Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Hazel is a 13th child. Born to parents who didn't want her, she is enlisted into the care of a God. Being a thirtheenth child makes her special and coveted by the gods, and she has certain gifts bestowed on her. She's a healer. Yet with her gift comes a curse.

I loved this book! Hazel is such a strong character. She faces many challenges and losses throughout the story, but somehow, is always determined to grow and learn. This is definitely a book I'd read again and again!

I would like to thank Netgalley for approving this arc in return for an honest review.

I was excited for this book! From the beginning hearing g about the premises of the book from the author's social media page, to me already loving books about either the 7th son of the 7th son to what this book is about... The Thirteenth Child.

The idea of a child being taken in by the God of death went very well. I love the personality of Merrick, and I wished at times there had been p.o.v.s from his mind. The character of Hazel grows and I love how at times she becomes increasingly infuriating to being witty and strong willed. As the story progressed I love seeing the different turn of events and honestly even some twists I was not expecting to happen. I wish this in some ways had a second book or even a third one too, as there is so much more I wish I had learned about from the different Gods to also areas.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC. This was the right amount of atmospheric and creepy for me, the scaredy-cat. This book follows Hazel, a 13th child, who eventually is “rescued” from her terrible family by her godfather Death. This is just the beginning of her wild life of healing, loving, losing, and worse. Some of the scenes were a little gruesome, but I really liked Hazel. Her gift taught her so much and we followed her through some big life realizations while she’s holding a life in her hands. I think this is a great fall read.

I'm here for every single fairy tale retelling I can get my hands on, and Craig did not disappoint.

With a world bursting with emotive and relatable characters and a rich and diverse mythology, this was a fantastic read from start to finish.

I will read anything by Erin A. Craig. I adore her imagination and the uniqueness of her plots, and this books was no exception. Mixing folklore of the thirteenth child and imagining death as a godfather, put a spin on old tales and provided fascinating characterization. Merrick, aka: death, was not what I would picture when imagining the grim reaper, but his character of being a god who can't quite understand humans but so badly wants to have a relationship with his godchild is heartwarming yet frustrating. Hazel's growth throughout the novel and her desire for a home had me hoping for her and rooting when she overcame obstacles with her courage to never give up.

I love the creepiness of Erin Craig’s writing! This book was a big yes from me from start to finish! I

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I’m not a big fantasy fan, but this felt more like magical realism to me. I read Small Favors previously and enjoyed it, but this book was just wonderful and will stick with me for a while.

Hazel is the thirteenth child in her family, and before she was even born, the god of Death claimed her as his own goddaughter. He vowed to take care of her and train her to be a healer. Although he waited twelve years to fulfill that promise, Hazel became well-trained in her craft.

As she grows older, she realizes that the gods are much more impactful and difficult to deal with than she had expected. And the devotion of their followers isn’t always for the good of humanity. When Hazel is tasked with saving the king, her outlook on how the world works is changed forever. This book was really great, and I definitely recommend it.

I really loved the concept of this but unfortunately it just didn't quite work for me. The pacing felt all over the place; it was slow at times and then it would skip ahead a year, The time jumps really threw me off. It felt like we didn't have any time with the characters in a certain period before we skipped ahead a year and just moved on. It was especially jarring when something major happened which is supposed to have significant consequences for the plot and main character and then we immediately jump ahead a year and its like nothing happened.

I also didn't particularly like the relationship between the two main characters - it felt like there was no build up or real reason for their relationship.

Overall a promising concept but not well executed.

The Thirteenth Child has everything I needed in a book and I didnt even know it. It has love, tension, Death, life, magic, mayhem, and life altering decisions that are nearly impossible to make. Needless to say, with all of these elements (and so many more), this book was a nonstop rollercoaster of emotion.

The main character, Hazel, was put through constant trials and it was fascinating to watch how those trials formed her into who she was and how she dealt with every problem thrown her way. From a young age, Hazel spent a great deal of her young life feeling unloved and unwanted, and for any other character, this could lead her down a path of destruction, instead, it gave her insight into the inner workings of the mind, even before she received her gifts. It also gave her a certain amount of empathy that strengthened her healing abilities by giving her ways to connect with her patients. The choices she made gave insight into her ultimate motivations in a way that truly rounded her out as a character, giving her a more realistic feel.

The magic system involved in this world was unique. While most power came from the gods, Hazel’s powers were gifted to her by her godfather, Death. The way Death’s motivations were slowly shown made Hazel’s healing powers more meaning. It was nice to see powers given to a character that had to be earned through learning and knowledge as well as simply gifted.

While a majority of the growth and character development fell to Hazel, the side characters were not left to be simply two dimensional fillers. Each side character was given a full story and motivations without bogging down the story. They were given room to grow and to be understood, leading to even more surprises to Hazel on her journey of survival and self discovery.

This book was a wild ride and I loved every spooky minute of it!

5/5 stars

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children’s for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

With lush and lyrical writing, Erin A. Craig writes another stunner of a YA fairytale. I was immersed from page 1 and captivated the entire story. I can't wait to read whatever she writes next.

I mostly enjoyed this gothic fairy tale novel, with my favorite part being the first half where Hazel and her God really get into the exploration of her world, gifts, the magical candles, and healing in the shadow of Death. But the second part becomes a dark kingdom fantasy, which I generally find unpleasant, with all of the annoying politics of kingdoms and power grabs and the frippery of court. Also, the gods are less a part of the story and the in-between places become secondary. Still an interesting envisioning of this sort of story type, Erin A. Craig continues to be a great mind in fantasy.

This was a fantasy book about a girl chosen at birth to be a goddaughter to a god. Hazel’s formative years were sad and lonely and it’s interesting how that really continued until she arrived at the palace. I enjoyed the world building of this book. The concept of the Shivers was extremely interesting.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's Delacorte Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Great book! Hazel was the 13th child of her family and was promised to the Merrick, the Dreaded End, the god of death. Her parents treated her awfully until she left home. Hazel becomes a great healer but at a cost--she can see when death will claim a patient and there is nothing she can do. Interesting book.

i loved hazel as a main character and how wide reaching this story was through her life. some of the pacing got a little weird but overall very enjoyable

The Thirteenth Child is set in a world where children can be dedicated to certain gods, and not all of them are what they seem. In this story Hazel is dedicated to Death. But Hazel discovers that that dedication isn't necessarily a bad thing. Death has made it so that she will live a long life and she is meant to use it to help heal people. She can see what ails them and how to help but she can also see if they are meant to die. This turns into a point of contention when first her fiance and then a king who she is meant to treat are marked for death.

This book was a rather enjoyable read from Hazel struggling with the path she is meant to be on. Death is a rather interesting character as well, trying to make Hazel happy but not entirely knowing how to navigate the world of the living. It also brought up moral dilemmas and the whole idea of who should make the decisions on death and what not.

Overall I thought it was a pretty wonderful gothic book and I very much enjoyed it and would suggest it for those looking for a gothic, high stakes fantasy.

Erin A. Craig always does something new with fairy tales. She's so great at taking elements of fairy tales and weaving them into her own narrative. I really enjoyed this one. The pacing was excellent: I loved that the book as a whole was the story of Hazel's life, rather than having just a brief snapshot of her childhood before getting into the action. I liked the French setting as well.

I really wanted to love this! It started out very promising but I ended up having to push myself to finish it. I thought the romance was never going to happen, the pace just felt so strange. I will buy for my library because I love Erin Craig, but I’m not sure if I would recommend.

This is a fascinating, imaginative story that will take you by surprise as you read on. I would recommend for older teens.

The world building is written well in this book enabling the reader to picture the environment well.

The story is full of ups and downs and magical moments. Choices, challenges and changes.

The child (thirteenth) is chosen by a god for a special duty as they age, the story follows this child life and the process to achieve the goal set for them.

The Thirteenth Child is a well-written, atmospheric fantasy with a strong lead character and a compelling world. Though it occasionally falls into familiar tropes, it’s immersive read. Erin Craig is a master at Grimm retellings, and her latest is sure to satisfy fans of her other work. However, there were some inconsistencies with the magic system and how Hazel used her powers. Fans of surreal, dark fairytales will enjoy Craig’s latest.

Thank you Delacorte Press and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5!

I’ve previously had some mixed results with Craig’s books, from loving her Sisters of the Salt series to feeling pretty mid about Small Favors, so I felt like I generally knew what to expect. This definitely falls somewhere in the middle of how I’ve felt about Craig’s books, which is that I liked it fine.

The premise and the set up are really intriguing, and I found the first 30% or so to be really interesting. As the story went on, though, my interest started to wane, and while I understand that this is a young adult novel and many young adult novels include romances, the romance in this just felt like it came out of left field for me. There were times where I thought that Hazel was being a little obtuse in a way that was mostly to move the plot along than something intrinsic to her character, which made this harder to buy into, but honestly I really enjoy the quality of Craig’s writing and I enjoyed the ending quite a bit.

I think there’s an audience for this book who will absolutely love it, but unfortunately that audience is not me. Regardless, I did like it!