The dialogue between Vanja & Emeric > the rest of the plot.

First things first, TY for this ARC
Netgalley & Macmillan Children's Publishing Group.

Quick background –I loved book 1 but book 2 put me in a book slump. So I was nervous about book 3, but I needed to know what shenanigans Vanja was getting herself into now.
And though…

1. I genuinely missed the audio narration- &
2. I was overwhelmed with keeping track of the level of side characters. * &
3. Pacing and plot were frustrating…**

We, the readers needed that ending. Owen just makes you really work for it. 😅😩

*I desperately needed a list of characters to reference.

** I can’t believe Owen did us dirty at 75%. We were so close!

I actually liked this one more than the first two books in the series! The anger from Emeric at Vanja’s bs for the first 50% of the book was honestly really fun and tbh she deserved it. The joint custody of the kitten was really funny. You never really know where the story will take you in this series and that was absolutely true for this book too. This was a really good conclusion to this series!

Stop it, I’m not okay 😭😭

First, HUGE thank you to Henry Holt and Co and NetGalley for the eARC of this book!!

I had to reread the first two of this trilogy before I let myself delve into this one, and now I am crying that it’s over. I will miss Vanja and this entire world so so much, and I see many rereads in my future!

This book was longer than the previous two, but I wanted it all! There were so many loose ends to tie up. The entire book took me on an emotional rollercoaster as one problem progressed into the next and the next and I was hyperventilating trying to figure out how everything would resolve itself.

I know there’s a romance throughout the trilogy, but at the core it’s about Vanja and her trauma and healing. I was rooting for her the entire time. She is the perfect main character because she’s good, you root for her the entire time, but she’s flawed. You curse her and all her terrible choices, but overall you root SO HARD for her in her journey!

The tone of this book matched the others perfectly and even heightened it. If you haven’t not read this trilogy, YOU NEED TO! PLEASE! I am unwell 😭

what an epic conclusion to one of the best YA fantasy series ever!!! With each book. Margaret Owen gets even more deliciously delightful with the story and the characters. Holy Terrors picks up a few years after the previous book ended. Things quickly get epically complicated for Vanya and Emeric. I mean, the first half of the story is angsty between our two romantic leads in the best way possible. Where the first book focused on Vanya's escape from her life of servitude and the second was about her finding her family. This one brings us to the empire at large and the political game between the elites. We meet some delightful new characters on top of some familiar faves (villains included) popping back up. Owen has out done herself with this one, really building into a story that not only affected the entire world but Vanya on a very personal level. I loved it!

I'm so happy to say that this was the perfect ending to this wonderful trilogy which I have adored for years now. If you have yet to pick it up, do yourself a favor and do so now. It is absolute perfection. This book just like the previous entries has humorous, heartwarming, silly, and emotional scenes. It had me laughing out loud and crying many times. And I will definitely be rereading it in years to come.

Vanya became a favorite character of mine from the instant we were introduced to her in <i>Little Thieves</i>. I love how she's a morally grey character, who is trying to make life better for everyone around her. She is such an interesting protagonist to follow and she is one of my favorites from literature. It has been a joy to watch her grow during the series. I'm going to miss her, but I believe this was perfect ending to her story. Though if Margaret choses to return to this world, I would be immensely happy. I'd read anything with these characters.

I love the little stories Vanya tells throughout the plot. They give various choices she could have made and were heartbreaking at times. I like how they played into the plot. Also, the world building is top-notch as usual. I always enjoy learning about how the kingdoms work in this world and about the gods.

My favorite part of this series is the relationship between Emeric and Vanya. It was great to see them begrudgingly having to work together and seeing their dynamic once again. Their banter is my favorite and I will never get enough of it. Emeric is such a sweetheart. Their romance is everything to me.

Along with Vanya and Emeric, we get many familiar faces and some new ones. Gisele, Ragne, and Joniza are as great as ever and I really liked Lilje and Benno. I love following this group as they try to figure out who is killing the royals. They all work so well off each other.

The most important part of this book is Vanya's journey to accepting and learning to love herself. Vanya has done many terrible things in her past which we see in the previous books. She also has had many people in her life tell her she is not good enough. Her journey to self-discovery is powerful to read and so impactful.

I cannot recommend this series enough. It would definitely get six stars out of five from me. Perfect in every single way. Including Margaret's beautiful illustrations and the wonderful narration from Saskia Maarleveld. She has done a wonderful job narrating Vanya's world and her voice. I am looking forward to adding this final book to my collection.

5.0 ⭐️

This was a beautiful and nuanced ending to an exceptional trilogy. The character growth was strong, the magic and gods interesting, and the antagonists powerful and frightening. I loved the new characters that were introduced and was glad to see old friends returned. The book is targeted at a YA audience, but the character and plot are sophisticated enough to satisfy adult readers as well, while explicit violent and sexual scenes remain age appropriate. The fantasy and romantic elements remain well balanced. This is an engaging and enjoyable series and gets a strong recommendation from me for anyone who enjoys fantasy romance.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for an eARC for this book.

Holy Terrors is the final book in the Little Thieves trilogy, and boy does it go out with a bang. Owen wrote a canon story called The Fallow Year that's up on AO3, and I do think Holy Terrors works better if you've read that story.

This book takes place a year after the end of Painted Devils. Vanya has been working as the Penny Phantom doing her Robin Hood vigilante brand of justice, and Emeric is a full prefect. When important people start turning up dead, Vanja is taken into custody by Emeric, and eventually the two work together to solve the murders.

Spoilers: if the first two books were more heavily based in fairy tales and mythology, this book is about the multiverse. It's wild. There's a lot to say about fate vs free will, how our choices define us, and what the "right" path is.

The book wasn't what I was expecting, but overall I liked it. I could read hundreds more stories about Vanja and Emeric getting into trouble.

Holy Terrors marks my first three-for-three perfect five star series. This books, and the entire series, is a masterpiece of not just YA fantasy, but of genre fiction as a whole. I bawled my eyes out (which is rare for me), and I will SO be rereading this for years to come.

It’s hard to talk about the third book in a trilogy without spoiling the previous books, but let me try.

The plot is incredible, the tension is fantastic, the relationships between old characters and new are so well formed and believable. The demi representation is everything I wish I had as a teenager trying to figure out why I was different from the people around me. The twists and turns are well executed and always left me guessing, but feeling like I was about to figure out how they happened.

Margaret Owen, you have ruined my life in the best way.

The third installment of Margaret Owen's Little Thieves series delivers a spectacular ending to a story that has consumed me over the last couple of years! This retelling of The Goose Girl fairytale has expanded in ways I never expected as the series progressed!

Once again, we’re treated to a slew of new Vanja shenanigans, this time on a much grander scale, as she now gets to carry out all her schemes and heists at the seat of the empire's power, during the royal families' attempts to elect a new ruler from among the seven royal houses.

Holy Terrors brings back many of my favorite characters from the previous books, along with some of my not-so-favorite villains. There are also plenty of new characters introduced in this story who really grew on me. Owen, as always, has crafted well-developed characters who are constantly arguing, learning, and growing as the story unfolds. One particular favorite of mine is an emotional support kitten that brings Vanja comfort (and brought me an unreasonable amount of joy).

The story is both hilarious and heartbreaking, a tender fairytale that embodies the kind of found family that makes your heart happy, while still exploring the gross excesses and hypocrisy of nobles and royalty, even as their subjects continue to suffer.

I really, really hope Owen isn't done with this world she's created in this series. It’s one that brings me a lot of comfort, even amidst the tumult of emotions that are inevitable when reading her work.

Is it really over? The Little Thieves trilogy is one of the most enjoyable things I have ever read, and I read a lot. Holy Terrors lived up to my very high expectations and I'll say even exceeded them, due to the inclusion of one hilarious kitten. Vanja and Emeric remain the fictional couple I root for the most and while they will drive you mad in this book, you'll still have your fingers crossed for them on the last page. This book was action-packed, a little crazy, and I loved it. I preordered this months ago and can't wait to add it to my classroom shelves!

It is so rare that I like all three books in a trilogy but this is one for me. I was absolutely aghast at the ending to Painted Devils (even though I loved it) and so I was so excited to see where this book went. It definitely kept me guessing throughout it's many twists and turns, and I was actually quite pleased with how many times I came up with my own theories and was proven wrong. Did the characters drive me nuts at times, yes, but it all felt very real and human in nature and I think that's a great skill for Margaret Owen to write. Safe to say I'll definitely be checking out her other series now.

This riveting and layered horror novel unleashes supernatural terror in a world where truth can be manipulated, and nothing is as it seems. Beautiful and horrifying, with an unforgettable cast of characters, The October Film Haunt will shock and delight readers all the way to its breathless final page. I absolutely loved the third in the Little Thieves series. I was a bit worried it wouldn't live up to the hype, or to the rest of the series, but I was pleasantly wrong. This book broke me and healed me in ways I did not expect. I will yell it from the rooftops to read this series!

Holy Terrors easily makes it into my 6-star book club, joining Little Thieves there! I love this series so much and this ending was perfect!!

It is hard to summarize without spoilers for the previous books, but Vanja and Emeric are at it again, this time in a kind of locked room murder mystery, where the locked room is the large palatial estate of the empress. If you love excellent banter, laugh out loud humor with deep emotional turmoil mixed in, add some magic and gods, this book has it all.

I highly recommend downloading The Fallow Year from AO3. Please do yourself a favor and read it before jumping into Holy Terrors. It isn't necessary to follow the story, but it adds so much emotional context and Margaret Owen provided it for free, so why wouldn't you?!? It fills in the 2 year gap after Painted Devils.

As an elder millennial, I sometimes find it hard to connect with YA characters, but this is one of those series that can be enjoyed by all!

Thank you, NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co., for an early copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated releases of this year and I am so happy with it. This feels very similar in tone to Little Thieves in the best way possible. I would read the short story available on Ao3 to get all of the context, but you can do without. I laughed, I cried, I was extremely confused about the politics…. It was perfect. This story could not have been wrapped up any better. Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for this free eARC in exchange for an honest review which has already been posted to Goodreads.

My favorite thing about this series is that the second I start to think I know where the story is going and that things are getting wrapped up, I check how much is left in the book and realize that no, we aren’t even halfway in. And then I get scared.

Vanja and Emeric are, as expected, complete idiots about their relationship. Fortunately for them, I had a bag of popcorn and was happy to watch it all unfold. Ragne remains perfect, though.

This was an amazing conclusion to the series and as much as I could live in this universe forever, I am glad it got the finale it deserved.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

Owen does not hold back with this final book in the Little Thieves trilogy. Check your content warnings, a lot of heavy topics are covered.

I didn't realize how much I've missed the banter between Vanja and Emeric until I started reading HOLY TERRORS. It was so good to be back within their company. Throughout most of this book I just wanted to hug Vanja and tell her that she was enough... just as she is and despite the things she's done to survive. Junior was a delightful addition to the cast for this book and brought needed levity. I think Owen did a great job of linking everything together from the previous books and giving readers a satisfying ending. I was on the edge of my seat for at least half of it wondering if Vanja and her group of friends/found family would really be able to accomplish what they needed to before it was too late. This is a trilogy I'll definitely return to and reread at some point.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, and Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook ARC!

Before anything, I highly recommend reading "The Fallow Year" that Owen wrote. It fills in the time between this book and Painted Devils, and was referenced more heavily than I expected. There is enough explanation in Holy Terrors to understand the plot related beats, but most of it is reduced to quick passing lines so the character development (especially in terms of certain relationships) feels much more fleshed out with that context.

It's an ending worth waiting for: hearts break, people grow and forgive, or maybe occasionally they don't. My only minor gripe is the third act starts to feel a little long with a few scenes feeling unnecessarily repetitive in nature But overall, the magnificent conclusion lands gracefully and brings my favorite series to a fulfilling end.

Margaret Owen has such a gift for humor, even when her characters are fighting their toughest battles. As usual I laughed, I had my heart torn to pieces, and enjoyed every moment of it all. The interior illustrations are beautiful, and always bring such a unique richness to these books. Owen also has a very visual storytelling style, where I can easily imagine everything happening like a comic book. So much is focused around action, whether it's Looney Tunes comedy or the usual Little Thieves heists, things are always in motion, especially Vanja. It makes for an easy read flow other than a few words I had to look up. The plethora of new characters was also sometimes hard to keep up with, but I had it much more sorted out by the end. (Another reason to read the Fallow Year, it helps introduce a few important supporting characters earlier).

I adore the Little Thieves series and look forward to reading everything Owen writes in the future!

Two years after the events of Painted Devils, Vanja has embraced her alter ego, the Pfennigeist, and is using it to help those with nowhere else to go. But when royals turn up murdered, with the Penny Phantoms signature red penny on the bodies, Vanja becomes entangled with the investigation. This includes the Order of the Prefect’s brightest mind, Journeyman Prefect Emeric Conrad, Vanja’s first love, who’s heart she broke. Even as they nurse their old wounds, and fight the love that still lingers, the two have to work together to solve the deadly plot before it's too late.

Little Thieves is the most underrated series. More people need to be reading it! All the characters are so richly drawn. Vanja and Emeric are written with so much tenderness that you feel their pain and cheer for their successes. The side characters are written with the same depth, adding to the vibrant world. The prose is rich and descriptive, but never slow with the suspenseful plot and biting banter to keep the story moving. I found myself torn between not wanting to put the book down and wanting it to go slower so I could savor it.

This book feels a bit more mature than the previous installations, with more deaths and references to sex. I’d still consider it a young adult book, but on the older, more mature end.

Overall, this whole series is a masterpiece.

It's bittersweet to see this trilogy come to a close {cue my dramatic sobs, haha}. Vanja is such a fascinating character—she's a thief, a princess, and the daughter of both Fortune and Death, not to mention she’s becoming quite the folk hero!
This book really wrapped up all the political intrigue and backstabbing beautifully. It’s amazing to see how far some characters will go to secure their place at the top, while others discover their own inner strength.
I absolutely adored all the revelations, twists, and turns that made this final book (and the whole series) so captivating!

GOD DAMN DO I LOVE THIS SERIES SO MUCH!!!!!

First of all massive thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and whatever blessed being decided to approve my request: getting to read this book I preordered months ago was such a treat!

This book is such a nice tying together of the full series. All the characters you could ever want to see again plus some fun new extras. And Owens continues to love to just ROAR through plot in a way I love. And frankly the description of anxious attachment/ptsd/all the brain gremlins just feels so real and vivid and somehow also sympathetically written.

I love this series, I love this book, if anyone disagrees with me on the above I will physically fight them