"Launch Into the Galaxy" Blog Hop and Giveaway

I am very thrilled, and honored, that author Heather Hildenbrand asked me to take part in the "Launch Into the Galaxy" Blog Hop and Giveaway. ACROSS THE GALAXY was one of the first books that I reviewed for this blog. I loved it, so much, and completely went fan-girly on Heather (poor thing!). I fell in love with the story, the unique world she built, and the characters. Ander seriously still makes my heart pitter-patter. But now I'm going to stop, and let Heather tell you a little more about the "relaunch".

This week marks the re-launch of Heather Hildenbrand’s YA fantasy, Across The Galaxy.

Here’s what Heather says about it:

For me, January marked one year as a published author and to mark that, I wanted to do something special to celebrate how far I’ve come in such a short amount of time. I can think of no better way to celebrate than to show some love to the title that got me here in the first place. Across The Galaxy was my first book and as a result, was also my guinea pig in a lot of ways. Through publishing it, I learned so much and met so many awesome bloggers and readers that I am so grateful for that story and for where it took me. For everything it’s given me, I want to give something back to it. (Yes, I realize I’m referring to my book as if it were a real person. Don’t you do that with the characters inside it? Yeah, I’m not the only crazy here.)

So, I found one of the best cover artists EVER and together we came up with a brand new cover that will basically rock your socks. Not sure? Take a minute. Go stare at the new cover and then come back and finish reading. I’ll wait. It’s worth it.

… Now, with a change this big, we aren’t stopping with just a cover reveal. That’s just not enough. So, we’re also doing an e-book giveaway here and another e-book giveaway on every site participating in the “LAUNCH INTO THE GALAXY” Hop this week so be sure to stop everywhere. In addition to THAT, I am also running a giveaway on my publisher’s site at www. Accendopress.com and another one on my personal site at www.heatherhildenbrand.blogspot.com that will include a signed paperback and a very sleek and sexy, leather Kindle cover. Be sure to check that out! And be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think of the new cover!

About The Book:

Alina Leone is in hiding.

Her parents are dead, her best friend is a horse, and she can’t return to her home planet of Gliese until the Shadows, the monsters who hunt for her, are found and destroyed.
But they found her first. The same creatures that murdered her parents and forced her to flee to Earth all of those years ago. And they’ll stop at nothing to destroy the only thing standing in their way for universal domination – Alina.
She must find the strength to defeat them, even if it means choosing between victory and the one she was meant to save…

 THE NEW COVER...

And my review...

(This is one of my first reviews, a little scary to re-post!)

I have found myself typing and erasing my opening sentence over and over. Why? Because I love Across the Galaxy so much, I didn't quite know where to start. I want to enthuse how much I enjoyed this book, but I don't want to sound like a blabbering idiot. So, I'll do my best to control myself. But I can't make any promises!

Across the Galaxy is a beautifully descriptive book. Author Heather Hildenbrand does a terrific job of placing the reader into the scenery. While reading of Arizona, I felt myself visualizing the terrain, the orange and red of the sky, the heat. As I was taken 'across the galaxy' into each ensuing world, the imagery given made each planet feel real. The animals, trees, grass, water; every detail was given its due. True escapism at its best.
Each character in the story, beginning with Alina, is set up in a realistic way. Their emotions, reactions, the conversations were all believable. I felt as if I got to be a part of the characters getting to know one another. There wasn't any of the "insta love" I've read in a lot of books. When Alina meets Ander, also a native to her home planet, they actually take the time to get to know one another in a real way. That was very, very refreshing. But as they do get to know each other, that chemistry is smoking hot!

The plot of Across the Galaxy had an excellent pace. I never felt as if it was rushed. The story was layered. Each new turn of events was a nice, new piece to add to the puzzle. The plot kept building, bit by bit, throughout the book. I felt as if Hildenbrand was constantly weaving the threads of the story together. Little things that I didn't note as tremendously important throughout the story would wrap back into it later. I constantly found myself saying "Oh, that's why she/he said or did that!" I love that the author didn't just lay everything out in a neat row.

The editing of Across the Galaxy was excellent. I'm a bit of a "grammar freak", driven insane by poor spelling or word usage. The writing was clean and conversational, never redundant.

What I loved the most about Across the Galaxy is that I never guessed exactly what was going to happen. I was just going along for the journey and where that would take me. I hope each of you take that journey, as well. You won't regret it.

Favorite Quote:
"But sitting here in the daylight, staring at the most gorgeous guy I had ever seen, I thought two things. First, I was kidding myself to even think the whole 'never left alone' rule would just wear off with Peter, and second, if my babysitter looked like this, maybe I didn't mind so much."

Okay, that totally convinced me that ACROSS THE GALAXY is due for a re-read, ASAP!

Add to your GoodReads to-read shelf.

Find Heather Hildenbrand at:
her blog | Twitter | Facebook

Now for the GIVEAWAY!

Heather will be giving one lucky winner, at each stop, an ecopy of ACROSS THE GALAXY! On the last day of the hop, she will be giving a GRAND PRIZE away at the publisher website.  Go to all of these stops to enter:

2/26/12 - Cambria Hebert, A Diary of a Book Addict

2/27/12 - Nightly Reading

2/28/12 - AwesomeSauce Books

2/29/12- Magnet 4 Books

3/1/12- Fiktshun

3/2/12- Taking It One Book At A Time, Bookish Babes

3/3/12- The Readiacs

3/4/12- Sassy Book Lovers

3/5/12- Talk Supe, A Book Vacation

3/6/12 - Accendo Press - giveaway of a Kindle cover and e-book of your choice!

The winner of the giveaway here at The Bookish Babe is :

Leanne!

I have contacted Leanne and passed her info to Heather. Thanks to all who entered!