Danse Macabre (Laurell K Hamilton)

I should have listened to the Amazon reviews, and left Danse Macabre well alone. It is truly, absolutely awful. There is no plot. There is a lot of sex, and a pregnancy scare, and more sex, and more more more really terribly written sex. I was incredibly bored, and only finished it because I had read all my other library books and was mildly curious as to whether anything actually happened at the end. No. It doesn't. Avoid at all costs.

Circle of Flight (John Marsden)

Circle of Flight is the latest (and I think, the last) in Marsden's Ellie Chronicles, three books which followed the characters from his Tomorrow When the War Began series. I think it's the worst book of Marsden's that I've ever read, and it's certainly not a stand alone book. It feels like he's just desperately hauling these characters ever onwards where they don't particularly want to go. I didn't care about Ellie during this book, and she's always been one of my favourite characters. A great disappointment.

Drowning Ruth (Christina Schwarz)

Drowning Ruth is billed as a psychological thriller, but I wasn't particularly enthralled by it. The story of Amanda, who takes care of her sister's child Ruth, after her sister drowns, with the help of Ruth's father, Carl. Amanda was present the night of her sister's death, and we gradually discover the truth of what happened that night as the story progresses. I finished the story, but found it rather dull - a very forgettable book.

Pomegranate Soup (Marsha Mehran)

I read Pomegranate Soup on a plane, and this very mediocre attempt at magical realism was not improved by such uncomfortable surroundings. I don't think I can blame the plane, though - I would have disliked Pomegranate Soup wherever I read it.

I picked up Pomegranate Soup because of the cover, and took it home from the library because of the blurb. Three Iranian sisters move to a small Irish town and start up a cafe - it seemed a pleasantly light and quirky read to take on holiday.

Unfortunately, as Books Give Wings pointed out, Marsha Mehran has copied the plot of Joanne Harris' Chocolat almost exactly. Strangers come to a small town, are greeted with fear and suspicion, and win over townspeople with their magical cooking skills. Unfortunately, Mehran doesn't write nearly as well as Harris, and Pomegranate Soup suffers from her heavy-handed writing, scattering unnecessary metaphors and symbolism all over the place. The sisters are greeted with competely over-the-top hatred and fear by some - the main villian of the piece, Thomas McGuire, is laughable in his constant state of rage. Pieces of "magic" pop into the plot, but because Mehran hasn't drawn the reader into another world, they are ridiculously out of place. I found myself laughing at a scene I think was supposed to be a transformational and triumphant conclusion to the novel. A very disappointing read.