Book Review: ‘Little Thieves’ by Margaret Owens

I like heist books. I loved Six of Crows, and The Queen’s Thief series remains one of my favorite reads of all time, so when my editor recommended, I read Little Thieves by Margaret Owens as research for one of my books, I was immediately intrigued, and the book did not disappoint.

The tale opens with Vanja, a poor serving girl who has stolen the identity of a princess, preparing to rob the home of another set of wealthy nobles in her quest to amass enough coin to start a new life far away. However, all does not go as planned, and Vanja soon finds herself cursed by a lower god, chased by an overeager detective, and tangled in the sinister dealings of the princess’ fiancé. She is the goddaughter of the low gods Death and Fortune, but if she calls on them for aid, she will become their servant, and Vanja has been bound as a servant more than enough.

Owens spins her story with the joy and style of a master, and I found myself loving every page. her characters are vivid and captivating, starting with Vanja herself and continuing through side characters, even the antagonist. Each one is well developed, complex, and engaging with backstories, passions, and their own journeys as they try to navigate the world around them. 

The world that Owens has built is rich, and she weaves the lore and background into the tale flawlessly. It would be easy in a fantasy story that turns on politics, binding magic, and obscure marriage law to have a few sections that were understandably dry. But Owens skillfully ties each bit of backstory and world building together in ways that make it fun. The interactions of the low gods with the characters felt real and weighty, without the cheap sense of ‘why don’t they just fix everything’.

Stories that we love, that we come back to over and over, usually touch on some theme or fantasy that we find compelling, and so much of this story is built around being wanted for who we are. Vanja plays many roles to many people, but beneath it all is a desire to be wanted for who she is. Owens exploration of this is something that I found compelling, and seeing the way that Vanja and the other characters navigated their relationships and struggled to relate to each other at times was something that will bring me back to this book in the future.

This paragraph will have a few minor spoilers because I want to talk about enemies to lovers, so if you want to skip them, you can just scroll down to the ***SPOILERS ENDED*** below.
That being said, if you’re still here, I’m guessing that you have either already read the book, or don’t mind being spoiled. But I enjoyed the enemies to lovers component of this book, and I thought it was really well done. One of my pet peeves is when the ‘to lovers’ part of the trope happens because the characters get the hots for each other and literally nothing else. I enjoy the enemies to lovers trope for a number of reasons, but one of the big ones is the idea that someone sees the worst part of you and still decides to love you, the idea that even with everything wrong with you, there’s still something that’s worth love and relationship, and I felt like that was nailed in this book. Vanja makes a lot of bad decisions, she does a number of bad things, and her love interest knows about them, sees them, and holds her accountable.
He isn’t perfect either, and the two of them have some real conflict. But it all works, in my opinion for (x) reasons. First, neither commits a major betrayal or heinous crime against the other. Vanja does throw him out a window, but in context it's fairly understandable. Second, even when they are in direct conflict, their underlying values are, if not aligned, at least not in opposition. They are not doing irreparable damage to others in order to make their lives easier, they are each pursuing what they see as a just end. Thirdly, when forced to choose between their goals and the wellbeing of others, they regularly choose others.
I want to talk a lot more about Enemies to Lovers, I’m fascinated by the trope and what all goes into it, but that’s a subject for another day, or week, or month, or book…

***SPOILERS ENDED***

Finally, and part of this is just me being a storyteller, the way Owens tells the story is just fantastic. It is divided into ‘Tales’, each one beginning with a short, fairytale style ‘story’ that sets up what is about to happen. These often share or hint at some backstory or prep the reader for what is about to come next, setting the scene and mood for what we are about to read. As the plot unfolds, and new players or plots are revealed, Owens lays the seeds for the resolution. The number of times I thought “I didn’t see that coming, but it makes total sense’ was more than I could count on one hand, and I feel that is one of the signs of a good tale.

 Overall reaction to the book. What I enjoyed, what wasn’t for me.

I really, really enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more by this author. It is firmly in the YA category, and things are kept PG without it feeling like the author was smoothing over too much. I found out afterwards that the author is also the illustrator, which I love! It definitely makes getting the hard copy worth it. There was action, heists, chases, and a dash of romance that had me cheering the characters on as they tried to overcome the barriers between them. I can’t wait to read the sequel, ‘Painted Devils’!

Things to be aware of: There are some allusions to past sexual assaults and child abuse. Though Owens uses a light tone through the book to lessen the blow, she is dealing with a number of heavy topics like assault, abandonment, and oppression. While I found the book overall an enjoyable experience, there are some heavy moments.  
This book is available on Kindle Unlimited as well as Audible. I listened to the audio book and loved the narrator. She did a wonderful job with the various characters, and handled the fantasy elements incredibly well.

If this book sounds interesting to you, and you’d like to help support me, you can check it out via the amazon affiliate link below. It’s no extra cost to you, and I get a small advertising fee from Amazon for helping you find a new book.