River Secrets (Books of Bayern)

This book is what I've come to expect from Shannon Hale: good story, good characters, good writing, and a good ending. I've loved the previous books in this series The Goose Girl and Enna Burning and was not let down by this story. Rizo is a great character who undergoes a lot of changes as he

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discovers himself in this book. My favorite part of Shannon Hale's books is that they are prefect faire tales without being overly fantastical or magical. There is just a sprinkle of magic and good common sense. While I think her previous book would be good for boys and girls this book is the first with a male lead and may bring her books to the attention of more young men. Overall, I think this is a great story for both kids and adults. I highly recommend it, but if your new to the series you may want to start at the beging so nothing is given away.

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I enjoyed the growth of Razo, who discovers his own talents and is able to do things no one else can. Nice bits of romance and good action.

I asked a friend (who is obsessed with reading) to loan me a book that would be an easy read, non-stressful, and be the perfect accessory for a quiet, relaxing moment. And this is what she handed over. She had loaned me the previous books in the series at other times and she was right. I enjoyed

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the book and it's embracing of the fairy tale-like elements of character, setting and basic nature of the world. I wish I had a natural power like the characters in the book. It would be the best distraction.

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I really love the Bayern series! In this the third book Razo finally gets his own story. I can still hear his impish voice in my head from the Goose Girl audio (from full cast audio, my favorite way to listen to books!). Isi and Enna are still here, too.

This book was a pleasure to read...the words were so perfect--it was SO well-written! Razo's ability to blend in and his lack of special skills make an entertaining tale. Great read! Kids aren't going to read it; but, I enjoyed it.

As different as Enna Burning was to The Goose Girl, the third in the Bayern series, River Secrets is different again. This time the point-of-view character is Razo, a friend of Isi and Enna from the capital who is known for his love of food and jokes and his ebullient personality, and no doubt the

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feel of the book derives from him. There isn't nearly as much time spent considering philosophical things like establishing one's own identity or the nature of friendship, and the plot moves along more quickly and with greater excitement - rather like the river of the title, actually.

I think I liked River Secrets much more than Enna Burning, though neither rank quite as high as The Goose Girl with me, likely because I identify so much with Isi in that book. River Secrets continues to have the great storytelling Hale has shown in her other books, with a rich, detailed setting, though some of the plot points were a bit heavy-handed (who wouldn't suspect that Pela, the pastry kitchen girl who never showed Razo anything but animosity to begin with, would turn out to be on the villains' side?).

In this book, three of the central characters from before (Razo, Enna, and Finn) go to Ingridan in neighboring Tira as part of the company of guards for Bayern's ambassador, who is sent in hopes of preventing a renewal of war between the two countries. Ingridan is quite foreign to the forest-born trio — not only is it in a different country with many differences in culture, but it is located on a delta near an ocean with hardly any trees and rather than a temperate climate, it's hot and humid. Razo and co must get used to being in such a strange place while also dealing with hostile citizens who are angry with the fire-witch who caused the end of the war, and then there's the matter of someone leaving charred bodies around, probably to make it look like the Bayern contingent are killing Tirans in their own city.

Just like the other two books, River Secrets has a theme to it, though I don't feel it's as heavy-handed. Mostly it has to do with Razo gaining true confidence in himself, which is symbolized in how at the beginning of the story, he compensates for his height by putting sap into his hair to make it stand on end and make him look taller. It's also about trust, particularly trusting friends and not being self-reliant out of pride, though this one is a very secondary theme.

As with Enna Burning, what I really didn't like about this book was the romance subplot with Enna and Finn. There is one with Razo, too, which evolves in the same way other things do which indicate that he is growing up, but it felt more natural to me and less forced. I do wish that the Enna and Finn romance plot had never come to be, though the way it plays out in River Secrets is at least the best option, if it had to happen at all.

My favorite part of the book is probably the prince of Tira, known only as His Radiance and whom Razo befriends. I love the character, though his entire story is rather melancholic and pitiful. For example, though he is adored by everyone in the country, he must pay people to be his companions and other than his title ("His Radiance" or "Radiance") he has no name to answer to — only the nursery name his mother used when he was a child and the house name his wife will give him when he eventually marries. He has absolutely no power, either, which contrasts strongly with Geric and Isi, who come from quite different royal families in Bayern and Kildenree.

I wasn't sure after reading Enna Burning whether I would want to eventually read Forest Born, the fourth in the series. I was a bit concerned that River Secrets would also disappoint my expectations. Happily, it was a very enjoyable read, and I look forward to the day Forest Born comes out in paperback to complete my set.

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It looks like this book is part of a series (which of course I started at the end). However, I think I picked up what was going on and the book was good enough that I'm interested in finding out the back stories of some of the other characters.
This book follows Razo, one of Bayern's own, on a

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diplomatic mission to try to prevent another war from breaking out between neighboring lands. Razo, although not a very good soldier, proves that he has just the skill set to help with this mission. Enna, has the power over fire, and when burned dead bodies start popping up all over town, it is soon clear that someone is trying to frame the fire witch as an excuse to rekindle the war. It's up to Razo to figure out what is happening.

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I'm always interested to see how female authors write their male MCs...sometimes I think they get into the TMI situation (juliet marillier!! grrrr) but I must say, I really liked how Shannon handled having a male MC. It increased my confidence that I could give it a try, too! So yes, need I say

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what we all know? Razo is adorable, Razo is hysterical, Razo is an awesome character who emerges from a secondary character to front-and-center in this third installment of the Bayern series. This book reminded me more of your good'old suspense stories: yes, there were just as many "magical" elements as in the previous two (except i find myself wondering: what happened to the animal speakers? it seems like such a wind-fire-water concept, but what about the animal speaking? HMMM???), but here, the main character finds his niche the old-fashioned way: through self-discovery and the embracing of special gifts and talents. I was intrigued by the idea of the main boy character not being "Mr. Super Soldier" and therefore relying on skills other than brute strength-but in this story, Razo is almost written as a weakling. Hey, the guy should get some credit! Apparently he's a veteran soldier, so he shouldnt be too awful with a sword...?!?!?! Whatever. He reminded me a lot of David from the Bible--youngest of many brothers, kinda small and scrawny, uses a sling... I found that interesting. No, though, he doesnt spy on a chick while she's bathing, but his romantic interest was certainly a pleasure to read. She's not as "cool and complicated" as Enna, and she's not as eloquent and leader-like as Isi, but she's still rather enjoyable, if not at times a bit too amiable (hey, if a guy calls me a "nit," Im not going to be very pleasant). Anyway, great story! And nooooooooooo, there's no Forest Born that matches my other editions yet! A pox on you, Bloomsbury! So I dont want to read/buy that book until the edition comes out that matches my others! I suppose this is the end of my sojourn with the Books of Bayern for awhile... ! Great series, highly recommended!

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Finn, Enna and Razo find themselves on a diplomatic escursion in a country where people are starting to rumble about war and where suspicion of some deaths is pointing at them

It's an interesting sequel but you really need to have read the others in the sequence before reading this.

I have really enjoyed most of Shannon Hale's books and this one is no exception. Not only do we get to meet up with the more familiar characters we were introduced to in the Goose Girl, but the one that popped up in both Goose and Enna was finally given a bit more attention. My only real complaint

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is that Razo seemed a bit younger than he was meant to be. A lot of the time he seemed more like he was 12 or 13 than 17 or 18. Although, having been through a war, you know he had to have been a bit older. Other than that, I have no real complaints. The story moved along at a nice pace, had me snickering in some places due to a description, or the way something was worded, and each time I was right there in the scene with the characters.

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Woah. It was strange to swap to a male point of view in this series, but I got into it quickly. Razo was fun, although I got tired of him not realizing he had talents and continually being the underdog even in his own mind. And I didn't cotton to Dasha. But it was neat seeing another culture in

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Bayern's world.
Oh, and Full Cast Audio was splendid as always.

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This is book three of the series that begins with The Goose Girl (mostly about Isi, who became Queen of Bayern) and continues with Enna Burning (focusing on Enna, Isi’s friend). In this book, the limelight is on 17-year-old Razo, a friend of Isi’s and Enna’s.

Bayern and the country with which

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it was formerly at war, Tira, have decided to exchange ambassadors. Razo is picked to go along as part of the guard, called The King’s Own. Razo’s selection is a mystery, because he is clumsy and not known as a warrior, but he is thrilled even as he continually wonders why he was included. Enna is also picked to go, because her two gifts - being able to pull heat from the air and turn it to fire, and to hear the voice of the wind - will help the guards determine if there are dangers ahead, and if so, to thwart them.

In Ingridan, the capital of Tira, the Bayern group meets a number of interesting characters, including Lady Dasha, a girl of sixteen who is the daughter of Tira’s ambassador to Bayern. They get to know the Tirans and exchange ideas on the best clothing, food, and even weather – the book offers a nice commentary on how learning about other cultures can help build bonds between them, even though, at first, there is only a thin barrier separating friendship and suspicion.

The Bayern also discover that many Tirans are opposed to peace, and would like nothing more than inciting another war. The King’s Own is determined to stop the warmongers, but the conspirators operate in secret, and it is difficult to determine who are friends and who are enemies. As tension mounts prior to the Tiran Assembly vote on war or peace, the atmosphere becomes more deadly.

But the poisonous atmosphere allows Razo finally to learn why he was chosen for the mission, and also to discover something about Dasha that makes a difference to all competing parties.

Evaluation: Razo is an appealing character – you can’t help but like someone so bumbling, naïve, and good-natured. He is also a growing boy who loves to eat, and my favorite quote in the book is when he finds a girl who works in the kitchen attractive because “she smelled nice, like salted meat….”

There are a couple of romances that weave their way through the story, including a particularly charming one between two older characters.

This is a good light read, and would offer a satisfying ending to the series, although there is a fourth, Forest Born, that features Razo’s sister Rin.

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The third entry in Shannon Hale’s Books of Bayern, River Secrets focuses on Rizo, a member of the elite Bayern Guards. Rizo who feels he owes his position to his friendship with the King and Queen, is surprised when he is picked as one of the escorts to the Ambassador who is travelling to the

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country of Tira to show peaceful intentions toward their old enemy and help to sway the upcoming vote on whether the war should continue or not.

There are many who would like to see the war continue and Rizo finds he has a very special role to play as a spy working to discover who is sabotaging the peace efforts. As a very likeable fellow, he also has the unique ability to make friends with the Tirans and show them that peace with Bayern would ensure not only a peaceable life but profit trading and commerce as well. He meets and befriends the unusual young Tiran, Lady Dasha, and although her behavior at times seems suspicious, he decides to trust her in the hope that she can help him reveal who is scheming against the peace proposal.

After loving the first book of this series and then being slightly disappointed with the second, I was happy to find that this third book told an interesting story, had a likeable main character and that the romance was sweet, simple, sincere and kept to the minimum. River Secrets was a quick, easy and delightful read but one that I am sure won’t linger in my mind for long.

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This is the 3rd installment in the Bayern series and the only one with a male protagonist. I really like the character of Razo and was very happy that he got his own story. In this he travels to Tira with the new ambassador to work out the peace agreement. People start showing up burned near their

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quarters and Razo is afraid that Enna may be up to old tricks. The story goes along nicely and is well written and as enjoyable as the other stories in the series.

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Shannon Hale is a very imaginative author. I love her characters and the descriptions of the world in which they live.

It's been quite awhile since I read the first 2 books of the Bayern series, but I easily stepped back into the characters' lives. It was a lot of fun to switch to a male character's point of view this time. Razo is a young man who is easy to like. He's loves to have fun but has a tendency to

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underrate himself among his more "noble" peers.

This book takes our favorite characters to the land of their former enemies to try to establish a lasting peace. The new land has a very different climate than they are used to and they have some difficulties in adapting to the heat and customs of the land. Razo seems to be the only one to begin adopting some of their life style and making friends. Unfortunately there is still a lot of animosity among the new land's citizens that leads to a lot of delicate situations for Razo and his friends.

Some reviewers have said that this book could stand alone without your having to have read the first two books, however I think you really should take the time to read The Goose Girl and Enna Burning first. You won't regret taking the time to learn the history of the characters' friendships. Shannon Hale is an extremely talented writer that you'll want to add to your "must read" list.

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I liked it. Thought it was kind of slow in some parts, but love Razo and want to read Forest Born.

I like Hale's writing style; it looks, at first glance, direct and straight forward but she gives you a lot of details without belabouring them. I really liked the way this book ended, not with 'they all lived happily ever after' but discussing the adventures they were planning to go on to have. So

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rather than the sudden wrench of leaving characters you've grown to love at the end of the book, it's a gentle drifting onwards and slowly apart. It left me smiling as I fell asleep.

About Rezo, Isi's and Enna's friend. Unlike his friends, he doesn't have magical powers. What he does have is a talent for friendship - and that can change the fate of kingdoms.

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