This story was okay but maybe not for me. I got a little bored and didn't finish. I may try again later.

I'm giving this three stars. Even though I DNF'd it, its not a negative review on the authors part or even the book itself. Its all my fault for asking for this one knowing that Brave is my least favorite Disney movie but I thought I'd give it a shot since I love Stiefvaters writing but unfortunately the story is not for me.

When I heard there was going to be a novel about Merida, my favorite Disney princess, I was a little worried. Then I heard Maggie Stiefvater was writing it, and I relaxed a little. She did not break my trust; this was amazing.

Stiefvater so well captures Merida's free spirit and strong sense of self and weaves it into a fantastic adventure story. This book added so much (in a great way) to Merida's story and deepened her character.

This made me want Stiefvater to write books for more princesses.

Bravely is a continuation of the Brave story with Merida a few years older and a little bit wiser. Stiefvater does a great job of keeping the general feel of the original characters while allowing them to grow and evolve. I can't wait to put this title in our library's collection.

This book was everything I would have wanted and more! Merida is my favorite princess (as a grown up) and I loved this story for her. The world building was also very well done and something I enjoyed.

Absolutely brilliant. The writing was flawless and brought Merida to life as someone YA/NA readers can relate to. The relationship between her and Feradach was complex and inspiring. A true tale of finding oneself when you least expect to. The subtle parallels between the story and current events and mindsets was executed flawlessly and I truly hope there will be a follow-up novel.

This was ... okay. I wanted to LOVE it, like really love it. Brave, the movie, was so empowering. I didn't get that from this continuation.

I love this author and knew that her style was different, but it still drug a lot in the middle for me. There were some interesting parts, especially DunBroch and all the traditions held there.

I've put this review off because I won't be posting it anywhere. My reasoning for this is simple, people will love this book and I don't want to put any negative thoughts out to ruin it for others.

I'm grateful for the chance to read and review this. My plan is to read it again, as I'm a mood reader, it could have been the timing for me.

LOVE THIS COVER

Maggie Stiefvater's Bravely helps mark the 10 years since Brave released from Pixar, with this uniquely fresh take on Princess Merida set several years following the close of the film. Stiefvater is best-known for her ability to steep readers in age-old cultures, legends, and lore in a way that still feels accessible and enticing for today's teen. In Bravely, the author brings her talents to the ancient, rolling hills of Scotland, to the kingdom of DunBroch and its fiery-headed--and fiery-tempered--Princess Merida.

After a year of traveling to see a variety of different places, Merida comes home for Christmas to face off against the ancient gods of Scotland in this magic-infused epic adventure where each step will bring Merida closer to saving the family she loves -- or losing them forever. DunBroch has fallen into stagnation, and the gods have marked it for ruin and rebirth. Merida never expected her disquiet to manifest by way of Feradach, an uncanny supernatural being tasked with rooting out rot and stagnation, who appears in DunBroch on Christmas Eve with the intent to demolish the realm – and everyone within.

Only the intervention of the Cailleach, an ancient entity of creation, gives Merida a shred of hope: convince her family to change within the year – or suffer the eternal consequences. Merida has one year to get her family to change or her beloved kingdom will be at the mercy of Feradach to wipe it from the face of the earth. Under the watchful eyes of the gods, Merida leads a series of three epic journeys to kingdoms near and far in an attempt to inspire revolution within her family. But in her efforts to save those she loves from ruin, has Merida lost sight of the Clan member grown most stagnant of all – herself?

There is also a growing threat from a nearby king who wants DunBroch to kneel to him, give up one of the triplets or marry off Merida to another kingdom, and an additional promise to reach out to neighboring kingdoms and learn from them. Each of her journey's are with a member of her family. From travel with her brother Hubert where she is uncomfortable in her surroundings, to travel with her father King Fergus who discovers a village already in danger of being destroyed, and lastly her mother Elinor where Merida gets a surprise revelation about her mothers own past.

This Merida is a bit older and wiser, having lived and traveled, but still has the wild heart and stubborn nature. Her evolving relationship with Feradach, the god of destruction is complex and compelling, and I believe most readers will want more than what we get. Feradach is a very interesting character and very contradictory, too. While she's pretty much been left alone by her mother Queen Elinor, learning more about who she was before she met her father is enlightening. There's still some conflict there. She also has to put up with her devious triplet brothers (toddlers in the movie) who love antagonizing her. But the brothers are more than devious boys who love to create chaos.

Overall, I think people who watched Brave, will definitely enjoy this story. It's good getting caught up with the characters we've all seen on TV, or the movies.

I'll be honest: I fell asleep listening to this. Twice.
Which isn't great. After finding my spot the first time, and re-listening to the parts before, I wasn't into it. So the second time, I barely wanted to find my spot.

Maggie Stiefvater is an author that I sometimes feel like I have to fight to finish, and unfortunately my love of Disney didn't help this time.
I'm sure some other people will LOVE this, but unfortunately it wasn't for me.

I loved this version of Merida! This story takes place after the events of Brave. Merida is a teen and her triplet brothers are older; however, they still spark of the characters you know and love from the movie. Merida lives for her family and does whatever she can do save them: even if that means making deals with the gods.

Dunbroch has become stagnant. No one changes: not even Merida. The king is still his joyful self. The queen is still prim and proper. Merida LOVES her bow and still dominates over everyone on the range. The triplets still cause trouble and have yet to find their own callings/distinct personalities. And where stagnation reigns, ruin is sure to follow at least where the gods are concerned.

Feradach is the god of ruin and destruction and Dunbroch is calling to him. So Merida will have to call upon the Cailleach, the goddess of creation, to help save all that she holds dear. Merida has a year to change everyone and everything around her. Can she do it and not lose herself? Read on to find out!

I loved all the characters and their feisty personalities, but I wasn't expecting to come to love Feradach as much as I did.

Big thanks to Netgalley, Disney Publishing Worldwide, Disney Press and Maggie Stiefvater for the eARC in exchange for a review.

This story follows Merida after the Disney movie. She's now an adult and her mother is no longer pressuring her to marry.

Life is standard, regular and easy going, until she meets the God of destruction, before he has the chance to start the destruction. They make a deal, and Merida has a year to change her family.

I'm giving it 5 stars. It follows the theme Disney started with, and Merida continues to be a strong independent woman.

Bravely is a serviceable story, and the folklore and history shine. However, the pace was oddly slow, a lot of the relationships felt stilted, and I wasn't sure why Leezy (one of the main characters, a new addition not present in the movie) was even present, to be completely honest.

I read in an interview with Maggie Stiefvater that this book would appeal to both fans of the Disney movie Brave, as this is a sequel to the movie, and to her longtime fans. I happen to be an adult fan of both. I decided to rewatch the movie before reading the book because even though Merida is my favorite Disney princess, I haven't seen the movie since it was released, and I wanted to make sure it was fresh in my mind in case I needed to remember any plot points. This is not necessary though, as readers new to Merida's story can still find enjoyment in the book. It picks up a few years after the movie, and though it does occasionally mention the events of the movie, it is an entirely new story, where Merida, the princess of DunBroch, must spend a year trying to bring change to her family in order to save them after making a bargain with two gods.

In a way, I think rewatching the movie first hindered my enjoyment of the book, because for the first half, I kept hearing movie Merida's voice and accent as I read the dialogue of the book, and I think that kept me from feeling the Stiefvaterness of the story. I still enjoyed it though, and once I really got into the reading and story, and let the accent fall away, I felt Stiefvater's magical presence in the writing so much more. Merida is true to the character in the movie, and the triplets are each given their own personalities. I thought from other reviews I'd read that I would be a fan of little Hamish, but it turned out that Harris was my favorite triplet. Stiefvater's writing especially shines through in the character of the god Feradach, who I couldn't help but love once I got to know him more. Oh, and I won't spoil what happened, but that ending of the chapter just before the epilogue - can't deny the author when you read that - I was shaking my fist and grumbling "Stiefvater!" after that!

If you love Merida and the movie Brave and/or if you love Maggie Stiefvater, I think you'll enjoy this book. It has family, gods, battles, ruin, change, and of course, magic.

Thank you @netgalley and @disneybooks for sending me and ARC of Bravely!

I hate leaving non glowing / not positive reviews… so I have kinda been putting this off.

Bravely - ⭐️⭐️
When I heard that a book based on Brave was coming out and Maggie Stiefvater was writing it I was so excited! Brave is one of my all time favorite films and so my expectations were high…. Sad to say I think my high expectations ruined this book for me.

On a positive note I really enjoyed revisiting Merida and her family in this book. Merida is still her fierce self and I think her character was on point with the movie. Sadly I was expecting more humor in this book. I find the movie to be filled with jokes and was hoping this book would also have that humor.

The writing was also not it for me… I have loved Maggie Stiefvater’s book and writing in the past but the book was full of just telling you what was happening … there wasn’t a lot showing you with descriptions or words … I don’t know if that makes sense. I was hoping for a whimsical feeling but it was just a lot of he said she said.

Another issue I had was with Merida's mom Elenore. This book is supposed to take place after the movie, but it feels like all the development between Merida and Elenore just disappeared or didn't happen because they act the same as they did in the beginning of Brave.

The cherry on top that made me go "really?" was the romance in this book. It comes out of nowhere and goes nowhere. While yes I did like the romantic interest ( I don't want to spoil) It felt very sudden and just a convenient way to wrap up the story. Throughout the story I didn't feel any romantic chemistry between them. It was more of a friendship, and then suddenly its all I would do anything for you / I am in love with you.

If I went into this book with fewer expectations or wasn't the big fan of Brave that I am I honestly think I would have liked it more, but I think being a fan kind of ruined this book for me. If you have seen Brave, but aren't obsessed with it like I am. You probably will enjoy this book

One year for Merida to save Dunbroch from destruction. Is this really the adventure she wanted? Was her boredom really all that terrible? A fun book for all ages, but I would recommend it to 10-13 year olds.

3.5 stars. I was interested to see how Maggie would tackle a Disney story. This I felt had her brand of interesting prose, and she deftly wove the lore from the movie into this YA sequel. It was also just as funny as the movie! Overall, this was very enjoyable.

It has been a few years since Merida had her last big adventure and she assumed her life would stay as it is. She loves her family, but she is bored and longs for another adventure. When she runs into Feradach, a being whose job is to get rid of doomed things, she makes an agreement to save DunBroch. Will she get her family to change their ways … within a year? Will DunBroch be saved? What will Merida learn through her newest adventure?

Bravely is a stand-alone fantasy adventure that readers can enjoy even if they never saw or read the original tale. Stiefvater has taken a character that many are familiar with and given her new depths and additional escapades to read about. This book should be geared towards teens, yet it feels as if the author let it also be readable by younger people looking to learn more about Merida. As long as older readers know that the audience is wide, this lower level of complexity can be overlooked. I enjoyed the adventure and couldn’t wait to find out how it would end.

Thank you so much Disney Publishing Worldwide for sending me an eARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

"Merida thought to herself that Hamish was actually much braver than she was. She did wild things all the time, but she wasn't afraid before she did them. Hamish was terrified to do almost everything, and he did a lot of things anyway."

*3.5 stars, rounded up*

I wanted to love this book so much. I loved Brave when it first came out and Merida was my favorite Disney princess for the longest time. However, between the way the story was told and the elements it lacked, I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as I thought I would.

My biggest issue? It read like a middle-grade book. At first, I enjoyed it; it was very readable and refreshing from the constant YA books I read. However, as it's marked as YA, I thought we would get more in-depth Scottish elements, like accents, tartans, folk tales/ legends, etc. However, we got NONE of that, and the overall worldbuilding was just lacking. I never felt fully immersed. This book was definitely written in mind for younger readers because the language was without any pizazz (except for a word here and there).

One thing that DID work for this book was the plot. The build-up to the ending, whether or not DunBroch was destroyed or left alone, was awesome! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time! And the whole bargain with the Cailleach and Feradach was really cool! I loved seeing the character arcs of all the characters and it actually being PART of the story.

My other problem with Bravely? THE ENDING. I can't believe Stiefvater RUINED Merida. Merida, in love?!?!? The core part of Merida, her fierce independence (that MADE her my favorite Disney princess), was written out of the story. Literally. I've never been so mad in my life. *end rant*

Overall though, I enjoyed this book. I will probably pick up Stiefvater's other books too.

Book Review: Bravely by Maggie Stiefvater

Bravely is a young adult novel that serves as a sequel to the Disney movie Brave. It features Merida the red-haired Scottish princess trying to live on her own terms as she bargains with a powerful god.
In this continuation of the Disney film Merida is a little older and has traveled around Scotland after avoiding the marriage trap her parents sprung on her in the movie. But on Christmas Eve there is a knock on her door that will change her life forever. On the other side of the door Merida is faced with two ancient Gods. One is Feradach, the god of destruction that uses natural disasters to force change and bring renewal. And the other is an even older God, Cailleach who is the creator. Merida is forced into a deal in which the terms are that she will bring change to herself and the royal family or they will face ruin. Afraid for their lives Merida travels around Scotland learning about her family’s past, their future and ultimately herself. And everywhere she goes Feradach is watching and demonstrates his strange power and the burden he carries.
This is a quiet little story that is appropriate for both middle grade and young adult. There are some dark scenes (involving other towns and kingdoms) and the looming threat of a villain with his eye on Merida’s Kingdom. But the real story is Merida’s inner journey and her family’s gradual shift. There is a lot of food for thought about taking risks, not falling into the trap of apathy and how what appears like utter ruin is often a catalyst for growth. Once I stopped expecting a grand love story or epic battles I was able to settle into this whimsical little tale. I recommend it to audiences of all ages that enjoy stories about loving and complicated families and hard headed Princesses. There is also a sweet slow-burn romance.
4 stars

So going into this book, I really wasn't sure what to expect! I absolutely adored the Disney film, Brave, so when I saw a "sequel" in the form of a book by none other than Maggie Steifvater, I knew I had to sign up for a copy. I was a little worried that it would feel a bit too 'young' for me, and I was terrified that it would ruin the image of Merida and her rambunctious family that I had in my head.... I am SO happy to be able to say that NONE of these things happened. This book was great! I feel like Maggie really had a handle on how to write Merida and stay true to her character while also having her grow up a bit.

I love love love the elements of history and mythology woven expertly into this book. It was fun to explore the Cailleach and Feradach in a tale such as this one. The concept of having to change one's entire family in the span of a year was exciting and thrilling. It was great reading about the small differences in Merida and her family that come with growing a little older - I loved that Maggie was able to give me the family that I came to love in Brave, and make them even more loveable! She really did stay true to the original characters without coming off as a direct movie replica. Cheers to her writing skills for that lol!

And the new characters were equally as fantastic in their own ways. I liked watching them contribute to the story, yet remain interesting themselves rather than just interesting in relation to the DunBroch's.

I think the beginning and end were both amazing - they were fast-paced and really kept me captivated. Some parts in between were a bit on the slow side. But change takes time, and I think the author did a good job of showing that. It's just worth noting however.

Overall, I think the writing style in this book is great, I loved reading more about Merida and her story. I loved the ending, though I secretly hoped for more about a particular character. I think Maggie did a wonderful job with this, unsurprisingly, and I look forward to seeing where her writing takes us next!