Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Little Thieves

It was a fun read. I love the protagonist and her humor and the adventure element was very fun. The world was very magical and the world building was great. It's really charming and the characters are wonderful. I find Vanja very relatable and i understand her feelings completely. Yes she can be happy for others and she cares but she's bitter, kinda selfish, and she does want attention as she was neglected so much. She also craves other's validation and really wants to prove herself. Her development was great. I also loved the romance sub-plot. My only complaint is that some parts in the beginning bored me. It's not like things didn't happen, lots did. I just didn't fully connect with the characters before. I liked the ending though. This book also has great representation of queer characters and non-binary characters.

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vivavia's review against another edition

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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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albernikolauras's review against another edition

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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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beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

~~Full review to come - but for now, let me just say I adored this!~~

I don't say this often about a book, but I'll say it for Little Thieves - I bow down to Margaret Owen, because this is a work of genius in just about every way.

First of all, let me heap praise on the way this novel has been constructed, because oh, wow. The only way I can describe it is like one of those Russian matryoshka (or nesting) dolls. The overall novel is divided into three parts. Within each part are "tales" - initially told in the third person in a fairy-tale style to illuminate a past event, before switching back to the present day in first person, our narrator and (somewhat anti) heroine, Vanja. And that isn't even the end of it, because each tale is further divided by chapters. Confused? Don't worry, it makes sense once you read it. Oh, and one more thing - the beginning of each "tale" is accompanied by stunning black-and-white illustrations, which I have just discovered that Owen created herself. Seriously, it isn't fair how one person can have THIS much talent.

The world-building is brilliantly intricate and comprehensive, which isn't something I say a lot when it comes to fantasy novels. But this one was *chef's kiss*.

Diversity in characters is spot-on, too. Even though this world is clearly inspired by central Europe, within that Owen has taken care to include people of other ethnicities and religions, briefly sketched but still vivid. LGBTQIA+ rep is also pretty solid, with various minor (and major, although I won't spoil who) characters who identify as being somewhere on that spectrum.

And the characters, I could go on and on (except for Adalbrecht, he's evil and nasty, and Irmgard barely rates a mention for the same reasons). First up, Vanja. I really appreciate how Owen wrote her character. Almost straight away I admired her cleverness and ingenuity, although she wasn't the most likeable at first. But Owen dropped subtle hints as to why Vanja behaves the way she does before it is explicitly revealed later on in the novel. I figured it out pretty early, and it was nice to be proven (mostly) right.

Emeric is an absolute cinnamon roll, and I loved the way he

turned the tables on Vanja

and their eventual

romance was developed subtly and beautifully

.

Ragne is hilarious and I adore her cluelessness, humour, spark, and honesty. The character of Gisele was well done too, and I loved the

development and backstory of her relationship with Vanja

. I also enjoyed the minor characters, like Joniza, and Ummaya - and who could forget Death, Fortune, and the formidable Eiswald (

Ragne's mother

).

The plotting was excellent too, and that final climactic twist had me gaping.

I'm pleased to hear that there is a sequel coming, and I'm looking forward to reading it when it comes out. Brava, Margaret Owen!

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