, and her stories are one of a kind and you will not find anything on the market that is the same. I could go on and on about how great this series was but if you are reading this and spoiling things for yourself you know by now how much I love this series and how dear it is me. I highly highly highly recommend you read this series as it will be complete here soon.

Thank you NetGalley, MacMillan Children's Publishing Group, and lastly Margaret Owen for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Margaret Owen does it again! This is a stunning conclusion to the Little Thieves series. After the events of book 2, Vanja is on her own again and determined to forget Emeric. That is, until people start being murdered and found with her penny in their mouths. He shows up to arrest her and she’s surprised to find him a different man than the one she left behind. They’re rapidly pulled into a deadly chase - one that might end with Vanja changing forever. Owen deals with some dark and heavy topics with grace, as always. She lends humor to heavy scenes without undermining their seriousness. Vanja and Emeric carry deep scars now, but they deal with them respectfully. She may joke about everything, but when it comes to important moments, she knows when to be serious. Emeric may be pushing himself to appear nonplussed by her, but he’s still able to be vulnerable and reject stereotypical masculine reactions, even if it makes his partner think he’s weak. I enjoyed the journey with these two. Everything was incredibly well planned out and detailed. The ending was satisfied for anyone who has spent hundreds of pages with Vanja.

This series is perfect from start to finish…this final installment being no exception! If you haven’t picked this series up yet, go get book one (Little Thieves)! Vanja is one of my favorite FMCs of all time. In this third and final book, it was so refreshing to be back with her and her snark and wit and morally grey perfection. Book three finds royals being murdered under the guise of the Pfennigeist. Without any spoilers for previous books, Vanja knows this cannot be. Emeric and Vanja are split a part but must come together to solve what is really going on. Contending with impending doom, old feelings stirring, and a cast of hilarious characters, Vanja and Emeric must put their past (and current tension) behind them in order to save their world and their friends. We also get the lovely addition of a cat companion, and that is always a welcome change! I can’t even tell you how much I love these characters! Every time I think how funny Vanja is and how much I lover her, I realize that it’s really Margaret Owen as she created her and writes all of her witty lines. Exciting and unpredictable and hilarious, there is also this underlying message of self-acceptance and being good enough as you are. I cannot recommend this series more. It’s YA but I think everyone can enjoy it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Fierce Reads and Henry Holt and Co. for the ARC! Book releases 4/1/25…best believe I have my physical copy pre-ordered!

perfection. argue with the wall.

Vanja got framed for murders of the royal families members. but by the time she found out, the prefects were already on her tail. she couldn’t do anything about it until she proved her innocence. she has no one to help her, not even her godmothers.

this put me on edge the whole time reading and i couldn’t put it down. things escalated quickly. the pace was relentless, so much was happening from Vanja’s intrapersonal struggle, relationship dilemma, and the obvious bloodshed happening around.

this book hurt me terribly. the angst was astronomical i lost count on how many times i cried. it’s as if i experienced everything firsthand due to the first person’s POV. the only thing that prevent me from free-falling into the pit of depression was the jokes peppered throughout the story, interwoven nicely between the tension like a balm of salve after each cuts on my heart.

the characterizations were perfects as usual, both the old or new characters got me in chokeholds. i grew even more fond of Vanja, she’s grown so much since the first book and she deserves everything in the world. i love how resilient, determined, yet vulnerable she was, i love watching her learn to let others care for her and have her back. felt like a proud parent honestly🥲

and the ending!!!! it was perfect. both as the book’s ending and the series ending. btw i’m glad that this book doesn’t use multiple POV because i couldn’t imagine if it does. there would be a body count irl and that would be me not surviving the book.

in conclusion, this book gave me an insurmountable amount of stress, broke my brain, obliterated my heart, but i’d gladly read it again. need to reread the whole series i miss Vanja & Emeric already…

(I was given a Netgalley ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review)

As someone who had the privilege of first reading Little Thieves through a Netgalley arc as well, this feels like a fun little full circle moment. I love Vanja and am so glad this story ended this way.

Margaret Owen is one of those authors that is both so ridiculously good at what she does and yet equally mystifying. That dynamic is fully on display in HOLY TERRORS, a fast-moving adventure that ends a beloved series with a bang and a splash.

The twists and turns Owen took Vanja and Emeric are heartbreaking enough that I almost felt the need to skip ahead while reading to make sure I wasn’t heading into a sea of eternal heartbreak. (Stay for V & E, leave because of everything else.) A likely unpopular opinion here, if I may: this series, while delicious, really didn’t need to be a trilogy. The first two books were about flawless in their execution, while this one was lacking in original plot, fear-mongering antagonists (I almost couldn't believe it when You-Know-Who is revealed), and even, at times, consistency. My biggest gripe was the reasoning provided by certain characters (ahem Emeric ahem) when they made decisions that contradicted how they acted in the first two books.

Although Owen delivered on giving us an entertaining spectacle of a read (because of course), the storyline started feeling slightly repetitive and somewhat tired. All told, HOLY TERRORS did still manage to keep me on the edge of my seat. And truly what’s better than that?

Holy Terrors is an impossibly good ending to what has become an all-time favorite series for me, and the only complaint I have is that the era of knowing I have future adventures in this world with these characters seems to be over. Vanja is a masterclass in character work in my opinion. She is so deeply nuanced, so vulnerable, she is allowed to be selfish and loud and too much and yet she is so utterly and wholly human in a world of godly shenanigans. I can't begin to describe how much Vanja's journey means to me, and how deeply I love the characters in this series. Maybe in the future I'll have a better review, but for now all I can say is that this was stunning, heart-felt, action packed and everything I could have hoped for and more. I truly loved it.

My love for this trilogy truly knows no bounds. What an absolutely perfect ending. I’m forever in awe of Margaret Owen’s ability to craft such vivid, tightly paced worlds while remaining so heartbreakingly character driven in her plotting. Like its predecessors, Holy Terrors covers a vast amount of story and absolute breakneck speed - from an identity stealing serial killer to a time loop to mind control pearls - I was certainly never bored! As usual, the humour was absolutely wonderful, and I especially loved the addition of mischievous little Junior tagging alongside Vanja and Emeric’s antics. The longing and heartbreak between those two was so tangible, so very real that I found myself tearing up amidst the laughter. I love how they kept meeting each other where the other was at, kept forgiving, and kept learning how to love. Such a wonderful example of how to do romance in YA fantasy that doesn’t feel overly superficial or too pared back.

Overall, I just loved this story, these characters, and the gripping, inclusive world Margaret created. It’s one I’ll never grow tired of recommending and I’m so excited to have a beautiful hardcover on my shelf next to its siblings come release.

Great writing and character development. Those who read the first two books will be absolutely delighted. This doesn’t feel like it worked as a standalone, it really feels like the three need to be read in order.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing for the ARC.