#FridayFiveChallenge ~ Imaginary Things by @AndreaLochen #Fantasy #Contemporary

Rosie Amber’s Friday Five Challenge, involves taking only five minutes to choose a book cover which appeals instantly. So take a few minutes, grab yourself a coffee…..and have a browse.

In today’s online shopping age, readers often base their buying decisions from small postage stamp size book covers (Thumb-nails), a quick glance at the book description and the review. How much time do they really spend making that buying decision?

AUTHORS – You often only have seconds to get a reader to buy your book, is your book cover and book bio up to it?

Rosie’s Friday Five Challenge is this….. IN ONLY FIVE MINUTES….

1) Go to any online book supplier,

2) Randomly choose a category,

3) Speed through the book covers, choose one which has instantly appealed to your eye,

4) Read the book Bio/ Description for this book, and any other details.

5) If there are reviews, check out a couple,

6) Make an instant decision, would you BUY or PASS?

I’m deviating a bit this week for my Friday Five Challenge. I was approached by Astor+Blue Editions to put together a Spotlight post, with an excerpt, for a book called Imaginary Things by Andrea Lochen, which went out last week. The cover is intriguing and I liked it as soon as I saw it. It symbolises the title extremely well, with a misty, mystical feel to it and the suggestion of a creature outlined in pinprick lights.

Amazon UK | Amazon US

The book description reads

Watching children play and invent whimsical games of fantasy is one of life’s great joys. But what if you could actually see your child’s imagination as it unfolded? And what would you do if your child’s imagination suddenly became dark and threatening?

Burned-out and broke, twenty-two-year-old single mother Anna Jennings moves to her grandparents’ rural home for the summer with her four-year-old son, David. The sudden appearance of shadowy dinosaurs forces Anna to admit that either she’s lost her mind or she can see her son’s active imagination. Frightened for David’s safety, Anna struggles to learn the rules of this bizarre phenomenon and how best to protect him. But what she uncovers along the way is completely unexpected: revelations about what her son’s imaginary friends truly represent and dark secrets about her own childhood imaginary friend.

Living right next door is Jamie Presswood, Anna’s childhood friend who has grown much more handsome and hardened than the boy she once knew. Jamie reminds her of simpler times-Ferris wheels and sparklers, picnics by the river, and Neapolitan ice cream-but due to past regrets and the messy lives they’ve since led, rekindling their friendship proves easier said than done. Between the imaginary creatures stalking her son and her tumultuous relationship with David’s biological father, Anna doesn’t have any room left in her life or her heart for another man. But as David’s visions become more persistent and threatening, Anna must learn to differentiate between which dangers are real and which are imagined, and who she can truly trust.

The book was released in April 2015, as yet there are no reviews on Amazon UK but there are 28 reviews on Amazon US with an average of 4.6*. Seventy five percent are 5* reviews. The blurb as well as the cover aroused my interest, with the magical aspect. A young, single mother who can see her child’s imaginary friends is quite a draw, and seems as though it leads on to other revelations and issues. I haven’t read anything with a similar storyline, it’s original, sounds fun and could have a serious undertone to it.

I can’t find a kindle copy on either Amazons via the search, the paperback is £8.99/$12.66. A new copy from other sellers starts from £5.09/$8.72. The only ebook I can see is available via Barnes&Noble, priced at $1.99.

Here’s part of a 4* review…I really don’t want to say more because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, but suffice it to say, this story definitely had me engaged, on the edge of my seat at times, and really rooting for Anna to figure out the mystery of her son’s imagination and its manifestation. It had suspense, great characterization, and a very unique plot that held my interest. Great book! 

There are two critical reviews from people who didn’t like the book, which I didn’t find constructive and apparently neither did any of the six people who left feedback. Other than those there are no reviews below 4*.

So will I BUY or PASS? It’s a BUY, even though I was definitely not going to add any more books to my reading list for a while. I just can’t resist when I come across a book I really fancy.

More Friday Five Challenge Choices

Rosie is looking at African authors and found one via Literary Hub.

Shelley finds a love story set during the American civil war.