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poodily's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual assault and Gaslighting
diorra's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
4.25
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Abandonment
Minor: Body shaming
shadowspinner's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Death
Minor: Animal death and Sexual assault
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
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
mothie_girlie's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, and Violence
booksanddopamine'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? It's complicated
5.0
The beginning felt a little confusing to me because I wasn't sure what I was getting into. I didn’t know of the German fairy tale of the Goose Girl so I hit pause and read a quick overview of it on Wikipedia before getting back to Little Thieves. Knowing the skeleton of the fairy tale, I was curious how it would be retold in Little Thieves. It turned out that this was such a wonderful retelling which is told from the POV of the maid who steals the place of the princess.
The story started out a little slow as it built the world and the characters, but I'm glad it did because it made it that much richer once the pace picked up. Germanic mythical creatures, magic, and gods are woven into the story in a way that reminded me of The Winternight Trilogy (which happens to be my favorite trilogy).
The story started out a little slow as it built the world and the characters, but I'm glad it did because it made it that much richer once the pace picked up. Germanic mythical creatures, magic, and gods are woven into the story in a way that reminded me of The Winternight Trilogy (which happens to be my favorite trilogy).
The protagonist (Vanja) has such a strong voice and is an incredibly interesting character. I thought the narrator captured Vanja’s personality well. I loved all of the characters and the way their personal and relational growth unfolded throughout the book (particularly the second half of the book). They all felt like dynamic real people with flaws, strengths, and weaknesses.
I loved the adventure this book took me on and the way it ended. A solid 5 stars for me. I feel confident in saying that it's in my favorites pile.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
paper_elytra's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Interesting take on the fairytale of the goose girl. Loved the heist bits and the unravelling of the mysteries.The lore and mythos was well done too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Sexual assault
cardanrry's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Rape
thebookishatelier's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
Reasons why you should read Little Thieves:
1. Beautiful artwork - an author who also creates stunning art for the book? Who did they sell their soul to to receive this much talent?
2. Angry women? Check. I'm not sure why, but I've been reading a lot of books lately with morally gray women who are angry and I'm all here for it.
3. A pantheon of gods, including Death and Fortune? And as godmothers? This was such a good way to incorporate the fantastical into the story and I loved it all.
4. A Goose girl retelling? Honestly, I've been obsessed with all Goose girl retellings after I read Shannon Hale's book as a kid. But a story told from a different perspective was so refreshing and made this feel just different enough from the original tale.
5. On a more serious note, I greatly appreciated the small trigger warning at the beginning of the book. Little Thieves does handle some heavy topics, but they were handled in the best way possible.
Little Thieves was the perfect way to end my reading year. I laughed, I cried, and the entire time this book held me in its clutches and made me want to yell at everyone to leave so I could just read. Vanja is such an incredible mix of good and bad attributes, and my heart ached for her so many times. It is a great read and it is entertaining the whole way through. Read it before the sequel comes out this year!
1. Beautiful artwork - an author who also creates stunning art for the book? Who did they sell their soul to to receive this much talent?
2. Angry women? Check. I'm not sure why, but I've been reading a lot of books lately with morally gray women who are angry and I'm all here for it.
3. A pantheon of gods, including Death and Fortune? And as godmothers? This was such a good way to incorporate the fantastical into the story and I loved it all.
4. A Goose girl retelling? Honestly, I've been obsessed with all Goose girl retellings after I read Shannon Hale's book as a kid. But a story told from a different perspective was so refreshing and made this feel just different enough from the original tale.
5. On a more serious note, I greatly appreciated the small trigger warning at the beginning of the book. Little Thieves does handle some heavy topics, but they were handled in the best way possible.
Little Thieves was the perfect way to end my reading year. I laughed, I cried, and the entire time this book held me in its clutches and made me want to yell at everyone to leave so I could just read. Vanja is such an incredible mix of good and bad attributes, and my heart ached for her so many times. It is a great read and it is entertaining the whole way through. Read it before the sequel comes out this year!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Sexual assault and Abandonment
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: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, and Vomit
Minor: Rape