Remember the setting of the movie "The Village" by M. Night Shayamalan? That's how I imagined the setting for this book except the villagers are kept in by these stones that protect them from, what they call, the bright-eyes. Creatures that will tear them apart given the chance. And how did those stones get there? by some sort of "covenant" with the Benevolence which is what keeps them safe so long as they are inside the stones before sunset. If they are outside the stones after sunset, winds will pull them back inside the stones no mater what is in between that person and the town, usually ending in death.
The main character, Greer who is in her mid twenties and daughter of the leader of the council of elders has always been curious about the world around her. She makes maps that the villagers have become reliant on. Every seven years the village has an event where the eligible women hide in the forest to be "found" by young men that need wives. Greer and Ellis have been in love for years so when the event happens, she cannot understand why she sees Ellis pass the stones just as the sun sets instead of finding her to be his wife. This leads to the uncovering of many secrets her father has worked hard to keep under wraps.

Follow the breadcrumbs Erin A. Craig lays out in this dark fairytale - A Land So Wide. The town of Mistaken is surrounded by Warding Stones that keep their residents safe. Before the sun sets, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Bellows sound to make sure the townsfolk are within their borders.

Greer Mackenzie has always been a little different. She can HEAR things most others cannot. At 27, she just wants to be captured in The Hunt by her best friend’s brother and live happily ever after with Ellis Beaufort.

The town feels very cult like. They make “gratitudes” towards a mysterious entity called The Benevolence for protection against The Bright-Eyeds. They have a council of Stewards that make decisions for the residents. They export Redcaps - distinctive trees in their area that make excellent lumber. The men “capture” their brides in The Hunt before The Reaping.

When Ellis takes off during The Hunt and crosses the town line after sunset without being blown back within Mistaken’s boundaries, Greer is astounded. How did he do it? Why did he do it? She finds her Voice and takes off after him.

Trudging through the Canadian wilderness, Greer meets Noah Finn. Finn is a mysterious trapper & helps her when she falls from high in the treetops. Finn is more than he seems and knows more about Greer than she can imagine.

While chasing after Ellis, Greer learns more about her mother & her origins. This changes everything she thought she knew about herself. I love the message that when she Listens, it’s her superpower and when she Screams, it’s her weapon.
Follow the breadcrumbs Erin A. Craig lays out in this dark fairytale - A Land So Wide. The town of Mistaken is surrounded by Warding Stones that keep their residents safe. Before the sun sets, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Bellows sound to make sure the townsfolk are within their borders.

Greer Mackenzie has always been a little different. She can HEAR things most others cannot. At 27, she just wants to be captured in The Hunt by her best friend’s brother and live happily ever after with Ellis Beaufort.

The town feels very cult like. They make “gratitudes” towards a mysterious entity called The Benevolence for protection against The Bright-Eyeds. They have a council of Stewards that make decisions for the residents. They export Redcaps - distinctive trees in their area that make excellent lumber. The men “capture” their brides in The Hunt before The Reaping.

When Ellis takes off during The Hunt and crosses the town line after sunset without being blown back within Mistaken’s boundaries, Greer is astounded. How did he do it? Why did he do it? She finds her Voice and takes off after him.

Trudging through the Canadian wilderness, Greer meets Noah Finn. Finn is a mysterious trapper & helps her when she falls from high in the treetops. Finn is more than he seems and knows more about Greer than she can imagine.

While chasing after Ellis, Greer learns more about her mother & her origins. This changes everything she thought she knew about herself. I love the message that when she Listens, it’s her superpower and when she Screams, it’s her weapon.

The revelations come one after another in the second half. Things that should have been obvious hit me over the head like a ton of bricks. I did feel like the ending was rushed and I was still left with a lot of unanswered questions. Overall I would recommend reading this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. Look for this one when it releases September 9th 2025.
The revelations come one after another in the second half. Things that should have been obvious hit me over the head like a ton of bricks. I did feel like the ending was rushed and I was still left with a lot of unanswered questions. Overall I would recommend reading this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. Look for this one when it releases September 9th 2025.

This book is a dark fairytale carved from ice, blood, and longing—an absolutely spellbinding blend of gothic mystery, romantic fantasy, and folkloric horror that will leave you breathless and bruised in the best way.

Erin A. Craig's adult debut is everything you want in a wintery romantasy: eerie woods, monstrous creatures, a cursed village, and a heroine who refuses to let the world shrink around her. Greer Mackenzie is not your typical damsel—she’s a mapmaker with a dreamer's soul and a survivor’s spine, determined to break free of Mistaken’s cruel magic and rescue the boy she loves. But the deeper she ventures into the wilderness, the more the world twists—haunted by shadowy beasts, buried secrets, and betrayals colder than the northern wind.

The romance between Greer and Ellis is tender, tragic, and gorgeously wrought, but this is Greer’s story first and foremost: a tale of reclamation, of unmaking the myths you’ve been told, and of choosing truth over comfort, no matter the cost.

The prose is stunning—crisp as fresh snow, with a fairytale lilt that slowly curdles into dread. The Bright-Eyeds are the kind of elegantly horrifying monsters that live in your spine, and Mistaken itself is so richly drawn it feels like its own character—beautiful, brutal, and impossible to forget.

Perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic, Uprooted, and those who love their love stories tangled in thorns and frost, this novel is achingly romantic, deeply eerie, and utterly unputdownable.

Pack your maps. Don’t trust the forest. And whatever you do—don’t spend the night in Mistaken.

A Land So Wide is perfection and exactly what I am looking for in a story written by Erin Craig. She brings dark fantasy to life with the time period, atmosphere, suspense, and characters, and I devoured every page! The first half of the book gave me the eerie vibes that you get from M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, while the second half blew me away with the twist in the story.

The backdrop of the Canadian wilderness brought a great tension-filled atmosphere to the story, with the fight for survival against the elements and the threat of unknowns outside the town of Mistaken. Greer was a strong FMC, and I was invested in her character from the first page and loved seeing the revelations and changes that Craig takes her through.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭:
* Historical Fantasy
* Magical Realism
* Family Secrets
* Gore & the Macabre
* Patriarchal Control
* Creatures & Emerging Powers
* Loss & Grief

𝐈𝐬 𝐈𝐭 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐲?
🥶 (No)

I did not want to put this book down, and Craig kept me wondering how the story would end, right until the very last chapter. If you love a suspenseful atmosphere with captivating world building, hidden identities, conflicted romantic feelings, and some jaw-dropping plot twists, then I would highly recommend A Land So Wide.

This was very atmospheric, and the plot was really intriguing! I loved the world-building and the magic, and was rooting for Greer through her whole journey. I also really enjoyed the peek into Scottish folklore. It was just really cool.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the ARC.

Thank you Pantheon books, PRH for my ARC!

Reading Erin A. Craig's books is an experience for sure, the lush setting, the clever amalgamation of folklore and fairytale in her stories along the unsettling atmosphere throughout her books is something I absolutely love. A Land So Wide, her adult debut has all these aspects as her fans would expect. We follow Greer, a map maker in a secluded town of Mistaken that is surrounded by warding stones that protect the towns folk from the unknown supernatural elements in the dense forest that surrounds the town that wreck havoc after the sun sets every day. The warding stones are set to be a blessing from the Benevolence, a force that is said to be guarding the town while accepting sacrifices in return

Greer had always been different, she is able to hear what no body can perceive.While the towns folk might have their own reservations about her, Ellis her love interest is her ultimate happiness. Greer and Ellis plan to participate in the town's ritual where young men hunt the women that goes into hiding and ultimately marry their "catch". However, everything goes South when Ellis is forced to leave the town and thrown in the forest. Greer sets off on her own to find him and bring him back to the town of Mistaken but her journey takes her beyond her imagination changing her entire life course.

A Land So Wide has honestly the best opening and a fantastic first half, the prologue definitely sends a chill down your spine. The remote setting and flashbacks adds eerie ambiance, it is a perfect fall reading material, while this is not as spooky as her previous books it still felt very haunting. That being said, it definitely wasn't my favorite of hers, the second half went downhill for me personally, what started off as an intriguing story felt sluggish in the middle and really rushed towards the end. While the twists were good and entertaining, for me they weren't able to make up for the pacing or the random subplot with another potential love interest that really threw me off.

It is a 3.5 starer for me which is not at all bad but I wish it had a much more satisfying ending. I am still a massive fan of Erin's and am absolutely looking forward for her future books.

This happens to me every once in a while - where I see book blurb and I think- this is an obvious winner.

Romantic Fantasy + Gothic Horror vibes? Yes, please.

So maybe I go into it with a high bar, thinking I’ll jump, but it ends up being a game of Limbo and I question myself to DNF it. 🤷🏽‍♀️ I like to think as an avid reader, I know what I like- but I’m proven wrong sometimes.

Here’s three things that held me back from loving this.

1. Pacing- The book blurb mentions something and it happens way too late in the book.
2. I know this says adult, but it reads pretty YA. 🤷🏽‍♀️ Don’t get me wrong, there are a few dramatic scenes a few pg-13 like moments, but safer for your older YA reader.
3. Ick Factor- 72% in, I just wasn’t vibing with the FMC’s decision making. Just no, girlfriend. TBH, I think there was a missed opportunity to interweave her best friend stronger throughout.

There is something also very tidy about standalones vs series. And maybe my brain wanted things more complicated (because I have a few “well, what if this happened…” in the ever after, but we’ll never know.)

Very compelling but overall rather grim and dark. The main heroine is very appealing in her strength and willingness to buck tradition and fight for what she knows is correct as many male characters continually gaslight her. The mythological aspect could have been better fleshed out, but it's possible the author is setting up for a sequel (or prequel).

The key word that comes to mind for this novel is atmospheric. It was an immersive reading experience from the get-go. Craig does an excellent job of describing the setting, drawing the reader into the restrictive and mysterious world of Greer Mackenzie’s life in Mistaken. Character development was also well done, as you get a good sense of several key players throughout the story. The pacing of the plot was solid, with plenty of excitement right up to the end, and the storytelling was a unique take on a well-established theme (no spoilers, I promise!).

A couple of personal sticking points for me:
- this is the author’s adult debut, and I could definitely feel her YA-perspective coming through in some points (mostly in the romantic elements), but it doesn’t detract from the overall story.
- because I read a digital version, the associated maps were often difficult to reference because they were so small.

Neither of these were major detractors, and I still really enjoyed the reading experience. If anything, this novel makes me want to pick up some of her previous works.

Highly recommended for fans of dark, atmospheric reads, and complex, suspenseful, paranormal storylines based on ancient folklore.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. Ms. Craig has done it AGAIN. She's written one of my absolute favorite horror novels, and every single second I spent reading it was one second I dreaded the end coming too fast. I loved our setting, and the settlement was uneasy and the PERFECT backdrop. I also loved the creatures, and how we weren't quite sure if we should love or hate them right away. This was an amazing adult debut that still kept the charm of her YA books, and the ending was IMPECCIBLE. I love her knack for writing open-ended conclusions that leave the reader saying "this happened....right? RIGHT?".

This is the first book I've read by this author and it won't be my last! It had everything I eat up in a book!

I was really excited to read this ARC because I really loved Small Favors with how strange and mysterious the woods were. But unfortunately, this story left me wanting and frankly, quite confused at times.

In "A Land So Wide", Greer Mackenzie lives in the town of Mistaken. It's a small settlement in northern Canada that was built by a Scottish lumber merchant so he could take advantage of the plentiful natural resources of this "untouched" land (specifically a special type of tree). However, there are dangers on the other side of the Warding Stones and if you are caught beyond the stones after dark then you likely won't be returning to Mistaken in one piece. Ignoring the fact that there are grizzly bears, wolves, and many other dangerous creatures out in the forest, there's also creatures known as the Bright-Eyeds.

Greer (age 27) is the daughter of one of the most influential men in the town. She has a passion for map making and is in love with a boy man named Ellis. They've been in love basically their entire lives and plan to be wed after the Hunt (a town tradition of eligible young people finding their future husband/wife). It all turned south for Greer when during the Hunt she watches Ellis walk beyond the stones just after sunset, being stalked by a Bright-Eyed. She discovers a way to safely cross the warding stones so she can bring Ellis home safely despite the monster filled forest.


The beginning of this story was pretty enjoyable for me---I love the setting and the set up of the town of Mistaken, but around the 50% mark the story took a downward turn. This was around the time Greer finally entered the forest and the story slowed down a good bit.

It's not that I disliked this story, it's just that several things about it left me disappointed. This is supposed to be the author's adult debut, and sure, Greer is 27...in number only. The way she's written , I'd say she's actually just 17... 20 at best. She's such a typical YA protagonist--she's special but that obviously makes her an outcast, she puts herself in danger to save the boy man she loves, the romance between Greer and Ellis seems so immature with how much they sneak around, she still lives with her father (which I get is because she's unmarried but it seems incredibly strange for a 27 year old to still be at home), and somehow still manages to find herself in a love triangle...

Other issues I had with this story: <spoiler>I'm so confused why Greer kept referring to her parents by their first names? I was genuinely so confused in the beginning of the story to learn that years ago Aislie had died...I swear I thought it was her older sister. Sure, Greer's 27 but I don't think adults just suddenly start referring to their parents by their names rather than just mom and dad/mother and father/ma and pa/etc. Then there's the romance part of the story...where Greer and Ellis are already madly in love from page 1, so there was no build up. Til we meet Finn and there's a possibility of some build up there, but no. It's pretty instantaneous (and then there's the part where he's a Bright-Eyed, ages slowly, and therefore watched Greer grow up=creepy). The ending was also so...meh. Greer kept putting off actually donning her mom's cloak and it was becoming so frustrating, Finn dies suddenly (but didn't?) and then somehow there's still a happily ever after? </spoiler>

It wasn't anymore gory than any YA horror book I've read so the adult marketing doesn't make sense for that aspect either...and "adult" also didn't mean there was anything particularly spicy about this story either. Overall, it was pretty tame in both regards. Which is fine, I just don't understand why Greer isn't 17 and this novel isn't being marketed as a YA instead of adult.

WOW. This novel, Craig's first foray into adult fiction, was un-put-downable. I have read a few of her YA novels and was pleasantly surprised to see her come out with this novel.

Greer lives in the village of Mistaken, sometime in the 18th century. Location and exact date are never given although you can figure out it is somewhere in the New World (likely northern Canada). Greer is a descendant of the original company of settlers who came from the Old World. The village is bounded by a cove and a mysterious set of standing stones that keep the village safe from the Bright-Eyed. Over the course of the book we learn more of Greer's personal history and who these Bright-Eyed were.

A historical fantasy with a well developed story - Greer is well developed but the supporting characters a little less so. Still it was a very good read - excellent for a chilly afternoon with a cup of tea.

Thanks to Pantheon and NetGalley for the preview. All opinions are my own.

I don’t think Craig can write a bad book, and I stayed up way too late to finish this in one go. That being said, it’s not a new favorite, and besides the characters being aged up, it didn’t feel really different from her YA books.

The first half of this book is great. Basically take the movie The Village, but the monsters are real. Greer is a compelling FMC, and it’s frustrating to see that the town considers her “mad.” I will say it was hard to connect to Ellis, the love interest, and their love story because their relationship is established before the book starts. So we get very little on page time with the two of them together. A potential second love interest is introduced later, and while he never feels like a super viable option, I was more drawn to him just because we get more page time with him.

There are a lot of twists and reveals in the second half of the book. Some expected, some not; I definitely was not expecting the particulars about the Bright Eyes, and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. I think how you react to the reveal will basically determine your opinion of the book.

Craig excels at atmosphere and scene-setting. The book wraps up quickly, and in typical Craig fashion, there’s a line at the end that leaves you saying, “wait what?! Does that mean what I think it does?”
If you’re a fan, this is a must-read, especially as we approach Spooky Season.

Wow what a ride. I was not expecting for this to give me the creeps. It was spooky, suspenseful, and I ate it up.

As a debut adult title, I cant wait to see what else is in store.

A most thrilling and beautifully written fantasy book which reminded me of the OG fairytales. It's difficult to explain how reading this book feels like. It's like a very vivid dream from which you won't want to wake. And if the atmosphere absorbs you in, the characters will want to make you stay. It's emotional and profound, with a prose both lush and poetic. Highly recommend. (4.75 out of 5 stars).

Like everyone else in the settlement of Mistaken, Greer Mackenzie is trapped. Founded by an ambitious lumber merchant, the village 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.

Greer, a mapmaker and eccentric dreamer, has always ached to explore the world outside, even though she knows she and her longtime love, Ellis Beaufort, will never see it. Until, on the day she and Ellis are meant to finally begin their lives together, Greer watches in horror as her beloved disappears beyond the Warding Stones, pursued by a monstrous creature. Determined to rescue Ellis, she figures out a way to defy Mistaken’s curse and begins a trek through the cold and pitiless wilderness. But there, Greer is hunted, not only by the ruthless Bright-Eyeds but by the secret truths behind Mistaken’s founding and her own origins.

Playfully drawing from Scottish folklore, Erin A. Craig’s adult debut is both a deeply atmospheric and profoundly romantic exploration of freedom versus security: a stunning celebration of one woman's relentless bravery on a quest to reclaim her lost love—and seize her own future.

3.75⭐️

This book is definitely not my usual read and was my first Erin A. Craig book. The very atmospheric writing style really draws you into the story from the first few pages.

I enjoyed the way the book was set up and the world building. At times I found the pacing to be slow and didn’t find myself invested in the characters at all. It took until around 35% for the plot to really get moving and have me intrigued. My biggest let down of this book was the ending and any major turning point. It all seemed so rushed. In my eyes everything worked out easy for the MC and it all seems too good of timing. The ending was over before it even began. I wanted at least 40 more pages to really go through the details.

If you love a book with atmospheric prose and eerie vibes this one’s for you! ⛰️🌧️🌲

Thank you to NetGalley and Pantheon for the eARC and the opportunity to read and review honestly.

Spoilers:

I don't think vampires should be a surprise. Anyway, surprise! The good guys and the bad guys are the same guys and they're all vampires, making a promising premise a lot less interesting. Not much depth in the execution here. I suppose it's fine if what you are looking for is a series of supernatural battles, but that is not how the marketing is selling it.

o glad that I got to read this ARC of A Land So Wide! Thank you NetGalley.

This book follows the thrilling story of Greer Mackenzie as she ventures outside of the town of Mistaken to rescue her lost love, Ellis.

I’m a fan of everything Erin writes, and this book definitely did not disappoint. I could not put it down! It had just the right amount of spooky, mystery, thriller, adventure, and fairytale. If you’re a fan of Erin’s other books, especially Small Favors, you’re in for a treat. I cannot wait to buy this book when it comes out in September!