I LOVED Serpent and Dove trilogy, so once I heard there will be a spin-off I was beyond happy! And we got to see the OG character in it - absolutely brilliant.

FMC is not my favorite person, too much of a lady for my taste, but she surprised me in more ways that one. The whole story did and I really enjoyed it.

The narration is great too, beautifuly done and creates an amazing experience.

4.5⭐️/5 (rounded up)

I couldn't get enough of this book! So much so that I went on to read The Shadow Bride straight after before writing this review 😂

After reading the Serpent & Dove series, these characters had such a hold on my heart. I was so excited to read more of their story and it didn't disappoint! I liked that Celie was more real in that she needed help from others, she made mistakes, she didn't know how to fight etc. My only issue was that she is very self deprecating which maybe isn't great for young readers who connect with her.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to this great book. I've been wanting to get to this one for a while and finally got to it thanks to you 😊
First of all, it was so good to be back in the world of Lou and Reid, Coco and Beau, I missed them. I liked Celie on the Serpent & Dove trilogy but not as much to make me believe I would absolutely love it.
Well, the fact is I love Celie now. She started the book keeping quiet to what her fiancé wanted and keeping what she wanted inside of her. But she had enough of it and decided to do things her way, say everything that was on her mind and kept being her witty intelligent self for the rest of the book. As for Jean Luc, he should keep himself to his balisarda and nothing else.
The addition of the vampires was good, they were good characters. Michal was a very good and complex characters with layers that we were discovering alongside Celie. As for our beloved characters from the main trilogy, as I said above, I missed them specially Lou and Coco, their iconic. And Babette, I was like wtf???
As for the ending... The Necromancer reveal. Freaking plot twist that I didn't see coming AT ALL. The story of Filippa left me shook as well. And Celie at the end... What???
And that epilogue left me confused cause I didn't get if that was Filippa or Celie 🤔
Wow I have so many questions. This is a 4.5 stars and hope I can read the sequel soon enough so u can have my answers.

DNF (will revisit the book after finishing S&D) on chapter 9 / 13% - for the best reasons!
5 stars for what I’ve enjoyed so far and once I revisit I will give my final thoughts.

When it comes to the authors other series in this world, serpent and dove, I only read the first book (which I loved!). Just that the never ending TBR stack just pushed the rest of the series further down the pile and I never got around to finishing it.

When I saw this book in the same world I was intrigued to read it and upon others suggestions I thought it would be fine to try this without finishing the other series and unfortunately the reason for my DNF is that I’m going to revisit the previous series before I finish this.

I think ultimately you can read this without S&d, it will spoil the endings and it will be like jumping into the spin-off with no previous knowledge, but you could do it.
however for me as I read S&D in 2019 I only vaguely remember the plot and characters so throughout TSV I keeping trying to remember back to S&D rather than focusing on this book.

From what I’ve listened to so far I’m really enjoying the characters, they are well written and have great personalities.

The plot is already full of intrigue and mystery, I was hooked from nearly the beginning and will be prioritising S&D so I can get back to this.

The narrator of the audiobook is doing a fantastic job.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Collins for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

A gothic murder mystery with VAMPIRES? Sign me up. Now I went into this book pretty blind. I knew the book would be a continuation of a character's story we were introduced to in the Serpent and Dove trilogy and that was it. It's been so long since I read the S&D books I am not sure if I even finished the series. That being said if you are looking to read the S&D trilogy, unless you don't mind spoilers, don't read this book first!

It took me a while to get back into this world, reintroduce myself to the characters again and piece together what had happened between the first S&D book and when The Scarlet Veil is set. The first 100 pages were definitely a struggle for me, but after the introduction to new characters and a new location the storyline really catapulted. It probably also helped that the romantic interest moved away from Jean Luc, who I found to be pretty insufferable, and moved onto *Michal* who I can only picture as Alucard from Castlevania. The romance was definitely the sub-plot but I was eating up all the crumbs. Shelby please give us more in book 2!

We really get to see Celie's character development throughout this book, and the author perfectly intertwines the story with flashbacks from Celie's childhood and her life when her sister was alive. From this, we can see Celie's personality move from that of a naive girl, whose sister calls her self absorbed, to a young woman who will offer herself up to a vampire, and act as bait, risking her own life in order to protect innocents.

The whole story we are following a trail to find the Necromancer, who is responsible for killing innocent people, and is somehow linked to Celie's sister's death. It was so fun discovering information piece by piece to figure out how all these murders are connected and why. The backdrop of a gothic atmosphere really added to the murder mystery storyline as well.

At the end of the book it is revealed who the Necromancer is and I did NOT see that coming. So much happened in the last couple of pages and I was STRESSED. I need the second book in my hands right now I need ANSWERS!

The narrator of the audiobook did a fantastic job and really kept me enthralled in the story. The slight changes of her voice helped distinguish each character from each other and added to the characterisation.

I loved Serpent and Dove, and whilst the rest of the series was a bit hit or miss for me I think with the Scarlet Veil the author has really hit her stride. There’s so much more character development which makes it easy to be invested in the FMC’s journey. Plus vampires, what can go wrong?! I think I would have enjoyed more if I’d have reread S&D, or at least the ending of the series to refresh my memory of who everyone is, and the terminology used, but once I settled in and stopped trying to work out what was occurring I really enjoyed it. Saskia Maarleveld delivers a great narration performance which helps bring you back into the world of Belterra.

Thank you HarperCollins UK Audio and Shelby Mahurin for providing the audiobook on NetGalley for an honest review and for such an enjoyable listen!

i need the sequel RIGHT NOW. i have loved shelby’s books since serpent and dove but this REALLY upped the ante!!! the vampires, gothic atmosphere, and romance ate down. the question is how do i get my hands on the next arc 🤲

I must admit, this book wasn’t really my cup of tea. Although I did like Serpent and Dove (especially the first book), this one fell short on multiple fronts for me.
- I couldn’t connect with any of the characters
- The story couldn’t keep my attention, there were a lot of moments where I was tempted to put the book down for an undetermined amount of time
- It often felt like this story could have been told just as well in a lower page count
- The main storyline disappeared into the background a lot in my opinion. At certain times, Célie just didn't seem to care about what happened to her anymore?

Some things I did like in this book:
+ We got to know more about the vampires, who they are, their way of living,...
+ There was some character growth in this book
+ The narrator of the audiobook has a pleasant voice and conveys the story rather well

Nevertheless, if you're looking for a vampire-human slow burn romance with lots of other supernatural creatures and a woman trying to forge her own path, you might want to give this one a try.

Thank you Netgalley for this ALC.

I enjoyed listening to this book. I love a vampire story with a little sprinkle of spicy. I found the story interested me enough to keep listening. I haven’t read any of the other books so it took me sometime to get into the story but I really enjoyed it once I did

In this book we follow Célie Tremblay who has just become the first ever huntswoman. Unfortunately for her, there is a new killer in Belterra who is leaving a trail of bodies, each one drained of blood. Célie decides to track the killer in an attempt to prove herself however she soon catches the eye of the vampire king.
Although this book could definitely be read as a stand alone if you really didn't want to read the Serpent and Dove series by Shelby Mahurin, it will definitely spoil that first series so if you have any intention of reading that series, read it first!

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and was very captivated by it, but I have been a huge fan of the vampire genre for a long time. IF I had to put it down for work or sleep I was really excited to pick it back up again to see where the story was going to go. I was waiting for the enemies to lovers aspect to kick in as that's a favourite trope of mine!

The epilogue has left me with many questions and I will need to be reading the next book as soon as possible!
I listened to this book via audiobook from NetGalley and found the narrator (Saskia Maarleveld) to have a lovely voice. She did accents amazingly which really helped distinguish between characters and her tone in general really helped build the atmosphere of the story. I was also able to speed up the audio a little without it sounding strange.

I really struggled to get into this one, the plot feels slow, the main character was frustrating. The narrator has a great voice though.

A gripping novel. I couldn't stop listening.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to listen to an advanced copy of this audiobook in return for a fair and honest review

I went into this book with high hopes—after all, how do you mess up a vampire story? The premise and plot had potential, but the execution was incredibly dense. I remember when *Serpent & Dove* was released, there were complaints about the language not fitting the time and place, and while I didn’t notice it much in the first book, it’s definitely an issue here.

The main character comes across as frustratingly naive, and it feels like the author dumbed her down just to move the plot along, which does a disservice to her character. The influence of Sarah J. Maas is glaringly obvious, and instead of creating an original romance dynamic, the author seems to have borrowed heavily from other works to attract readers. It’s disappointing when authors can’t come up with fresh ideas for their romances. Lastly, this book absolutely did not need to be 600 pages long.

I was hesitant to start this book, especially since I didn’t enjoy Mahurin’s previous series, and unfortunately, my fears were confirmed.

In this dark and thrilling vampire romance set in the Serpent & Dove series world, Célie Tremblay defies tradition to become the kingdom's first huntswoman, much to the concern of her fiancé, Jean Luc. Haunted by whispers of her past and facing a new evil leaving blood-drained bodies, Célie's investigation leads her to the ancient Les Éternels. There, she meets their captivating king, whose dangerous allure tests her resolve. Fans of Sarah J. Maas will relish this tale of bravery, temptation, and forbidden love.

Yeaaaaaaah ummm... It was a fun time but can we get actual smart characters instead of those dumbass women we seem to be getting left and right? Celie (which funnily enough I first thought was silly, rather fitting all things considered) was just SO stupid omg. People get killed and it takes her forever to figure out who it is when it was soooo obvious from the get go. And the whole fiance drama was stupid AF. I would recommend reading the Serpent and Dove trilogy before, which I haven't done, so the first 15% were a bit confusing to me. Also, as a French reader, those French names were so stupid. I don't even understand why Celie would get engaged to a man names Jean-Luc in the first place. It seems the author googled "old French names", except she didn't specify how old and ended up with "dads' names who were born in the 70s" instead. 1.5 stars

The Scarlet Veil is a thrilling new novel by Shelby Mahurin which introduces vampires into a world of witches. I was so excited to start this book and return to the world she built in Serpent and Dove. Reading more about the Chasseurs, original characters like Lou and Reid and learning about some of the creatures in this magical world was wonderful.
Whilst Mahurin returns to the familiar world she built up in previous books, she also makes the reader question how much they truly understood about this world by introducing them to a whole other mystery- the murderous Les Eternels. In this way, she manages to make this spin-off book seem distinct from her other trilogy.
I have to admit that Celie was not my favourite character in previous books, but I felt that she grew into a person I could root for over the course of The Scarlet Veil. She is not as obviously powerful as Lou or Coco, but I respected her determination to better herself. Although she grew up quite privileged, she broke the glass ceiling by becoming the first female Chasseur. Unsurprisingly, she faces sexism, harassment and is constantly undermined by other members of the order, but I loved that she refused to give up.
The romance and the mystery in this book were also fun to read. Whilst I don’t think the romance was quite as strong as in Serpent and Dove, I did like how the slow-burn developed. And, of course, Shelby Mahurin wrote an amazing enemies-to-lovers storyline. I think my only complaint is that the book was probably too long. Especially when it comes to the first book in a new series, I prefer a shorter novel which introduces us to the world, characters and key plot points. That being said, the set up for the cliffhanger at the end worked really well.
I would also like to say how much I loved the audio narrator for this book! I think her voice is really suited to fantasy books because of its husky quality. She made me like the main character more as well because her voice was so expressive.
If you’ve read Serpent and Dove or if you love a novel that plays with the idea of what a vampire is supposed to be, I would highly recommend reading this book.

I love a good vampire romance.
This book did not go as I expected. It wasn't the dark and dangerous that I thought it would be.
But either way, I still really enjoyed it.

The tension and lust between Celie and Michal was fantastic, especially with the slow burn. It added bite to the story.

But that ending was something!

3.75 stars rounded up.

Overall this was an enjoyable listen. The storyline itself was nothing mind blowing but it was good enough and the narrator performed the story fantastically

I went into this with mixed hope purely based on the authors other series but I ended up really enjoying this. The story sucks you in and I had to keep listening to get to that ending and what an ending it was! Looking forward for the sequel.

I also listened to the audio arc and the narrator was fantastic!

I’m completely obsessed with this book! It’s been on my wish list for a while and I’m so glad I’ve finally been able to read it. This dark and dangerous novel offered up murder and mystery, a brooding, morally grey vampire, unexpected friendships, ghosts, and all the best tropes. The way everyone treated Célie filled me with so much rage on her behalf, especially her awful fiancé, Jean Luc. Célie is severely underestimated, gaslighted and constantly disrespected by those around her and it’s absolutely thrilling to see her come into her own and defy expectations. She’s brave and reckless, and determined to protect those she loves. She uses her charm and her cleverness to uncover the truth, and with her curious mind, her kindness, and her bravery, it’s impossible not to root for her. The path she’s on is deadly, and she must trust her enemies, face her past, and defy all expectations to solve the mystery at the heart of this story. With that ending as well… I’m desperate to get my hands on the upcoming sequel!

I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was fantastic. I did find the names a little harder to keep track of with the French accent used than I perhaps would have in a print book, especially as the book moves between first names and surnames or titles throughout and so keeping track of who is who that was was also a little tricky.

I received a free copy of this book. All views are my own.