A fictionalized version of Aimee Crocker's life, The Thirteenth Husband by Greer McAllister was a glimpse into her very "I do what I want" type of life.

She wasn't afraid to be herself and didn't care what people thought of her or how she chose to live her life and I appreciate how difficult that must have been in the time period! (Heck, in today's world!)

Ms. Crocker wasn't someone I knew about before, but McAllister's writing style had me enthralled and I genuinely enjoyed this book. She wove fact with fiction in an engaging way and threw in some mysticism too.

If you like historical novels and real life enigma like women, this is a great one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC for an honest opinion. All views are strictly my own.

A solid historical fiction read about a real-life heiress, Aimee Crocker in the late 1800s-early 1900s. Aimee is anything but conventional, especially for the time. She believes in love, marriage, divorce, and palm readers. To say Aimee is complicated would be a disservice, and to say The Thirteenth Husband told the entire story would be insurmountable. This Aimee Crocker lady lived one helluva life and Greer Macallister did a good job capturing the most believable parts of it.

I will say I got a bit lost toward the end when the twist came about; I knew who the thirteenth husband was, but I felt the writing got a little in the weeds of the paranormal to where I had to fight the cobwebs to figure out what was going on. That being said, I'm glad to have read this book, admire Macallister's research and story abilities, and will look to read another Macallister book in the future.

NetGalley gave me early access to this one, and I was ready for some female Great Gatsby vibes. Instead, what I got was a historical narrative intertwined with mysticism. The supernatural elements caught me off guard, and while they added an interesting twist, they never quite reached a fantastical level. The pacing was a significant drawback, the plot felt convoluted like a soap opera with numerous twists and turns, but I felt bored and tired of it. For me, the scene-setting fell flat, leaving me hoping for more depth and immersion. The lead, Amy, started strong but ended up feeling a bit one-dimensional, and her relationships lacked that spark that makes me root for the characters. I don’t think she has a single friend or real conversation on the page. Overall, it had its moments, but it didn't hit the mark for me. The mysticism was intriguing, but the pacing left me wanting more from this.

Not a Swiss cheese novel!
I loved the storyline and character development. No plot holes here!! Can’t wait to read more from this author :-)

I had such a good time reading the author’s fictional story of real-life heiress Aimee Crocker. While reading The Thirteenth Husband I also researched Aimee’s real life and looked at online photographs of her. This novel captivated me and I sincerely hope readers will discover this book and make it a bestseller.

The Thirteenth Husband is a partly fictionalized biography of socialite Aimee Crocker. It follows her scandalous and licentious life, traveling the world, marrying thirteen men, and dabbling in the mystical arts.

I had never heard of Crocker prior to reading this book and it was interesting to read about a nineteenth century woman who lived a truly bohemian life, challenging the social norms of the time. She seemed to be a woman who was unafraid of what others thought of her, and she lived life on her own terms. Her interactions with high society, strange characters, and exotic places was fascinating as was her philosophy of life. I especially enjoyed the mystical aspects that were woven throughout the story, which included ghosts, Tarot cards, fortune tellers, and magick. The beginning and ending were the best parts of the book as I thought the middle dragged a bit and wasn't as interesting.

If you would like to read a book about a real life socialite whose strange and scandalous adventures are a plenty, then I would recommend The Thirteenth Husband by Greer Macallister.

I hadn't previously heard of the woman this novel is based on, but I was immediately sucked into the story. The writing is so relatable and I was fascinated by her life. The chronology
skips around a little bit, but it was easy enough to follow. I really enjoyed the protagonist. She's written as such a strong and enigmatic person.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Aimee Crocker is not only a strong woman, she is also an heiress and is therefore able to live her life according to her own wishes, and she does! In her time Aimee was a very scandalous women going through husbands and partners without more thought for the consequences. This is a delightful and very powerful story of a woman living on her own terms. All her life, Aimee believed in the occult, she often visited fortune tellers, palm readers and she remembers being visited by ghosts since she was 10. The story is in so many ways completely outlandish, but apart from having fudged a few dates here and there, the main events are all completely true! Great read! I absolutely recommend reading this book!