The Thirteenth Child

3.5!!

I went into The Thirteenth Child with high expectations. It is spooky season, the leaves were changing, and I was hunting for a deeply atmospheric, eerie gothic fantasy to kick off my spooky season reading list. Having seen so many people raving about Craig’s ability to weave dark folklore, I practically scrambled to open this one up as soon as the weather turned chilly.

And honestly? The atmosphere delivered early on. The premise is a retelling of the Brothers Grimm tale Godfather Death featuring Hazel, the godchild of the dread god Merrick. It hooked me immediately. The dark fairytale vibes, the intricate world-building around the Pantheon, and the sheer visual aesthetic were top-tier. But as the pages went on, my excitement started to flatten out into a bit of frustration.

The biggest issue I ran into was that this book felt like it was having an identity crisis. Craig clearly had an incredible array of ideas:

~A dark god-father/goddess-child dynamic

~A fantasy medical-learning plotline with healing arts and deadly diseases

~Court intrigue and political maneuvering

~A sudden romantic subplot that felt forced into the mix

Individually, almost every single one of these subplots was brilliant. I was genuinely invested in Hazel’s training as a healer and the eerie mechanics of Merrick appearing at the head or foot of a patient's bed to signify life or death. That lore was chef’s kiss.

However, instead of letting these elements weave together naturally, it felt like reading three separate books shoved into a single spine. The pacing staggered every time the story shifted gears. Right when a plotline gained momentum, it was dropped to haul another narrative thread forward, only for everything to collide at the end in a way that just didn't land for me. The grand convergence felt chaotic rather than natural. Honestly, this concept would have shone so much brighter if it had been broken down into a duology or structured into distinct "parts" that gave each arc room to breathe.

Another hurdle was Hazel herself. While I wanted to root for her (especially given her wild upbringing under a god of death) I just couldn't form a strong connection with her. I kept waiting for her character to gain deeper emotional complexity, but she often felt flat and reactive to the plot rather than driving it. Because I wasn't fully attached to her or the core romance, the high-stakes emotional beats in the third act didn't pack the punch they should have.

The Thirteenth Child isn't a bad read by any means. The world-building and dark fairytale aesthetic make it a solid Spooky Season pick if you just want pure gothic moodiness. But if you're looking for a tightly plotted fantasy with deep character arcs and a satisfying payoff, the narrative bloat gets in the way. It’s a respectable 3.5 stars for the lush atmosphere and brilliant individual concepts, even if the overall story tried to wear a few too many hats.