Little Thieves tells the story of Vanja, a girl who is trying desperately to steal enough to run away and make a real life for herself. She is living a double life as we meet her-princess by day and thief by night-when she crosses the wrong god. Now she is in a rush to find out how to break the curse that has been placed on her or die a slow death. The world building in this book was excellent and the writing was great. Although there were things about Vanja that gave her a measure of sympathy, it was very hard to enjoy her as a main character.

I forgot to leave a review for this, but this is absolutely one of my favorite books of all time! The demisexual rep? The trauma? The way I cried? Good lord.

A young thief of unlimited talents decides she deserves a better life than the one she has, so she steals the one she wants. Vanjis lives her stolen life with no fear of consequences until she steps on the wrong toes and earns a curse that could only be a threat to a thief such as she. A modernized telling of a fairy tale that will capture the hearts and interests of any girl who has always wanted to be a princess.

"Little Thieves" by Margaret Owen is a captivating tale of magic, mystery, and rebellion set in a world where magic comes at a deadly price. The story follows Vanja, a young girl born into a society where magic is forbidden, and those who possess it are hunted down and killed. When Vanja discovers that she has magical abilities, she is forced to flee for her life and join a band of outcasts known as the Little Thieves. Together, they embark on a dangerous journey to uncover the truth about their world and overthrow the tyrannical regime that seeks to control them. It had a great potential but the book was not captivating to me but I am positive others find it fantastic!

thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

full review to come.

I really enjoy Margaret Owen’s writing. At the time I’m writing this, I’ve read all of her currently published works. I’ve come to expect poetic storytelling every time I open one of their books. I was extremely pleased to see that there were trigger warnings in the author’s note.

As I said with The Merciful Crow series, Owen’s writing isn’t for everyone. Antiheroes tend to be very hit or miss, and Vanja is no exception (if you’re not into morally gray characters, this probably won’t work for you). Ragne is my favorite part of the whole story.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free eARC of this book to read in exchange for my review!

I am always a fan of retellings. While I hadn’t heard of The Goose Girl, I can tell you that Little Thieves is a really great read with some incredible world building!

Also, I just love the cover. It would be a total cover buy for me. I really enjoyed the MC, Vanja and her introduction of the world to us. It was fun seeing the world the way she did and I found her to be a breath of fresh air!

The romance was sweet, and the book overall was just a nice, enjoyable read!

I LOVED this. I was sucked in from the first page! The second book couldn’t come fast enough! Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review.

Wow, this was such an intricate and richly written book. I'll be honest, I attempted reading Little Thieves several times over the past year or so- and it was a hurdle to get past the first 100 pages. Even when I finally got past my mental wall, I still wasn't fully invested until close to 40%. I don't usually stick with a book for that long if I'm not feeling it, but so many people have given Little Thieves rave reviews that I was convinced it had to be a "me problem" and not a "book problem."

I'm not sure where I have officially landed on that spectrum (it's just such a slow start, I totally understand it was necessary to set the stage, I just struggled!), but I will say that sticking with the book was very very worth it. Who am I if not an ardent supporter of books featuring casts of lovable misfits adorably sparring until they realize they need one another and settle into some version of a happy found family? Little Thieves has this on top of cute (but not saccharine) romantic subplots, lots of sausage talk, fun folklore with low gods and shapeshifters, delightfully obtuse and overbearing parental figures, and a really inventive curse. Battles are won based on technicalities, and I LIVE for snarky heroines outsmarting systems and claiming victories base on technicalities. There's also a lot of nerdy magical legalese and I truly love that kind of stuff. Owen is not giving her readers a simple and straightforward fairytale retelling here.

The most successful part of this book (for me, very personally) was Vanja's struggles with her inner demons. Yes, it's enormously satisfying seeing her fight with actual monsters- but Vanja's arc from seeing herself as someone who has "always looked for how she brings things on herself" to someone who is worthy of love and consideration just for who she is was lovely.

Anyway, looking forward to digging into book two soon! Many belated thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

This book was just sadly not for me! I was hoping for something different but it turned out to be something I was not expecting, which is okay and I'm sure someone else would love it!

One of the best books I’ve read in a long time! Incredible characters, interesting plot, cool magic, queer people, it’s awesome.

Am I mad at myself for taking this long to read and review this book? Yes. Why? Because I LOVED it.

I was unfortunately not a fan of The Merciful Crow by Margaret, but I'm always up for giving authors a second chance and boy am I so glad I did.

Every page, every second of this book was so incredibly enjoyable I hated having to put it down for work or other responsibilities. Vanya is the most enjoyable narrator I have read in a very long time. She's smart, she's cunning, she's absolutely hilarious and wholeheartedly herself. I will be working desperately to get my hands on the second book soon so I can hear more about this characters adventures.

This book is both rich in characters AND plot, which I have noticed is a very rare thing to find in books these days, but this author pulled it off. The world building was not hard to understand, the characters were easy to fall in love with (main and side) and the romance!! was to DIE for! I ate it UP. I cannot wait to see what happens with them in the future of the series. But I love them. They are adorable.

Ragna & Giselle were also complete surprises for me - they were the most fun side characters and I hope to see them in future novels.

I don't know what else to say other than I wish I could erase my memory and read this book for the first time again.

Always looking for YA fantasy to add to my classroom library and this one fits the bill. Especially because it’s told from the villains perspective. If you don’t love a morally grey character, are you even alive?! (Kidding of course!)

I really enjoyed the lush writing style, the twists and turns, and the faithfulness to the inspiration (The Goose Girl) with a fresh spin. I know my students will love this book.

This book took a little bit to get going but once you hit about page 200, you are IN IT.

The third act was sooo good I could not put the book down. The characters, the found family, the banter? I loved it all and Vanja has most definitely stolen my heart. I may relate to her a little too much...

I'm not sure where book 2 will go but I'm excited for it nonetheless.

Little Thieves was a fairly decent YA fantasy book. It had beautiful writing, for sure, but I'm just not into YA as much as I used to be. This was still an enjoyable read so I am happy I read it!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

A dark YA fantasy reimagining of the classic Grimm's Fairy Tale, "The Goose Girl," told from the villain's perspective. Anyone fascinated by morally gray characters will love this book. This reimagining takes the villain of the original fairy tale, the maid, and turns her into the protagonist. Vanja admits she's anything but perfect--she stole her mistresses' identity and steals from the rich, and she doesn't think she has anything to be particularly sorry for. After all, life is harsh, and sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands or perish. But when she steals from the wrong god, she is cursed for her greed, and she must find a way to escape the city (before anyone discovers her false identity and without giving up her freedom to serve her godmothers, Death and Fortune) and break the curse. The story highlights the many cruelties of a system that punishes the poor and puts young women at the mercy of men (their future is often based on their beauty) or at the mercy of their parents, who may or may not have their best interests at heart. The story takes quite a few twists and turns, and we eventually learn all of the events that took place that made Vanja into who she is today. Is she a villain? Perhaps there is no such thing.

I'm not familiar with "The Goose Girl" so I am unable to comment on the retelling. I did enjoy that the same story isn't being told by someone else in a different way. I enjoyed the characters and a refreshing new story. Great start to a new series.

Vanja was clever, quick-thinking, and downright funny. Absolutely loved this retelling of The Goose Girl and can’t wait for the sequel!