Bravely

by Maggie Stiefvater

Merida goes on an all-new, life-changing adventure in this original YA novel set several years after the close of Brave!

What if you had one year to save everything you loved?

ONE PRINCESS. Merida of DunBroch needs a change. She loves her family—jovial King Fergus, proper Queen Elinor, the mischievous triplets— and her peaceful kingdom. But she’s frustrated by its sluggishness; each day, the same. Merida longs for adventure, purpose, challenge – maybe even, someday, love.

TWO GODS. But the fiery Princess never expects 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.

THREE VOYAGES. Under the watchful eyes of the gods, Merida leads a series of 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?

FOUR SEASONS TO SAVE DUNBROCH – OR SEE IT DESTROYED, FOREVER.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mythology, Audiobook

367 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2022

About the author

New York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races. Artist. Driver of things with wheels. Avid reader.

Maggie Stiefvater plays several musical instruments (most infamously, the bagpipes) and makes art in several media (most generally, colored pencils).

She lives in Virginia with her husband, their two children, many dogs, a bunch of fainting goats, and an irascible tuner car.

Reviews

[Maggie Stiefvater]

I'm delighted to finally be able to talk about this! BRAVELY is a YA sequel to Disney’s BRAVE, set several years after the film. Those of you who know my college and musical background can probably well imagine my attraction to this project. Disney gave me plenty of room to roam, which meant I was able to conjure all the ancient deities and youthful harpers and impossible bargains a Stiefvater could hope for.

ETA September 2, 2025: the paperback's comin' out in two weeks!

[emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

i watched the movie brave one time, because i was 14 when it was in theaters and still susceptible to the whims of my then-very small siblings.

but if you told me very confidently that i did NOT see it, i would have to believe you, because i don't remember even one thing about it.

so at least i can soothe myself with the knowledge that i will almost certainly forget this in its entirety.

it has an annoying romance and was so boring and also who wrote it??? because it wasn't maggie stiefvater.

i have to believe it wasn't.

bottom line: this memory is set to self destruct.

-----------------
tbr review

i am whatever the opposite of a disney adult is. but maggie stiefvater wrote a disney book, so here i am. swallowing my pride.

and my gag reflex.

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, the cover is one of the most beautiful ones! 💕



Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

[˗ˏˋ lia ˎˊ˗]

my head: don’t say it don’t say it don’t say it
also my head: IF YEEU HAD A CHANCE TA CHAAANGE YER FEEHTE, WOOODJA

[Charlotte May]

A sequel to one of my fave Disney films written by one of my fave authors?!

Sign me the fuck up! 😍

[Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥]

I'm a simple person:

- Maggie Stiefvater writes it
- I see it
- I want it
- It goes on my TBR
- It's released
- It goes into my cart
- I finally buy it
- I read the hell out of it

There, I'm a simple person, right? *lol*

P.S.: That cover is gorgeous! Love the red hair! <3

[lady moon]

26/08/2021: Please, PLEASE don't make Merida, who is an aro(ace) coded icon, alloromantic/allosexual. Don't do this, I'm begging. Let this book be about adventure that do not end up with Merida finding a partner.

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus} · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5 stars.

[Randi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I KNOW it's "wrong" to review a book before it's even out, but I'm doing this to help rebalance the book's rating. It was announced a week ago, and there are already people hitting it with 1 star reviews? And for what? The people doing it haven't even bothered to actually say why, which is even more pathetic. When the book comes out in a YEAR, I'll happily read it and write a real review but for now, can we stop being so petty and sad? Come on.

[Shauni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a darling book! After the events of Brave, Merida finds herself making a bargain with a god to save her family and her home.

I really enjoyed the family dynamics of this book. Merida loves her parents and brothers, but like in most families there is conflict and often hurt feelings. But this doesn't stop her from doing all she can to save those she loves. Merida is given a year to save her family from destruction. Along the way, she learns some important lessons about herself, life and love.

This book was a delight to read. It was sweet, heartwarming and a little sad. My favorite character was Merida's brother Hamish. He was so afraid and unsure, he tugged on my protective sisterly heartstrings.

I did feel like it was written more to a middle grade audience than YA, but I still enjoyed it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Disney Press for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Meghhnaa (On a Review-Writing Break!) · Rating 5 out of 5]

*No-spoiler Alert*

This was an endearing and delightful read. I read it at a snail-slow pace (there were few parts that turned stagnant). It was an overall enticing read.

Merida, a loving responsible soul gets sandwiched between 2 Gods- Cailleach(God of Life) and Feradach(God Of ruin). She is endowed with a task of saving Dunbroch from destruction. In short, she got to save her family and land from Feradach's wrath.

She strikes a bargain with the Gods to save Dunbroch within an year !

This is my first Maggie Stiefvater's read.

I am giving 4 stars to this novel because it is irregularly paced but has an intriguing storyline.

The USP of the book is the push and pull between Merida and Feradach throughout their journey of the bargain and the heroic year ahead.

I wasn't expecting a lot but it has overtly exceeded my expectations.

After finishing this, I have placed an order for the much-talked about and the successful "Linger" .
Update - "Linger" disappointed me big time :(

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pairing up Maggie Stiefvater with Merida was an ingenious move. Maggie knocks it out of the park, adding to the lore of DunBroch, introducing new characters, but keeping the old, beloved characters true to the movie. Just a little creepy, lots of adventure, a dash of romance = perfect.

[Mango]

BRO THIS MOVIE WAS MY CHILDHOOD!! Can't wait for this. >:)

[Tina➹ lives in Fandoms · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Silver Stars
with Golden Sparks

aaaaaaaaaah! I'm in tears!
Can we have a book 2?????
I want book 2!

Brave is my favourite non-nostalgic Disney movie (definitely nostalgic now after 10 years, but I mean my childhood nostalgia) & Merida one of my favourite heroines, so I was happy when I saw Maggie is writing a book about it.
(& it was sooooo different than the Raven cycle (the concept, the writing style, wow) that I can't believe both are written by the same author! wow, Maggie, you're amazing!)

it's not exactly a retelling, it's a story a few years after what happened in the movie.
it had a historical-based world with fairy-tale vibes & magic & myth.
& I guess it's more inclined toward Middle Grade area; the characters in YA range of age, but more adventures with a little glimpse of a romance (though chemistry brewing)

the Plot was medium-paced. it was magical & cute. I mostly enjoyed it. the end was epic & emotional!
the Writing style was beautiful.
the Characters were amazing. I really loved Feradach. & finally knowing the triplets individually.
& I found the concept very appealing. the Balance of the nature & how some ruination is necessary, in long perspective; like that saying about cutting out the toxic/rotten things is helping a person, even if it hurts at first & that's very true.
-
Plot: ★★★/5
Characters: ★★★★/5
Written style: ★★★★/5
World building: ★★★★/5
General idea: ★★★★/5

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disney plus Maggie Stiefvater!!! Seeing Merida as a more grown up version going onto new adventures!!!
More on my vid review, live on February 1, 2023 here https://youtu.be/ZiplXiUZ09U

[Ashley Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Publishing for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions remain my own**

This picks up about a year after the movie Brave ends. Merida is challenged by a God to help Dunbroch adapt and grow and change to avoid living in stagnation and ending in ruin.

I was entertained by this book! Merida's world has always been one that I have been drawn to being Scottish myself and still having family in the highlands. I loved the scenery that Stiefvatter brought to life during Merida's travels, the lore she incorporated, all of it. There were some moments that were a tad slow, but by the end I was invested and slightly emotional.

Overall, well done and I enjoyed it!

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Free on Kindle Unlimited as of 6-16-2024*


I was wary of this, not because of it being a "sequel" to Brave but because my luck with this author's writing has been so-so.

This is low key of sorts continuing of the movie... seeing what has become of Merida and the family afterwards.

It was quietly beautiful 😍 for me.. I didn't mind reading this one slower. It benefited me in this instance, the book wasn't constantly on my mind but it floated there and moved like water in a river.

I was proud of Merida for fighting to save her family and growing herself in different ways.

I loved seeing how the family loved each other in this, really warmed my heart ❤️.

Some surprises in store, for past and present.

This one I would read again as well, and I wouldn't be mad if they did this for a Brave sequel... if they ever decided to make one.

[Giavanna Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping, spectacular - review to come!



4/19/22 Edit - Full Review!

Genre: Young Adult
Rating: 4 Stars
Spice Rating: 1 Star*
*This is a traditional YA novel – no explicit scenes/themes etc. No TW.

Thank you to Disney Publishing Worldwide, Maggie Stiefvater, and NetGalley for sending me a copy of Bravely in exchange for an honest review.

Review:

“This is a story about two gods and a girl.” Bravely takes place a few years after the canon Pixar ending of Brave, in which Merida is returning to DunBroch for Christmas after a year of traveling. There, she learns of a terrible plot against her family from the God, Feradach, who is tasked with “rooting out rot and stagnation”. Another God – the Cailleach – strikes a bargain between Merida and Feradach, wherein Merida must enact change throughout her family and DunBroch within four seasons. Merida faces a tough year ahead, but will she be able to accomplish her goal without losing sight of the most important change – aka, herself?

Maggie Stiefvater has done it again (not that I’m surprised). When I got word that Disney would be publishing a series of YA adaptation novels based on some of their characters, I was so excited to see that the first would be about Merida, the most underrated princess (in my opinion). Stiefvater does a fantastic job of getting in Merida’s head. It felt very “canon” when compared to the way Merida was showcased in the movie. I know that Stiefvater worked very closely with Disney to ensure that her representation of Merida was accurate to the movie, and that fact is very present throughout the text, yet I definitely got “Stiefvater-ish” vibes from the novel as well. I’m a huge fan of Stiefvater’s “The Raven Cycle” series, so I had specific expectations going in, and boy did she deliver.

The slight issue I have with the novel, hence the reason I only gave it four stars, is the pacing throughout. The beginning was fast-paced and instantly drew me in. The end was the same, so much so that I binged the last 25% of the book in one sitting because I couldn’t put it down. The middle, however, was soooooo slow and long. It wasn’t necessarily boring, but I could definitely see readers who aren’t fans of slow-paced books putting it down before they reach the end. Being a previous reader of Stiefvater’s, I knew that she was putting in work to make sure the ending was fantastic, but others might not know that going in and be disappointed with the change of pace.

Personally, I was a big fan of this book. Bravely is a fantastic and fitting addition to Merida’s story. Stiefvater did a wonderful job on the story, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes YA, YA Fantasy, or Disney movies. I’m not sure what Stiefvater’s plans are after her final release in the Dreamer Trilogy, but whatever it is, you can bet that I’ll be reading it.

Disney Publishing Worldwide just announced that another YA adaptation novel would be releasing in July about Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas called “Long Live the Pumpkin Queen”. Luckily, they’ve already sent me the ARC for it, so keep an eye out for that review soon ;)

[Books_and_Crafts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story takes place after the Disney film. Merida is older, a bit wiser and very bored of her everyday life.

The stagnation in her kingdom attracts the wrath of a God and Merida ends up making a deal to save her home. She must travel to the other clans over the span of a year and learn what it will take to change.

As she travels to the other kingdoms she brings along her brothers. They too are older and are learning to become their own people, instead of “the triplets” as a whole. Merida exposes them to new ways of life and let’s them experience something new. During one of her trips she also learns more about her mothers past and where she came from.

Over the course of the year Merida helps her family and friends find new ways of life and opens her eyes to the possibilities all around her… and maybe even love.

I really enjoyed this story and definitely recommend if you loved Brave.

[Cecilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bonita historia, aunque esperaba un poco más siendo Maggie quien la ha escrito.

Tiene relación con Merida de Disney, aunque no sé si es solo la descripción física, ya que no he visto la película 😬. Le falto romance, si bien no era el centro de la historia, se notaba cierta tensión entre los personajes principales.

Punto negativo para el desenlace, fue muy abrupto, me faltó más desarrollo para que el momento provocara algún impacto.

Por último, el gran punto en contra, el final; siempre he odiado los finales abiertos. 🥺

[Jamie Lynn Lano]

LGBT+ rep:
Merida is heavily aro-ace coded here though it’s not stated explicitly (in keeping with the movie), though she appears to experience rare instances of aesthetic attraction
gender-changing love interest (sort of)

Other rep:
Scottish mc & scs
dyslexic-coded sc

CW:
vivid description of foodstuffs
animal flesh & egg consumption
death (off page)
fire (not graphic)
referring to little person by D word
hunting mentioned
flooding (on and off page, not too graphic)

mc = main character
sc = secondary character
bc = background character

——
Notes (spoilers):

I totally shipped Merida and Leezie from the beginning, to my destruction 😂 woe is me.

Maggie’s writing style is focused on younger teens here, with a plot that is less complex than her more recent stuff. That’s not to say it’s not good - it is! There’s a great message here about the necessity and positivity of change even when it seems bad at the time, and the setting with old-world gods, natural magic, and medieval Scottish lore is very well-suited to Maggie’s writing style. I would LOVE to see Maggie write an adult novel set in Scotland featuring more (queer please) strong female characters, strong friendships, and old magic. I feel like something like that would be the absolute cream of the crop and I’d devour that with all of my many teeth.

For those wanting to know the end — Merida falls in love with the god of destruction, who technically doesn't have a gender and presents as both male and female throughout the book (though primarily male). They love each other for who they are and at the close of the book continue journeying separately, leaving messages for each other that spur each other on towards adventure. They did share a kiss, but there didn’t seem to be any actual romantic or sexual attraction. This is more of a partnership between two people whose adventuresome and independent souls fit together like puzzle pieces, if that makes sense. I felt that fit very well with how Merida was coded aro-ace in the movies, and this is a kind of relationship that could suit her. For those curious about aro-ace stereotypes, she was never depicted as cold and uncaring at all. She clearly cares immensely for her family, and for people in general. Love that.

[Shima]

What I really want is for Merida to be either gay or asexual.

(This is besides what I've always wanted, which was, is, and always will be, to have Merida's hair.)

[Stay Fetters · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Some storms move no rooftops."

It's truth time. Who's ready for truth time? Are you ready? Okay, here it goes... I'm not that big of a Disney fan and I had no idea who Merida was until I looked her up. Never saw Brave and probably never will. I picked this up because of who wrote it. You just can't turn a book down written by Maggie but maybe I should have this time.

Maggie has this writing style that is like no other. Her words are pure magic as she twirls them into a wondrous tale. She is one of those authors that I can't turn down. Even though I knew nothing about this, I knew that I had to read it. Not sure that it was the best decision I've ever made while choosing to read a book.

I started this off very confused because I had no idea who any of these very established characters were. Their backstories already seemed to be out in the world and I felt as if I was missing something important. And that is why I should read about the book before I jump right into one.

The characters were dull, the story was meh, and I just couldn't get into it. I'm not going to lie, I almost gave up a few times but I kept telling myself, "one more chapter." I should have looked away but I didn't. All of the characters seemed bratty and that made me pull away even more from this book. There was nothing there to pull me in. The story was like a tornado that kept spinning in different directions. Not sure if the story was all over the place or that was me not being interested.

Bravely was certainly a book not for me. I based my reading decision on the author and the beautiful cover. Oh, how that bit me on the ass. For someone who doesn't like Disney and has no idea what/who Brave is, this book won't be for us. If you love all of the things mentioned before then welcome to your new favorite Disney read.

[Jade · Rating 1 out of 5]

What the f**k!?!??!! I was promised voyages!!! I thought that meant traveling adventure story but all I got was a few pages of travel and oh look somewhere different then a hell of a lot is Merida moaning and moping around the castle. And don’t even get me started in that ending. Unsatisfactory is an understatement. Wouldn’t waste money or time on this.

[♠ TABI⁷ ♠]

YES YES YESSSSSSS I ONLY TRUST STIEFVATER WITH THIS

[Moonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

EDIT 9/16: So I read this! And I liked it quite a lot, despite the fact I felt like Maggie really had very little interest in writing IP, due to the fact the ties to the movie canon was extremely loose and I did feel like Elinor's characterization was... interesting. Not bad, just... not conclusions I would come to having seen the film. (...has maggie seen the film?)

re the sexuality of it all: i DID like the het romance, but can not believe I've seen people pretend it's not a het romance because people who are not merida on occasion see Chaos God man as a woman SOMETIMES. that... does not make it queer. i saw a whole argument merida is ""still"" a lesbian because Feradach is non binary and Merida obviously was attracted to her literal foster sister. huh.

it is a hetwashing, but at least it wasn't a bad hetwash. Ah well.

--

so either Merida is getting with a man after 10 years of her being read as aromantic/gay orrr (and I suspect this will be the case) she is quietly going to be made canonically wlw in a medium the conservative Disney fanatics won’t actually ever be aware exists. interesting.


I am excited for this book, but theres really no winning re her sexuality (and we’ve already ruled out aromantic courtesy of the summary) and it just feels weird to me to outsource a sequel to an extremely personal story written by a mother about her daughter who got fired mid production and replaced by a dude

but I love Merida! so. here we go.

[Maryam · Rating 3 out of 5]

How could a book by one of my favorite authors be so bland…

[Athena of Velaris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten year old me would've obessed over this book. Maggie Stiefvater knows to weave characters and folklore together into the most wondrous combonation, and my only regret is not picking up this novel sooner.

[blok sera szwajcarskiego · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jeśli ktoś nie zna Stiefvater, a siegając po tę książkę oczekuje bezpośredniego sequelu do filmu, to może się troszkę zdziwić. Bo autorka jest znana ze swoich niemal sennych, dość opanowanych fabuł, które nie tracą zimnej krwi nawet w najbardziej akcyjnych momentach.

I w ,,Walecznej" nie ma wyjątku. Stiefvater stawia nacisk na klimat historii, materialność Szkocji (ludowość, wierzenia, polityczne intrygi, to wszystko, co człowieka ciągnie w stronę bycia społecznością), a w głównej mierze na rozwój.
Merida, dobre kilka lat po wydarzeniach z filmu, spotyka na zamku boga Feredacha w dzien Bożego Narodzenia. Radosne świętowanie znika, gdy ten ogłasza, że przybył przynieść kres istnieniu jej państwa oraz rodziny. Merida, jak to Merida, szybciej działa, niż myśli, co w konsekwecji przywołuje w jej strony kolejną boginię i doprowadza do zawarcia układu: jeżeli jej rodzina - a tym samym państwo - zdoła się zmienić w ciągu roku, porzuci gnuśność i zasiedzenie, w którym utknęli, zagłada ich ominie. Jeżeli nie – to koniec. Ze strony zaś przyziemnej nadciąga zagrożenie ze strony samozwańczego władcy, który zarzuca panującym niewywiozywanie się z obowiązków sojuszu. Te wszystkie zagrożenia rzucają Meridę na drogę sunącą po trzech sąsiednich krajach, poznając ich byt oraz lud, ale też drogę, dzięki której królewna pozna swych rodziców i braci z nowej strony.

Z jednej strony świetnie się to czyta, a pomysł na perspektywę nie wojowniczą, a bardziej dojrzałą, mającą na celu uosobowić bohaterów jeszcze mocniej, to coś innego. Z drugiej momentami mi się dłużyło, ale były to chwile, gdy przypominałam sobie o oryginalnym filmie. O tym, jaka Merida tam była, i jaka energia rozpierała jej historię. Nigdy nie siedziała w miejscu, nigdy nie była ,,typowa", ale zawsze pozostawała ciepła, aż do oglądania chciało się wracać. Miała poczucie skończenia, choć świat Meridy był duży, niemożliwy do zwiedzenia za jednym zamachem, otaczał komfortem. Stiefvater stara się za tym podążać, ale obiera inną ścieżkę. Czasami wydawała się ona zbyt płytka, choć można to tłumaczyć tym, że dążyła do stworzenia historii podobnej do starych ballad. Gdzie nie ma zanurzenia w bohaterów, tylko historię, z uczuciami, w których czytelnik nie tonie.

Nie czytało się źle. Nie wiem, czy oczekiwałam więcej, bo byłam najzwyczajniej ciekawa, jak Stiefvater ugryzie dany jej materiał, co z niego ulepi. Jest nietypowo, tak jak to lubi, ale mam poczucie dystansu do tej książki.

UWAGA SPOILER Chyba ten romans mnie najbardziej wytrącił. Nie był zły jako pomysł, wręcz przeciwnie, bardzo w stylu Stiefvater – bezcielesny, trochę niemożliwy, szczęśliwy w swym nieszczęściu. Ale do Meridy mi nie pasował. Nawet biorąc pod uwagę zakończenie, wciąż ze mną nie siedzi.

[Cindy]

One of my favorite authors and one of my favorite Disney movies!!!