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This is the third instalment of my alphabet books series, and I’m excited to rediscover books beginning with C on my TBR list! I am sharing 7 books that are on my TBR, which include fiction and non-fiction books.
Counting the Days by Laura Chinn
StoryGraph synopsis:
At thirty-eight years old, Rhea Darby has never been more single in her life. With her best friends all married and having kids, her social calendar is filled with baby showers and birthday parties, petting zoos and bouncy castles. However, she’d much rather be having hot sex with “the one” and getting closer to the perfect life she always envisioned. After being told that her fertility might plummet when she turns thirty-nine, and always having wanted kids of her own, Rhea decides that drastic times call for drastic measures. She has less than a year to find the right guy, or she’ll have to rethink her meticulously crafted vision board of the future.
Apparently, manifestation really works, because she soon meets Danny, a gorgeous gardener who is perfect for her—until Danny reveals he is absolutely morally opposed to having kids. Still, the connection between them is too strong to resist, even as their differences threaten to tear them apart. Rhea realises she can’t let go of Danny, but is she willing to sacrifice her dreams to keep him?
A Cat Cafe Christmas by Codi Gary
StoryGraph synopsis:
Veterinarian and animal lover Kara Ingalls needs a Christmas miracle. Opening the Meow and Furrever Cat Café to find loving homes for adorable, adoptable cats was a dream come true–but with more cats than customers, it’s quickly turning into a nightmare. If Kara can’t figure out some way to get the café out of the red, it won’t last past the holidays.
Marketing guru Ben Reese may be annoyingly smart and frustratingly bossy, but when he hatches a plan to put the café in the “green” by Christmas, Kara realises that she’d be a fool to turn down his help. And so what if he turns out to be an excellent problem solver and nerdy-hot–he can’t even handle fostering one little kitten. She needs to keep their relationship professional and focus on saving the cafe.
But if Ben and Kara can set aside their differences–and find homes for all the cats by Christmas–they might discover that, by risking their hearts, they’ll have their own purr-fect holiday…together.
The Convenience Store by the Sea by Sonoko Machida, translated by Bruno Navasky
StoryGraph synopsis:
Welcome to Tenderness!
A quaint seaside town in Kitakyushu, Mojiko is full of hidden delights. And one unexpected treasure is the 24/7 convenience store, Tenderness.
At first glance, it’s a store like any other.
Sure, it’s a bit odd that the handsome manager has his own fan club. And perhaps the customers are somewhat eccentric. But there’s a warmth about Tenderness that draws you in.
The bright lights are always on. The employees know you by name. And the shelves are stacked with delicious treats, from strong hot coffee to sweet parfaits, egg sandos to ramen, crispy fried chicken to refreshing soba.
After a while, you get the feeling that whatever you need might just be waiting for you here…
The Christmas Book Hunt by Jenny Colgan
StoryGraph synopsis:
A Christmas mission…
Mirren’s beloved great-aunt Violet is seriously ill. Her one Christmas wish is to be reunited with a long-lost hand-illustrated book from her childhood, a challenge Mirren gladly accepts to give Violet some much-needed festive cheer.
An enchanting journey…
With no sign of the cherished volume online, Mirren falls into the fascinating world of rare books. From London to snowy Hay-on-Wye and Edinburgh’s cobbled streets, she chases leads from bookshop to bookshop—and bumps into mysterious, charming Theo, who, unbeknownst to her, is searching for the same book for reasons of his own…
The start of a new chapter?
As the two join forces to track the book down before time runs out for Violet, will Mirren find her Christmas miracle and maybe even a kiss under the mistletoe…?
Cull of the Wild by Hugh Warwick
StoryGraph synopsis:
Across the world, invasive species pose a danger to ecosystems. The UN Convention on Biological Diversity ranks them as a major threat to biodiversity on par with habitat loss, climate change and pollution.
Tackling this isn’t easy, and no one knows this better than Hugh Warwick, a conservationist who loathes the idea of killing, harming or even eating animals. Yet as an ecologist, he is acutely aware of the need, at times, to kill invasive species whose presence harms the wider environment.
Hugh explores the complex history of species control, revealing the global movement of species and the impacts of their presence. Combining scientific theory with gentle humour in his signature style, he explains the issues conservationists face to control non-native animals and protect native species – including grey and red squirrels on Anglesey, ravens and tortoises in the Mojave Desert, cane toads in Australia and the smooth-billed ani on the Galapagos – and describes cases like Pablo Escobar’s cocaine hippos and the Burmese python pet trade.
Taking a balanced and open approach to this emotive subject, Hugh speaks to experts on all sides of the debate. How do we protect endangered native species? Which species do we prioritise? And how do we reckon with the ethics of killing anything in the name of conservation?
Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
StoryGraph synopsis:
Twenty-four-year-old British painter Cleo has escaped from England to New York and is still finding her place in the sleepless city when, a few months before her student visa ends, she meets Frank. Twenty years older and a self-made success, Frank’s life is full of all the excesses Cleo’s lacks. He offers her the chance to be happy, the freedom to paint, and the opportunity to apply for a Green Card. But their impulsive marriage irreversibly changes both their lives, and the lives of those close to them, in ways they never could’ve predicted.
Each compulsively readable chapter explores the lives of Cleo, Frank, and an unforgettable cast of their closest friends and family as they grow up and grow older. Whether it’s Cleo’s best friend struggling to embrace his gender queerness in the wake of Cleo’s marriage, or Frank’s financially dependent sister arranging sugar daddy dates to support herself after being cut off, or Cleo and Frank themselves as they discover the trials of marriage and mental illness, each character is as absorbing and painfully relatable as the last.
Cover Story by Mhairi McFarlane
StoryGraph synopsis:
Bel’s joined the Manchester office of a big national paper from her award-winning podcast. There are only three of them – Bel, her relentlessly ambitious colleague Aaron, and the new intern. And when the intern turns out to be a thirty-something man called Connor, she gets off on totally the wrong foot. She’s patronising, he’s hostile. It’s a terrible start.
Then Bel gets a sniff at a really big story, Connor gets caught in the crossfire, and before they know it, they have to convince people they’re a couple – and a couple in love at that. If they mess up, Bel’s cover is blown, and the biggest story she’ll ever land will disappear, along with justice for its sources
But as time goes on, who’s double-crossing whom – and which feelings are real? It’s Mr & Mrs Smith meets The Hating Game – and sparks will fly…
What books beginning with C are on your TBR list?
Caroline ♡
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