Finding Her Voice
Elaine Ricker Kelly
Independently Published (2025)
ISBN 978-1738823376
Reviewed by Megan Weiss for Reader Views (10/2025)
Finding Her Voice is the third book in Elaine Ricker Kelly’s From Broken to Bold trilogy, which seeks to tell the story of early female apostles. In a world where women are encouraged to be seen and not heard, Junia and Susannah both know that if they do not answer the Call to speak, they may be silenced forever. When Junia’s grandfather agrees to return custody of her son, he does so on a grave condition: she must move to Syria, hide her Hebrew heritage, forego her Hebrew name, and be disowned as his granddaughter.
Saddened, but determined to follow the teachings entrusted to her by Jesus, she seeks to end segregation between Jews and Greeks. But there are many among the followers of the Way who would suppress her voice because of her gender. Can she maintain her focus, and possibly even find new love, while fighting to maintain her status and ability to spread her teachings?
Meanwhile, Susannah’s life with her husband, Philip, is shaken by riots in the streets birthed by Caligula’s insistence that the Jews worship him as their King. While also struggling to come to terms with the strain motherhood may place on her ministry and career, and fearful that she may never be able to give her husband an heir, can Susannah find the strength to keep raising her voice? In this biblical narrative, these women must find the courage to stand against their would-be oppressors and speak louder than ever before.
Finding Her Voice is a novel that readers of women’s fiction, biblical fiction, and ancient religious fiction will enjoy. Filled with rich historical detail, the book brings to life a world where going against the grain could have dire consequences. Junia and Susannah struggle to encourage and bring about unity among their peers and constituents. Though they proclaim Jesus’s message of equality, church leaders denounce their views as hearsay and deception. To end church segregation would be to upend Jewish law. Surely, these women have either misunderstood the word of Jesus or are purposely trying to lead their followers astray.
I was pleasantly surprised by the strength in the storytelling and worldbuilding. This can be a hard era to capture authentically, and Kelly seemingly did so with an ease that belies her talents as a writer. The thoughts, emotions, and experiences of Junia and Susannah, as well as the other supporting characters, were palpable and easy to identify with. Despite experiencing such oppression and discrimination in a time so far gone, it is easy to compare their trials with those of women, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and any who does not “fit” the ideal lofted by those in power today. Junia’s and Susannah’s world is being ripped apart by divisions, just as we are seeing our own communities, political governments, and nations ripped apart by divisions. Unity seems like such a simple concept until one tries to put it into practice.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Finding Her Voice; minor pacing issues did not mar my enjoyment.. Relevant historical fiction is among my favorites, and I also think it helps encourage more open dialogue about the issues that plagued not only our bygone characters and historical figures, but our own lives in the present. I highly recommend it to any historical fiction fans who want to learn as much as they want to go on an adventure while they read.