Now impersonating the princess and her maid (her persona when not wearing the magic pearls), Vanja plays the part of betrothed princess rather well. But on their journey to her new home, Vanja takes matters into her own hands, tricks the princess, and steals her enchanted pearl necklace that makes Vanja physically appear as Giselle. Lord Aldabrecht, a fellow noble and war hero, requested Giselle's hand in marriage – to which her parents happily agreed. Vanja used to be the real Princess Giselle's maid/childhood friend, stuck with serving cruel royalty and enduring the misfortune that comes with it. Little Thieves by Margaret Owen is a retelling of the Brothers' Grimm tale “The Goose Girl”, in which 16-year-old Vanja steals the identity of a princess and mingles with nobles to steal enough funds to be free – but not without some roadblocks. She's not crazy about that, so she comes up with a plan to gather enough money to get as far away from them as possible. At 13, she had the choice to decide which god to serve for the rest of her life. As the thirteenth child of a thirteenth child, bad luck seems to be a part of Vanja's entire existence. And there was also a particular breakfast scene between the two that had me in stitches courtesy of the innuendos.Vanja Schmidt's mother abandons her at the age of four, pleading with Death and Fortune to adopt her. They are also both inexperienced teenagers when it comes to romance so it was very entertaining seeing them go through the awkwardness of a first kiss. Theirs is definitely an enemies to lovers romance and the two have a cat and mouse game going for most of the story with roles being constantly switched up. Emeric and Vanja are now officially one of my favorite couples. I loved all of them, but Ragne was my favorite, because of her incredible loyalty and insightfulness.Īnd of course I can’t end this review without talking about the romance. I also loved how well we got to know the rest of the characters in this story. The story itself felt fast paced taking place in the span of two weeks, but it never felt rushed. Vanja herself is an emotional roller coaster going from calculating to achingly vulnerable which makes her a narrator you can’t help but like despite some of her questionable choices. Main character Vanja will take you in a wild ride as she tries to undo a curse that will kill her if her bridegroom doesn’t get to her first. If you like dark fantasy re-imaginings and morally grey characters then this is a book that should be on your TBR.

Margaret owen little thieves