Thank you so much, NetGalley, HarperCollins Publishing, and Shelby Mahurin, for an advanced copy of this book.

The Scarlet Veil picks up six months after the events in Gods & Monsters and follows Celie on her journey as the first female Chasseur.

Celie is determined to protect Belterra but cannot shake the evil from her past. However, a new evil rising, one that Celie must vanquish or fall prey too.

Yall, if you loved the Serpent & Dove trilogy, you will love this book. The Scarlet Veil dives into the dark parts of Belterra and shocases creatures and magic long forgotten.

I related to Celies journey and her desire to prover herself. Everyone in her life has treated her like a porcelain doll. When she's stripped of everything is when she discovers how strong she is.

There is a smidge of romance that I think will build as the series goes on, but it is not the main focus of this novel.

I'm messed up. I will not be okay until I have book 2.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it fell short for me. I am a big fan of Mahuin's Serpent and Dove series, and as soon as I heard this was coming out, it was immediately on my TBR list. The same world and characters and the inclusion of vampires? Sounded like a win. Overall there were some really interesting parts to the book, and I thoroughly enjoyed the vampire characters. To me, getting to know them was absolutely the best part. My biggest hang up with this story was Cecile's character development. I can understand the author trying to share the feminine side of this protagonist, but to me she seemed to come off as way too weak and innocent. More so than she really needed to be to get her point across. The Scarlet Veil is written as Cecile's story and as such the first 60% of the book was rough for me to get through because of her character. The story does pick up though towards the end and it is action packed (although somewhat predictable) until the last page. Ultimately, if you really enjoyed Serpent and Dove, want to read more about those characters and can put up with a slower pace, this is worth a read.

3.5 stars, rounded up

This was pretty fun. Not as good as Serpent and Dove, but definitely better than the other two books in that trilogy. It was surprisingly fun to go back to and even to keep building on this world. The addition of vampires was a good fit and even though I'm still not completely sold on Celie, it was a pretty engaging read. Definitely engaging enough to get me to come back for the next book.

I was worried at the beginning of The Scarlet Veil only because of the level of feral adoration I had for Lou and Reid in the original trilogy, but once we got into Celie and her story, I found myself heavily invested in her development and the mysterious, pale stranger who becomes less and less of a stranger. Especially once we got to the island, I had trouble putting this down, and it turned into the kind of page-turning, attention-holding story, a vibe I loved so much from Serpent & Dove.

Shelby Mahurin’s foray into the complicated and sexy world of vampires is ultimately successful; I was skeptical of their intentions, then afraid of their motives, and then, as in any good vampire story, increasingly, almost alarmingly, invested in the development of the romance between the gothic young heroine and the seemingly sharp love interest, as well as the twists and turns along the way. The end of this has me on the edge of my seat and makes me already excited for the next book in the series.

Thank you HarperCollins for the eARC!

I’ve been a fan of Shelby Mahurin since the start. I LOVED the Serpent and Dove trilogy and it has become somewhat of a yearly tradition to reread them around Halloween so imagine my excitement when The Scarlet Veil was introduced. It’s Shelby Mahurin writing VAMPIRES! IN THE SAME UNIVERSE! WITH THE SAME CAST! This book was everything I wished for after finishing Gods & Monsters and I was even more excited to have received an ARC. When I tell you I basically dropped everything to read The Scarlet Veil, I mean it. Following Celie, The Scarlet Veil begins as a string of grisly murders sweeps Belterra. Yet Jean Luc—her fiance and the Chasseur captain—keeps Celie away from the details until she’s thrown into the center of the investigation.

So (in case it wasn’t already obvious) I adored this book. Celie fascinated me in the original trilogy, and I loved watching her take center stage. She’s constantly underestimated and lacks the physical strength that has come to be closely associated with YA heroines. She’s not overpowered or rebellious from the start; she has to learn to overcome social conditioning. It’s so crucial in YA to see heroines who come in all shapes and sizes. Celie is more traditionally feminine and part of her arc deals with battling social stereotypes. She’s not gifted with weaponry and cares about how other people view her—significantly different from Lou and Coco. Instead of always being an outsider, she has to learn to deal with being one, which makes her journey so much more valuable. I appreciated that she was a little naive and expected the best from other people. Maurhin did an excellent job of creating a character who was kind and saw the best in the world without lacking brain cells.

I don’t think I can say too much about the love interest without getting into spoilers, but prepare to add him to the list of your favorite broody heroes. Their relationship has serious Feysand meets Phantom of the Opera vibes, and I could not have enjoyed it more. The side cast of characters was just as amazing as the secondary characters from the first trilogy, and I can’t wait for everybody to meet them. The fandom will certainly not be disappointed.

The plot combined a slowburn romance with a murder mystery beautifully. From dark castles full of secrets to decadent parties in Hell’s own image, The Scarlet Veil had every gothic dream imaginable. The pacing was spectacular, leaving enough time for character development while also moving quickly. There wasn’t a dull moment to be found. It helped that I was already very familiar with the world of Belterra, but the expansion of the world was welcome and well done. The lore development was subtle, and while this novel can stand on its own, I enjoyed getting glimpses of the rest of the S&D cast.

Frankly, I cannot recommend this book enough. Though I’ve read an ARC, I’m certainly still going to buy a physical copy (and this is only the second time I’ve done that). If you like vampires, enemies who are forced to work together, slowburn, magic, witches, gothic vibes, mystery, close-knit families, and tragic kings, then The Scarlet Veil is definitely for you.

Vampire books always have me in a chokehold. I was thoroughly obsessed from start to finish. I can’t wait to buy a physical copy to have on my shelves! 10/10 would recommend. The writing was so easy to read without being simplistic. I connected well to the characters and I can’t wait for more. Thank you for the arc.

It makes my heart swell to be back in the Serpent and Dove universe.

Celie's character development in the Serpent and Dove trilogy was so beautifully written. Which made reading this book an absolute treat. Her further development made me just eat this book up and keep it on the bookshelf in my heart. It was also great to read about Celie's relationship with Jean Luc.

This is my new all time favorite of this year!!

I will be recommending this book along with the Serpent and Dove series now!!

Infinite stars!!

I would first like to say, thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Shebly Mahurin's book The Scarlet Veil in exchange for a review.

I did not read Shelby Mahurin's other book series Serpent and Dove. So, I went into this book blind and I do not regret that decision. The Scarlet Veil took me a total of 20 hours to completely read because I was that engulfed in the story and characters.

Scarlet Veil follows Celie Trembly, who is engaged to Jean-Luc the Captian of the Chasseurs (Hunters). We start with the background of Celie and why she wanted to be the first woman Chasseur. However, we also learn that Jean-Luc treats her differently from the rest of the Chasseurs. He treats Celie as a fragile doll that needs to be protected and safeguarded at all times. This behavior does not feel right with Celie. Celie also learns that Jean-Luc has been keeping something from her. It is not until her friend is murdered that everything for Celie starts to change. From Michal kidnapping her and taking her to a hidden island, to trying to solve murder investigations that might be connected. This is where the story truly starts for our characters.

I do not want to give away more of the story but I truly enjoyed this book. However, there are some aspects that I did not like. For most of Part 1 of the book, the dialogue was "cheesy" almost too cheesy. I do believe that this was a part of the premise of the book to show how (almost) everyone treats Celie. It was not until the final act that Celie finally has this moment of "I am worthy, I am more than a doll". I do wish it was sooner. In my opinion, Celie's "crybaby/victim" mentality was the biggest pitfall of this book. I truly wanted her to have great character development before the book ended. It is okay though.

When it came to Celie and Michal. I wanted more. Like... A whole lot more. This makes me excited for Book 2. As for the cliffhanger. It was predictable but it will still leave one wanting more from Scarlet Veil. If all of Shelby's books are written like this then Shelby will become my favorite author of all time.


Alright with all that being said here are some twigger warnings/content warnings because "It is better to prevent than to heal" (Shelby Mahurin).

Violence
kidnapping
Slight Depictions of blood/gore
Strong language (I know some find issues with books containing cussing but I would like to let you all know there was a total of 4 times).
Death

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Scarlet Veil, by Shelby Mahurin. The Scarlet Veil is a spinoff book from Shelby Mahurin’s Serpent and Dove series. If you haven’t read that series, go read it now! One because it’s an amazing series, and two you’ll get a lot more out of The Scarlet Veil if you’ve read the Serpent and Dove series.

The Scarlet Veil follows Celie Trembley, who we are introduced to in the Serpent and Dove series. Celie is engaged to Jean-Luc who is the Captain of the Chasseurs. The story starts off with Celie trying to get her footing under her as the first woman Chasseur. We can see right from the start that Jean-Luc treats her as though she’s this delicate doll that he needs to protect. This doesn’t sit well with Celie at all. Yes, she’s had a traumatic past, but she’s also smart, and thinks on her feet.

Celie wants to prove herself and when a friend is murdered, she sets off on her own to solve it. While investigating, she’s kidnapped, by Michal and that’s where our story really starts. Michal is trying to solve his own murder investigation, and will go to any means necessary to solve it.

I loved The Serpent and Dove series, but I love The Scarlet Veil even more. I enjoyed watching Celie stand up for herself and spread her wings. And Michal, well he’s our morally grey villain, who has a tragic backstory of his own. Michal, didn’t hold Celie back, he valued her. He didn’t wrap her in a bubble and tell her she was too fragile. He needed her help and allowed her to come into her own. The Scarlet Veil is an enemy to lovers slow burn that will have you turning the page until the end. If I could give it ten stars, I would. It ends on a cliffhanger, so I’ll be biting my nails until I can read the next one.

Going into this I had no idea what to expect especially since I didn't finish the Serpent and Dove books (I just read the first two). All I knew was vampires were involved and it was set in the same world as S&D but with Celie as the main character.

I'll say right away I was sucked in but also kind of confused because I was trying to remember who she was in the main story line but thankfully Shelby does a good job of giving us a recap and even if you have read those books you'll catch up. It's just a little confusing at first.

Celie is treated like a doll that must be protected and she's tired of being left out. I was so frustrated for her and ready to see her embrace her independence!

I won't go into much of the story but I was hooked along the way. I was a little bummed that romance isn't super present in this... It's a SLOW burn with some good tension but I wanted more because I'm here for it and SHIP IT. I kind of hoped this was a standalone but be warned it ends on a wicked cliffhanger that definitely has me needing to know what happens.

But gosh I love anything to do with vampires especially morally grey mysterious ones. So even if you've not read or finished the Serpent and Dove series, this is definitely worth giving a shot. Because VAMPS! I just hope we get some more romance and sexual tension cause I'm all about that. It felt especially light on the romance after Serpent and Dove.

To say I loved this book would be doing it an injustice. I was enamoured, obsessed even! The Scarlet Veil ticked all my must-have boxes: enemies to lovers, slow burn romance, a heroine discovering who she is despite the expectations of others. I loved the journey Shelby took me on and how we explored more of her beautiful world. Murder mystery, ghosts, talking cats, and of course… vampires! What’s not to love?

The story starts with Célie as a Chasseur, the first female huntswoman. She’s engaged to Jean Luc and although she’s seemingly living the life she thought she wanted—she feels like she’s not taken seriously. Like she’s continuously placed on a shelf like a doll and people underestimate her. Her fiancé, who also happens to be her captain, placates her and although he tries he really doesn’t know how to make her happy. When Célie visits her sisters grave and finds a dead body instead—minutes later she meets a mysterious man whom she thinks might be the killer. But, she never really gets a chance to find out because Jean Claude drags her back to safety and she’s once more put in her room. Although, this time she doesn’t stay. After an argument with her fiancé her story really begins.

Kidnapped to a secret island by the vampire king, the mysterious stranger, who also has a vested interest in the murders happening around Cesarine. The mystery is too much for Célie to turn away from and she agrees to work with her enemy—and potential suspect—to find out what has been hunting the streets of Cesarine and if it’s the same thing that is now hunting her.

The Scarlet Veil is full of intrigue and such an incredible ensemble of characters—new faces (hello, talking cat!!) and familiar faces! Highly recommend and my many thank you’s to Shelby Mahurin and Harper Collins for the arc!

Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me an arc of this in exchange for review.

say hello to one of the best YA fantasies i've read in a very long time, after only kind of liking the serpent and dove trilogy i wasn't sure how The Scarlet Veil would be and let me just say its better.

Celie Tremblay goes from being just a minor side character to someone whose just so well rounded and you see her go through so much character development. i didn't want the book to end, although it did. painfully on a cliff hanger.

if you were unsure of this, i'm telling you right now go add it to your TBR. it will leave you speechless like it did me.