I thoroughly enjoyed this final book in the duology. I love seeing the characters from the Serpent and Dove trilogy. I enjoyed the love story and watching the characters change as the story progressed. All in all, a very satisfying conclusion.

This one just isn't hitting.
There is something about this book that made our FMC who I liked in book 1 turn into an annoying, hard to relate to character.
highly disappointing.
I tried re-reading it at a later date, but that didn't fix it.
Le Sigh!

The Shadow Bride was an engrossing conclusion to the Scarlet Veil Duology. I enjoyed the blend of dark fantastical elements and the poignant love story. It wasn’t just a story about romantic love but familial love and friendship. Mahurin created a dark, gothic world that featured Death as the villian with challenges that seemed insurmountable. The slow burn romance between Michal and Célie was the focal point with their evolving relationship adding emotional depth to the story. While the romance was satisfying, I felt like the narrative never quite came together and the world-building and magic system needed more context. The characters at times felt shallow. If you’re looking for something entertaining to fill the vampire diaries/originals/discovery of witches void, I would recommend picking up this duology.

“The Shadow Bride,” by Shelby Mahurin

This is the second book for The Scarlet Veil series. This one has the same vibe as the first book and her other series in the same universe. All of these books have the same writing style and storytelling and characters, so if you liked any of the other ones then this one is perfect. I loved the plot of this series with the vampires and the kidnapping. I loved both the main characters and their tension and the reasons why they do the things they do. This one has a lot of action compared to the first one. I really liked getting to read more in this universe. 4 out of 5 stars, really good.

-Vampires
-Enemies To Lovers
-Morally Grey MMC
-Slowburn
-Forbidden Romance
-Murder Mystery
-Forced Prox

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

The Shadow Bride has been one of my most anticipated reads of this year! I can't resist a narration by Saskia Maarleveld and I have been in the mood for a vampire romance lately! The Shadow Bride begins shortly after the end of The Scarlet Veil, and features a similar cast of characters, with a few new/more prominent additions.

Unfortunately, the story mostly fell flat for me. I struggled to care what happened, and the end felt unnecessarily convoluted. A lot of book two felt unnecessary to the overall story, and this lacked the magic of book one. I'm really bummed that this didn't live up to The Scarlet Veil.

Thank you to Harper Collins Children's for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.

This was a satisfying sequel. A lot happens. Interesting end. Loved meeting her mom Satine and Mathilde. Really enjoyed Odessa and Lou and Dimitre. They get some of the best lines. Still do not like Jean Luc.

After the unthinkable happens to Celie, she must adapt to her fate or risk destroying the friends that she loves. Her vampire king Michal may have changed her life forever, but vampires aren't the only undead creatures terrorizing Belterra. Celie's sister is back but her return blasted a hole in the veil between life and death, and she wasn't the only thing that came through. Celie and Michal must unpack their attraction and trust each other to heal the veil and save the realm.

I continued to really enjoy the characterization of Celie and the other characters into this sequel. I really appreciated the ways in which Celie learned how to become a vampire while still keeping her personality and I appreciated seeing her have to confront her beliefs. Michal felt mellower, but that made sense in the context of the events of the previous book and the ending where he felt powerless to help Celie. I really enjoyed their relationship, and appreciated that he pushed her but was also so supportive of who she was rather than who she wanted him to be. She was messy and imperfect and so was he. Their scenes were fairly steamy, but I didn't feel like they detracted from the narrative. I didn't really care about the villain this book and he was more threatening when he wasn't actually on the page, but I appreciated that the approach to defeating him was more geared towards outsmarting him than physical challenge, which would have made no sense.

The ending seems to have been polarizing, but I felt it made sense for the characters, especially Michal. It was nice to see a vampire book grapple with the negatives of immortality beyond the superficial.

Overall I liked the book quite a bit and thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the e-ARC!

3.75 stars
i liked the romance and i liked the ending but in general, this dragged for way too long to the point where even Célie started to annoy me as well as Filippa. i wasn’t super invested in the villain plot — i felt more irritation than anxiety when it came to the stakes of the situation. i do like the characters a lot though! definitely a new adult book when it comes to themes and spice

Much better sequel! I enjoyed this a lot more than the first book. Adding the duology to our collection.

The Shadow Bride by Shelby Mahurin is the thrilling conclusion to the Scarlet Veil duology, set in the same world as the Serpent & Dove series. This gothic vampire romance plunges readers into a dark and atmospheric tale of love, betrayal, and redemption.

The story follows Célie, who wakes up as a vampire after sacrificing herself to save her loved ones, including the enigmatic vampire king, Michal. Célie struggles with her new existence, craving blood and unable to walk in the sun. Her sister, Filippa, returns as a revenant, and other undead beings rise, threatening the fragile balance between life and death. As darker forces emerge, Célie and Michal must set aside their intense attraction to mend the veil and restore balance to their world.

It is a must-read for fans of gothic romance and vampire lore!

Favorite quote(s):

“Hello, pet,” he says through gritted teeth, and his eyes— They’re the last thing I see as my breath hitches, my heart leaps, and my knees collapse.”

“When all of this goes tits up, I’m telling the demon to eat you first.”

“It’s better to ask forgiveness than permission.”


Review:

Wow, I don't know what to say! Shelby once again has put me through numerous emotions in the span of one book. I was so excited to see what would come next for not only Célie and Michal, but everyone else after that wild ending in the Scarlet Veil. This duology had so many things I love: romance, mystery, supernatural beings, strong female characters, great friendships, and more. The banter in this book was just as incredible as the other books Shelby has written. I was surprised by how things went down. There were numerous times I worried about the characters. I did expect Filippa to be like the big bad, but she wasn't. But I ended up liking it that way. This book took turns I never expected and kept me wanting to know more. I loved Célie and Michal, getting closer than before, and dealing with all that came with it. It was astonishing that I ended up liking Célie’s mother, cause initially I didn't, but she loved her daughter a lot and grew on me. The last few chapters were intense and so shocking. I didn't see any of it coming, but I loved it. Overall, this was a great read, and I can't wait for what else Shelby writes.

I loved this! It picks up right where the first book left off, and it is such a magical romantic story. I loved getting to know the characters more and see all of them grow. I definitely recommend this duology!

This was such a good ending to this duology!
Celie was honestly kind of annoying with the decision making and her arrogant attitude towards everything.
This world is honestly fascinating and i really enjoyed the new characters and the plot of these books
This book was definitely emotional and intense in some points. I really will read anything Shelby publishes though.

This book was amazing! I loved the first book of this series so much and I was so happy to get to read this book! The story wrapped up really well and I loved it!

I have been waiting to dive back into this world to see where this story ended up. I’ve been following this world and these characters since Serpent & Dove first published. I really like that we still get those moments with the characters from the original trilogy. That being said Celie’s story is its own unique thing.

The romance is the highlight of this story (at least for me). The tension and chemistry between them is great. Michael’s is book boyfriend goals. You can feel his yearning for Celie radiating off the page. There were so many good scenes between the two of them.
The plot of the story was fine for me. I liked the idea of the veil between worlds. Death being the bad guy is good in theory. It just didn’t feel like anything super special to me. Some parts were a little overdramatic, and I found some sections a little drawn out.
The thing that is making this book a 3.5 star for me was the ending, I am not a fan of the one of the that ended up happening to our main characters. That being said I thought the epilogue was super cute.
Overall I thought this was a decent series ending. I enjoyed the characters & the romance. If you liked Serpent & Dove and want be back in that world I recommend checking out the these books!

4.5/5

This was an amazing conclusion to this duology and I absolutely loved reading Celie story. the banter, the tension between Michel and her is wonderful. There is a tad bit more descriptive spice but fade to black but everything leading up to it is played out. Just for those with teens that want to read. I loved having the characters from serpent and Dove becoming more main characters was fantastic. I absolutely loved this duology more than serpent and Dove and it redeemed Celie from her original personality in serpent and Dove.

I received an earc of this and thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins.

I have loved this world since the first book of Serpent and Dove! And getting to see Celie take center stage in this series has been a joy. Her character growth between all five books is amazing, seeing her become stronger and more independent and more open to the world and love around her!

This sequel picks up right where the first books let’s off and starts running and the amount the author throws at Celie is CRAZY! And the stakes rise every chapter! We get a more in-depth look at the lore of the world, meet some crazy new people, and have a ULTIMATELY satisfying end!

My only qualm with the book was that it got a little clogged with sex scenes in the last half of the book which made it drag a little, but I powered through them and was rewarded with an amazing ending!

My hopes is for more books within this world,

HOPING TO SEE COCO TAKE CENTER STAGE!

Thank you NetGalley for the ebook arc. While I absolutely loved the first book, and devoured it in just a few days I just cannot get into this book. I’m am 38% in the book and it has been a slow start and she has killed one of the main character 35% into the book and that right made me want to DNF. I’m struggling to get into the book or want to finish it at this point.

“You’re the sun, Celie.”

Two huntsmen three witches and four vampires walk into a grotto…LOVED. I really hope that Pippa gets her own story!

THINGS AND STUFF
-enemies to lovers
-vampires & witches
-found family
-irrevocable bonds of the eternal variety
-looooonging
-I’ll always wait for you
-#IsThisAKissingBook open door

Thank you Harper Collin’s for the advanced copy!

I so badly wanted to love this. It's a mix between high expectation after book one, and this book being too long that made me rate three stars AND DNF at 60%. This book couldn't keep me engaged except for a few moments that were far in between. I wish I'd liked it more. Thank you for the arc!