Painted Devils spins a new tale of mischief and mayhem for one of YA fantasy’s standout characters, but beware of leaving your heart unguarded. Little Thieves left me absolutely stunned in 2021 and I have been craving the sequel ever since. Luckily, Painted Devils smashes through every lofty expectation I had. Owen’s gorgeous writing entranced me once more. I loved how much she expanded the world here, taking us to new lands and traditions. Every page is so evocative and lushly described, allowing you to fully lose yourself in the story. Little Thieves’ structure felt like an sprawling epic tale combining the past, present and future. Here, that structure allows the past and present to collide but in somewhat more grounded terms. This is very much a fantasy story, with all the requisite magic, meddling from gods and mischief from mortals. However, at its core, this is a story about family in all its forms. The mesh of times is more about working through trauma and learning to live with your past, confronting it without forgiveness if needed. Owen really digs into these various forms of family – blood, found and chosen. This creates a mesh of intriguing and fleshed-out characters around our central duo of Vanja and Emeric. Vanja has changed, but she is still the spikey, occasionally manipulative and determined character we left at the end of Little Thieves. She is an endlessly complex and interesting protagonist who I absolutely love. That ruthlessness has diminished somewhat, except from when it comes to defending the people she loves. Her morality is still dubious and I adore how you cannot pin her down into the hero-villain dichotomy. However, Owen knows exactly what she did with that ending and I will be demanding revenge. It is a cruel cliffhanger but boy, do I want more. I also loved how Vanja and Emeric’s dynamic grew over the course of the book. Certain plot elements drive discussions around sexuality and intimacy, something that is complicated for both of them. This was a refreshing change, with natural progressions and nuanced conversations around the topic. It felt mature and tenderhearted, making me root for them all the more. Painted Devils is an achingly beautiful story around family in all its forms, but beware the devastatingly cruel sting in its tale. TW: grief, death, violence, cult, emotional abuse, manipulation, loss of autonomy (mind/body control), parental abandonment, physical abuse, blood magic, animal death, classism

It’s here! I’ve been a long wait for the sequel of Little Thieves (almost two years!!!), but, after reading Painted Devils, it was worth it! I forgot how much fun Vanja and Emeric can be and how good the author is in keeping you immersed in the story. I loved every single page of this novel, I laughed for at least half of it, and I didn’t want it to end. Following the events of Little Thieves, Vanja is determined to find her family, who she hasn’t seen in thirteen years, while her love for Emeric is still going strong, but can a thief and a prefect really be together? She wants to be honest and be worthy of both her family and Emeric, but she “accidentally” invents a god, the Scarlet Maiden, and starts a cult that quickly takes hold of an entire village. And when it turns out that the Scarlet Maiden is indeed real and she wants Emeric as her virgin sacrifice, Vanja needs to find a way out of it, while also trying to prove to Emeric’s stubborn supervisor that she is not guilty of fraud. The romance between Vanja and Emeric is perfect. These two characters together are incredible, hilarious and so adorable. Emeric needs to pass his prefect exam and is supervisioned by a retired prefect who is determined to accuse Vanja of fraud and he is cursed by a god (and his virgin status made a common knowledge). Vanja is determined to find a way to protect both Emeric and the village that she has come to love, but she is haunted by her mother’s prediction that she would be the ruin of everyone she loves. I really hope that the third book in the series will come out soon, because I can’t wait another two years to see what happens, especially after that surprising and heartbreaking ending. I still haven’t read the author’s previous series, The Merciful Crow, but I can’t recommend her (and this series) enough. She knows how to hold the reader’s attention with an addictive writing style, an entertaining story full of twists and adventures, and a cast of characters that you can’t help but fall in love with!