Little Thieves
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- Create Date：2021-12-23 08:51:01
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Margaret Owen
- ISBN：1250191904
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Summary
Once upon a time， there was a horrible girl。。。
Vanja Schmidt knows that no gift is freely given， not even a mother's love--and she's on the hook for one hell of a debt。 Vanja， the adopted goddaughter of Death and Fortune， was Princess Gisele's dutiful servant up until a year ago。 That was when Vanja's otherworldly mothers demanded a terrible price for their care， and Vanja decided to steal her future back。。。 by stealing Gisele's life for herself。
The real Gisele is left a penniless nobody while Vanja uses an enchanted string of pearls to take her place。 Now， Vanja leads a lonely but lucrative double life as princess and jewel thief， charming nobility while emptying their coffers to fund her great escape。 Then， one heist away from freedom， Vanja crosses the wrong god and is cursed to an untimely end: turning into jewels， stone by stone， for her greed。
Vanja has just two weeks to figure out how to break her curse and make her getaway。 And with a feral guardian half-god， Gisele's sinister fiancé， and an overeager junior detective on Vanja's tail， she'll have to pull the biggest grift yet to save her own life。
Margaret Owen， author of The Merciful Crow series， crafts a delightfully irreverent retelling of "The Goose Girl" about stolen lives， thorny truths， and the wicked girls at the heart of both。
Vanja Schmidt knows that no gift is freely given， not even a mother's love--and she's on the hook for one hell of a debt。 Vanja， the adopted goddaughter of Death and Fortune， was Princess Gisele's dutiful servant up until a year ago。 That was when Vanja's otherworldly mothers demanded a terrible price for their care， and Vanja decided to steal her future back。。。 by stealing Gisele's life for herself。
The real Gisele is left a penniless nobody while Vanja uses an enchanted string of pearls to take her place。 Now， Vanja leads a lonely but lucrative double life as princess and jewel thief， charming nobility while emptying their coffers to fund her great escape。 Then， one heist away from freedom， Vanja crosses the wrong god and is cursed to an untimely end: turning into jewels， stone by stone， for her greed。
Vanja has just two weeks to figure out how to break her curse and make her getaway。 And with a feral guardian half-god， Gisele's sinister fiancé， and an overeager junior detective on Vanja's tail， she'll have to pull the biggest grift yet to save her own life。
Margaret Owen， author of The Merciful Crow series， crafts a delightfully irreverent retelling of "The Goose Girl" about stolen lives， thorny truths， and the wicked girls at the heart of both。
Reviews
Holly
，
3。5
Ana Reinhard
，
Oh I love it。 It’s the first book that made me cry not because somebody died but because I could feel Vanyja’s emotional pain so much。 She definitely has a beautiful arc coming from it’s just me to convincing herself and the world around her that there is more to her。 Emeric Conrad is also an interesting character that takes on a antagonist roll to Vanyja。 He seams to be one dimensional at first but eventually you realize that that is intentional。 Their back and forth is very entertaining。 Also Oh I love it。 It’s the first book that made me cry not because somebody died but because I could feel Vanyja’s emotional pain so much。 She definitely has a beautiful arc coming from it’s just me to convincing herself and the world around her that there is more to her。 Emeric Conrad is also an interesting character that takes on a antagonist roll to Vanyja。 He seams to be one dimensional at first but eventually you realize that that is intentional。 Their back and forth is very entertaining。 Also the world building is very beautiful and intriguing。 I love the ideas of mixing many different mythologies。 Form what I could identify there was the obvious German but also some Russian and Greek。 I would love to explore this world some more。 All together this is a worthy read with interesting characters and a good arcs。 I got this book in exchange for an honest review from Netgally。 。。。more
Abookeachday
，
#qotd do you love banter in your books？ Do you love tension？ #aotd You NEED to pick up Little Thieves ❤️To say that I am now obsessed with this book is an understatement。 This was pure magic and has skyrocketed to one of my top books of 2021。 Just， do yourself a favour and pick it up， then DM me to discuss 🥰It has literally all of the good things you could want in a YA fantasy。 The world building is rich and immaculate， the cast of characters are layered and well represented， and the story flies #qotd do you love banter in your books？ Do you love tension？ #aotd You NEED to pick up Little Thieves ❤️To say that I am now obsessed with this book is an understatement。 This was pure magic and has skyrocketed to one of my top books of 2021。 Just， do yourself a favour and pick it up， then DM me to discuss 🥰It has literally all of the good things you could want in a YA fantasy。 The world building is rich and immaculate， the cast of characters are layered and well represented， and the story flies of the page。 Vanya is kind of like if you took Lou from Serpent & Dove （mischievous thief， hiding from a hunter） and combined her with Kaz Brekker from six of crows （morally grey genius who only loves like two people） And let me tell you， it works。 🙌🏻The romance between her and Emeric （said hunter/investigator） was the epitome of a slow burn/enemies to lovers arc and has me flipping pages for every scrap of banter and tension。 Oh boy the tension 🥵I haven't even mentioned the plot because it's a ride and you need to just experience it for yourself。 But know that the banter will make your seratonin levels go through the roof 👌🏻Put it this way。 I woke up at 1 in the morning and figured I'd read a couple of pages to try and go back to sleep and did not stop reading until 6am。 I was wrecked today and it was 110% worth it。 The joy I felt when I added this to Goodreads and saw that little #1 I SQUEALED 🙌🏻 I'm so pumped for more Vanya and crew ❤️Thank you so much to @hachetteaus for #gifting me this review copy。 I'm obsessed forever with this book。 。。。more
Tiffany Bookwormgram
，
Listen， I just loved this book。 It hit every damn note for me。I am satiated。
KtotheC
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4。5 rounded up。 Such a satisfying read。
Alicja
，
3。5/5。 Big thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my e-copy。I ended up having a little mixed feelings about Margaret Owen’s ‘Little Thieves’。 It took me a way longer to read this book then expected， considering I really loved the premise of it。 The initial pages didn’t hold my attention and I didn’t feel particularly drawn to the story， however， the action picked up afterwards and I became more invested in the characters after a while。 So I definitely enjoyed the latter half of ‘Little Thieve 3。5/5。 Big thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my e-copy。I ended up having a little mixed feelings about Margaret Owen’s ‘Little Thieves’。 It took me a way longer to read this book then expected， considering I really loved the premise of it。 The initial pages didn’t hold my attention and I didn’t feel particularly drawn to the story， however， the action picked up afterwards and I became more invested in the characters after a while。 So I definitely enjoyed the latter half of ‘Little Thieves’ way more。Vanja， our main character， is definitely an interesting character in her own right。 Definitely morally grey， and with a complicated and engaging back story。 Once I got drawn into ‘Little Thieves’， I ended up enjoying following Vanja’s story and the overall atmosphere of the book。 While I had mixed feeling about the whole book overall， I’m still thinking about it， so it definitely stays on your mind！ 。。。more
Kaitlyn Bopp
，
I’m not going to rate this as I haven’t decided what rating would even fit。 I enjoyed this book a lot and had a great time readying it。 It was so many things I enjoyed and the writing was beautiful！ Overall so good I picked this up even though I was hesitant because it’s YA
redlouder
，
Je commencerai par avouer que j’étais certaine que je n’allais pas aimer ce livre et pourtant c’est une grosse surprise。 Vanja est un anti héros attachante qui luttte pour survivre。 Elle vit dans un milieu où tout le monde est riche et la vie n’est pas toujours facile。 A côté de cela elle a aussi été offerte à La Mort mais aussi à Fortune et son destin ne fait que balancer entre les deux jusqu’au jour où en plus de ça elle est frappé par une malédiction en plus 🤯🤯Le livre est super bien écrit et Je commencerai par avouer que j’étais certaine que je n’allais pas aimer ce livre et pourtant c’est une grosse surprise。 Vanja est un anti héros attachante qui luttte pour survivre。 Elle vit dans un milieu où tout le monde est riche et la vie n’est pas toujours facile。 A côté de cela elle a aussi été offerte à La Mort mais aussi à Fortune et son destin ne fait que balancer entre les deux jusqu’au jour où en plus de ça elle est frappé par une malédiction en plus 🤯🤯Le livre est super bien écrit et se lit rapidement。 La romance est appréciable même si elle n’est pas centrale （ j’en suis ravie） et les aventures des personnages sont intéressante。 Le seul élément que je reproche à ce livre c’est la résolution qui est beaucoup trop rapide à mon goût 。。。more
Charlotte
，
WHAT。 A。 BOOK。 This was such an incredibly fun， voicey fantasy with characters I adored， and now I'm just gutted I can't read book 2 immediately！ WHAT。 A。 BOOK。 This was such an incredibly fun， voicey fantasy with characters I adored， and now I'm just gutted I can't read book 2 immediately！ 。。。more
Sarah Wise
，
WOW。 Just wow。 This book has EVERYTHING。 A dark fairy tale， a simmering romance， real emotions， a truly scary villain， all wrapped up with modern sensibilities like strong， empowered female characters， non-binary characters， and subtle normalizing of consent。 It’s everything I could possibly ask for in a book。
Cara
，
I’m a sucker for stories about curses， banter-filled romance， and interesting fantasy lore and this hit all three。
Charlotte
，
*4。5
Lamisse （Overdose_books）
，
Dnf-50% not for me
Amanda Burney
，
4。5 （4） Stars
Abbeysbooktopia
，
Well this lived up to the hype！！I have never read or I can basically say I don’t have any knowledge of The Goose Girl fairytale！Did this damper my enjoyment of this book？！ Definitely not！If anything it has made me want to read the original story that inspired this book！！As a character driven reader and a massive fan of morally grey characters， this was a treat for me！ The characters were well fleshed out and we get to learn a lot about each of their stories in this first book。 Owen did a great j Well this lived up to the hype！！I have never read or I can basically say I don’t have any knowledge of The Goose Girl fairytale！Did this damper my enjoyment of this book？！ Definitely not！If anything it has made me want to read the original story that inspired this book！！As a character driven reader and a massive fan of morally grey characters， this was a treat for me！ The characters were well fleshed out and we get to learn a lot about each of their stories in this first book。 Owen did a great job in their development with their relationships and trust with each other that felt relatable！I loved the writing style and the whimsical fairytale touches that are present in the story。Very engrossing and clever。 I just had a great time。 I would have liked a little more world building when it came to the gods and maybe we will learn about that in the next book， which I will definitely be reading。Highly recommend this to fans of fairytale retellings and flawed characters that you can’t help but love！ 。。。more
Monique Rosenbaum
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Beautiful artwork in book and good story
Charlee
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So good！
Kate
，
Unexpected story but a awesome one
Yasmine
，
3。75 stars， rounded up to 4。I’ve heard this likened to six of crows， but this isn’t really true。 Six of crows is a multiple perspective book with an ensemble cast， this book has only one perspective - Vanja - and although other characters are mentioned they are in no way a ‘crew’ nor do they take centre stage。 There is not really any ‘heist’ in this book in the traditional sense - yes， vanja does steal but really that’s in the first few pages of the book。 What the plot more focuses on is the pol 3。75 stars， rounded up to 4。I’ve heard this likened to six of crows， but this isn’t really true。 Six of crows is a multiple perspective book with an ensemble cast， this book has only one perspective - Vanja - and although other characters are mentioned they are in no way a ‘crew’ nor do they take centre stage。 There is not really any ‘heist’ in this book in the traditional sense - yes， vanja does steal but really that’s in the first few pages of the book。 What the plot more focuses on is the political machinations of a would-be tyrant， so I would actually say this is more equal parts politics and fable that everything else。 Which makes sense as it is based on a fairytale Now， that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy this book as I did， but its definitely not really a heist novel nor is it anything like other popular ‘buzz’ books and likening it to those is really doing this book an injustice， as well as setting the wrong expectations for what this book will deliver。 Things I liked:- I enjoyed the fairytale and fable elements with vanja trying to figure out how to get out of her situation- the writing is very similar to a fable in that it is magical and poetic - it’s quite vicious and terrifying at times - the nachtmaren particularly so， which I loved as some books tends to shy away from the dark elements but I think they’re important particularly in fairytales- there is also really beautiful illustration at the start of each section/tale- I really enjoyed ragne as a character as she brought much needed humour and humanity （ironic as she is not human） to the story - there are lgbt characters and a W/W relationship which was great to see and a nice subversion on traditional fairytales eg。 Prince/princess。- I also loved the mention of the gods and I wish we could have seen fortune and death more Things I didn’t like: - it can be confusing at times to keep up with the terms and characters， as this is a European setting （I think German） some of the phrases are unfamiliar and the character names can be similar， which can be tricky at the start to keep track of everyone - didn’t really grip me in places。 I think generally this was an issue with the chosen love interest。 I wasn’t really invested in this and would have preferred they had ended up friends， I didn’t really enjoy their dialogue and these sections felt slow and disengaging - I did however love the secondary romance however this could have featured slightly more， particularly the parts of them falling in love Fave quote: ‘Little thieves steal gold， and great thieves steal kingdoms， but only one goes to the gallows。’Fave character: Ragne RatingsWorldbuilding: 4/5Plot: 3。75/5Characters: 3。5/5Writing style: 4/5 。。。more
Dante
，
Criminally underrated retelling in a German （medieval） setting。 Six of Crows meets epic fantasy。 Gripped me from the first page， then never let me go。 Go read this。 You won't be disappointed。 Criminally underrated retelling in a German （medieval） setting。 Six of Crows meets epic fantasy。 Gripped me from the first page， then never let me go。 Go read this。 You won't be disappointed。 。。。more
Lay
，
this book owns my heart。
Amanda Krutsick
，
4。5/5 — An incredible story of liars and thieves， with the best morally gray， anti-hero main character I’ve ever read。This was a German medieval fairytale， and a retelling of “The Goose Girl。” The setting was so interesting and I don’t find that fantasy novels often end up in this region， so the language and setting in general felt so unique and immersive。 I truly loved Vanja as our morally gray main character。 She is one of the best anti-heros I’ve ever read， specially because her motivations w 4。5/5 — An incredible story of liars and thieves， with the best morally gray， anti-hero main character I’ve ever read。This was a German medieval fairytale， and a retelling of “The Goose Girl。” The setting was so interesting and I don’t find that fantasy novels often end up in this region， so the language and setting in general felt so unique and immersive。 I truly loved Vanja as our morally gray main character。 She is one of the best anti-heros I’ve ever read， specially because her motivations were crystal clear and aligned with her traumatic past。 She didn’t know any other way of being — until she did， and that’s what makes her so believable and realistic。 The cat-and-mouse-like relationship that develops between her and Emeric， the straight-and-narrow junior prefect， was delightful， especially for YA where I don’t often find myself buying into the romance。 I adored watching them parse out their trust for each other through their games and the heist-like plot only added to this。 Watching them learn to trust and work together was so satisfying。This book gets major points for the normalization of queer and non-binary characters。 They’re introduced and never questioned — not even once — which is wonderful to see， especially in YA。 Overall， this was a wonderful fairytale retelling and I will likely pick up the second book （if there is one） just to get a sliver more of Vanja and Emeric’s tension。 。。。more
CC
，
Calling all Alix E。 Harrow fans…This book is a satisfying treat for the eyes。 It has a feel-good， smirk-worthy vibe。 The magic elements were surprising - I love the way Owen’s is exploring it。 It’s been a good year for the retelling category。 （Even if you don’t know the original fairytale。） Hollywood should consider this series as it evolves。 4。5/5 Rounded up Wait， what do you mean we have to wait till 2023 for book 2？！ 😩
Nikole
，
This was actually so good？？？ I’ve never heard the story of The Goose Girl， so I don’t know how this compares。 Regardless， I absolutely loved this book。 We had a bit of an enemies to lovers romance， but it didn’t take the reigns of the plot。 Our main character was the “villain”， but we got to understand why she did the things she did。 I felt every emotion while reading this book。 Which is my favorite。
Yolanda
，
First off， the book cover is beautiful and I was intrigued by the premise but I still wasn’t sure what to expect。 I am glad I went in pretty much blind because this has just joined my list of top reads for 2021。The world-building is wonderful and the story is told like a fairy tale。 A dark one。 The synopsis states it’s a loose retelling of the Goose Girl and honestly， I still don’t know the real Goose Girl story and I’m going to have to fix that since so many authors want to retell it lately。 Th First off， the book cover is beautiful and I was intrigued by the premise but I still wasn’t sure what to expect。 I am glad I went in pretty much blind because this has just joined my list of top reads for 2021。The world-building is wonderful and the story is told like a fairy tale。 A dark one。 The synopsis states it’s a loose retelling of the Goose Girl and honestly， I still don’t know the real Goose Girl story and I’m going to have to fix that since so many authors want to retell it lately。 The story takes place in a kingdom with German influences from the language they speak and the food they eat。 I love the fantasy aspect with the presence of the gods， and grimlings lurking around。 I enjoyed the magic system a lot with the Prefects being able to perform some magic to fight off the grimlings。I really liked that before each part of the story we get a “Once upon a time” moment。 It set the tone and stage for what was to come in each part and I loved how the writing lured into this tale。 The story of Vanja being an unwanted child from birth was already sad but as we learn everything about her， we get to understand her fears and motivations。 Unwanted from birth， then becoming a maid to a Princess and abused， and then her godmothers give her an ultimatum to choose between them。 She chooses to be a thief to steal her freedom。 This story has heists， action， a curse， grimlings， mystery， friendship， romance and a nerdy boy of a Prefect who was the perfect catalyst for Vanja to open her heart to。 We see the consequences of Vanja’s choices and we get to watch her struggle to face herself in the mirror and fix everything she had done。The characters are fantastic。 Vanja is a villain – or is she？ Vanja has done some bad things and she’s got a lot to learn。 Vanja is a great character。 Vanja’s a thief but she didn’t only steal jewels， she stole a life， so what is a good punishment for that？ What about a curse？ A curse to know how it feels to be wanted like she wants for everything。 Her character arc was a beautiful journey。 She was whittled down to her vulnerabilities。 The side characters are a great ensemble。 Giselle， the real princess， learning she didn’t really lose much but maybe gained something in the process。 Ragne， the bad ass shape-shifter， love her for being there for Vanja and accepting her， flaws and all。 And of course there is Junior Prefect Emeric， too smart for his own good， determined， awkward， always taking notes lol…love him。Speaking of love – Vanja only wanted to be loved and wanted and by the end of this story I wanted to protect her。 Emeric and Vanja clash from the get go， she -a thief trying to hide her tracks and flee， he – a junior prefect trying to solve this case to get promoted。 The two of them are funny， always trying to outwit the other， until they both come to the conclusion they are fighting the same enemy。 They are both awkward and cautious about the feelings growing between them。 There is tension， there is fear and so much miscommunication and misunderstanding because of the fears it broke my heart when Vanja finally falls apart。 She has been traumatized throughout her life and opening up to someone…the possibility of finally being loved or having someone to love is absolutely frightening。 I did want Emeric to grovel just a bit more though for misjudging her at one point…but then again， she did have him dumped in a river so…all’s fair in love and war？ lolRANDOM NOTES~~Content Warnings: abuse， parental neglectI was speeding through this book but it’s definitely one I could sit down and savor。 It’s a borrowed library copy but I will be buying my own soon because there were so many sentences I loved。My only issue about the book （because it was near perfection for me） was the ending。 It felt rushed when Vanja tells the story about taking down Adalbrecht because she has to rewind to tell us the plan。 In a way it seemed fitting to a heist though， if that makes sense？ Like I can see it in a movie-reel type of way。 It’s part of Vanja’s ever present sleight of hand trick she’s been using to steal this freedom she wants so badly and now we get to see how she pulls off the trick。 But it’s a quick rewind。 Other than that – I was still so happy by the end of this story。FINAL THOUGHTS~~Why you should read it:*a dark fairy tale with morally gray characters*the romance is enemies to lovers， so tense， awkward， vulnerable and at times sweet*the story is emotional， engrossing， funny， and heartbreakingly poetic*it’s got action， humor， friendship， romance， shapeshifting， a hearth spirit， a Gods Court and so much moreWhy you might not want to read it:*not into fairy tale retellingsMy thoughts:To think I had my best of 2021 list all ready and then I decided to read this book。 I’m glad I did – I love it and will get a copy of my own because it’s so good。 I was enchanted by the fairy tale story telling， then surprised at Vanja’s thief skills， her stubbornness， survival skills， vulnerability and bravery to face the consequences of her decisions。 She and the characters of this book definitely stole my heart。 。。。more
Elizabeth
，
Better than I was expecting。
Beth Joey
，
That really did not go at all how I expected。I went into Little Thieves thinking there was a good chance I wouldn’t love it but that it would be a little bit of lightweight， fairytale-based reading。Man， was it anything but that though。The book itself dealt with a lot of heavy themes and a few jabs at the misogynistic nature of fairytales。 Given the big， powerful king is often the hero at the end of these stories， I kept waiting for Adalbrecht to turn around and surprise me， only to realise this That really did not go at all how I expected。I went into Little Thieves thinking there was a good chance I wouldn’t love it but that it would be a little bit of lightweight， fairytale-based reading。Man， was it anything but that though。The book itself dealt with a lot of heavy themes and a few jabs at the misogynistic nature of fairytales。 Given the big， powerful king is often the hero at the end of these stories， I kept waiting for Adalbrecht to turn around and surprise me， only to realise this book was nothing like your average fairytale。Vanja’s journey to redemption felt authentic in that she had no clue what she was doing and was constantly guessing at whether her actions were authentic or selfish。Her trauma was real and explored， rather than being brushed over and solved by a man coming into her life。Her friendships were genuine and sweet - with Ragne being my absolute favourite for reasons too many to count。And her relationship with Emeric was confusing in the best way。 I do hope they find each other in the end。I didn’t expect to love this as much as I did and now I’m struggling to put it into words！I loved the dark fairytale vibes and the German feel to the town and the royal family。 Every scene just reminded me of a haunting Germanic castle， making the use of an anti-hero as the key protagonist so much more fitting。Little Thieves was cheeky and fun， deep and meaningful， heartwarming and lyrical。 The story was as complex as the characters themselves and I would recommend this to anyone and everyone。 。。。more
Karolina Szymczak
，
CAWPILE rating: 5。14/10*Just because you can survive without someone doesn’t mean they’re unwanted。Ta książka jednocześnie mi się podobała i nie podobała。 Myślę， że najważniejsze， co muszę zaznaczyć， to fakt， że po prostu nie była to książka dla mnie。 Nie lubię takich powieści， które mocno bazują na baśniach。Dodatkowo nie podobał mi się styl。 Zupełnie do mnie nie trafiał， zwłaszcza z tymi wszystkimi niemieckobrzmiącymi wyrażeniami。 Mój mózg robił dosłownie "hdbujdshoijp" na każdym niemieckim sło CAWPILE rating: 5。14/10*Just because you can survive without someone doesn’t mean they’re unwanted。Ta książka jednocześnie mi się podobała i nie podobała。 Myślę， że najważniejsze， co muszę zaznaczyć， to fakt， że po prostu nie była to książka dla mnie。 Nie lubię takich powieści， które mocno bazują na baśniach。Dodatkowo nie podobał mi się styl。 Zupełnie do mnie nie trafiał， zwłaszcza z tymi wszystkimi niemieckobrzmiącymi wyrażeniami。 Mój mózg robił dosłownie "hdbujdshoijp" na każdym niemieckim słowie。 Nie podobały mi się też dopiski w nawiasach。To co jest fajne w tej historii， to fakt， że jest inna。 To nie jest takie typowe YA。 Na pewno były momenty， które mi się podobały。 Jednak mam wrażenie， że ta fabuła to był jeden wielki nieład。Główny wątek z Adalbrecht'em momentami mnie nudził。 Zresztą nawet trudno powiedzieć co było głównym wątkiem， bo wątków było sporo。 Niektóre raczej zbędne。Bohaterowie byli ok。 Najbardziej polubiłam Ragne i Emerica。Myślę， że książka dobrze przedstawiła wątek znęcania się nad dziećmi。Jednak ogólnie było średnio。 Początek był dla mnie najgorszy， a potem momentami trochę zmuszałam się do czytania， bo wiedziałam， że jak ją odłożę， to już do niej nie wrócę。 Jak skończyłam czytać， to poczułam ulgę， że to już koniec。 Na pewno nie będę kontynuować tej serii。 。。。more
Mary
，
This one was really a roller coaster of emotions for me。 I wanted to DNF it at the beginning because I was disliking it a lot， but I told myself to get to 25% before I gave up。 And it was around that time that the story started picking up， and at one point I was really liking it。 Then the ending felt rushed and some plot holes were just brushed over， hence why I've settled on a 3 star rating。 I really liked how morally grey Vanja was and the romance between her and the junior prefect。 I also app This one was really a roller coaster of emotions for me。 I wanted to DNF it at the beginning because I was disliking it a lot， but I told myself to get to 25% before I gave up。 And it was around that time that the story started picking up， and at one point I was really liking it。 Then the ending felt rushed and some plot holes were just brushed over， hence why I've settled on a 3 star rating。 I really liked how morally grey Vanja was and the romance between her and the junior prefect。 I also appreciate the casual LGBTQ rep。The things I didn't like: （view spoiler）[ I don't feel like Giselle was adequately redeemed。 All we got was an "I'm sorry you didn't get a childhood" and not "I'm sorry I was a coward and let you get whipped almost to death for something I know you didn't do， and also didn't apologize or comfort you afterwards even though you thought we were friends"。 And she still gets to go back to being princess at the end， and live HEA。 The singular scene where she stood up to her parents on Vanja's behalf was not sufficient IMO for watching as her parents abused Vanja for a decade and then still trying to kill her when she saw her on the street。 She didn't even come to the conclusion that she and her family were terrible to Vanja on her own， she had to be told。 Giselle's non-princess life wasn't even that bad， it's not like she was on the street starving。 She was literally running an orphanage with kids who love her。 I don't feel bad for her at all。 And why did Death and Fortune change their minds so quickly at the end， switching from you're our servant to our daughter real fast。 It makes the whole original problem （that she needs money to escape them） seem pointless because what was she escaping from？ Absolutely nothing。 Plus， what was up with the specific amount of money she needed to have？ I know Vanja thinks it's the minimum she needs to be able to live a good life elsewhere but being short a little bit shouldn't be life and death， especially because she could earn/ steal more money when she makes it to her destination。 The resolution with them was also so weird tonally。 Fortune saying "well you have to be our servant now because you asked for our help"， Vanja responding that she's 17 so no longer their ward， and then Fortune and Death immediately saying "yes you're right， we're your mothers and always will be。 Our mistake。 Call us whenever you want， no service required"。 This is in one scene and gave me major whiplash。 （hide spoiler）]There also were a couple of interjections from Vanja speaking to the reader and telling us what was going to happen before going into details。 I wasn't a big fan of these because I feel like they took me out of the story and also ruined some of the suspense that was building。 It felt like a gimmick that did not blend well into the rest of the story。 All that aside， I thought the romance was well developed and I'm not upset that I read this one。 Plus the Illumicrate copy is absolutely stunning （so much so that I had to talk myself out of wanting it purely for the looks）。 。。。more
Ally Kay
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Ok it took me like 2 months to finish this， but I LOVED it。 Definitely a me not finding time problem， not a this book put me in a slump problem。 I loved the voice that this story was told in， frank and biting， yet having that air that fantasy stories always do。 And the ROMANCE。 Emeric Conrad is now forever one of my favorite love interests。 I’m so glad the story went in that direction， because I would have been mad if it didn’t。 So good。 So， so good。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Little Thieves
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Little Thieves&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Little Thieves&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0