Holy Terrors is the third and final book in the Little Thieves trilogy, and for me, it might just be the best one yet. It’s incredible the vast array of emotions that Owen can illicit in this book. I felt that this one really put the characters on their toes and tested Vanja’s skills. Also, I can’t stress enough the incredible development and growth both Vanja and Emeric undergo in this book. Owen also does well to straddle the line between deep topics and ridiculous entertainment. I also appreciate that Owen expanded even further upon the already great world building in this series. I read this via audiobook. The narration by Saskia Maarleveld was perfection. Maarleveld perfectly captured both Vanja and Emeric’s personalities. I was fully engaged and invested with how well done the narration was for this. I can’t recommend this audiobook and series enough.

The series that just keeps on giving. Honestly these books just get better with every one, and despite making me want to scream with frustration and throw the book across the room, I adore them with my whole heart.
Extracts from my messages to the author while reading this ARC include:

THEN RUIN ME < also me to this book
*5 minutes later* I DIDN’T MEAN LITERALLY

SHE’S [redacted] THIS INTOLERABLE FILING CABINET

This whole [redacted] thing is very cool and clever.
I mean it sucks for them.
But I’m enjoying it 😂

I read The Fallow Year before Holy Terrors and I loved the way it added extra context to some of the background in the third book.
The plot was fantastic - infuriating and upsetting, but fantastic. The characters were so wholly themselves - they’re terrible people (not really, but terrible decision makers certainly) but I love them so much. The world and magic system are intricate and yet never feel complicated or hard to understand.

This is honestly one of my absolute favourite series’ and I would recommend it to everyone.
I was excited and terrified for this finale - with good reason, my Fitbit actually shouted at me for my heart rate at one point - but it was everything I could have wanted, and dreaded, and more.
If you haven’t already picked up Little Thieves, what are you waiting for? And if you’ve read the other books, you’re in for a (stressful) treat with Holy Terrors.

Vanja is back in another adventure. Someone is killing off royalty and leaving her signature red penny. Vanja must clear her name and figure out this mystery.

While the second book in the series could be read as a stand alone, this one will make a lot more sense if you have already read both of the prior books.

The narration is excellent!

Thank you to Net Galley, MacMillan Audio, and MacMillan Audio Young Listeners for the DLC. All opinions are my own.

If you didn’t already notice from me raving about the first two books, this series is one of my new favorites. It somehow manages to have the perfect balance of wit, humor, action, and emotion. I spent a solid amount of this book with a broken heart, and the rest of the time I was laughing out loud at Vanja’s antics and the absolute shenanigans she constantly pulls everyone into. Vanja is the best kind of heroine. She’s brash, snarky, fearless, a little selfish, completely morally grey, and secretly has the biggest heart. I loved watching her grow and change throughout these books, and this was the perfect ending to her story. Emeric continues to be one of my favorite fictional men ever written. He’s stalwart, loyal, pedantic, reads law books for fun, and would burn down the world for Vanja. They have the most raw, honest, and beautiful story, and it healed something in me to watch them learn to accept themselves for who they truly are and to find the love they really deserve. I was lucky enough to receive an advanced listener’s copy, and the audio is flat out amazing! Sasha Maarleveld nails the accents and fully embodies each and every character by giving them their own voices and pronunciations. I highly recommend listening, because it made me love the book even more. Please go read this series and this book immediately!
🦉
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🦉
Read if you like:
▫️snarky, sassy heroine
▫️con artist and thief
▫️minor gods, goddesses, and magic
▫️opposites attract
▫️found family
▫️court politics
🦉
Thank you to Fierce Reads, MacKids books, Macmillan Audio, and Margaret Owen for the ARC and ALC. I received an advanced copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

I am having a hard time getting into this one unfortunately, but that is a total me problem. I think I am the wrong audience but did not read the synopsis fully enough to realize that before requesting.

However, I can tell this is a very well written book!

What a conclusion to Margaret Owen’s Little Thieves trilogy! As with Little Thieves and Painted Devils, Vanya and Emeric come to life on the page in a way you can’t help but root for them. Margaret Owen has a talent for writing such human characters (with a dash of the fantastical) in a way they are rich, believable, and utterly endearing. The romance between Vanya and Emeric over this series has been one of my favourites to read, and I’m going to miss this pair immensely.

As always, Saskia Maarleveld’s performance was perfection and I’ll continue to listen to any audiobook she narrates, even if it is outside my usual genre that I read in.

Holy Terrors is perfect for readers who like:
Whimsical yet humorous writing
Flawed characters facing the consequences for their decisions
Magic systems with consequences
Found family
Slow-burn romance
Second chance romance
Banter
Completed trilogies (start with Little Thieves!)

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook ARC. I look forward to Margaret Owen’s future projects.

I loved reading this book so much! I love this series and Margaret Owen's writing, and I needed to know how this series was going to end, what was going to happen to Vanya and Emeric, if they were really not going to get back together, or if they would. I was worried, but I had to keep reading!

The Fallow Years introduced us to a few important characters for this one, the 2 new loves in each other's lives, though Vanya had moved on from hers, and he was just a friend now, but both were pretty important to the plot, since they both got pulled into this threat against the nobility.

I loved that we got to spend more time with Gisele and Ragne, together, with the pressures that are on them because they're married, and how while Ragne isn't stupid, she's straightforward, and isn't aware of most nuances. But with this killer going around, Gisele is being placed into a political position, and as her spouse, Ragne might be changed by that. I enjoyed seeing that play out!

It was hard to see Vanja and Emric at odds. From the beginning, and the way that he treated her, well, there was an explanation, but it still hurt. That he didn't know why she walked away...she still had doubts about ruining peoples lives and didn't want to do that to his. The nerves were high, and I needed to continue on and find out whatw as going to happen with them!

Each book in this series has had something in parts, the first was stories of her life leading up to this point, the second was lies, and in this one, it was choices, different ones she could've made going backwards in her life, from asking the villagers to gather her rubies with them being paid in a percentage of the recovered instead of accidentally starting to a cult, to when she was 13 and Death and Fortune gave her a choice of her serving one of them. I loved how that tied into the story! Plus the way that bookends the series, counting up in her life in the first book, and counting down in the last!

Then there was the whole murder plot going on, going up in the highest offices of power in this empire-and it's implicating Vanja, which she can't have done. The investigation was so thrilling, and I loved seeing how it played out! There were some pretty shocking twists!

Loved reading this book and I can't wait to read more by Margaret Owen!

I would like to thank the publisher for giving me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.

Actual Rating: 4.75 stars

THIS IS BOOK 3!! THERE WILL DEFINITELY BE SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST TWO BUT I WILL TRY AND KEEP THIS AS SPOILER FREE AS POSSIBLE.

We come into this almost two years after the ending to Painted Devils where Vanja is once again the Pfennigeist, but this time she helps the desperate (steals from the rich, gives to the poor/abused). But when a killer tears through the royal family, leaving Vanja's calling card -- a red penny -- on every victim, the Pfennnigeist becomes a target. And when the Empress falls, the seven royal houses have to come together to elect a new ruler before everything as we know it falls apart. And who else would be perfect to solve this than our very own Journeyman Prefect Emeric -- the same Emeric who had his heart broken by Vanja. They'll have to work together one last time to solve this mystery, but neither knows if they can trust the other, and as the bodies pile up they'll have to face the real question between them -- but will they listen to each other long enough to forgive?

UGH MY HEARTTTT. This was a rollercoaster of a book, and the ups and downs had me hanging onto the edge of my seat. The things I liked: I loved the relationship between Vanja and Emeric, hated all the nonsense they go through to get to that point, but I was happy nonetheless at the end; I loved the murder mystery, and I honestly couldn't figure out who was behind the murders (and apparently neither could they, but that's a whole other issue); I loved seeing more of Death and Fortune; I loved Vanja's character growth. Things I didn't like: honestly, there's not much I can say, except the weird plot twist at around 75% in? and the whole ending was a bit confusing with all the timelines and who was who where/when; I honestly could've used a list of names to remember all the characters because there were a LOT of them in this book. Overall, this was a fantastic ending to this series, and I'm so sad that it's over. I loved Margaret Owen's writing so much, and I will definitely read anything she writes.

Bonus: the audiobook is so well done. We've had the same narrator for all three books and she does such an amazing job bringing Vanja to life. I definitely recommend this series.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5

Unholy Terrors is the delightfully heartwarming and action-packed finale of the Little Thieves series, with exceptional character development and beautiful world-building.

I had so much fun with this one. It was wonderful returning to my favorite characters and following their final adventures. The character development was fantastic, and I especially loved the exploration of Vanja and Emeric’s romance. Margaret Owen writes some of the most immersive and flavorful worlds, and I adored the world-building and development in Unholy Terrors. The pacing was great, and I especially enjoyed the action and satisfying ending. The prose was lush and fit Vanja’s character perfectly. The incorporation of folklore and fairytales was lovely, and although this book did not hook me as much as Little Thieves, the series remains a favorite in the YA fantasy genre.

Saskia Maarleveld was a wonderful narrator. Her accents and emotions fit the story and characters well. She was an engaging narrator, and I highly recommend listening to the audiobook!

Thank you to the publisher for the free ALC!

Wow. WOW.
What a perfect ending to a perfect series.

“𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙙𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚, 𝙄 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙮.”

Our favorite immature, spiteful, hellion Vanja Ros is back, and the stakes are higher than ever.
1. Someone is murdering royalty and imitating Vanja to do it.
2. Royalty must elect a new emperor in a matter of weeks or risk the collapse of reality itself.
3. The boy with a broken heart is back… and brought along a fiancé.

When it comes to fairytale retellings, I think the Little Thieves trilogy ranks as one of the best.
And Holy Terrors is, in my opinion, the best of the three.
The characters are incredible, the plot twists are twisty, the romance brings all the feels, and it’s a damn good time.

Whether you want to laugh, to cry, to swoon, to yearn, to have fun, to grow, this series has it all…
Including a lawyer doll possessed by ghost.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

Okay, I can definitely say that I 100% recommend folks read The Fallow Year before this. A lot of what happened in those chapters didn't make it into the book, and they were so heartbreaking but so quintessential to my understanding of the newly introduced characters, both good and bad. You won't be lost without them, but they definitely enrich the experience considerably.

I love this series and the world that Margaret Owen created. Even though she chose to make all her children so sad and upset and it gave me anxiety, I still forgive her for eventually making it all better and letting them kiss about it.

Let's all be wives!
Everyone gets more wives!
Brunne's world vision come true!

3.75
I love Margaret Owen's writing and the way she manages to say something deeply profound and bittersweet about the human condition one moment and then incredibly funny the next. I also love these characters, especially Vanja. That being said, this series could've just been a duology. (Well, if the second book had ended a bit differently.)

Vanja's life is upended when a string of murders is committed and she is framed as the prime suspect. Of course, this puts her former lover Emeric Conrad on her trail. This book is full of hijinks and heartache, court intrigue, suspense, and a very cute kitten.

The audiobook is definitely the way to go! I could listen to Saskia Maarleveld read a grocery list.

Margaret Owen, the woman that you are.

This book is a delight from start to finish. Little Thieves was one of the first books I ever recommended on social media, and I've been hooked on the series ever since. Holy Terrors was the perfect end to the journey.

Vanja's character arc is everything. I love my FMC's a little feral, and Vanja manages to do that and so much more. Every character manages to have so much depth and personality, and I love them all. And every scene between Vanja and Emeric had me either screaming, kicking my feet, or tossing my kindle across the room.

Not to mention the plot. This book is long, but it kept me hooked every second. I would listen to the audiobook while walking to class and then switch back to the book the second I sat down. There's so much action, and yet the narrative manages to still give time to character growth and development. It ties every plotline from the last two books together in an epic conclusion.

Stunning, no notes, 10 out of 10. Vanja stole my heart, and I never want it back.

Aaawwwww I loved this ending! Honestly, Margaret Owen is a brilliant storyteller. It is SO easy to get lost in her worlds. This final novel was FULL of action- I'm still not even sure what exactly went down at the end, I may need to read that again, but I can promise it's a wild ride.

4.5 stars
What an ending!
We start off with Vanja doing her stuff, trying to steal a ring off a dead body. But not just any dead body, it is the body of Prince Ludvig. We are then whisked into a murder mystery where the Empress dies and her successors are all being targeted and murdered. And which prefect is put on the case? Of course it is Emeric. Despite their breakup, Vanja and Emeric need to work together to figure out who is murdering people in the name of the Pfennigeist and how to stop them from killing all the potential successors.
I just love Vanja. She is the most root for-able morally grey character I have ever met. She is hilarious and crass, but she goes on such an internal journey. She has had her mother's voice in her for so long telling her that she ruins everything she touches and she is just now trying to banish that voice from her head and live her own life. Emeric is his typical cinnamon roll self, though he has changed from Vanja's sudden disappearance from his life. He goes through a lot as well. Giselle and Ragne are in this one a lot which I loved. I love their easy, simple companionship and love. We get a brand new character in this one - a kitten Vanja finds outside her apartment who she names Junior (IYKYK). I loved him. We really get most of the characters from the past 2 books and The Fallow Year for this grand finale. They all played a part and I loved getting to read about them all one last time.
The plot was quick and fun. I sometimes got a little confused if I didn't pay close enough attention, but that didn't happen often (and was obviously my fault). I loved the murder mystery and how it incorporated different aspects of magic and the Low Gods. There is then a whole kind of sub-plot at the end that changes everything. The ending was such a whirlwind of emotions. It seemed to be pointing one way, but then changed into perfection at the last second.
The audiobook narrator as in the first 2, was great. I love her voice and she really brought the story to life and did a great job with this conclusion.

I will start with this: while I LOVED this book, it was my least favorite of the 3.

Okay, moving on. While I didn't love this quite as much as Little Thieves and Painted Devils, it was still spectacular. I loved how we see real consequences from the end of Painted Devils, forcing a lot of character development from both Vanja and Emeric. My heart ACHED for much of the book, but it was good and necessary for the satisfying and realistic ending. I am honestly super impressed with how Owen didn't shy away from the hard parts of this book and I love how she wrapped it all up.

The storyline...hurts. It's awkward and sweet and painful and just riddled with trauma, both new and old. There is fallout from Painted Devils as well as a whole slew of new trauma and a resurgence of trauma I didn't expect to come back up, but I'm actually glad it did. No character was safe in this book with a lot of murder and betrayal on top of heartache and break abounding.

This book relied a little more heavily on Low God powers and a bit of "well I had god powers so xyz just makes sense" than I like, and that on top of just a ton of character and family names that were hard to track were really my only gripes. The writing was still amazing and I am forever invested in our main cast - it was just a lot to keep track of and I am not personally a fan of time shenanigans.

Overall, this is a phenomenal book and I just fell even more in love with Owen's writing. I can't recommend this trilogy highly enough!

The Little Thieves series has quickly become one of my all-time favorites after I finally worked my way through the first two books (and connected short stories on AO3), so I had SUCH high hopes for the finale. And now I can say definitively that Holy Terrors is a perfect conclusion to the series, full of the same humor, emotion, and fascinating world-building that we've come to depend on Margaret Owen for in the previous books. If anything, this might be my favorite of the three because all of those things are ramped up to an unbelievable, magical degree.

Vanja has been on her own for two years now, after taking down a cult she helped form and leaving the love of her life in the middle of the night. As the Pfennigeist, she's started taking on the cases the law ignores, helping those in need from a less... reputable avenue. Except someone has started murdering the nation's royalty, leaving only a signature red penny at the crime scenes as a calling card - HER calling card. And now the remaining royal families are gathering to elect a new king or queen, no matter the danger it puts them in, because not electing one will result in the collapse of reality itself. Suddenly Vanja finds herself stuck solving the murders to protect her name and her loved ones... and working with the obnoxious journeyman prefect whose heart she broke.

Oh wow the heartache this book caused me. Vanja is consistently going through it, and while she knows that a lot of her problems are her own fault, she can't help making things worse - that's just who she is. Constantly running, constantly bucking the law, this is the person her decisions have made her, and it HURTS to follow her working through all of this. It's been so beautiful to watch her grow throughout the series, and I am so so SO happy with where this book takes her. And, god, Emeric is every bit as frustrating and lovely as ever, both the same boy we've followed in the previous stories and yet inevitably changed by Vanja's abandonment and the passage of time. This changed dynamic made my heart hurt in the best way. They're hilarious and heartbreaking in equal measure; sometimes in the very same sentence. Real OTP material here.
The secondary characters - Gisele and Ragne and Emeric's fellow prefects - are all as delightful as they've always been, and all have amazing roles to play in this new story that allow them to grow and change. Gisele and Ragne having to figure out the realities of their relationship while Gisele stares down the potentiality of being the new ruler is particularly amazing.

The narrator, Saskia Maarleveld, is also a favorite of mine. She brings so much depth to these characters and had me truly laughing out loud in my car multiple times.

Genuinely, I was just so happy to be back with all of these characters, in this world, so full of humor and emotion in equal doses. This is a worthy finale to an amazing series and I cannot wait to see what Owen comes up with next - though I certainly hope we get more in this world in the future.

How is it over? This was a stunning conclusion to Margaret Owen's <i>Little Thieves</i> trilogy! I was super impressed with all the paths this story took and loved the twists and turns. In pattern with the first two books this one kept me engaged from beginning to end, waiting on the edge of my seat to see what would happen next.

We pick our story back up with Vanja and Emeric on opposite sides of the law but taxed with solving the same mystery. Filled with favorite characters from the other books and several new ones this story builds on itself in a myriad of ways. Without giving up spoilers I loved the path this story took and its examination of paths we didn't take.

The audio narrator had excellent pacing and created such a cool atmosphere for this story to be heard in. I loved the different intonations and characters. Each felt like it had a distinct voice, and I absolutely loved how she voiced the dynamics between Vanja and Emeric.

If you've enjoyed the other two books in this trilogy then I definitely recommend you pick up this excellent conclusion, and if you haven't picked up the other two, please do! You will not be disappointed. Thank you to the publisher for providing an ALC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 Stars

So this book was not at all what I expected. When I first requested it from NetGalley I had not realized it was part of a series. I started the book to see if it could be read as a standalone but quickly was very confused so I paused reading it and binged the first 2.

Now coming back to this one I realized I would have been confused regardless. There is just too much to keep track of and that’s not enjoyable to me personally as a reader. However, the book was well written and fans of the series I think will love it and find satisfaction in the conclusion of the story.

It’s definitely unique, written in its own made up world. Quirky is what comes to mind. I’ll mention that I typically love YA. This however had this weird mix of being very young YA in its plot devices but also a bit much in the information department where it had an adult quality. As I said, quirky..
The audio narrator Saskia Maarleveld did a great job with all the countless character voices. She spoke at a good natural 1x pace.

I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from MacMillian Audio for young listeners through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

PERFECT. AMAZING. OUTSTANDING. IM IN SO MUCH PAIN.

What an excellent, exciting, jaw dropping finale for one of my favourite trilogies ever. I am so thrilled with everything Owen has done with this story and these characters. There is a great balance between moments that are epically cinematic and intimately heartbreaking, it made for such an addictive read.

Vanja is such a beautiful character. Her series long struggle with self acceptance was perfectly written, and this story of healing from trauma and learning to love and be loved is one I recommend to everyone who will listen.

I spent half the book constantly crying (this is completely literal) because I was aching for Vanja and Emeric. The complexities of their relationship are so believable I genuinely felt their turmoil. I love that nerdy bean pole so much I can’t stand it.

I don’t know how to live in a world where there’s no more Little Thieves, the thought causes me physical pain.

Saskia Maarleveld is an exceptional narrator. Her acting adds new heights to incredibly written characters and fully immerses me in any book she reads. Her range is amazing and I love the acting choices she makes for dialogue. I actively look for books that she reads and I am SO thrilled she got to read this entire trilogy. She is simply perfect for Vanja.

Thank you Netgalley for the early audiobook 🫶🏻🫶🏻