Serpent & Dove: 1

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I’m not going to delve into too much else because it’s really difficult without spoiling, but I just wanna say… that ending… lmao, y’all are gonna hate Shelby for the ending in this book because I know I do😀 So, have fun with that! There is also kind of a mystery element to it, I guess, though the protagonists keep making wildly random conclusions or even change their mind about what the clues might mean from one convo to the next, because of (you guessed it) shallow reasoning. It could have been frustrating, but by that point I didn't have any more care left anyway. Starting off my final review for the final book of this series by saying that I am extremely worried about the fact that this book is going to give me some brain damage. I will say, “The Scarlet Veil” has a slower start compared to Shelby’s other books, but the set-up of our new characters and world requires some groundwork to be laid out first. With that in mind, the romance is also very slow-burn in this book, but, I don’t know, I felt like the pacing worked, like it was a perfect fit for a more gothic fantasy sort of book!

In “The Scarlet Veil”, we get to see the continuation of Célie Tremblay’s story after the events of the Serpent & Dove trilogy as she becomes a Chasseur and embarks upon an investigation in Cesarine where she crosses paths with vampires, ghosties, all sorts of creatures, and it’s one hell of an atmospheric ride with appearances from old, beloved characters, and with the addition of new favorites!I read this book hoping it will be better than the second one. But i was wrong. Very wrong. It was even worse. I originally rated it 2 stars, but I'm actually gonna lower it to 1 cosideirng how much I hated it. As much as I loved a couple of things, it cannot save it from thsi rating. It just cannot. I was miserable while reading it. I do not recommend this series. You can go for the first book. But consider it a standalone.

I did say earlier that I don't think this is better than Serpent & Dove, but now let me explain why because it balances things out. I could have done without the romance. I know this is a romance fantasy series, but it does not deserve to be called that when the romance becomes this bad. Lou and Reid's relationship started declining since book two, but here it's where it actually hit the mark. I was hoping that Shelby Mahurin will save it one way or another, but nope, she made it even worse. During most of teh romantic scenes between the two, I was just zoning out because of how little I actually cared. I was so over the shitty drama. Wanna add drama to your book? Good for you, I love drama. But please, for the love of god, make it interesting, not whatever this was. I love them together so much omg and barely anything even happens between them in this book. The romance is so torturously slow burn and I loved every minute of it. They better end up together or I swear —I Now Pronounce You: To cover up the impropriety of their fight, the Archbishop comes up with a solution displeasing to both sides—marriage! But for their own reasons—Reid to save his reputation, and Lou for the protection of the Chasseurs—they agree. Lou, unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, must make a choice. And love makes fools of us all. The book was extremely predictable. I don't think there was anything that surprised me. It wasn't even that the foreshdowing was obvious or bad. The thing is there was no foreshadowing. Nothing. It just felt obvious from the start. It wouldn't take a genius to guess what happenes in more than 75% of the book. Usually something bad happens, they have to fix said bad thing, but oh no something gets in their way that they conveniently fix in less than five minutes.

We’re Having a Ball: The whole crew—Lou, Reid, Coco (still pretending to be a healer), and Ansel—attend the king’s ball, where we finally meet Beau, a playboy prince and one of the king’s many sons. As easygoing as he is, there is an immediate attraction between him and Coco, and Ansel is not happy about it.Morgane le Blanc: Lou’s mother, and the current La Dame des Sorcières. She is terrifyingly beautiful and feared, on reputation alone, throughout Belterra. She has a vendetta against the king and wishes to return her witches to power. You’re bad at your job and no one wants you to die on accident, but also, your fiancé is still your superior and clearly is keeping the info within a task force Louise le Blanc: Lou is a Dame Blanche on the run from something, hiding from Chasseurs and her old coven alike on the streets of Cesarine. She tries not to use her magic too often out of fear of being discovered. Throughout the story, we find out that she is the daughter of the infamous witch Morgane le Blanc, and at 16, escaped sacrifice at her mother’s hands. The setting changes this time, the real action doesn't happen in the city of Cesarine anymore but on a beautiful island full of vampires with colourful and various personalities, called the Isle of Requiem.