About the Book:

Title: The Thirteenth Child 

Author: Erin A. Craig 

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Release Date: September 24, 2024

Pages: 512

Genre: YA Fantasy, Horror, Gothic, Romance

Synopsis:

This is the story of Hazel, a young healer navigating a ruthless court to save the life of the king, grappling with a pantheon of gods with questionable agendas as she fights for agency and true love in her own life as the goddaughter of none other than Death himself.

All gifts come with a price.

Hazel Trépas has always known she wasn’t like the rest of her siblings. A thirteenth child, promised away to one of the gods, she spends her childhood waiting for her godfather—Merrick, the Dreaded End—to arrive.

When he does, he lays out exactly how he’s planned Hazel’s future. She will become a great healer, known throughout the kingdom for her precision and skill. To aid her endeavors, Merrick blesses Hazel with a gift, the ability to instantly deduce the exact cure needed to treat the sick.

But all gifts come with a price. Hazel can see when Death has claimed a patient—when all hope is gone—and is tasked to end their suffering, permanently. Haunted by the ghosts of those she’s killed, Hazel longs to run. But destiny brings her to the royal court, where she meets Leo, a rakish prince with a disdain for everything and everyone. And it’s where Hazel faces her biggest dilemma yet—to save the life of a king marked to die. Hazel knows what she is meant to do and knows what her heart is urging her toward, but what will happen if she goes against the will of Death?

From the astonishing mind of Erin A. Craig comes the breathtaking fairy tale retelling readers have been waiting for— what does a life well-lived mean, and how do we justify the impossible choices we make for the ones we love?

Review:

* I received an e-arc via Netgalley and the publisher, Delacorte Press for review. Thank you for the opportunity. All thoughts are my own*

I just LOVED this book and it’s probably going to be in my top reads this year! I fell in love with Erin’s writing in a House of Salt and Sorrows, and this one certainly lived up to my expectations. This book destroyed me! 

Hazel is promised from birth to a god. When her godfather, the Dreaded End, Merrick, finally comes for her he lays out to her what he’s planned for her future. She will become a great healer and will be known throughout the kingdom for her skill. To aid her in her endeavors, Merrick gives her the ability to instantly know what a patient needs for a cure.

All gifts come with a price of course, and Hazel can see when Death is coming and there is no cure that can save her patients. She therefore must end their suffering for them and take their life. She is haunted by the ghosts she has killed and longs to run. Destiny brings her to the royal court where she meets Prince Leo and his father, the king who is marked for Death. Hazel wants to save him, but what will happen if she goes against the will of Death? 

Full of magic, gods, royal courts, death and heartbreak, The Thirteenth Child is one you won’t want to miss.

All the stars! 

About the Author:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Erin A. Craig has always loved telling stories.

After getting her B.F.A. from the University of Michigan, in Theatre Design and Production, she stage managed tragic operas with hunchbacks, séances, and murderous clowns, then decided she wanted to write books that were just as spooky.

An avid reader, decent quilter, rabid basketball fan, and collector of typewriters, brass figurines, and sparkly shoes, Erin makes her home in West Michigan with her husband and daughter.

To find out more about Erin and the worlds she creates, follow @penchant4words on Instagram and Threads.

She is represented by Sarah Landis at Sterling Lord Literistic.