Little Thieves: the New York Times bestseller (Little Thieves, #1)

by Margaret Owen

Once upon a time, there was a horrible girl . . .

Vanja Schmidt knows that no gift is freely given, not even a mother's love. The adopted goddaughter of Death and Fortune, Vanja has long made her own way in the world as the dutiful servant of Princess Gisele. Until a year ago, when her otherworldly mothers demanded payment for their care, and Vanja decided to steal her future back . . . by stealing Gisele's life.

With the help of an enchanted string of pearls, Vanja transformed into her former mistress and took her place, leaving the real Gisele a penniless nobody. Now, Vanja leads a lonely but lucrative double life as princess and jewel thief, charming the nobility while emptying their coffers to fund her great escape. Until, one heist away from freedom, Vanja crosses the wrong god and is cursed to turn into jewels, stone by stone.

With a feral guardian half-god, Gisele's sinister fiance, and an overeager junior detective on her tail, Vanja has just two weeks to pull off her biggest grift yet, or she risks losing more than her freedom - she could lose her life.

In this delightfully irreverent retelling of 'The Goose Girl', Margaret Own crafts an unputdownable tale about stolen lives, thorny truths, and the wicked girls at the heart of both.

• ISBN13: 9781529395310
• Publish Date: 19 October 2021 (first published 5 October 2021)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Hodder & Stoughton
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 512
• Language: English

Reviews

[Inkslinger]

I wasn't prepared for how much this book was going to hurt me.. nor the ways it would choose to do so. My emotions didn't start out particularly raw, in fact.. people have often felt I don't seem sensitive enough.  

 

Like anyone, I can get invested in a specific character or relationship.. sure. I can become moved by their losses and their struggles. But this story hurt me in a very personal way. Vanja's pain is old and carefully tucked away, so when it gets dragged out.. it's not healed up quite like one might think.. having left it behind as she did. It's still a poison eating at the way she views everything.  

 

In part, I blame unfamiliarity. I had never actually read The Goose Girl prior to picking up this book, which is the original fairy tale penned by The Brothers Grimm and I haven't read anything from Margaret Owen before, author of the acclaimed Merciful Crow series. If I had, perhaps I'd have been ready, but I have my doubts.  

 

Though the story of The Goose Girl is troubling, Owen's touch takes it from a mere warning to a visceral experience. While Vanja's behavior may be unsavory, I certainly couldn't fault her for her reasoning. Watching her process, not just the things that had been done to her.. but also the lack of aid and the feelings of betrayal she developed was heartwrenching. The very way she subconsciously approached situations where she had been hurt, so telling of exactly why she would arm herself emotionally in the ways she had.

 

Death and Fortune enamored me. I loved the fact that though they were moved to attempt kindness, as gods.. their actions were disassociative. The lack of true understanding for human feelings was the perfect frame for Vanja's already battered childhood.  

 

The world-building is rich and if not always beautiful.. at least beautifully textured. With a villain the likes of which I rarely come across, an intriguing magic system, and just the right evolutions between characters.. at just the right times.. Little Thieves manages to be both achingly dark and surprisingly hopeful.  

 

If you like stories that dig in their claws and don't let go, characters that are more grey than black or white, and moral choices that leave you questioning your own principles.. this is the book for you. 

(I received this title as an ARC. All opinions are mine and freely given.)