Format: Hardcover, 640 pages
Release Date: September 26, 2023
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult / Vampires
Célie Tremblay has always been a good girl: kind and beautiful, a daughter of whom every parent would be proud. She surprises the entire kingdom when she defies tradition to become the first huntswoman—including her new captain and fiancé, Jean Luc, who rules the huntsmen with an iron fist. He isn’t the only one concerned for Célie’s safety, however. Though her friends try to protect her from the horrors of her past, mysterious whispers still haunt her, and a new evil is rising in Belterra—leaving bodies in its wake, each one drained of blood.
Determined to prove herself in her new role, Célie tracks the killer to the lair of Les Éternels—ancient creatures only spoken about in nursery rhymes—and catches the attention of their king, a monster who hides his plans for her behind beautiful words and sharp smiles. Now Célie has new reason to fear the dark because the closer he gets, the more tempted she feels to give in to his dark hunger—and her own.
Determined to prove herself in her new role, Célie tracks the killer to the lair of Les Éternels—ancient creatures only spoken about in nursery rhymes—and catches the attention of their king, a monster who hides his plans for her behind beautiful words and sharp smiles. Now Célie has new reason to fear the dark because the closer he gets, the more tempted she feels to give in to his dark hunger—and her own.
The Scarlet Veil is the first installment in author Shelby Mahurin's The Scarlet Veil duology. It is a spin-off from the author's Serpent and Dove series with most of the same characters, adding a few new ones like Michal, Mikail, Odessa, and Mila. Centered on Célie Tremblay—a character once relegated to the sidelines as the pious, heartbroken ex-fiancée of Jean Luc in the original trilogy—this spin-off transforms her into a fierce, complex heroine navigating a dark and bloody mystery.
The story unfolds six months after the events of Gods & Monsters, with Célie having defied tradition to become the first female Chasseur—a holy huntswoman tasked with protecting Belterra from supernatural threats. Her fiancé, Jean Luc, now captain of the Chasseurs, hovers over her with suffocating protectiveness, a dynamic that chafes against Célie’s determination to prove herself. When a string of murders rocks Cesarine—victims drained of blood with twin puncture wounds on their necks—Célie seizes the chance to investigate, only to be kidnapped by Les Éternels, ancient vampires long dismissed as nursery-rhyme bogeymen.
Her journey leads her to Requiem, a hidden island ruled by the enigmatic vampire king Michal Vasiliev, where she must unravel the killings while confronting her own buried trauma and an undeniable pull toward her captor. Cesarine’s fog-choked streets and Requiem’s shadowy, candlelit halls evoke the eerie elegance of Dracula or Interview with the Vampire, while the vampires themselves—silver-averse, sun-shunning, and unapologetically bloodthirsty—pay homage to classic lore without feeling derivative.
While the mystery is at the heart of the plot—who’s behind the murders and why—unfurls with tantalizing twists, keeping readers guessing until the final, jaw-dropping reveal, Célie’s transformation is the soul of the book. Once a prim, rule-following foil to Lou’s wildness, she emerges as a woman wrestling with grief, self-doubt, and a steely resolve to redefine her strength. Her arc is raw and relatable—haunted by the horrors of Gods & Monsters, she battles panic attacks and the lingering whispers of guilt over her sister's death yet refuses to be coddled. The romance between Célie and Michal is a slow burn steeped in enemies-to-lovers tension.
With his brooding charisma and morally gray complexity, Michal is a perfect counterpoint to Célie’s earnestness. The supporting cast breathes life into Requiem’s eerie halls. Dimitri and Odessa, a sibling duo of vampires, along with Mila, Michal's ghost sister, brings playful banter and warmth, while familiar faces like Louise, Cosette, Beau, and Reid weave in threads of nostalgia without stealing the spotlight. Jean Luc remains a thornier figure; his overbearing control veers into unlikeable territory, making Célie’s frustration with him all too palpable.
Newcomers to the Serpent & Dove world might feel adrift amid references to past events, though the story stands well enough on its own. And while the cliffhanger ending is a brutal gut-punch—setting up The Shadow Bride with merciless precision—it leaves some threads dangling too abruptly, testing the patience of readers who crave closure. The Scarlet Veil is a love letter to vampire lore, wrapped in a mystery that’s as gripping as it is gruesome.
Note: If you click on any of the links, you will see that this book is currently selling for $1.99. With the book being 640 pages, this is an absolute bargain for those who love paranormal romance novels.
