Review: ‘Little Thieves’ by Margaret Owen (a complex tale of two halves)
*Received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book frustrated me almost as much as it fascinated me. Reading ‘Little Thieves’ allowed me to experience that sports phrase “a game of two halves” and actually understand the full extent of the meaning. Because for a while there it was touch and go.
What is ‘Little Thieves’ by Margaret Owen?
Set for publication on 19/10/21 by Hodder&Stoughton, here’s the summary:
Once upon a time, there was a horrible girl...
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.
I love a fantasy. I love it even more when there is a Folklore element to it. ‘Little Thieves’ immediately captured my attention because it very much grabs me in the same way Leigh Bardugo’s writing does. This is because of the Slavic and Dutch influence the story seems to take its cues from. A loose retelling of ‘The Goose Girl’, it’s got a lot going on.
It’s a jack of all trades, this one. And I mean that quite literally when it comes to the main character, Vanja Schmidt, and also in terms of its influence and overall vibe. It’s a melting pot of folklore and myth and riffs off different cultural and linguistic traditions.
Everything about this book should work. It should be a five star, hands down. If you showed me all the elements beforehand, I would have put money on it being one of my favourite reads of the year.
And that’s on why gambling is bad, folks.
It took me a long while to put my finger on it. But then Sophie said something that immediately helped me make sense of my feelings about this book. The world building is so detailed, and it’s clear that the author has taken great pride in creating a story-space that is intricate and nuanced, however, in places it feels like everything is being thrown at you, as a reader.
It’s why I don’t usually gel with high fantasy. The level of detail is too much for me and my attention wanes, or I completely lose sight of the plot and the impetus. It’s as though they didn’t want all that detail to go to waste, and fair point, it’s good stuff… But it didn’t move the plot along and I don’t think I retained much of the excess.
There’s a fine balance, because ‘Little Thieves’ is a slow burn. It doesn’t blaze right from the lighting of the match, rather it glows, steadily getting warmer and warmer to then combust at the end (and I LIVE for that ending). But it honestly nearly lost me before I even got a quarter of the way there.
Another struggle I had was with the initial cast of characters. No one is who they say they are, and I felt the projection of that lie as I read, and it confused me, and it frustrated me. Because I really wanted to connect with the characters and that is hard to do when they’re not showing their true selves, not even the slightest. The biggest problem child being Vanja, the main protagonist herself.
Oh, Vanja. I struggled to care about her plight.
SPOILER ALERT
So she’s going to turn into a big crusty jewel if she doesn’t make up for her wrong-doings. And for the longest time she shows zero shades of giving an eff, and when we’re finally shown a glimpse into her upbringing it’s almost too little, too late. I kind of wish the circumstances of her childhood were shown sooner because it would also clear up a lot of confusion I had early on.
It’s abundantly clear how successful Vanja is as a thief, and not just because she has a good disguise, and even better access to wealthy people and their homes. I have no doubt that she could easily become as adept as the Faceless Men from ‘Game of Thrones’, should she so wish, or just continue making a good living with card tricks on the streets, or even in some sort of gambling hall.
Anyway! I think what I’m trying to explain is that I didn’t fully understand her reasons. Long term, once she realised how terrible her stolen identity’s fiance was, why not just cut your losses and start over. I know that was the plan, to get enough money to do that, but she already had enough money to at least move on to the next town with a new identity.
If you keep moving, they can’t catch you, right? And by “they” I mean her two godmothers (emphasis on the word “god”).
One character I did end up liking a lot was the Prefect Klemens (or “Junior Prefect” as he would insist). I thought he had real depth and the way his part in the story developed was interesting and exciting.
Her fiance, Adalbrecht, he’s very much ‘The Darkling’ but less… seductive? Look, some of us will always hold The Darkling in a secret corner of our hearts for his allue and charm, and Bardugo knows how to create a sexy bad guy. BUT ANYWAY, like many men in fantasy stories, this guy Adalbrecht has some power, and wants more, and is willing to sell his soul to a nightmare (literally a night-mare) to do so.
I tell you what, the creature lore in this book is absolutely top notch.
It brings it home in the second half. And by the last quarter I was glued to the page. Does it have a few teething problems? Yes. Do I think that it’s partly due to me, and my preferences? Yes. Would I recommend it? If it’s in your wheelhouse, then yes. I think most YA fantasy connoisseurs will appreciate the merticulous world building and the careful plotting and breadcrumbing of the story. But at over 500 pages, it’s a big commitment.
In the end I gave it 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. I may have resisted at first, but the merticulous writing prevailed and won me over.
For fans of ‘Shadow and Bone’, ‘Graceling’ and ‘Poison Study’.
Written by Sarah
