My gosh, this book, this series, is so satisfying and good and ahh!! I loved it. I did feel like the fourth part felt a little slower compared to the rest of the book and it took me longer than I anticipated to finish it, but it was totally worth it. I love how much this is a book of choices and possibilities and how Vanja and Emeric and everyone else are shaped by those things. I really love how this was done and love the ending Vanja and Emeric get together.

OMG I SURVIVED HOLY TERRORS and it positively ruins me 🩷

I love how it ended the way it ended. Smart move. This is the completion of coming of age Vanja going through all throughout the series. The love, the future, the friends, the enemy.

Plotwise, this is the hardest to follow, the heaviest on the political intricts and powerful houses. The murders, the catch. BUT IM HERE FOR THE ANGST AND THE HEAL and I'm not disappointed at all.

This book is about closure and I'm so glad this series found me 🩷

Thank you for the arc in exchange for honest review 🫶🏾✨

Holy Terrors is the last book in one of my all-time favorite series, and I am so sad it's over. If you haven't read this series yet, I cannot recommend it enough.

These characters had me laughing, crying, and cheering them on. Vanja is genuinely one of the only characters I've ever resonated with so deeply, which did not change in this book. She is wholly human to me. She is my best friend. She is me. I love her. All of the characters feel that way. Everyone is just trying to make the best of their situation, and sometimes their choices are not the right ones, but it feels right to them. Not once did something have me going, "I cannot see anyone doing that," because these characters are so perfectly written as humans, and their motivations make perfect sense. None of them were good for the sake of being good, or bad for the sake of being bad. They just ... were. And it was beautiful.

It's been a year since I've read the last book, so my memory is a little fuzzy regarding the world and the prior books' plots, but I think Margaret Owen did a good job of reminding us of what happened, without going into too much detail. Of course, what's happened before is vital to the plot, but I never felt like I was getting a SparkNotes version of the previous books. All the reminders she threw in felt like they were in the right place and never so "in your face" that you knew she was doing it just to remind you. I bring this up because I really appreciated that aspect of her writing style.

I'm not going to lie, though, that plot was all over the place. Not in a bad way, as we've seen some crazy things happen to our characters before, but it did get a little confusing at times. Surprisingly, even with such a massive cast of characters, they were all distinct enough that I never mixed anybody up, which deserves a round of applause, as that is an impressive feat. However, it did feel like some of the plot got lost in the craziness. It took an extremely long time to really get to the point. I wasn't bored, per se, but there were moments where I didn't understand what we were doing anymore, if that makes sense.

This series was one heck of a good time, and Holy Terrors was a worthy finale. Whatever your usual reading genre, you should read this series. Seriously. I guarantee there's something in here for everyone. Again, I cannot recommend it enough.

I received an advanced copy of Holy Terrors directly from the publisher through Netgalley and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Margaret Owen has done it again, she has let Vanya get away with invading my mind and stealing my heart. This third book in the Little Thieves series is one of the best finale novels ever written for a series. HOLY TERRORS is a nuanced exploration of trauma, regrets, and what-ifs set against a deep unfurling mystery with tension and twists around every corner. I will not be sharing spoilers - you'll just have to read the full series and find out what happens for yourself. I will be singing the song of Vanya (and Margaret, of course) for years to come.

"I wish someone had held me like this at seventeen, told me that even after everything, I'd be loved, wanted, proud, that it wouldn't always hurt like this. Maybe I wouldn't have made the same choices if I knew what was waiting."

me, waiting for this book to be released:
[ "It's been 84 years..." .gif from Titanic ]

Margaret Owen could write me a story about Vanja for every year for the rest of Vanja’s life and I would read every single one of them.

Holy Terrors jumps in about a year after Painted Devils.

Vanja is living on her own, doing her own vigilante-style work in her area, until royal/noble people begin getting murdered, and the Penny Phantom (Vanja) is being framed for the murders. who else should show up on the scene to investigate but our very own Emeric.

the beginning of this book WRECKED me. Vanja is such a painfully relatable character to me. her trying to hide her feelings for Emeric while having to be FACE TO FACE with him AND his new relationship had me SCREAMING.

the book felt a little long when we got into the 70-75%ish area. the political system was really difficult for me to follow, so any time we got into the logistics of who could potentially rule now that so-and-so is dead, I felt my eyes glaze over every time because it just felt too complicated to keep straight, so I stopped trying.

I also felt a little robbed of Vanja x Emeric scenes. imo, it felt like we spent too much time on the villains elaborate schemes and not enough time letting Vanja and Emeric reconnect and have their moments.

plot: ★★★★☆
to be honest, the plot got a little convoluted as the story progressed. the villain was left ambiguous for too long, and by the time the reveals started to happen, I was beginning to feel checked out of the story. I love the plot, but just the execution was a little rough for me. when I first finished, I felt a little “meh” about the villain and the motivations, but after taking the time to sit with it, I appreciate it more. I think it fits Vanja’s character arc.

writing: ★★★★★
look, there was never a doubt in my mind that I was going to think the writing was 5/5 stars.

I do wish the political system had been clearer/not as… chaotic. I know I said this already, but I gave up trying to follow it pretty early on, which turned out to be a detrimental mistake towards the end when they started getting hella deep into discussing the outcomes of the votes and who would rule. but it also felt like TOO much time was spent hashing all of that out.

if my options are the inner workings of a fictional world’s political system or more time reading about Vanja and Emeric interacting with each other, I am picking Vanja and Emeric every single time.

that said, if we are focusing on politics, I would have liked to see a little more of the after when things start changing. if we had to focus on politics, I think less on how the elections run, and more on how they were able to make a change. with a line like:

“She hid her murders because we just expect the royal families to be power-hungry cutthroats, and we keep giving them thrones anyway. They're supposed to lead and protect us, but it took servants and bastards and artists and commoners to stop Imgard and House Winterburg. The only royalty who helped know what it's like to live like us." I take a deep breath. "They're failing their duty and staying in power. Something needs to stop that."

how could we NOT explore that more??? I’m not begging for a spin-off series or anything (or am I?), but I’m just saying it could be really cool to explore changing an entire system like that.

pacing: ★★★★★
the pace was great. I think where I struggled was towards the end when everything was culminating and it felt like a little too much was going on all at once and the fact that I just didn’t want the series to be over so I was intentionally dragging my feet on finishing the book.

romance: ★★★☆☆
honestly? not enough.

after the way Painted Devils ended and how much misery and longing was jam packed into the first half of this book, I felt like the romantic scenes were going to be SMACKIN in the last half of the book. but they were a bit fleeting. like I felt like we were given just morsels.

characters: ★★★★★
I love that Lilje never turned into like... an evil “other woman” kind of trope. obviously we’re all #TeamVanja, but by the end of the book, I liked Lilje a lot too.

Vanja, Vanja, VANJA!!!!!!!!!! she is hands down one of my top favorite book characters to ever exist. I love her always and forever. it was really cool to see her come full circle with believing she was worthless and always needed to run away from the people she cared about, to acknowledging that she is actually a fantastic person and people genuinely love her for her and not what she can do for them and that she DESERVES that love.

low key, I kind of wanted Emeric and Kirkling to squirm more. I felt a little robbed that I didn’t get to witness Emeric discovering what Kirkling did and him and Kirkling talking about what she did.

that said, I did enjoy that she got a bit of a retribution arc. I think that’s one of my favorite things about the story is it’s hard to FULLY hate any one character for very long (except Irmgard).

over-all: ★★★★★
I genuinely meant it when I said I would read a book about Vanja for as long as she lives. I love her so much. this series is also on my short list of books I would like to have a tattoo dedicated to someday. I do think this one was the weakest of the trilogy, but I still love them all dearly.

Margaret Owen does it again! What a wonderful conclusion to one of my most fave Fantasy series ever! I really appreciate Owen's ability to write a solid unexpected twist! I really loved reading about Vanja and Emeric and their growth as individuals and together.

Holy Terrors is a phenomenal conclusion to the Little Thieves trilogy, and Margaret Owen absolutely knocks it out of the park. Her writing is sharp, heartfelt, and effortlessly funny. She balances high-stakes drama with emotional depth in a way that few authors can. The character growth is so satisfying, and the world she’s built is rich with folklore, grit, and heart. Owen has a real gift for storytelling that feels both clever and deeply personal. If you’ve been following this series, you won’t be disappointed!!

Help, why was this perfect? I didn't understand how it would go, but it's such a character driven book. I love Vanja's character. She's the perfect morally grey character. I can't deny that Emeric's character angered me when it came to Lilje, but he was so redeeming.

I love how it was all full circle. The way it tied back to the first book was perfect. And there was some chaotic justice that I really appreciated.

All in all, a 5 star book that literally made me cry at least 3 times. Also, shout out to Vanja's healing arc, it was perfect

This series is everything. Hilarious, outrageous, emotional, and downright perfect.

If you haven’t read Little Thieves yet, do yourself a favor and fix that ASAP. It’s easily the funniest book I’ve ever read — with the most lovable, morally gray FMC in Vanja. Truly, she’s iconic.

Then comes Painted Devils, where Vanja (in the most on-brand way possible) accidentally starts a cult. Yes, really.

Once you're hooked — and you will be — it’s time for the grand finale: Holy Terrors.

And wow, what a finale. The growth we see in Vanja and Emeric is so powerful, it’ll have you forgetting this is technically a YA series. It’s emotional, raw, and so beautifully done. The story begins with laughter and chaos, but evolves into a genuine, heartfelt journey of learning, loss, and love. Vanja makes big mistakes — and she learns from them in ways that feel honest and earned.

By the end, this series feels like it’s matured with its characters. It starts with lessons about selfishness and ends with wisdom about letting go and allowing yourself to be loved.

Not to be dramatic, but I’m holding back tears just thinking about it.

So seriously — stop reading this review and go read the book. Nothing I say here will do it justice.

Okay, this took me a really long time to read because I just love Emeric and Vanje and I could not deal with the amount of suffering in this book. I do think this was a great end to the series, wrapping up so many different plot lines and showing so much growth in characters in a very realistic and believable way, without being predictable. This is one of my all-time favorite series, and I felt like this was the ending it deserved. I do hope Margaret Owen pops back on a03 for a little epilogue of Emeric and Vanje happily together though. Please? Just a tiny glimpse.

I’ve been waiting so eagerly for this book to come out, and it didn’t disappoint!

If you’re like me and you haven’t read book two since it was published, I would recommend giving yourself a refresher. The author very kindly includes a quick and easily digestible recap of a lot of the important context I’ve forgotten since I read book two, without it feeling too infodump-y. This helped with some things (where things left off with Vanja and Emeric especially) but unfortunately not others. For example, a lot of side characters were brought back but I couldn’t remember who they were, and I couldn’t remember very well what had happened with Vanja’s family in the last book. She perhaps could have reintroduced those things a little more smoothly.

But really, that’s the only minor complaint I have for this book. It’s a worthy finale to this trilogy. The plot was compelling (though I did get a bit lost in the political maneuvering), character and dialogue were on point (as ever with this author!), the writing was gorgeous, and the ending was a satisfying one. I read these all as they came out but I’m planning on rereading them all in one go sometime soon, just so that I can have a more seamless story. I think it will be one well worth revisiting. Five stars, and I’m eagerly anticipating whatever Margaret Owen comes up with next!

Representation: LGBTQIA+ characters and relationships, polyamorous characters and relationships, POC characters, demisexual main characters

"Holy Terrors" by Margaret Owen closes the Little Thieves series with a bang. Bit strange seeing several series end this year, but appreciate the ride.

It's been two years. Two years of taking care of the desperate and looked over. But things have a habit of landing in Vanja's lap. A killer is taking out nobles and leaving her calling card on the bodies. To her consternation Journeyman Prefect Emeric is on the case, and also the person she left two years ago with no explanation. Won't be AWKWARD at all.

Reasons to read:
-Finished series, no excuses anymore, get after it
-Banter
-Wonderful side characters
-Oh that's petty
-Wrapping up character arcs beautifully
-Death

Cons:
-Yea... I don't forgive that easy and for much less

I was completely happy with the way this book ended the trilogy. There’s just something about Vanja’s character that is so appealing. She’s witty and irreverent and cares deeply about her friends, and she tries to make the best (although not always legal) choices she can. Vanja and Emeric together are sweet and while there’s not a ton of romance in this book, it’s still a good amount and I think anyone following their story will be happy with how things unfold. I read through this so fast that I know I missed some details and confused myself, but this is one of those rare series that I plan on rereading sooner rather than later, and know I’ll enjoy just as much as the first time.

This book, was a perfect way to end the series even though it didn't go as I expected. Vanja and Emeric have my whole heart and I love watching their story unfold.
This book picks up 2 years after the whole cult incident that happened and Vanja is now back as the Pfennigeist, but someone is killing royalty disguised as her. She's then dragged back into dealing with Emeric and they have to figure out who is doing it.
I loved the continued small amounts of world building we got in this book and about halfway through I did realize who was doing the killing which didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. Now what upset me was a certain characters death I mean :( come on my heart broke.
The romance was decent, there wasn't a lot but small amounts but it was perfect for our two characters
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillians Children Publishing Group for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Each book in this trilogy is better than the last. Holy Terrors is the satisfying and hopeful conclusion that Vanja deserves after everything she's been through and done.

ETA: My first read through made me want to go back to the beginning and re-read the whole series. I'm so glad I did, because I caught so many more references to previous books and it made the ending that much more satisfying.

I think yet again, I did this series a disservice by reading them all so far apart and not remembering what happened to the characters each time. I recognize names, but they would bring up plot points from the previous two books and I'd have to think "wait... that was something that happened?" multiple times.

The way this book started off was interesting, yet really confusing and I thought that I must have accidentally clicked on something that wasn't chapter 1 to start. There were a lot of twists and turns that kept me baffled and were hard to keep track of, but I did enjoy that the "time travel/multiple universes" plot point was a little bit different than normal to keep things interesting.

Emeric and Vanja are sweet, but once again I have no memory of their romance from the first two books to keep me SUPER invested in them. However, I was still very happy to read about their relationship and I think Margaret Owen did a pretty decent job of reminding us of certain plot points from the other books.

The book itself was very interesting and pretty good, I just think you'll have the best time reading it IF you have read the other two very recently so that you remember everything going on. Overall, if you were a fan of the first two books, I think you'll like this one a lot!! A good ending to a series.

An amazing addition to this series and a fantastic way to bring the series to an end. I loved seeing another adventure with Vanja and Emeric - and the new characters that we meet in this installation - and I appreciated that this wasn't just a filler adventure. It was meaningful and it was something that was significantly impacting Vanya's life throughout the course of this novel. There's a certain kind of whimsy that comes from this world, and while there are some moments of more poetic and beautiful, lyrical writing, the writing is more straight-forward and easy to follow. I truly loved these characters and I was sad to see their story come to an end - even if it's an end I was happy to see.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSS THIS BOOK WAS EVERYTHING I NEEDED, WANTED AND NEVER DID I KNOW WHERE IT WAS GOING. def gave very game of thrones vibes with the whole battle royale of houses championing for the seat.

Holy Terrors review💜 I’m always nervous going into a sequel when I haven’t recently read the start of the series. But these books each have pretty compartmentalized plots and characters that are so lovable they’re memorable through time. Just like the second book I had no trouble jumping into this one and loving it from page one!

The writing was as witty and emotional as always. My heart was melting and then on fire for Emeric and Vanja at the start of the book😩 The story just immediately pulls you in.

There were a few returning minor characters from the first and second books and I did find I forgot some of the details of those plots. But I still enjoyed the third book and imagine I will even more so when I one day do a full reread. This was in fact the final book💔 although I would welcome a crime solving spin off set!

I overall liked the ending and felt it did the characters justice! My only other qualm with the book is I wish we had more of Vanja and Emeric together🥹 I can not wait to see what the author writes next!

Thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for a copy of this book, I loved every moment of it.

P.S. these are probably my favorite special editions that I own😍 STUNNING artwork.

I have loved this story and these characters since my fiancé (then boyfriend) bought me Little Thieves because he said “it looked like a book you would love.”

These characters in all their messy, unruly goodness make this one of the most human fantasy novels I’ve read in a while. This is a book about hope, letting yourself be happy, and getting out of your own way.

Love the horror aspects in this book & the little pop culture nods (I cackled when I read “There’s people that are dying” in one of the scenes in this book).

Team Vanja and Emeric for LIFE.

If you’ve not read these books, go do it now.