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.

*A Land So Wide* by Erin A. Craig is a captivating and atmospheric tale that skillfully blends eerie folklore with a deeply personal journey of faith, love, and discovery. Known for her ability to craft unsettling and immersive worlds, Craig introduces readers to Mistaken—a remote settlement where the boundary between safety and terror is as thin as the stones that protect its borders.

Greer Mackenzie, the story’s protagonist, is a compelling and complex heroine. As the daughter of one of Mistaken’s most powerful figures, her devotion to her faith and community is unwavering. Yet, beneath her quiet obedience lies a yearning for more—a desire to venture beyond the confines of her world and see what lies beyond the borders. Her sheltered perspective, even as an adult in her late twenties, adds a unique dimension to her character. Her growth is both gradual and believable as she navigates the dangers that await her beyond Mistaken’s limits.

The novel’s opening is masterfully crafted, with vivid descriptions that evoke a foreboding sense of isolation and unease. Mistaken is a town shrouded in secrets, its people bound to the land by ancient bargains with the Benevolence—mysterious protectors who ward off the terrifying “Bright-Eyed” creatures that lurk beyond the settlement’s borders. The lore surrounding the Reaping and the Hunt adds a chilling authenticity to the narrative, further enhancing the story’s rich, folkloric undertones.

However, the latter half of the book takes a noticeable shift in tone and direction, which may not resonate with all readers. While Craig’s world-building remains intricate, the narrative becomes more focused on the creatures that inhabit the wilds beyond Mistaken. For those who prefer subtle, psychological tension over creature-based horror, this change in focus may feel jarring. The pacing slows, and much of the latter half is spent in Greer’s introspection, which, while offering insight into her internal struggles, occasionally detracts from the momentum established earlier in the novel.

Craig’s transition from YA to adult fantasy is notable, though this story feels tamer in terms of horror and complexity compared to *House of Salt and Sorrows* and *Small Favors*. While *A Land So Wide* introduces darker themes and a more mature protagonist, it feels restrained in its exploration of the more unsettling elements that define her previous works. That said, the conclusion is a stunning culmination of Greer’s journey—emotional, unexpected, and ripe with potential for further exploration.

For readers who enjoy:
- Atmospheric settings with an eerie, folkloric vibe
- Protagonists who balance faith, duty, and curiosity
- Slow-building stories that shift from tension to action
- Fantasies where the danger is both literal and existential

*A Land So Wide* is a thoughtful and atmospheric read that captures the essence of Erin A. Craig’s signature storytelling, even if it takes a different trajectory than some may anticipate. While this story may not have been for every reader, the world of Mistaken holds undeniable intrigue, and should Craig choose to revisit it—perhaps with Lenore’s story—I will be eager to return.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my third experience with Erin A Craig; I DNF'd House of Salt & Sorrow and I read Small Favors despite being underwhelmed by the ending. My experience with A Land So Wide was pretty similar to Small Favors.

Lets start with the positives.
EC can craft a freaking atmosphere and that is no joke. The first 70% of this novel was tense and creepy AF.
I love me some historical dark fantasy and, as an example of the sub genre, this slapped.
The dialogue actually sounded like real humans speaking.
The love triangle, a trope I rarely enjoy, did serve a purpose here, despite me finding it ultimately unsatisfying.

Now for the cons.
Neither love interest was particularly fleshed out, especially Ellis, who never displayed one single flaw.
While I did enjoy the build up of tension, this was very slow at the beginning and a bit rushed at the end.
Greer, our FMC, is 27 and I did love seeing an older.protagonist. Unfortunately, I felt she was still written as a significantly younger character than she was meant to be.overall,
I found the ending anticlimactic and largely unsatisfying.

This is largely personal preference, but I feel like EC took a really unique and well crafted concept and brought it to a predictable place. This was the same complaint I had with Small Favor, a unique start that wrapped up in a safe, somewhat predictable ending. I'd love to see what EC is capable of if she wasn't beholden (by her own choice or otherwise) to modern writing trends. Honestly, the parents story was far more interesting than Greer's.....

Overall a good read, but much stronger in the beginning than the end.

Wow!!! Such a beautifully vivid written novel!! I absolutely loved it! Thank you NetGalley and publisher for early arc of this book

this book was truly magnificent.
Erin .A. Craig’s writing is truly everything i have ever needed.
5/5 starssss 😭🩷🩷

Thank you to NetGalley and Pantheon for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

A Land So Wide by Erin A. Craig is probably a book I would have put down if I hadn’t gotten an advanced copy because it was so creepy in the beginning. I don’t mind suspense but this was a touch more than I prefer. That being said, I’m glad I finished it.

Greer lives in the town of Mistaken, which is guarded by wards set up by the Beloved. The wards protect the town from the Bright Eyeds. When Greer’s love interest, Ellis, disappears beyond the wards, Greer decides to go after him. Her journey reveals things about her, her family, the town, and the land they live in that she never knew, making for a good adventure. For me, that’s when the story picked up.

The book has several jumps back in time to give historical context for the town and for certain characters. I appreciated the back story. I did feel like sometimes the pacing was off— like at the end of the book, I kept thinking “there’s no way this book will be resolved.” Everything did resolve and I’m actually conflicted on the ending! Another thing I struggled with was that Greer and Ellis were supposed to be late 20s, but felt much younger, with Greer’s father even referring to Ellis as a boy over and over.


The other of Craig’s books I’ve read was The Thirteenth Child, which I enjoyed. This book certainly holds all the magic that The Thirteenth Child does, but with more of an eerie atmosphere.

Another hit from Erin A Craig. This book was a beautiful entrance into the adult fantasy world. I loved the atmosphere, as I do in every one of her books, and the subplot of romance. Autobuy author always!

This is the kind of book that wraps you up and doesn’t let you go. It's great to find a book with a rich setting, but I've rarely been so completely transported into the world of a novel.
Greer Mackenzie grew up in the far Northern town of Mistaken, a logging town with special rules. Those rules keep its residents from falling victim to the evil forces outside its boundaries, but they also keep anyone from ever leaving. Though she has wanderlust, Greer is not one to question the rules, until she sees things that make no sense and has to escape Mistaken to save the man that she loves.
If you’ve read any of Erin A. Craig’s books, you know to expect the slow spread of the supernatural to an ultimate showdown. A Land So Wide reminds me most of Small Favors, set in another cut-off town with its own customs and struggle for survival. A Land So Wide is a book that I highly recommend and look forward to reading again.
Thanks to NetGalley and Pantheon for this advance read.

I absolutely adore Erin A. Craig’s writing. “A Land So Wide” is unique and creepy. The monsters were scary and if I were Greer, I would be terrified! Greer perseveres nonetheless. While this isn’t my favorite of Craig’s works, I am positive that “A Land So Wide” will find its audience.

I recommend this book for fans of: M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!