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.
Little Thieves is a fun and layered story, even if some parts worked better for me than others. What stood out most was the demisexual rep, which felt refreshing and genuine, something we still don’t see often enough. I just wish the romance arc had taken more time to breathe. For a character coded as demi, the emotional progression moved a bit too fast, especially considering how much trauma both leads are carrying.
That said, I loved the dynamic between the two godmothers (who are literal goddesses) and their stubborn, sharp, very damaged goddaughter. The blend of myth, magic, and messy family feelings worked really well.
The introduction of the second main character was another highlight, initially played as a bit of a fool, only to later reveal he was using that persona strategically to be underestimated. That slow reveal was satisfying and made me like him a lot more as the story progressed.
The trauma and its lingering effects were also handled with surprising care. Vanja’s backstory is heavy, and the way she navigates guilt, fear, and self-preservation felt grounded and believable.
Where the story stumbled a bit for me was the actual thieving. We’re told Vanja is an expert, but she makes a lot of questionable choices for someone supposedly that skilled. I found myself wanting a bit more competence to match the reputation.
Still, despite a few pacing issues and a romance that got too front-and-center too quickly for my taste, I enjoyed the ride. Gritty fairytale vibes, thorny moral questions, and some really great queer rep made this one worth picking up.
