Voice of Life by Melanie Cellier
Fantasy. 361 Pages. 5 Stars
Synopsis:
The fourth and final book in the Spoken Mage series
In her fourth year, Elena should be focused on final exams and graduation. Instead, her future, and the future of those she loves, depends on her ability to stop a decades-long war. Join Elena and Lucas for their final year at the Academy.
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:
So, I binged the second, third, and fourth books…XD I need to go back and review the previous two, but while this one is still pretty fresh in my mind, I’m going to do this one.
I’ve enjoyed this series quite a bit. Elena and her friends grew on me more than I realized until I got to the end here. It’s been a fun journey to watch them all grow together and in their world, to impact change and to learn to trust one another. I was a little startled at the midpoint to leave so many of them behind, but should have known to trust Cellier.
The second half of this story was a whirlwind! There was one reveal I’d speculated about for a book or two and one twist I called, too. But otherwise, I don’t know that I’ve read a book with so many twists and turns–and they all made the ending such a rush! The second half sucked me in! Deeply! It was an intrigue and actually a really cool way to bring all the strings together and close out the series. There were some places I wish we’d spent more time in so it wasn’t all crammed into the last half of the last book, but there were also things that Cellier was clearly setting up in previous books, which was cool.
I loved seeing the struggle in some of the characters to choose their loyalties and make decisions. The politics and war with right and wrong. It was neat to explore two other kingdoms, one of which with a distinctly different culture. We spent such a short time in the other kingdoms, which again, I wish we’d spent more in earlier, but the plot pieces fit together so well for this one.
I loved watching Elena continue to grow–and not just in her powers, but in her behaviors and person, the way she related to those she loved and learned to trust them. The emerging themes of family were sweet. I admit, I was skeptical at first. But I liked the place Cellier brought things and I just wish we’d spent more time exploring those themes and struggles more deeply in previous books. Family didn’t feel like a theme tugged consistently through the quartet, though it did naturally fit into the story, especially in the end. I wanted to dwell in the ramifications of Elena’s family change longer. But perhaps she’ll do a spin off one day.
Overall, a great conclusion to the series, and possibly my favorite because of those twists and turns and epic plot weaving! She not only surprised me, but it all worked together and nothing felt forced or implausible or out of place. Just too short!
Clean romance with nothing more than some heartfelt stares and a few kisses, no swearing, and mild fantasy violence. She does touch on grief and loss and the ramifications of the three decade long war, but in a delicate way. I’d give the books to 14+
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, Voice of Command, and Voice of Dominion