Elmore Leonard said: I have a character in one of my books tell how she used to write historical romances ''full of rape and adverbs.''

Tuesday 19 February 2008

AN EARLY BIRTHDAY PRESENT

The older I get, the more I dread them.

So this piece of timeless wisdom hit me in a particularly vulnerable spot:
Despite her frailty, Nani's voice was steady, strong. You're twenty-six, naantin. You are beautiful, but if you wait much longer you will have only divorcés and shop owners to choose from."
Demon Moon, Meljean Brook.

NOOOOOO!!! Not (gulp) divorcés!


(Good book, btw).

Anyway, Fate - perhaps sensing my delicate emotional balance at this most unhappy of times - sent me an early birthday present today. I got home to find:

The Vampire Queen's Servant, by Joey W. Hill
Queen of Dragons, by Shana Abe (shiny!)
Demon Night, Meljean Brook
The Spymasters Lady, Joanna Bourne
London in the 19th Century, Jerry White

AND

The thrilling ARC (hey, my first ever) for Ann Aguirre's Grimspace.

So my birthday will pass in a happy haze of oblivion, with no Nani to warn me of time's decay. Unless she turns up in Demon Night.

Incidentally, one of the most annoying things about growing older is when heroines start getting younger than yourself. It'll be the heroes next... (see: The Scream)

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Apropos of nothing... I can't find the post where this belongs, but isn't this the same cover as a Lynn Graham you read recently? I much prefer its new title :)

Sherry Thomas said...

Thirty is the new 18. Srsly.

So u is still a teenager.

Meriam said...

RfP - hilarious! Though seriously, The Petrakos Bride may as well have been a corpse (The Petrakos Corpse Bride) for all the animation she showed. No, no that's harsh. I was going to write a review - I took notes and everything - but I'm sort of chasing my tail at the moment.

What a great site. They're all funnier than the next.

Sherry - bite your tongue, I'm not thirty yet!

Joanna Chambers said...

*glowers jealously having 'celebrated' 35th birthday a week ago*

I think we need to talk about Demon Night once you've read it.... The ending is good. That much, I will say.

Jace said...

Happy belated birthday!

Meriam said...

Thanks, Jace. It's over now. I can pretend I'm as old as I feel (aprox. 12).

I think we need to talk about Demon Night once you've read it.... The ending is good. That much, I will say.

Tumperkin, does that mean the rest of it isn't so good? I have bumped Demon Night to the top of my tbr pile. Should be ready to discuss by the end of the weekend.

Carolyn Crane said...

Happy birthday! And can I say I admire your book haul there?

I read Crimson Petal and the White. I loved it, though I was slightly confused by the ending, but then my mom explained it to me.

Jill D. said...

I am currently reading Demon Night now and I am enjoying it. I will be curious to hear your thoughts on it too.

Meriam said...

Carolyn, I'm loving The Crimson Petal and the White, but it's taking me a looong, time to get through it. I've set it aside temporarily for my current glomming of Meljean Brook's Guardian series. Do you know Faber's written a follow up to it, a bunch of short stories (I think)?

I love my book haul too! I'm particularly curious about Joey Hill, as it's a bit of a deviation from my normal reading tastes, but I've heard so much about this book I had to give it a try.

The cover of The Spymaster's Lady just makes me laugh.

Jill - we're all at it! Actually, I have to read your review of Demon Moon now that I've read the book and see if I agree...

Brie said...

I love the scream, Meriam. It is so fitting. Happy belated B Day!!

It sounds like you recieved some good books. And I agree, the cover to Spymasters Lady is very cheesy, but the book itself is great. I can't wait to see your review for that one.

Sherry Thomas said...

What I meant was that you were still an under-18 teenager. :-)

Meriam said...

I thought so, I just wanted to write 'bite your tongue.' (Sorry). And I totally take your point - I was certainly acting like an overwrought teenager about my birthday...

It's all about the attitude!