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A review by cassie_roberts
Little Thieves by Margaret Owen
funny
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 absolutely loved this book, it took me on a rollercoaster ride of emotions the whole way through it. The book is a wonderful re-imagining of the Goose Girl that is beautifully written, well-paced, and extremely well-thought-out. Despite its length and complexity Little Thieves never lagged for a second.
This story was happy, sad, bitter, sweet, frustrating, and wholesome in a way that was thrilling and impossible to put down. The humor, wit, and banter are well-written and perfectly executed to have you laughing out loud at the most unexpected moments.
The characters are diverse, witty, charming, morally grey, righteously independent, and full of growth. The story follows Vanya, the goddaughter of Death and Fortune. Vanya is the horrible girl at the heart of the story. She is morally grey, she steals lives and she exposes thorny truth. She is positioned as someone who will do anything to survive but she may surprise you yet or not if you love her character like I did.
Each relationship whether it was romantic or otherwise in the story was developed in such a way that it felt real. You got to follow along as characters developed their thoughts and feelings towards one another and it all made sense.
The world itself was incredible. It was atmospheric, dark and mysterious. The story is told like a fairy tale and it had me hooked. The book setting has heavy Germanic influences from the setting, to the food and the language used throughout the book. The books magic system has gods, grimlings, kobolds and general creatures of nightmares. As well as Perfects who are humans connected to the Godly Court who can use witch ash or witch oil to perform magic to protect against the grimlings or to help heal injuries but it comes with a price as most magic does. Overall the magic system is intensely intricate and intriguing and I completely loved the high fantasy nature of it.
I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book - Painted Devils ππ
This story was happy, sad, bitter, sweet, frustrating, and wholesome in a way that was thrilling and impossible to put down. The humor, wit, and banter are well-written and perfectly executed to have you laughing out loud at the most unexpected moments.
The characters are diverse, witty, charming, morally grey, righteously independent, and full of growth. The story follows Vanya, the goddaughter of Death and Fortune. Vanya is the horrible girl at the heart of the story. She is morally grey, she steals lives and she exposes thorny truth. She is positioned as someone who will do anything to survive but she may surprise you yet or not if you love her character like I did.
Each relationship whether it was romantic or otherwise in the story was developed in such a way that it felt real. You got to follow along as characters developed their thoughts and feelings towards one another and it all made sense.
The world itself was incredible. It was atmospheric, dark and mysterious. The story is told like a fairy tale and it had me hooked. The book setting has heavy Germanic influences from the setting, to the food and the language used throughout the book. The books magic system has gods, grimlings, kobolds and general creatures of nightmares. As well as Perfects who are humans connected to the Godly Court who can use witch ash or witch oil to perform magic to protect against the grimlings or to help heal injuries but it comes with a price as most magic does. Overall the magic system is intensely intricate and intriguing and I completely loved the high fantasy nature of it.
I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book - Painted Devils ππ
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Animal death
The author said it best -
βthis is a story about many things, beautiful and ugly, painful and true. There are discussions of child abuse and neglect, navigating abusive environments, and trauma from a past attempted assault. For many of us, these are wounds, and I have tried to give them air here without tearing at the hard-won stitches. Still, I trust you to know your scars.β