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paigeturner04's review
1.0
DNF 58% Well......yay The author went and ruined my favorite Disney Princess.
⚠️Warning there are some mild spoilers⚠️
The storyline wasn't at all linked to the movie, it was disjointed and had no explanation for why any of it had to happen. The whole aim of the story was to get all of Merida's Family to change, so they all don't get wiped out. Talk about a bloody two dimensional story.
The writing was pretty poor, I found myself sometimes rewording a sentence, just so I could continue. The world building was nonexistent, and the author often focused a lot on things that weren't relevant to the story, and then left out big chunks of info or descriptions of things that mattered.
That being said, at 58% it felt like it was just a "copy and paste" so to speak.
The first little "adventure" Merida went on was to Ardbarrach, with Leezie and Hubert. Long story short Hubert was suddenly "changed".
Merida and Leezie left Ardbarrach without Hubert, so that was one Family member down.
Then the next outing was to Kinlochy with Merida, Fergus and Hamish. And again long story short Fergus came back "changed". The story was very repetitive and drawn-out to the extent of being unbearable.
I was expecting the Merida from the movie, with grit, bravery, cheek, a strong heart, independence, family oriented, and above all the ability to take the piss out of people and things. Instead I got a whiney, self-interested, jealous, brat that's suddenly interested in etching men's faces into dust.........eww
When ever Mierida was around Feradach, she was whiny and childish, not having the capability to see the good in he's destruction. I found myself siding with the "merciless" God.
And I could not stand the mention of Feradach's bloody mane. He's not a horse, stop calling it that, it's just degrading. I kept getting the worst mental image.
Merida's Family was completely different too,
Elinor was cold and very distant. She is like that in the movie, but it was rather fixed at the end. And it felt different in the movie, more natural, less forced.
The twins suddenly had all these problems that don't seem to have a reason for appearing, even though (to the best of my knowledge) it has only been a few years.
Fergus was flat, with none of he's humor.
Leezie seemed to pop up out of nowhere, and was extremely annoying. She was whiney, pathetic, and dimwitted. Her constant infatuation with getting married just felt like an example, to say see Merida isn't THAT bad.
I know this story was supposed to be about the whole family improving themselves, but it seemed so forced, and doesn't line up with what I already knew about them.
Feradach was, well. My favorite character, thought that's not saying much, and that could of changed very easily. I only really liked him because he was more my kind of character, and he felt like the only mature person of the bloody bunch.
I'm just going to say, I skipped to the end and there was a romance with Merida and Feradach, and that's the furthest from the true Merida you could go and I was appalled.
Merida is such a great role model for young girls, and this book has turned her into yet another spineless Disney Princess.
⚠️Warning there are some mild spoilers⚠️
The storyline wasn't at all linked to the movie, it was disjointed and had no explanation for why any of it had to happen. The whole aim of the story was to get all of Merida's Family to change, so they all don't get wiped out. Talk about a bloody two dimensional story.
The writing was pretty poor, I found myself sometimes rewording a sentence, just so I could continue. The world building was nonexistent, and the author often focused a lot on things that weren't relevant to the story, and then left out big chunks of info or descriptions of things that mattered.
That being said, at 58% it felt like it was just a "copy and paste" so to speak.
The first little "adventure" Merida went on was to Ardbarrach, with Leezie and Hubert. Long story short Hubert was suddenly "changed".
Merida and Leezie left Ardbarrach without Hubert, so that was one Family member down.
Then the next outing was to Kinlochy with Merida, Fergus and Hamish. And again long story short Fergus came back "changed". The story was very repetitive and drawn-out to the extent of being unbearable.
I was expecting the Merida from the movie, with grit, bravery, cheek, a strong heart, independence, family oriented, and above all the ability to take the piss out of people and things. Instead I got a whiney, self-interested, jealous, brat that's suddenly interested in etching men's faces into dust.........eww
When ever Mierida was around Feradach, she was whiny and childish, not having the capability to see the good in he's destruction. I found myself siding with the "merciless" God.
And I could not stand the mention of Feradach's bloody mane. He's not a horse, stop calling it that, it's just degrading. I kept getting the worst mental image.
Merida's Family was completely different too,
Elinor was cold and very distant. She is like that in the movie, but it was rather fixed at the end. And it felt different in the movie, more natural, less forced.
The twins suddenly had all these problems that don't seem to have a reason for appearing, even though (to the best of my knowledge) it has only been a few years.
Fergus was flat, with none of he's humor.
Leezie seemed to pop up out of nowhere, and was extremely annoying. She was whiney, pathetic, and dimwitted. Her constant infatuation with getting married just felt like an example, to say see Merida isn't THAT bad.
I know this story was supposed to be about the whole family improving themselves, but it seemed so forced, and doesn't line up with what I already knew about them.
Feradach was, well. My favorite character, thought that's not saying much, and that could of changed very easily. I only really liked him because he was more my kind of character, and he felt like the only mature person of the bloody bunch.
I'm just going to say, I skipped to the end and there was a romance with Merida and Feradach, and that's the furthest from the true Merida you could go and I was appalled.
Merida is such a great role model for young girls, and this book has turned her into yet another spineless Disney Princess.
harleyrae's review
3.0
This was not at all what I was expecting. For a book that was suppose to be a continuation, it felt nothing like who Merida was. Honestly this book would have been more successful if it wasn’t a continuation of Brave. Besides the fact, I found this to be very boring. Not much really happened. Very slow paced.
sleeptalked's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
sarahp85's review
4.0
No secret that I love Maggies books normally. This felt more like a middle grade book than an YA book, but it was exactly what my current mood needed. Really enjoyed this little future story of merida and her family!
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review
4.0
I'm deeply ashamed. Even though I got myself the Merida Animator Doll (also nicknamed Chucky by people visiting my home) before the movie was even released I never really watched the movie. Until a few weeks ago. Maggie Stiefvater is one of my favorite authors and I therefore really wanted to read this book, but that wouldn't make sense without seeing the movie first. I enjoyed the movie and I was therefore even more excited to dive into this sort of sequel!
What I absolutely loved about this novel is how original it is. It's clear that Stiefvater has only been asked to write a sequel for Brave without limitations or instructions. It allowed her to insert loads of new magic and even a couple of Gods! The introduction pages of the book were already sucking me in and once I reconnected with Merida and her family it was clear that I was gonna finish this book with only a brief break for a couple of hours of sleep.
Without it being obvious or annoying this book brings the time periode to life perfectly. We get to experience the parties, what they ate, how they celebrated. We also learned a lot about the conflicts in the area, the sometimes tense relationships between the different clans and we even get to see how the villagers are living and spending their time. It makes this book, just like the movie, one big and exciting adventure constantly giving us something new.
Stiefvater also did an amazing job keeping the characters the same and recognizable while also giving them a story-arc and a way to grow and learn. Each and every character, Merida included, is learning something during this story. In some cases the changes are more subtle while in others they are much more obvious, but still. I also like that we get to know Merida's parents and her brothers a little better and I especially love that the triplets are slowly becoming their own people instead of just the triplets.
Disney novels rarely disappoint, do they?
What I absolutely loved about this novel is how original it is. It's clear that Stiefvater has only been asked to write a sequel for Brave without limitations or instructions. It allowed her to insert loads of new magic and even a couple of Gods! The introduction pages of the book were already sucking me in and once I reconnected with Merida and her family it was clear that I was gonna finish this book with only a brief break for a couple of hours of sleep.
Without it being obvious or annoying this book brings the time periode to life perfectly. We get to experience the parties, what they ate, how they celebrated. We also learned a lot about the conflicts in the area, the sometimes tense relationships between the different clans and we even get to see how the villagers are living and spending their time. It makes this book, just like the movie, one big and exciting adventure constantly giving us something new.
Stiefvater also did an amazing job keeping the characters the same and recognizable while also giving them a story-arc and a way to grow and learn. Each and every character, Merida included, is learning something during this story. In some cases the changes are more subtle while in others they are much more obvious, but still. I also like that we get to know Merida's parents and her brothers a little better and I especially love that the triplets are slowly becoming their own people instead of just the triplets.
Disney novels rarely disappoint, do they?
coloradogirl88's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
izzys_internet_bookshelf's review
1.0
1/5
I wasn't sure about going into this book, but I thought it was alright. I'm all for books on the princesses but I wish it was a little more different in a way. I felt the characters were odd and the plot was a little odd.
I wasn't sure about going into this book, but I thought it was alright. I'm all for books on the princesses but I wish it was a little more different in a way. I felt the characters were odd and the plot was a little odd.
jlafoy's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5