Desert Rice and Desert Flower by Angela Scott Blog Tour

 *** Angela will award one commenter at every stop a Mobi or ePub copy of WANTED: Dead or Undead or Survivor Roundup from her backlist, and one randomly drawn commenter on the tour will receive a $15 gift card to Amazon. ***

Book Blurb:

 Samantha Jean Haggert is a beautiful twelve-year-old girl—but no one knows it. All they see is an awkward boy in a baseball cap and baggy pants. Sam’s not thrilled with the idea of hiding her identity, but it’s all part of her older brother’s plan to keep Sam safe from male attention and hidden from the law. Fifteen-year-old Jacob will stop at nothing to protect his sister, including concealing the death of the one person who should have protected them in the first place—their mother.

Sam and Jacob try to outrun their past by stealing the family car and traveling from West Virginia to Arizona, but the adult world proves mighty difficult to navigate, especially for two kids on their own. Trusting adults has never been an option; no adult has ever given them a good reason. But when Sam meets “Jesus”—who smells an awful lot like a horse—in the park, life takes a different turn. He saved her once, and may be willing to save Sam and her brother again, if only they admit what took place that fateful day in West Virginia. The problem? Sam doesn’t remember, and Jacob isn’t talking.

Jo-Anna's Review:

The reason I chose to read this book is because it's YA and I'm so happy that I did. When I marked this book as "read" on Goodreads, I felt that 5 stars did NOT do this book justice. This is probably one of the best books I have read this year!

I am new to reading Angela's books and this is the first of hers that I have read but I am now hooked. When I was about half way done, I actually PM-ed Angela and gushed about the book. I just had to talk to someone about it and who better to talk to then the author herself?

The first chapter of this book begins with telling us how Sam and Jacob find their mother dead. Then the story goes on to tell us how they run away, what they go through and things they do to survive in an adult world. So many emotions went through me as I read this book. There were parts that I was scared to read more but I just had to find out what happened. I just love Sam. I've never read a book with a POV of a 12 year old but the way Angela writes this story, after the reading the first sentence, I couldn't put the book down. I could have read it in one sitting if RL didn't get in the way.

I'm so happy to be apart of this tour and that I get  a chance to read these books. I am recommending them to everyone I know that reads. I'm also so very excited to read the next book. Great job Angela and I can't wait to hear more of Sam's story!! Definitely a must read!

Book Blurb:

Bodies have a canny way of finding Samantha Jean Haggert. The first, the dead body of her mama. The second, a naked man in the middle of the Arizona desert. For Sam, dealing with one dead body in her lifetime is more than unfair. Two, is downright cruel.

Seven years after running from West Virginia, Sam's now a young woman of nineteen, trying to put the pieces of her life together with the help of her family—Jacob, Boone, and Laura. But the naked man in the desert spirals her world out of control, resurfacing past hurts, revealing old secrets, and pitting her between two men who via for her heart. Carson, her friend, her first kiss, and the one man who knows everything about her past and loves her despite it. And Turner, the stranger who knows nothing, but who excites and frustrates her all at once.

When bad choices made as a child leads to more bad choices as a young adult, Sam finds herself at a crossroads and is forced to face her demons head on if she plans to have any future at all—with Carson, with Turner, or with anyone. But fixing the wrongs of the past takes time, and learning to forgive herself is damn near impossible.

Jo-Anna's Review:

After reading both of these books, I'd have to say that this one is my favorite. I love them both but this one, wow. I thought the emotional turmoil couldn't get worse then the first book but this one, knocked my socks off.

I think from the first page to the very last, I was on the edge of my seat. If I had time, I could have read this book in one sitting. 

After finding a naked man in the desert in the beginning of the book, Sam's life is thrown for a loop. What Sam goes through...wow. I don't want to give away any spoilers but I just have to say, the ending?? Wow!! Seriously?? I need more. A book can NOT end like that. It can not. But of course I am arguing with myself because I enjoy books that have cliff hanger endings. It leaves me wanting more. In this case though, I NEED more. 

AND I just love Turner! I do. But I love Carson also. I love them all.

Angela Scott has been amazing through out my journey of reading these two books. Poor thing has had to put up with my PM's and she has the patience of a Saint.

These two books are now high are my list of favorite books that I have ever read. I just loved them. I can't say that enough. You need to read these books!! I don't have enough words to describe how much I enjoyed these books. 

These two books are must read!!

Author Information:

I hear voices. Tiny fictional people sit on my shoulders and whisper their stories in my ear. Instead of medicating myself, I decided to pick up a pen, write down everything those voices tell me, and turn it into a book. I’m not crazy. I’m an author.

For the most part, I write contemporary Young Adult novels. However, through a writing exercise that spiraled out of control, I found myself writing about zombies terrorizing the Wild Wild West—and loving it. My zombies don’t sparkle, and they definitely don’t cuddle. At least, I wouldn’t suggest it.

I live on the benches of the beautiful Wasatch Mountains with two lovely children, one teenager, and a very patient husband. I graduated from Utah State University with a B.A. degree in English, not because of my love for the written word, but because it was the only major that didn’t require math. I can’t spell, and grammar is my arch nemesis. But they gave me the degree, and there are no take backs.

As a child, I never sucked on a pacifier; I chewed on a pencil. I’ve been writing that long. It has only been the past few years that I’ve pursued it professionally, forged relationships with other like-minded individuals, and determined to make a career out of it.

Tour dates:

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/01/virtual-review-tour-desert-flower.html?zx=4ecc04a4a8fb57a3