This was a deeply satisfying fairy-tale retelling. Margaret Owen takes the bones of the Goose Girl story and transforms it into a magical tale about an unlikable heroine and the circumstances that sent her down a wicked path. Her world-building is spellbinding, but doesn't overwhelm the plot of this standalone novel; it adds enough detail to flesh it out without resorting to long passages of information and makes the story unique and compelling. Overall, this is a wonderful successor to Owen's "The Merciful Crow" series and I cannot wait to read what she writes next!

Little Thieves was graciously provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This novel follows Vanja. Vanja is the 13th daughter of a 13th daughter, which her mother decides means that she is cursed. So her mother goes deep into the forest and gives Vanja to the Low Gods of Fortune and Death.

We fast-forward more than a decade and see Vanja as a princess. She has become a princess through stealing enchanted pearls that belong to the real princess. Vanja angers a Low God and is cursed with becoming the personification of greed. She develops a skin condition where rare gems begin showing up on her body and cannot be removed. The rest of the novel follows Vanja as she tries to reverse the curse.

Whew! That was a long intro for me. Usually I like to write a teaser of a few sentences, so I don’t give too much away. That should give you some idea of the scope and depth of this book. There is so much backstory and character building in this novel, that it’s impossible for me to explain succinctly.

I think the attention to world building and character development is the best part of this novel. There were words scattered throughout that I did not know. To me, they looked German but the Kindle translation tool thought a few of them were Swedish. I feel if I had known the language, it would have enhanced my enjoyment of the novel to give me hints about the nature of these things,

Overall, Little Thieves was a very enjoyable novel that I would recommend to a friend. 4.5/5

I loved the direction this took from the original myth of the Goose Girl and how it centers the story of the maid who took power. Vanja is ready to do whatever it takes to achieve her goals. She may seem ruthless but only because they made her this way. I also loved the way that this book explored how trauma affects us all in different ways. My favorite thing about this story was the banter and the way the relationship grew between the live interests. This book is about forming different types of relationships with people and what it means to have a support system.

Little Thieves - Release date 10/05/21

This is the first book I've given ✨5/5✨ this year.

I was provided an ARC from @macmillanusa in exchange for an honest review! Thank you so much!

Wow. This plot was great, but the best part was the character development.

Vanja is one of the most complex, complicated characters I've ever read and she has so many human aspects to her. She's not some great hero but rather a girl trying to survive and I really related to that. She's clever, funny, and cut throat.

I want more of this world and Vanja. I hope this becomes a series. Definitely pick this book up.

P.S. it's enemies to lovers 😉

Once upon a time...there was a little girl named Vanja. One snowy winter night, Vanja’s mother takes her to a crossroads deep in the woods and abandons her to Death and Fortune. Not metaphorical death and fortune, but the actual gods Death and Fortune, who take four-year-old Vanja in and make her their goddaughter.

Thirteen years later, the glamorous Gisele-Berthilda Ludwila von Falbirg, princess of Sovabin, fiancé to the Margrave Adalbrecht von Reigenbach of Bóern, is attending a party thrown by the count and countess von Eisendorf. The princess has a little too much Glöhwein so the countess von Eisendorf offers the use of one of her guest parlors to the Prinzessin, so she can, you know, have a lie-down and sober up a little before dinner. And thus, the drunken princess is left alone with only her loyal maid Greta to attend to her.

Or so it would seem.

Because no one in their right mind would guess that the princess, as soon as she’s alone, would take off her pearls (a lady is never seen without her pearls) and transform into someone completely different. Namely, Vanja Schmidt, goddaughter of Death and Fortune.

Because this, good people, is a heist.

See, after living for a while with Death and Fortune, Vanja became a servant in Castle Falbirg. After toiling for several years as a maid-of-all-work, Vanja became the lady’s maid to the real Princess Gisele-you-get-the-idea von Falbirg. The girls spent practically every day together. They became best friends - until the rest of the world made it painfully clear that one of them is a princess, and the other a servant, and, in this world, only one of those has value.

So, last year when Gisele was sent off to Bóern to eventually be married to the Margrave, Vanja saw an opportunity and took it: she stole Gisele’s appearance-altering pearls, assuming the identity of the Princess von Falbirg, leaving her former BFF penniless and alone.

Sound familiar, Brothers Grimm fans?

But Vanja-as-Gisele hasn’t just been living the high life while her fiancé is off fighting wars and shit - no, she’s been stealing from the rich and - sorry, there’s no and. Vanja is stealing from the rich and keeping it for herself because she needs the money. See: Vanja doesn’t want to actually marry the godawful Adalbrecht and be a Margravine, God, no. Once she’s saved enough money fencing her stolen goods, Vanja plans on getting the hell out of the Empire of Almandy, and going somewhere where she can live far, far, far away from the influence of her Godmothers. She almost has enough saved - stealing from the rich has been easy, after all, who among them would suspect a princess of being the notorious jewel thief known as the Pfennigeist?

While the princess is trying to sober up, her maid, Greta (Vanja herself, dressed as a servant, sans-enchanted pearls) pulls off yet another successful heist, emptying the Countess von Eisendorf’s jewelry box. Just as “Princess Gisele” returns to the party, the jewels safely stashed in her carriage, two massive wrenches are thrown into Vanja’s plans:

1) It’s suddenly announced that Adalbrecht von Reigenbach is on his way back from the warfront, eager to finally marry his fiancé,

And!

2) A prefect from the Godly Courts (basically this world’s equivalent of a detective) has been dispatched to locate and apprehend the Pfennigeist.

Both of these are bad. Really bad. But Vanja’s life motto is, and always has been: don’t panic. She can manage both of these situations. Really, she can! Adalbrecht is the absolute worst, - a grade A chauvinist pig - but she can manage him by playing the part of the empty-headed princess, playing to his ego while making herself seem harmless. And the prefect - sorry, junior prefect sent by the Godly Courts, Emeric Conrad? He’s a human bean-pole in an ill-fitting uniform, in way over his head, easily riled and completely flustered whenever he’s in Gisele’s presence. Vanja doesn’t need to worry about him.

Does she?

But then, just as she’s left the Eisendorf’s with her stolen jewels, Vanja runs into the biggest wrench in her plan: Eiswald, the low god who oversees the land on whom the Eisendorf’s castle sits. Furious that someone would dare steal in her domain, Eiswald curses Vanja: unless she makes up for all that she has stolen by the next full moon, Vanja will become her greed. Her body will slowly calcify into a bunch of rubies and pearls - starting with a ruby teardrop Vanja’s face.

Yikes.

To make sure Vanja doesn’t try to wriggle out of her curse, Eiswald sends her shapeshifting, half-human daughter Ragne to monitor Vanja’s progress. Ragne isn’t quite used to being human all the time, and she often gets confused by human things like wearing clothes and sitting normally in chairs, but she takes her job to watch Vanja very seriously. Because the clock is ticking, and Vanja’s curse will come to an end, one way or another. But Vanja doesn’t quite understand how she’s supposed to break the curse - how exactly is she supposed to make up for everything she’s taken? And how is she supposed to do it with a relentless prefect (ahem, junior prefect) hot on her heels and a fiancé who is clearly up to something sinister?

Well, first thing’s first:

Have you ever encountered a book that just feels like it was written for you, specifically? Like, it checks all of your own personal boxes when it comes to story, setting, characters, and, well, everything?

Yeah, Little Thieves felt like that to me. I loved every moment of it. I loved that the whole novel was a retelling of The Goose Girl but from the perspective of the “wicked” maid. And, most of all, I loved the character of Conrad, the collection of billiard cues that unionized to solve crime. I loved Ragne and her aversion to clothes and chairs and how if you threaten her or her friends she will turn into a bear and claw you. I absolutely loved Vanja as a character - she is a hilarious and wildly entertaining narrator, but she is also very, very unaware of her own blind spots. She’s so convinced that she is always, always right that she doesn’t even begin to consider that she might, maybe, possibly be just a little tiny bit wrong about certain things until its almost too late. And it’s not like she believes she’s right for no reason - Vanja has learned certain truths the hard way, but, as we all do, we learn that those truths aren’t always universal. Like how, sometimes, it’s OK to panic. Or need help. Or accept that you’ve made mistakes and apologize. Vanja may come off as abrasive at first, but watching her as she transforms from petty criminal to hero is an absolute joy.

I also loved all the references to German language, mythology and culture that permeate the book - especially Owen’s inclusion of some of the more, uh, let’s say... interesting aspects of German cuisine (Weißwurst??? Blegh! Euch, of course Adalbrecht likes Weißwurst). And, if you, like me, spent over fifteen grueling years painstakingly learning the language of your ancestors only to be told your accent sounds ridiculous, then you, too will love all of the German-language easter eggs sprinkled throughout Little Thieves. Seriously, the language nerd was positively giddy the whole time. Speaking of which, perhaps my favorite part of the whole novel was the relationship between Vanja and Conrad. Though it takes Vanja some time to realize it, there is way more to Conrad than the nervous, easily embarrassed rookie detective. In fact, Conrad might be the first person ever to cut straight through Vanja’s bravado and see her for who she truly is and, honestly, I just love the two of them so much.

Seriously, if you take anything away from this review, it’s to pre-order Little Thieves.

*Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of Little Thieves*
Where to begin reviewing this book? I have so many thoughts and feelings after reading Little Thieves. I was intrigued from the very beginning. As in from the Author's Notes! I was so impressed by the way Owens prefaced this story. "This is a story about many things, beautiful and ugly, painful and true. They're are discussions of child abuse and neglect, navigating abusive environments, and trauma from a past attempted assault. For many of us, these are wounds, and I have tried to give them air here without tearing at the hard-won stitches. Still, I trust you to know your scars." Let me just say this one paragraph resonated with me on such a true level. I love that we, as readers and trauma survivors, were recognized and acknowledged as well as given the space to decide if we wanted to continue. This alone earned so much respect for the author from me. I was in love with Owens before even reading the first page. Now to review the actual book. I loved Little Thieves. I really, truly did. I love the telling from Vanja's POV. Even down to the sarcastic little additions, almost like she was talking to the readers directly, or even inner mumblings to herself. I think she was witty, charming (in a sardonic, pithy kind of way) and so very relatable. Even though I have never lived during this time period with these types of events, I felt a connection to her. I love how i fell for the "bad guy"and the shifting of allegiance. The imagery was fantastic. The world building was... adequate. My main mark against this book was the constant use of German terms. I was so lost at times as to what was being written about. I am usually able to infer definitions based on context but was unable to do so in this story. I feel like the terms were overused and almost flaunted, especially to someone like myself w/zero background. This made it difficult to get into for the first half of the book. I struggled to keep reading. Then, once I reached the meat of the story, holy cow, was I in for a ride! Once I made it to the halfway point, I couldn't stop! The story exploded into something I couldn't put down! I give this book 4.5 stars. I loved everything else about it.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan children’s publishing group for providing me with a man e-arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is hard to describe but was enjoyable. There is a lot going on but it’s not a bad thing. The first 100-150 pages were slightly hard to get through for me. It felt a little bit like a info dump and all of the names and places were hard for me to understand and keep straight. I am not German and am not well versed in German words. So I completely understand a lot of the names and places could or would make total sense to others. But personally it muddled the beginning of the story a bit for me. After Vanja is cursed the story picks up and I didn’t want to stop reading it. Vanja’s character is refreshing. I love the premise of a morally grey thief and a liar who is pretending to be the princess while stealing from the rich. The concept of the low gods and death and fortune being her godmothers was really fun for me. I loved the growth of Vanja throughout the book. I also very much enjoyed her enemies to lovers type romance with her love interest. Their relationship felt so natural. I also really appreciated her friendships that she made and kept. I loved Ragne I think everyone needs a Ragne in their life. Overall I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it.

This was the first book I’ve fallen totally in love with for quite a while! The pacing is fast and there’s always a lot going on, but in the best way. At the beginning, Vanja plays three different roles: the princess, the maid, and the thief. I loved watching her figure out who she really is and wants to be throughout the course of the story. It was great to have a main character who is cunning and witty. From the outside, you would think her flaws would make her unbearable, but I actually found that they made me root for her even more.

Found family is one of my favorite tropes and if there is anyone who deserves a found family, it is Vanja. The side characters in this book are great, especially Emeric and Ragne. It’s impressive how the author balanced the character development, the fast, full plot, and the world building. On top of all of that, this book is funny! I think this is the most I’ve laughed reading a YA fantasy.

I wouldn’t change a thing about this book and will definitely be recommending it!

This review will be posted publicly closer to the release date.

For those who have read other works by Margaret Owen, Little Thieves is a solid read albeit less engaging than previous books. With beautifully written details and descriptions, the story is a cross between a bedtime story and a cautionary tale. With a difficult main character and supporting characters who were multi-dimensional but rather unlikeable, this reader had difficulty embracing the story as a whole. For those who appreciate their fairy-tales with a macabre twist, this is an excellent choice.

The premise is interesting and different. We will definitely purchase copies for our libraries. I did not finish the book, but I can see how the right reader will really get into it. It is solid 4 or 5 stars should it continue the way it’s going.

I keep wavering between 3 and 4 stars for this. I think ultimately the 4 is correct and I am not giving it enough credit for how much I enjoyed it. It's very funny, it's compelling, I was invested, etc. However, it is MUCH longer than I anticipated it being and there were several instances where I thought we were getting ready to wrap things up, only to glance down and see that I was only 60% through. Anyway, it's a great standalone and is Owen's first book since the Merciful Crow duology, which is probably why I am judging this one a little harsher because those were incredible. Still highly recommend for YA fantasy lovers! It will go over well all these new Six of Crows fans I think.

I would first like to thank NetGalley for letting me read this ahead of publishing.
**this part of the feedback will not be in my GR review.
I love the premise of the book, I haven’t read from Margaret before but i really enjoyed her style of the main character’s train of thoughts. Now with that said, is there a German interpreter for this book? I live in Germany and have been to plenty of Christmas markets to know how to spell glühwein. This book has German written all over it and yet the words are not exactly correct. The curse word for one is not spelled right, if you google that word letter for letter it doesn’t show up on google. It should be scheisse not Scheitze. It would be pronounced almost the same but the audience doesn’t know better and think that’s the actual way to write it. I think a in the front of the book have a translation for all the titles that stay German have a English translation, like Gräfin, kör-princepz etc. and red is Röt not Röd , its fine if it’s made up but in the description it is said to be of German origin.
My last constructive criticism, i swear! Is the lovely side storytelling chapters. I love the content in them but it is strictly 3rd person view and should stay that way but every last 2 paragraphs switch back to 1st person and its a bit jarring. I think it should stay 3rd person since Vanja doesn’t do that except in the chapters about the maid and the princess. i think it can be done perfectly without Vanja’s thoughts in first person at the end of those chapters.
**


4.5 stars
There was once a princess and her maid, her best friend until something horrible happened to the maid that made her flee with the princess’s magical pearls, her identity and her new betrothal. For a year, Vanja (pronounced Vanya) is disguised as the princess in his empty castle, stealing from nobility to leave the country and the person as the princess and the maid behind when she steals something forbidden. Cursed by a low God (the god of the woods)she has until the full moon to right her wrongs, or at least that’s what she thinks she has to do to stop her from becoming a human sized jewel while dodging a nerdy junior detective on her heels and her war conquering betrothed comes back for her hand in marriage she has no intentions of keeping.

Now back to my thoughts...Another morally grey character, though every bad or selfish thing she does now turns a piece of her into a precious jewel. This is a world full of mischief and creatures afoot and everyone is aware of them. I love these types of settings, much like Holly Black’s books, humans are aware of creatures. There’s even a Calcifer like character in the castle I am so fond of. There is so many bear puns, keep an eye out for it, i was cracking up every time.I sympathize with Vanja so much it hurt. I wanted to cry for her, definitely wanted to be her friend.
I loved the way Owens wrote her and the plot. Just when i think things are going hopelessly out of control, it gets maneuvered, reminds me of Aelin in TOG always scheming in her head. Definitely give it a read!

I went into this book completely blind, not having read the author's previous duology nor actually even knowing her name but the description just sounded absolutely perfect for me. And gosh, am I happy that I clicked that "request" button on Netgalley, because "Little Thieves" will probably turn out to be one of my favorite reads of this year.

It's fantastical, very fairytale-esque and takes place in a world based on good old Germany, aka the country I'm from. I didn't know this at first so it was a lovely surprise, even though some of the German-like words used did break immersion for me (because Owen used some German words, and then some words and names that are very close to German but not quite right so instead of sounding fantasical to me, they simply sounded wrong - Göttenmarkt instead of Göttermarkt, Wolfhunder/Wolfhünden instead of Wolfshund/Wolfshunde, glöhwein instead of Glühwein - that kind of thing). That, and some instances where the main character misunderstands the intent of other characters purely for there to be a dramatic misunderstanding, are the only real criticisms I actually have. This book is just awesome.

The writing is whimsical and gorgeous. I loved the way the different parts of the book started off with fairytale-esque tales. The plot is fast-paced but not stressful, the mystery is nothing groundbreaking but still exciting and fun. But most of all, the characters are just - ugh. I love them, I adore them, Vanja is deeply traumatized and flawed. Her story is painful to read at times and honestly, I just wanted to protect her from the world. But at the same time, she's strong, she's clever, she's a stubborn little menace with lots of wit and charme. There is a childish moment (the butt-mirror-thing) that I thought was a little too much and didn't fit, she's not a twelve-year old kid after all, but other than that little moment her characterization is just really, really well done. I loved following her through the book, I loved the fourth-wall breaking, I felt connected to her. Her love interest is just as lovely. Emeric is intriguing, a total nerd and just such a genuinely good guy you cannot not love him. Ragne, shapeshifting daughter of a god, owns my entire heart. Even Gisele, who I admittedly didn't expect to like based on her and Vanja's history, turned out to be such a complex and wonderful character. The big villain is, again, nothing groundbreaking but he fits this kind of story perfectly. What makes him scarier than a lot of other ya fantasy villains is the fact that he does and thinks things that are very real-life-villain too (tw for sexual assault here).

"Little Thieves" is a quick and highly entertaining read full of awesome, complex characters, beautiful world-building and fairytale-like charme that I just have to highly recommend.

This book was received as an ARC from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group - Henry Holt and Co. in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. A wonderful YA thriller that will leave you at the edge of your seat in which I expected nothing less from Margaret Owen after reading Merciful Crow and Faithless Hawk and how those books really take you on a journey following alongside the characters as you both are embarking on this journey. I felt the same with Little Thieves. You wanted to think of Vanja as the villain since she completely stolen the life of Princess Gisele but at the same time, you sympathized with Vanja in all the turmoil she gets herself into and being mistaken as a goose girl who steals lives until she gets her own life stolen for good. There was a smile from ear to ear as I was reading chapters of this book and I know our teen book club will be highly anticipating reading this book and will have some great insights for them as well.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

this cover, first off, is stunning. the goose girl retelling? thank you. i absolutely adored this book and margaret’s writing.

A little thief by any other name would hang just as well.

Vanja, thankfully, has a whole host of identities, and all of them are just as wily and hard-to-catch as she is.
We meet our main character as the princesszin Gisele, the soon-to-be margrafin of the territory Boern, and though she acts flighty and confused, the real Vanja underneath considers herself to be a lot smarter and trickier than the common noble person, and as such, has gone to great lengths to accumulate wealth discreetly. This is where she becomes the Pfennigeist, or Penny Ghost, the burglar who has stolen from nearly all nobles who have the misfortune of proximity to the margrave's castle.
It's coal-grey swirls of misfortune for Vanja when Junior Prefect Emeric Conrad shows up from the Godly Courts to solve the case....or is it?
Because although Vanja carries an air of self-importance, it is with Emeric and others from her life before stealing Gisele's magic pearls (and beauteous visage) that she learns to trust in others, and sees that it is possible to be believed, even without hard evidence.
Margaret Owen's writing is at once serious and delightful, and full of mystery as well as outright humor (I still giggle thinking about Vanja's indecent doodlings at inappropriate times). Little Thieves is definitely one of my favorite books from the past few years, with the gremlin goose girl who steals everything, including my heart.

Once upon a time on the coldest night of midwinter....

Vanja was born with the worst luck that can exist, she is the thirteenth daughter of a thirteenth daughter, when was young her mother gives her to the goddess of Fortune and Death, they became her God Mothers, but with a price.

It's slightly inspired in the fairytale The goose girl, I say slightly because it´s feels very unique, the worldbuilding was so rich with inspiration from German folklore. It's a beautiful and complex tale with magic, goodness, shapeshifters, mystery, princess, thievery, and a race against time to break a curse.

Once upon a time a princess and her maid from her ...

If you know the original tale, they are two girls, the good princess, and the evil maid,
Vanja grew up in a castle as a maid of princess Gisele, when they were children they were best friends, but now things are complicated, and with the help of magic, Vanja impersonates Gisele.

The prose is so beautiful, very lyrical, feels like a traditional fairy tale, the story set in the present, but have lots of flashbacks (so put attention) they serve to understand the present events, why Vanja steels jewels, why she doesn't want the help of Fortune and Death and why to masquerade as a princess.

I adore the world, beautiful old fashion fairytale but this is a story about character development. The characters are amazing; Vanja, Ragne, and Gisele. I'm here for the female power and support.

Vanja is fun, she wants to be independent, is smart and resourceful, she is not perfect, makes mistakes, does not accept help from others easily, and can be selfish.
The side character: Ragne, I want friends like her, so awkward, fun, and loyal, she is fantastic, Gisele, she is cool one you know her and Emeric, so sweet and so smart.

I really enjoy this. If you like dark fairytales, complex and gray characters, and almost impossible missions, then this is for you.


Review dates on Goodreads, thestorygraph and bookbub: 05 Oct.

I struggled with this one. I started out liking it. It seemed interesting enough. However, things quickly shifted. There were so many things going on that it was hard to follow where the author was going. So many plot points could make a good story on their own, but it felt like things were just thrown in to hit more points (goose girl, detective, terrible husband, politics, curse, demon cat...just to name a few). Too many characters and plots to try and focus on. By halfway through, I found it hard to care about any of the plot points or characters.

Fantasy. Vanja is the thirteenth daughter of a thirteenth daughter, so is orphaned by her mother who swears that she must rid her family of Vanja's curse. So Vanja is left at the feet of and watched over by two of the lower gods, Fortune and Death. Vanja tells her story, filled with conspiracy, murder, and thievery but holds out hope for a free future. Thrilling story that is beautifully told!

Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I've never read The Goose Girl which is the premise for the retelling of this story, but it didn't bother me at all. I absolutely loved this book. It wasn't a fast read, but it was complex and compelling.

I loved the main character, Vanja. She's had a rough upbringing and she's found ways to survive on her own. She doesn't apologize for being a criminal or for the choices she's made. She owns up to her mistakes and her crimes and she does what she thinks is best for her and the people around her.

After her mother doesn't want her because she is the thirteenth child of the thirteenth child, Vanja becomes the goddaughter of Fortune and Death. Between Fortune, Death, and Vanja's life as maid, Vanja has not had it easy. The story opens with her as Gisele, getting ready to steal jewelry from another wealthy couple where she is attending their party. I love how the author chose to weave in Vanja's history and how she became Gisele throughout the story instead of introducing it right away. The story is told in the present, with various flashbacks or conversations that take us back to things that happened previously.

As Gisele is attempting to steal away from the party, she runs into the Low God, Eiswald, who is angry with her for stealing. She curses Vanja to become what she has always wanted. By the full moon, Vanja will become her greed in the form of rubies and pearls if she does not make up for what she stole. So, the story unfolds as Vanja is simultaneously attempting to break the curse, avoid dying by her murderous finance, acquire enough money to leave the clutches of Fortune and Death, and avoid the junior prefect who is on her tail for all her crimes.

I loved how everything wove together. At first, I was super curious about everything would fit together without seeming overwhelming or without being fleshed out enough. With only two weeks until the full moon and Vanja sprouting jewelry in various places on her body, some of the plot lines seemed a little far-fetched. But I was wrong! All of the plot lines wove together and brought the various characters together in a way that showcased all of them. It didn't only feel like Vanja's story, but also Emeric, Gisele, Range, and Joniza's.

I loved Ragne and her fierce protectiveness of her friends. I also loved watching her try to understand humans and human emotions. I loved Emeric and Vanja. They were such different characters, yet they were both so similar. They learned how to accept each other for who they were and grew to care about each other deeply. I really appreciated the development of their relationship and that it wasn't insta-love. It was a well developed, well thought out relationship that worked for both characters.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read whatever Margaret Owen has next!