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Productivity is Power: 5 Liberating Practices for College Students by Hillary Rettig – Review by Maisie Camille

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Productivity is Power: Five Liberating Practices for College StudentsProductivity is Power: Five Liberating Practices for College Students by Hillary Rettig
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hillary Rettig’s Productivity is Power offers detailed tips for students to overcome problems that affect their productivity, such as procrastination, perfectionism, isolation, and self-sabotaging. Tips include time-management and self-care. I recommend this book because I found it helpful and useful even though I have recently graduated, and I also found it inspiring. It was interesting how Hillary talked about vocations, systemic oppression, and work-life balance as well. ‘Time happens to be far more valuable than money.’

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Finding Hope: A Small Town Beach Romance (Half Moon Bay Series) by Erin Brockus – Review by Maisie Camille

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Finding Hope: A Small Town Beach Romance (Half Moon Bay #1)Finding Hope: A Small Town Beach Romance by Erin Brockus
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Erin Brockus’ Finding Hope follows Hope Collins, ready to start over after losing a relationship and leaving her job. An exciting opportunity brings her to St Croix, where she meets Alex, reserved diver with a mysterious past. Both reluctant to work together at first, and both having spent their lives holding themselves back from feeling anything, this is a slowburn romance with a sweet ending. A lot happens over the course of a few months and Erin manages to show how not only the relationship but also the characters develop over time. The only issue I had with the writing was at the beginning, where the race of the black characters was frequently mentioned but the race of the white characters was not, as it felt out of place, especially considering the story was set in the Virgin Islands. I recommend this book because both Hope and Alex are relatable to a lot of people, and their stories are inspiring. Hope’s story was particularly inspiring to me, after everything she’s been through, and having the courage to start over. ‘Most of all, under the table, Alex’s knee had been pressed against hers for quite some time, and she hadn’t moved away. Didn’t want to move away.’

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The Music That Ties Us (Love Ties Us Series) by Nicolette Terry – Review by Maisie Camille

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The Music That Ties Us: A Rockstar Romance (Love Ties Us)The Music That Ties Us: A Rockstar Romance by Nicolette Terry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It’s funny how I keep picking up books that I end up massively relating to. Cadence is stuck in an unhappy, toxic, passionless relationship until her sister drags her to see a band and she can’t keep her eyes off the lead singer. They don’t get along at first, but end up forming a deep friendship, which allows Cadence to grow the strength she needs. It’s an emotional story all-round, as well as relatable, and inspirational, and romantic. I did find a few issues towards the end, for instance, I feel like Damien’s history is the kind of story that contributes towards the lack of belief in women, I thought her connection to music would come sooner, months go by in the space of a few chapters, a lot comes out about Elijah, there’s a huge level of miscommunication, and I’m guessing the reveal at the end is a hint towards the next in the series but I hadn’t connected to the relevant characters enough for it to make an impact. But overall it was a passionate love story and I’m happy with how it worked out. My favourite character was Cadence and my least favourite character was Elijah. I recommend this book because it is inspiring especially if you find yourself stuck in an unhappy situation. And we’ve all dreamed about singing along with a rockstar, haven’t we? ‘There was something inspiring about hitting rock bottom and creating yourself all over again, brick by brick.’

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Finding Love (The Oath Series) by Lacey Furr – Review by Maisie Camille

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Finding Love (The Oath Series)Finding Love by Lacey Furr
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lacey Furr’s Finding Love follows Hailey, a healed woman running her own bed and breakfast, and Lock, famous musician and a broken man trying his best to heal. Hailey helps Loch in this process but she comes to realise he can help her just as much. At the beginning I thought it tells rather than shows a lot, and a lot happens quickly, there’s also a lot of information dumps towards the end but I was eager to know what was going to happen between the main characters and the information wasn’t really relevant. I loved Loch immediately, I loved the found family aspect, I loved how the intimate scenes were written, and I cried at the ending. My favourite character was Loch and my least favourite character was Alex. I recommend this book because he fell first AND harder, found family vibes, beautiful epilogue. Where is my Loch Mackenzie? “You are every love song ever written.” & ‘I was learning that it was these small moments in life that were meant to be remembered.’

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