Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

10 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

callistag1's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Death and Pedophilia

Minor: Addiction, Animal death, Drug abuse, Vomit, Death of parent, and Abandonment

sage_alexandra's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Genocide, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Vomit, Stalking, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship

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

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

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

quill88's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

marleywrites's review

adventurous 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

Margaret Owen, I love you forever for writing this book. I’m writing this review after reading this book for the second time in preparation for Painted Devils. 

Vanja is incredible. I adore Emeric. I could not create a more perfect duo. Add Gisele and Ragne to the mix and you’ve got the perfect conniving crew. 

This story had action, adventure, sleuthing, chaos, and beautiful romance(s). It features a queer normative world. It has magic and gods and politics. It has thieving and scheming. 

This story made me cry both times I read it. Vanja is such a strong character, I love her and I see so much of myself in her story and her fears and her hopes. She is an excellent example of how to write PTSD in characters, without glorifying or romanticizing their traumas. 

Emeric is possibly one of my favorite book boyfriends ever. I’ll leave it at that! 💛

I cannot wait for Painted Devils! I’m posting this review 8 days from the release date!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Sexual assault and Fire/Fire injury

There are moments when a character is triggered by her previous sexual assault. But the sexual assault does not occur on page.

mpbookreviews's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

tinysierra's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“To the gremlin girls,
I would like to tell you something inspiring, but the truth is, when life closes a door for us, it doesn’t always open a window. The good news is: That’s what bricks are for.”

Little Thieves is a work of art. From the gorgeous cover, to the illustrations inside, to the way the story is broken up into 7 tales, to the writing itself. I love how even the Author’s Note is written with care. Be sure to check the trigger warnings! Hanging is mentioned a lot as well as sexual assault/harassment.

This book was confusing to get into at first. In this aspect, it reminds me of how it felt starting Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology without knowing anything about the Grishaverse.

Little Thieves was hard to slug through in the beginning, but it did pick up and then I didn’t want to put the book down. 

I loved the writing style with the way Vanja told the story like a fairy tale.

I love the humor and wit.

You get to really see Vanja’s insecurities and growth through her narrative. You can see how her trauma affects her perceptions of the situations she goes through. 

I loved all the characters, even the side ones! 

The romance was amazing, too. 
I don’t think the word demisexual is said on page but both the main characters are demi <3 

“I’ve read fairy tales, of course, and listened to plaintive love songs, but I never understood why anyone would wake up after a hundred years and marry the prince who broke into their bedroom for a kiss. Or dance with a stranger once and decide to spend the rest of their lives together.” 

There’s also wlw and some other LGBTQ+ rep that’s normal in this world. There is lesbophobia but in more of a “the princess is supposed to produce an heir” kind of way.

I love Vanja and Emeric so much <333 a cat and mouse chase… yes please!!

Update ~ 07-14-2023

Reread before I get into Painted Devils. I definitely found it less confusing and easier to breeze through the second time around.

Update ~ 03-13-2024

If you’re a big fan of Vanja and Emeric’s relationship, read Painted Devils immediately!!! I swear it doesn’t suffer from “second book syndrome.” It’s so amazing.

And check out Margaret Owen’s instagram account (@what_eats_owls) for more art and memes of the characters!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria

Minor: Blood, Excrement, Vomit, and Lesbophobia