Reviewed by: Sue Eaton
TITLE: Ego’s Guide to Love Bites & Vampires
SERIES: The Dreamwalkers #3
AUTHOR: Sammi Cee
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 232 pages
RELEASE DATE:June 26, 2026
BLURB:
Ego wasn’t supposed to survive his first death.
Waking up with fangs, a relentless hunger, and a maker who taunts him from the Dreamveil was never the plan. Escaping to Willowhope, Ego plans on hiding in his mini-castle until he figures out how to handle being a popstar and a bloodsucker at the same time. Instead, he’s trapped in a new reality he doesn’t understand, where the rules are different, the stakes are higher, and control feels just out of reach.
Willowhope has a way of collecting the broken, though. Surrounded by a found family that refuses to let him fall apart, an ancient vampire determined to teach him the rules he doesn’t want to follow, and grumpy, no-nonsense Scotty, who challenges him at every turn, Ego finds more support than he’s ever experienced before.
Especially by Scotty. Scotty, who doesn’t just see what Ego has become but pieces together the broken man who’d been hiding behind flirty banter and innuendo.
It should be simple to keep his distance. It always had been with Scotty’s distrust in him, but the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to ignore the sharp, inconvenient, and impossible to control pull between them. What started months ago as friction turns into something neither of them is prepared for.
As the Dreamveil begins to shift and something darker stirs beneath the surface, Ego realizes his transformation is tied to more than just blood. His maker is coming, the danger is closing in, and the fragile control he’s fighting for might not be enough to keep the people around him safe.
REVIEW:
This is a story about two men who shouldn’t fit, who don’t know where they belong, who are surrounded by meddling ghosts and well‑meaning friends and who somehow carve out a future that feels earned, tender, and quietly triumphant. Ego and Scotty’s romance is messy, sweet, and full of heart.
Ego’s arc is the emotional backbone of the book. He’s turned into a vampire against his will, and the identity crisis that follows. He doesn’t know how to be a vampire. He doesn’t know how to be himself anymore. He’s terrified of hurting people, disappointing people, or being seen as a monster and he’s absolutely convinced he’s unlovable now.
Ego’s journey is about reclaiming agency learning that he gets to choose who he is, even after everything was taken from him. His vulnerability is raw, sometimes prickly, sometimes heartbreaking, and always deeply human.
Scotty is the opposite kind of lost. He loves his job at Willowhope. He loves helping people. He loves being part of something bigger. But he’s quietly haunted by the fear that he doesn’t really belong anywhere that he’s replaceable, or temporary, or just one more helper in a place full of helpers. His sweetness isn’t naïve; it’s deliberate. He chooses kindness even when he’s unsure of himself. And that makes him exactly the kind of person Ego needs, even if neither of them realises it at first.
Scotty’s wariness of Ego isn’t dramatic or cruel, it’s human. Ego is newly turned, frightened of himself, and radiating the kind of brittle vulnerability that makes people instinctively cautious. Scotty feels that; he’s careful around Ego because he doesn’t want to push, assume, or accidentally hurt someone who’s already been through too much. But as they spend time together through Willowhope’s chaos, the ghosts’ meddling, and the steady rhythm of shared moments. Scotty starts to see the truth beneath Ego’s fear: he’s gentle, thoughtful, and trying so hard to be good. And Ego, in turn, sees that Scotty’s caution isn’t rejection but kindness. That slow mutual understanding becomes the bridge between them. Scotty’s wariness softens into trust, Ego’s self‑doubt eases under Scotty’s steady presence, and what begins as careful distance becomes a quiet, certain closeness. By the time they fall into a relationship, it feels less like a leap and more like the natural next step two people choosing each other after learning they’re safe together.
The obstacles of Ego’s trauma and Scotty’s insecurity, the supernatural chaos swirling around them don’t magically disappear. Instead, they navigate them together, step by step, mistake by mistake, moment by moment. Their romance is slow, gentle, and quietly transformative. It’s not about grand gestures. It’s about small choices, Scotty’s steady presence instead of pressure. Ego letting himself be cared for even when it scares him. Both realising that belonging isn’t something you’re given it’s something you build.
Willowhope is basically a paranormal neighbourhood watch run by people who care too much and meddle even more. The ghosts? They mean well. They really do. But they have the subtlety of a brick through a window. The friends? Bless them. They’re supportive, nosy, and incapable of minding their own business. All of them push Ego and Scotty together in ways that range from adorable to exasperating. It’s like watching a rom‑com where the supporting cast is made of spectral aunties and paranormal coworkers who think “boundaries” is a suggestion.
By the end, Ego isn’t just surviving his new life he’s living it. Scotty isn’t just part of Willowhope he’s essential to it. And together, they create a future that feels warm, safe, and beautifully earned. Their HEA isn’t flashy. It’s right. It’s the kind of ending where you close the book with a soft smile because you know they’re going to be okay.
RATING: 
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