Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Little thieves. C'era una volta una ragazza cattiva by Margaret Owen

26 reviews

r_a_bell's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Murder, Sexism, Violence, Abandonment, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Gaslighting, Blood, and Gore

jokehelldo's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Death, Blood, Murder, and Misogyny

whenjessreads's review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

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

4.5

This book is loose retelling of the Grimm fairy tale ‘The Goose Girl’, in which a greedy chambermaid undermines her princess, forcing them to switch places so that the chambermaid can live a life of status and luxury, while the princess is relegated to the servant’s quarters and the geese. As expected from the Brothers Grimm, it ends in a particularly gruesome way, and hammers home the dangers of deception and greed.

This book was SO, SO much more than that. Little Thieves is narrated by Vanja, the maid who has conned her way into the place of the princess - and it IS a con, because Vanja is a liar and a thief, with no illusions about who she is. Not only has she taken the place of Princezzin (princess) Gisele while Gisele herself scrabbles for survival in a nearby orphanage, but she is also systematically robbing the elite of their jewels and gold under the pseudonym of the Pfennigeist - the penny phantom… until something happens to stop her in her tracks. Pursued by the law, the aristocracy, and even the gods, things start to get messy for Vanja.

I know I don’t usually write a summary of the plot before I get into reviewing, but this book was just so fascinating. It was witty, irreverent, deeply emotional, and hilarious, all at once. Somehow Owen has taken a literal conwoman, spoken at length about her greed and selfishness, and yet made her into an incredibly sympathetic character. I love a morally grey MC, and I ADORE a damaged one, so by the end I was pretty much ready to bow at her feet. Not only was Vanja a well developed, three-dimensional character, but all the central characters were. WHICH IS A DAMN HARD THING TO DO.

So many boxes were ticked here without them FEELING like boxes were being ticked. There was queer rep, the discussion of trauma without it being the entire plot, magic as a subtlety rather than a focus, slight commentary on the social ideals of beauty and gender-acceptable behaviours. 

And it was just so, so funny.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Vomit, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Blood

Minor: Rape

mpbookreviews's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

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

quillify_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Grief, Sexism, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Animal death, and Blood

mirandaburel's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Blood, and Violence

Minor: Physical abuse

tinysierra's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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

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

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

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

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

I love the humor and wit.

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

I loved all the characters, even the side ones! 

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

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

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

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

Update ~ 07-14-2023

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

Update ~ 03-13-2024

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

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

---

Content Warnings

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

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

Minor: Blood, Excrement, Lesbophobia, and Vomit

sarahaf712's review against another edition

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Violence, Classism, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Lesbophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Fatphobia, and Ableism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Police brutality, and Toxic friendship

readwithria's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Little Thieves stole my heart and ran with it.

I wasn’t expecting to love this YA fantasy novel, but here we are. Although it was off to a bit of a slow start, I completely fell in love with Little Thieves and the characters within it. It’s so hard to write a review of a book you love, but let me give you a rundown of some of my favorite aspects.

Things I loved
- I’m a sucker for a good found family story, and this found family is build exceptionally well!
- The growth of all four of the central characters was so well written! Vanja, Gisele, Ragne, and Emeric all grew as individuals and also developed strong relationships 
- Vanja and Emeric!! They’re so cute! Gotta love a classic enemies to lovers storyline
- the casual queer representation was lovely! While it wasn’t integral to the plot, having this world accept LGBTQIA+ folks was fabulous

The book wasn’t perfect, but it was exceptional. Definitely check trigger warnings before you read, but then dig in! 4.5 stars.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Dysphoria, Body shaming, Animal death, Fatphobia, Transphobia, Abandonment, and Bullying

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and War

anniereads221's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Animal death, Sexual assault, Murder, Domestic abuse, Rape, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Abandonment, Violence, Grief, Gore, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Body horror, Blood, and Body shaming