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Haunted by the secret of her long-lost birth family and whether they would welcome a thief into their lives, Vanja sets out to find an honest trade and become someone worthy of acceptance. But when she runs into trouble and invents a god, the Scarlet Maiden, to scam her way out, the lie quickly gets out of control. Especially when Emeric Conrad, the vexingly scrupulous junior prefect, 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 — is genuine. Meanwhile, Vanja chases an alternate sacrifice that could be their way out of danger. The hunt leads her not only into the lairs of monsters and the paths of gods, but also uncovers the very same past that she was so afraid to face.
After really enjoying the first book in the series, I looked forward to seeing what new mischief Vanja would try to con her way out of. Painted Devils takes the complex system of gods and magic first introduced to readers in Little Thieves and expands upon it. There are still heists and schemes, complicated twists and turns, and the sharp humor of a cynical heroine that I found so easy to love in the first book. However, despite having a lot of good things in its favor, I found my enjoyment of the story sidelined by the addition of a “will they or won’t they have sex” plot line. In fact, Vanja and Emeric spend most of the book romancing, kissing, almost-but-not-quite having sex, and anxiously discussing or worrying about the fact that they were almost-but-not-quite having sex.
At its core, Painted Devils is a story of two young people navigating love and sexuality, recognizing and respecting their comfort zones, and navigating their feelings for each other. I can understand where the author was going with this, but I did not enjoy so many scenes revolving around the bedroom, as well as the addition of countless sex-related conversations between characters that made me, as a reader, uncomfortable.
However, another large part of what made me love Little Thieves was how it matched a complex plot with a subplot that forced Vanja to confront a lie she believed about herself. That emotional plot line was also carried through into Painted Devils, delving into Vanja’s past and exploring the idea of family — the ones we find, the ones we make, and the ones we’re born to — and showed how the words from those close to her tainted her self-esteem and self-worth.
Like many modern readers, Vanja was made to believe the lie that she was ugly because she wasn’t attractive in the traditional sense. Painted Devils breaks the lie that a person’s worth lies in their physical appearance and counters it with the truth that love will always find the true beauty of a person, both inside and out. Despite my personal dislike for other areas of this book, that message holds a powerful resonance that I wish more people could hear.
Rated: High. Profanity includes 4 uses of strong language, about 8 uses of moderate language, and around 30 uses of mild language. The German word for “block” or “log” (which closely resembles stronger language) is used frequently as a fantasy exclamation. Violence includes memories revolving around child abuse at the hand of a parent. Characters are faced with the threat of an upcoming virgin sacrifice to a monster. There is some blood. Sexual content includes many scenes featuring passionate kissing, partial undressing, complete undressing, characters touching and becoming familiar with each other’s bodies, several conversations around virginity and/or planned future sex, an explanation to the main character of how pregnancy happens (and about taking precautions against pregnancy), conversations regarding sex and trying new things (some that leave little to the imagination), and a sex scene where details are glossed over for a focus on the characters’ emotions and emotional fulfillment. Also included are frequent crude comments, gestures or insinuations and reference to male body parts. A girl mentions being with another girl sexually. Characters drink.
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