Firstly, huge thank yous to Margaret Owen, Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for giving me the e-arc of Little Thieves in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Little Thieves is a retelling of the Brothers Grimm’s The Goose Girl told from the perspective of the wicked maiden, and honestly I couldn’t be happier, the Princess’ view can be a tad boring. 😆

Vanja the main protagonist was abandoned by her family as a child and now lives a live of deceit, theft and misdemeanour. When we meet her she’s practicing the deception of a lifetime living as a princess on the cusp of her wedding to an elite general, with just a little jewellery theft on the side! Vanja is definitely not your traditional heroine, she lies, deceives and thieves, she is completely morally grey, but she is more than that, she’s funny, human, and in many ways utterly relatable. If Robin Hood robbed the rich and pocketed the loot, then her name would be Vanja! The more I read this book, and the more I learnt about Vanja, the more I wanted to know and hang out with her.

As well as Vanja, there is a whole gang of characters in this story, including Emeric, the junior prefect, who has been called in to investigate the jewellery theft. Emeric is precociously intelligent with a knack for crime-solving, honest, and rather awkward, all of which make the interactions between him and Vanja extremely entertaining. There’s also Gisele, the real Princess, whose life Vanja stole and a number of others, all of whom make this fantastic gang of characters.

The interactions, relationships and whole story are written in such a way that I could taste the touches of Pratchett’s Discworld in the humour, characters and events. The gang and the story is also hugely reminiscent of Six of Crows. Plus, fairytale foundations, the investigation/mystery Sherlock vibes, and a hint of Christmas Carol all total up to deliver a fantastic story.

Yes, the villain was a tad two dimensional and Owen possibly could have given him a little more dimension, but that doesn’t detract from the story. Owen has written a fabulous YA book that is beautifully crafted, fabulously plotted and that delivers a killer story I did not want to put down!The only other not so great thing I can say about this book is that it lacks a glossary. For a book that leans so heavily on Germanic culture and language, it would be appreciated, although I did get by without, it would have just added for me - particularly with the application of Owen’s fabulous humour!

Back to the good stuff, if you want a great romp of an adventure, great characters, excellent world building and did I mention the small gods - just wait till you meet Ragne! She is a total sweetheart, plus Death and Fortune too!

Seriously, this was a 5 star read for me! I’ve got it in pre-order…this is a great book with adventure, mystery, plot twists, great one liners, a bit of romance MF and FF and you need to read this! NOW!!!!

Little Thieves is an amazing fantasy book, based on the classical tale of Goose Girl. However, it’s a reimagining like no other. Instead of reading the story from the princess whose life was stolen, we experience the story from the identity thief herself (who happens to be the goddaughter of Death and Fortune!). This was such a magical and enchanting tale, while being dark and unexpected. What I loved most about this book was that we weren’t introduced to the whole story at once. Instead the story went from past to present which made it very exciting and kept me reading until late. If you like unlikely romances, curses, villains and magic then you’ll definitely love this. The pacing is perfect and the world is very atmospheric and illustrative. I can see myself re-reading this in the near future. An absolute 5/5 stars from me.

(Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Saughton for an eARC in exchange for an honest review)

Little Thieves is a retelling of Goose Girls, following 16-year old Vanja who, as a child, was abandoned by her mother and became the god daughter of the Low Gods, Fortune and Death. For the past year she has been posing as the princess she used to serve, whilst also robbing the kingdom from right under their noses.

This book was beautifully written and had an amazing narrative. I loved Vanja, our protagonist, so so much. She was the perfect morally grey, anti-heroine and I loved reading from her point of view. In fact, I loved all of the characters. They were so well written, their growth throughout the books was so good and I grew attached to all of them. Vanja was one of my favourite characters, with Emeric Conrad being the other. From the beginning he was just adorable but smart, witty and an all round lil cinnamon roll. I loved his sense of determination and the interactions between him and Vanja, It was just perfect.

As for the plot, I loved it! It was fast paced and despite the book being a little long, it was never boring. I also loved the Gods and their interactions within the book. The one and only thing I have an issue with in this book is the German words. I loved that they were there and how that culture was being represented but I never understand what they were saying. A really cool way to help non-German speakers would be to include a glossary at the back, as I've seen in lots of books. I did google the translations whenever one popped up and I don't think it effected my reading experience personally, but I think something like a glossary could be really cool.

I loved, loved, loved this book and will definitely be buying a physical copy when it is released. I highly, highly recommend that everyone reads Little Thieves, you will not regret it.

Little Thieves follows 16 year old Vanja Schmidt, who, for the past year has been posing as Prinzessin Gisele, the very girl she grew up alongside and served as a servant and maid.

After Vanja's birth mother abandons her as a small child, she becomes the god-daughter of the Gods Death and Fortune who take her in as their own daughter... or so she thought. Four years prior, Vanja discovers she is to choose one of the two Gods to serve for life.

Horrified at her lack of choice in the matter, and unwilling to remain a servant for all her days, Vanja is on a mission to get ahold of 1000 Gilden and escape the Gods and her past.

But you know what they say about little thieves...

"The little thief steals gold, but the great one steals kingdoms; and only one goes to the gallows."

This is the tale of how the little thief got caught.

This book was excellently written. With a fairy tale theme and the use of German words and phrases, Little Thieves gives off a strong folklore vibe, and is truly magical to read. From heists to mysterious happenings, this book has it all.

Whilst this book is an excellent read, it must be recognised that this is a book that you need to pay close attention to and cannot necessarily skim read. Having said this, Little Thieves is well worth the extra care needed when reading as attention is paid to every little detail.

Little thieves is told briefly in third person at the beginning of each new section or 'tale' within the book, but otherwise is strictly kept in Vanja's POV, in which we are given insight into the life of a young peasant girl and her struggles hidden behind the guise of an imposter princess.

Yet, Vanja is also extremely cunning, smart, and ambitious, driven by her harsh past. It is interesting to see her thought process and watch her plans play out, as well as gaining inside knowledge on her true motives for her selfish deeds.

Whilst the book is built up nicely throughout, I will mention that the climax of the story does seem somewhat rushed and definitely could have been stretched out longer. Though, this is easily forgivable as the entire plot is extremely well thought out and leaves the reader on the edge of their seat, right up until the final page of the book. The twists and turns featured are wonderful and oftentimes unpredictable and unexpected, which only serves to further entice and enthral the reader.

Little thieves is an upcoming release not to be missed, and is sure to captivate you from the first chapter. I would strongly recommend this to any fans of fantasy and mystery books as you are sure to fall in love with the tale of the Little Thief.

I didn't get on with this book at all, unfortunately. I'm a little bit older than the target audience, which may not have helped. I found it to be a little cluttered and unclear in parts.

Little Thieves follows 16-year-old Vanja Schmidt, who's been the goddaughter of the Low Gods Death and Fortune since her mother abandoned her to their care when she was four years old. However, she has recently learned that the Gods have more planned for her than just being their daughter. She tries to escape a life of servitude with a rather complex plan.

Of course, everyone knows when it comes to complex plans there always tends to be a downside. No matter how cunning one is.

As someone who is a rabid fan of Terry Pratchett, this book was just pure perfection. Not only is it Pratchett-esque, it is also a fairytale retelling, a trope that holds a special place in my heart.
The characters were diverse and relatable enough that you wanted to root for them.

The cast of characters who eventually team up to take down the villain of the story is reminiscent of the beloved characters in Six of Crows.

Vanya, albeit a massively emotionally flawed character, is one of my favourite heroines I have read in a long time.

All of this together seems to create the perfect book. However, the ending, to me seemed just a little bit rushed. I wasn't bowled over by the romance in the novel. So it misses out on the 5 stars.

Little Thieves is a unique and interesting take on the fairytale of the Goose Girl, whose identity is stolen by her evil maid. This book follows the maid, who is impersonating the Princess she used to serve in order to steal what she can from the rich.

This book definitely has a lot of potential, with strong world building and a good magic system. Unfortunately though, I found it difficult to connect to the story and found my attention wandering. There was nothing actually wrong with it though - I think it may just be that this book isn't for me!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Let me just say, I really really loved this book. Vanya, the MC, is a really great, complex character. She has her faults and she's all the better for them. The supporting cast is also great. I loved Vanya and Range's interactions, the development of Emeric and Gisele. I also loved the moments when fate and death appeared. Sure, some of the politics went over my head as it tends to do but overall, this had the perfect blend of downtime and action, witty dialogue and a great plot. A must read!

"𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬" 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐎𝐰𝐞𝐧

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐'𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

Okay, 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 !

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.

I ended up loving this, after a small rocky start. There was twists and shocks. There was representation and downright comedy. There was also fantasy and realism of how trauma affects you. I loved this book and think in a way it can be such an important read. It also has strong moral messages inside. Definitely recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the advanced reader copy!

There's a whole lot going on in this novel that it will be hard to describe!

This is a retelling of the Goose Girl fairytale, from the point of view of the wicked servant who overthrows the beautiful, kind princess and steals her life while the princess toils like a commoner. This little thief also happens to be the goddaughter of Fortune and Death, two of the low-gods that reside in this world. She has also been cursed by a third low-god for her greed, and is in a race against time to break her curse before it takes her life, while simultaneously outmaneuvering the prefect that is now investigating her thefts, and avoid the princess' terrible fiancé who has finally returned.

Vanja is a very refreshing take on the YA heroine. She's flawed but likeable, and it's hard to take against someone who loves robbing drippingly rich, privileged aristocrats blind. The love interest is a good match - extremely straight laced and law abiding, and too easily ruffled by the thief he's tasked to track down.

Owen is a great writer who can move between evocative prose and irreverent humour. But sometimes the swing between two falls hard, so I had to knock a start off because occasionally I noticed dialogue that was a bit too modern and meme-ish for the setting.

The romance is sweet, touching and the importance of consent is a recurring theme. A good book for fans of YA, cat and mouse romantic tension and fairytale retellings. I would happily read more books set in this world!

★★★★✩ - Great.

TW: off-screen attempted sexual assault/rape, whipping, violence, blood mention, vomiting, attempted murder, poisoning, physical abuse, emotional abuse, attempted controlling of food intake by parent, abusive environment

REP: f/f relationship between two of the main side characters, m/m off-screen relationship, genderfluid character

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for granting me an eARC of Little Thieves. Where do I even begin to describe how much I adored this book!? It's over 500 pages long but not once did the book feel slow paced or like a slog; I raced through this in one sitting and honestly could not move until I had finished it.

This book is an absolute delight. I'm not the biggest fan of retellings but I do love when an author takes a story with a generic bad female character and turns it utterly on it's head; just as with Rumaysa when Hafiza redeems our evil step-sisters, Owens redeems (although not completely) our wicked maid who stole the princesses life.

My love for this book rests solely on the shoulders of our anti-heroine, Vanja; she is wicked and ruthless and unrelenting in her actions. She's quick, and smart, and witty, and selfish; because she's learnt the hard way that no-one else is going to look out for her in life and so she has to do it herself. She has this amazing speech at Emeric at one point when he calls her selfish for only thinking about herself, and she tells him how she has to be because no one else has ever thought about her. Honestly she made my heart break so many times because time and time again she's been betrayed, and beaten, and let down by those that are meant to take care of her. All Vanja really wants is to be caught and loved and have someone she can rely on without feeling she owes them something; that is why she's the way she is because it's who she was made to be and honestly I bloody love her. She softens as the book goes on; when people apologise or recognise what has been done for her but I love that she doesn't let them go easily. There is so much suffering in this book, not just for Vanja but also our side characters, but it never felt too much or felt like it was done for dramatic effect.

I love the side characters; Emeric, Gisele, and Ragne were all such interesting and complex characters. I love that Owen manages to balance out a really complex main character with equally complex and interesting side characters. None of them ever felt overshadowed or underdeveloped. I wasn't sure I was going to like Emeric or Gisele but Owens does such a good job of developing both of them and opening their eyes. Ragne was my babe from the start and I adore her. Fate and Death as God Mothers was a perfect addition that I never knew I needed until now.

The world-building felt easy to follow; I got slightly lost at one bit where we have all these gods appear but other than that I was enthralled by it. I will say, I do feel the villain was slightly underdeveloped in terms of his motivation; I didn't get a clear sense of why he was doing what he was doing other than to be bad, and the ending scene to that could have been a bit better done BUT I love that so much of the book focused on character and relationship development that i'm not going to complain; and that ending was perfect and adorable.

This was such a delight to read and I mean that cover, I cannot wait to get onto my shelves. Such an easy five star read for me and i'm definitely intrigued to read some of Owens other work.

Out 5 October 2021 for you to explore and love just as much as I did!

This is a story about Vanja who is the god daughter of the low gods death and fortune after being abandoned to them at the age of 4 by her mother as she was believed to bring bad luck with her, being the 13th daughter of the 13th daughter.

We find Vanja at the beginning of this book impersonating the prinzessin Gisele, a life she has apparently stolen. Not only is she impersonating Gisele but she is an unknown and notorious thief whom is trying to pull off her biggest stunt yet in order to escape the kingdoms for good.

It all goes wrong when she takes something she shouldn’t have and is cursed by another low god, this thrusts Vanja into a bigger story one which shows us how she came to be the way she is and how her journey and the people she is meeting is changing her.

I really enjoyed the character development in this book, Vanjas character is complex and surprisingly witty. I loved Ragne, our shapeshifting Demi-god and how naive and sharp she was at the beginning and her progression into a caring, empathetic and understanding character. I also loved Emeric, our socially awkward, by the book prefect, trying to solve the mystery of the thief and got much more than he bargained for.

There was good representation in this book from non-binary to gay characters, although not pivotal to the plot it was nice to see this inclusion.

I’m not sure how much I loved the German word inserts, I struggled with it for the first quarter of the book, as I read on it became easier but I think if the book didn’t have them and replaced them with full English it would have been just as impactful and for me easier to read in a fluid way.

The book is paced well and keeps you on your toes with its twits and turns.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it’s like a dark fairytale and I would love to read about what Vanja does next!

Oh, that is awesome; I hope the story continues & I greatly recommend it.
It had me hooked from the beginning and was easy to follow.

This is the first book I have read of Margaret Owen’s and I can safely say that it will not be the last. From the very first page. I was hooked. The writing style has this essence of beautiful eeriness that only gets stronger throughout the story.

I usually struggle to connect with a first-person narrative, oftentimes I find the inner monologues monotonous and somewhat superficial but Vanja’s character voice is so likeable and engaging, I breezed through it. I really enjoyed the moral dilemmas she faces throughout the book and how they conflict with her moral greyness. I loved seeing her develop back and forth in terms of that, all whilst being her sarcastic, bold yet sincere self. It was complex and clever without being too profound that it becomes heavy or a bore.
The pace of this book is kept by its words and events alike, I struggle to think of a time that I was disengaged whilst reading. Every chapter had me immediately hopping to the next. I was captivated by the plot just as much as I was the characters, another rarity for me. There were so many forms of antagonist that the story felt high stakes at every turn. This book has battles in the form of curses, villains, family, romance, morality, and friendship and each is as prominent as the other. There is no lacking where suspense and tension is concerned. Though it is a fantasy novel, Owen has this way of rooting real life amongst the magic, making the story so much more than a fun, high stakes, heist novel. Though it is that too!

The world building in the story was something that I found quite daunting initially, however I put that down to my lack of understanding of the German language. In terms of the actual structure of the world; the setting, class system, magic system (regarding the prefects and the Low gods) – brilliant. I loved learning about everything this stunningly rich world has to offer, and I would happily learn more. I do think the book would have benefited from a glossary but in its absence, I am grateful for the subtle explanations that the author included within Vanja’s inner monologue/conversations with side characters. Speaking of side characters, I cannot fault them. Their dynamic was so interesting and fun to read. I want more of them. You will care about them all in some regard, they are as sweet as they are strong.

I highly recommend this book. It was captivating, witty, and heartfelt. The writing was so enjoyable to read, I will definitely be purchasing Margaret Owen’s other works as well as awaiting publication for Little Thieves so I can reread. I truly had the best time reading this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me a copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this book with some high expectations, and from the first chapter I was not disappointed, it was extremely gripping! The storyline is unique. I was intrigued from the description and I cannot complain much about its execution.

From early on in the story I was so happy with the LGBTQ representation in both the main and the secondary characters.

Are you a fan of morally grey characters? Because if you are, this is a MUST read.

However, one thing I found a little bit irritating was the description. Sometimes it was a bit ‘flowery’ for want of a better word. It felt like a lot was being said but we weren’t actually being told anything in particular. I wouldn’t say this put me off the book at all, I just think maybe some bits could be a little more precise.

3.5 🌟 for me, but I’ll round it up to a four!

The eerie tone and twisty plot make Little Thieves a must read for all Young Adukt fantasy fans. As compelling as merciful crow!

A spooky, captivating Gothic style story that transported me to a truly magical world - my students will adore this one!!

Once upon a time, on the coldest night of midwinter, in the darkest heart of the forest, Death and Fortune came to a crossroads."

Little thieves is set in a German inspired magical land, with appearances from low gods, nachtmar, böslings and magic from witch ash.

The story follow Vanya, the God daughter of Death and Fortune, as she masquerades as  prinzessin Gisele, but when she steals a protection charm from a low god, she is cursed to "become her greed".

"Little thieves steal gold, and great ones steal kingdoms, but only one goes to the gallows"

This story was somewhat difficult to get into originally just because of the depth if world building that Owen includes but by about 27% I was hooked, constantly wanting to read more and obsessed with the characters.

The humour in this ranged from subtle to explicit, both enough to get a chuckle from me, and the characterisation shone through brilliantly. You could count on Vanya for some wisecrack in the face of probable death, you could count on Ragne to be oblivious to the worst things, and you could count on Death and Fortune to embody to disappointed mother role.

"Once upon a time, there was a girl as cunning as the fox in winter, as hungry as the wolf at first frost , and cold as the icy wind that kept them at each other’s throats."

The action however was consistently fast paced and immersive. Vanya has grown up a thief and the reader is taken along with her as she makes her prescene as the pfennigeist known. Similarly, the fighting had me on the edge of my seat every time. .

“I think there are lives that make it easy to be good. Or what most people call good. When you have wealth, status, family, it’s easy to be a saint, it costs you nothing. I can’t say if you’re a good person or not. But the more I know of you, the more I understand that the world keeps making you choose between survival and martyrdom. No one should fault you for wanting to survive"

However, my favourite part was without a doubt how the character relationships developed. (Might be a slight spoiler here) It felt authentic to listen to Vanyas disgust and bargaining at her growing affection for her original enemy, but watching her accept this and everything that comes after was enough to make me OBSESSED with their story and what happens next. Furthermore, Owen remembers the side characters, creating some of the most fleshed out 3d characters I've read in a while. I wont spoil anything but the dynamics Owen created were excellent.

"I have been an orphan, a servant, a thief, and a princess.”
"Who are you now?"
"Vanya"

Yet, what stuck with me the most was potentially how well Owen delved into the heavier and more heart wrenching topics. Vanya is a flawed character but as you learn more of her backstory you understand why. Owen neither shied away nor romanticized, but the desperation that is depicted through vanyas character is so authentic the reader has no option but to sympathise and vouch for her win.

This was overall a pleasant read but it didn't wow me. The first half is more interesting and things got a bit boring interesting second half. Alsom I found the misuse of German phrases Infuriating.