Little Thieves

CW: abandonment, whipping, abuse, mention of past attempted sexual assault, panic attacks

The author's debut The Merciless Crow was a favorite of mine because I found it so unique, but I never got around to reading the sequel because it released during the pandemic and I just couldn't find the right headspace to read and appreciate it properly. But it's waiting for me on my bookshelf and hopefully I'll get to it soon. In the meantime, I was very excited for her new book since it's announcement because I trust her to deliver a very interesting tale. And she didn't disappoint.

I had never heard of The Goose Girl story before last year and I read a bit about it only in preparation for the release of its retellings like this one as well as Thorn by Intisar Khanani. I never did get to read Thorn but I was quite interested to see how the story would be retold in Little Thieves. What I didn't expect was the whole fairytale subverted, it's antagonist given the reins here and the addition of an ensemble cast who make this story a lot more fun. I will say that it took me a while to get into the story - the prose and lines were very attractive and engaging right from the first page but I think it took me a while to get used to the very German (I think) based world. But I think it was at about the 20% mark that something clicked and I couldn't put the book down after that. The author does a wonderful job giving us a world with cool gods like Death, Fortune, Truth, Justice etc; a story that feels like a dark fairytale but also has a heist like feel, as well as quite a few mysteries to solve, with a few love stories interspersed in between. All the elements blend together very well to give us a thrilling and entertaining ride, while also giving us a few scares.

But the star of this book is our protagonist Vanja. She wears many forms - a princess, a bride to be, a maid, a thief, goddaughter of Death and Fortune - but there's always something unknowable about her. She maybe looting the nobles riches to earn money so that she can escape, she might be striving hard to forget the life of servitude she used to live previously, she might behave like she is selfish and doesn't care for anyone and just does everything for herself - but ultimately what she wants is love and belonging even if she doesn't want to acknowledge that to herself. She is scared that she might be caught, repelled by having to make a choice between her two godmothers, is full of rage against Gisele and her family for treating her like a nobody; but she slowly makes unexpected friends and allies, starts caring for them, shows utmost bravery to save them all, and thinks beyond herself when the moment calls for it. She truly is an unforgettable character.

Emeric on the other hand is an investigator who wants to catch the thief stealing from the nobles. What starts as a cat and mouse game of chase and evasion between them quickly turns into so much more. He is intelligent and earnest and very dedicated, and despite their very opposing professions, Vanja - who is notoriously distrustful of everyone - comes to trust him. They both are represented as demisexual characters which I really appreciated and there are some beautiful lines between them reflecting their feelings.

Most of the other characters play small but significant roles in the story but we never do get to know them deeply because this is a single first person POV story. However, Ragne left a deep impression on me because she is powerful but naive in her own way, a very loyal friend and a sweetheart when in love. Gisele is more hard to like because of her fraught history with Vanja but her altered circumstances and meeting Ragne have changed her, made her more understanding of her faults and given her strength to stand up for herself and others. Joniza only shows up in a couple of scenes but is quite a delightful support. And finally our antagonist who is extremely loathsome and I just kept wanting him to get his just desserts.

In conclusion, this was a fun, entertaining, and very emotionally engaging dark fairytale retelling with a protagonist who keeps making questionable decisions but you badly want her to succeed, and an unexpected group of supporting characters who help her on the way. When I started, I didn't know it was a standalone but I'm glad it is and the author wraps up the story very neatly. Maybe the romantic plotlines felt a little rushed because of the one book constraint, but I am still pretty satisfied with how much I enjoyed this fascinating story.