Book Summary and Reviews of A Land So Wide by Erin A. Craig

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Carol_N

Lovely, dark, eerie
It's 6 am in the morning in early August and I have just finished following Greer MacKenzie as she traveled through the forbidden boundary of her Village of Mistaken to rescue a lost love. She uncovers many dark secrets and a fate she had never expected. "A Land So Wide" is a not only a most compelling fantasy, but an eerie one.
The main character, Greer, lives in the village of Mistaken, protected by Warding Stones and the power of Benevolence. The villagers offer their blessing in return for the Benevolence shielding them from the Bright-Eyeds, vicious monsters that have killed many of their ancestors. Greer possess an unusual gift; she can hear other people's thoughts. She longs to explore beyond the borders to uncover the unknown. She feels trapped, her only solace is her childhood love, Ellis. Together they planned to participate in the village's hunt, a ritual where marriage aged women hide in the forest and wait for their future husbands to find them. However, Greer's father has other ideas and has chosen another lad as her suitor. On day of the hunt, instead of finding Greer, Ellis crosses the border and disappears into the wilderness. Greer knows this isn't an accident and she is determined to save Ellis. She needs to risk everything to venture into the forest to bring him back. As she delves deeper into the forest, she soon realizes that there are many more dark secrets than she was aware of making it far more terrifying than she could have ever imagined. Will she complete her mission, or will she be forced to embrace a destiny set for her prior to her birth?

"A Land So Wide" is an undeniably compelling read and blends magic, history by sending the reader into an eerie, suffocating wilderness. It is not the genre that I usually read, but this book literally pulled me right into the middle of that disconcerting wilderness. The author's vivid imagination kept me turning the pages, seeking her next, often overwhelming, twists.

I believe the following quote from Ava Reid best describes how I feel about this book. "A Land So Wide" is like the woods themselves, lovely, dark and eerie."

Lorraine_D

A Land So Wide – Captivating, Fantastical – Do You Dare to Test Its Boundaries?
Welcome to the land of adventure, secrets, fantasy, fear, love, courage, purpose. Erin A Craig's novel, A Land So Wide, takes you on a journey that incorporates all those things, and it begins to unfold within the small town of Mistaken. Once you enter Mistaken and stay the night, you then discover that you can't leave. A curfew is set and to ignore it puts you at the whimsy of wolves, bears, strange "Bright-Eyeds" and other unknowns.
Greer Mackenzie, the daughter of the town's most influential elder has her heart set on marrying a long-time love, Ellis Beaufort. She also has a wanderlust nature and wants to venture beyond the limits. What happens next opens the door to secrets long held, to a world previous unknown, to a whirlwind fantasy, to an absolute page-turner of a read.

I enjoy a wide breadth of reading material and this fits well into many categories - mystery, fantasy, futuristic, magical, supernatural, and all with a touch of romance. It has it all.

Bravo, Erin A Craig, for generating such creativity and presenting it with a developing crescendo such that is truly hard to put the book down. Thank you.

John_B1

A Land So Wide - Erin A. Craig
A Land So Wide by New York Times best-selling author Erin A. Craig is the story of a Scottish settlement of Mistaken on the northeast Canadian coast, surrounded by "Warding Stones" to protect the inhabitants from the shape-shifting, blood-drinking monsters, the Bright-Eyeds. Female protagonist and Mistaken inhabitant, Greer Mackenzie's desire to marry her long-time lover, Ellis Beaufort, is thwarted by her Father, Hessel, who banishes Ellis to an almost certain death beyond the Warding Stones, and Greer sets off in search of her lover.

Erin Craig's world-building provides an engaging account of Mistaken, its inhabitants, and the monsters living in the lands beyond the Warding Stones. A little less than halfway through the story, Greer Mackenzie takes off on her own to search for Ellis, travelling past the Warding Stones and into the lands beyond with all their dangers, both known and unknown. The pace of the story quickly transitions from an interesting intrigue into a dramatic, page-turning frenzy of threats, danger, and unforeseen plot twists.

The world-building in the first 150 pages, while both informative and essential, I found its pace a little slow, the writing carrying less depth and flow than I personally would prefer. As is the author's descriptions of physical reactions to sensory events, which I found unduly repetitive, chewing the inside of one's cheek being among the top scorers in that respect.

Although described as 'Adult' as opposed to 'YA', the genre of Craig's four previous novels, I am sure YA readers of fantasy will certainly enjoy this one. There are but three sexual scenes, so delicate, proper, and in no way explicit, raising perhaps only a giggle or nudge from a few young pubescent teen readers. I certainly recommend A Land So Wide to any reader of fantasy novels, along with all fans of Erin Craig's previous works.

Megan_J

Creepy folktale and love story
Highly enjoyable, creepy, atmospheric story with an interesting protagonist and an enjoyable love story. I really liked the premise and the bit of social commentary didn't overwhelm the simplicity of the story.

Cathy_T

Fun Fantasy and Human
In a small town called Mistaken a young couple can't wait to join the Hunt and become husband and wife as tradition dictates. But the Hunt will not happen as it has for generations. They are not the average couple.

Mistaken is controlled by curses and blessings, all but imprisoning its occupants. As the couple, Greer and Ellis, await the Hunt, they are forced apart by cruelty and deception.

Ellis has been forced to enter the evil boundaries outside Mistaken an give himself up for sacrifice. Greer swears to find him and plans her escape from Mistaken and her controlling father. She pledges to herself to find Ellis and marry him as they have planned over the years.

Thus begins the fantastic journey Greer travels to find her beloved. We enter a realm of evil power-hungry Elowen, and murderous Bright-Eyed enemies. Will Greer win her lover back, or has too much happened on her journey?

Rosemary_Coffman

No Mistaking A Good Book
I don't normally read the horror/fantasy genre of books, but I got absorbed in this book. Erin Craig creates a vivid picture with words (and a map for reference) of a harsh world beset by monsters and a young woman determined to leave and explore what lies beyond her confined borders. Because Craig is so descriptive and evocative in her writing, I could imagine the lands and the people. Greer, Ellis and Finn are well-developed, sympathetic characters that I easily followed on their adventures. The story had some twists and turns that I didn't anticipate, which is satisfying as a reader.

...6 more reader reviews