Blood Reunion

Vampire Twins #4

by Janice Harrell

Anne Marie, tormented by her brother's monstrous transformation, fights for control of her life as her brother, hunted by those who know his terrible secret, seeks his father's lethal protection. Original.

Genres: Young Adult, Vampires, Horror, Supernatural

240 pages, Paperback

First published March 28, 1995

Reviews

[Sati Marie Frost · Rating 2 out of 5]

Back in the 90s (and probably 80s), there was a peculiarly prevalent idea that abused children commonly go on to become abusers. Newer studies appear to indicate that around 8% of abused kids go on to abuse others, and somewhere around 50% go on to be abused by others - though that abuse may take any of various forms. So by today’s indicators, the concern about the pathway from abused -> abuser appears to be heavily overblown, or at the very least, heavily overshadowed by the much more likely possibility that abused kids will become abused adults. Nonetheless, that idea was everywhere right through the 90s, and was just starting to be challenged around the time I started working in mental health in the 00s.

Reading this series as an adult, with that historical context available to me, made it more interesting to me. It’s not a series that I particularly cared for as a teen and pre-teen - too dark, too depressing, lacking the sincere emotional feeling that some YA paranormal books have - and I find it curious, though not entirely unexpected, to find that I enjoyed it more as a 40-year-old, though I did find this final chapter to be the weakest.

Part of the strength of the storytelling, I think, is in the fact that Paul and Ari are twins, which makes Paul’s decline stand out particularly well. They are intelligent (Ari more than Paul), healthy, attractive, rich - and abused (Paul more than Ari). Richard’s avoidance and then violence and control, Gabrielle’s (mostly) benevolent neglect, Verena’s assault on Paul - which is more clearly symbolic of rape than it is in your average vampire story, though the allegory is frequently there within vampire tales - and to some extent even their mother’s overprotectiveness and lack of transparency, all combined to create a pair of teenagers who were utterly alone in the world, and unable to navigate it safely. Paul’s decline seems, in turns, avoidable and inevitable, while Ari’s ability to resist corruption seems somehow both miraculous and foreshadowed in hindsight. Could Paul have made different, better choices at any point, or was he doomed from the start? My opinion on that swings from one viewpoint to another, much as it has with many real-life situations in the past. Perhaps it is a bit of both. Working in the mental health field, one saying that I have heard often, usually in reference to personality disorders but applicable to many other situations, is, “Genetics loads the gun, environment pulls the trigger.” The places we end up in life are frequently due to a combination of the luck of the draw, and our own choices, and our choices are heavily - but not totally - influenced by our environment and the things that happen to us.

Perhaps Paul could have changed his life (unlife?), despite all the atrocities that happened to him, if he had made better choices. If he had respected Ari more, refused to abuse Sophie, taken accountability for Susannah. Or perhaps there was never a chance. I often wonder if there is an event horizon for human salvation; a point beyond which it is no longer possible to turn one’s life (or unlife) around, and I never quite come to a satisfactory conclusion. I lean towards thinking that there is always a chance, but that those chances get leaner and leaner the more you damage others.

I found Paul’s ending to be simultaneously sad, and the best thing that could have happened to him. Most of my sympathies lay with Sophie, who really got a raw deal.

This review is already too long, and is perhaps reaching more than the books merit. I’m a little surprised that a series that I don’t particularly love and don’t intend to keep has started such a flood of thought, but perhaps it is just a pensive week for me.

[Jus · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Blood reunion” by JH, I read it in a day Dec 26, 2025! - was it really a reunion?! No. Probably the worst book of the vampire twin series. Disappointed that Rab and Sybil never found out that they’re related / half siblings to Ari and Paul.

Paul’s character was a likeable character at the beginning but he changes into an abuser, a bit like his father Richard. The book felt rushed, too many loose ends. Lots of unknown characters names that weren’t important.

3 stars seems too kind. I’ve changed it to 2.5stars!

[Sakura Koneko · Rating 3 out of 5]

The end of the Vampire Twin series, this book has the most action I believe. The ending is a little sad, but really it's probably the best one there could have been considering the other options.

[chinami · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the saga, very original and the bittersweet ending was good.

[Kathleen]

... and done! That was fun.

[Allyslittlewonderland · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this ending to be weak for such an awesome series.