3.5
This is a hard book to review. Because I d it. There's no denying that. But I so d book one and just don't feel this one stands up to it. And it's hard not to let my disappointment color my objectivity and general opinion.

His Secret Illuminations (HSI), the writing here is fun and easy to read. It's full of a diverse and quirky cast of characters, all of whom I . But un HSI it didn't have the glorious sexual tension to carry the long, slow plot. Instead it had all the sex instead. And while I enjoy a good sex scene (and I'll grant that the scenes here were at least varied) I eventually started skimming them because I was bored of them. I felt they got in the way of the plot.

Plus, while HSI was full of Lucian's internal conflict, which grabbed and held me rapt. His Sacred Incantation has Lucian and Glory's wholesome love. And while that's not a bad thing, it too became super repetitive. For example, my kindle tells me the word love was used 131 times in the book. Between calling each other "my love" and telling each other that they love one another that's a lot of love. What's worse, my kindle also tells me the word kiss (or variations of the word—kissing, kissed, etc) was used 168 times. And that's just kiss; it doesn't include "pecked on the cheek" or "pressed her lips to his temple," or any of a million other ways to describe a kiss. The book isn't even 400 pages long. That's an awful lot of kissing going on, more than one every other page! I just got bored with it all. It's sweet, but sweet won't carry a book internal conflict will, in my experience.

Lastly (and I'm not entirely sure how to phrase this), some of the kink-play felt too recognizably modern to fit the fantasy setting. While I'm well aware that there really isn't anything new under the sun, humans have done it all before, when Gale brought out the kinky collars and leashes (for example) if just felt so very this moment in time, instead of the fantasy historical time period of the rest of the book. It's not that I didn't think it fit Lucian and Glory's kink, it's that I felt the kink being expressed in such a stereotypically recognizable way didn't fit the the fantasy world. maybe Gale was trying to catch the market since that was, after all, fairly common in trope in erotica for a while. It stood out from the rest of the story, the leash especially.

All in all, this is a able book. Despite my complaints, I d it. I'll probably read anything Gale puts out after this. But I simply couldn't it as much as HSI and that's a shame.7 s Peyton1,611 35

What a thrilling conclusion to Lucían and Glory's story! I'm fully in love with both of them, and I have no regrets! Should I have been packing for my move instead of reading this? NO, everything is perfect, and I will move on sheer vibes alone!

This story has everything!!!
- brilliant love story between Strong Warrior Lady and Smol Magical Monk
- action-packed adventure
- found family
- femdom
- healthcare for all
- this baby can fit so many tropes
- necromancers
- warrior friend with a pet hawk
- pegging FOLLOWED IMMEDIATELY WITH A MARRIAGE PROPOSAL SQUEE!
- witty banter
- just so many queer characters yay
- an ending that made me cry from happiness

If you're not sold yet, check out this recommendation because THAT PICTURE!bamf-women fantasy favorites ...more7 s Zvezdana_whatwhymeagain224 7

While I inhaled the first book in this series in a day and was super excited to start the second one, "His Sacred Incantations" dragged a bit for me and I abandoned it in the middle of the quest to kill the necromancer . I think it was a combo of the journey being too long and me disliking anything that has to do with zombies, raising the dead etc. I did finish it eventually and the ending was awesome and fulfilling. I'm looking forward to more books by this author.5 s Jayna244

A lot to love about this. I cried! The family reunion at the end was so sweet. Their love was so sweet.
I enjoyed that there was zero conflict in their relationship. There was no breakup, no big misunderstanding, no separation, no confusion. They talked things out, even when that wasn't easy. There were no secrets. No one hid anything. Even when they went back to the monastery to confront the abbot, there was no doubt or mind changing or breakup etc. They stood firm in their love and there was no shame or hiding it, even though the mmc used to be a monk
Onto the spicy stuff. I'll just write a list lol
Face sitting
The FMC wears a strap on and fucks the MMC twice!
Lots of fingers in the mmcs booty
Lots of orgasms for everyone
They don't delve into detail but at one point the FMC brings out a leash for the MMC
Lots of leaking cocks
The mmc gets spanked
"Good boy"s
Can it get any better than this??
I love that the author took all the stereotypes and just flipped it around. I love that the fmc is the dominant one who takes control and the mmc wants to be taken, wants to be hurt, wants to be over powered etc

Also, once again, I love all the diversity. We have a trans character, characters who are not heterosexual, and characters who identify as they. Love it. I love the normalcy of it all. How, even in the church, it was all accepted with no hatefulness. the relationships in this book are just as accepted as a heterosexual relationship. I live in the bible belt of Texas where there is a lot of hate, a lot of small mindedness. This was so refreshing. It was just ~normal~. I suck at expressing myself so I hope the intent comes through. Just super happy about this series and I'm so sad to say goodbye to the charactersThis entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.Show full reviewread-in-20233 s Alex (HEABookNerd)2,001

HIS SACRED INCANTATIONS was a fun follow up to the previous book and what I loved most about it was getting to read more about Glory and Lucían. I really d their relationship and how much they take care of each other. They understand each other, they communicate, and they listen to what the other person wants. The previous book gave us a lot of pining on Lucían’s part but this time around all that pining has paid off with some very sexy scenes, especially once Lucían works up the nerve to tell Glory what he really wants in the bedroom.

For me, the overall plot of hunting down the last sacred book and defeating the necromancer didn’t really engage me and that’s why my rating isn’t higher. I got a little bored with them traveling to find the necromancer and the actual battle was one incredibly loooong chapter. I’ve never been a big fan of drawn out travel sequences in fantasy books so take my lack of engagement with a grain of salt. That being said if you found family, buff cinnamon roll heroines, blushing smol heroes, and magic then you’ll probably enjoy this one (though read the previous book first).

Content Warning: Lucían has been raised in a monastery that uses abusive practices to punish the monks; graphic violence2021 3-stars-was-good couple-mf ...more3 s Hannah203 14

It's just *shakes fist* so damn wholesome. I love them, I love their romance, I love their friends, but I absolutely adore the plot. Cool nuns! Found family! Social justice! Sister Evelyn, my heart. A truly satisfying conclusion that ties up all the lingering plot threads, and also plenty of my fave The Knife.3 s amy62 4

i think it's my destiny to just keep rereading this duology until i die or the author (HOPEFULLY) releases more. this series lives in my head so rent free. i need more, i need a prequel i need 5 more sequels i need it all.3 s Linz173

Back when I first read this one I remember being slightly let down but upon this re-read I have to update that opinion. I think it was largely influenced by how fucking fast I flew through it last time. I took my time this round and I loved it so much more! I adore how vulnerable Lucian is while he matures and finds his footing. Glory is such a rock for him, I'll never get enough of how much she fucking cares and how good it makes Lucian feel being cared about! These two are really the gold standard to me for relationships that just make you feel warm and loved yourself.crush-me-pls-m-am d-s friends-2-lovers ...more2 s Kelspar172 6

This was so sweet, a wonderful conclusion to Lucían and Glory's story. Didn't quite hit the level of pinning and yearning the first did, but we did get a lot more action (both fighting and sexy).

These are definitely a precious and special little duology and one I'll keep in my heart for a long time.2 s Kytana25

This here is a solid second book . It resolves the basic plot but really that's not the point. The point is that the book convinced me that Big Woman & Tiny Monk are madly fucking in love with each other, even after only 6-7 months of being together, can handle hard times, and will in fact have many (big) kids in the future. I dropped a star because the pacing was off towards the end, the magic system was botched, and I still can't stand the use of real-life languages ( Spanish and Norse in this book) as "fantasy" languages (was more prevalent in this book than the first).

Overall 4.5/5 ? cause I got the HEA ending I wanted and the exploration of bedroom play between She-wolf & Lucian was fire!
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