Hawaii Five-O Hits Another Home Run

The second episode of Hawaii Five-O was just as awesome as the first.  It definitely had something for everyone (and finally gave me the answer I'd been waiting for---Wo Fat is NOT Steve's half-brother! Whew!)

I love the Kono/Adam storyline, and how they are sticking together.  Kono is a woman of many talents--fishing, saving their lives, fixing the car, you name it, while Adam is all, hiding around the corner, sitting in the car, (looking dang good doing it though!) and saying, yeah, Kono, you need to go home because they're going to keep coming after us and then we'll both be dead.  I was thinking, if you send her home, you'll be dead a lot sooner, pal.  You need her a lot more than she needs you, so you better keep her around! They are cute together, though, and I do like their scenes.

Tim Daly was the guest star this week and he was a great Texas Ranger.  Loved his persona, the way he owned the swagger, and his little peanut butter stunt was hilarious.  He totally sold that rat story and the look on the guy's face when Tim starts slathering the peanut butter on his head was priceless.  I was afraid it would be cliche or stereotypical, but it was great.  The case was another dad looking for his kid, but the Ranger angle gave it a breath of fresh air and made it enjoyable.  I particularly liked all our boys going after the girl, the shootout at the drug house, the shipping container takedowns, (Danny's was especially funny).  It was all great action and what I've come to expect and love about Hawaii Five-O.

The new car also makes an appearance (and the new computer table for Chin, yay!) and poor Danny doesn't even get to drive it before Steve steals the keys.  I did feel bad for him, because that is an incredible car and if it was mine, I'd want to drive it first.  But the cargument was even better than the new car appearance because I had no idea that Danny was a McRoll fan.  His little speech to Steve about Billy the ex-boyfriend (really? A grown man going by Billy?) spending long hard hours with Steve's "beautiful, intelligent, sexy, attractive girlfriend," not being a good idea was great because it looked like Steve was actually thinking about what Danny was saying this time. But the best line for me was when Danny told Steve that Catherine was the best thing that ever happened to him. Awwww.

And that brings me to Billy Harrington.  Right off I was thinking, oh he might not be too bad, but no, he tried to wedge himself in between Catherine and Steve by implying that Catherine had confided in him about leaving the Navy.  "She didn't tell you?" Yeah, not cool.  I liked that Steve immediately asked her about it when he invited her to his office. She told him that her CO had mentioned to Billy she was leaving the Navy, it wasn't her, so all is well in the trust department.  And her answer as to why she wasn't taking the job with Billy?  "I'm happy right now.  I mean, things between us are good and I don't want to ruin that." Awwww. The little smile on Steve's face when she said that was so telling.  And his comment that he'd miss seeing her in her cammies was adorable.  (I also like that he is so gentlemanly around her.  He opens doors, he says excuse me when they're interrupted and he has to talk to someone else.  That's becoming a lost art these days.)

The ending scene was back to the baseball diamond for the championship game.  (They did show a bit of a game at the beginning where Steve and Danny were both ejected from the game, Ha!) Steve tells Catherine to take the job, they're good and nothing will change that.  She hugs him, they kiss, and Kamekona as the umpire calls a timeout so everyone can watch their PDA.  So sweet.  Then, Kamekona shakes his head and says, "Love." Everybody sees it and I love that.  :)  Grace finally hits a home run to end the episode with a victory smile right before she reaches the home plate. So cute!

I cannot wait to see the rest of this season because of the way they are truly mixing action with emotion and romance.  It is adding a third dimension to the characters that is totally drawing me in.  It's a tough balance, but so far these writers have hit a home run with the opening eps of the season.  Let's hope it continues.  

Friday Freebie

Today's Friday Freebie is a YA Paranormal novel---Become by Ali Cross.  I haven't read this one, but it looks good and has some great reviews on Amazon.  If you're interested you can click here for the Kindle link

Here is the back matter:

2013 Hollywood Book Festival Honorable Mention

“A phenomenal story of a girl who should, by all accounts, be a bad girl, but wants so desperately to be good. The story of Desolation Black and her trials as a normal teen, while trying to please her father (AKA: Satan) not only kept me on the edge of my seat, but left me questioning how I see the world. If a girl with such darkness in her life, can find a way to do good, then there's hope for the rest of us. Even if you're not a fan of dark paranormal novels, you'll love this one. It's not like all the others. Not even close.” C.K. Bryant (BOUND)

“With beautiful, lyrical writing, this is one story fans of paranormal romance will not want to miss! And the twist at the end has me craving book two!” ~ Susan Kaye Quinn (OPEN MINDS)

***

Sixteen-year old Desolation Black wants nothing more than to stay in Hell where it’s cold and lonely and totally predictable. Instead, she’s sent back to Earth where she must face the evil she despises and the good she always feared.

When Desi is forced to embrace her inner demon, she assumes her choice has been made—that she has no hope of being anything other than what her father, Loki, has created her to be. What she doesn’t count on, is finding a reason to change—something she’s never had before—a friend.

A Few Thoughts on Tom Clancy

I'm taking things easy today  It's my last free day before my critique group meets a final time for my manuscript and I know tomorrow I will be busy editing.

I've been reading a bit about Tom Clancy.  If you hadn't heard by now, he passed away this week.  He was a master at military suspense and really broke ground in that genre.  I read an interview where he had a high-ranking U.S. defense officer ask him how he'd accessed secret documents (I want to say Secretary of Defense, but I can't quite recall) and Mr. Clancy replied he'd only read unclassified documents and drew conclusions from those.  How awesome is that, that his hunches were so accurate?

President Reagan mentioned in public that he couldn't put The Hunt for Red October down and after that comment, Mr. Clancy's career was made.  Something similar happened when Stephenie Meyer talked about not being able to put down Hunger Games if I recall correctly.  Proof that word of mouth is the best marketing tool.

Mr. Clancy also said having a movie made out of your books was like turning your daughter over to a pimp. Which is sad because I loved The Hunt for Red October and Clear and Present Danger.  The great thing, though, is that his words and stories will live on. And he left a legacy that cannot be denied.  Rest in peace, sir.

Have you read any of his books?  Did you like the movies that were made from them?

We Are Sprinting!

Hey fellow writer friends!  Ready to write?

I'm working on a little fanfiction tonight and taking a break from my novel.  You know how this works, see you in fifteen minutes!

Ready, Set, GO!!!

Word Count Wednesday

Well, this was a pretty good week for me.  I tinkered around with my manuscript, added an epilogue and part of a new scene, which added up to just over 2000 words.  I am loving the direction this story has taken!

How did you do this week?  Are you deciding whether to do NaNoWriMo this year?

And can you come to the sprint tonight at 8 p.m. MST?

Castle Review: The Beckett Show

Well, it was the second of the two-part episode.  Castle has been exposed to a toxin that will kill him in twelve hours.  Beckett joins him in the interrogation room to give him the news, and honestly? It felt like she was telling him she'd always hated his shoes and hoped he bought new ones.  Where was the emotion? Shed a tear maybe?  Your new fiance is dying and it's all in a day's work?  I don't know, I was disappointed in that scene.

Beckett goes on the hunt for the antidote and I thought for one glorious second that Castle would be able to work the case with her, but no, the new boss said he could "help" her from the building.  Which means he sat around almost the entire episode looking mopey.  He did have a great goodbye scene with Martha and Alexis, but other than that, Castle was on the sidelines the entire show.

I liked the case, actually, it was interesting and the evidence trail had a lot of twists and turns, but the thing that made Castle a must-see show for me was the chemistry with Castle/Beckett/Ryan and Esposito.  Ryan and Esposito barely make a cameo in this episode and it's only to have Beckett be rude to them and hang up. Awful.  We also get a tiny bit of Martha/Alexis/and plot point boyfriend, (seriously, that guy just appears and now he's living in Castle's loft and part of the family? Lame).

Now, don't get me wrong, I love Beckett and thought the premiere was great, but by this episode it's clear to me that this show can't revolve around her and her new buddies/boss. They don't have the chem, they don't have the history, and while the cases might be bigger and the technology to solve it more advanced, it feels flat. If I wanted to watch FBI/CIA people that I don't really know or care about track down terrorists, I'd flip the channel and watch The Black List.  (Which I just started watching, and it's actually not bad. But I digress.) Seeing Beckett in action is fine, I always liked that as part of the show in seasons past, but not for the whole show.  The synergy in the cast is what makes Castle stand out and it's definitely missing.

Anyway, by the end of the ep Castle was saved and we're coming back to the precinct in the previews. Hopefully they can get back to what works and put our team back together!

Book Review: Rocky Road

 

Tour Schedule

Today I am happy to be part of the blog tour for Rocky Road by Josi Kilpack.  This is a continuation of the Sadie Hofmiller cozy mystery series and I have to say, I think this might be my new favorite one.  Sadie has come a long way in this journey and her last adventure on the cruise ship has left her worn out.  She's meeting her friend Caro for a girls' weekend in St. George, Utah, when Caro presents her with a mysterious disappearance of a local doctor.  Caro wants to investigate it, especially when she comes across some evidence that the police might not have all the information they need, but surprisingly, Sadie says no.  She just wants to turn the evidence over to the police and be done with it.  Until she meets the man's ex-wife and kids at his memorial service.  She promises only to get involved until the police call them back, but then, in true Sadie fashion, she is drawn into unraveling another mystery.

The thing I liked the most about this book is how easy it was to see how Sadie has grown. She's not impetuous anymore and knows the ins and outs of working a case, letting the police in on what she's doing, and how far is too far.  I love the new side of Sadie and it didn't detract at all from the mystery, only making me work harder to figure it out.  And I have to say it sounds so silly, but there's someone in the book who is mean to Sadie, and I felt oddly protective of Sadie!  I really do love her character. (And yes, I know she's fictional!)

This mystery had it all, great twists and turns, a great supporting cast (I love Caro!) and even though Pete doesn't make an appearance we still get a zing! every time Sadie thinks of him.  (Awwww.)  I really do think this is Kilpack's best book yet, although there is a sneak peek of her next novel in the back that looks just as good.  I will be anxiously awaiting the next installment in the series!

Here's the back copy:

Rocky Road It was supposed to be a girls’ weekend in scenic St. George, Utah that would include shopping, trying out the local cuisine, and participating in a breast cancer fundraiser. The fact that one of the organizers of the fundraising event, a local doctor, disappeared two months ago was not supposed to be Sadie’s problem. In fact, she refuses to participate in the grassroots investigation her friend Caro, and Caro’s cousin, Tess, have put together prior to her arrival. But then she meets the ex-wife of the missing doctor. How could she not ask a few questions . . . that lead to a few more questions . . . that lead to a small town and yet even more questions. Before she knows it, Sadie is in the middle of yet another murder investigation and trying to piece together a convoluted trail of good intentions, hidden motivations, and philanthropy turned big business.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

 

Author Josi S. Kilpack Born and raised in Salt Lake City Utah, I met my husband in high-school--well, he wasn't my husband then, just the cute guy in weight training with the permed mullet--and we married in 1993. I wrote my first book while on bed rest with my third child and have gone on to publish 20 novels, the most recent being part of The Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series. I currently live in Willard, Utah with my husband, children, and cat.  

Website * Twitter * Blog

 

Culinary Mysteries by Josi Kilpack