A Lade So Wide was my normal genre. I thought I would give it a try, but, honestly, not my cup of tea.

Oh how I adored this story! I pretty much devoured this book in one sitting.

One woman will risk everything to save the man she loves in this sweeping and incredibly atmospheric story from an author who has shown us time and time again what she can do with a fairytale!

I loved the setting. You really feel like you are enveloped in the world, with its dangers and its falsities, with the desperation. This community has found a way to flourish as long as they don’t venture out of their town of Mistaken. There are warding stones that keep them protected, but if you don’t get back in time, you are lost to the trees… and the monsters that lurk among them.

When Greer sees the man she loves cross the barrier and disappear into the woods, she can do nothing but go after him. With her perceptive hearing and natural scouting ability as a mapmaker, Greer sets off on a journey she doesn’t know if she will ever make it back from. What she is doing is unheard of, but the way that Ellis left brings a lot of questions to the surface about the way their community was built.

I loved the fantastical elements of this book. The monsters, the strange things she finds along the way. This was just such a beautiful story. There was so much more to these characters and what they each endure than I was expecting. This was a really lovely book and I highly recommend it!

Fun read. Thought the later third could have been honed a bit more for the story - the first two thirds were so tight. I didn't realize this was for adults until I read the author's notes.

4.5⭐️! Erin Craig’s writing always manages to transport me into whatever rich, spooky setting she decides to write and A Land So Wide is no different. I appreciated that this book, much like The Thirteenth Child, felt like reading folklore-made-fresh as it borrows from Scottish folklore in unexpected ways. The vibes it’s giving are very much Shyamalan-esque while still being a little romantic and creepy but not gory. If you’re into rich storytelling and eerie forests this book is absolutely for you. Thank you to Pantheon Books and Erin Craig for the ARC! I can’t wait to get my hands on this one when it releases to round out my Craig collection.

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

I finished reading this book in just a matter of days, something I rarely do anymore.

I really enjoyed the North American-inspired historical and fantastical setting of this world. The language used felt appropriate to the time period (18th century) without feeling too old fashioned. I also enjoyed the prose, and I felt really caught up in the world.

I liked the main character; while she could be naive at times I thought she was smart and cautious. She made realistic choices in a fantastical setting.

The world Erin A. Craig created, despite having a somewhat set time and place, felt unique and creative. I haven't read anything quite like this before. I would love to read more stories set in this universe.

My only criticism is that I would have liked a little more information at the end of the book about the fates of a few individual characters.

I definitely recommend this book!

This book was beautifully written, atmospheric, dark. The mystery at the beginning pulled me in and kept me tied to Mistaken, just like Greer. I do feel it unraveled about 2/3 through. At that point, there was too much happening too fast and Greer didn't seem like a 27 year old woman, but a whiny teenager coming into her "magic." And the magic flopped for me because it was all over the place - granted through the cape, in her blood enough to transform her into a Bright-Eye, removed when the others fed, and then she's just herself again? What? I am still giving it 3 stars because the writing was *chef's kiss* and the beginning was so strong but the story just couldn't carry me to a satisfactory ending.

I've never read an Erin A. Craig book that didn't keep me on the edge of my seat, and this book is no exception. A Land So Wide is suspenseful and atmospheric. I didn't want to stop turning the pages. It introduces Greer's life in the isolated settlement of Mistaken, when mysterious events start to occur. The second half is when Greer journeys through the dangerous and monstrous woods to find her love, Ellis. There weren't really any plot twists that took me by surprise, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book. The story setup is very similar to her other books, where the first half is eerie and strange and unexplained things take place, and the second half is where the chaos happens, and everything in the first half makes sense. I LOVE the way the author tells stories. She literally describes a tree on the first page, and my attention was completely captured. Greer was resilient and brave in her pursuit to find Ellis beyond the bounds of Mistaken instead of settling for a life she didn't want in the small settlement. Of course, CRAZY things happen along the way. The prose has a good balance between being lush but not to the point of being ridiculous and overdone. If I had to guess, the author has probably read a lot of Grimm's fairy tales. This book had me in a chokehold from beginning to end, which is not a surprise whatsoever.

Spice level: A few makeouts that get handsy and lusty, an MC has a lusty dream, no sex scenes
CW/TW: Murder, violence, gore, cultish town, mentally abusive parental figure

Side note: As someone who prefers not to read spice and who loves Erin's YA novels, I was SO happy this book wasn't spicy, because I probably wouldn't have read it otherwise

Like everyone else in Mistaken, Greer Mackenzie is trapped—and from the first line, so is the reader, caught in the chilling grip of this beautifully crafted dark fantasy.

Greer is a phenomenal protagonist. Her literal and emotional journey drives the story with intensity and heart. The love story between Greer and Ellis is touching without being overly sentimental, giving real weight to her determination to rescue him.

What elevates this beyond a typical fantasy tale is its exploration of sacrifice, memory, and freedom.

It’s a dark fairy tale for grown-ups that lingers long after the last page.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I made it through 22% of this book before I DNFd. The magic system is interesting but very little has been explained so far. There’s also a real lack of depth with the main characters and I’m not very engaged with the story. The dark tone is somewhat intriguing, but there’s so much about the woods and the land and it’s just not interesting to me at all.

This book and the author are not within my usual reading preferences, as I typically avoid horror, gothic, and historical genres. I found reading this book to be quite grueling. Would I consider reading another book by this author? Probably not.

The story follows young Greer MacKenzie, who lives in the small village of Mistaken, protected by Warding Stones and the power of Benevolence. The townspeople offer their blessings in return, believing that Benevolence shields them from the Bright-Eyeds—vicious monsters that have taken lives in the past. Thankfully, the stones mark the village's borders, keeping the wild forest and its lurking dangers—Bright-Eyeds, beasts, and other horrors—at bay. Crossing that boundary is forbidden; those who have ventured beyond it never returned.

*A Land So Wide* is a compelling read. I enjoyed the first half more than the second. Greer’s love triangle, driven by her unclear thinking, was unsettling, but the story remained engaging. The book is filled with revelations—some predictable and others shocking. The intricate world-building blends magic, history, and a claustrophobic wilderness. While the pacing kept me turning pages, the numerous twists felt overwhelming at times, and the rushed ending left me a bit unsatisfied.

Thank you so much for a gifted copy of this in exchange for an honest review. This was absolutely such a comping read. I was sucked in and the world building was done so well! I really enjoyed this one

This had me from the very first page. The dark and creepy village of Mistaken is filled with wild beasts and Bright-Eyeds. These monsters make you want close all the shutters at sundown and crawl under the covers for safety. Vivid descriptions and the folklore is just fantastic.

A Land So Wide by Erin Craig was a fantasy novel I did not see coming. Not my normal genre of books that I like to read, but I gave it a go and ended up enjoying so much more than I thought I would!
This story follows Greer, a young woman who possesses the ability to hear the thoughts of those around her. She dreams and longs for more than what is in front of her. She planned, along with childhood love Ellis, to be together forever. However, at the time of the traditional hunt, her father intervenes and changes their destiny. Greer, not one to give up, leaves her village and heads into the forest to find Ellis. Along the way, she discovers who she really is and secrets that have been kept hidden with some magic and history thrown in. Erin Craig is a terrific story teller keeping the reader fully involved and engaged until the very end. Highly recommend!

This reviews pains me to write, because I enjoy this author a lot. Beautiful cover, reminds me a lot of one of my favorite movies - the Village. Immediately from the prologue I thought I would be hooked, but in this case the atmosphere was too much for me and I had trouble connecting. The writing felt a touch too floral for me to really be able to follow along with it. I may stick to this author's YA books instead, but not a bad book!

I have a bit of mixed feelings for this book. The atmosphere, setting and backstory for all that happens, was really well done and set up a great scene for the story. However, the pacing felt very jagged and the horror aspects were set up well, but then resolved so quickly and almost blandly that they didn’t have much impact. I liked Greer as a character but she doesn’t really feel like a main character sometimes. Things just happened a bit too easily and quickly in the important moments. Overall, I liked the book but it’s not my favorite of Erin A. Craig’s work.

Thanks to NetGalley & Pantheon for allowing me to read & review this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Pantheon for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest review

If you enjoy atmospheric, suspenseful, dark fairytale romantasy, A Land So Wide is the book for you. I went into this blindly but it being an Erin A Craig book I knew I would not be disappointed. The journey Greer takes to escape her small town surrounded by monsters to find her childhood love and the secrets and truths she learns along the way will have you on the edge of your seat.

Erin is an Auto-read author for me. I love her eerie gothic stories!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the E-Arc.

A Land So Wide captured me from the very first page! Like the people of Mistaken, I was bound by this book, unable to leave its pages until I unearthed every secret, every twist, every word. It has everything I loved in Craig’s young adult novels, plus so much more!

This story was reminiscent of Alma Katsu’s The Hunger, where idyllic life blends with haunting horror. I love Craig’s particular brand of fairytales - trending more towards authentic folktales than their Disney counterparts. I always know I’m going to get angsty romance combined with dreamlike horrors - never knowing what’s real or imagined. These fever dream novels are at once enchanting and brutal in their awakening.

I loved Greer - her yearning for more, for adventure, to learn the unknown, trying to find her place in a world that kept her contained. The historical interludes were some of my favorite parts, grounding Mistaken in reality with its own history and lore. I could easily picture the cove and the wide, unending expanse of trees and land.

I loved the exploration of history - that reckoning with our personal pasts and the ability to chart our own futures. This is a story that will enchant and haunt you in equal measures. I cannot recommend it enough!

Thank you to NetGalley and Pantheon for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Erin never misses. This book is fantastic and while it's a departure from her "norm," in my opinion it is only in a good way. Definitely one to pick up when it releases!

The premise of "A Land So Wide" was intriguing which prompted me to request the title. The synopsis and some selections gave me "The Village" vibes but that is in no way a spoiler. This is an intricate weaving of history and hysteria with a generous dose of supernatural. A bit of a stretch from what I might normally read but an enjoyable tale in the end.