I read Little Thieves awhile back, so when I had the opportunity to read Painted Devils, I figured I'd give it a go. I was just so-so about the first book, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that I actually liked book two better.

Vanja and friends are back with a mystery about a fake god and a cult that Vanja has accidentally created. It's a good mix of mystery, adventure, fantasy, and a splash of humor that allows us to get to know each character more deeply.

I'm not usually a romance fan, but I did appreciate the way that Vanja and Emeric's relationship develops in this book. I love that things aren't perfect as they become both more emotionally and physically intimate. It felt very realistic to young people falling in love for the first time.

This definitely isn't the most complex fantasy series I've ever read, but it is enjoyable and worth reading for a good time.

Thank you to Netgalley, Margaret Owens, and Henry Holt & Co for the E-ARC and Audio-ARC! This in no way affects the objectivity of my review.

Incredible follow up to Little Thieves! I adore this series and everything Margaret Owen writes! I would read her grocery list tbh. This sequel has everything we loved the first time, along with new adventures and of course more trouble for our beloved couple to get themselves out of (and back in again!) I highly recommend Painted Devils to any Owen fans out there! I am anxiously awaiting the third!!!

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and Margaret Owen once again delivered in a way I was absolutely NOT expecting.

This book is more introspective and less linear-feeling than Little Thieves, and I think she might lose some readers with a very different story. But I loved that the series pivots to focus on Vanja's family and - in a huge way - sex and sexuality. Our girl makes the biggest, messiest choices, and she certainly suffers the consequences.

Not what I was expecting, but the characters and the voice in this book are so strong and SO well done that I couldn't put it down! My students will love this one!

***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book to review.***

10/10. No notes. I think Vanja has the likelihood to become one of my all time favorite female main characters. She is so perfectly flawed and easy to root for. I loved the themes of family in this one. I also, of course, enjoyed her relationship with sweet Emeric and the return of Ragne. I am so attached to these characters.

This series is such a blast and I cannot wait for book three.

A moment of appreciation for Margaret Owen’s tremendously good sense of humor, a rare bird indeed in this series’ genre.

Plot-wise this one is a bit of a step down from Little Theives, too focused on romantic subplot (and the ultra-cringey “can we get this angry god off our backs by um…getting on our backs?”), and and less driven by greater narrative arc. I fully expect a return to form in book three.

The characters remain excellent, though I missed Ragne and struggled to understand why she was absent for most of the book. The creepy doll, though, was an excellent addition to the cast, and I appreciated getting some answers (mostly for Vanja’s sake) about her family.

We are a long way from The Goose Girl now, which I think is fine since the story can clearly stand on it’s own, born of traditional fairy tale but finding its own unique path.

Loved this story so much! Margaret is a powerhouse when it comes to storytelling and creating characters you can’t help but love and root for!!! A great sequel to Little Thieves!

Painted Devils is a mesmerizing and thought-provoking follow-up to Little Thieves. With its intricate world-building, well-drawn characters, and lyrical prose, this book will definitely appeal to fans of dark fantasy and readers who appreciate themes of resilience and redemption.

Owens is on my auto-read authors list. I just… I loved this book. It’s funny - the kind of funny where you read a joke and you say “PAHHH!” out loud like Bert in Mary Poppins. It’s poignant, and handles <I>it</I> in a way I’ve never seen in a YA book. It’s inclusive and lovely and I only yelled at the characters for being stupid teenagers twice.

I loved going back to the world that Margaret Owen created in Little Thieves. Painted Devils picked up right where Little Thieves left off.

Vanja's snark and banter with other characters is highly entertaining. I love the parts throughout the book that are written like a Grimm's fairytale. I enjoyed that there was still some character development and a little world building still even though it's the second book.

I highly recommend The Little Thieves series to readers that enjoy fantasy or fairytales. I can't wait for the next book!

Thank you to Henry Holt and Co for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

While Vow of Thieves is a duology, there is a trilogy before which is just as good. From her debut duology comprised of The Merciful Crow and The Faithless Hawk to her new novel Little Thieves, her books are full of unexpected surprises, from their complex worldbuilding to their unconventional heroines.

Vanja Schmidt accidentally starts a cult. Well....of course she does.
Painted Devils doesn't suffer from "second book syndrome" one bit. In true form, Vanja finds herself in another unpredictably tricky situation as the result of her scheming ways. Emeric again is called to the case and must determine if Vanja is guilty of fraud or if she is innocent. Like in Little Thieves, there are still heists and schemes, but with with a new roster of characters along with some of our favorites from book one.

Did I think Little Thieves needed a sequel? No, not really. Did I still love this? Absolutely. Vanja is Vanja and the fact that she accidentally started a cult was just a *chef's kiss*. I liked that this was a bit darker than Little Thieves but still had the same wonderful writing and emotion behind it.

I love Vanja and Emeric so much!! Loved all the little capers here as well as the overarching plot that showed us more of Vanja's backstory. So many great, laugh-out-loud moments. And the Grimm fairytale vibes are perfection.

The banter between our lovers continues to be top-notch and I do appreciate the demisexual rep, but I think I am simply too old to care about the angst of two teenagers deciding when to have sex. But I did appreciate this book showcasing that intimacy is whatever you define it as!! Teenage me would have loved to have read that.

Gimme the next book now, please!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) for this eARC to review!

50000/5 stars.

Oh my god. I don't even have words. Why, Margaret, why???? And now we have to just sit here and WAIT?
I'll post more coherent thoughts once I actually have them.

Update: still can't form complete thoughts because OMG that was a wild ride from start to finish. I have never teared up so much or been so happy for someone to incidentally find their family while dealing with a whole ass mess! As all of the pieces slowly came together, I got more and more excited as we met each one! Kirkling was absolutely INSUFFERABLE (which is the point) and I want to karate chop her in the face. Also Emeric and Vanya's growing relationship was THE MAIN COURSE to an absolutely perfect 10 course meal. It was so nice to see two (older?) teens navigating relationship *experience* together in a very real way while there also being higher stakes involved in their decisions, and it was beautiful getting to see them help each other through their personal struggles and insecurities. I do really wish Ragne was in more of the book, but I have my hopes high for book 3. But THE END? EVERYTHING WAS FINE AND THEN VERY VERY NOT? AND IT WAS HER MOTTHHERRRRR???!!! That started to click for me about 5% away from the reveal after some things that were said sounded very sus and tied into other clues, but DAMN it went next level when she decided to try to flee and we had that bomb dropped on us! LET'S GO MARGARET I'M IN LINE FOR BOOK 3, QUEEN.

I loved Little Thieves but was slightly disappointed in Painted Devils. It doesn't have the same magic as the first book, and the story never gripped me, making it a slog to get through. I would have greatly enjoyed this book if the romantic element had been severely diminished. I still love the world that Owen has created and am interested to see what happens next, but I'm not excited about it.

I may try rereading this later to see if I'm less disappointed when my expectations aren't as high.

Vanja is such an interesting character! I couldn't put this down. Such a unique storyline and fast pace.

Margaret Owen can do no wrong. This is a fantastic return to the world of Little Thieves, and this book is just as clever, funny, and touching as the first. Owen has certainly proven herself to be a master at the fantasy genre.

If you haven’t read Little Thieves, it’s basically the story of the Goose Girl told from the perspective of the maid who takes the princess’ place. Only she’s not doing it to get rich like we get the sense of in other Goose Girl retellings. She’s doing that to survive and look out for herself.
In Painted Devils, our main character Vanja has already redeemed herself from being any kind of “villain” to anyone, but she’s still every bit as snarky as she was before, and that’s part of what keeps the story going so well. No part of the character is lost just because she has other goals now and is actually trying to help people besides just herself.
This book has basically a virgin sacrifice subplot, that goes into dismantling the idea of virginity and pointing out that that’s a terrible way to define someone. Especially since the one who is about to be sacrificed is Vanja’s love interest who is demisexual like she is, and they both don’t even want to have sex, even to disqualify him from being sacrificed. The book also briefly touches on the misunderstandings that can occur when someone hasn’t had any sex education, even though this book is not set in modern day.
Overall, if you haven’t read this book, and this series, I highly recommend checking it out. I love the characters, the plot twists, and the well-researched setting that also has a lot of creative liberties taken with it.

I absolutely love this series. The characters are intriguing and full of depth. I will say the sequel does fall a little short for me with the amount of characters and the depth and involvement from the first book. This is why I can't give it a full five stars because it was missing that element of friendship and dynamics that come from working with adversaries and the like. The plot and story element was fun and new. I never knew what was going to happen next.