Until, one heist away from freedom, Vanja crosses the wrong god and is cursed to turn into jewels, stone by stone. Now, Vanja leads a lonely but lucrative double life as princess and jewel thief, charming the nobility while emptying their coffers to fund her great escape. With the help of an enchanted string of pearls, Vanja transformed into her former mistress and took her place, leaving the real Gisele a penniless nobody. Until a year ago, when her otherworldly mothers demanded payment for their care, and Vanja decided to steal her future back. The adopted goddaughter of Death and Fortune, Vanja has long made her own way in the world as the dutiful servant of Princess Gisele. Vanja Schmidt knows that no gift is freely given, not even a mother's love. Once upon a time, there was a horrible girl. Margaret Owen, author of The Merciful Crow series, crafts a delightfully irreverent retelling of “The Goose Girl” about stolen lives, thorny truths, and the wicked girls at the heart of both.'A wild, adventurous romp that will leave you breathless at every turn' Hafsah Faizal 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. Vanja has just two weeks to figure out how to break her curse and make her getaway. 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. 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. The real Gisele is left a penniless nobody while Vanja uses an enchanted string of pearls to take her place. 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. Vanja, the adopted goddaughter of Death and Fortune, was Princess Gisele's dutiful servant up until a year ago. 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.

YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults SelectionĪ scrappy maid must outsmart both palace nobles and Low Gods in a new YA fantasy by Margaret Owen, author of the Merciful Crow series. 'Gorgeous prose, delicious magic.' - V.E.

Little thieves review