Book Spotlight #Giveaway! Imaginary Things by Andrea Lochen #ImaginaryThings

I have sooooo many books! The Book Spotlight Giveaway feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to clear my shelves and to share some of the many books I have. This feature is a way for my to cull my collection and to give someone else the opportunity to enjoy these treasures.

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Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

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Imaginary Things

Imaginary Things by Andrea Lochen

ARC, 400 pages

Published April 1st 2015 by Astor + Blue Editions

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 actually 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 next door is Jamie Presswood, Anna's childhood friend who's grown much more handsome and hardened than the boy she once knew. But past regrets and their messy lives are making the rekindling of their complex friendship prove easier said than done. Between imaginary creatures stalking her son and a tumultuous relationship with David's biological father, Anna may find it impossible to have room in her life or her heart for another man. But as David's visions become more threatening, Anna must learn to differentiate between which dangers are real and which are imagined, and whom she can truly trust.

My thoughts about Imaginary Things ~~ 

(originally posted April 20, 2015)

This book had me from the synopsis. Children have such great imaginations and probably most of us had an imaginary friend at some point in our youth. Then the thought of someone else being able to see those imaginary friends? That is an awesome idea for a story. 

Imaginary Things is unlike any story I have ever read. I thought it would be a fun, whimsical story about a little boy and his make-believe friends. It was so much more than that. Anna is a young mother who is trying to do the right things for herself and her son, all while trying to protect her young child from the evil in their lives. But sometimes it's not so easy to differentiate between good and evil. 

As Anna tries to understand what David's imaginary friends want and what they are trying to tell her, she has to work through what her own childhood imaginary friend meant to her. And who were the good guys in her youth? Who were the bad ones? 

I loved Imaginary Friends. It is a very well written story and I was hooked from the first page. I was immediately comfortable with the characters and I didn't want to put the book down. I love the way Andrea tells a story and I am definitely going to be reading more of her work. She has now been added to my list of ‘must-read' authors.

And don't you just love the cover? I know I do! 

About the author 

Andrea Lochen is the author of three novels: VERSIONS OF HER, IMAGINARY THINGS and THE REPEAT YEAR. She earned her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan. She teaches college writing and lives in Wisconsin with her husband, two small children, and adorably fluffy dog, Maddy. ~ Goodreads

Connect with Andrea

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

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Release Day! Versions of Her by Andrea Lochen ~ My Thoughts #VersionsOfHer

Congrats Andrea

on the release today of

Versions of Her!

Versions of Her by Andrea Lochen
Print & e-book, 310 pages
Published July 23rd 2019 by Red Adept Publishing, LLC

On the surface, Melanie Kingstad-Keyes’s life is the picture of success. She’s a tenure track professor at a prestigious university and has a perfect husband. But a recent miscarriage has left her reeling and her marriage tenuous. Selling her family’s Lake Indigo summer home, which she hasn’t visited in fifteen years, feels like the perfect distraction from her problems. Now, she only needs to persuade her younger sister, Kelsey, to go along with her plan.

Stuck in a dead-end job, Kelsey Kingstad bounces from one doomed relationship to the next as she struggles to jumpstart her adult life. Carrying the guilt of her mother’s untimely death, Kelsey is reluctant to let go of the Victorian house filled with memories of her mom and their childhood.

When the sisters find a mysterious hidden door, Melanie and Kelsey discover that they can directly view their mother’s younger years and learn all the secrets she never shared with them. Delving into her memories is fun at first, but Melanie and Kelsey quickly uncover difficult truths, throwing their own life choices into question and making them wonder if they ever truly knew their mother. Visiting the past may help them find closure, but the cost could be steeper than they realize.

My thoughts about Versions of Her ~~

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First line—"Kelsey was running late, of course."

I read Andrea's previous book, Imaginary Things, and loved it. I was so excited when she contacted me about reading Versions of Her, her new book which just came out. I loved this one just as much!

Melanie and Kelsey find themselves at their family cabin on the lake, getting it ready to sell so they can move on with their lives. They soon discover a hidden door that takes them into past moments of their mother's life. What they find there has them reeling and questioning everything they thought they knew about the woman they called "Mom".

I love the thought of the possibility of a little bit of time traveling. I love that Andrea was able to weave a story combining past events with the present. And I love that, because of that mysterious door, Melanie and Kelsey are better able to understand the past—and their mother—and are able to move forward. I was just as fascinated by the secret door as the two sisters were and couldn't wait to take another look into the past. The magical element of time travel has always intrigued me and it's one of the things I loved the most about this book. Oh, the possibilities!

Andrea has written another beautiful story with characters I came to care about. This is definitely a book that you should put on your TBR list this summer. I'm sure you'll be swept away by this story as much as I was.

I received a copy of Versions of Her via the author and this is my honest opinion of the book.

Excerpt

Kelsey dropped her overnight bag on the four-post bed. Who says I have to stay in my old tiny bedroom when this one’s available? It didn’t make sense for her to sweat and toss and turn when she could be sprawled out coolly and peacefully. She doubted her mom would have minded, and her dad wasn’t there and probably wouldn’t ever be there again before the sale of the house. Only Melanie would care, but her sister could deal with it. She hung up the dress in her parents’ closet then used the bathroom.

Melanie was leaning in the master bedroom’s doorway when Kelsey came out. “You’re going to stay in here?” she asked casually, but Kelsey could see her hands were clenched in tight balls.

“Yeah. Why not?” Kelsey responded equally as casually. “No one else is using it, and I’ll be much more comfortable. Besides, I don’t think Mom and Dad would mind, do you?”

Melanie shook her head stiffly. Maybe she was kicking herself for not staking a claim on the room first. It probably hadn’t occurred to her because her room was so much nicer than Kelsey’s. If she had, Kelsey would’ve been happy to stay in the bedroom with the tapestry. “I’ll have to take one of the queen-size quilts to the Laundromat,” she said.

“I could do it,” Kelsey offered. “Or I could sleep with the twin-size quilt tonight. I really don’t care.” She bent down to scratch behind Sprocket’s ears and saw his tongue was hanging out in a doggy grin. She would need to set out a bowl of water for him soon. “So what is this thing of Mom’s you wanted to show me?” She tried to sound appropriately enthusiastic.

But Melanie’s eagerness seemed to have lessened somewhat. She was still staring into their parents’ bedroom as if Kelsey had desecrated it somehow. “Right.” Melanie slowly returned her attention to her sister, and Kelsey got the distinct impression she was being appraised. “It’s in my room,” she finally said and ducked into the doorway of the middle bedroom. “But we should probably sit down first.”

About the author

Though Andrea Lochen had dreamed of being an author since the third grade, she didn’t realize creative writing was “an actual thing” until she stumbled upon the program at the University of Wisconsin as a college freshman. After graduating from college, she earned her Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Michigan and later achieved her dream of becoming a published author.

Andrea is now the author of three novels: The Repeat Year, Imaginary Things, and Versions of Her. She teaches creative writing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha, encouraging young writers to learn the craft and pursue their own writing dreams. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband, two small children, and their adorably fluffy dog, Maddy. In her free time, she likes to bake cupcakes and cakes, see musicals and plays, and read as much as humanly possible.

Connect with Andrea

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | BookBub

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Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

Imaginary Things by Andrea Lochen

Imaginary Things

Imaginary Things by Andrea Lochen

Paperback and e-book, 400 pages
Published April 1st 2015 by Astor + Blue Editions

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 actually 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 next door is Jamie Presswood, Anna's childhood friend who's grown much more handsome and hardened than the boy she once knew. But past regrets and their messy lives are making the rekindling of their complex friendship prove easier said than done. Between imaginary creatures stalking her son and a tumultuous relationship with David's biological father, Anna may find it impossible to have room in her life or her heart for another man. But as David's visions become more threatening, Anna must learn to differentiate between which dangers are real and which are imagined, and whom she can truly trust.

Purchase Imaginary Things

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Astor + Blue

My thoughts about Imaginary Things ~~ 

This book had me from the synopsis. Children have such great imaginations and probably most of us had an imaginary friend at some point in our youth. Then the thought of someone else being able to see those imaginary friends? That is an awesome idea for a story. 

'If King Rex was David’s imaginary friend, and I could see King Rex, that meant I could see David's imagination. I could see as clear as day the things he was inventing in his mind. And apparently he had inherited his over-active imagination from me.'

Imaginary Things is unlike any story I have ever read. I thought it would be a fun, whimsical story about a little boy and his make-believe friends. It was so much more than that. Anna is a young mother who is trying to do the right things for herself and her son, all while trying to protect her young child from the evil in their lives. But sometimes it's not so easy to differentiate between good and evil. 

As Anna tries to understand what David's imaginary friends want and what they are trying to tell her, she has to work through what her own childhood imaginary friend meant to her. And who were the good guys in her youth? Who were the bad ones? 

'There were so many things to be afraid of - some real, some imagined - and it seemed impossible to know the difference until it was too late.'

I loved Imaginary Friends. It is a very well written story and I was hooked from the first page. I was immediately comfortable with the characters and I didn't want to put the book down. I love the way Andrea tells a story and I am definitely going to be reading more of her work. She has now been added to my list of ‘must-read' authors.

And don't you just love the cover? I know I do! 

About the author

Andrea Lochen is the author of two novels. Her first novel, The Repeat Year (Penguin 2013), was praised by Kirkus Reviews as “an engaging, satisfying read that explores friendship, love and who we really are when it truly matters.” A draft of the novel won the 2008 Hopwood Novel Award. The Repeat Year was also produced as an audiobook (Brilliance Audio) and translated into a German edition (Ullstein Buchverlage). The film option was sold to Ineffable Pictures. Andrea’s second novel, Imaginary Things, is forthcoming from Astor + Blue in April 2015. Lori Nelson Spielman, bestselling author of The Life List, called it, “a beautiful book, filled with vivid scenes, unforgettable characters, and oodles of heart. With a page-turning plot and an utterly unique concept, Imaginary Things entertains, inspires, and provokes thought—a perfect book club pick.”

Andrea earned her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where she was a Colby Fellow. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was the Fiction Editor of The Madison Review, a nationally-distributed, student-run literary magazine. Since 2008, she has taught undergraduate writing at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha and was recently awarded the UW Colleges Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Andrea currently lives in Madison with her husband and daughter and is at work on her third novel.

Connect with Andrea

Website | Facebook | Goodreads 

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!