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?
I must say that Margaret Owen's Painted Devils was a superb follow-up to Little Thieves! I found this book to be a little more exciting, a little more enticing than the previous one! And that ending, holy cow!
We start this story some months after the events of the first book and Vanja is back on her own in a new city/kingdom/territory--not exactly sure how we define these locations--and has somehow unwittingly called up a Low God who is called the Scarlet Maiden. She was merely trying to collect some of her rubies that she earned from the first book when they spilled into a river and suddenly she has a whole town believing in this Scarlet Maiden.
It's not long before the boy she was trying to distance herself comes along for an investigation and Emeric and Vanja meet again. Although, also in tow, is a retired senior prefect who is helping to finish Emeric's training and to say Kirkling doesn't like Vanja is putting it mildly. There's no love triangle to fear here, as Kirkling is very much Emeric's senior, but she's just a thorn in Vanja's side. It's not long before the Scarlet Maiden, who Vanja has been made prophet of, comes back to Vanja and sees that she has brough her a sacrifice in the form of Emeric. Try as Vanja might, she can't get the Scarlet Maiden to let go of this idea.
With much pleading and outright begging, the Scarlet Maiden relents, only if Vanja brings her the blood of seven brothers before a seemingly impossible deadline, but Vanja has never backed down when she's going after something she wants. And yes, there's still very much heated chemistry between her and Emeric. Vanja soon learns that the farmer she's been staying with is in fact one of 7 brothers and she's off to collect a drop of blood from his brethren before time runs out.
I think because there was a looming deadline for Vanja is what made this plot a little more exciting than the previous book. Yes, there was still 500 pages of words and this did seem like a little too much at times. The pacing was better for sure than the last one, but I still felt like there was a little too much slow moments where things went off course from Vanja's goals and that led to other scenes and moments that just felt a little too drawn out.
I did continue to enjoy the relationship developing between Vanja and Emeric. They are both new to love and it was just so sweet to see them take their time with things, letting their feelings develop further and such. There was still plenty of heated moments between them, but they were not as intense as other fantasy reads. Their romance was a breath of fresh air to be honest!
There was quite a few shocking reveals in this one! Issues that were lightly touched upon in the first book are exploding all over the page in this one! Then the ending had a twist I did not see coming which was mind-blowing! And then that last sentence of the book killed me because omg! I had a string of expletives about this moment that were mostly questions because...seriously...holy cow!! Luckily there's only a few more weeks until the final book releases and I can hopefully read it shortly after it comes out! My reading queue keeps getting other big books thrust into the mix, so I am looking at early April for this one!
If you're a fan of fantasy reads with sometimes questionable heroines, than this might be the series for you to give a try! There's magic (of a kind), Low Gods, and all other kind of magic deities that make for an exciting and sometimes challenging read. The pacing goes up and down at the best of times, but it's still a read to draw you in and keep you hooked! I cannot wait for the finale!
Overall Rating 4/5 stars
