Title: Little Thieves (Little Thieves #1)
Author: Margaret Owen
Genre: Young adult, young adult fantasy
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: October 19, 2021
Format: Audiobook
Length: 14 hours

Read if you like: anti-heroes, heists, folklore style magic, fairy tales, political intrigue, arranged marriage 

Rating: 

Little Thieves was an excellent, original-feeling fairytale retelling based on the story of “The Goose Girl”. I wasn’t in any way familiar with that original tale, but I loved everything about the version that Margaret Owen crafted.

In Little Thieves, the main character and mostly anti-hero Vanya is an imposter parading as a princess while simultaneously robbing the rich around her blind.  She’s the goddaughter of death and fortune, whom she’s desperately trying to escape a life of servitude with, and her alter ego is engaged to be married to a notoriously violent and political noble.

If that premise doesn’t sound like enough to hook you, I promise the witty writing and exceptional character development will. 

I picked up this book on a bit of a whim because I needed an audiobook for a long drive, but I’m so glad that I did. Owen is a supremely talented writer and world-builder, and I fell in love with everything about this story. I am so glad there’s a second book in the series because I can’t wait to dive back into this world and spend time with the characters all over again.

The Book Synopsis: Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

Vanja Schmidt knows that no gift is freely given, not even a mother’s love–and she’s on the hook for one hell of a debt. Vanja, the adopted goddaughter of Death and Fortune, was Princess Gisele’s dutiful servant up until a year ago. That was when Vanja’s otherworldly mothers demanded a terrible price for their care, and Vanja decided to steal her future back… by stealing Gisele’s life for herself.

The real Gisele is left a penniless nobody while Vanja uses an enchanted string of pearls to take her place. Now, Vanja leads a lonely but lucrative double life as princess and jewel thief, charming nobility while emptying their coffers to fund her great escape. Then, one heist away from freedom, Vanja crosses the wrong god and is cursed to an untimely end: turning into jewels, stone by stone, for her greed.

Vanja has just two weeks to figure out how to break her curse and make her getaway. And with a feral guardian half-god, Gisele’s sinister fiancé, and an overeager junior detective on Vanja’s tail, she’ll have to pull the biggest grift yet to save her own life.

The Review

This was such an excellent and original YA fantasy, I was hooked from beginning to end.

First off, I always love a premise that includes a thief or a heist, and this one was so multifaceted and had so many angles that I was immediately engrossed with the plot. Owen is a fantastic world-builder, drawing out a complicated court structure full of political intrigue, wealth, and privilege while simultaneously detailing the other side; the servants and the help who all make things run for these people, with equivalent detail. While Vanja’s ploy initially seems relatively straightforward, over time it becomes clear how nuanced her situation is and it explains much of her desperation. 

Speaking of Vanja, I loved seeing her evolve through the many hats she wore and schemes she wove. The more you learn about her and the things that she’s been through and faced, the more understanding you become of her relatively corrupt behaviour. She’s flawed, but it’s the world that’s made her that way, and as Owen develops her and breaks down her walls, that’s when Vanja gets really interesting. Her character’s growth in a short time was truly astounding by the end while also feeling perfectly paced throughout. 

I also loved the magic system in this world. The gods, the creatures; they all felt very folklore-like, combined with an aristocratic setting steeped in oppression that made for a multi-faceted world. I was never particularly sure where things were headed because it felt so unique to me, and the motivations around those with magic never felt clear until their intentions were essentially announced. I loved moving through this novel without a clear idea of how we’d get to the end. It’s always a joy to read a story that feels a little unpredictable. 

I listened to this on audio and the narrator was exceptionally good. She brought everything to life and I found myself listening without breaks for several days. Overall, I felt like this was a fantastic fantasy. I can’t wait to pick up the second book.