Little Thieves cover art

Little Thieves

The astonishing fantasy fairytale retelling of The Goose Girl

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Little Thieves

By: Margaret Owen
Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
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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.

Once upon a time, there was a horrible girl...

Vanja Schmidt knows that no gift is freely given, not even a mother's love. 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.

(P) 2021 Macmillan Audio©2021 Margaret Owen Fantasy Literature & Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Women's Fiction Fiction Royalty
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Critic Reviews

Gorgeous prose, delicious magic
A wild, adventurous romp that will leave you breathless at every turn. Expect sharp edges balanced with delightful humor and good fun - but I'll warn you: Vanja will steal your heart
Margaret Owen has done it again, yanking me between surety and nail-biting anticipation the whole way
With Six of Crows and The Cruel Prince as readalikes, this will find an audience anywhere there are fantasy fans. Highly recommended and not to be missed
A lush and lively adventure replete with romance, revenge, and robbery
Owen flips the tale of the Goose Girl on its head for a breathlessly inventive, never-a-dull-moment adventure of found family and second (or fourth or fifth) chances. If you're not careful, it'll steal your heart, too
Masterpiece of storytelling... This is YA fantasy at its very best
Little Thieves really does have all the elements for a truly memorable fantasy fable. It's a book for anyone who loves classic fairytale retellings with hear-stealing characters and a thrilling cat-and-mouse adventure at its heart
Margaret Owen has written my favourite fantasy novel of 2021. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys fairy tales, murder mysteries, heists and clever twists
Fantasy fans will love this YA reimagining of Brothers Grimm classic Goose Girl
This book spools out a plot you think you've seen before but then delights in gleefully wrong-footing you. A perfectly delightful Picasso ... will leave you chock-full of joy
A great read for this time of year with curses and a range of terrifying creatures to keep you spooked to the end
A sparky and irreverent reimagining of Goose Girl, the German fairytale by the Brothers Grimm, Little Thieves is rich with detail and zippy dialogue... I wasn't prepared for quite how much I loved this book
Margaret Owen has clearly thrown all her ideas at the wall to see what sticks and, amazingly, not only have they stuck but they've formed a Picasso
Thrilling and laced with frightening magic and irreverent humour
All stars
Most relevant
The author has expertly crafted a tale that is complex, clever, and captivating. From the beginning of the book I was gripped by the layers woven into the world building. The author does an expert job at keeping the reader informed enough to be entertained, whilst providing enough twists to keep the mystery going. I felt like I was always kept on my toes, just like the main character and pulled along on the emotional journey with her. This has become of my favourite books that I have read in a while. If you love stories about clever thieves, an impending deadline, and a slow burn romance, this is the one for you.

A Captivating Story

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Outstanding read and narration! Margaret delivers another rich world, engaging characters and gripping plot, laced with fascinating German mythology. I've already pre-ordered the next one, painter devils, and OH BY THE WAY PLEASE WRITE THE THIRD BOOK IN THE MERCILESS CROW SERIES, I NEED MORE!!! *Makes grabby hands*

I can't get enough of Margaret Owen's books

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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OMG ITS SOOOO GOOOOD. The story is well written, has great world building and the characters have lots of depth that makes them very loveable.

Little thieves

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