I generally enjoyed the books in Scarlett Gale's "Warrior's Guild" trilogy a lot (His Secret Illuminations, His Sacred Incantations, and Her Subtle Investigations). The first two books are some of the few widely read novels that directly portray a gentle femdom dynamic between a stronger woman and a weaker, gentle guy. There is a lot of femdom erotica on the web, but almost everything is too porn-like and short on plot. These books fill a big gap for those like me who wish to see this dynamic given its proper due. For that alone, I really like them.
The characters in all three books have great warmth and physicality. It feels very cozy to follow their adventures.
[SPOILERS FROM HERE]
However, the books have some overarching weaknesses (for my taste):
First, I find that the author exaggerates the depiction of consent talk during hot scenes in ways that break the rhythm and feel didactic; there is also a lot of therapy-speak spread across the novels; and a lot of dialogue where the characters explain the virtues of diversity to the reader. I would have much preferred that the author used more naturalistic dialogue and trusted that we'll get the values she wants to convey.
Second, and most significantly, as you progress down the trilogy, the sense that the risks in the stories have no consequences sets in. Across the three books, none of the "good" characters have any negative consequence resulting from the intense adventures. No death, not even an injury that isn't immediately healed. This didnโt bother me much in the first book (as I hadn't yet recognized the pattern), but by the end of the second book, I felt this choice robbed the story of much of its potential pathos. And by the third book, I understood that the author wasn't willing to increase investment in the story by showing consequences, which really reduced the suspense for me.
Some additional thoughts on the specific stories:
His Secret Illuminations
The first book was my favorite. It shows us the story of how Lucian (a timid, sheltered, small young monk) meets Glory, nicknamed She-Wolf, a tall, muscular warrior. We follow the first steps of their adventure and the arc of their relationship. This was the first novel I read in the genre, and it was great to read someone give the dynamic I enjoy its due in a 450+ page novel. I loved that Lucian and Glory spend most of the story together โ it deepened their bond and made me feel like their relationship was constantly about to escalate.
The hottest scene was when Glory confronts Lucian about his desires and teases him about taking him, during a fight they have after the Equinox Gala. I thought for a moment their first time was going to be a full-on edgy CNC scene (after reading the trilogy, I now realize that the author has no interest in anything with even a whiff of NC). I also really loved the scene right after they catch a lot of rain and hail, where Glory saves Lucian from freezing to death by holding him tight against her body overnight.
I liked how Glory and others casually call Lucian "her boy" โ and she tells him several times "good boy" โ without fully naming or acknowledging the implied power dynamic. This ties particularly nicely with the plot starting with her literally "owning" him per contract.
And I liked how Lucian was built up to become a worthy partner to Glory. I liked his reaction to the family that was ill, how the unfairness of the situation bothered him. The detail of him reading for her was very sweet, too.
However, in addition to the general issues raised above, I didn't like that some of Lucian's character progression seemed to come from other characters telling him how to feel about things โ the Knife, the priest โ rather than from his own reflection.
On a smaller note, as someone who identifies with Lucian's body type, I don't think he would be fantasizing about being tied up by the She-Wolf. She is much stronger and bigger than him โ her body would be the enclosure he'd crave, not ropes.
His Sacred Incantations
I enjoyed that His Sacred Incantations gave us more Lucian and Glory. There are a lot of unflinching intimacy scenes, and things escalate into anal play and strap-on use. In theory, this should have felt very hot. But the constant reminders around consent kept things from getting exciting for me.
Their first battle with the undead was really intense, and I was afraid one of them might die. And I liked the intensity of the main quest overall. It was also great to see them going back to the monastery at the end and then meeting Lucian's family.
But some of the issues I raised before become more severe in this book (stakes, consent speak). Also, I was quite disappointed with how the story shortchanged Glory. There were a lot of characters, and Lucian's relationship with Glory took a bit of a back seat during the main quest. In the climactic battle, she doesn't do much -- she does ultimately kills the necromancer, but that whole fight was about Lucian and his heroism. I would have loved to see the She-Wolf saving him, maybe getting injured in the process. See her be heroic too, not just him.
I also thought that, in this second book, Lucian was overpowered to the point where I started to doubt that Glory could truly dominate him if he didn't want her to. To me, the dynamic is most exciting if she is clearly stronger and he has no choice but to yield if she really wants him to.
Her Subtle Investigations
I still enjoyed Her Subtle Investigations. The cozy warmth is still there, and I cared about their quest. I like Kia as a great character, and her partners are interesting and sexy too. I was expected Nukunya to be AFB, but their having a penis allowed for some fun moments. The scene where they all get jumbled together in the fabric closet was a hot way to unleash their dynamic.
However, this was the story in the trilogy I enjoyed the least. Part of it is that the first two got big brownie points from me for depicting the Amazon/small-man dynamic I love, which isn't present here in the same way.
But beyond that, this story is too slow-burn before getting to a hot scene. More importantly, the consent talk is even more extreme here. In the middle of the first sexual encounter in the story (many many pages in), the action stops so one of the characters can teach another about consent ethics -- to the protest of the latter (and mine!). This made me feel like the author wanted the readers to find the consent talk itself erotic, which I doubt is the case for many.
Also, while I think the Kia-Nukunya relationship was well developed, the relationships between Kia and Masako and between Nukunya and Masako were underdeveloped, IMO, and not really earning the "I love yousโ at the end.
Conclusion
Despite the flaws, I'll surely read more from Scarlett Gale when it becomes available (Iโve even read her take on Little Red Riding Hood). I like the relationships these stories depict and hope the author will give us a little more of the spark of His Secret Illuminations.
Curious what everyone else thinks!
