Reviews tagging 'Murder'

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

47 reviews

sabrinz's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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

3.5

The blurb (as well as the beautiful cover) drew me to this story, topping this up with being about fairy tailes and you had my full attention.

The book starts a bit slow and is (in my opinion) never really fast-paced as we follow Vanja, posing as a princess, who steals from the reach to flee the country (and the decisions her godmothers want to impose on her). But her greed draws the curse of a deity and she'll die at the next full moon if she does not give back what she took.
Enter a junior investigator who is more than he seems and a wrathful husband-to-be who schemes behind the scenes, but why?
As an unlikely alliance forms, the past and how Vanja came to pose as the princess come to light and maybe some amends will be made.

I was mad at myelf for not getting which fairy tale this was until after having read a very unmistakable name - and only then realizing what this meant after a few more hours. 
It's a great read with many elements from different fairy tales (a lot of it from German mythology) but also a lot of German influences (esp. the food - with some liberties in the spelling).

There is a second book, but this one can be read as a stand-alone. It does not end on a cliffhanger but is also not a definite end to the journeys the characters have gone on.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Animal death, Sexual assault, and Murder

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

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Content Warnings

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

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

marleywrites's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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

Margaret Owen, I love you forever for writing this book. I’m writing this review after reading this book for the second time in preparation for Painted Devils. 

Vanja is incredible. I adore Emeric. I could not create a more perfect duo. Add Gisele and Ragne to the mix and you’ve got the perfect conniving crew. 

This story had action, adventure, sleuthing, chaos, and beautiful romance(s). It features a queer normative world. It has magic and gods and politics. It has thieving and scheming. 

This story made me cry both times I read it. Vanja is such a strong character, I love her and I see so much of myself in her story and her fears and her hopes. She is an excellent example of how to write PTSD in characters, without glorifying or romanticizing their traumas. 

Emeric is possibly one of my favorite book boyfriends ever. I’ll leave it at that! 💛

I cannot wait for Painted Devils! I’m posting this review 8 days from the release date!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Sexual assault and Fire/Fire injury

There are moments when a character is triggered by her previous sexual assault. But the sexual assault does not occur on page.

thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition

5.0

I love Vanja. I love Emeric. I love Giselle (even though I didn't expect to). I love Ragne. I just loved this book, okay? Vanja is terrible and I love her. Emeric is awkward and cunning and I love him. The end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Body shaming, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Animal death and Rape

vivavia's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

middlekmissie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective 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

4.5

This book is so fun. Plotty, twisty, heisty, and fantastical! Hugely deep worldbuilding too. I thought it was fine as a standalone, but I will be super pleased to read the sequel too! The side characters were delightful, especially Ragne, my love. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Physical abuse

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

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Content Warnings

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

albernikolauras's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is a retelling of Goose Girl from the perspective of the thief. It starts off slow and Vanya is an extremely stubborn and frustrating character (which I can relate to at times).

As the book carries on and you learn more about Vanya and Vanya starts being forcibly befriended by multiple people, the book gets better and better. By the 30% mark, this book had stolen my heart.

It's not a book that will work for everyone, but some of the scenes between Vanya and other characters just hit me. It was the perfect ideal fairytale to help break the slump for the time.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, and Murder

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Abandonment, and Classism

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

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Content Warnings

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

elise_is_writing's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment