Hey everyone! I'm so excited to be kicking off the blog tour for Uncross the Stars! Today I have a great excerpt from the book to share with you - and don't forget to enter the giveaway! To follow the rest of the tour stops, click on the banner above.
Uncross the Stars
Author: Janell Rhiannon
Genre: YA Romance
Release Date: December 15, 2014
Description:
Fiona Lavender is the new girl at school. She has a chip on her
shoulder and a pension for poetry. Dario Martinez is the star
quarterback, and the most unattainable guy on campus. Their stars cross
when they are paired to study Romeo and Juliet for a senior English
project. Their connection is fragile and undeniable. But, Dario is
afraid of what love will do; and Fiona is waiting for love to claim
her. Will they uncross the stars and find the love they both need to
heal their pasts?
Fiona sat at a partially shaded lunch table outside the cafeteria. A few grassy patches accented the meandering concrete walkways. There was so much cement that the pale yellow sun bounced off the starkness with blinding brightness radiating the Indian Summer heat into mirage waves like a desert. She didn’t understand why it was against school policy to wear shades when almost the entire grounds caused concrete-blindness.
She picked at the way-past-wilted lettuce on her fake Subway sandwich. At least her diet Coke was chilled. She unscrewed the lid and let the bubbles fizz sweetly down her throat. She looked at her phone. Dario should’ve been here by now. Wonder what’s keeping him?
A shadow fell across the table, and thinking it was Dario, Fiona looked up and smiled. Her smile faded as soon as she realized it was Ryan.
"Hey, Ryan.”
“Hello yourself, Fiona.”
“What do you want?” Fiona’s annoyance rang clear. She struggled against guilt when she dealt with Ryan. Giving him a chance shouldn’t be so hard, but encounters with him always made her feel uneasy.
“That’s a hellish attitude.”
“Sorry. It’s just hot out here. Hey, you don’t know where Dario is, do you?”
“No idea. None.”
“Oh.” Fiona started wrapping her mutilated sandwich with a napkin. “Well, I gotta go.”
“Hold up, Fiona. What’s wrong?” Ryan put a hand on her arm. She jerked it from his grasp.
“Leave me alone, Ryan. I’m not in the mood.”
“Sounds like someone’s pissed.”
Fiona stood up to leave. “I’m not mad. I just have to go.”
“Go where? It’s lunch. And you just admitted you don’t know where Dario is. What are you gonna do? Hunt him down?”
Fiona closed her eyes, because that’s exactly what she was going to do. “No.”
“Look, can you handle some truth?”
Fiona wasn’t sure if she wanted any truth from Ryan. But, he did know Dario supposedly better than anyone. “Okay. What?”
“You didn’t buy all that crap Dario was selling, did you?”
The ground shifted subtly beneath her feet, so she sat back down. “What crap are you talking about?” Her head felt dizzy.
“All that ‘I love poetry’ conversating you and he are doing.”
“He does love poetry.”
“Well, of course he loves it. It’s how he reels chicks in.”
Fiona’s spine straightened. Her heart pinched beneath her ribs. “What girls? What are you talking about?”
“Ever heard of backroom babes?”
“No.”
“They keep it all to themselves,” Ryan said. “Hey, wait a minute. You don’t really think he likes you, do you?”
Nausea swirled in her stomach. “I don’t know,” Fiona answered.
“Dario’s smooth as silk no doubt, right? It works every time. Poetry is his way of getting into your pants. That’s all.”
Fiona managed a faint defense. “I don’t believe you.”
“Swear down. Smooth is his middle name.”
“Dario’s not like that.” She tried to balance the way he knew O Captain! My Captain! by heart, the way he looked at her when he kissed her at the football game, the way he read the Shakespeare lines with her every time they studied. Suddenly, it occurred to her that Dario did know the lines too well, like he’d rehearsed them a thousand times.
“And don’t think it means anything when he’s reading like a Romeo. He’s a Cassanova, babe. And you’re just a sweet-lock he’s hoping to get into the backroom. Look, he’s a guy. This virginal gig is a way to make girls feel like they’re special. It makes them feel loyal to him, so they don’t talk about it. So, he just keeps on looking, well, virginal. It’s genius actually.”
Ryan’s revelation stunned the crap out of her. How could I be so wrong about him? How? I’m so stupid. Oh my god, I’m just like my mother. How did this happen? Why did I think someone like him would ever like me? Fiona’s eyes watered as she stood up, brushing passed her tormentor. “Later, Ryan.” Fiona walked off willing one foot in front of the other. Tears welled up against her will. Ryan’s verbal arrow had hit the bulls-eye right in the center of her heart.
Janell has been writing since she was in grade school. In
high school, her 9th grade English teacher suggested she consider a
career in writing. After a decade in college and a Master's degree in
history, she settled into teaching.
Writing never stopped. Stories never stopped. READING fiction never stopped. Now, she writes and publishes on-line. Invisible Wings is her first YA novel, a compilation of short stories centered on teenage life triumphs and tragedies. She believes being a teenager is difficult and wrote Invisible Wings to let teens know they aren't alone. That they matter. That even though life is rough, they can still find beauty and love.
Beside the YA stories close to her heart, she adores Mythology and Fairy tales. Anything magical and mystical. And dragons. And gargoyles.
She currently lives in CA.
Visit her at Facebook @Janell Rhiannon Author. If you want to see what projects are in the works or find out more about the her, visit
Writing never stopped. Stories never stopped. READING fiction never stopped. Now, she writes and publishes on-line. Invisible Wings is her first YA novel, a compilation of short stories centered on teenage life triumphs and tragedies. She believes being a teenager is difficult and wrote Invisible Wings to let teens know they aren't alone. That they matter. That even though life is rough, they can still find beauty and love.
Beside the YA stories close to her heart, she adores Mythology and Fairy tales. Anything magical and mystical. And dragons. And gargoyles.
She currently lives in CA.
Visit her at Facebook @Janell Rhiannon Author. If you want to see what projects are in the works or find out more about the her, visit
Author Links:
Buy Links:
Tour Wide Giveaway: (1) $30 Amazon Gift Card - Open INTL!
This sounds like a great book. Can't wait to read it.
ReplyDeleteI need to read this! :D
ReplyDeleteMary G loki
Thank you for the introduction!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds like a must read.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway! =)
Thank you for the giveaway, this book seems awesome! I'll add it to my TBR list!
ReplyDeletesounds like a great read and I can't wait to check out the rest. thanks for the info and the giveaway
ReplyDeleteTFS. I'd like to read this book, if I won I'd be able to buy it too!
ReplyDeleteSounds like another romance for me!!
ReplyDelete