River Secrets

River Secrets is the third book in Shannon Hale's Books of Bayern series.

The protagonist this time is a Razo, a shepherd boy in the first book and a warrior come the second book. Now, Razo is one of the King's Own, a group of one hundred of the best soldiers who serve directly under the king.

Great, right?

Just one problem: No one, especially Razo, can figure out how he's made it this far, and why on earth was he of all people chosen to be among the company going south for a peace trip into the country they had been at war with in just the last book?

Razo quickly finds himself in deeper danger than anyone else in the company. All evidence seems to point that they have a fire-speaker somewhere on the loose, and the fire-speaker plus an angry terrorist organization are after the Bayern diplomat.

Worst of all, Razo fears there is also a people-speaker. Can one sweet, bubbly redhead really be that wonderful, or is she trapping Razo with the power lacing her every word?

I think this book, or Goose Girl, is probably my favorite in the series. Razo is super awesome, even if he doesn't know it. And anytime he does start to get a big head, we can count on something happening instantly to bring him down a notch or two. Aside from some head swelling with pride, we do get to see Razo grow in confidence because for once, he has someone who believes in him and sees something no one else does.

Razo's mischievousness is something that never changes; but by the end of the book, I think it's safe to say our lovable shepherd boy who can never tell a lie has become a man.