As I mentioned in the 2023 Alaska cruise summary, I’ve been doing a lot of reading recently. I’ve done a lot of reading this year, but this is especially true of the month of August.

And so we come to Bravelands. I’d had Broken Pride sitting unread on my shelf for about two years. This was partly fueled by a concern that I would hate it. A lion character called “Fearless Gallantpride” was just a bit too corny, even for me. Still, after enjoying Bamboo Kingdom and while waiting for its next installment, I figured it was time to pick up Bravelands. The main series, set in the African savannah and told from three different animals’ points of view, is comprised of the following six books:

The characters of Bravelands are Fearless Gallantpride (a lion cub), Thorn (a baboon, and my favorite character from the very first book until the end) and Sky Strider, a young elephant. Many other compelling characters comprise the rich cast, including my favorite villian in any Erin Hunter book I’ve read to date.

📚 My book posts aren’t reviews as much as they are a gathering of my thoughts and feelings on the experience of having read them. Therefore, there will be spoilers under the cut. 👇

If you intend to read Bravelands (and I highly recommend that you do), I recommend that you skip the rest of this post and come back to it after you’ve enjoyed books 1 through 6 of this wonderful series. More than other Erin Hunter series, Bravelands has some pretty great twists that would be ruined by spoilers.

🦁📚 What I Didn’t Like 📚🦁

I really liked this series, so anything here is stuff that bummed me out but was probably necessary to the story. The biggest bummer, really, is how many characters died, whom I’d quickly grown to love. Even one of the protagonists! I wish Fearless hadn’t died, but when he went to fight Titan as hurt as he was, it was obvious he couldn’t survive. Even so, it threw me for a loop when he did. I was very upset that Loyal died without being able to have some real closure with Fearless. Poor little baby Moon’s death, too, felt cruel and horrible to go through as a reader. I seriously couldn’t believe it happened.

But it was Berry’s death that bothered me the most. It was too much. It was so unfair to Thorn.

🦁📚 My Favorite Parts 📚🦁

I was so taken aback by Stinger becoming the antagonist! It’s not common for a book to surprise me with a twist. I was honestly heartbroken just like Thorn and desperately trying to find an explanation or justification for Stinger’s terrible actions. The scene with sweet Berry later showing the younger baboons how to eat scorpions gave me chills.

From the start, Thorn was my favorite character. I never thought he’d become Great Father, however. But of course, it seemed obvious when it happened. I was thrilled that my favorite character had such an important destiny, and I wished it would happen but was still surprised when it did.

I also loved Stinger has a character. He has a lot of charisma, making his betrayal all the more chilling. Another favorite part for me was Nut’s redemption arc. I love that sort of thing.

🦁📚 Overall Thoughts 📚🦁

Bravelands is my favorite Erin Hunter series that I’ve ever read. I like all the volumes equally and could not put them down. I read three of the books on the cruise alone, at a rate of about a book a day. I’m already on the next, shorter arc, set in the same world but with different protagonists (that will be summarized in another post).

Usually, I love-hate Erin Hunter books. I feel they are a lot of fun but very flawed and sometimes can drag, but are still worth reading. Bravelands is so high up on my list that other books by this group of writers can’t hope to touch it at this time. It is my favorite book series that I’ve read this year and I recommend it to anyone who likes animal stories, particularly to fans of The Lion King. While the universe is different, it feels like it could fit right in.

Just don’t get too attached to the characters… or do, and wallow in grief over fictional creatures. I sure enjoyed doing so!