Rereading Painted Devils by Margaret Owen

 

Since Holy Terrors, the third and final book of Maragret Owen’s Little Thieves trilogy, came out two weeks ago, I decided I should reread the second book, Painted Devils, to catch up on the story. This blog post will have spoilers for the end of Little Thieves. 

After they had overthrown a tyrant, cleared Vanja’s names, and reinstated the true Gisele von Flabrig you-get-the-idea as Margravine of Bóern, everything returned to how it should be. Or it should have. Because, after overthrowing a tyrant, clearing her name, and reinstating the true Margravine of Boerne, after having the chance to have a normal life, Vanja ran away. Because that’s all she knows how to do.

Vanja disappeared to a small village called Hagendorn, where she started a cult and became a prophet for a god that doesn’t exist… all by accident. Now stuck in this town who worships the Scarlet Maiden, a being she made up from some old drunkard’s song, it seems her life just can’t get any worse. But of course, it does, because turns out, if enough people believe in something for long enough, it becomes real. And then claims that junior prefect ex-boyfriend you-ran-away-from-at-the-end-of-last-book-because-you’re-scared-of-attachment as a sacrifice. Forced to break the claim, Vanja must wander back into her past, reunited with shadows of her memories, and face the devils painted on the walls. 

I have read Painted Devils three times (I don’t have a problem I swear), and trust me when I say it gets better every time I read it. This series is one that I believe can never get old, I have loved it every time I’ve read it. I really do recommend this series for anyone who likes fantasy, or anyone who thinks they would like fantasy, because these books by Margaret Owen are just that good. However, I would proceed with caution if you’re uncomfortable with the mentions of sex, because while this is not a smutty novel, the characters do talk about the idea of sex a fair amount. But that’s enough from me, until next time (where I will probably be gushing about Holy Terrors), and thank you for reading.

Innocent until proven guilty, or is it the other way around?

Recently, I’ve been reading a book that a few other people on these blogs have been talking about. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is written by Holly Jackson and published in 2019! I just realized coincidentally that it was published on my birthday, too (WOW). This book has 400 pages that I’ve been reading over the past few weeks. A heads up there will be some context given before I yap about my thoughts! (If you want to skip the context go to the second to last paragraph).

To begin, we have 2 primary characters that are named Pip (Pippa), and Ravi. There are many other characters as well but the story is set in Pip’s perspective with Ravi as her partner. In 2019, the murder of Andie Bell made headlines in the area of Fairview Connecticut. A slightly off-topic fact, but it is solely in the U.S. copies of AGGGTM that it is set in Connecticut. Everywhere else the story takes place in a fictional town in England. Ravi’s younger brother, Sal Singh, was convicted of Andie’s murder. Between Pip and Ravi, both are trying to gain justice for Sal. Many of the residents living in Fairview believe that Sal is a murderer and they also drag that along with Ravi as well. Simple things such as them saying he is a murderer’s brother take a toll on Ravi because he truly believes his brother would never murder someone.

Pip builds a friendship with Ravi and over time more people are aware of her project, Pip introduces herself often to question people who may have been involved or even have any information about the case. The storyline follows this process incredibly well saying that the reader is quite literally reading Pip’s project as she types it. There are quite a few twists and turns within this case Pip is studying, but a lot of information is revealed concluding Andie had everyone around her fooled about the person she is. 

Now that I’ve given some basic information about the idea of this book, it’s time for me to talk about my thoughts. Overall the book had me sitting there flipping page after page, I believe this is one of my favorite reads from this year! Following Pip’s life along with her project was thoroughly written, with lots of additional details discluding the project. I’d like to say if you enjoy reading mystery mixed with crime, then you would like this book!! A lot of my friends recommended it to me which overall led to me reading it so I’d also say it is pretty well-liked by a bunch of people. 

To sum it up, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is a thoroughly detailed book. I think everyone should get a chance to read at least a little bit of it at least once. Holly did a very good job at writing this book with plenty of detail that draws a reader in. Additionally, I’d give it a 9.5/10! I believe that’s everything I have to say for now, so I’ll see you guys in 5 weeks! Bye!!

-Chloé B. 🦆