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First Impressions
First Impressions: A Novel | Charlie Lovett
38 posts | 41 read | 63 to read
Charlie Lovett first delighted readers with hisNew York Timesbestselling debut,The Bookmans Tale. Now, Lovett weaves another brilliantly imagined mystery, this time featuring one of English literatures most popular and beloved authors, Jane Austen. 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 ofLittle Book of Allegoriesby Richard Mansfield. Their queries draw Sophie into a mystery that will cast doubt on the trueauthorship ofPride and Prejudiceand ultimately threaten Sophies life. In a dual narrative that alternates between Sophies quest to uncover the truthwhile choosing between two suitorsand a young Jane Austens touching friendship with the ageing 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.
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SarahBookInterrupted
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Pickpick

I absolutely loved this book. For a Jane Austen fan it was so satisfying. I loved that it sprinkled in character traits, names of future books, and plots into it. I adored Uncle Bertram and Richard Mansfield so very much. It‘s was exciting, fast moving and a perfect choice for any book lover. I also learned so much about the book collecting world. It‘s a great mystery and a heartfelt book. I‘d say more but it‘s too easy to reveal a spoiler.

jlhammar His books are a lot of fun. I enjoyed The Bookman's Tale as well. This reminds me that I still need to read 1y
SarahBookInterrupted @jlhammar Thanks! I‘ve stacked both. 1y
45 likes1 stack add2 comments
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bookandbedandtea
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My first choice for this was The Flatshare but quite a few other people chose it so I went with this one. I love almost anything that's Austen related. 😁

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Librarybelle
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Pickpick

A soft pick for me. Told in a dual timeline, this novel follows a potential scandal over the original author to Pride and Prejudice.

There are moments of suspense in the novel, and some parts of the story just seem a little too hard to believe. But, I had to keep reading, and even though I pretty much figured out how the story would go, I enjoyed the ride.

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Blueberry
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Eggs Beautiful 🧡🧡 2y
Freespirit Lovely x stitch! 2y
59 likes2 comments
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lauraisntwilder
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Pickpick

This was a fun, bookish mystery. Makes me want to reread Pride and Prejudice (again).

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suvata
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Pickpick

A five star must for fans of Jane Austen.

Written in a dual timeline: 1796 where Jane Austen becomes friends with an 80 year old cleric, Richard Mansfield, where Jane perfects her writing style; and in present day London where Sophie Collingwood, working at an antiquarian bookshop when two different customers request the same obscure book. That draws Sophie into a mystery that will cast doubt on the true authorship of Austen‘s works.

54 likes1 stack add
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mcctrish
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Pickpick

A lovely little made up mystery surrounding the origin story of Pride and Prejudice set then and now. It‘s fun with JA‘s time written like her and modern day Sophie sounding and acting current. It‘s plausible with enough layers and characters and clues left to pose a mystery and then solve it. It did feel a bit frantic at end flipping between the two time lines to solve it but that could just have been me reading fast to get to the end

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mcctrish
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Happy Saturday Littens 📚the weather here doesn‘t look great great so I‘m hoping to read and maybe finish the 3 books I have on the go. I bought myself a new mug from Society6 and it makes me smile. This pandemic makes me want mugs like I used to want shoes

Kristin_Reads Love all of this! 3y
mcctrish @Kristin_Reads thank god for on line shopping 3y
Palimpsest Great mug! 3y
See All 9 Comments
mcctrish @Palimpsest so clever 🤣🤣 3y
Palimpsest @mcctrish yeah, I love names like murder of crows for groups of things. 3y
ShelleyBooksie That mug is hilarious!!! 3y
SamAnne Okay, that mug. One of my favorite jokes. 3y
mcctrish @SamAnne it‘s seriously awesome 👏🏻 3y
mcctrish @ShelleyBooksie I have become increasingly more obsessed with mugs during this pandemic 3y
54 likes9 comments
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mcctrish
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Living my best life reading a book about Jane Austen with a Jane Austen Funko Pop 💙💙💙 all the thanks go to @AJBowers for posting a pic so I knew this was a thing and @Scochrane26 for pointing me in the direction to find one myself ( exclusive to Barnes & Noble) so I used an American friend to hook me up

Books88 I'm so happy you were able to get a little Jane!!! 😍😍😍 3y
mcctrish @AJBowers she is so lovely ☺️ thanks again for posting 3y
Scochrane26 Glad you were able to get one! 3y
48 likes3 comments
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HeatherBlue
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I identify so hard with this 🤣 I want to be good at growing things but.........
Thanks so much @Born.A.Reader for the book 💕 I love it already!!

NovelGirl82 Hard same!! 4y
Crazeedi I love books by this author!! Don't think I read this one... 4y
37 likes2 comments
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HeatherBlue
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Thank you SO much to my lovely #litsypenpal @Born.A.Reader !!! I love everything! I hope you had a most magical Christmas ❤️💚❤️💚

Born.A.Reader Oh I'm so glad you liked everything!! ❤💚 4y
42 likes1 comment
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Susanita
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I only exchange Christmas gifts with a few people, and nobody uses or consults wish lists! There are some books on my Amazon list, though, mostly as place holders.

Anne Bogel was talking about the tagged book recently, and it sounds like a good choice for my sister who likes Jane Austen and mysteries.

#Two4Tuesday

TheSpineView Thanks for playing! Happy Tuesday! 4y
30 likes1 comment
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hes7
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Pickpick

Could Jane Austen have plagiarized her beloved Pride and Prejudice? This novel explores such a mystery—with plenty of bookish references—and it was charming.

Book 3 of #24b4Monday + #SummersEndReadathon ✔️
Time: 9h31m

#bfcr3 #smallsteppers

Clwojick Ooh this sounds intriguing! Stacked! ♥️📚🙈 5y
smilingshelves Love this one! And pretty much everything by Charlie Lovett! 😀 5y
Andrew65 Fantastic first day, 👏👏👏 5y
jillrhudy We need a “To Listen To“ icon for stacking. 5y
81 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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Eggs
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fitzhuu
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Panpan

TL;DR: skip this one, guys.

Prose and plot with promise are overshadowed by bad characterization. Sophie, the protagonist, is unbearably naïve – a stereotype of a bookish female whose head spins at male attention. Her suitors prove to be scummy clichés who behave as expected. The overall story landed somewhere between mediocre and good, but even the thread involving Austen doesn‘t remotely scratch the Regency itch.

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Teresereading
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Sitting on the deck, reading and watching the last of the yachts sail up the Derwent. On my 91st read of the year; hoping to finish on 92. Life is good.
Another Austen/bookshop crossover, perhaps its a new genre?

#janeausten #reading on the deck #summerreading

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Heideschrampf
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Panpan

Jane Austen would have despised a protagonist so shallow and lifeless such as this ‚crime romance‘ heroine.

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Heideschrampf
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First impression: not impressed.

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Amabear
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I‘m so excited to delve into this book and hopefully many more by Lovett. I loved hearing his perspective on Alice and wonderlands history, and it was such a joy to meet him!
First book festival ✔️
first author meet ✔️
first signed book✔️
first time meeting littens ✔️
First time on TV ✔️
😍 a great day 🙌🏻
#bookmarksfestival #NC

62 likes2 comments
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Sarah83
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It's a #prejudice, that only women write books about Jane Austen. 😍📚

#150pnpcoverparty @CrowCAH @LeahBergen

rubyslippersreads Lovely cover! 😍📚 6y
CrowCAH You have a good point; never thought about it before. Now on the search for a male author who writes about Jane and her novels! 6y
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CrowCAH @Sarah83 you already found them! 😆 6y
Sarah83 @CrowCAH at least some. 😉 In Germany there was a little hype last year and so there were tables with books about Jane Austen in every bookshop. 😁 6y
CrowCAH @Sarah83 that‘s neat! 😊 6y
Sarah83 @CrowCAH hope you find some of them for your museum. 😍 6y
LeahBergen This cover is so different from mine. Cool! 👍🏻 6y
Sarah83 @LeahBergen really? Which one do you have? 6y
64 likes1 stack add11 comments
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LeahBergen
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#FirstImpressions was Jane Austen‘s working title for the book that was eventually published as Pride and Prejudice.

(The tagged book is still TBR but the author‘s first book, The Bookman‘s Tale, was a fun little read. 👍🏻)

#150PnPCoverParty (Day 6).

erzascarletbookgasm I‘ve read both, they are fun reads! 🙂 6y
CrowCAH This book looks pretty good! 6y
rubyslippersreads That cover! 😍 6y
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KVanRead Great fact! Thanks for sharing! 6y
Melissa_J I have that on my shelf and didn‘t even think to use it 🤦🏻‍♀️ 6y
LeahBergen @erzascarletbookgasm I hope to get to this soon. 👍🏻 6y
LeahBergen @CrowCAH It does, doesn‘t it? 6y
LeahBergen @rubyslippersreads I quite like it! 👍🏻 6y
LeahBergen @Melissa_J I say that so many times AFTER a prompt. 😂 6y
LeahBergen @Sarah83 This is my edition. 😀 6y
Sarah83 Gorgeous edition. 😍 It is quite often, that I like the English edition more than the German one. 😁 You still didn't get the parcel? 😥 6y
LeahBergen @Sarah83 Not yet! I‘m still holding out hope though as one time a parcel from Europe showed up 3 months after it was posted. 😮 6y
Sarah83 Oh. This was quite a long journey. Would you do me a favour? Would you take a picture of your Folio shelf? I got for some others Folios in the booktown last time and I want to get for you the next time I drive there. 🤗 6y
LeahBergen @Sarah83 I have so many on so many shelves - I would have to send you like 10 photos! 😂😂 6y
Sarah83 Mhm. 🤔 I think you collect for some time already. 😊 Maybe you can tell me, which books you are still looking for? 🤗 6y
Sarah83 Or you send me ten photos. 😂 6y
LeahBergen 😂 I‘ll message you on Goodreads tomorrow. I have a bunch of family coming over for dinner right now. 😘 @Sarah83 (edited) 6y
117 likes5 stack adds18 comments
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erzascarletbookgasm
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Pickpick

This is a fun book for book lovers & a delightful read for those who love Jane Austen. There are some historical details of Austen's life but mostly a richly imagined story behind Austen's writing of her novels & her relationship with a clergyman which raises the question of plagiarism. Another alternating narrative follows present day Sophie, in search of a rare book, the mystery surrounding her uncle's death & being caught in a love triangle.

erzascarletbookgasm This book is not only a homage to Jane Austen but to book lovers who will identify with the joy of reading and collecting books. Just don't take things seriously, and this will be an enjoyable read. You will want to pick up an Austen book for a read or reread after this. 🙂 7y
Bluebird Sold! I've been considering this book for some time. It sounds right up my alley--I'm a book lover and Janeite, how can I resist! 7y
batsy Lovely review, sounds like something light and fun :) 7y
erzascarletbookgasm @Bluebird I hope you'll enjoy it :) 7y
erzascarletbookgasm @batsy thanks, it is super fun to read. I like this better than his other one 7y
53 likes6 stack adds5 comments
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erzascarletbookgasm
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#tonighttonight Starting this new read tonight.
#90sinjuly @Cinfhen @Robothugs

MrBook Ooh, a new one! 7y
Cinfhen Interesting, I'm pretty sure the tagged book shown in the blurb is the same cover of another book 7y
erzascarletbookgasm You're right, @Cinfhen ! I have The Book of Speculation in the same cover as the tagged book shown! 🤔You think they used stock photos? 7y
Cinfhen Yes, definitely! It seems so lazy-ass 😒bothers me!!! 7y
43 likes1 stack add4 comments
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howjessicareads
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Pickpick

Completely preposterous, but super fun! Loved the audio production.

mcipher I loved his first one, from what I recall, so I want to read this now! 7y
36 likes1 stack add1 comment
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howjessicareads
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Started this one today - loving it!

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janeycanuck
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Pickpick

Plowed through this audio (I usually only need one for #24in48!) This is my second Charlie Lovett book and I love his humour and style. Though I'm still not sure how I feel about his idea to toy with the authorship of P&P

11 likes1 stack add
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janeycanuck
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Switched to my audio to walk the dog and get the weeding done in the garden but it's started to rain. The good part about rain is that I can read guilt-free and ignore the garden. But the bad part is that I can't read outside.

#24in48

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smilingshelves
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Ah, summer.

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howjessicareads
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This book sounds awesome. Apparently it does for Jane Austen what Jennifer Lee Carrell's books do for Shakespeare! I love literary thrillers! I didn't have any money with me today though, and we aren't allowed to stash any books this week (bc of inventory), so it better be on the shelf still on Thursday!! 😜 #behindthescenesatbookmans

LazyOwl Fingers crossed, sounds interesting 7y
42 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Amie
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Listening to this cute audiobook and working on my never-ending cross-stitch project.

Sace I am in awe of the cross stitch. 😍 7y
Amie @Sace Thanks! It has been a challenging project but I refuse to give up! 7y
Sace It's going to be a masterpiece when you finish! 7y
9 likes3 comments
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bookandbedandtea
Mehso-so

I wanted to love this book as much as his first novel but it just wasn't as good. For the most part I enjoyed the parts set during Jane Austen's life, and her friendship with the fictional Rev. Mansfield, but the parts set in the present time weren't as good. Those characters weren't fleshed out very well and the most interesting one was the dead uncle, seen through flashbacks. Sophie herself was just annoying.

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WanderingBookaneer
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lynneamch Maybe not. But, a good story often reveals a truth. 😉 7y
104 likes1 comment
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WanderingBookaneer
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On to F! #LitsyAtoZ

DebinHawaii This is in my TBR stack--looking forward to hearing what you think! 👍📚 7y
erzascarletbookgasm On my TBR too! 😊 7y
90 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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WanderingBookaneer
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Listening to this audiobook while I make dinner. #LitsyAtoZ

Alfoster Yum!😍😍 7y
saresmoore Gorgeous! 7y
Lmstraubie Looks delicious! 7y
See All 11 Comments
Texreader ❤️ caprese salad. This looks lovely. 7y
sprainedbrain Yummmmmm 7y
Vexingcircumstance There are two pictures of caprese salads in my newsfeed back to back from different people lol. 7y
Vexingcircumstance Oh wait you're tagged in the other one so maybe it's the same salad lol. 7y
WanderingBookaneer @Vexingcircumstance : The other one is from my wife, @BookishMarginalia . 7y
LeahBergen Yes, please! 7y
Reviewsbylola 😍😍 7y
Vexingcircumstance lol that makes sense. :) 7y
142 likes11 comments
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DebinHawaii
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Day3 #seasonsreadings2016 #setinlibrariesbookstores Here are two books set in bookstores, or in the case of the wonderful 'The Bookshop on the Corner'-a van/bookmobile. 'First Impressions' is a fairly recent addition to my TBR stack from the library bookstore and it's supposed to be a mystery/love story/homage to Jane Austen set in an antiquarian bookstore in London (which sounds right up my alley!) Has anyone read it yet? 📚❤️#setinbookstores

RealLifeReading I've not heard of First Impressions but it does look pretty! 7y
erzascarletbookgasm I have First Impressions on my TBR. Have you read his other book, ? Interesting. 7y
DebinHawaii @RealLifeReading Yes, I was pulled in by the cover and description! 📚👍 @erzascarletbookgasm No, I have not. I grabbed this one when I saw the description but the first book does sound interesting so I'm going to keep my eye out for it. 👍 7y
raelaschoenherr Wow, First Impressions sounds right up my alley! 7y
Jaimelire Have to read these 7y
88 likes5 stack adds5 comments
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books_cats_art
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#spinepoetry

First impressions:
the woman in blue
the elements of style
the little prince.

Change of heart - much ado about nothing
a light in the window, the witching hour.

Shakespeare's words,
an everlasting meal,
the virgin's lover:
RIPE.

Boy meets girl.

#24in48

7 likes1 stack add1 comment
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books_cats_art
Pickpick

#spinepoetry

First impressions:
the woman in blue,
the elements of style,
The little prince.
Change of heart - much ado about nothing
A light in the window, the witching hour,
Shakespeare's words, an everlasting meal,
The virgin's lover, RIPE.
Boy meets girl.

#24in48