3.5

The mysterious and dangerous Bright Eyeds roam the land outside the town of Mistaken, a town protected by ward stones. Greer longs to leave Mistaken and explore the world with her betrothed, when the ward stones falter and her world is turned upside down.

Things I liked about this book:
+ really interesting magic system
+ cult vibes
+ matriarch magic

Things I disliked:
- the FMC is supposed to be 27, but everything in the book gave me the impression she was much younger, maybe 20
- the ending felt like it came very suddenly and honestly I would have loved to explore this world more


Thank you NetGalley and Pantheon for the arc!

I love Erin A. Craig, she is always so immersive in her writing but something about this book just fell flat. The beginning especially in the prologue was scary but that sense of dread faded throughout the book and Greer just didn't feel well rounded.

Solid four start book. Mistaken is a settlement founded by a lumber merchant, this is where Greer lives. Around mistaken are warding stones that keep the bright-eyed out. There is also The benevolence that keep the people of Mistaken safe, for a price. Greer is a map maker and longs to leave Mistaken with her love Ellis but when she finally thinks she will be able to do this something happens and Greer gets thrown into the wilderness alone to find him. The writing was immersive, I could feel all the uneasy of being in Mistaken. Greer was a very interesting character maybe a bit immature given her age but that would make sense because of how things are handled when it”s “your time” in Mistaken. I wish I could have learned a little more about Ellis, I liked his character but I definitely needed more. This is a new adult book so it has an explicit scene, I didn’t enjoy this, not because it was explicit but because who it involves. I saw this character not as a love interest but something different. Over all I really enjoyed this book and will be reading more books by this author.

Only a quarter of the way through 2025 and I think I’ve found a great contender for my BOTY--and a rare (for me) 5 star. Erin A. Craig has mastered the cozy-gloom feeling that I crave in a book. When I first read A house of Salt and Sorrows, I knew that Craig was going to become a favorite author of mine and when I received a free copy on NetGalley, I began reading IMMEDIATELY.

A Land So Wide has the perfect mix of gothic gloom and magical intrigue. The Bright-Eyeds are a fun new creature that blend all the best parts of fae, vampires, and ghouls. Mistaken is atmospheric and spooky, and Greer is the sort of heroine I have been craving for years. I haven’t had this much excitement and fun reading a book since I first read Twilight in 2009. This book brought me the Scholastic Book Fair high I have been chasing since elementary school. I devoured this book with a fervor that would make Ailie proud, and it’s automatically going to my top books of 2025. I adored it and am proud to continue being an Erin A. Craig fan!

Rating: 5/5 ⭐

Once again, Erin A. Craig has absolutely drawn me into her world.

Greer, a girl from a small village, always dreams of more. I absolutely adored her character and how much she was steadfast in her beliefs and actions. She did sometimes make decisions that seemed a little young for someone her age but I also think it can be attributed to her relationship with her father.

While there is some romance in this story, it’s more of a quest than anything else. The world building was simply immaculate. The magic system was easy to follow without being elementary. The town of Mistaken and its surrounding areas were vividly described in a way that felt so incredibly immersive.

The pacing was just right to draw you in; there was a great mixture of action and context embedded during the novel. The way the information was built it helped to give the needed background information without slowing down the plot.

Honestly, my only real issue is that this is a stand alone novel because I’d love to be able to stay in this world a little longer.

Thank you to Erin A. Craig, Netgally, Pantheon and Penguin House Random for this free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

PS. I literally fangirled when I got approved for this ARC. Read it, you won’t be disappointed.

Erin Craig really is the queen of creating eerie atmospheric settings. As always her beautiful prose transports you into the world of Mistaken right from the start. (If you loved Small Favors you must pick up this one!) This story is steeped in folklore and gothic fairytale vibes. I was captivated and the unsettling mystery kept me turning pages. This book is the PERFECT read for spooky season. Despite all the dark elements, there is an undercurrent of hope and perseverance woven throughout the story.
A Land So Wide masterfully blends folklore, horror, mystery, and romance into a captivating unique tale.
Thank you to Netgalley, Pantheon, and Erin Craig for the eARC!

What if everything you knew about the world and people around you, even yourself, was a lie?

That’s the haunting reality Green MacKenzie faces in Erin A. Craig’s debut adult novel. This story is eerie and engaging until the very end, pulling readers into a world where the line between truth and deception is razor-thin.

I’ll be honest, Craig is an automatic read for me. Her books rekindled my love for reading, so requesting this on NetGalley was a no-brainer. And once again, she delivers.

With heavy Scottish elements woven into the setting and the very foundation of Mistaken itself, this book is a feast for the senses. The atmosphere is thick with folklore, mystery, and a creeping dread that lingers long after the final page. From the monsters lurking outside Mistaken to the ones hiding in plain sight within the village, the novel explores the darkness that dwells both beyond and those hiding within.

Craig masterfully blends gothic horror with rich storytelling, creating a narrative that keeps you second-guessing everything. If you’re a fan of atmospheric, unsettling reads with deep roots in myth and legend, this book is not to be missed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
mostly. holy wow erin craig you evil genius. Greer has felt trapped. well. she is trapped her in small town of Mistaken. but so is everyone else. They are meant to stay inside the town lines unless they want to be ripped to shreds by the Bright-Eyeds. Horrible and ruthless creatures, but with a truce between the founders and the benevolence, the town is safe from the Bright-Eyeds…or so they think. When Greers lover mysteriously decides to go beyond the town borders, she has no choice but to go after him. But what happens when Greer learns what lives in a land so wide. YALLLLL. so it’s no secret i love erin craig’s writing. so when u got the ARC approval for this book i was giddy. little did i know (i should’ve known) i would not be giggling and kicking my feet for long, because if erin craig writes a book. it will freak u out. this book had me jumping at shadows and hiding under my blankets, and i loved it. it started off on the slow end where i kinda just kept being like. what is happening. but ofc by the end everything made sense. i was never bored and was particularly obsessed with a certain character. i think by the end i had experienced every emotion in the book. all in all i really enjoyed and loved this book!
THANK YOU NETGALLEY AND PANTHEON FOR THE ARC
Songs i thought of while reading:
the wool - flatland cavalry
the albatross - taylor swift
how bad can i be - ed helms/the lorax

I don't know how I feel about this. I was definitely captivated by it, but now I feel conflicted. A lot of things Greer did were a little frustrating, but I guess that's more realistic than her instantly knowing how to solve every problem. Definitely some predictable bits, but I can't really find a reason to give it a lower rating.

Reading this book reminded me of my love for “Small Favors” and the eco-gothic as a whole. I LOVED this book and sweet baby Finn as well as the world building of Mistaken and everything beyond. It was also interesting to read a novel by Erin that’s categorized as “adult” and it was SOOOO good (even though the YA genre has my heart). I can’t wait to reread this book when it releases!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!!

THIIIIIIS.

Buckle up people. This is what I'm talking about. For so long, I've been fighting tooth and nail to find a gothic historical, something with horror elements and some aspect of romance. Well, this, my friends, is as close as I've gotten.

I never read Craig's YA works, but I can say that this work (specifically) is full of whimsy (in an atmospheric, unsettling way), and she has a knack for painting a picture while leaving enough open for reader's interpretation. While I wasn't a *complete* fan of the love triangle situation, the atmosphere brought enough to the table for me to get lost.

This will be a perfect read for Halloween season--definitely check it out if this genre mashup is of interest to you!

I found A Land So Wide by Erin A. Craig to be a very different and unique fantasy story from others I read. The story follows Greer, a young woman curious of the world beyond her settlement but unable to explore due to warding stones keeping the people safe from what lies beyond the settlement and the warding stones physically do not allow people to leave. The author slowly gave you pieces of mystery of the settlement and why things are done by providing flashbacks to the first settlers and how they learned of the mysteries of the land. I don't want to say anything more because I think the mysterious elements made this book fun for me so I will end with this the book reminds me a bit of the movie The Village but in The Village the monsters are manmade and in A Land So Wide the monsters are real.

This book's anthem needs to be Labour by Paris Paloma. It's all I heard in the back of my head as I read it. Obviously I loved this book. The town of Mistaken is so deeply flawed and although they're trying to survive it's aggravating how their way of life has evolved. It was so great watching our MC, Greer, navigate her circumstances. This story drew me in from the first chapter and kept me hooked through each of its revelations. While I think the first half of the book is its stronger half altogether it was a great read (the second half had a somewhat weird aspect that kinda through me for a second). But still such a solid read and it felt like you were with Greer every step of her journey.

I have read and enjoyed everything Erin A. Craig has released. By far my favorite was Small Favors. It is now being rivaled with A Land So Wide. If you loved Small Favors as much as I did, this book is for you! It has similar elements to Small Favors but is also so much more elevated. This is Erin’s adult debut and she succeeded one again with creating an eerie, atmospheric treasure. The story is incredibly fast paced. I ate it up in 24 hours. The Canadian wilderness imagery was so deliciously frightful. Erin writes her settings so beautifully. I loved the folklore in this story. I loved the unsettling, horrific elements. I loved the mystery of the land plagued by The Bright Eyeds. The story was full of twists and turns. Anytime I thought I knew what was going to happen, the story surprised me again. Greer is my favorite protagonist Erin has written to date. She loves fiercely and is devoted to those she loves. She persevered even when she felt that all hope was lost. Greer is such a strong resilient character that one can’t help but admire. I hope Erin A. Craig continues to venture into adult works, but honestly I would read anything she writes!

Scottish vampire lore meets The Village (sorta?) Sign me up.

The first half of this book was soooooooo good. The buildup was so well paced and I found it hard to put down. Mistaken is such a great isolated setting, it felt like 30 Days of Night, just this super isolated town with sketchy lore and even sketchier Stewards. Greer, our protagonist, is likable from the first page, even before you understand what’s going on.

Now, normally I’m not one for an established romance. I like to see the build up, I like the “will they, won’t they?” so I was shocked when I found myself really routing for Greer and Ellis right off the bat. I loved Ellis and he did everything he could to be good enough for Greer. It was precious.

As much as I liked the first half, I found the second half lacking. It moved too quickly, there was a weird and very brief love triangle (sorta???) that didn’t really have a resolution? The (spoilers) vampire bomb dropped so unexpectedly but I’m not sure how much of that was a me problem? I devoured this book so I might have just not noticed the build up.

I did really like the end but still found it hard to be as engrossed as I was the first half.

There were some really tense and honestly terrifying moments as well.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book!

A Land So Wide is a haunting, atmospheric tale that blends gothic horror with a touch of romance, set against the eerie isolation of a town trapped by both supernatural forces and its own dark past. Erin Craig masterfully crafts a world where the unknown lurks just beyond the trees, and danger comes in more forms than one.

Greer, a restless dreamer bound by Mistaken’s unbreakable curse, is a protagonist both tenacious and vulnerable, making her journey one of both survival and self-discovery. But just as compelling as the treacherous landscape are the adversaries she faces—some with the best intentions, others driven by selfish ambition, and a few who embody pure, unrelenting evil. From a scheming betrothed whose charm masks something far more sinister to forces that have shaped Mistaken’s fate for generations, the novel explores the many shades of villainy that threaten Greer’s path.

While the story occasionally meanders, its rich prose and emotional depth make for a compelling read, culminating in an ending that feels both satisfying and hopeful.

5 stars ☆
⤿ spoiler-free review
thank you to net galley for this GORGEOUS arc!!

ೃ⁀➷“This was the time of day Greer hated most. The sun had set, and Mistaken was penned in for the night. Noone could venture out beyond the boundary till sunrise.”

characters: I dont think, throughout this whole book, was I ever frustrated by Greer Mackenzie. She was everything I could have hoped for as a main character in this story. An avid mapmaker, different from everyone else in the small town of Mistaken, and filled with wanderlust. This book was so beautifully written I often forgot the novel is told from third person. Ellis Beaufort, Greer's beloved, is such a kindhearted man, and loves Greer despite what everyone else thinks about her. Obviously since this is a spoiler free review, I cant say an example of what this man has done for Greer, but just know - hes wonderful.

plot: (Insert official synopsis paragraph #1 here) - Like everyone else in the settlement of Mistaken, Greer Mackenzie is trapped. Founded by an ambitious Scottish lumber merchant, the tiny town on the edge of the American continent is blessed with rich natural resources that have made its people prosperous—but at a cost. The same woods that have lined the townsfolks’ pockets harbor dangerous beasts: wolves, bears, and the Bright-Eyeds—monsters beyond description who have rained utter destruction down on nearby settlements. But Mistaken’s founders made a deal with the mysterious Benevolence: the Warding Stones that surround the town will keep the Bright-Eyeds out—and the town’s citizens in. Anyone who spends a night within Mistaken’s borders belongs to it forever. I dont want to say anything past this, because I feel like the best way to go into this book is blind. Truthfully, I think the synopsis gives away a bit more than it should.

pacing: Erin A. Craig really knows how to write a story. Every single second of the day that I wasn't reading this, I yearned to. The book flew by so fast and I genuinely wanted to cry by the end. Also that very last paragraph? Explanation, please?

vibes: This book weaves Scottish folklore, eerie small town, forbidden romance, and the "theres something in the woods" vibe we all need. I could easily imagine the town of Mistaken, and the forest beyond. The description was rich, but not overbearing, gorgeous but not overwhelmingly so.

✧.* The Grace Year with its eerie small town meets The Watchers with its horror filled forest meets One Dark Window with its lush gothic leaning imagery, come together to form this outstanding adult debut.

Absolutely devoured this book. Erin had me biting my nails wondering what was going to happened—especially after the second LI was introduced. The contracting dynamics between Noah and Ellis were outstanding and i, also, was just as torn as Greer. I couldn’t wait to see who she chose—and which version of herself she chose— and LOVE the ending.

Erin A. Craig is an auto-buy author for me ever since I first fell in love with her debut book, House of Salt and Sorrows. She writes the best and most atmospheric, eerie fantasy reads that have you falling in love with the main female characters and trying to figure out how the character is going to make it out by the end of the story.

When I heard that Erin A. Craig was writing her first adult book, I knew I had to get my hands on it as quickly as possible (so a big thank you to Netgalley and Pantheon for the early e-ARC!!). A Land So Wide follows 27-year-old Greer, who has grown up in a tiny town dreaming of what exists outside of the barriers the town must stay within to protect themselves from the "Bright-Eyeds". Then, on the day when she believes her life is supposed to start with the man she loves, Greer watches him disappear behind the barriers of the town. Greer is determined to find and rescue him, and we follow her on the trek into the wilderness and home of the "Bright-Eyeds".

I loved A Land So Wide! If I could give half ratings on here, it would be a 4.5/5 stars. We continue to get Erin A. Craig's trademark atmospheric-writing in this and she nails the set up for pulling you into this tiny town that has you feeling like you need to keep an eye over your shoulder at all times. I really enjoyed her take on the creatures she creates in the "Bright-Eyeds" and I would've loved to learn even more about them and their lifestyle. And just like all her previous work, I fell in love with her main character, Greer! (I think she might be my second favorite of Erin A. Craig's main characters!) Greer is unapologetically herself, curious and loyal. I really enjoyed her character arc and her curiosity guiding our way into the new world.

A Land So Wide didn't quite make it to the full 5 star mark because of the change in pacing in the second half of the story. I wish we would've gotten just as much world-building as we did in the first half because I feel that would've pulled me more into the new storyline/world and I wouldn't have felt as rushed in all the action and twists that were happening. But with that said, Erin A. Craig still wrote a very compelling and entertaining story that had me wanting more. If she ever decided to write another story in this world, I would be first in line for it because I love the world she has created. I would highly recommend picking this one up and I think it'll be the perfect read for that transition from summer into fall.

This is definitely a new favorite for me and I cannot wait to grab a physical copy to add to my personal library!

Erin Craig is a phenomenal writer, full stop.

I was so excited for this release and even more thrilled to get my hands on an advanced copy. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this.

This is a story of strength, survival, and learning who you are. Through love and the power of blood ties, Greer is an incredible character to follow throughout her experience in Mistaken and the wilderness beyond.

The first half of the book is very centralized in Mistaken and the way of life there. Greer proves to be powerful in both her heart and her convictions, making the story already intriguing. The second half falls somewhere between a survivalist experience and fantasy. The plot structure and action are just as superb as the character development.

If you enjoy love, loss, monsters, and hope, this is a must-read.