Second First Impressions

“Second First Impressions is the warmest, coziest, sweetest book of the year, an absolutely perfect blend of humor and heart. I want to live inside Sally Thorne’s brain.” —Emily Henry, New York Times bestselling of Beach Read From the USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game, soon to be a movie starring Lucy Hale and Austin Stowell, and 99 Percent Mine comes the clever, funny, and unforgettable story of a muscular, tattooed man hired as an assistant to two old women—under the watchful eye of a beautiful retirement home manager. Dazzle (n): Brightness that blinds someone temporarily. Position Vacant: Two ancient old women residing at Providence Retirement Villa seek male assistant for casual exploitation and good-natured humiliation. Duties include boutique shopping, fast-food fetching, and sincerely rendered flattery. Good looks a bonus—but we aren’t picky. An advertisement has been placed (again!) by the wealthy and eccentric Parloni Sisters. The salary is generous and the employers are 90 years old, so how hard could the job be? Well, none have lasted longer than a week. Most boys leave in tears. Ruthie Midona will work in Providence’s front office, and be at the Parloni’s beck and call, forever. That’s sort of her life plan. If Ruthie can run the place in her almost-retired bosses’ absence, with no hijinks/hiccups, she has a shot at becoming the new manager. She might also be able to defend her safe little world from Prescott Development, the new buyer of the prime site. Maybe after all that, she can find a cute guy to date. All she needs to do is stay serious—and that’s what she does best. Until, one day, someone dazzling blows into town. Teddy Prescott devotes his life to sleeping, tattooing, and avoiding seriousness. When Teddy needs a place to crash, he makes a deal with his developer dad. Teddy can stay in one of Providence’s on-site maintenance cottages—right next door to an unimpressed Ruthie—but only if he works there and starts to grow up. Ruthie knows how this sweetly selfish rich boy can earn his keep—and be out of her hair in under a week. After all, there is a position vacant…

From the bestselling Australian author of The Hating Game comes the clever, funny and unforgettable story of a muscular, tattooed man hired as an assistant to two elderly women - under the watchful eye of a beautiful retirement home manager Distraction (n): Something that turns your attention away from something you want to concentrate on. See: Teddy Prescott. Ruthie Midona is twenty-four (going on ninety-four) and fully committed to her job at a luxury retirement village. Keeping herself busy caring for the eccentric residents means that Ruthie can safely ignore her own life - what little there is of it. Teddy Prescott is practically allergic to a hard day's work. When he rocks up as the retirement village's newest employee, Ruthie is less than impressed. The last thing she needs is a distraction as irritating (and handsome) as this selfish rich kid. Lucky for Ruthie, her favourite pair of mischievous residents need a new assistant to torture . . . so she hands over Teddy, ready for them to send him running. Except Teddy may be about to surprise her - not just by surviving the old women's antics, but by charming Ruthie so much, she starts to remember that there's more to life than work . . . Could Teddy be far more than simply an unwelcome distraction? 'I inhaled Second First Impressions - I had to force myself to slow down because I didn't want it to end. It's a truly adorable, heart-warming, swoon-worthy love story. A book hasn't given me the warm-fuzzies like this for a very long time' BETH O'LEARY, author of The Flatshare 'A delight. Will make you laugh. Charming, funny and heartwarming' Kirkus 'The warmest, coziest, sweetest book of the year, an absolutely perfect blend of humour and heart' EMILY HENRY, author of Beach Read 'A hilarious and cute romcom set in a retirement village with the quirkiest, most likeable heroine ever' ALLIE REYNOLDS, author of Shiver 'After a sweet, funny and heartwarming love story, then look no further' FIONA PALMER, author of Secrets Between Friends 'The definition of a feel-good romance. This story and these characters will grow on you until Ruthie and Teddy are wrapped around your heart' Herald Sun 'Tender ... beneath Thorne's fresh and breezy writing style is a story with real depth.' Bookpage 'It's Thorne's storytelling, which gives her seniors as much life as her twentysomethings, that proves as delightful as an early bird special' USA Today 'An addictive romance filled with deep feeling, crackling attraction and cackling laughs . . . will have your heart squeezing and soaring from beginning to end.' The Washington Post

'A truly adorable, heart-warming, swoon-worthy love story' Beth O'Leary The latest swoonworthy romcom from the bestselling author of TikTok sensation The Hating Game First impressions aren't always what they seem . . . Ruthie Midona is twenty-four (going on ninety-four) and fully committed to her job at a luxury retirement village. Keeping herself busy caring for the eccentric residents means that Ruthie can safely ignore her own life - what little there is of it. Teddy Prescott is practically allergic to a hard day's work. When he rocks up as the retirement village's newest employee, Ruthie is less than impressed. The last thing she needs is a distraction as irritating (and handsome) as this selfish rich kid. Lucky for Ruthie, her favourite pair of mischievous residents need a new assistant to torture... so she hands over Teddy, ready for them to send him running. Except Teddy may be about to surprise her - not just by surviving the old women's antics, but by charming Ruthie so much, she starts to remember that there's more to life than work. And just maybe, her second first impression will lead to the love of a lifetime . . . PRAISE FOR SALLY THORNE 'Hilarious, heartfelt, smart and sexy . . . everything I want in a romance' Sarah J. Maas 'The warmest, coziest, sweetest book of the year, an absolutely perfect blend of humour and heart' Emily Henry 'Funny, sexy and instantly unputdownable' Paige Toon 'Charming, self-deprecating, quick-witted and funny' New York Times 'Bursting at the seams with love (and hate) and heart' Christina Lauren 'One of the most delectable rom-coms I've ever read' Entertainment Weekly 'Lovely' Bella

The scientific story of first impressions—and why the snap character judgments we make from faces are irresistible but usually incorrect We make up our minds about others after seeing their faces for a fraction of a second—and these snap judgments predict all kinds of important decisions. For example, politicians who simply look more competent are more likely to win elections. Yet the character judgments we make from faces are as inaccurate as they are irresistible; in most situations, we would guess more accurately if we ignored faces. So why do we put so much stock in these widely shared impressions? What is their purpose if they are completely unreliable? In this book, Alexander Todorov, one of the world's leading researchers on the subject, answers these questions as he tells the story of the modern science of first impressions. Drawing on psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience, computer science, and other fields, this accessible and richly illustrated book describes cutting-edge research and puts it in the context of the history of efforts to read personality from faces. Todorov describes how we have evolved the ability to read basic social signals and momentary emotional states from faces, using a network of brain regions dedicated to the processing of faces. Yet contrary to the nineteenth-century pseudoscience of physiognomy and even some of today's psychologists, faces don't provide us a map to the personalities of others. Rather, the impressions we draw from faces reveal a map of our own biases and stereotypes. A fascinating scientific account of first impressions, Face Value explains why we pay so much attention to faces, why they lead us astray, and what our judgments actually tell us.

This book provides systematic frameworks, insightful information, and practical tips that will help professionals and job seekers boost their first impression on others and increase their value to employers—both in the physical and virtual world. Geared toward any professional or job seeker, Impressive First Impressions: A Guide to the Most Important 30 Seconds (And 30 Years) of Your Career shows how to make your first impressions take hold in all contexts of daily professional life—from job interviews and client meetings to working in teams and persuading others of your ideas. Based on an extraordinary wealth of research and proven, effective techniques, Impressive First Impressions distills a vast amount of information into straightforward, practical steps. Part I covers the big picture—strategies and philosophies—while Part 2 gets down to specific "tactical and practical" advice for initial encounters of all kinds in the professional world. The concluding section for the advanced reader shows how to master the art of the first impression by embracing one's ACE (audience, culture, and environment), as well as how to approach the "virtual first impression" when initial introductions are made via telephone, teleconference, or the Web.

A thrilling literary mystery costarring Jane Austen from the New York Times–bestselling author of The Bookman’s Tale. Charlie Lovett’s new book, The Lost Book of the Grail, is now available. Book lover and Austen enthusiast Sophie Collingwood has recently taken a job at an antiquarian bookshop in London when two different customers request a copy of the same obscure book: the second edition of A Little Book of Allegories by Richard Mansfield. Their queries draw Sophie into a mystery that will cast doubt on the true authorship of Pride and Prejudice—and ultimately threaten Sophie’s life. In a dual narrative that alternates between Sophie’s quest to uncover the truth—while choosing between two suitors—and a young Jane Austen’s touching friendship with the aging cleric Richard Mansfield, Lovett weaves a romantic, suspenseful, and utterly compelling novel about love in all its forms and the joys of a life lived in books.

Online dating is crazy. Hidden behind their keyboards guys will say anything to get laid. Guys Have No Game, A Book Of First Impressions is a collection of the funniest pickup lines from various online dating sites. Hand-picked you'll be spoiled with only the funniest of the funny broken into categories that include: "Lines That Never Got Anyone Laid", "WTF?!", "Creepers" and of course a "Hall of Fame", for the shiniest of gems. "The sad part is that this is true! There are some creepers out there who would never say these things to your face, but online they got some real cojones. Thanks Geoff and Ian for making us laugh...and cringe."-Anjelah Johnson, MADtv & YouTube Sensation "This book is a frighteningly candid but hilarious look into the feeble attempts made by men to pickup women. And yes, (name omitted), I would love nothing more than for you to motorboat my titties over a beautiful sunset and a drugged cocktail. Thought you'd never ask." -Clark Gilmer, America's Next Top Model "This book provides hilarious insight into what many women have to deal with on a regular basis...even funnier is the fact that half of these lines would work on girls in L.A." -Alexandra Govere, MTV's The Real World: San Diego