Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

65 reviews

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.

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Rape

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

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

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: 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

onthesamepage's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny slow-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

3.0

Thinks I liked:
* Overall, the story has a lot of fun elements, what with the heists and people teaming up to defeat the big bad.
* It's not so much a retelling of The Goose Girl, as a story that is loosely inspired by the setup of The Goose Girl, which works in its favor.
* The writing style lends itself really well to the story and brings with it a certain lightness and sense of humor that work very well with our POV character.
* Vanja is an interesting character to follow, because there is so much to discover about her and her motivations. In fact, there isn't a single character (villains aside) that I didn't like.
* I found myself getting a bit emotional during a couple of scenes, when we finally get to the core of why Vanja is the way she is. She's morally grey in a lot of ways, but also very relatable, which I appreciated.
* I loved the demisexual representation and the way the romance developed between Vanja and Emeric (for the most part).

Things I didn't like:
* The writing was too quirky and "clever" sometimes, in a way that would take me out of the story. For example, Vanja likens one of the characters (someone she has known for a few years) to an animal, says she has no idea why that character reminds her of that animal, and then goes "oh, wait, maybe it's because of so and so" because she just now realized why.
* I understand that Vanja has issues, but her "I do care about people but I will never let them know it" attitude got exhausting after a while. And so did her constant, willful misunderstanding every time Emeric tried to protect her.
* The 3rd act conflict in the romance made me roll my eyes so hard and felt overblown.
* The book is way too long for the story it's trying to tell.
* The ending was satisfactory, and I don't understand why we're getting a sequel. It feels very unnecessary, and you can absolutely read this as a standalone. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Torture

Minor: Sexual assault and Abandonment

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

This was a surprisingly heavy story using folktales/fairytales and the typical princess imagery as a backdrop to a sinister situation rife with magic. It's a tale of growth, of hurt and healing, of reclaiming autonomy, and ultimately of justice. Seriously enjoyed it but def recommend anyone to check out content warnings first.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Classism, Death, Abandonment, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

abigail_reads06's review against another edition

adventurous 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

I absolutely LOVED this book. The writing and the characters are amazing!  Definitely  reading the sequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Child abuse

Moderate: Body horror and Sexual assault

Minor: Body shaming

that_person_logan's review against another edition

emotional fast-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Classism, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Sexual assault

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

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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

grace_yin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault

Minor: Lesbophobia

cristina_margarita's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny fast-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: Child abuse and Emotional abuse

Minor: Abandonment