Any retelling of ‘The Goose Girl’ is always an insta-read for me and Little Thieves was no exception. After reading Margaret Owen’s previous duology, I thought I came in prepared for magic, mayhem, and a little madness, but what I didn’t prepare for was to cry in the middle of a story of a young woman who’s mastered the art of truth-telling through deceit and the seemingly insurmountable task of wanting to be cherished. There’s no doubt in my mind that Vanja is going to worm her way into your soul the way she did mine, and the same for Emeric, Ragne, and Gisele. It’s definitely got some teeth, so you’ll want to bear that in mind when you’re adding it to your TBR. You’re not going to want to miss it!
As the goddaughter of Death and Fortune, Vanja Schmidt has become an expert at understanding that no deal comes without its price. When her godmother’s care comes at a terrible price, she chooses to steal a life that isn’t hers. She casts off her servant garbs for a string of pearls that carry an enchantment to change her face to Princess Gisele’s, while the real princess is left alone and penniless. Vanja’s charm allows her to lead a double life among the nobility, whilst also lurking in the shadows as a jewel thief. However, when she crosses the wrong God she’s cursed to an untimely end: turning into stone for her greed. With two weeks to break her curse, she’ll battle a sinister fiancé, an overeager junior detective, and contend with a feral half-guardian to pull off the biggest trick to save her own life.
Let’s begin with the incredible characters. Vanja is a stunningly wretched piece of work. She’s been shaped by some pretty insane circumstances that have turned her into the person she is now. Though she cloaks herself with the face of a princess, she’s a master at charming her way out of dangerous situations with blessings from both Death and Fortune when using her real face. However, her greed catches up with her and she ends up cursed. Despite that, her self-confidence is staggering, especially when you realise how the odds are stacked against her in a way that would cripple any normal person. As you read though, you’ll start to see cracks in that veneer that reveal an entirely different Vanja than the one on the surface. There’s a point in the story that I was left breathless for a few moments, because I felt like I was Vanja in the scene. It genuinely made me weepy for her. Margaret Owen, I adored Fie, but not like I’ve fallen in love with Vanja.
Of course, you can’t have a thief with a detective on the case, and in this book, that would be Emeric Conrad. He’s a know-it-all young man with a Sherlock Holmes-esque way of pissing people off as he’s solving his crimes. He’s passionate and pretty fearless, much like our heroine. Unlike our heroine, his self-righteous attitude gets him in trouble more than once, and in some pretty spectacular ways. I loved the clashes of wit between him and Vanja. Together, they’re a nightmare for anyone not on their team.
There’s magic in this world that I was fascinated by, and there’s just enough explanation of it to keep you both interested and wondering more at the same time. Of course, there’s magic from some of the dark lore infused into the story that makes this world all the more stunning. The inclusion of the pantheon of Low-Gods was phenomenal, and I definitely wished I had a little glossary at the end that maybe had some sassy commentary about each of them. We get some backstory for Death and Fortune, but I was very curious about some of the others too. Margaret has such a creative way of getting every part of her world to fit together into something so much more than a story. It’s something that sticks with you long after it’s over, and I find myself wanting to go back and see what else I might discover if I read it again.
As many of you who read my reviews know, I do love a good romance. In this book, there’s an exploration of romantic feelings from a different spectrum. I think Vanja and Emeric are both on the aro/ace spectrum (please correct me if I’m wrong, I’m not totally knowledgeable on the subject), which I hadn’t had the opportunity to read much about. Both characters go into some explanation of how they handle love as an emotion, and I really enjoyed that aspect of it. For once, I was more invested in the well-being of one character rather than the romance, and honestly, for that alone I would recommend it.
I’ve been trying to find the words to write this review for a couple of weeks now, and it’s still not saying everything I want to. There’s very few books that make me feel as emotionally invested as Little Thieves has. You can tell that every aspect of the story has been meticulously crafted into something unique and you won’t find another story like it on the shelf. You’re going to want to get this on your TBR. It’s thrilling and exciting, but also full of heart.
Little Thieves is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Once upon a time, there was a horrible girl…
Vanja Schmidt knows that no gift is freely given, not even a mother’s love–and she’s on the hook for one hell of a debt. Vanja, the adopted goddaughter of Death and Fortune, was Princess Gisele’s dutiful servant up until a year ago. That was when Vanja’s otherworldly mothers demanded a terrible price for their care, and Vanja decided to steal her future back… by stealing Gisele’s life for herself.
The real Gisele is left a penniless nobody while Vanja uses an enchanted string of pearls to take her place. Now, Vanja leads a lonely but lucrative double life as princess and jewel thief, charming nobility while emptying their coffers to fund her great escape. Then, one heist away from freedom, Vanja crosses the wrong god and is cursed to an untimely end: turning into jewels, stone by stone, for her greed.
Vanja has just two weeks to figure out how to break her curse and make her getaway. And with a feral guardian half-god, Gisele’s sinister fiancé, and an overeager junior detective on Vanja’s tail, she’ll have to pull the biggest grift yet to save her own life.
Margaret Owen, author of The Merciful Crow series, crafts a delightfully irreverent retelling of “The Goose Girl” about stolen lives, thorny truths, and the wicked girls at the heart of both.
