5/5 stars
Recommended if you like: horror, historical horror, Gothic

This review has been posted to Goodreads as of 3/27 and will be posted to my review blog and to Instagram 4/17.

Craig is an autobuy author for me, so I was excited to get approved for this! It's more similar to Small Favors than to the Sisters of the Salt books, but still stands as a unique book on its own.

The book starts off telling the story of Mistaken, how it was founded and the folly of its founder. It's clear from that story that the town has a history of bad luck, compounded by the supernatural entities that lurk in the woods. The narration then turns to Greer, the main character of the story, and her best friend Louise as they scout the edges of the town's territory. With the introduction setup the way it is, we're primed to be on Greer's side when she and Louise argue about whether the Bright-Eyes and Benevolence exist (Louise, whose family needs the food that would otherwise go to offerings for the Benevolence, is less inclined to believe).

Mistaken is an odd little town, aside from it being the only safe haven in this part of the wilderness, it also has all sorts of strange traditions. Such as needing to be inside the town's borders by nightfall, the offerings to the Benevolence to ensure the town's continued safety, and the Hunt, where the eligible young women of the town hide in a field and wait for an eligible young man to find them so they can be wed. Honestly, that might just be the creepiest one for me. Admittedly, the Hunt does have a sweet side, as you might expect, couples plan their strategies together to ensure few surprises come the actual day, so it does tend to be less creepy than it sounds, but still.

In a town full of oddities, Greer is an odd one out. She has extremely sensitive hearing and can often catch whispers when they're across the room from her. She also seems to be one of the only people who longs to leave the town and see what's in the world beyond. Due to this, and in spite of the fact she comes from a founding family, Greer has few friends. I definitely felt for Greer and enjoyed the bits of happiness she was able to find in Mistaken. She's also very headstrong, and I liked reading her determination to find Ellis again after he walks beyond Mistaken's boundaries.

Louise, as mentioned, is Greer's best friend. While I did believe Greer's insistence that the Bright-Eyes and Benevolence were real, I also saw where Louise was coming from at the start of the book. Her family does need the food, and using it as an offering seems like a massive waste. Despite their spat, Louise does come through for Greer when needed, and I wish we got to see more of them together than we did.

Ellis, Louise's brother, is Greer's beloved and the two are planning to marry after this year's Hunt, despite Greer's father's disapproval and Louise + Ellis' families being outcasts in the town. I like Ellis, he's sweet and it's clear from the get-go that he has a big heart. The kind of heart that means he's willing to do self-sacrificial things for his loved ones.

I enjoyed the slow creep of horror as things started to go wrong in Mistaken. Despite Louise's insistence, it's clear that there's something bigger at play here than just stories meant to make kids behave. I would argue that most of the horror does happen within Mistaken's boundaries, but Greer also walks right into it toward the end of the book, determined still to save Ellis.

I will say, I did find the book to be predictable and had most of the twists figured out well before Greer even really started thinking about them. That being said, this is still an entertaining read and I enjoyed it a lot.

A Land So Wide by Erin A. Craig is an absolutely mesmerizing novel. As a huge fan of Erin's previous works, I was thrilled to dive into this one, and it did not disappoint. The world-building is beautifully detailed, and the characters feel so real, with a plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Erin’s ability to weave emotion, mystery, and adventure together is truly unmatched. If you loved her earlier books, this one is a must-read!

From the unsettling Canadian landscapes to the mysterious monsters lurking in the woods steeped in Scottish folklore, A Land So Wide is enthralling. I was pulled in immediately and even had chills by the end of the prologue. It definitely feels less scary than her other books (Sisters of the Salt for sure), but still deliciously chilling.

Greer lives in the town of Mistaken protected with a magical barrier from the monsters in the woods as long as you're back by sunset. Reading it gave me goosebumps without feeling like reading a horror. It's something you want to delightfully devour in the dark. When Ellis leaves the town safety and disappears into the woods, Greer follows her love with determination to bring him home regardless of the monsters in the woods. Secrets about the town's founding and the monsters themselves come out in wonderful twists. It's everything you want. The first half was very spooky and by far my favorite. The second was far less terrifying but no less entrancing. The way Craig writes is phenomenal.

I'm obsessed with the eerie atmospheres and twisted fairy tale retellings that Erin A. Craig creates and she is my auto read author. I was beyond thrilled when I got approved to review this book. This Scottish folklore retelling is one I will be telling everyone about.

Thank you Netgalley, author Erin A. Craig, Knopf, Pantheon and the Vintage catalog for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A Land So Wide is set to be published September 9, 2025 so mark it down as your next spooky autumn read.

CW: adult genre, some language, sex and gore

4.5⭐️

I was so incredibly surprised and elated when I was approved for this ARC. I am so very honored to be trusted with an early copy from one of my favorite authors.

Erin A. Craig has such a talent for very creepy immersive tales. Fairytales with the teeth left in. This was such an amazing blend of gothic and wilderness which is new for me. No foreboding mansion or castle, just the cold hard wilds of Canada.

I was sucked into this story from the start. I do have to say it lulled out for me with the pacing in the middle but it definitely picked up a second wind and built to quite the explosive finale.

I loved our main character Greer. She is flawed, she is filled with hope and she does not give up on those she loves. I don’t usually enjoy a preexisting romance in fantasy books; I like to see the development. But this one was done in such an artful way and I really liked Greer and Ellis’ dynamic.

Lots of revelations throughout and I don’t want to spoil anything but quite a few unexpected twists. I loved learning new lore and seeing familiar fairytales (i.e. Tamlin) being retold in such a masterful way.

I would recommend this to any gothic horror lover who would like a slight twist on the setting, any fans of The Village, and of course if you loved Craig’s previous works this is a good entry to the lexicon.

Definitely not for the weak of stomach!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Pantheon Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

3.5⭐️ might round up to a 4?? I’m actually unsure how to rate this…

This is a perfect read for Autumn. Especially when it’s cold, rainy, and dark.

Mistake is a small village where after dark, nobody can leave. The stones protect the people from the bright-eyed creatures who would devour them. Greer’s beloved goes missing. Somehow he is able to leave. She goes on a journey to find him.

There’s mystery, love, betrayal, hidden identity, and more.

The beginning was slow, but picked up about halfway for me.

There were some things I liked, and some I didn’t. I’m conflicted.



Thank you Netgalley for an eArc!

First, thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I was so excited to be able to read my favorite YA author's adult debut before it was released!

No one, not a single soul, creates environments and moods like Erin A. Craig. I cannot sing enough praises for her atmospheric writing that makes it so easy to imagine where you are. Her MCs are also absolutely wonderfully written. Dynamic, realistic, strong, glorious women are hallmarks of her books, and Greer is no exception. I loved her spirit, her drive, her love, and her discoveries. She was so easy to root for. As far as the story goes, I really enjoyed the whole lore that influenced the town's behaviour and customs. I thought Craig did a great job providing details and hints to the realities of the town throughout so that when truth was revealed, it all made sense. The story was intriguing and well paced.

If I had a criticism, it would be the that the ending is open-ended and open to some interpretation, which is maddening (in a good way, at least to me), and she can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm guessing that was Craig's intention. The ending will definitely keep you thinking about the story and wondering what is to come for Greer. (Though I'd be totally OK if Craig decided to write another chapter and tell me exactly what it all meant!)

***

Welcome to the small community of Mistaken, a land established by a greedy man who wanted to claim the resources for himself, not knowing (or perhaps ignoring) the dangers his choices would put everyone in. Generations later, Greer's life is contained in this town by warding stones that, as the stories go, were given to the community by the Benevolence to keep Mistaken safe from the Bright-Eyeds, creatures who decimate entire communities. She's decently content with her live here, having found the love of her life in Ellis Beaufort. However, she's always been intrigued by what is on the other side of these stones. When Ellis mysterious wanders beyond the stones, Greer is determined to find him and bring him home, but tracking him puts her in danger of coming across the creatures she's been afraid of her whole life. It's her love for Ellis that pushes her beyond the boundaries to track him down, but the farther she gets from Mistaken, the more she discovers the truth of her life, her family, and her town's history.

Truly a wonderful work of Craig's imagination. I loved it.

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!