Voice of Command by Melanie Cellier
Fantasy. 264 Pages. 4 Stars
Synopsis:
Elena has found the power in her voice–now she must decide how to use it.
Finally accepted as a mage, Elena struggles with her commonborn roots. And when disaster strikes the kingdom, she can’t shrug off the death toll as the mageborn have always done. Yet the limitations of her spoken magic hold her back–both in saving lives among the people and in competitions in the Academy’s arena.
In desperation she turns to an unlikely source of assistance–Prince Lucas. But just as she begins to master her powers, she finds herself the pawn of stronger forces.
With everything she’s struggled for almost within her grasp, she must decide what–and who–is worth sacrificing to come into her full power and take her place among the mages.
If you enjoy strong heroines, fantasy worlds, adventure, intrigue, and romance, then try the Spoken Mage series now, starting with Voice of Power.
My Review:
I’ve been in a ready frenzy lately, so I’m behind like 7 book reviews *gasp* I normally don’t like to start a new book until I’ve reviewed the last so I don’t forget things. We’ll, here I am. I did take notes though as I read! So…let’s see if I can get caught up on a few of these XD
As a sidenote, I reaallly like the cover for this one! The blues and greens! It’s my favorite of the series, I think!
I really enjoyed Cellier’s fantasy style. I’ve always loved her fairy tales, but she weaves a good straight up fantasy, too. I’m a sucker for a good magic school plot and was looking forward to seeing the different years. The coolest part of this book for me, I think, was the magic bouts the second year students participated in. I loved seeing the magic battles and watching Elena grow her control as well as her understanding of her abilities.
I liked how Cellier built in limitations to both her spoken magic as well as the magic of the written scrolls. The clash of the two different fighting styles and their limitations–and the boundless imagination of the magic spells themselves kept these confrontations interesting.
Another interesting part of this book was seeing a little more of the healing trade magic specifically. Though we did travel a little in the kingdom to a new place, the real intrigue for me was watching the healers at work as they fought the plague sweeping through the countryside. The mage disciplines were one of the most intriguing parts of Cellier’s worldbuilding and I’d love to see a deeper dive into each of the disciplines.
Content: some mild fantasy violence, no swearing, and a clean romance. Early teens.
More:
Book 1 in the Spoken Mage series is Voice of Power (4 Stars)
Book 2 is Voice of Command (4 Stars)
Book 3 is Voice of Dominion (4 Stars)
Book 4 is Voice of Life (5 Stars)
Book 5 is Power of Pen and Voice
Follow the links to find more info on Goodreads. The quartet should be read in order. The 5th book is a companion book. I haven’t read it yet, but from my understanding, it should be read after the quartet.
On GraceBought
If you missed it, check out my thoughts on the previous books here!
Voice of Power