Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

11 reviews

bri__'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I LOVED THIS SO MUCH!!! Honestly, I was extremely intimidated by the size and overall vibe of this book but I was intrigued after the first chapter. The writing is phenomenal, the art is stunning and the characters felt like genuine people. There were many plot twists, actual laugh-out-loud moments and a very unique concept. I'm so impressed at how well done this was and I am incredibly interested in reading Painted Devils. I had to focus in the beginning to get used to the world-building and glossary words, but once I was 10% into it, I could not put it down. I refuse to hear any criticism on this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

jane_calamity's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Minor: Murder and War

kiwij96's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Good, solid worldbuilding alongside character development. From the first page, you know exactly who the main character is and why she does the things she does. Sometimes heavy on the symbolism, but I cannot fault the pacing, the twists, the characters, the romance and friendships that seemingly blossom naturally. Nothing in this story feels forced. Poldi and Ragne honestly have my whole heard, and Barthl is on track to be up there as one of my favourites if he appears in the next book. It was genuinely such a delight to read, but it was also so genuinely heartbreaking at the same time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

nafsaila's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious

5.0

Would suggest for Fantasy fans that enjoyed books like Six of Crows or Once Upon a Broken Heart. That complex heist feel with a sprinkle of romance and magic. Our main character wears many different names and with them accomplishes many cunning tasks. She has been taken care of by Death and Fortune, but they aren't ready to claim her as "daughter". She doesn't want to become their servant instead and seeks a way to escape from the kingdom out of their grasp, but living costs money and she needs a start up fund. What's worse, hanging for being caught as a thief or living a life as the servant to a minor god. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

To read my original review of this book (a different edition to this one), go to the following link https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/7aec891b-d918-40c4-b380-27dd080dbbcc

For this reread,  my original opinion of this book still largely stands - this is an incredibly good read chock-full of excellent character development, diversity, plotting, and worldbuilding. And Vanja's snarky, irreverent narration is just GOLD.

I did pick up on a couple of things that I appear to have missed the first time I read this.  The theme of privilege, more specifically around the privilege enabled by wealth, influence, and good looks. What choices do you have to make if you don't possess these things?

The other thing that niggled at me  (and caused me to drop my rating by 0.5 for this reread)was that

no one picked up Vanja's ruse/disguises earlier.

But that was only a minor irritation and did not affect my overall enjoyment.

Onto Painted Devils!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cursing and War

aytac's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

marsh_mall0w's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Sexism, and Violence

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Rape, and Fire/Fire injury

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Full review to come - but for now, let me just say I adored this!

I don't say this often about a book, but I'll say it for Little Thieves - I bow down to Margaret Owen, because this is a work of genius in just about every way.

First of all, let me heap praise on the way this novel has been constructed, because oh, wow. The only way I can describe it is like one of those Russian matryoshka (or nesting) dolls. The overall novel is divided into three parts. Within each part are "tales" - initially told in the third person in a fairy-tale style to illuminate a past event, before switching back to the present day in first person, our narrator and (somewhat anti) heroine, Vanja. And that isn't even the end of it, because each tale is further divided by chapters. Confused? Don't worry, it makes sense once you read it. Oh, and one more thing - the beginning of each "tale" is accompanied by stunning black-and-white illustrations, which I have just discovered that Owen created herself. Seriously, it isn't fair how one person can have THIS much talent.

The world-building is brilliantly intricate and comprehensive, which isn't something I say a lot when it comes to fantasy novels. But this one was *chef's kiss*.

Diversity in characters is spot-on, too. Even though this world is clearly inspired by central Europe, within that Owen has taken care to include people of other ethnicities and religions, briefly sketched but still vivid. LGBTQIA+ rep is also pretty solid, with various minor (and major, although I won't spoil who) characters who identify as being somewhere on that spectrum.

And the characters, I could go on and on (except for Adalbrecht, he's evil and nasty, and Irmgard barely rates a mention for the same reasons). First up, Vanja. I really appreciate how Owen wrote her character. Almost straight away I admired her cleverness and ingenuity, although she wasn't the most likeable at first. But Owen dropped subtle hints as to why Vanja behaves the way she does before it is explicitly revealed later on in the novel. I figured it out pretty early, and it was nice to be proven (mostly) right. 

Emeric is an absolute cinnamon roll, and I loved the way he

turned the tables on Vanja

and their eventual

romance was developed subtly and beautifully

. 

Ragne is hilarious and I adore her cluelessness, humour, spark, and honesty. The character of Gisele was well done too, and I loved the

development and backstory of her relationship with Vanja

. I also enjoyed the minor characters, like Joniza, and Ummaya - and who could forget Death, Fortune, and the formidable Eiswald (

Ragne's mother

).

The plotting was excellent too, and that final climactic twist had me gaping. 

I'm pleased to hear that there is a sequel coming, and I'm looking forward to reading it when it comes out. Brava, Margaret Owen!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Cursing

sarahaf712's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Violence, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Police brutality, and Toxic friendship

oddduck's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I like stories that are assembled with the precision of a watchmaker. Every detail matters. Each tiny piece works together to move forward. If one thing is even slightly off, the story doesn’t work the way it should.

This is one of those stories.

500 pages is getting to be on the long side for me, so I was expecting a little bit of drag. There was none. Every single scene in this book is there for a reason and 500 pages practically flies by. Yet it also didn’t feel like we were moving too fast at any point.

The plot came at just the right pace and with just the right amount of detail that it all came together perfectly in my head, without me figuring out the end too soon/easily and without me feeling frustrated because I didn’t have enough information until the very last second. I figured out part of Adalbrecht’s plan shortly before Vanja and Emeric did, which was ideal timing for me. And everything I hadn’t figured out fell into place as it was spelled out. This plot was like a carefully conducted symphony and it went off without a hitch.

I also loved all the characters, even when some of them weren’t particularly likeable. There’s such a clear motive for their actions that though I may not agree with them, I understand and feel sympathetic for them (except Adalbrecht and Irmgard, they’re both just terrible – that’s a compliment though). They were all so beautifully written, but Vanja and Emeric were the standouts for me.

Vanja’s character arc was incredible. I, admittedly, have a soft spot for characters who have been so hurt they think the only way to protect themselves is to close themselves off and harden their heart, and Vanja is no exception. I love this type of character because it’s moving to see them learn to love and be loved again (even if they’re dragged into it kicking and screaming, like Vanja). The way she grows over the course of the story - going from hating/resenting Emeric, Ragne, and Gisele to calling them her friends and making peace with her past and wanting Emeric to catch her - is brilliantly done. It feels natural and inevitable.

I fell for Emeric in exactly the way Vanja did (er, that is his façade, not the kissing part). It was absolutely delightful to find out how wrong my impression of him was. Like, I actually laughed out loud at the reveal and I’m gleeful just thinking about it. I liked the façade, but the real Emeric was even better. He’s smart and flawed and eager to prove himself and he cares so deeply. He’s just such a great character and Vanja’s many descriptions of him are both correct and hilarious.

There’s also the obligatory shout out for the art, which was done by Margaret Owen as well. She’s talked about a lot of the symbolism and composition of each piece on her twitter, and it’s definitely worth a read through. The art on its own is beautiful, but her explanations of it make it even better.

There is so much else to talk about in the book - the structure, the fairy tale, the casual queer rep, the demi rep (!), the magic system, the rest of the world building, the creatures (Poldi!) - and it’s all so, so good. Honestly, I loved every single thing about this book and I could talk about it for hours. The highest praise I can give it is this: I want to take this book apart like it’s a clock to see how it works. What an absolutely phenomenal book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Violence, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, and Alcohol