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.
Shelby Mahurin returns to the world of Serpent & Dove with The Scarlet Veil in which we follow Celie Tremblay on perilous journey where she works to solve a gruesome set of murders and she may have just been kidnapped by the murder himself. This was a most exciting and alluring read that kept me riveted the entire time I read it and that it involved vampires was just the icing on the cake!
Celie has been training with the Chasseurs for awhile now, she's struggling to prove herself in a line of work that was reserved for men, but since she's engaged to Jean Luc, a captain of the Chasseurs, she's given a chance to try her luck. I felt for Celie here, as try as she might she was always cast aside for her "delicate sensibilities." I kind of wanted her to punch a few people, but she's very even-tempered it turns out.
But then when she discovers a friend has been murdered, she's more determined than ever to solve it whether or not Jean Luc and the Chasseurs approve. But in a fit of anger and letting her emotions getting the best of her, Celie finds herself kidnapped by a pair of vampires and brought to their secret island where vampires and other paranormals are allowed to live peacefully--as peacefully as paranormal types can get at least! She soon finds herself in the company of the vampire king, Michal who has his own set of plans for Celie.
This was a most intriguing book indeed! I've loved vampires for nearly all my life and since the vampire craze died once again some years ago, I've had to bide my time with other incredible reads but finally, at last, a delectable vampire read finally made it into my hands and it was everything!
Celie was my kind of character. She comes off as an innocent sort. Her sister Pippa died tragically due to the war from the Serpent & Dove trilogy. She endured horrors at the hands of Lou's evil mother and was even put in a coffin with her sister's dead body for days on end. But she's come out a survivor and I think the people around her have forgotten that. Instead, they want to shelter her and keep her tucked away where it's safe and that's the last thing Celie wants for herself. Even her fiance, Jean Luc, treats her with the kiddie gloves. He thinks she's better off tucked away somewhere out of the action. I was kind of surprised she decided to marry the guy when he doesn't treat her as an equal or partner. And it's because of this, because even Celie begins to question her own feelings that when Michal steps onto the page, we know sparks will fly and I was begging for it to happen!
Granted, their relationship starts off just as rocky. He had her kidnapped, he treated her poorly in the beginning, but then with the forced proximity, things begin to change, very slowly, between them. It's not long before looks begin to happen, those long pauses, and oh, it was everything!
We soon learn of a greater problem though, the one who was really behind all the murders. There's a Necromancer at foot and Michal believes that he's after Celie for reasons. And then this soon opens up a whole set of secrets and plans for revenge that will leave your head spinning!
There is so much to unravel in this 600+ page book but man did those pages fly by! I love that Lou, Reid, Coco, and Beau all return as well! They play a decent role in the story, but it still largely belongs to Celie and her new cast of friends of sorts.
You don't have to have read the original trilogy in order to follow along in this one. I finished that series a few years ago and so many books ago, so my memory was fairly non-existent about that one. But the key-points were highlighted in this one when it was relevant and it was enough to jog my memory and get the gist of what is being noted. Usually it was just events and certain characters' roles in those events. So again, fairly easy to follow along. Of course there's the history between the characters as well that will be missed, but reading a completed trilogy is always fun too as there's really no waiting between books for you!
All in all, The Scarlet Veil was a fabulous read and made my vampire loving heart oh so happy! It does end with a killer cliffhanger but thankfully I have the sequel lined up and ready to go! As when it comes to duologies, they are always best binged if you can handle the wait! Which luckily I did as this wait would have been killer! If you've been waiting for a dark and romantic vampire read, then your wait is finally over! I highly recommend this one to all the vampire readers out there!
Overall Rating 5/5 stars
