Books of Bayern

Bayern Books ****

Goose Girl ****1/2

Enna Burning ***1/2

River Secrets ****

Forest Born ***

by Shannon Hale 
Book Type: Fairy Tale, Fantasy, Romance
Summaries:  Goose Girl- Goose Girl is loosely based on the Brother's Grimm tale: The Goose Girl. Ani has a difficult time finding her place in the royal family and measuring up to her imperial mother. When she is shipped off to a neighboring kingdom as a bride, her scheming entourage mounts a bloody mutiny to replace her with a jealous lady-in-waiting, Selia, and to allow an inner circle of guards more power in the new land. Barely escaping with her life, Ani disguises herself as a goose girl and wanders on the royal estate. Does she have the pluck to reclaim her rightful place? This book is loosely based on a Brother's Grim Tale.
Enna Burning- Enna's simple life changes forever when she learns to wield fire and burn anything at will. Enna is convinced that she can use her ability for good to fight Tira, the kingdom threatening the Bayern borders and goes on secret raids to set fire to the Tiran camps and villages. But as the power of the fire grows stronger, she is less able to control her need to burn. In her recklessness she is captured by the Tiran army and held captive by a handsome, manipulative young captain who drugs her to keep her under his influence. Can Isi and her old friends Finn and Razo rescue her without sacrificing themselves? And with the fire still consuming her, will Enna find a way to manage the gift that threatens to destroy her?
River Secrets- Razo has no idea why he was chosen to be a soldier. He can barely swing a sword, and his brothers are forever wrestling him to the ground. Razo is sure it's out of pity that his captain asks him to join an elite mission—escorting the ambassador into Tira, Bayern's great enemy.
But when the Bayern arrive in the strange southern country, Razo discovers the first dead body. He befriends both the high and low born, people who can perhaps provide them with vital information. And Razo is the one who must embrace his own talents in order to get the Bayern soldiers home again, alive.
Forest Born- When her brother Razo returns to the city after a visit home, Rin accompanies him to the palace in hopes of finding a new sense of herself. But a mysterious threat haunts Bayern, and Rin joins the magical girls she thinks of as the Fire Sisters—Isi, Enna, and Dasha—as they venture into the woods toward the kingdom of Kel... where someone wants them all dead.
summaries found on goodreads
My Review: Get ready for a fine tale full of danger, suspense, surprising twists, and a satisfying conclusion. The richly rendered, medieval folkloric setting adds to the charm.The heroes and heroines are extremely likeable and endearing. Goose Girl is absolutely fantastic, I love Ani! She feels completely inadequate, which we can all relate with, and turns out to be this brave, strong, incredibly talented woman! Enna Burning takes place in the same world as Goose Girl and Enna is a great character but the book is much darker and the inner turmoil is much more dramatic and dreary. Enna gets lost in herself and the rest of the characters are lost along the way. But they come back strong in River Secrets with Razo as the main character. Razo is HILARIOUS. I loved his character in the first book and was glad when I saw he was the lead in this book! He's just so likeable and cute! This book is as good as the first. It's fun to see how the characters have grown since the first book and to hear how the cute relationships develop and grow as well! Forest Born unfortunately was not as good for me as the first 3. Hale pulls in a new character to play the lead. You hear of Rin in the previous stories but she's only mentioned and not developed at all. I couldn't relate to her as well, we had already heard the sob story of "I'm not good enough, I don't fit in" in Goose Girl but this one didn't earn my sympathy like Goose Girl did. 
Overall? The whole series is FANTASTIC. It's not the type of series to have cliff hangers and force you to read the next book, you can stop at anytime and feel satisfied. The books can each stand alone they are written and developed so well. But I have to say, I kept going because I couldn't get enough of Hale's amazing story world!