The Royal Ranger: The Ambush at Sorato: Ranger's Apprentice: The Royal Ranger, Book 7 by John Flanagan
This is a Royal Ranger book. However, it feels that Will has a more important role than Maddie. In this book, the rangers are in a pseudo-Italy. Their is a tribe of horse-born raiders scouting out the area. The rangers work with the local inhabitants to set up a plan to repel the raiders. This includes getting some mercenary crossbow-men to help out. The leader of the mercenaries is greedy, cruel to his underlings and not good at following orders. This will eventually lead to his downfall.
Will comes up with the plan to scare them away. However, he is willing to listen to others to make changes as needed. There are a few challenges. Maddie is nearly caught in one of her missions, and has to make some trick moves to escape. One of the local leaders is caught and needs to be rescued. Then there are the mercenaries that abandoned their posts early. It does turn out that they still got the results, but Will needed to have his temper restrained. The "good guys" are not perfect. The enemies are not fully evil. There is respect for each other. The only ones that are not respected are those that believe they know everything and will not accept criticism.
The Ranger's Apprentice takes a turn towards fantasy in this sixth Royal Ranger book. Rangers are asked to go to Celtica to investigate the appearance of a mystical wolf. The rangers believe that 99% of things can be explained through standard means, but leave 1% for the supernatural. That comes in handy here. Somebody is trying to summon a demon to go together with the wolves and other creatures in order to dominate. Will and Maddie use their mortal talents as well as some knowledge they have learned about the supernatural to defeat the enemy. The local people are shown as being much more attached to the supernatural than the more "enlightened" rangers. It continues the series mix of "historical" settings with modern world views. 
An attempt to rescue a prince has left Will and Maddie in jail. They have learned some more about the conniving going on in that kingdom. Maddie ends up challenging someone to combat - and winning. However, they are threatened with execution. Luckily, a knight and ranger decided to backstop them. They escape, and get the prince (who can often be dead weight.) They return him and uncover more palace intrigue in that land, and decide to get out of there as quick as they can. The book is a typical Ranger's Apprentice book with the Rangers eventually being rewarded for treating others well. 
Somebody damages most of the Scandian ships at port and runs off with the leader's ship. Luckily, the Heron was off in another area getting worked on, and was ready for sailing. They go off to try to find the ship. The Iberians have left a trail of destruction in their path, making them easy to follow. Eventually, the brotherband defeats them and gets their ship back. There is also an episode where a bear does some of the dirty work for them. There are deaths as is common in the culture, yet very little gore or violence. The brotherband has respect for life (but is not above letting enemies fall.) There is a wedding at the end with some twin "bride's men". It would not be surprising to see further adventures of this. band.
The Temujai are the version of the Mongols in this installment in the Brotherband spinoff of the Ranger's Apprentice series. They are intent to destroy the Skandian homeland. The Skandians have other thoughts. They do some work with their boat (including moving it over land and dealing with damage.) Rather than respond brutally, they try to be more hospitable captors and score a (somewhat temporary) truce with the enemy. In the process they show how a rag-tag group with strong internal support network can continue to succeed.
Death of a Hero is sold as a stand alone story now. However, it is also included in the Lost Stories compilation. I had read the compilation early on when I read the series, so it was nice to revisit this one. It tells the story of Will's parents, their noble deeds, and how will got to be raised as he did.
As I was nearing the end of the fourth Royal Ranger book, I thought something may be missing. There seemed to be a lot of set up that would be difficult to wrap up in the last little bit. Alas, this book is not a "complete" book, but just a set up for the next book. It ends with a cliffhanger. Uggh.
Caldera starts with some of the crew members competing in the contest for the best warrior. The two identical twins end up "stuck" as neither can best the other. Stig is in the lead and almost a sure thing to win. However, his father mysteriously returns during the night. He asks the brotherband to help him rescue a young emperor who has been kidnapped. They end up sneaking out in the middle of the night to set on the adventure. They face some battles at sea and barely escape a volcano in the process of performing rescue. They realize the courtly life is not for them, and they return back home after rescuing the boy emperor. Stig's dad stays back in the empire to continue working as the boy's guard. While I was hoping for a peaceful reunion with Stig and his father, that never really happened. Stig even used some threats of blackmail to ensure that the reward money was properly shared. There were also open questions about the "Empress". Did she really want the boy back? Or was she just making nice before she would do something nefarious?
The Heron band starts out by sailing away to try to avoid a storm. However, they get stuck in a storm that seems to go on and on. There water supply goes low as they are in the middle of the ocean. They decide to gamble on sailing into the unknown ocean in hope of finding land. They barely do in time.
The fifth brotherband book has the brotherband team engaging more closely with the Ranger's Apprentice team. They visit the castle and meet the King and princess. Hal invents spectacles to help a team member. The team travels to a desert land to try to lift an assassin cult's death sentence on the princess. They build a "land sail" to travel across the sand. They defeat the bad guys, complete there adventure and make it back safely. It is all the typical story. There is just enough conflict to keep things interesting, but you know that the good guys will win in the end.
Slaves of Socorro is a "standalone" Brotherband book that starts to tie in more closely with the Ranger's Apprentice series. The crew of the Heron set out on their first mission. They are to be the treaty duty ship for an Araluen treaty. They also discover that their former brotherband nemesis has turned rogue. They give him chase, but he gets away. They meet up with a Ranger who wants them to go see the King. However, they end up going to a slave port to try to rescue some people that were taken in slavery. There is a lot of death and destruction, but all the good guys survive. The team also adopts a big dog that comes in handy to save the day. It was surprising that they just let a whole ship full of their nemesis sink. (Though they did have to be cajoled into not saving them.) The various talents of the team members continue to come in handy as they complete their adventures.
The Hunters concludes the three book arc of Brotherband books. The crew completes the adventure by way of a "ship duel" with the pirate. The author enjoys messing with gender roles. The "girl" is the sharpshooter, while one of the viking warrior knits. The other band members initially make fun of him, but all really want the hats that he makes. There are numerous escapades as they sail down a river, are arrested for murder, break out of jail, burn a corrupt official's boat, sail down rapids, pretend to be pirates, and eventually sink the real pirate's ship in a public duel. It is recounted "elegantly" in a musical saga at the end. This book is filled with adventure after adventure and a nice "mid-end" to the Brotherband books.
In the second Brotherband book, the boys go through a training regimen before setting off to find the pirates. They happen to run into a girl who is floating away from the village that has just been overtaken by pirates. Of course, she ends up being a sharp-shooter with her unique weapon. (You just knew that had to happen in this series.) They end up teaming up with a group of locals and other Skandians to try to get the treasure back. Alas, the pirates are able to ram a ship and the brotherband save the ship rather than chase the pirates. This leaves us with more possible adventures in the future. Meanwhile the girl is trying to avoid the overtures of the local pompous would-be-leader and joins the boys on their quest. Just as the boys were getting their chemistry down, leave it to a girl to mess things up.
The Outcasts is the first of the BrotherBand series. This series is set in the same universe as the Ranger's Apprentice books. However, it focuses on the lives of the Viking "Skandians". Some of the characters are recognizable from the Ranger's apprentice series. However, they don't play a huge role here. The book starts with a quick trip through history to set up the background of some of the characters. The focus is on Hal, a boy raised by his non-Skandian mother after his Skandian father has died. He is an "outcast" because of his mixed parentage. He also becomes friends with Stig - another boy without a father. (However, while Hal's father had died in battle, Stig's had run away after stealing money.)
Duel at Araluen picks off right where Red Fox Clan left off. The rebels are trying to capture the castle. Meanwhile, Maddie is trying to help back the army from their "trapped" area. She recruits a bunch of Scandians, helps free the army from the area they are trapped, and then brings them back to defeat the rebels. The rebel leader is faced by the entire family, each wanting to get a piece of him. Finally, Maddie returns back to the ranger cabin to meet up with Will. She doesn't mention many of the details. However, Will reads about it in a Ranger communication. He remarks that she has now learned to stay quiet when her hand is stepped on. (That was a problem that caused her to fail a ranger test in the previous book.) He then comments about the defeat of the uprising. Will has now adopted many of the dry traits of his mentor. There does seem to be a lot to work with with the new "princess ranger". It would be nice to see the author continue with more adventures. Perhaps we will see a group of female rangers now.
Red Fox Clan is the first in a two part sequence about a group of rebels trying to take over the kingdom. It also is the second book in the "Royal Ranger" sequence, and one of the later books in the Ranger's Apprentice series. Maddie has now completed most of her ranger training and is returning home to the castle for a short visit. While there, she explores some secret tunnels. We also learn of the "Red Fox Clan" - a group of country bumpkins that think that dynastic succession should only be through the male line. (Maddie and her mother Casandra are female heirs to the throne.) Horrace leads a small group to quash the rebellion. However, they find the army they are chasing is much larger than expected. Maddie sneaks out and discovers the true red foxes as well as their leader.
Royal Ranger takes place many years after the previous Ranger's Apprentice book. Will's friends have a 15 year old daughter who is driving them crazy. Will is distraught due to the death of his wife. Assigning the girl as an apprentice seems to be the solution to everything. The characters are compelling. The 15 year old Maddie is both a dainty princess and a bold hunter. She likes to pick whichever position suites her best, but eventually learns that being a ranger is more than just a short vacation to the country. She becomes a valued friend and companion to Will. The characters are well written. Maddie is becoming a ranger, but still a teenage girl at heart. The battles have a little drama, but all ends up well in the end.
Nihon-Ja is a version of Japan, where the rulers think of themselves as being very much above the common folk. (And the common folk think of the ruling class as being very much above them.) The current emperor wants to enact reforms to help the common people. However, the rulers will have nothing of that. 
Halt's Peril centers around (surprise surprise) Halt's Peril. He is nicked by an assassins poisoned crossbow arrow and is in a fight for his survival. Once he is "curried" he must fight not work too hard that he can't recover. Will and Horrace must help to find the healers to help him. They also have their main quest to carry out. Halt was originally injured as they were tracing the assassins as part of a plan hunt down a fraudulent cult leader. This leader had duped may gullible townspeople out of their fortunes in the name of his fictional deity. (This god would protect people from the shyster's own cronies.) He had gone one step further and caused a King (Halt's twin brother) to be murdered. The heroes eventually complete their quest to knock the bad guy out of commission. The book is typical of the Ranger's Apprentice books. The plot is fairly linear, with a few unexpected turns. There are many fictionalized lands which are similar to ancient European lands. This book revisits some places and characters from previous books without adding many new places or faces.
In the 8th Ranger's Apprentice book, Will finally sees other apprentices that look up to him as a "real" ranger who has done amazing things. We also discover Holt's long lost royal family. Horrace defeats somebody else in single combat. There is a good amount of violence. The primary story line centers around a religious cult. The charismatic leader of the cult has aspirations on control of Hiberia (seems like Ireland). He controls a band of thugs that raids and destroys villages. Then who shows up and prays to his god to protect some major cities from the same thugs he controls. It is very convincing. However, the rangers see right through it and save the day. I thought we might have Holt permanently take the throne, but that was not to be.