hank you Netgalley for this ARC!

Nearly four stars! After The Thirteenth Child left me disappointed, I was itching to give Erin A. Craig another chance (I’ve loved the rest of her work!).
This is more in the vein of Small Favors. Very much The Village/culty vibes for the first fifty percent of the book.

Greer lives in a town called Mistaken where no one can leave after dark, they serve the Benevolencr, and fear the Bright-Eyeds. The stones that circle the town and protect them from the monsters all of a sudden move closer to the town, encroaching on the safety the town has relied on for years. This sets off a chain of events Greer is in the center of.

The first half of this book sucked me in entirely, then we get out of the town and start learning the secrets that have held the town captive for so long. I wanted to love it, but the explanations and motivations of the monsters just fell flat for me.

Also Greer’s deductive reasoning skills left much to be desired. Some big bombshell info dumps happen so quickly, it kind of gets lost in the craziness of the last 50 pages. I think the author could have done with slowing down a bit, and expanding on the second half.

However, this is insanely readable and very interesting in a way that kept me invested until the end! Definitely worth the read!

Erin A. Craig's upcoming adult is a true gem and unlike anything I have ever read before! A LAND SO WIDE takes place in the somewhat mythical town of Mistaken somewhere on the coast of the American continent. It is a land ruled by magic and beasts in the woods that all serve to protect the town. The townsfolk know better than to leave the protection of the Warding Stones. When the love of her life Ellis Beaufort disappears beyond the protection of the stones, Greer Mackenzie takes it upon herself to find him and battle the creatures she has only heard about in stories.

Mistaken is the type of place that feels real which makes the fantastical elements so believable. The story is a little bit mythical, a little bit gothic horror, and a little bit romance! I read this story on my Kindle at night and found my heart racing and my blood pumping faster as I was drawn into the things that go bump in the night. I'm not a horror reader, but Craig's story is just enough for my fragile heart to handle and not only did I love it, I wanted more!

There is something about Craig's writing that is just so whimsical and intelligent. She makes the worlds she creates leap off of the pages. And not only do you feel them, you see them as well. I found myself so drawn in to the world and so interested in the rules of the magic as well as the characters who chose to follow it. As with all of her stories, I find myself thinking about the places long after I finish reading.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

This is not my first book I've read of Craig's and it definitely won't be my last. This is her debut in the adult category, but honestly nothing made this book stand out from her other YA novels to make it seem like it needed an adult label. Greer is technically 27, but acted more like a 20 year old than a nearly 30 year old woman. What I loved about this book: the setting, the plot, and Craig's prose. What I didn't love: the pacing and the romance. This book definitely gives creepy vibes and you felt immersed in the story. However, the beginning kind of dragged and she doesn't set out in to the woods for quite a while. I'm not a fan of love triangles and this one was very meh. I liked both MMCs and Greer wasn't a feelings flip flopper so that was nice at least. The ending was interesting and not what I expected. I believe this is a standalone but the door is left open and there's plenty more story that could be told. I recommend picking up this book if you love spooky forest vibes mixed with an interesting plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC!

3.75- I liked this book but at parts the pace felt off, sometimes lagging sometimes rushed. It also felt unfinished (maybe a sequel is coming?). The writing was beautiful and the descriptions were vivid. The folklore was enthralling and the history gave the story a melancholy feel. It felt like the movies The Witch and The Revenant combined with the lost settlers of Roanoke….with vampires….all in all I liked it. Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me of a blend between T. Kingfisher and The Brothers Grimm. I really liked our FMC. Her will and determination were admirable. The story was definitely dark but it was engrossing. It was very well written, well paced, very well done. I really enjoy this authors storytelling.

I requested an eARC of this book through NetGalley because the setting sounded right up my alley: a tiny village way up in the North hidden deep in the woods. Yet somehow, I failed to realize that this book bordered right on the border of fantasy and horror. So I'd like to add a disclaimer to this review to say that this is not at all a genre I usually read nor enjoy. I've tried to make my review as unbiased as possible, seeing as there are plenty of other readers who might absolutely adore something with this kind of vibe.

A Land So Wide tells the story of Greer, a woman growing up in the town of Mistaken, which is a secluded village far up North. The villagers of Mistaken are unable to leave their town because every night, the warding stones surrounding Mistaken pull them back inside its borders. While in some ways, these stones are a prison, they also serve as protection from the Bright Eyed's - dangerous creatures that are known to kill humans deep in the depths of the forest.

Greer is deeply in love with one of her childhood friends, Ellis, whom she is hoping to marry in the coming year. However, on the day the two of them are meant to become engaged, Greer sees Ellis walk through the warding stones and disappear, a feat which should technically be impossible. Despite the wishes of her father, Greer embarks out into the woods to find her lost love, coming into contact with the mysterious Bright Eyed's as she does so.

I really enjoyed the setting of this novel. It was very wintery and eerie - perfect for October, when this book will be released. However, I did think that this book felt like two different stories smushed into one. To me, the first half was very strong. The concept of the warding stones was intriguing, and the idea of the Hunt, when the men of the village "hunt" for their future brides hiding in the forest, was...interesting, if not a little disturbing. However, once Greer departs the village to find Ellis, it started to feel like things escalated far too quickly. It wasn't that this part of the book was bad, it just sort of felt like a completely different story from the first half. Most of the characters from Mistaken (besides Ellis) are almost completely forgotten in the second half, and the explanation of plot points mentioned in the beginning, like the warding stones, seemed so haphazard once we finally got some answers.

Because the book felt like two different stories, neither one was really able to fully come into its own. Finn in particular suffered from the truncated storyline he was given. I thought he was a really intriguing character, but he just wasn't given enough time on-page to become fully fleshed out. The entire story also wraps up way too quickly - At 95% I was wondering how on earth everything was going to get resolved. And then it did, in like two pages. So I was left blinking going...oh. Ok.

Overall, just not for me, but I think that fans of eerie, dark fantasy will definitely enjoy, even if it isn't altogether an absolutely perfect book. And thanks to the publisher for the eARC!

In theory I should go feral over the books by Erin A. Craig with all the fairytale-esque folk horror, but in reality I just never do. I had high hopes for the author's adult debut (more on that later), especially since books about girls being thrown into the wilderness are very much my thing. Mapmaker Greer Mackenzie lives in the small town of Mistaken, close to a forest full of supernatural and very lethal creatures. Fortunately, the town is protected by a benevolent force, ensuring the safety of the residents, but also making it impossible to leave this place. Greer believes in the ways of her people and is dutifully partaking in all the traditions. But even though hers is the most important family in town and she plans a future with the baker Ellis, she is the odd one out in Mistaken. Greer is always hearing and seeing things that no one else can, and she might be deeper connected to the forest than she thought. When the town slowly loses the patronage of the Benevolence and her beloved Ellis disappears into the woods, Greer sets out into the monster filled wilderness. It's a good story for me. Nothing groundbreaking, but with the potential to be my new favorite thing ever because it checks many of my boxes. Creepy woods with creepy monsters, possible body horror, badass girl in the wilds. The ominous atmosphere was pretty good and the creatures were an interesting mix of known folklore. But I expected more. It's not like I disliked the story, but many things bothered me. I think the pacing was my biggest issue. Greer doesn't go into the woods until the 45% mark of the book, and that's literally the one thing I expected from reading the summary. Way too much time is spent in the village beforehand, and it basically felt like a super long prologue for the stuff I actually came here for. My second big problem was that I was excited for the author's adult debut, but I just can't see a difference to her YA books. Greer is said to be 27, but she could have been 17, it did not matter. She was the basic YA protagonist. She's special, but most people give her a hard time about it, and of course she would get herself in danger to save the boy she loves. And she still somehow ends up in a weird love triangle situation, don't ask me why. The horror aspect doesn't justify the adult marketing either in my opinion. I liked it, but it was hardly more gruesome than anything I read in YA horror before. Or anything I read from Erin A. Craig before. And then I thought: oh no, we have another adult-book-that's-actually-YA-but-with-more-spice situation here, but that wasn't the case either. It was pretty tame in that regard. So yeah, even after reading the entire thing I can't figure out why this book is considered adult when Craig's other books are not. But I think that also means that fans of the author will not be disappointed in the slightest with this new release. It's a matter of expectations, I guess.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Pantheon for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn’t sure about the book when I first started. I was getting a bit of YA storytelling and romance vibes. Read very cookie-cutter, until the bright eyed were introduced, then it got interesting. The gore and savagery were a welcome respite from the tedium of the first couple of chapters. But alas, I spoke too quickly, as soon as the MC left the village for the quest, the tedium returned in the form of repeated scenes and the weird, forced relationship between the MC and her “fated” consort. The ending was too neat and a letdown. It was a mixed bag for me. Thank you, NetGalley and the publishers, for the ARC.

In "A Land So Wide," readers are introduced to the settlement of Mistaken, a prosperous village encircled by mysterious Warding Stones that keep its inhabitants both safe and trapped. These stones protect the villagers from the Bright-Eyeds, fearsome creatures whose presence has decimated neighboring settlements. Greer Mackenzie, a mapmaker with a longing for exploration, finds herself in a harrowing predicament when her beloved, Ellis Beaufort, is chased beyond the Warding Stones by one such monster. Driven by love and determination, Greer defies the village's curse and embarks on a perilous journey through the wilderness. As she battles the relentless Bright-Eyeds, she uncovers the dark truths about Mistaken’s origins and her own past. Drawing inspiration from Scottish folklore, Erin A. Craig’s debut adult novel is a captivating tale of love, bravery, and the eternal struggle between freedom and security.

I found "A Land So Wide" to be an eerie and gripping read. The atmospheric setting drew me in, perfectly complementing the romance, mystery, and thriller elements that make this book a compelling blend of genres. Erin A. Craig's lyrical writing brings to life a dark fairy tale with high stakes and a memorable heroine. Greer's relentless bravery and determination to reclaim her lost love resonated deeply, making her journey both thrilling and poignant. This novel is a must-read for anyone who enjoys dark fairy tales with rich, evocative prose and an unforgettable protagonist.

Thanks to NetGalley and Pantheon for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

𝙰 𝙻𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚂𝚘 𝚆𝚒𝚍𝚎
₄.₅ / ₅ ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Once you enter Mistaken, you are never leaving.

⭑꒷꒦ ꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦ ꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦ ꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦

I have been craving a historical fiction book lately. However, a Gothic, historical fiction with horror, romance and a touch of fantasy? Sign me up. I've had her other novels, The Thirteenth Child and House of Salt & Sorrows, sitting on my bookshelf for the longest, and I'm so glad I got a chance to read this and realize I need to move her books to the top of my TBR immediatelyyyy.

🩸 𝚂𝚢𝚗𝚘𝚙𝚜𝚒𝚜:

27 year old mapmaker, Greer, lives in Mistaken, a remote island filled with valuable resources, but plagued by horrors that threaten to kill when the night comes. The founders of Mistaken made a deal with the Benevolence to protect them from the bone chilling Bright-Eyeds, nightmares that tear people to shreds and terrorize settlements. The deal? No one leaves Mistaken in exchange for the Warding Stones that keep them safe. Once you enter Mistaken, you're never leaving. Greer knows she and her long time love, Ellis, will never see the world outside Mistaken, until one day Ellis goes missing. Determined to get him back, Greer ventures beyond the familiar world she knows and the protection of the Warding Stones to find him, despite the shadows that are trailing her every move.

🩸 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:

This book is cold, dark, desolate. It is every bit the bone-chilling, morbid, horror-filled atmosphere you crave. I loved the world-building in this. The abandoned, forsaken towns...the eerie woods, filled with deadly creatures...everything was done so well. I love books that just give off that dark, Gothic vibe, and this was perfect. It's giving rainy day read.

If you like villages that give off structured, cult-like vibes, you will love Mistaken and it's inhabitants. It is clear that people are harboring secrets and will do anything to keep the truth hidden. It's a town built on lies, regret, deceit and hatred. I did love all the characters, especially Greer. I thought she was smart, head-strong, and stuck to her gut.

Overall, this was a great read. This is the perfect book to read during that dark, cold, stormy day. I am super excited to dive into her other books.

⭑꒷꒦ ꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦ ꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦ ꒷꒦︶꒷꒦︶ ๋ ࣭ ⭑꒷꒦

🩸 Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review! 🩸

2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.

I found <i>A Land So Wide</i> to be a confusing read. It feels like two separate books stitched together in the middle: the first half, centered on a cult-like town protected by strange magic in the middle of hostile woods, is incredibly compelling. I found the second half to be uninteresting, unsatisfying, and sometimes nonsensical. Gone are the cult-like town vibes, and replacing it is something closer to paranormal romance. Gone is the eerie worldbuilding, the feeling of slowly peeling back the mysteries of the world and uncovering its darkest secrets; replacing it is a rushed mess of things happening with neither payoff nor a clear throughline. Based on this eARC, I would really struggle to recommend this book.

The book follows Greer, a woman in a prison of a town called Mistaken: it is the only safe place from the monsters that hunt in the woods, but the people who reside there can never leave its magical borders. When the magic that protects town begins to fracture and Greer’s lover, Ellis, disappears into the woods on the night they are to wed, Greer finds herself venturing away from Mistaken and into the great unknown.

The first half of this book is really good. I would rate it as a 4 or even a 4.5-star read: following Greer as she navigates the dynamics of the small town is fascinating. This part of the book is masterfully developed: the book slowly reveals more about the town, its magic, and Greer’s place in it all. Greer’s struggles of being an outsider even among her people is compelling: her father, the head of the town, is clearly hiding so much from his daughter; Greer has an uncanny ability to hear far more than anyone else; and the town’s magic is fracturing, leaving its residents in disarray. This part of the book is honestly amazing. Its themes of misogyny, otherness, power, and constraint are incredibly compelling. I wanted to read so much more, to uncover all of the town’s secrets and finally understand the strange magic at the center of Mistaken’s dark history.

The second half of the book not only abandons the town, but every interesting idea that the first half developed. Based on the blurb, its not a spoiler to say that Greer leaves Mistaken after Ellis disappears into the woods. I expected this to uncover the town’s many secrets—maybe, the mystery behind the town lies outside of it, and Greer will have to decide between the life she has known and the scarier freedom that she has discovered.
Nope. The second half of the book handwaves away everything interesting about the first half to become a book in an entirely different genre.
I’ll be vague to avoid saying too much, as I don’t want to spoil anything. This book definitely is going to work for some readers, as the direction falls in line with what I might expect in a romantasy book. And, in all honestly, its not a bad direction for a book—but it is the wrong direction when paired with the first half of the book. My biggest problem is that, in becoming something completely different, the book simply fails to address any of the interesting premises in the first half of the book. Just about every interesting mystery, every eerie event that you just can’t make sense of, is explained in some handwavy side comment. There’s no payoff whatsoever. There were a number of bigger questions that remained entirely unanswered, are answered with literally no explanation, are dismissed with an explanation of “oh the magic of this world just works like that”, or are forgotten. It was incredibly disappointing to read. Everything the book was doing well is gone.

Furthermore, the second half of the book feels as though it needs further edits. Scenes are choppy and confusing; many times, I needed to go back and re-read sections to figure out what was going on. The action does not follow logically, with there being points where something happened that is just never mentioned on page. The magic system makes no sense. Characters do things that make no sense based on their characterization but are given no explanation about it. Other characters are recharacterized entirely. Greer loses almost all agency and mostly witnesses things happening around her; often, the book would build up an idea as a huge choice that Greer had to make and then the plot would just make it for her. The ending is only interesting because the consequences of the choices made are interesting, and then the book only gives about 1.5 pages of post-climax story. I cannot express enough how much the second half of the book did not work for me and spoiled an otherwise great reading experience.

Also, I hate to get into spoiler territory, but I feel that it is important to include in my review: there’s a character who falls in love with a person, before their conception. And is watching from the shadows even during the character’s mother’s pregnancy. I will say that the supernatural elements do try to explain this to be less weird, but it’s still super weird. I found it pretty uncomfortable to read about.

Ultimately, I am very conflicted about this book. It had so much promise at the beginning. The second half was a huge let-down. I do think that I had expectations based on the first half that might not be shared by all readers. This book needs edits, but there is something there, especially for the right kind of reader. However, given how disappointing I found the second half of the book and especially the resolution, I am giving this book a rating of 2.5 stars.

This book was everything Erin Craig always promises!
The town of Mistaken is a mill town in the far reaches of an unknown land. The townspeople are trapped in Mistaken by Warding Stones that are also supposed to be their protection from the creatures of the wild forest surrounding town. That is until one night the stones are moved, significantly shrinking the border and allowing some of the creatures into town. When her lover is sent out of town as an offering to the creatures to keep the town safe, Greer goes after him. Her journey uncovers the real story of Mistaken and her mother’s mysterious appearance in Mistaken.

Craig does a great job creating a slightly spooky world in every one of her books! I look forward to the turn of every page!

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC.

I really enjoyed this novel; the characters felt real, and the well-paced plot kept me engaged from start to finish.

This book was absolutely wonderful. A deep, hauntingly beautiful atmosphere paired with lovely writing, this is sure to be a hit. The relationship was romantic, thoughtful, yet grounded. I loved watching the plot unfold and was kept on my toes. Highly recommend!

A Land So Wide by Erin A. Craig is no different from the others of Craig's work I've read, which is to say, its Extremely lush and rich and descriptive. The environment and the town of Mistaken were characters in their own right, and their presence was felt throughout the entire story. I felt like I was there, up in the forgotten wilderness with Greer as she lives her life in Mistaken, and as she tries to escape it.

First off, my favorites: the atmosphere (obviously), the sweet relationship between Greer and Ellis, the setting (different from atmosphere - the town of Mistaken, it's rules and culture and traditions were fascinating), and the overall Tense feeling I had throughout the entire story. It wasn't scary, but the anxious thrum of being contained while monsters circled your home was palpable.

The mythology surrounding the little village of Mistaken was one of my favorite parts also. The brief chapters from the original settler's time were fun and interesting, everything about the Bright-Eyeds and the Benevolence, awesome!!!! What happens when your guaranteed protection from the things that go bump in the night fails? What happens when the cause of this is through no fault of your own, but you need someone to blame anyway?

Some of my ... not disappointments, per se, but more, missed expectations of the book: going into the second part of the story, I felt we went a little bit off the rails. The ending did feel a bit rushed, and the all-at-once explanations of ~what really happened~ were a bit awkward to me. I wish we had explored these revelations, especially the ones at the very end of the story, a bit more. If we had been given more time with it, I think the ending would have hit harder. My favorite parts of the story were definitely when we were still in Mistaken, in the earlier parts of the book.

Overall, 4.5/5 stars !! Tbh I am very easy to please when it comes to weird little books like this. I would recommend this to just about anyone, especially those who love weird creatures, rich descriptions of a wild and terrifying environment, or someone who just wants some classic fall going into winter creepy vibes.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Pantheon, for sending me a digital ARC!

What distinguishes this work is its promise to transcend typical romance formulas by embedding the love story within larger themes of personal agency, community secrets, and the courage required to reject comfortable confinement in pursuit of unknown freedoms. Craig's incorporation of Scottish folklore adds cultural depth while creating a distinctive atmospheric quality.
The novel appears poised to appeal to readers who appreciate atmospheric settings, determined female protagonists, and supernatural elements grounded in authentic emotional stakes and cultural traditions.

This was a great book! The plot was very well thought out and had so many twist and turns! I would highly recommend this book.

Erin A. Craig is an insanely captivating writer, and she truly has a talent for wrapping her writing around you, dragging you into her worlds. So to say I was excited for her adult debut is putting it mildly.

The premise of this book was so eerie, so instantly engaging, and the first half of the story was dedicated to exploring the world and our main character, Greer. Learning about the village of Mistaken and its history, along with its religion and belief in the supernatural Benevolence, was fascinating and a bit creepy, filled with foreboding. When the synopsis of the book covers basically the entire first half of the story (pro tip: don't read the synopsis), it's a feat in itself that the first half of the book was so strong. There was this atmospheric build-up through it all, which is one of my favourite things about Erin A. Craig's writing.

Sadly, for me, the second half was a bit of a letdown. It became a different type of story, not necessarily a bad story, but a paranormal romance story. While the first half was this slow burn build-up of the world and its ways, the second half was a bit more . . . typical. (It also had a pseudo-love triangle, which wasn't really what I thought I was signing up for.)

I thought the relationships in Mistaken, such as Greer with her father or with Ellis' entire family, were one of the highlights. There was so much history and backstory to all of the people in Mistaken, and I was completely engaged with this weird little village. It was giving folk horror vibes in a wonderful way, so the later pivot to more paranormal fantasy was extra disappointing to me personally.

There's a lot to love about this book - Greer as a main character, the obvious care of the history and build-up of a town that's a character in itself, the writing - but ultimately, I wish it had kept to the things I initially loved about it instead of veering in a different direction.

Thank you to the publisher, Pantheon, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

Erin A. Craig does it again with her fantastic world-building. Right away readers feel like they are in the spooky unknown forest of Mistaken. I could not put the book down and every time I turned the page wherever I thought the story was going the more I read on I just had more questions.

As usual every twist that happens I was not ready for. Greer and her allies were lovable characters and I was curious about everyone's conflicts no matter how big or small.

Summarize as a romantic plot, Craig made a wonderful love story about how far you will go for the one you love that was not about romance 247. It seems so natural and not over the top.

What an amazing adventure, and spooky, mystery that Greer discovers all to save who she loves.

Thank you Pantheon for allowing me a copy of Erin A. Craig's newest story for early review! I am looking forward to picking up my physical copy in the Fall.

Irresistibly dark and full of mysteries, ‘A Land So Wide’ follows Greer as she braves the dangerous wilds to recover her sweetheart. The forests are said to be full of wolves, bears, and killer-creatures legends call “the bright-eyeds”. Can a map-maker make it out alive? Will she be the same woman after her journey?
I had a wonderful time reading this and finding out.

Mistaken is a town that’s spooky as hell and The Hunt they host each year had me raging. I enjoyed how the story dipped into the past to show us how the inhabitants ended up living the way they do. Greer certainly seems naive to a lot in the beginning and I was greedy to unfold the secrets she was blind to in the start. I would say this book is heavy on plot and romance is a subplot, which was preferable here, where the vibes were horror-esque.

I had a delightful time reading this, thank you NetGalley for the eARC. I devoured this book on every lunch break at work and with weary eyes at night - I did not want to put it down. I don’t think I’ve read any of Erin Craig’s other works, but this adult fantasy had me hooked and convinced to add her to my watch-list. While I don’t think any of the characters were fleshed out enough for me to be overly attached to them, I was deeply curious about the world and happy with the ending. I’d rate it 3.6 rounded to 4.