I really enjoyed this story - I thought it was a good mix of glitz and glamour while still being realistic. Would recommend to my friends!

A wonderful historical fiction read that gives you an insight into the rich and famous. Based on the real story of Aimee Crocker, I found her story very intriguing and in her own voice which made it real and forthright. The writing grabbed my attention and followed Aimee's story for the whole of her lifetime. The research to write this book would have been extensive and the author did such a great job of bringing her own spin to the story which makes it a very interesting book to read.

I have never read any books by this author but will be checking out what other books she has written as I enjoyed and was entertained by this fantastic book.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I know I’m a little late with this review, but I’m afraid that what I thought was going to be a quiet July ended up having more books to read than I expected, so this review is a week late. However, also in my defense, I thought it wasn’t being released until August 6 (and apparently it won’t come out for another month in the US), so I thought I had time. No matter, dear, gentle reader, I finished it! Not that his was ever in question; I’ve been reading Macallister’s books since her debut, and I’ve yet to dislike any of them. In fact, I think I knew I’d found a new favorite author when I read her first book, “The Magician’s Lie.” (Okay, so she did write some fantasy books under the name G.R. Macallister which I didn’t read, but I think she forgives me for that.) But on to the review…

So, Macallister is back with another biographical novel (the first one was my favorite of hers, “Girl in Disguise” about Kate Warne, the first female Pinkerton investigator), and I couldn’t be happier! Especially because I’d never heard of Aimée Crocker, and I’m betting that most people also have no clue as to who or what she was. The fact that she was enormously wealthy meant that she could do practically whatever she wanted, was a huge advantage for any woman in the late 19th to early 20th centuries. More importantly, that her riches were hers alone, and not from marrying a monied husband, was even rarer back then. Now, I usually have very little patience for reading about the “trials and tribulations” of those who can essentially buy their way out of, or into anything, but Aimée ended up being an exception to that rule. You see, although she had tons of cash, and used it quite liberally, as well as casually, the way Macallister draws her is it didn’t actually define her as a person. In fact, although I didn’t specify this above, Aimée’s story is a type of coming-of-age story, but one where the protagonist doesn’t ultimately come-of-age, at least not in the traditional sense. This is because from the way Aimée lived her life, it seems she was always searching for something that was just beyond her reach.

The thing is, because of this, Aimée was totally fascinating person. The things she did, the places she went, the people she met, were (as Macallister says in her author’s notes) stranger than fiction. There’s an old adage that says something like you can’t run away from yourself, because wherever you run to there you are. Aimée seemed to embody this, in that she did quite a bit of running away, but at the same time, with each escape, she was actually chasing her own self, if you know what I mean. Add to this the way that Macallister has Aimée speaking to someone, which felt to me like she was speaking to her readers, made me call this a fictional memoir. This didn’t exclude Macallister from including some of her usual, highly descriptive passages of the places Aimée visits and the people she meets along the way, which added to the beauty of this novel.

With all this, I guess you’re wondering about my overall thoughts about this novel. Yes, you can see five stars below, but that’s because I don’t have one for 4.75 stars. You see, there are a few sections in this book that rubbed me just a touch the wrong way. Aimée has quite a few sexual encounters throughout her life, and the descriptions of some of those came very close to my line of being explicit. No, she never actually crossed that line, but a couple of these had a “yuck” factor to them that I found distasteful. That’s just me, and I’m sure these parts won’t disturb the vast majority readers, but there you have it. I think this is why I had a slight disconnect from Aimée emotionally. However, aside from that, this was once again an excellent book, perfect for lovers of women’s, historical, biographical fiction, and there’s much to love about it, even if you’re slightly prudish like me. So, my recommendation stands with a very strong 4.75 stars out of five.

The first thing to be aware of when starting this book is that it is based on the life of a real person, child heiress Aimee Crocker. At ten years of age, in 1875, she inherited 10 million dollars. The equivalent today would be about 200 million. A colossal fortune for anyone let alone a child.

With all that money there was very little to hold her back and her adult lifestyle was bohemian and frequently outrageous especially by the standards of the day. The title is misleading as she had seven (I think but I lost count at one point) husbands and the rest were her significant lovers.

I had never heard of Aimee before and her financial circumstances were truly incredible. It was an amazing life but unfortunately presented as a book it became repetitive meeting one man after another. Just an okay read for me. Three stars.

At first I thought this was an attempt to strike the same fire as Evelyn Hugo. However, once I realized Aimee was a real person, I enjoyed the story more. But, ultimately I didn’t enjoy this enough to finish passed 50%. Too much of this seemed fiction, and I think I’d rather just read an actual biography.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to read and review this book. My opinions are completely my own. I was drawn to Amy's tragic and enthralling story right away and couldn't put it down. The mystery of the white lady and the lucky next husband was captivating.

3.5 stars- The life of Aimeé Crocker seems so thrilling and captivating, realizing this story is the fictional version of this real life Heiress. Born into wealth and inheriting more money than you could imagine, especially for that time period; she was able to live the life she wanted. Making her own rules, following her hearts desires and ultimately; chasing love throughout her life.

Along the way, there were many deaths and heartaches to follow her while on this wild life she was living. Aimeé is on a journey to find herself, accept herself and to figure out who her thirteenth husband could be.

I enjoy the mystery of this story, to find out eventually who Aimeé is speaking to and finding out who the "you" really was. The ending was written beautifully. At times the story was a bit hard to follow, since the time frame goes over the whole of her life. So some themes and events went by fast and others longer. Overall I recommend this story and it was enjoyable to learn about the life of Aimeé Crocker.

⌛️Title: The Thirteenth Husband
Author: Greer Macallister ⌛️

The Thirteenth Husband by Greer Macallister is a story of a real-life person who defied the rules of society and lived a life that she chose.

Amiee Crocker, a real-life heiress, defied the term ideal woman in a manner that was not only outrageous and unbelievable but shocking during the nineteenth century. In the time of Astors and Vanderbilt, Aimee Crocker was a woman who was independent as well as someone with a mind of her.

I didn't know much about Aimee Crocker before reading this book. She definitely is a fascinating character, and I wonder if she really was that frivolous. Of course, having that kind of money might have opened many roads for her. I did enjoy the book, and I am still wondering if this person really did everything that she said. A fascinating character for sure.

I love a good fierce female character. When I first seen this cover and title I thought, wow really 13 husbands….ok!?

But that is not the case and there is so much more to our leading lady than we think. I would really like to see this book because a lifetime movie. (Just saying)

The Thirteenth Husband is based off a real woman in the late 1800s, early 1900s. I found the narrator to be alright, nothing to write home about. The story overall is very interesting- I love that it's based off reality! If historical fiction is your thing, you should give this book a try! Aimee is such an interesting woman who wanted love and obviously had a hard time with it.

I loved that the novel was based on a real person.
Aimee certainly lived in her own terms and thwarted most social conventions of her day.
She definitely thumbed her nose at social constraints.
It’s always refreshing to read about women who loved outside of the lines drawn for them!

Aimee Crocker’s father died when she was just a young girl. He left her millions of dollars for her inheritance. As Aimee grows up, she proceeds to keep the reporters busy with her extravagance and her many husbands.

I say this quite frequently, I love a book which has me researching. And believe me, I looked this lady up right from the get go. She was eccentric, extremely rich and never let anything get in her way. I mean, she got divorced in the late 1800s, almost completely unheard of for women. She partied with kings, visited mediums, and even married into Russian nobility.

She is a fascinating character, however, this story is a bit monotonous and long. I also felt the ending is a bit rushed. But I am so glad I read it. Aimee Crocker was indeed a unique person and I am I learned about her.

The narrator, Suzanne Toren, is just ok. This is going to sound weird, but, I could hear her smacking between sentences. It is more prevalent in the first half of the book, or maybe, I just got used to it.

Need a good historical fiction based on a real, eccentric person…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

While I have loved this author's previous works, I did not enjoy this one. Aimee was not a character that I wanted to spend an entire book with. I like historical fiction with women that I can truly root for, and someone who marries and divorces and crosses boundaries, isn't someone I'm interested in learning more about. I'm sad it didn't work for me, but I see it's getting love, and I will direct readers to those that loved this one.

The Thirteenth Husband, a historical fiction novel based on the real life of heiress Aimee Crocker, is a book I was sure I'd love. I love biographies, historical fiction, and stories about women who are/were strong, independent and ahead of their times in so many ways. Aimee Crocker's story (set in the 1880's forward) certainly meets all of those criteria. And there is no doubt that Aimee had a full and interesting life spent doing what she wanted to do and not letting the standards of the day hold her back in any sense. Yet, I didn't love it. I'm as surprised to say that as you may be to read it because I'm definitely going against the opinions of most of the reviews I've seen for this novel.

My interest was captured at the start yet waned more and more as the book progressed. In time it began to seem tedious, yet another relationship gone bad, just change the name and circumstances surrounding the inevitable collapse.

PLEASE read several reviews for this or any book and decide for yourself if it's something you might enjoy spending your time on. This was a miss for me, but that's but one opinion.

My thanks to Landmark for permitting me to access a digital review copy via NetGalley. Publication of their paperback edition is 8/6/24. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

Wowsa. This is based on the life of Aimee Crocker, a woman where the reality is bigger than fiction. I was not familiar with her before reading this entertaining novel and it sent me off to look for more information. A life of immense privilege and a desire to be loved led her to marry so many rimes and so unhappily in most cases. She was ahead of her time and her position in small ways (tattoos!). And yet, with all of it, you like me might feel a bit sorry for her (yes, it's hard). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. An interesting read.

Based on a real life debutante of the late 1800's and early 1900's, The Thirteenth Husband follows Aimee Crocker throughout her life of travels, love affairs, and scandal.

Thank You NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the arc!

I did not enjoy this book at all.

Not because of anything the author did … the writing was easy to read & fast paced, the research was obviously well done & quite thorough & the way that history was melded with fiction was nicely put together.

It’s just that, I really hated this character.

She is heralded as a free spirit & a trailblazer for breaking the mold for women … but I found her to be self-centered, immature, rebellious just for the sake of being rebellious & quite frankly lost to the enth degree. To put it simply, a spoiled & bored party girl of an heiress with money to burn & no care for others … not even her own children. They didn’t like her either.

I had never heard of Aimee Crocker before this book & after learning who she was, I don’t come away from her story a better person or inspired by her life in any way … the only emotion I take away from these pages is pity.

And the ending was just awful ... sigh. I get the cleverness of it but, really? Nope.

The Thirteenth Husband by Greer Macallister
Historical Fiction
3.5/5.0
Publication date: Aug 6, 2024

Aimee Crocker was a real-life heiress in the late 1800s. That was said to have been ahead of her time. This is a take on her story, and it gave Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, but a bit more cheeky, and like we were watching/reading a reality TV version of Aimee's life.

We follow Aimee's wild experiences in her life from her late teens to her death including all of her lavish parties, travels and relationships. Aimee is a self-prolcaimed flirt, and the author does a great job crafting banter. Aimee was also my favorite type of character to read: female in history doing exactly what her society tells her not to; in the 1800s, Aimee is a more than once divorcee, has tatoos, etc.

After finishing the book I'd describe it as a whirlwind. The pages turned easily for me through the first two-thirds of the book because I couldn't believe what would happen next, knowing this is an historically accurate story of the main character. However, later in the book it started to feel quite repetitive, waiting for the usual "aha" moment characters usually come to.

I typically do not love magical realism, but I do understand the *dash* of magical realism, here, to propel the story through Aimee's experienced tragedies/losses.

Thank you NetGalley & Sourcebooks for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #Sourcebooks #GreerMacallister #TheThirteenthHusband #AmyCrocker #AimeeCrocker

Posted on Goodreads on 8/4/24: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6728757342
Posted on Instagram on 8/4/24: https://www.instagram.com/p/C-QWWEeuU1v/?img_index=1

So I appreciate being able to read and review this ahead of schedule and I did finish this, but I struggle with how to rate this. Like is it a well written story and a heartfelt memoir style story steeped in magical realism? Yes it is. Did I mostly enjoy it? Also yes, but unfortunately I didn't love it. I think I was looking for this to be a similar vibe to the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and it kind of was, but it felt very superficial. I wanted to go deeper into the drama with each of the husbands.

This book has Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes. I liked the fact that it's based on a real person. Aimee takes us around the world with her and her many husbands. There's also an element of suspense which I won't go into further detail to avoid any spoilers. For anyone who likes historical fiction this would be a very enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks | Landmark for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.