**A bit spoilery. You’ve been warned.**

I’m a big fan of LOST and the first couple of years of ALIAS. In other words, I like what JJ Abrams has been up to in tv land over the last few years. (wasn’t so hot on the “Cloverfield” thing, though)

So, last night, I was pumped up to watch his latest endeavor, FRINGE.

Things I liked:

1) Anna Torv - she’s like the poor man’s Cate Blanchett. She’s utterly watchable and the camera loves her face. I think she did a pretty good job with the American accent and playing a sympathetic leading lady.

2) Joshua Jackson - I never watched Dawson’s Creek, so I don’t bring any feelings or bias from that show. I absolutely LOVED him. Sympathetic nice guy with secrets and a strange father-son relationship to explore. He managed to show his attraction for Anna Torv’s character in a very subtle believable way. There’s a gold mine of sexual tension in that man…don’t let me down writers!  Oh, and he had some of the best lines of the night.

3) Crazy science dad - Loved his character. An oddball with a strange sense of what’s right and wrong. Can’t wait to see him develop over the season.

4) Pow of an ending - they got me with the boyfriend, John’s, involvement in all of this ‘pattern’ stuff. But they got me even more when they wheeled his dead body away and Ms. Terminator Arm talked about questioning him…hello reanimation! Can hardly wait to see what they do with this…

Things I didn’t like so much:

1) I will admit it, sometimes I can get confused in the plot. Some movies I’ve had to rewatch a few times before I got all the complexities of the plots. And this show was no exception. Two things I didn’t get–what was John’s relationship to the twin and why did that make him ‘bad’ and want to kill the guy?  and how was the invisible skin thing related to what happened in the plane? oh, one more thing…why did the other brother release whatever he released on the plane????  I didn’t get that. The plane mystery seemed left as a loose end that never got tied up…but I don’t get why. If someone wants to explain these plot points to me, I’d be most grateful.

2) A few shoddy storytelling moments that didn’t work for me…the strange idea that only the son could have access to his father. Um, if you’re locked up for being a nutjob and for crimes of some kind, I would think law enforcement could have access to you at any time. The other one was how easy it was for the son to sign out the dad from the mental ward. Maybe I misunderstood why the dad was in the asylum in the first place. Oh, and the lab that was shuttered for 17 years became usable in a shocking amount of time.

3) The ease with which they managed to move a severely ill man. Oh, and then they were able to stop wearing all the gowns and stop following hospital safety precautions for some unknown reason.

I’m guessing these complaints can be explained as necessary in order to move the story forward fast enough. But I think it might have been more interesting if the crazy science dad didn’t have his whole lab in place within a matter of moments. They still could have done the experiments and the cure without having to be in the exact same lab he used to work out of with all the same exact equipment. They could’ve create some adrenaline laced scene of them ’stealing’ John from the hospital and getting him to the lab.

But I’m okay with these mistakes, because I was still entertained and still surprised several times by the story. I’m not sure if all writers are this way, but I get bored very quickly with procedural shows like L & O and CSI and Cold Case. The storytelling pattern is repeated over and over and over until I can guess the bad guy the minute the show starts. Some tv viewers find that to be a good thing. They like to have their expectations met the same way each and every week.

I like shows that have unpredictable storylines that follow less of a pattern. I like serialized shows like LOST, 24, even Ugly Betty, which don’t wrap up neatly each and every week. And FRINGE seems to fit in there.

Looking forward to seeing how this show shapes up over the coming season.

I think I’ve said this several times before: I’m a big fan of historical romance. At this stage in my writing career I have no interest in writing one. Not sure if my voice would ever suit historical romance, and I’m not so certain I’m such a stickler for detail either. But read it? Oh, yeah!

Jackie Barbosa, a writer friend of mine, shared with me her newest book from Cobblestone Press - Wickedly Ever After. This book was released last Friday and is now available for sale…but act quickly! The book will only be available for sale for 6 months.

Why is that, you say? Well, Ms. Barbosa has a book coming out with Kensington next summer…and this story will be part of it!

Let me get to my review…I’m no professional reviewer, so bear with me.

I’m going with first names here, because I suck at understanding how titled folk in merry old England should be referred to. Eleanor was jilted at the altar. Nathaniel’s fiancee happened to be the one who ran off with Eleanor’s betrothed, Alistair. Alistair sends a letter suggesting Nathaniel would be a good replacement spouse for Eleanor, and the fun begins.

Nathaniel is believed to be a wastrel, even by his own family. He secretly leads a double life as a respected translator of poetry. The very same translator for whom Eleanor has great respect. There is deception. There is sexual tension. There is everything you want in a good historical romance. Nathaniel’s a bad, bad boy, and he has no qualms about sharing his knowledge with Eleanor. These two have sparks flying from almost the very first moment they meet.

Jackie created two wonderful, believable characters and gives you just enough of a tease throughout the book to keep you reading. Her writing style is very rich and reads smoothly. I got lost in her words and read the book in one sitting. The only thing I could have wished for was a longer book. I loved these characters and their romance that much.

I will be the first to say that her writing is too good for the smaller market of epublishing. I look forward to her debut novel and the success that will surely follow. Wickedly Ever After is not to be missed, if you are a fan of historical romance.

**The story of Alistair was the subject of an earlier release, Carnally Ever After. That book is available through Cobblestone Press or Fictionwise.**

Jackie Barbosa will be my author interview on June 9th, so be sure to stop by to learn more about this very talented writer.

Kris