Today being the first day of February it is time to kick of the new reading challenge devised by Ben over at Literature n LoFi. Ben has challenged everyone to read books written by authors with She/Her pronouns during the month of February and I am delighted to take part.
I have a few books lined up to read this month and am hoping to get to most of them although one of them is quite a chonk – looking at you, Dragon Mage!! Anyway I will do my best. These are my picks for this month:
The Ghosts of Thorwald Place by Helen Power
This one is for a blog tour organised by Blackthorn Book Tours – a creepy little tale of a woman who is murdered in the elevator of her apartment building and finds her ghost tethered to the elevator as she tries to find out more about her neighbours’ lives.
Rachel Drake is on the run from the man who killed her husband. She never leaves her safe haven in an anonymous doorman building, until one night a phone call sends her running. On her way to the garage, she is murdered in the elevator. But her story doesn’t end there.
She finds herself in the afterlife, tethered to her death spot, her reach tied to the adjacent apartments. As she rides the elevator up and down, the lives of the residents intertwine. Every one of them has a dark secret. An aging trophy wife whose husband strays. A surgeon guarding a locked room. A TV medium who may be a fraud. An ordinary man with a mysterious hobby.
Compelled to spend eternity observing her neighbors, she realizes that any one of them could be her killer.
A Sorrow Named Joy by Sarah Chorn
Joy desires nothing more than her husband’s happiness. She spends her days creating the perfect life for him in their idyllic suburban home. Everything is neat, predictable, and in its place.
When Joy finds a picture that hints at a past she cannot remember, the facade cracks. As secrets are revealed, Joy realizes her blissful life is crumbling and to find herself, she must first lose herself.
Megacity (Operation Galton Book 3) by Terry Tyler
This is book 3 in a dystopian trilogy and has been on my TBR since it came out – finally getting a chance to read it!!
The UK’s new megacities: contented citizens relieved of the financial burden of home ownership, living in eco-friendly communities. Total surveillance has all but wiped out crime, and biometric sensor implants detect illness before symptoms are apparent.
That’s the hype. Scratch the surface, and darker stories emerge.
Tara is offered the chance to become a princess amongst media influencers—as long as she keeps quiet and does as she’s told.
Aileen uproots to the megacity with some reluctance, but none of her misgivings prepare her for the situation she will face: a mother’s worst nightmare.
Radar has survived gang rule in group homes for the homeless, prison and bereavement, and jumps at the chance to live a ‘normal’ life. But at what cost?
For all three, the price of living in a megacity may prove too high.
Megacity is the third and final book in the dystopian Operation Galton trilogy, and is Terry Tyler’s twenty-third publication.
‘As long as some of us refuse to live as they demand, we are not yet beaten. That’s how we do it. That’s how we win.’
Octavia Bloom and the Missing Key
I am reading this one for a Write Reads blog tour.
One tiny discovery can have enormous consequences…
Almost 10-year-old Octavia Bloom is looking for adventure, but when it comes it’s in the shape of a tiny fairy door.
Dragging her reluctant sister and cousins into the mystery, Octavia discovers her family are hiding not ONE but TWO life-changing secrets.
Why is her mother searching for an elusive flower? And does she have what it takes to reunite her fractured family?
Octavia’s certain the answers lie behind the fairy door, if only she could just find the key…
Bravery, secrets & magic intertwine in this fantastical adventure.
Blade’s Edge (Chronicles of Gensokai #1) by Virginia McClain
Finalist for the 2019 SPFBO Award
Two friends. Two forbidden powers. One chance to change everything.
When Mishi is taken from her orphanage home, she fears she’ll never see her best friend Taka again. And when Taka is taken to the infamous Josankō that same day, it seems as if more than distance will keep them apart.
Suddenly alone in their fight to survive, each girl must come to terms with her true nature—Mishi as warrior, Taka as healer. Years after their separation, the girls’ journeys lead them each to uncover the horrifying secret that the Rōjū council has spent centuries killing to keep.
Now the Rōjū council wants Taka and Mishi dead and they’ll have only one chance to save their people.
How much will Mishi and Taka sacrifice in order to protect all they hold dear?
Dragon Mage by M.L. Spencer
Aram Raythe has the power to challenge the gods. He just doesn’t know it yet.
Aram thinks he’s nothing but a misfit from a small fishing village in a dark corner of the world. As far as Aram knows, he has nothing, with hardly a possession to his name other than a desire to make friends and be accepted by those around him, which is something he’s never known. But Aram is more.
Much, much more.
Unknown to him, Aram bears within him a gift so old and rare that many people would kill him for it, and there are others who would twist him to use for their own sinister purposes. These magics are so potent that Aram earns a place at an academy for warrior mages training to earn for themselves the greatest place of honor among the armies of men: dragon riders.
Aram will have to fight for respect by becoming not just a dragon rider, but a Champion, the caliber of mage that hasn’t existed in the world for hundreds of years. And the land needs a Champion. Because when a dark god out of ancient myth arises to threaten the world of magic, it is Aram the world will turn to in its hour of need.
So those are my picks – I may not manage to read them all in February but they are at the top of my TBR pile! If you read anything written by authors with She/Her pronouns in February be sure to use the tag #FebruarySheWrote
Thank you for reading and Happy February!
Sue's Musings 
Oooh, love your list! 😍 I’m participating for the first time too, so I’m excited! I’m posting my reading list in a bit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellent – will look out for it!
LikeLiked by 1 person