FRIDAY STARS – Your Weekly Must Knows 09/18/15

Happy Friday!  Below you will find:
A giveaway!
What we just finished and loved.
What we are planning to read next.
Upcoming releases, in the next week, that we are extremely excited about!
And of course the latest sales and freebies, which we have either read or have on our to-read lists.
♥ Enjoy!

Giveaways

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Just Finished and Loved

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – 5 Stars!  Short and highly readable but powerful and yes, needed.  What does “feminism” mean today? That is the question at the heart of We Should All Be Feminists, a personal, eloquently-argued essay—adapted from her much-viewed Tedx talk of the same name—by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the award-winning author of Americanah and Half of a Yellow Sun. With humor and levity, here Adichie offers readers a unique definition of feminism for the twenty-first century—one rooted in inclusion and awareness. She shines a light not only on blatant discrimination, but also the more insidious, institutional behaviors that marginalize women around the world, in order to help readers of all walks of life better understand the often masked realities of sexual politics. Throughout, she draws extensively on her own experiences—in the U.S., in her native Nigeria, and abroad—offering an artfully nuanced explanation of why the gender divide is harmful for women and men, alike. Argued in the same observant, witty and clever prose that has made Adichie a bestselling novelist, here is one remarkable author’s exploration of what it means to be a woman today—and an of-the-moment rallying cry for why we should all be feminists.  Anna’s Review

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Darkness, Take My Hand (Kenzie & Gennaro #2) by Dennis Lehane 5 Stars!  But the fact is, Darkness, Take My Hand deserves its 5 stars nonetheless, because of the impact this book had on me. Here I am, staring at the wall, disturbed in my own core feelings, and I know that I would never forget this book.  Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro’s latest client is a prominent Boston psychiatrist, running scared from a vengeful Irish mob. The private investigators know about cold-blooded retribution. Born and bred on the mean streets of blue-collar Dorchester, they’ve seen the darkness that lives in the hearts of the unfortunate.  But an evil for which even they are unprepared is about to strike, as secrets that have long lain dormant erupt, setting off a chain of violent murders that will stain everything – including the truth.  Chelsea’s Review

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Faking Normal (Faking Normal #1) by Courtney C. Stevens 5 Stars!  Just wow. Perfectly perfect– It’s not often I find myself grinning like a deranged loon in the dark back drop of our bedroom after the lights go out.  Alexi Littrell hasn’t told anyone what happened to her over the summer by her backyard pool. Instead, she hides in her closet, counts the slats in the air vent, and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does—and deal with the trauma.  When Bodee Lennox—“the Kool-Aid Kid”—moves in with the Littrells after a family tragedy, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in this quiet, awkward boy who has secrets of his own. As their friendship grows, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her summon the courage to find her voice and speak up about the rape that has changed the course of her life.  Chelsea’s Review

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Our Other Reviews:

4 Stars:
Sacred (Kenzie & Gennaro #3) by Dennis Lehane → Anna’s Review

2 Stars:
Never Never by Brianna Shrum → Jen’s Review

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Reading Next

Sacred (Kenzie & Gennaro #3) by Dennis Lehane – A beautiful, grief-stricken woman has vanished without a trace. So has the detective hired to find her. And a lot of money…  Enter tough-nosed private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro. Rooted in the streets of blue-collar Dorchester, they’ve seen it all – and survived. But this case leads them into unexpected territory: a place of lies and corruption, where trusting anyone could get them killed, and where nothing is sacred.

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The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore – For twenty years, the Palomas and the Corbeaus have been rivals and enemies, locked in an escalating feud for over a generation. Both families make their living as traveling performers in competing shows-the Palomas swimming in mermaid exhibitions, the Corbeaus, former tightrope walkers, performing in the tallest trees they can find.  Lace Paloma may be new to her family’s show, but she knows as well as anyone that the Corbeaus are pure magia negra, black magic from the devil himself. Simply touching one could mean death, and she’s been taught from birth to keep away. But when disaster strikes the small town where both families are performing, it’s a Corbeau boy, Cluck, who saves Lace’s life. And his touch immerses her in the world of the Corbeaus, where falling for him could turn his own family against him, and one misstep can be just as dangerous on the ground as it is in the trees.

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The Sister Pact by Stacie Ramey – Who holds your secrets?  Allie is devastated when her sister commits suicide-and it’s not just because she misses her. Allie feels betrayed. The two made a pact that they’d always be together, in life and in death, but Leah broke her promise and Allie needs to know why.  Her parents hover. Her friends try to support her. And Nick, sweet Nick, keeps calling and flirting. Their sympathy only intensifies her grief.  But the more she clings to Leah, the more secrets surface. Allie’s not sure which is more distressing: discovering the truth behind her sister’s death or facing her new reality without her.

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Upcoming Releases

Fractured Suns (Broken Skies #2) by Theresa Kay (Releases 9/18) – 5 Stars! The story continues! In the first book, Broken Skies, In seventeen-year-old Jax Mitchell’s world, humans are nearly extinct and alien settlers have arrived.  Until recently, the E’rikon have remained segregated in their city and ignored the few humans who have tried to engage them… but now they have taken Jax’s brother. To rescue him, she forms an uneasy alliance with a teenage E’rikon left stranded in the woods. She agrees to guide him to the city if he sneaks her past the human-proof barrier. Too bad it’s not that simple.  Jax, who cannot stand to be touched, finds that she’s drawn to the alien boy with bright green hair and jewel-like scales on his back. And he’s equally affected by her, the courageous redhead with haunted eyes. But she doesn’t know the alien’s true motives and he has no idea that she is much more than she seems.  With the aliens and the humans at odds, the connection forming between the two teens has consequences. What started off as a rescue mission sets a chain of events in motion which threatens not only the remaining humans and the growing alien society, but Earth itself. Jen’s Review

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I Crawl Through It by A.S. King (Releases 9/22)– Four teenagers are on the verge of exploding. The anxieties they face at every turn have nearly pushed them to the point of surrender: senseless high-stakes testing, the lingering damage of past trauma, the buried grief and guilt of tragic loss. They are desperate to cope, but no one is listening.  So they will lie. They will split in two. They will turn inside out. They will even build an invisible helicopter to fly themselves far away…but nothing releases the pressure. Because, as they discover, the only way to truly escape their world is to fly right into it.  The genius of acclaimed author A.S. King reaches new heights in this groundbreaking work of surrealist fiction; it will mesmerize readers with its deeply affecting exploration of how we crawl through traumatic experience-and find the way out.

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Check out our list of upcoming releases that we can’t wait for→ Click Here

 

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Sales

$0.99


New Sale

New Sale 5 Stars!
Chelsea’s Review

5 Stars!
Jen’s Review
Chelsea’s Review

$1.99


New Sale
Chelsea’s Review

5 Stars!
Chelsea’s Review
Anna’s Review

4.5 Stars!
Chelsea’s Review

$2.99


New Sale

4.5 Stars!
Chelsea’s Review

5 Stars!
Anna’s Review
Jen’s Review
Chelsea’s Review

4.5 Stars!
Chelsea’s Review

4.5 Stars!
Jen’s Review
Chelsea’s Review
$3.99

New Sale 5 Stars!
Chelsea’s Review
Laura’s Review
Anna’s Review

4 Stars!
Chelsea’s Review

4.5 Stars!
Chelsea’s Review

Harriett’s Review
Chelsea’s Review
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Freebies

 

 

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