Little Thieves by Margaret Owen
Read by Saskia Maarleveld
Published: October 2021
Summary from Goodreads:
A scrappy maid must outsmart both palace nobles and Low Gods in a new YA fantasy by Margaret Owen, author of the Merciful Crow series.
The little thief steals gold, but the great one steals kingdoms;
And only one goes to the gallows…
Vanja Schmidt knows no gift is freely given, not even a mother’s love. Abandoned to Death and Fortune as a child, she has scraped by as a lowly maidservant with her quick wits and the ability to see her god-mothers’ hands at work in the world. But when they demand her lifelong servitude in exchange, Vanja decides that gifts not given freely…can always be stolen.
When an opportunity rises to steal a string of enchanted pearls, Vanja seizes it, transforming herself into Gisele, the princess she’s served for years. As the glamorous princess, Vanja leads a double life, charming the nobility while ransacking their coffers as a jewel thief. Then, one heist away from funding an escape from her god-mothers, Vanja crosses the wrong god, and is cursed to turn into jewels herself. The only way to save herself is to make up for what she’s taken—starting with her first victim, Princess Gisele.
A wicked retelling of “The Goose Girl,” Little Thieves is a delightfully witty YA fantasy about the fickle hands of fate, and changing the cards we’re dealt.
Confession:
This is my second time reading this book and I think I enjoyed it just as much as the first time. I had forgotten how much fun Vanja’s and Conrad’s relationship was from this book. For some reason I don’t remember, probably lack of time, I never wrote a review for this book the first time around. So I decided to fix that now.
First off, Saskia Maarleveld does a fabulous job with the narration. I really enjoyed listening to her bring these characters to life. She has a nice array of different voices and accents, so it was always easy to tell characters apart when there was dialogue. Her characterization of Vanja and her voice was spot on as well. I also really like her voices for both Death and Fortune. Overall this was a very pleasant book to listen to.
The story is told only from Vanya’s point of view so we really get to know her well. She is a sort of anti-hero, or maybe a reluctant hero would be the better term. She pretty much only participates in bringing down the villain because she has to in order to live. She is very morally gray, but she also has a kind heart. She has had a lot trauma in her life, and has learned that often people she cares about will betray her in some way, so she doesn’t trust easily. Her character goes through so much in this book, and her learning to trust others is a big step for her. I loved her and Conrad together in all of their awkwardness, and was rooting for them to admit their feelings before the end of the book.
This story also has a great ensemble cast of characters, many who show up in later books. Ragne especially was one of my favorites. She often gave a little lightness to this somewhat dark story. Also Death and Fortune were great. I loved their banter, and even though they don’t understand humans, or love, they do care for Vanja and only want what is best for her.
I love the story and it is a nice retelling of the Goose Girl folktale. Many of the elements of the original are included which is nice. I especially liked how she worked in the horses. The pacing was well done and the writing is beautiful. I loved all of the characters and their journeys, even the evil ones. The dialogue was brilliant at times and I loved the banter, especially during that infamous breakfast scene.
I decided to reread this series, because when I read the third book I found myself very confused and unsure of some of the character’s motives. I discovered that I had forgotten way more of the story than I had thought and that really hindered my ability to enjoy the third book. I hope by the time I finish book two and then read the collection of short stories that tells about what Vanja and Conrad do during their year apart, that I will be able to sit down and read the final book with a better understanding of the plot and characters.
If you haven’t yet read this series, then this is the perfect time to start as it is a completed one. It is a great fantasy series with a wonderful cast of characters and a world similar to our own.
Confessions of a Serial Reader 