4 ⭐ CW: Death mentions 

Bravely by Maggie Steifvater is a historical fantasy based on the Disney movie Brave, following Merida. This was a fun, light read, which was a perfect palette cleanser for all the horror I've been reading. 

We follow Merida after her travels around Scotland a few years after the events of the movie. She is alerted by a knocking that makes her catch someone in the courtyard about to remove their gloves. She gives chase into the woods and discovers he is the god Feradoch, the god of ruin. DunBroch has become stagnant, and stagnation requires change and destruction, so something new may take its place. When the goddess Cailleach appears, an ancient entity of creation, Merida makes a bargain with the two of them. Get DunBroch to sufficiently change within the year, and spare them ruin. It's up to Merida to get her parents and siblings to change enough to shift the balance. 

This was a great human versus nature story. Here we are that ruin isn't always a bad thing. Sometimes it is necessary in order to let other things grow or to spur someone to do a thing they wouldn't otherwise have done. Feradoch makes it clear that change happens from within, not just superficially. I loved the push and pull between Merida and Feradoch. Merida is still fiery and impossible and unable to sit still. We get to learn so much more about her mother and the triplets. They each get their own distinct personalities and arcs. 

I love the concept of a god of ruin and a god of creation working in tandem to keep the necessary balance, no matter how difficult it is to bring about ruin. I loved Feradoch 's character. He was both mysterious and sympathetic. We get kind of a bittersweet ending that makes me wish for a second book. 

If you enjoyed the movie Brave and enjoy Celtic fairy tales, this is a great story for you. Plus we get Maggie Stiefvater's classic writing style.