Vampire Lee

Hagwall #2

by Holly Day

Can you chase away imaginary monsters with real life monsters?

Dillon Ross lives in a huge mansion together with six other people. Four of them turn furry, one drinks blood regularly, and one is a former blood slave, just like him. Seven months ago, he was rescued from a fate worse than death, and he’s been doing his best to avoid people ever since. Which is hard when you have well-meaning but nosy roommates.

Lee Dowell is a vampire working in a shifter bar. One day, he hears something he wasn’t meant to hear, and while his first reaction is to ignore it, he reaches out to the supernatural version of the police. It might not have been his smartest move, since he now has a target on his back.

Dillon isn’t pleased to realize he is sharing a floor with a vampire. There are enough monsters in his head, he doesn’t need one in his space too. But Lee has put himself in danger by trying to help some people held captive, and his roommates are trying to keep him safe. Lee doesn’t do humans, but when Dillon’s nightmares wake him time and time again, he wants nothing more than to gather him in his arms and chase away his fears. But can you chase away imaginary monsters with real life monsters?

Genres: Vampires, Romance, Shapeshifters, M M Romance

187 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 18, 2024

About the author

According to Holly Day, no day should go by uncelebrated and all of them deserve a story. If she’ll have the time to write them remains to be seen. She lives in rural Sweden with a husband, four children, more pets than most, and wouldn’t last a day without coffee.

Holly gets up at the crack of dawn most days of the week to write gay romance stories. She believes in equality in fiction and in real life. Diversity matters. Representation matters. Visibility matters. We can change the world one story at the time.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A vampire opts for gentle persuasion😉

4-4.5🌟 stars

Vampire Lee was a good mixture of suspense, action and slow-build romance with steamy results.

I've been waiting since late 2022 for this follow-up to Holly Day's A Vampire Chew Toy. I liked the worldbuilding, the characters and their commitment to protect the weak from exploitation. The original cast of vampire, shifter and human characters expands here and Lee, a vampire bartender in a local shifter hangout, gets involved with the original crew of paranormal enforcers and Dillon, a traumatized and badly scarred human former blood slave who's taken sanctuary with the enforcer team. Disappearing locals in the paranormal community, suspicious conversations at the bar and a suspected illegal fighting ring add to the suspense.

I loved the way Lee uses gentle persuasion to get Dillon to come out of his isolation and start trusting Lee and their housemates. These two and their building intimacy are the main focus but their story balances well with the cloak and dagger action. For me, it was a page-turner.

I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

[Edga · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was great to be back in this world, created by Holly Day. I've been waiting on Dillon's story, since reading Vampire Chew Toy. I enjoyed meeting up with all the gang once again, I love their bravery and their kindness, to those who need help. Dillon is still in a bad way at the beginning of the story, but his character develops nicely as the story progresses. He really shows his mettle towards the end of the book. His relationship with Vampire Lee, was a welcome surprise, they were so well matched. Another action packed story, with one or two twists and turns. I do hope we'll get to see more of poor Angelo.

I received an ARC of this story which in no way influenced my opinion.

[Acious · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been waiting for this!

I stumbled across Holly Day and read A Vampire Chew Toy about a year ago and have been waiting on Dillon’s story ever since. I’m so excited that it’s here and thoroughly enjoyed it. I read it in a few hours though and am back to waiting for the next in series. I guess I’ll have to do some rereads. Sigh.

[James Garman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love vampires and I love stories about redemption and healing and this novel is about both. It is about Vampire Lee who works in a bar that serves primarily shifters. Many of them are wolves, but the owner is a lion and there are other types as well. He lives along but is involved in a one-night stand with a shiffer who is big strong etc. That leads to him being noticed by the shifter community including a group that is trying to restock the cages used to store test fighters for an underground fight club that leads to massive amounts of death and destruction of lives.

With that he meets Dillion who is simply a human being but was a fight slave for about five years and although he has been out for about eight months is still horrified of vampires because they are the ones that fed from him. But for some reason Lee and Dillion end up sleeping on the same floor of the massive safe-house that Dillion was living in.

Lee finds himself learning more about how he is seen and how he does have something to offer. Up till now, that has been a question in his mind. Dillion manages to deal with some of his issues and they both end up better off. Like I said, redemption or healing for both major characters.

I recommend this novel or novella, I am never sure where the line is drawn, to those who live vampires and the supernatural but with "human" relations and redemption thrown in.

[Flick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good!

I will admit I get slightly excited when I find out Holly is doing another book in the same world and this book was no different. Let me tell you, Lee and Dillon’s book did not disappoint at all! I was super excited to see Dillon again; he’d been through so much and had managed to push through it all without giving up even though nobody would have blamed him if he had. There was an internal strength to him that shone so brightly. I was so happy he got to have a HEA and with someone as sweet as Lee. I liked that Lee wasn’t this perfect specimen who came in and ‘saved’ Dillon. Yes he wanted to take care of him and he wanted to show Dillon it was okay to be a little more relaxed around others but Lee had his own demons (even if he didn’t talk about them). It was kind of hilarious watching Lee flounder when the role he thought he had was flipped a bit. I felt bad for him but his inept rambling was kind of funny. I’m just glad that when things went sideways he was able to have people at his back who would fight to help him (including Dillon). I cannot express how excited I am for Rei’s book beyond that I am giddy with excitement after seeing a glimpse of what might come!

[Marion · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book 2 in the Hagwall series and you really must read book one A Vampire Chew Toy first. This is the story of Dillon Ross and Lee Dowell. Dillon is a survivor. He was rescued from his prison as being a blood slave. Held captive for over three years, he is alive but not living. Overwhelming fear and panic are his constant companion. He is currently living with Devin, another freed blood slave, and the paranormal version of the police. The people who rescued him. Lee Dowell is a relatively young vampire and is currently working as a bartender at the Rambling Rogue shifter bar. When he overhears some potentially dangerous information, he seeks out Rei, one of the version of police I mentioned earlier. Through Rei, Lee and Dillon meet. It was definitely not love at first sight for either of them. Slowly, through small interactions, both learn about each other and themselves. This is their story. The book is very well written and easy to read. I sat and read it from cover to cover. I liked the fragile friendship that they both work to keep. It is actually a really nice love story. I loved this book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[The Word Nerd Reviews Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's better than a Holly Day book? A Holly Day series!!

I was jumping over the moon happy to see that "A Vampire Chew Toy" was to be the first book in the Hagwell series. I adored that book and the follow up novella "Chocolate with Bite", but now we're back with book 2 Vampire Lee.

Vampire Lee is Dillon's story, a half shifter we met in A Vampire Chew Toy. It has the same feel good, healing vibes of the first book. Add in some action, a touch of suspense, and whole bucket load of emotional trauma healing with all the ups and downs involved, and you have a page turner.

Despite the sometimes quite intense emotion and trauma on the page, it is never heavy or depressing. Even in Dillon's darkest moments, there is always light, and that makes such a difference to the reading experience.

I would most definitely advise that you read at least A Vampire Chew Toy before this one or you will most likely be terribly lost (at worst) or not fully understand the nuances of the story and its characters, and all the history that has come before. A Vampire Chew Toy was one of my favourite stories of 2022, so in my opinion, you are seriously missing out if you don't read it first!!!

Highly Highly recommended and I can't wait to see what comes next!

[Susan Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vampire Lee by Holly Day was both a fun read and a story that had some serious elements that were handled well. I think this is the first book I’ve read (out of thousands) where a nickname proves to be an important element in the book. As a bartender, Lee hears information that he believes should be brought to the paranormal police. The world has both vampires and shifters, all of whom are supposed to hide from humans, but humans get dragged into the paranormal world on occasion. One such person is Dillon who was unfortunate enough to become a source of blood for vampires against his will. He is rescued and gets to know Lee at the house of some other paranormals. Lee’s information sets off an investigation by the paranormal police and he is now a marked person, so he winds up staying at the home of the paranormal operatives. I liked the mystery of who was running something illegal and the little twist it brings to Lee. There is lots of action and suspense, but our MCs survive (how else would they begin a relationship). I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving a review voluntarily.

[Belinda Zamora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dillon is still struggling with the aftereffects of having been kept prisoner as a bloodslave.
He's still terrified of everything and everyone.
Vampire Lee is a bartender in a shifter bar and his name is a running joke.
He's overhead some unsettling information about underground fighting and is trying to let the group know so they're aware.
While Dillon is wary of Lee, Lee finds himself strangely invested.
He keeps finding reasons to be close to Dillon and begins helping him acclimate to life.
Meanwhile all through the background there's an investigation being conducted and the team is desperately trying to find the source of the underground fighting.
There's steamy moments between them and Lee goes and makes a fool of himself because he has some misconceptions about specific roles.
There's plenty of action, danger and drama as
Lee fights keep Dillon safe.
We meet some new characters and I think Rei is in for a rude awakening.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice to return to Hagwall again

I loved A Vampire Chew Toy and hoped this would be as good. It was great to see the familiar faces in the manor house again and I was so glad this was Dillon's story.
I loved Lee as a character and I loved Dillon as a character also. I loved them together, with Lee drawing Dillon out of his shell and his comfort zone. What didn't work so well for me is that everything happened so quickly between them and, in the circumstances, it didn't ring true. Devin took three years to become confortable with his housemates after his rescue and he was in captivity for a much shorter period than Dillon was. Dillon was almost a recluse in the manor, jumping at every shadow and noise, and his captivity was even more horrific than Devin's.
I loved the storyline and how it ended, and now I need to read Rei's book after Holly gave us a big clue about his future.

[Rhonda Boone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading Lee and Dillon's story. Even though Lee is a vampire… he tries so hard to help Dillon adjust to his surroundings. Dillon, a traumatized blood slave, rescued by the gang, doesn't like vampires AT ALL!! This book was so well written , the plot suspenseful, engaging characters, snarkiness and banter… if I wasn't engrossed in the plot… I was laughing at the antics/ situations of the characters… I loved catching up with the gang..Rei, Mars, Devin, Faelin, Murrie and Hanna… wonder who will fall in love next….

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving my review voluntarily.

[Juniper · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a compelling blend here of action/suspense and relationship development: Dillon is deeply traumatized by his experiences as a vampire blood slave and Lee, as the title might imply, is a vampire, so it takes time and effort for trust to build here. I won’t spoil the intrigue elements here, but I found them gripping enough to keep pages turning, and I really liked Lee, who manages to be heroic and decent and also deeply relatable: I love that he hates his nickname, tries his best, and fits so well with Dillon, who is compelling in his own right.

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Yvonne M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story, a slow growing connection between Lee and Dillon is great. The fact that Lee was kept as a blood slave for years and now is free and he chooses to be with Dillon really shows his trust in Dillon. I am really glad that I read this book and I recommend it along with the other books in this series because it’s a love story slow in the making but really wonderful. Holly writes some great stories and I definitely recommend reading them.

[Joscelyn Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dillon and Lee's was a great addition to the series. I enjoyed watching Lee break down Dillon's walls and seeing Dillon become stronger. They were both a bit broken around the edges but they healed every minute they were together. A really enjoyable read.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Viki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really good!

[Yvonne Nusenz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nowhere near as good as the first one. I don’t understand why dude ends up trusting vampire Lee so fast, very odd. I was really hopeful too

[Marlobo ♥ epilogues · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars