Little Thieves (Little Thieves, 1) Hardcover – October 19, 2021

I loved this book. The more I sit on my feelings about it, I’ve come to realize just how well the story was crafted. The book starts off a bit slow, which wasn’t ideal since I was in a bit of a reading slump. It felt like the author was showing us bits and pieces but this all combines to reveal the true story of Vanja and Gisele in such a satisfying way.The side characters Ragne and Emetic are awesome as well. I especially loved Ragne. She was so charming, sweet, and her abilities made the story so much more fantastical and exciting. Her character contrasted with Vanja’s hard edges, making this friendship so endearing.If you’ve read Margaret Owen’s other books you know she is great at world-building and her female protagonists are charismatic and well-developed.MORALLY GRAY PROTAGONISTI’m not familiar with the Goose Girl retelling but I was curious how the author was going to make us sympathize with Vanja. She is truly devious and unabashed in her thievery. You can’t help but feel wary of her because she literally took someone’s identity and left the other person to fend for themselves in an unknown land with little to no money. But the author does just that! I loved how the author explores the definition of morality. And to be honest, it was refreshing to be in the mind of such a scheming and resourceful protagonist. Her methods in duping those around were fun to follow.“I see myself for what I am: a scared girl, alone in a cruel world, abandoned by family and friend, who would rather turn herself to bloodstained stone than let anyone get close enough to leave another scar. A girl who would rather die than serve anyone ever again. Even myself.”PRIVILEGE VS SURVIVALI love how the author didn’t just pit Vanja and Gisele against each other. This isn’t petty rivalry between the two. The anger and bitterness between them is more layered. There are two sides to every coin and the author painted a vivid picture of what it means to have privilege contrasted with the decision desperate people make to survive. Vanja isn’t innocent, but she’s made her decisions because she wanted to grasp control over her own life. She’s been betrayed, neglected, and abused by those she loved deeply. Throughout the book, she learns a hard lesson - quite literally.Gisele in her abandonment begins to learn about the privilege she had and how it blinded her to many things. Gisele's character is probably the least developed in the book. We simply don't get enough page time with Gisele, but that's understandable since we are seeing this from Vanja's perspective.“Little thieves steal gold, and great ones steal Kingdoms, but only one goes to the gallows.”SLOW BURN ROMANCEI didn’t think I would love the romance as much as I did. Emeric is the perfect scholarly hottie that is totally my type of hero. He matched Vanja’s cleverness. This isn’t your standard YA rivals who banter with each other. This is a highly skilled detective pursuing a clever thief. Through their interactions, Emeric begins to see the goodness in Vanja. The devastating truths about her background. The chemistry and understanding between them made me swoon. And it’s not explicitly labeled, but I think both Vanja and Emeric might be demisexual, which is something I haven’t come across much in YA fantasy. The ending! I had the cheesiest smile on my face for how cute and perfectly it described their relationship.Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the story. There is a sequel planned but Little Thieves can be read as a standalone fantasy. The ending is open ended but the events of the book wrap up nicely.

Content warnings: emotional abuse, child abuse, whipping of a young child, girl on girl hate, mentions of the threat of rape, gaslightingRep: queer side characters, sapphic side relationship, male/male side relationship, nonbinary repThoughtsNeutral thoughts:I mainly read this as an audiobook (but I would have the book with me so that I could tab & reread sections when I would get confused about what was going on) & I would recommend to read it like that! The writing style that the author uses sometimes breaks the Fourth Wall when Vanja “talks” to the reader with snarky commentary. (This is gonna sound kind of odd, but I think if you like/liked/loved the new Cruella movie with Emma Stone, I really think you’ll like this!)Outside of Vanja’s predicament that she finds herself in with trying to Right her Wrongs, there are other political plot lines that are happening that Vanja finds herself interwoven with (because of the identity that she’s stolen) that were going on in the background that is forced to the front of the book (if that makes sense) & it felt kind of oddly placed? Not that they weren’t interesting or compelling being that it was also tied to the magic system of this world, but it would just kind of drag me out of Vanja’s PERSONAL story/struggle(s) that when they popped up I would be like “what? Why are we paying attention to this?” And while it EVENTUALLY tied in with Vanja’s struggle, I still felt like we could have been dealing with something else than the predicament/issue that we deal with.Pros:1. I loved the lore, the gods/goddesses & where they get their magic from and how they were created , in a sense from people/societies/cultures2. I liked how there were queer characters and even trans people! We never meet any trans characters (explicitly at least), but they aren’t shunned from society, or seen in a negative lite. Vanja isn’t queer, but two other people of our main cast are queer & it was good to see it3. One of my absolutely favorite things about this book was seeing the messiness of human beings within themselves in relation to their upbringing, of being hurt, angry, taken advantage of, disregarded, or of wanting to be seen. And then we see how all of these things influenced character dynamics/relationships. Vanja was put thru some SERIOUS messed up situations, predicaments, toxic friendships and toxic family relationships & it really had negative affects on how Vanja sees herself, her self worth, trust, love, and friendship. It was a little heartbreaking to see/read what she went thru from the people around her or damage that she was bringing onto herself.4. Ragne. She was my ABSOLUTELY FAVORITE CHARACTER.Gripes:I don’t think I have any?The romance(s):Vanja & Emeric had SUCH good banter between the two of them. They had the rivals-to-lovers dynamic that some of us all love. AND IT IS SUCH A SLOW BURN. Like literally. A slow burn.There IS a sapphic relationship that blooms in this one, and while I’m usually one to state any and all relationships in my book reviews, I’ma keep a closed lip on this one. But I will say that it is between two VERY important characters in this AND IT WAS SO CUTE 😭Characters: (that I think are worth mentioning)Vanja: This girl can’t catch a BREAK. And I honestly felt so BAD for her but I was so happy for her in the end. But seriously be warned, she's a Hot Mess.Emeric: I thought he was funny. Not that he was cracking jokes, but he really made everyone undermine him & then would pull some stuff that stunned everyone with how smart he wasGisele: This girl? I did NOT like her. I could KIND OF see her perspective, but she was one of those girls that had SO MANY DOUBLE STANDARDS that I could not like her at all for being so selfish, disrespectful & inconsiderate. So while she did redeem herself towards the end of the book, I still wasn’t a fan overall 🤷🏻‍♀️Ragne: I LOVED her 😹 I thought she was hilarious & she honestly was one of the best parts of the bookAdalbrecht: Gisele’s fiance. He was really gross to put it lightly.

Amazing world-building prose. Such an engaging, highly detailed and beautifully written story that is so very fulfilling. This book is a must-read!

This is one of my favorite books of all time. It is witty and amazing, and the last sentence of the acknowledgments always makes me tear up. I had to make a new GoodReads shelf because this book was too special to be put with my other favorites, and that should speak volumes.I wanted to leave a review because I noticed in my most recent reread of the book that on pages 367, 377, 378, and 379, the page headers say ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS instead of MARGARET OWEN and LITTLE THIEVES, which is standard throughout the rest of the book. I don't know if this is an issue that anyone else has had, and I really don't mind, but I wanted to let someone know in case this hasn't been caught yet.

I loved this book- and I loved how Vanja’s character was. With that being said I also hated some of her decisions, but you can easily forgive them when you remover her motives and the fact that she’s a teenager.*****major spoiler***And this is just my opinion- but I feel like there shouldn’t have been any romance in this book. Or at least between Vanja and Junior perfect. Felt like they should have just been partners in crime. The romance was forced- and I stand strong in that.

This was just not for me… DNF. I don’t know if I just caught this at the start of a reading slump or if it’s a slow start… I just couldn’t get into it. Got about 30% in and haven’t finished.

"𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬" 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐰𝐞𝐧🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5Okay, let's just start by saying : that cover ?? Just gorgeous. 💖So this book is a retelling of the tale of "The Goose Girl", which I have never read, so I couldnt tell you how close the retelling is to the original story.And it is written from the "Wicked Maid" point of view, Vanja, which let's be honest is SO much more interesting than reading about yet another princess !This might be a long book but it never felt boring, there was always some kind of action or something happening. It just took me longer than it should have because I didnt want it to end...Vanja is just your perfect morally gray anti-heroine. I loved her SO much ! She's like a selfish-sassy Robinhood, stealing from the rich to fill her own pocket !I loved that we understood how Vanja's life led her to that point, as we walked with her through her trauma.She's a liar and a thief, she's selfish, smart, sassy, sarcastic, funny.... She's just a badass, and you gotta love her for it !And against all odds, she's learning to love, herself and others, and be loved.All of the characters are so well written, so amazingly complex ! They really do come to life between the pages ! And I loved them all ! Ragne above all else because she's just the best.I just probably needed a bit of that on the villain's sides too. I get he was bad and all that but I maybe needed a better understanding of his motivations. Just for him to feel as real as the other characters.Also there is a really great LGBTQ+ representation, and I loved that in this world it just was normal, it felt so easy !I dont think I can accurately review this book, because I really loved it so much and I feel like I wont be doing it justice !Did I cry ? Yes, I did.Was it the first time in a long time that I have cried over a book ? Also yes.But please, please, PLEASE, buy a copy of it, and make you own opinion. And I really hope you'll love it as much as I did !I am now gonna go stare at a wall, empty, being crushed under the weight of the book hangover.

When I first saw the cover I couldn’t help but add it to my wish list and then, as time drew closer to the release date, I pre-ordered it. THEN I saw it on NetGalley and without any expectations, I requested an ARC. I got it!Now came the nerves and excitement. Will it be good? Will the cover be the 2nd best thing about it? All those questions. And the answer is…. Oh. My. Vanja!This book is the best High Fantasy I’ve ever read! Granted, I’ve not read many, but this is phenomenal!What an imaginative, rich, vibrant and exciting world you walk into.The world-building is spectacular. Beautiful visions of a medieval-esq Germany. With stunning architectural wonders. A delightful array of characters both good, evil and some a mix of the 2. And a tale that has you so gripped you will struggle to put it down. I was hooked instantly. I wanted to read every single word, absorb all the delicious detail and feel all the emotions that the author wants you to experience.Please read the blurb/synopsis as I won’t include it in my review because I just want to gush about how much I love this book especially the MC, Vanja!Oh my, god! If you are looking for a fierce, strong-willed, flawed, exceptionally funny and supremely snarky/sarcastic MC, Vanja is it!I love her! Everything about her. I love that she isn’t perfect. And the whole reason we are following her tale is because she’s actually somewhat of a villain! I love the way her character develops, the relationships she forms. Seriously, I love everything.And finally, along with the daring Vanja, we are introduced to a beautiful parade of characters that are just a complex and interesting as she is.There’s so many tropes in here that, like me, I know you’ll love. I don’t want to say what tropes as I feel that they might give a hint of what could happen etc .. but if you love High Fantasy, you’ll adore this.There is also fantastic LGBTQIA+ representation.I am so glad I pre-ordered this & can’t wait for my copy that’s due today. I will treasure my copy.A MASSIVE thank you to Hodder & Stoughton and also NetGalley for sending me an ARC ebook in return for an honest review.

Set in a fictional version of Germany, we follow the story of Vanja. Given up as a small child to the Low Gods Death and Fortune who raise her as their own. Vanja is desperately trying to get enough money together so that she can get away from a life she is being forced into, even if that means stealing, impersonating a princess and the occasional bad deed. But she only gives back what the world has done to her.We learn how Vanja has been betrayed, hurt emotionally and physically and how she has learnt that she can only trust herself to look out for her.So, let me say this: I loved this book. It’s a YA fantasy that does not shy away from adult themes without being graphic. The characters are well written and each side character adds well to the story. With demisexual and sapphic love interests that are not seen as a plot point it was very refreshing.The main character was (worryingly) someone I could relate too, obviously not exactly the same because I have not had the same life experiences but I understand the untrusting feeling Vanja has and questioning of people’s motives. Emeric made me laugh and I appreciated that he wasn’t just there for her storyline but had his own. And the bluntness of Ragne gave me warm fuzzies inside!If you are looking for a well paced, heist style fantasy with added sass and characters that show development through the book then this is a great one to pick up!Thank you Netgalley (@netgalley )and Hodder & Stoughton (@hodderbooks ) for the chance to read this book before publication!

Little Thieves has quite possibly jumped and landed in the ranks of one of my favourite books ever and it has certainly taken a place as one of my favourite reads of the year!The narrative of this story was brilliant and captivating. I loved that the beginning of each part was written as if it was a fairy tale. And I loved how parts were told in a way that almost felt like listening to a voice over from the MC over a movie scene.The characters were all well written and well fleshed out, you rooted for them or hated them or simply loved them. I especially loved Vanjas broken, bent but beautiful character and Ragnes naive and unwaveringly loyal character. Hell I loved them all really. I was thoroughly invested in their stories.This amazing tale was full of lessons on learning to trust, friendships and love of all kinds.

Firstly the book is stunning, I loved the cover and the illustrations inside are gorgeous too.The story took a little while to get going and at the beginning I did struggle to remember who everyone was, and keep up with the German wording, but I did get into it very quickly.There was never a dull moment and was filled with complex beautiful characters and constant adventure.I love a badass main character, and Vanja was perfect. Her character development and the journey she went on was great to see, but the enemies to lovers storyline was beautiful.There were so many side characters in the book that I adored too, and every character was described so well.I honestly didn’t anticipate how much I would enjoy Little Thieves and I will definitely be looking out for more of Margaret Owens books.I adored it and rated an easy 5 stars.