Holy Terrors (Little Thieves, #3)
Margaret Owen
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.
Publication Year: 2025
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02025 reads: 45/300
2025 tbr: 19/111
i received a digital review copy from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. this did not affect my rating.
buddy read with aaku!
this is the conclusion to the little thieves trilogy.
it’s been nearly two years since vanja brought down the cult she started, and she’s still paying the price. a killer is making their way through royalty and leaving vanja’s signature red penny on every victim, raising suspicion and turning the pfennigeist from a folk hero to a nightmare. when the blessed empress falls victim to this poser, the empire’s seven royal families gather to elect her successor…even though this puts all the royalty conveniently in the killer’s reach. she works with emeric to survive the chaos around them, though they’re both still heartbroken. with the stakes so high, it’ll take everything vanja has to save her loved ones and her future.
so, i read the fallow year shortly before this, and i thought it was a great novella, but i couldn’t say for certain whether it should be considered required reading before going into this. now that i’ve read this, i will say i 100% recommend reading the fallow year before reading this. first, there is a time gap between painted devils and holy terrors, so reading the fallow year will help fill in a bit of this gap. this makes the reading experience even more enjoyable! second, this book is told through vanja’s viewpoint, whereas the fallow year is split between her pov and emeric’s!
now that that’s out of the way, let’s get into my thoughts about this book! honestly, i don’t have an abundance of thoughts i can easily articulate, but let me just say that this book was ANGSTY (saying this positively). aaku and i commented so many times about the tension between vanja and emeric all throughout this book. more than that, though, was the growth vanja had as a person. she had so many deep-rooted insecurities that she had to work through, and i feel like the progress she made in this book with that was satisfying.
the plot, of course, was also interesting! we had a murder mystery, some run-ins with royalty, and something toward the end that i’m not quite sure how to describe, but that really hooked me.
overall, this was a great book. i can’t wait to read more from margaret owen!
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