How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
In another sense […] Sanford was very lucky indeed. He had a jewel of a wife (named Maud) who was a former nurse; she had also read Dracula, and was quickly able to work out what had happened. (3.8)
When Sanford was infected, he was lucky his wife had his back. Her medical and her pop culture knowledge helped her diagnose and treat his vampirism, while she also must've provided moral support for him. Unfortunately, relationships between a mortal human and an immortal vampire usually end poorly. Maud eventually died, leaving Sanford on his own.
Quote #2
George gave in to it once. He fanged a woman named Ethel (who was later murdered by her own family) before Sanford tracked him down and stopped him. (3.11)
Wait, let's read that again: Ethel was murdered by her own family. Ugh. We don't get a lot of details about her life, but this poor woman was infected by George's bite, and then her family found out and killed her. How awful.
Quote #3
"Nina wouldn't be exposed to anyone like that. Because Nina would be sleeping at home. As usual. I wouldn't thrown out my own daughter, would I?" (5.18)
Nina's mom is pretty adamant about Nina staying at home, where she'll be safe, rather than loitering in a graveyard or some other place where shady people hang out. So even though Nina's mom can be kind of cranky sometimes, she seems to have Nina's best interests in mind.
Quote #4
For your information, my father was a waste of space. He left Mum the minute he heard that she was pregnant, and died two years later in a car crash. (7.60)
Nina doesn't have a good relationship with her dad, because she doesn't have any relationship with her dad. He ran out on her mom after finding out she was pregnant, and died a couple years after that. Nina doesn't seem particularly bothered by this, since it happened so long ago, but she does put her foot in her mouth by insulting her dad's actions when Dave is in earshot. This is because Dave also abandoned a pregnant girlfriend (though under different circumstances where he had less control over things).
Quote #5
God, I felt bad. Because if there's one thing that Dave regrets more than anything else, it's the way he abandoned his pregnant girlfriend some thirty-odd years ago. (7.64)
Poor Dave. Both he and his girlfriend were just teenagers, and as soon as her parents found out their daughter was knocked up, they moved her far away. Dave was turned into a vampire shortly after. So we've got multiple familial relationships in this short anecdote: the relationship of the girl to her parents (who seem pretty controlling), and Dave's relationships with his girlfriend and unborn child. There's a lot going on there, and none of it's easy.
Quote #6
Nothing will ever lessen the guilt he feels about deserting the mother of his unborn child. And what makes it even worse is the fact that he can't have any more kids, because vampires aren't capable of reproducing. Not in the normal way, at least. We can only pass on our infection. (7.68)
Well, that's cheery. If you didn't get a chance to reproduce while you were a mortal, it's gone when you become a vamp. No second chances. Maybe Dave would've been a good dad, and maybe not, but now he never gets to find out. None of the vamps do.
Quote #7
"What's the matter with you, Horace?"
"The matter with me is that I have to pay rent! Unlike some people who live with their mothers," Horace snarled. (20.9-10)
Horace sure seems to be holding a grudge here. Apparently he didn't have a family to support him in his transition to being a vampire, or at least he doesn't have a family anymore (since he was infected in the early 1900s). Whatever the cause, he resents Nina for having a mom to look out for her (which includes providing her with free housing).
Quote #8
Unfortunately, Reuben seems to have anticipated a prodigal-son kind of welcome from his family. He's suffered so much that his perceptions are slightly skewed, and he can't understand why Dane won't simply forgive and forget. (29.10)
Let's remember that Reuben, as a werewolf, is a seventh son. And he didn't come from a happy, healthy family, either; his mom died when he was young of an alcohol-related disease. When he disappeared for five years thanks to the McKinnons kidnapping him, it apparently upset his brother Dane, who assumed that Reuben had irresponsibly run away and stayed out of contact. So even though Reuben had a legit excuse for not being in touch, he's having a hard time reconciling with his remaining family.
Quote #9
Barry's had to miss a lot of meetings. His transformation was especially hard—perhaps because he was infected by a blood relative. (29.13)
It's hard enough to forgive your sister for "borrowing" your favorite sweater… Can you even imagine trying to forgive someone in your family for turning you into a vampire? Barry definitely doesn't make it look easy.
Quote #10
"Nina, we've had to sit through something like ten hours of Dermid's childhood traumas." (29.29)
What happens when you let a new vampire into the Reformed Vampire Support Group? You get to hear about all the stuff that you would normally hear about in a support group, including childhood traumas. Maybe Dermid and Barry's son-father relationship wasn't as functional as it appeared to be while they were running their illegal werewolf fighting ring.