The Thirteenth Husband by Greer Macallister

3.57 AVERAGE

bucolicbookshelf's review

4.0
Women living their lives will often attract judgment and ire, that Aimee Crocker could afford to live her life as she chose in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, cocooned in the safety of her inheritance didn’t exempt her from that judgment, but she was also in possession of a nature that didn’t care for the opinions of society. Crocker lived her life in such a way that made for ideal historical fiction.

I had not previously heard of Aimée Crocker and looked her up once I began reading The Thirteenth Husband. The story is well written and engaging and showcases the heiress’s life intriguingly (I googled quite often during my reading of this).  

The story pulled me right, held my attention, and kept me turning the pages. 



Thank you to Landmark and NetGalley for the DRC 

andrea_author's profile picture

andrea_author's review

5.0
Aimee Crocker, a real-life heiress in the 1880s, defied social expectations with her extravagant lifestyle and fierce independence. This novel dives into Crocker’s world of wealth, adventure, and personal struggles, painting a portrait of a woman who lived life on her own terms.

This novel is beautifully written, wildly entertaining, and full of emotion. Crocker led a fascinating life, and this book does a great job of capturing it. The audiobook narration was well done.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review. 

oboesteph's review against another edition

3.75
adventurous reflective medium-paced
Poor Amy. She's so lost. She doesn't know who she wants to be, or who she wants to be with. All she knows is that she does NOT want to be who her mother wants her to be (or to be with). She goes on a journey, as the title suggests, through different men. She even briefly tries on motherhood for size (it does not fit). She also journeys through different geographic locations, which are vividly described and great fun for the reader to visit. Amy also goes on a spiritual journey though different belief systems. She spends her life on a giant "who am I?" quest that only an heiress would have the time and money to indulge in. 

Ay the end, when she meets and speaks to her Thirteenth Husband, it's kind of poetic. 

I was blown away by the author's note at the end to find out how much of this story is based on truth. The truth is indeed stranger than fiction. 

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the complimentary Advanced Reader Copy provided through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

pages_and_papercrafts's review

3.75
3.75 stars A captivating historical fiction novel based on the life of Aimee Crocker, a millionaire heiress in the 1800s. The story follows her marriages, starting with the first when at age 18, the honeymoon ends in a train wreck (literally). There’s a touch of grittiness in her personality, a sense of growth as she learns what she wants and doesn’t want, with an addition of mystery as she relies heavily on physics. I listened to the audiobook-the narrator did a great job, very reminiscent of Jenny from the TV show Call the Midwife where the protagonist remembers time past up to the present. 
Thanks to the author, NetGalley and RB Media for the eALC.

daniellereadslikealot_'s profile picture

daniellereadslikealot_'s review

3.5
reflective medium-paced
I had never heard of Aimee Crocker before reading this book and now I just want to read as much as I can about her! A woman much ahead of her time, we see Aimee go from young naive heiress to an incredibly secure and self reliant woman who did not give A DAMN what society thought of her. Aimee herself was written so well and seeing her journey and reading about her travels and husbands was so fascinating. I did have some issues with the pacing however. The first third had me turning pages as quickly as I could, but the book lost steam in the middle and the end. There seemed to be more telling instead of showing and that was a little disappointing. I still overall enjoyed it and like I said before, it left me wanting to read up more on Aimee Crocker so I’m happy I read it! 
CW: animal death, infidelity, death 

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review. 

annettenis's review

3.5
medium-paced
dwkiley's profile picture

dwkiley's review

4.75
adventurous dark inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

challe232's review

3.0
The Thirteenth Husband by Greer Macallister is a historical fiction novel about Aimee Crocker, depicting her life based on true events. I really like the author's writing, and I was mostly looking forward to this because I liked Woman 99.

I don't think this novel was exactly for me - the main character believed a lot in love and the supernatural. But I did really like the author's writing, I read it relatively quickly and I will always read any of her books. Her books are always well done and never drag or are dry - which is nice for the genre.

I would give this 3/5, it's worth a read for anyone who likes the author or wants to know more about the main character. In the Author's Notes it seems much of what's in the book is true.

Thank you to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for the Arc!

big_ju_reads's review against another edition

3.5
adventurous inspiring fast-paced
tmleblanc's profile picture

tmleblanc's review

dark mysterious reflective medium-paced
Greer Macallister paints an intriguing woman, Aimee Crocker, who was larger than life and wholly unapologetic in the way she lived her life. I'm not sure if we should love Aimee Crocker or despise her. In the end, it wouldn't have mattered to Aimee. Take her or leave her, at least Aimee lived life on her  own terms.

I received copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.