Margaret Owen

A future chieftain. Fie abides by one rule: look after your own. Her Crow caste of undertakers and mercy-killers takes more abuse than coin, but when they’re called to collect royal dead, she’s hoping they’ll find the payout of a lifetime. A fugitive prince. When Crown Prince Jasimir turns out to have faked his death, Fie’s ready to cut her losses—and perhaps his throat. But he offers a wager that she can’t refuse: protect him from a ruthless queen, and he’ll protect the Crows when he reigns. A too-cunning bodyguard. Hawk warrior Tavin has always put Jas’s life before his, magically assuming the prince’s appearance and shadowing his every step. But what happens when Tavin begins to want something to call his own?

Let’s get one thing straight—Vanja Schmidt wasn’t trying to start a cult. After taking down a corrupt margrave, breaking a deadly curse, and finding romance with the vexingly scrupulous Junior Prefect Emeric Conrad, Vanja had one great mystery left: her long-lost birth family… and if they would welcome a thief. But in her search for an honest trade, she hit trouble and invented a god, the Scarlet Maiden, to scam her way out. Now, that lie is growing out of control—especially when Emeric arrives to investigate, and the Scarlet Maiden manifests to claim him as a virgin sacrifice. For his final test to become a prefect, Emeric must determine if Vanja is guilty of serious fraud, or if the Scarlet Maiden—and her claim to him—are genuine. Meanwhile, Vanja is chasing an alternative sacrifice that may be their way out. The hunt leads her not only into the lairs of monsters and the paths of gods, but the ties of her past. And with what should be the simplest way to save Emeric hanging over their heads, he and Vanja must face a more dangerous question: Is there a future for a thief and a prefect, and at what price?

Kings become outcasts and lovers become foes in the thrilling sequel to Margaret Owen's The Merciful Crow. As the new chieftain of the Crows, Fie knows better than to expect a royal to keep his word. Still she’s hopeful that Prince Jasimir will fulfill his oath to protect her fellow Crows. But then black smoke fills the sky, signaling the death of King Surimir and the beginning of Queen Rhusana's merciless bid for the throne. With the witch queen using the deadly plague to unite the nation of Sabor against Crows—and add numbers to her monstrous army—Fie and her band are forced to go into hiding, leaving the country to be ravaged by the plague. However, they’re all running out of time before the Crows starve in exile and Sabor is lost forever. A desperate Fie calls on old allies to help take Rhusana down from within her own walls. But inside the royal palace, the only difference between a conqueror and a thief is an army. To survive, Fie must unravel not only Rhusana’s plot, but ancient secrets of the Crows—secrets that could save her people, or set the world ablaze.

Le premier volet d'une série prometteuse. L'alliance improbable entre la cheffe d'un clan de parias et un prince rebelle, unis contre une reine impitoyable ! Fie fait partie des Corbeaux, la dernière des castes de Sabor. Les intouchables. Avec son clan, elle écume les routes, prenant en charge les pestiférés pour les brûler. En tant que sorcière, elle dirigera un jour son clan et sera responsable de la survie des siens. Son destin semble tout tracé. Jusqu’au jour où, lors d’une mission, elle aide le prince de Sabor à s’évader du palais pour le soustraire à une énième tentative d’assassinat. Fie négocie alors avec lui un pacte sacré : si elle conduit le prince en lieu sûr, il promet, une fois roi, de protéger les Corbeaux. Mais il faudra pour cela déjouer bien des pièges et des trahisons…

Una futura jefa tribal Fie se guía por solo una regla: «Cuida de los tuyos». Su casta, los Cuervos encargados de los muertos y de impartir la eutanasia, recibe más maltratos que monedas; pero cuando son llamados a retirar difuntos de la nobleza, ella tiene la esperanza de conseguirles la paga de sus vidas. Un príncipe fugitivo « Cuando descubre que el príncipe heredero Jasimir ha fingido su muerte, Fie está dispuesta a evitar mayores pérdidas… o quizás matarlo ella misma. Pero él le ofrece un trato al que no puede negarse: si lo protegen de la despiadada reina, él protegerá a los Cuervos cuando suba al trono. Un guardaespaldas demasiado astuto « El guerrero Halcón Tavin siempre ha puesto la vida de Jas antes que la suya: ha adoptado la apariencia del príncipe con magia y se ha convertido en su sombra. Pero ¿qué ocurrirá cuando Tavin comience a desear tener algo propio?

Los reyes se convierten en parias y los enamorados en enemigos, en esta apasionante secuela de La misericordia del cuervo, de Margaret Owen. Como nueva jefa de los Cuervos, Fie sabe bien que no debe esperar que los miembros de la realeza cumplan su palabra. Aun así, tiene la esperanza de que el príncipe Jasimir lleve acabo su parte del juramento y proteja a su casta. Pero entonces el humo negro cubre el cielo, anunciando de la muerte del rey Surimir y el comienzo de la despiadada lucha de la reina Rhusana por el trono. La reina bruja usa la mortífera plaga para unir a la nación de Sabor en contra de los Cuervos... y para expandir su monstruoso ejército. Por eso, Fie y su bandada se ven forzados a mantenerse ocultos y a dejar que la plaga haga estragos en el país. Sin embargo, a todos les queda poco tiempo antes de que los Cuervos mueran de hambre en el exilio y Sabor desaparezca para siempre. Una desesperada Fie llama a viejos aliados para derrocar a Rhusana desde el interior de sus propias paredes. Pero dentro del palacio real, la única diferencia entre un conquistador y un ladrón es un ejército. Para sobrevivir, Fie deberá descifrar no solo cuál es el plan de Rhusana, sino también los ancestrales secretos de los Cuervos… Secretos que pueden salvar a los suyos o destruir el mundo.

Dietro ogni dono si nasconde un debito. Lo sa bene Vanja Schmidt, sottratta a un destino spietato da due oscure dee, Morte e Fortuna, che adesso tendono la mano per reclamare il loro risarcimento. Il prezzo da pagare, però, è troppo alto e a Vanja non resta che una cosa da fare per riprendere il controllo della propria pensare soltanto a se stessa, lasciando da parte ogni scrupolo. A offrirle, suo malgrado, questa opportunità è la principessa che serve, Gisele von Falbirg del Consacrato Impero di Almandia. Prendere il suo posto è semplice, grazie al filo di perle incantate che la "trasforma" nella sua vittima e le permette di cacciarla dal palazzo. E ancora più semplice è svuotare i forzieri dei ricchi nobili che la circondano, per finanziare la sua fuga. Inizia così la sua doppia principessa di giorno e inafferrabile ladra di notte. I suoi furti sconvolgono a tal punto l'alta società da mettere sulle sue tracce Emeric, un giovane sottoprefetto incaricato di indagare sulla misteriosa ladra, che potrebbe rivelarsi un avversario molto più insidioso del previsto... A un passo dalla libertà, però, Vanja offende la dea sbagliata e viene maledetta. Avrà due settimane per fare ammenda, oppure sarà condannata a una fine terribile. Come se non bastasse, anche Emeric inizia a sospettare qualcosa e le si avvicina sempre più pericolosamente. Riuscirà Vanja a scampare al suo infausto destino o sarà lei, stavolta, a lasciarsi sottrarre ciò che ha di più prezioso?

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.

Il était une fois, une méchante servante qui prenait la place d'une princesse... Il était une fois une princesse, promise au prince héritier d'un royaume lointain. Lors de son départ pour son mariage, sa mère la fit accompagner d'une jeune servante. Mais au lieu de se mettre au service de la princesse, la servante lui vola sa place ! Pendant un an, les rôles furent inversés, la princesse multiplia les tâches les plus ingrates pendant que la servante vivait dans le luxe du palais, trompant tout le royaume. Mais un jour la vérité éclata. La princesse reprit son nom, son titre... L'usurpatrice fut condamnée à mort pour ses crimes. Jusqu'à ce qu'elle livre sa propre version de l'histoire... Un récit fait de trahisons, d'amour et de cruelles vengeances.

It's been nearly two years since Vanja brought down the cult she started, and she’s still paying the price. As the Pfennigeist, she bucks the law in order to help the desperate and haunt the corrupt all across the empire—and no matter what, she works alone. But an impossible killer is tearing through royalty, and leaving Vanja’s signature red penny on every victim. Suddenly the Pfennigeist is no longer a folk hero but a nightmare. When even the Blessed Empress falls, the empire’s seven royal families must gather to elect her successor within a matter of weeks, or risk the collapse of reality itself… even though it puts every house in the killer’s sights. Vanja tells herself she’s wading into the royalty’s vicious games only to save the name she made, and the loved ones also in jeopardy. But the Order of Prefects has also put their sharpest official on the case, the one who swore he’d always find Vanja—until she broke his heart. Journeyman Prefect Emeric Conrad may no longer be the boy Vanja knew, but they’ll have to work together one last time to have any chance of surviving the deadly catastrophe coming for them all. With bloody conspiracy, sinister magic, and old adverseries closing in, it will take everything Vanja has to save not just the people she loves, but the future she’s fought for. In this thrilling final chapter of the Indie Next series Little Thieves, New York Times-bestselling author Margaret Owen shows us the pain and beauty of choosing which demons to face, and which to forgive.

Revisit Rapunzel and Eugene from Disney's Tangled as they race to protect their kingdom, in this thrilling new fantasy adventure penned by New York Times bestselling author Margaret Owen. Rapunzel knows nothing about her neighboring kingdom, Astera – and not just because she only left her tower a month ago. The famously reclusive island has limited its contact with outsiders for decades. So when a suspicious invitation arrives welcoming Rapunzel to the Asteran princess’s coming of age ceremony, and offering her a chance to be useful for the first time since she lost her healing powers, Rapunzel accepts – and unwittingly plunges herself and her companion, Eugene, into a tangled knot of political intrigue and magical secrets. Eugene is just happy to get one last adventure with Rapunzel before his criminal background catches up with him and prevents their happy ending. Yet as they’re drawn further into the country’s problems, they uncover truths about Eugene’s parentage that point to deeper unrest in Astera, and suddenly the fate of their own kingdom, not just their personal dreams, is at stake. Thrust into a power struggle between Astera’s beloved princess, Verette, its domineering king, Enver, and a mysterious secret society, Rapunzel and Eugene race to protect their home from an unsettlingly familiar threat and discover that the past can either hold them back, or help them blossom. A cunning king. A devious princess. Best. Week. Ever.

Odinioară, a existat o fată îngrozitoare... Vanja Schmidt știe că orice dar vine cu un preț, chiar și dragostea unei mame. Când viața îi este pusă în pericol și riscă să piardă protecția oferită de nașele ei, Moartea și Fortuna, Vanja se hotărâște să-i fure viața stăpânei sale, Gisele, folosind un colier de perle vrăjite pentru a-i lua locul. Acum Vanja duce o viață dublă, ca prințesă și hoț de bijuterii în Minkja, fermecând nobilii în timp ce le golește cuferele pentru a-și finanța marea evadare. La un jaf distanță de libertate, atrage asupra ei furia unei Zeițe Inferioare și este blestemată să aibă parte de un sfârșit prematur: pentru lăcomia ei, se va transforma în perle și rubine până la următoarea lună plină. Hoața talentată are doar două săptămâni la dispoziție să rupă blestemul și să fugă din Imperiul Binecuvântat al Almandyiei, însă este păzită zi și noapte de o semizeiță sălbatică, persecutată de logodnicul sinistru al Giselei și urmărită de un prefect junior care pare dispus să-i descopere toate secretele. Iar când creaturi desprinse din cele mai întunecate coșmaruri încep să cutreiere străzile din Minkja, Vanja se trezește în mijlocul unui complot malefic, care o forțează să lucreze cot la cot cu cei pe care i-a trădat, jefuit sau mințit. Hoți mărunți este un retelling întunecat după The Goose Girlși un roman fantasy YA despre vieți furate, adevăruri spinoase, fete rele, zeițăti ironice și monștri periculoși.

The Fallow Year is a series of ten short stories that take place in the months between the end of Painted Devils and the beginning of Holy Terrors. They will alternate between Vanja and Emeric’s POVs as they spend some time… working on themselves. Available to read for free in AO3. Chapter 1: Plausible Deniability Chapter 2: Landfall Chapter 3: Beauty without Mercy Chapter 4: The Agenda Chapter 5: Many Happy Returns Chapter 6: Providence Chapter 7: Due Diligence Chapter 8: The Cycle Chapter 9: Phantom Roses, Part I Chapter 10: Phantom Roses, Part II