I thoroughly enjoyed this from start to finish. It is probably one of the best paced and true to form fantasy heist books I have read. It flows like any good heist movie plot keeping you guessing and on your toes throwing in red herrings at the right time and then an epic explaining how the con works! It really takes you on a fantastic journey.

Owen's writing is fantastic, it really draws you in and as she plays her cards so close to her chest you really do find yourself eagerly turning the pages to find out what could possibly happen next. The characters were all morally grey and I loved it. I do wish we had got a little more depth on some of the side characters as they seemed to play a big role in some of the cons but didn't get much in the way of back story to explain their inclusion. I adored both the romances and thought they all played very well off of each other. I also liked the villain's they were also detailed and interesting enough. I loved the concept of death and fortune and them adopting a daughter and how that worked out for Vanja. It made the magic system fascinating especially how it played into the world. Vanja was an excellent narrator, she had real sass about her which worked great when explaining all her plots and schemes, how she got away with them and the chase from both the law, her magical family and the predicament she got herself into.

Speaking of world building! Wow the world building in this was amazing, stuffed with magic and mythology, but also just the day to day lives of the people not just in the kingdom but of those surrounding it. We get glimpses of every part of life in this world, their religious beliefs, their justice system and magic, all of it is in splendid detail. The world is so full of colour and description that it was so easy to picture. It made the actions and adventures of the characters so believable even when surrounded by the magic.

Overall this was just such a great read. I want more from this world. I want more from Vanja and her adventures. I am so thankful that this appears like it is going to be at least a duology as I cant wait to read more. This was just so much fun.

I had so much fun delving into this world and I found this was a wonderful retelling of a fairytale that I had never read of until Little Thieves. The illustrations were the perfect addition to such a great story.

I absolutely loved this book, if you are a fan of Fairy Tale retellings you will love this. A loose retelling of the Grimm Brother's Goose Girl.
This book has it all, it's full of adventure, suspense, action, mystery and a couple of beautiful love stories. I love Margaret Owens writing style, I was hooked after a few pages.
The narrator and protagonist, Vanja, is an orphan but has the god's Fortune and Death as godmothers, when she was left with them at 3 years of age, Death and Fortune gave her to a castle, as a servant, a then maid to
the Princess. At the age of 16 Vanja steals the identity and ultimately the life of the princess to escape a life of abuse and servitude. She plans that this deception will only last until she has enough money to leave the empire's borders. But the Lower Gods have something else in mind and so begins a great adventure, full of more deceit, murder, love, forgiveness and friendship.
A solid 5 star read for me that I would highly recommend.

When I saw I am obsessed with this book I mean it seriously.

Little Thieves by Margeret Owen was one of my most anticipated releases of 2021, and I am happy to say it met all of my expectations - and then some.

I love a fairytale retelling with a twist and since Little Thieves is a Goose Girl retelling I was very excited to see how Owen’s might have changed it - and she did it by tellling it from the ‘villainous’ maids perspective.

Vanja is everything I want in a main character - snarky, strong, and hell on wheels.
She is also the adopted goddaughter of Fortune and Death and I love the rocky weird relationships she has to her godparents. She has a hard shell but continually tries to do what is best for her as no one else does so.
And throughout the book you get to see how each of those relationships to the other characters impact her - in good, and in bad ways.

Honestly this story took a hold of me and didn’t let go.
Its humorous, fast paced, well written and heart breaking - and I mean that because it had me crying more then once. .

It also has a whole host of queer characters and honestly I couldn’t wish for anything more from this.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and Margaret Owen for the ARC of Little Thieves.
5 stars!
If I could give more, I would in a heartbeat! As you can say, I'm obsessed with the book and cannot wait for the sequel to come out!
'We have told our own stories, named our destinies ourselves. If I fall, I fall without fear.'

Vanja, a daughter of Death and Fortune. A thirteen daughter of the thirteen child who was thought to bring misfortune to the family, given away to the gods. Raised as their own and given a choice to serve either of her godmothers. But Vanja did not want to serve anyone anymore. She wanted to be free. But freedom comes with the price and being a maiden to the princes, she did not have enough money to buy her way out. So she decided to steal.
She changed her name to Greta, never giving her real name away. She stole princesses face and her life, she left her on the streets to find out the real struggle.
Vanja's story reminded me of the Robin Hood one. She was stealing from the rich in exchange for a better life. Her life was above everyone's else and she paid for it. After stealing expensive jewellery from one of the many castles, she came across the low god who caught her in her act. She might have gone unnoticed if not for the stolen protection coin of the same low god who not only stopped her caravan but the time as well. Vanja was cursed with rubies. You may think that it doesn't sound as bad. Rubies? Ha! That's what Vanja thought at first too. She could buy at least 5 horses with it! But there is always a trick behind god's mind. With every coming day, nearing the full moon, rubies would appear on her body till they suffocate her and claim her life. Because of her greed, she needed to pay everyone who've she's stolen from to break the curse.
And what was the first thing Vanja did after a rubie appeared on her cheek? She tried to cut it out! Oh, I love this girl!
I did enjoy a quirky and smart female protagonist. Vanja never let anyone bring her down or make her feel bad about herself. She thought till the end. Yes, she made mistakes but who is perfect? At least she tried to change something about herself without selling herself out. Death and Fortune were always on her toes, pushing her to ask for help. It would have made Vanja's life easier but after she'd need to serve one of them till the day she'd die. And all she wanted is love from her godmothers. I think most of us want simple things like Vanja did. Love, appreciation, acknowledgement and freedom. Some are born with it while others must fight for it.
I could keep talking about Little Thieves all day and night but I do not want to spoil an incredible experience for you.
The book is perfect for enemies to lovers, action, adventure, mythology and fantasy lovers. The book is filled with everything for everyone! If you're stuck with the same old book, which seems to bore you to death, put it aside and grab a copy of Little Thieves! Let the adventure begin!

I have a full review here: https://youtu.be/DSBdEV_tdq8 live on 18/11 at 6pm GTM
I found the book very entertaining the main character is amazing to follow i think this world is very fascinating with all the lore and backstory fascinating. The characters are very interesting specially Vanja i love her for being such a grey person. IThe writing style is very fluid and kept me reading and entertained for all the novel. I think there is no need for the sequel but I will read it when it comes out and also check the author's other works

I can definitely list Little Thieves among my favorite books of the year. I found it very difficult to put it down thanks to its fantastic cast of characters, the engaging story full of twists and surprises, and the author’s addictive writing style.

Little Thieves is the story of a young woman. Vanja Schmidt is an incredible anti-heroine. She was abandoned by her mother when she was only four years old, adopted by two goddesses who tried to force her to choose between one of them, who wanted her to become their servant, who sent her to work for a family who bullied and abused her. And finally, abandoned by the friend who she considered like a sister, Vanja decided it was time to think about herself by stealing her friend’s life. She was selfish, she did bad things, and yet I couldn’t help but really like her from the very beginning, and not only for her witty and smart-ass attitude, but because I felt for her and her desire for freedom.

Under her guise as Princess Gisele who is about to marry one of the most important men in the kingdom, Vanja is stealing from the rich and wealthy, until, one night, she steals a gift from a goddess who curses her. The only way to break the curse and not turn into a living jewel is to give back everything she stole, but it’s not easy when Junior Prefect Emeric Conrad is constantly on her heels investigating the thefts, her detestable “fiancé” is a villain who is planning something bad, and she is constantly watched over by Ragne, the goddess’s shapeshifter daughter. Will Vanja be able to redeem herself and save the kingdom?

I adored the characters created by the author (except the villain, of course). Vanja, Emeric, Gisele, and Ragne create an assorted, entertaining, and thick group of allies who get together to stop the villain. The characters are engaging and intriguing and I loved how each one of them develops throughout the story.

The plot is addictive, thrilling, and immersive. There is romance, friendship, and redemption with a brilliant world-building and a fantastic ending that promises more to come and I can’t wait for it!

Little thives is one of the most brilliant book I've read this year! The main character is Vanja, flawed, complex, full of intricated plans and thoughts, the setting is amazing and evocative, a world where gods and goddesses are among us, where magic exists and where everything has a cost...even family. Trying to escape a life of servitude, Vanja will do everything, even steal a life, to get what she wants...but when she's cursed, she is forced to correct her mistakes and who she's hurt in the process.
A wonderful and lush story, compelling storywriting and such brilliant characters in a unforgettable book I totally recommend to anyone.
Did I write the main character is demi and her love interest is demi too? I love this rep so much!

This is an exceptional novel, and I loved every single page. Vanja, the narrator, and the little thief in of the title, is refreshingly wry and witty. We meet her in the middle of a magically-assisted heist, just when things are starting to go wrong for her. There is suddenly a gods-ordained thief-catcher on her trail, she has been cursed to turn into gemstones by Eiswald, one of the low gods and an embodiment of the forest, and the evil fiance of the girl whose life she's stolen (with the help of some enchanted pearls) has come back from the war and is rushing her to the alter.

Despite her actions - which she fully owns up to - Vanja is a sympathetic and enjoyably protagonist, who I warmed to immediately. Life has made her self-interested, but only because being self-interested is the only way she can survive. She has been let down by everyone in her life - many of them not maliciously, but through failing to understand that Vanja is her own person, and has her own wants and needs, separate from their own.

Vanja's relationship with her godmothers (literal gods!), Fortune and Death, is really heart-breaking for much of the book. Vanja only wants to be their daughter, and their actions lead her to feeling like she's been rejected and abandoned by them.

As for the world Margaret Owen has built, it was so vibrant and distinct as a fantasy setting, calling back to the germanic roots of the Goose Girl story the plot is inspired by. Castle Reigenbach is the centre of the city-state Vanja's playing her hoax. In it, people can use magic through spells and potions, but doing so has a high cost, literal nightmare creatures can take form and kill people, riding them to death in their sleep, and a friendly hearth spirit will protect you - as long as you feed it mead and grits every day.

The low gods are concepts like Death, Justice, Truth and Fortune personified, and they can appear anywhere they like and interact with humans. More magical for me, however, is how incidental the representation was in the book. Both trans and other lgbtqia+ people are completely normal and nothing to question, there are different races in the book (at least 2 of the side characters with significant roles are women of colour) and there is also excellent demisexual/ace-spectrum representation.

Alongside this magic and everyday inclusion, though, there are still dark aspects to the society - people can be greedy, cruel and corrupt, the lower classes suffer at the whims of the nobility, there is a lot of political manoeuvring for power in the background - but it's those aspects that are interrogated and challenged in the book.

The plot was full of fun twists and turns, and having Vanja not only trying to find a way to break her curse, but also tackling a suspicious investigator and the need to escape her murderous bridegroom leads to lots of excellent hijinks. What's also wonderful is that, as Vanja is our narrator, we only know what she knows. This means the changes of fate and twists in the story take us by surprise as much as they do her, which is delightful. It also means that we can see when Vanja is being truthful with herself, lying to herself, or just doesn't quite understand the motivations of people around her (even as we see them), which provides a lot of pathos to the story.

What I loved about the development of the story, too, is that it's not all up to Vanja to make the changes and change who she is to break her curse. Other people around her have to learn and grow as well, and become stronger or more open-minded, and Vanja doesn't have to debase herself to avoid death. Instead, much of Vanja's journey is about healing from trauma and learning to trust herself and others. I've read nearly 200 books this year, and this is easily in my top five.

This book was everything I wanted in a book. Fantasy, myths, witches and magic.

Basically everything I love in life. This book woke up my inner child, she writes so beautifully and it drags you in and keeps you there

Loved it! Bespelled jewellery, nightmare horse demons, a world of low gods and high gods, and an Evil Baddie. Vanya is our underdog MC and is joined by a bunch of misfits to solve a crime and save a kingdom. Special mention to the shapeshifting Goddess’ daughter and the Kobald, the palace goblin. This was a fantastic and romantic tale which was just perfect for the shorter darker days of winter. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

Highly recommend. Many thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for this eARC. The story grips you from the beginning and doesn’t let you go. If you enjoy amazing world building, characters who are well fleshed out and magic with a plot that takes you on an emotional rollercoaster of a journey then give this book a go.

I loooove fairytale settings and re-tellings.

From the very first moment we meet Vanja, I loved her wit and snarky comments, her inner monologues and the way she interacted with others and pre-empted their actions.

I loved how we received details about her past, as it built up her character and why she is the way she is today.

I enjoyed the other characters and to be honest have been caught off guard by some of them. I loved the addition of the Kobald, Poldi, and the little sprinklings of fairytale-esque and folk tale additions. Can't wait to read this again when my special edition shows up from Illumicrate!

This will definitely be a book I'll reach for when I need a comfort read.

In other words: Who was your favourite character, and why was it Ragne?

Fairytale retellings can be so tricky to get right. You have to balance the original tale with enough originality to be fresh, all whilst keeping echoes of the story we already know. Little Thieves manages to absolutely nail what it is I love about my favourite retellings, spinning out from the fairytale to be strong enough to stand on its own even if you were to remove everything about it that made it a retelling, whilst having little moments that nod to the original in a delightful rather than saccharine way.

I could tell immediately that I was going to love Little Thieves, right from the opening scene. Margaret’s writing is so lovely and she opens up the book in fairytale style with ‘once upon a time’ to tell the story of how Vanja first became acquainted with her godmothers, Death and Fortune. Throughout the book we get more of these little tales interjected, and they work really well at both moving the story along by revealing little details about the story and being very pretty to read. Accompanying these tales are beautiful illustrations and I would highly recommend picking up a physical copy of the book because it’s worth it, if only to see these within the story and admire them.

I loved how Margaret chose to focus on the antagonist of The Goose Girl in this retelling to show the other side of the story, and Vanja is one of the most fun characters I’ve read this year. The original tells the story of a maid who steals the identity of her innocent mistress, stepping into her life as a princess, and Little Thieves takes that premises and unfolds it, giving Vanja both a backstory and the personality to make us root for her. Her inner monologue is hilarious and the first-person narration works really well at allowing us to see all of the funny comments she thinks to herself. Even better, there are moments where she’s almost talking to us, very reminiscent of the *record scratch* *freeze frame* Yep, thats me. You’re probably wondering how I ended up in this situation meme.

The supporting characters are also super fun, especially Ragne, who is the daughter of the Low God who curses Vanja. With absolutely no understanding of humans and their silly ways, she provides a lot of humour, but also has a naïveté that gives the story a nice soft aspect, especially when it comes to her understanding of friendships and relationships. There is a great little ensemble cast, one that will appeal to readers who love the found family trope and storylines involving characters coming together to solve a mystery.

Not only are the characters interesting but I really loved the setting, which is very reminiscent of a fantasy German town. Creatures such as the Kobald come straight from German folklore and there are German words sprinkled throughout. It was an interesting setting, one especially suited to a fairytale retelling. We saw quite a lot of the setting, from decadent ballrooms to dingy places for shady dealings, and all of them were great. There was a warmth in each place which made it all the better that we got to see so much of it explored in just this one book.

The romance was fun and I enjoyed seeing it develop. There’s also a sapphic secondary relationship that is very cute, and I appreciated the language used when describing the possibility of a sapphic princess marrying another noble as it was particularly inclusive in a very natural way. Margaret has definitely crafted a world in which different sexualities are the norm as within the main cast alone we have two demisexual characters and two sapphic characters. There are several instances of queer side characters and all of it was presented without fanfare, just simply part of the world.

As a standalone I really enjoyed Little Thieves as it had a very satisfying ending, but with the recent announcement of a second book I am looking forward to seeing what other hijinks our cast finds themselves in. For fans of fairytale retellings and fantasy books with ‘terrible girls’ (as Vanja is referred to by Margaret), Little Thieves is a very fun and enjoyable read, one I’m glad to have sitting on my shelf.

3.75/5🌟

Little Thieves is a loose retelling of The Goose Girl that follows a girl named Vanja, a thirteenth daughter of a thirteenth daughter which is deemed as bad luck. She's adopted by the gods, Fortune and Death. With the use of a pearl necklace that can alter her appearance, she now masquerades as Princess Giselle until she was cursed by another god.

What I liked:
- political intrigue, magic, found family, romance, friendship
- beautiful narrative
- fairytale-like vibe, it's perfect for fall with its woody and mysterious and dark vibe
- detailed and vibrant world-building set in a German-like setting and good magic system
- manipulative, cunning, and determined MC that readers would def admire

What I disliked:
- slow pacing, I was bored on the first half of the book. There's a lot of info and characters I need to keep track of.
- I don't care enough for the characters especially the MC. Don't get me wrong, I like her qualities and that's it.

Thank you so much Hodder and Stoughton for the galley. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

I really, really enjoyed this book.
Margarent Owens first duology was (and still is) a highlight for me, so my expectations were rather high going into her newest book - and it didn’t disappoint!

Margaret Owen knows how to create round and complex characters. I loved the relationship the protagonist Vanja has - not only with the other characters but with herself as well. She thinks she knows who she is - someone who doesn’t deserve love and can’t expect anyone to fight for her - and what she wants out of life, but over the course of the story she learns so much about herself. There are scenes that just broke my heart and I wanted to tell her that she is worth it and she’s not alone - it was incredible character-building. And not just with Vanja but with all the characters. I especially loved the love interest and also Vanjas adoptive mothers, the Gods of Death and Fortune - their scenes always made me chuckle.

I also loved the eerie atmosphere and setting, reminiscent of historic Europe. Gods exist and turn the lives of mortals upside down. It´s all very creepy and makes me happy to not live in this particular fantasy world. Also WARNING for anyone who doesn’t like Body Horror: The descriptions of Vanjas curse slowly turning her body into gems (how she feels them growing under her skin before they basically burst out of her body) were - at least for me - kind of disturbing. So be aware of that going into the book!

The only thing that brought me out of the reading experience was that I - as a German reader - couldn’t overlook the misspelling and wrong translations of the German-influenced words like glöhwein (instead of Glühwein) and Pfennigeist (instead of Pfenniggeist). For English-speaking readers it will probably not make a difference, but it pulled me out of the story every time, especially since they were in cursiv.
[I DID read an eARC of this story, so I don’t know if these mistakes were straightend out before the publication of the physical copy!]

I thought the plot was intersting, but a bit slow at first. The story takes a long time to get started, until all the major characters are introduced and the scene is set, but the mystery aspect of the plot was well done and quiet creepy.

I think this can be read as a stand-alone, even though it is apparently the start of a new series.

I’m going to be very honest here, I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I did. Heists, fairytales and morally grey characters… it sounded too good to be true.

Alas, once upon a time I read a story and fell in love…

Little Thieves is a story that will grab you from the very beginning, leading you head first into the emotional trauma suffered by the main character, Vanja, as she’s abandoned by her mother for being the thirteenth child of a thirteenth child. Luckily, in some ways, Death and Fortune take her in as her own. They raise her and Vanja, for the most part is happy with them being her mothers. Until of course they essentially ask her to choose between them for a life of servitude.

That’s pretty much the start of things going very badly for Vanja. Rather than choose between them she decides to take matters into her own hands and try to raise enough money to basically run away. That’s when we’re thrown into the action where Vanja is pretending to be Princess Gisele and… using the cover to steal from the rich. Granted, for the most part it’s purely selfish why she steals but there are plenty of times she aids those who are poor from doing this.

She accidentally steals a symbol of a god, which angers that god into cursing her, slowly turning her into jewels. It starts small, a teardrop shaped ruby on her face but as time passes the curse, naturally, gets worse. The god sends her with aid in the form of Ragne, a half-god, half-human shapeshifting ball of adorableness. She acts like a child because she’s never been around humans for long and she’s just so sweet, yet will turn into a lion and bite anyone who dares try to hurt someone she cares about.

If you enjoy LGBTQIA+ representation in your books… my god this has some of the sweetest rep I’ve seen. Our main character is demisexual and there is an f/f side romance that is just so sweet to watch from the beginning to the end.

And then pretty much all the way through, Vanja is sassy and headstrong. She’s equally suffered trauma and is learning to really live with that but her jokes throughout? Loved them. As the reader, we know she isn’t perfect. But it’s endearing to watch as she tries to basically become a good person. Likewise, she struggles with difficult abandonment issues, but the way Margaret writes this makes it easy to put yourself in her shoes.

In terms of other characters, we have the overeager junior detective, Emeric, who is basically very smart and very good at his job but… so useless when it comes to romantic feelings, pretty much similar to Vanja. One of the best things about Little Thieves is watching as they slowly fall for each other as they get to know more and more about the other. There is the Princess Gisele herself, who’s been forced to do a lot of growing up but I actually really enjoyed the parts of her character development we were able to see. And there’s Joniza, who kind of acts like an older, very exasperated sister for the majority of the time we see her. She was very cool though.

Death and Fortune pop-up at various times of the story, and what I found interesting is they seem pretty much as clueless about human emotions as Ragne, even though they’ve raised Vanja? Regardless, I enjoyed their scenes and I’d personally love to have the benefits of being able to see if something was lucky, unlucky or could bring death, it was a great little addition to the world-building.

In terms of the overall world-building, the story is set in a Germanic-fantasy land which was new to me from a readers’ perspective so I really enjoyed the little insights we got into German culture. The use of gods in the world was another element of the world-building that worked extremely well also.

I’m pretty sure this was originally supposed to only be a standalone but is now part of a series… and I’m SO happy about that! I actually already own Margaret’s other duology The Merciful Crow, thankfully, so I’m planning to read that soon also as I enjoyed this one so much!

One last thing about Little Thieves… the finished copies feature these STUNNING illustrations throughout the parts and they are so lovely to see. They really enhance the fairytale feel of the book and I’m so in awe of Margaret’s talent as she drew them! She’s an absolutely all-round super-talented artist both with art and words and I’m so excited to read more of her work in the future!

Thank you to Hodderbooks and Netgalley for the review copy of Little thieves by Margaret Owen.

This book was the most fun I have had reading a fantasy novel in a while. With a sassy main character, hilarious banter, great side characters and a plot that felt fresh. The story is a retelling of The Goose girl, a fairytale I was not familiar with before and it was so nice to not be able to anticipate every plot point. I can't wait for the sequel to be published.

Vanja Schmidt is a thief. She steals jewels mostly but she also stole her current alias, that of the Princess Gisele. Being a princess really helps her to get into parties... and there are a lot of jewels at parties. Vanja's latest heist goes very badly wrong and she gets caught and cursed by a god & needs to make amends for crimes before she turns into a bunch of precious stones (it's kind of hard to explain best to just read the book immediately)

Not only is Vanja in a race against time before she turns into deadly jewelry statue but she also has the law after her for her crimes and she inherited an awful, warmongering fiance when she stole Princess Gisele's identity and if becoming a human jewel statue doesn't kill her her darling fiance just might kill her on their wedding night.

Vanja is an entertaining, sassy anti hero and after years alone, living off her wits she finally has friends, a found family of misfits.

Themes of abandonment, abuse, acceptance and found family

This review has also be posted to Goodreads and my Instagram Jenthebookishbakernz

I enjoyed the story so much & now remember me that I really need to read the sequel to The Merciful crow by the same author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing an e-arc in exchange of a review

Vanja is the adopted daughter of the gods Fortune and Death. After stealing the identity of princess Gisele, Vanja makes a living by stealing jewerly from the rich. But Vanja accidentally crosses a god and gets cursed to turning into jewels, giving her only two weeks to find a way to break it.

Apparently this is a retelling of "The Goose Girl", I have never heard of that so can't tell you how well the retelling translates, but I can tell you what I thought about it going in blind. This book is German inspired and gave me serious fairytale vibes. It started really strong for me, and reeled me right in. However, this story is definitely slow and quite long. It took me quite a while to get through the middle part of it. Maybe the pacing could have been better for me. What kept me reading were the characters, I loved them so much (especially Ragne!). I highly enjoyed it, and would definitely recommend this. I for one will also be reading the sequel.

What I really liked about this book, and wish to mention is the portrayal of LGTBQ+ characters, and it being so diverse. There's a sapphic side romance, trans people are mentioned to exist, and the MC and the love interest are demisexual for example. Overall it gets pretty much accepted. Also, 10/10 love to see more love interest like this

This book was delightful in so many ways - especially in unexpected places. I didn’t expect to love the MC, the vengeful villain Vanja. She’s clever with sticky fingers and a lot of hilarious sass.

I didn’t expect to love the Slavic old world setting and the mixing of magic and low gods.

And I especially didn’t expect to LOVE the slow burn romance between two enemies. It delighted me to the core.

Please read this one! It’s such a wonderful, rich fantasy. I want to live in this story.