I fear as an AVID lover of these characters and an early supporter of Little Thieves since before its literal release date...this review may be controversial.

The tl;dr is this: Little Thieves should have been a standalone. I love these characters with my whole, entire heart and I always will. Book two was difficult, but I could tolerate it. This book was absurd, and not in a good way.

The sheer amount of names I had to keep track of here was insane. And then I have to keep track of poorly-written magical rules and TIMELINES? Remember how book one was a Goose Girl adaptation... Where the hell are we? I just wanted Vanja and Emeric to be happy, however that looked, and anyone who knows me knows I hate a reused villain (see my review of King of Scars for that), so this superfluous book that was drowning in its unnessariness...drained me.

Ask yourselves why this took me two and a half weeks to read when Vanja is one of my favorite characters of all time. More authors should consider (and be allowed to consider by their publishers) novellas for the characters they love whose stories are complete.

“Maybe what makes us human is the way we call to each other, and the way we choose to answer.” 🥀

To put it simply, the Little Thieves trilogy by Margaret Owen is one of the best trilogies I have ever read, and Holy Terrors was the perfect final book. It’s been a few days since I finished it, and 1) I haven’t stopped thinking about it and 2) I’m still struggling with finding the right words to wrap up all of my feelings. And trust me, there’s a lot of them.

Margaret Owen is a master of her art, and her writing style remains unmatched and beautiful. As an English nerd, I annotated so much of this book and for so many different reasons. Whether it was a sentence with amazing structure and word choice or whether I was audibly laughing at the dry humor and wit, I probably annotated it. Margaret Owen’s writing is clever, and her vocabulary is unreal. It will never seize to amaze me. I would read her grocery lists.

And the tension—oh man, the tension! With this being the third book of the series, there’s obviously some tension already engrained between the characters because of their histories. But it’s a tension that you can almost feel physically. In the interactions between characters, you can feel their histories in their actions, and that's really really special and hard to find. And speaking of, since we have spent time with these characters over three books, it allows you to understand them on a deep level and it lets you see how they’ve grown over time. They’re the same people, but they’re not. Spoilers aside, Vanja’s character development in particular was really beautiful to witness and it’ll be something that I think about for a while.

Also, I don’t think I will ever get over Margaret Owen’s talent in writing some of the most deepest and densest, all-consuming plots while maintaining a very realistic and developed fantastical world. I can’t even imagine all of the juggling that has to take place to keep it all straight.

I think what’s really special about Holy Terrors in particular though is all of the themes it touches and how well it gets into all of them. From the importance of choices and the different paths you can go down, to forgiving all of the versions of your past self and fighting your inner demons, to wanting something so badly but feeling like you don’t deserve it—it’s all there. And do not even get me started on the beautiful representation of female friendships in this book. Otherwise, I fear I may start sobbing.

Holy Terrors is book about so many things—if I haven’t made that obvious enough—but it’s also about the people in power and the people that force their way into power and what they choose to do with it. And what a beacon of hope this book can serve as in the world’s current climate.

Like I said, I have a lot of feelings about this book and these characters, and I am going to need everyone under the sun to read this series just I have an excuse to gab even more about it.

Holy Terrors hits shelves on April 1!

wow thank you net galley for the arc. this was a fun read kinda silly, a mix of character driven and plot driven, with some hunted dolls.i really enjoyed the story.

Owen has rather firmly solidified her spot as one of my top favorite authors.

Every single Little Thieves book has made me sob my eyes out. Vanja is such a beautifully flawed main character, and I thought this final book in the trilogy did such a wonderful job of completing her character arch. Emeric has my whole heart, and their romance is equal parts beautiful and devastating. But even as I cried, I found myself cackling over the little nuggets of humor sprinkled throughout. I literally had to stop reading because I was wheezing over the "LESPians" section.

Owen also is continuously adding more representation to the books, with nonbinary princeps, a hint of a developing polyamorous couple, and a new bi/pan character who deserves all the love.

The one thing I would say; reading the Fallow Year is absolutely essential to understanding the book. While Owen sprinkles in explanations for anyone who might not have read the novella (which, I don't know if it will get an official publication or not). Two of the important side characters were first introduced in the novella and I think their characterization could have fallen a little short if I hadn't read the novella first.

**4.5 STARS**

Content Warning: mention of sexual assault, death, murder, violence

+ Holy Terrors brings us back to the world of Little Thieves and I went into this one not doing a re-read…all I remembered was Vanja and Emeric breaking my heart in book two and I needed to know what happens to them. I didn’t need to do a re-read, it picked up where it left off and everything was coming back to me because this story is so unique.

+ My favorite girl, Vanja is back. Her life as the Pfennigeist is full of adventure – she’s a thief, always running from one con to another. She’s helping people along the way and trying to forget Emeric and the choice she made in book two. I love her personality and attitude – she’s someone who is broken, trying to find desperately who and what she is and what she wants in this life. She’s always running but this is the time she has to face the music. There is so much growth in her – I was proud of her!

+ My favorite gods Death and Fortune are back and funny as ever. I love how they mother Vanja as much as they can. Another character that grew on me is Benno, love him! There were some interesting characters in this book and all of them are needed to solve this case of royals dying.

+ The romance – this is the first book this year that made me cry. Vanja and Emeric, my loves. They have both moved on after Vanja left him at the end of book two. He’s engaged. She’s had other lovers. But it’s undeniable when they come together again that they are just messy and meant to be. But Vanja has to learn to stop running, and Emeric has to realize why she ran. I loved all her self reflections because Vanja did some hard work looking inwards and facing her demons. I love them so much. My favorite part of this story was them.

+ Outside the romance there is a major event happening and Vanja is the number one suspect, until they realize it’s not. The whole crew is led on a merry chase trying to figure out what is happening and catch the main killer. There are a lot of twists and turns. It also showcases how amazing Vanja and Emeric are, like Sherlock Homes haha! I did enjoy the mystery but there is a lot of names – names that are long and hard to pronounce, so at times I found that to be too much. At least everything happens in one place, at conclave.

~ There are also some events at the climax of the story where something happens, and it has to do with time and a different timeline, gets very fantastical but it was a little confusing but maybe because I was rushing to the end with everything that is happening. I might have to read that ending again just to make sure I understood what happened.

Final Thoughts:

My favorite part of this conclusion is Vanja and Emeric making their way back to one another. I never knew this story would be so emotional. Their story made me cry. I was so proud to see Vanja grow, she came such a long way from book one and she deserved to have happiness. This world of Little Thieves is so unique with the world-building, the mystery, magic and characters. I love all of it. This book had lots of twists and turns and even some parts that confused me at the end but overall this is a fantastic conclusion to a really amazing trilogy.

“Holy Terrors” by Margaret Owen is the last book the “Little Thieves” YA fantasy trilogy.

Thank you Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the advance reader copy of the book. Opinions from this review are completely my own.

This is one of the few fantasy series I read where all the books are 5 ⭐️. I read “Little Thieves” and “Painted Devils” last year and I fell in love with the story and with Vanja and Emeric.

The story is told from Vanja ‘s PoV in 1st person. I liked that she is a morally gray character but has a great character development through the series.
From the beginning of the book I empathized with Vanja and her feelings. She is such a relatable character and I wanted her to get a happily ever after like in the fairytales.
Even of the book has funny parts, there are also emotional scenes that made me cry.

The writing is very good and the story kept me engaged and entertained. The romance get a bigger part in this book and the relationship between Vanja and Emeric develops and heals slowly as they work together again.
The fantasy and mystery part of the story was good too, even if it is a bit hard to keep up with some many characters.

Overall I enjoyed this book and the entire series a lot and I recommend it.

Little Thieves is probably the best YA series I've ever read, and this book was the most perfect conclusion a reader could ask for. In Holy Terrors, a series of murders framing the Pfennigist (Vanja) throws her back into the courts of nobles and royalty, into a web of old friends, lovers, and enemies. I'm going to be honest, Painted Devils left me a little nervous for this series. I loved it, but it was a tad repetitive, and the ending put Vanja in a scary position. But this book fixed all of that and more.

First, the plot. The first half of this story is a murder mystery rife with political intrigue. It's all really well done, and I loved seeing characters from Book 1 pop up in either very sweet or very evil ways. And then the second half takes a wild turn into some kind of magical multiverse story that I only slightly understood but also loved. The way everything twisted together was really interesting, and it was packed with all the drama and humor of the first two books.

More important than the plot, however, was Vanja's character development. She is one of the realest and messiest YA protagonists I've seen. She can be childish and petty, but also funny and brave and kind, and seeing her reflect and grow in this book was absolutely incredible. Her relationship with Emeric is especially close to my heart. They fell in love in book 1, (slight spoilers ahead!) had angst about sex in book 2, and in book 3, they reunite after new romantic experiences and months apart, finally facing the reality of their relationship. They've hurt each other, but they also love each other, and watching them grapple with these ideas was so brilliant. I was rooting for them the entire time. (It's also just so important to show relationships like this in YA books, that emphasize the importance of communication and caring and AGH I just loved it.)

There's also the amazing cast of side characters. Featuring some of my old favorites (Giselle and Ragne, finally!) as well as some new stars (a rambunctious kitten named Junior, a bastard prince, and Lilje, who actually became one of my favorites). And of course many characters that I hate with a passion. Each one is well-developed, with a striking personality and interesting relationships and lives outside of Vanja's story, making the characters feel more real and the world and story feel much bigger.

I wish I could better put into words how much I loved this book. It tied up all the loose ends perfectly into an ending that both broke and healed my heart (what is it with Margaret Owen and endings that make me want to cry?) and it wrapped up Vanja's character development perfectly. All of these characters hold such a special place in my heart, and I can't wait to reread this series again and again. If you enjoyed Little Thieves, you'll love this final book in the trilogy.

A lovely conclusion to the Little Thieves series; I just absolutely adored this ending for Vanja and loved the worldbuilding, romance, and magic of the world.

Margaret Owen delivers a gripping and emotionally charged finale in *Little Thieves' *sequel, weaving together high-stakes intrigue, razor-sharp wit, and a protagonist who refuses to be defined by her past.

Vanja, a deeply flawed yet fiercely compelling heroine, is thrust into a deadly game of political maneuvering and magical peril, forcing her to confront the very system she has spent years defying. The mystery of the impossible killer is expertly crafted, with twists that keep readers guessing until the very end. The tension between Vanja and Emeric crackles with unresolved emotions, making their reluctant partnership all the more engrossing.

Owen’s worldbuilding is as rich and immersive as ever, seamlessly blending dark fairytale elements with sharp social commentary. The novel balances its thrilling plot with poignant themes of redemption, identity, and the weight of past choices. With its breakneck pace, complex characters, and emotionally satisfying conclusion, this book cements the *Little Thieves* series as a must-read for fans of dark fantasy with heart.

This was/is one of my most anticipated releases of the last like 3 years! This was so so much fun and I just adore these characters with my whole entire heart and am so happy with how this ended! I need more of these characters and this world in my life.

A beautiful end to a trilogy I have loved the whole way through. Vanja’s wit makes me laugh while her heart makes me think that not all is bad in the world.

Holy Terrors is the third and (as of now) final installment of the Little Thieves series. Because it's a third book, there will be spoilers for books 1 and 2. Also of note, there was also a set of short stories published on AO3 by Margaret Owen called The Fallow Year that covers the gap between the second book, Painted Devils and this third volume. I highly, highly recommend reading through the stories first before you read Holy Terrors. Characters and events from the interim stories do have a significant impact on the story.

I just finished this book moments ago, after a two-day marathon, and I'm currently buzzing with excitement. When we last saw Vanja Ros, formerly Vanja Schmidt, she was making a terrible decision at the end of Painted Devils. When this book opens, almost two years have passed (as detailed in the short stories). Vanja is continuing to work as the Pfennigiest, a Robin Hood figure working as a force for justice for people who have no recourse, following her calling from the second book. Quickly, she discovers that someone has been killing members of the seven royal families and trying to frame the Pfennigiest for the crimes. It doesn't take long for the Prefects to get involved, including Vanja's ex-boyfriend and everyone's favorite walking law textbook, Emeric Conrad. Vanja is up against two formidable foes: her personal angst over how things ended with Emeric and clearing her name of the suspicion being cast on her by an old enemy.

This installment continued to have the humor and heart I expect from Vanja's narration. She swings between immature when she's needling Emeric, to mature self-reflection as she comes to grips with who she was and who she wants to be. Holy Terrors pulls together threads from all three of the books as well as The Fallow Year. The new main characters introduced, Lilje and Benno (both of whom first show up in the interim stories) are great fun. Ragne also continues to be a delight, and her relationship with Giselle is finally further explored.

Although she spends the beginning of the story acting pretty childish, Vanja undergoes a ton of character growth in this volume. She finally faces a lot of the choices she made. Similarly to the first two books, there are short, fairy-tale stories interspersed between the chapters, featuring what would have happened if Vanja had made a different choice at various pivotal moments in her past. These are accompanied by beautiful, stained-glass style artwork drawn by the author.

I was a little nervous about the fact that Vanja and Emeric both explored relationships with other people during The Fallow Year and into this book, simply because I love their relationship dynamic so much and was rooting for them. These relationships, and sex in general, are handled in a way that is mature and realistic. If you are a fan of Vanja and Emeric together, I think you will be happy with how it all turns out.

The story is wrapped up cleverly, with the antagonist(s) meeting fates that feel earned and satisfying character moments. Holy Terrors leaves a potential opening for future stories set in this world and about these characters without feeling incomplete. Overall, I enjoyed it very much, and it was well worth the wait.

Little Thieves and Painted Devils were both five star books for me, so the bar for Holy Terrors was incredibly high, and my most anticipated read of 2025. Needless to say, it absolutely lived up to my expectations, surpassing them and establishing the Little Thieves trilogy as a five star series for me..

All the events leading up to Holy Terrors set the scene for Holy Terrors to potentially fall into the trap of feeling too similar to the other books. Margaret Owen truly puts her characters through it, and her characters always rise above and grow from that, and this book is no exception. I think Holy Terrors broke through the framework of what was expected and took this series to a whole new level. Within the first few chapters I was crying, laughing and wanting to throw this book at a wall. Not only do we see growth from our characters in this, but the world grows as well. We have new characters, new settings, and new plot lines that fit seamlessly into the web that Margaret Owen has woven. In addition, the return of characters, themes and the magic from the other books that truly are what make this series so unique. I love Vanja in this book, and I love Emeric. Our characters are flawed, and they are growing, and they are doing that apart, but also learning how to do that together.

I think that is something that makes Margaret Owen's books so compelling, is that every person has flaws, and so when you read books with characters that don't have them, it takes you out of the story. This story doesn't shy away from the flaws of characters, the hardships of growing up, or falling in love. It highlights those so that they feel normal and beautiful.

I can't recommend this book, or this series enough. The one thing I will note for this book is that there are A LOT of characters, and so at times I had to re-acquaint myself with them, but I never felt confused or taken out of the story. This series is one that is as beautiful as it is clever, perfect for our main characters who are the same way, and that story really pushes that. I reread Little Thieves and Painted Devils in preparation for this story and am glad I did, as they were just as beautiful on reread as I know this story will be as well.

I can't recommend this story enough, and I probably will never stop recommending this series.

I read this book in one sitting… I remember reading the first book and being so excited that I got to read more of this book. I love the main character and I can’t wait to see if and when this series gets another book

Absolutely loved this story— wonderfully written and a great addition to the series. Definitely recommend!

wow I loved this!!!

When I first started Little Thieves, I could immediately tell that it was special and I was quickly obsessed with the writing, the world, the characters, everything!!! I, of course, loved Painted Devils and, in a surprise to no one, Margaret Owen's writing continues to be so clever and witty and heartfelt in Holy Terrors.

This book was absolutely packed!!! Between characters (old and new!), events, locations, murders, angst, banter -- SO MUCH happened!!!! I did think maybe *too much* happened, and at 90% I was like "how can this possibly be wrapped up in the next 10%???" but it was wrapped up in a really satisfying way that truly felt like the ending this amazing trilogy deserves.

Also, the audiobooks for this series with Saskia Maarleveld as the narrator have been some of my favorite audiobooks, and I'm excited to reread Holy Terrors in that format!!!

Thank you to Macmillan for the ARC!!

this is the conclusion to the little thieves trilogy.

it’s been nearly two years since vanja brought down the cult she started, and she’s still paying the price. a killer is making their way through royalty and leaving vanja’s signature red penny on every victim, raising suspicion and turning the pfennigeist from a folk hero to a nightmare. when the blessed empress falls victim to this poser, the empire’s seven royal families gather to elect her successor…even though this puts all the royalty conveniently in the killer’s reach. she works with emeric to survive the chaos around them, though they’re both still heartbroken. with the stakes so high, it’ll take everything vanja has to save her loved ones and her future.

so, i read the fallow year shortly before this, and i thought it was a great novella, but i couldn’t say for certain whether it should be considered required reading before going into this. now that i’ve read this, i will say i 100% recommend reading the fallow year before reading this. first, there is a time gap between painted devils and holy terrors, so reading the fallow year will help fill in a bit of this gap. this makes the reading experience even more enjoyable! second, this book is told through vanja’s viewpoint, whereas the fallow year is split between her pov and emeric’s!

now that that’s out of the way, let’s get into my thoughts about this book! honestly, i don’t have an abundance of thoughts i can easily articulate, but let me just say that this book was ANGSTY (saying this positively). aaku and i commented so many times about the tension between vanja and emeric all throughout this book. more than that, though, was the growth vanja had as a person. she had so many deep-rooted insecurities that she had to work through, and i feel like the progress she made in this book with that was satisfying.

the plot, of course, was also interesting! we had a murder mystery, some run-ins with royalty, and something toward the end that i’m not quite sure how to describe, but that really hooked me.

overall, this was a great book. i can’t wait to read more from margaret owen!

“I am a daughter, lover, legend, ghost. I am the Pfennigeist. I am Vanja Ros. And this is my story.”

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, for granting me an advanced reader copy of Holy Terrors.

Margaret Owen has done it again.

The final book in the Little Thieves series has been a total page turner. I loved the first book, I adored the second book and I COMPLETELY fell head over heels for the final one.

Watching Vanja’s journey to self love and self discovery has been a tear jerker. She is literally the bravest girl I have ever known. The characters are again : AMAZING. The storyline: CHEF’S KISS. Everyone has their own lives and it never feels like they’re just there to fill in the gaps. The writing is even more amazing this time??!! And the plot twists !?!? The whole angst and pining and the whole ass sherlock holmes shit. The banter between Vanjameric. Lilje. Kirkling. Gisele. Benno(my sweet sweet boy). I loved every second of the book and would give my right kidney to have my memory erased just so I could read it again.

Vanjameric’s story has come to an end but my love for them will never end. mic drop.

This last book is more similar to the first book, which made me realize how full circle the story was going to close out. All the hard work done in books 1 and 2 were going to be paid off in full swing, and I sat up as a reader and started paying close attention to the mysteries Vanja and Emeric had to solve.

HOLY TERRORS was gas gas gas all the way to the end with brief stops of soft moments that doesn't let you breathe, but forces you to cry instead (and I cried many times, I like the angst thank you). I think part of the fun is being in Vanja's head. She is still a terrifyingly funny character despite her dire circumstances. I adore her so much and I have to give Owen credit for being able to write first person so incredibly, because it's a skill I haven't seen done well in a long time.

On more craft and prose: I don't know anyone who is as gentle with their readers like Margaret Owen is. Consistently, she acknowledges that there is a lot of pain in the world, and people have wounds and scars much like her characters do. Not only does she acknowledges it, but she provides care, advice, and space. Owen is an unbelievable writer; I aspire to achieve an ounce of her skills.

Overall, a beautiful ending. Everyone should read this series. Every writer should attempt to make a series as compelling as this. I'm so glad LITTLE THIEVES was written because I can now embed it into my soul as well.

(And to those curious, yes, please read THE FALLOW YEAR on ao3. It helps.)

While the premise was nice, the writing was... not what I expected. I wanted more from the characters because I felt that what was on the front cover and the front flap was not what we were given.