I just recently started reading Heather Graham's books. Everyone one of them I have loved and wanted to re-read, however; A Matter Of Circumstance leaves me a little disappointed. It could have been that I just expected too much. That, I will let you decide.

The book has romance, suspense and thrills, what more could one ask for. The romance was wonderful, but not totally beleivable. I enjoyed both main characthers, but felt there was something missing. I felt the story was a little rushed.

The book had a wonderful and humorous ending that made me smile. I don't think I could ever dislike one of Heather Grahams books, but, honestly, this was not one of my favorites. I guess they can't all be, can they.

A matter of circumstance--he happens to be there, she happens to be there-love bloomes. Ever wondered when the "matter of circumstance" would land you the best love of your life. Amanda Blayne needs not bother her pretty little head with such matters of the heart for she has landed her man under this very circumstance.

Amanda Blayne was walking along the beach shore one day when from nowhere she is abducted and motorboated to some far and distant island. She pines her time away until unsuspected Sean Ramiro (undercover cop observes the crime) takes off to defend her. He risk everything to save the beautiful woman he had admired strolling on the beach. One thing leads to another and before you know it they are in bed together.

Just think, but for "circumstance" they may never have met since they really were from two different worlds. Amanda nor Sean had NO intentions of reaching out to anyone at the time of the incIdent. But, LOVE, has a way of making decisions that had not be previously entertained.

Before love could blossom, Amanda and Sean had many hurtles to overcome, not the the least was, to get free from the abductors. They finally do and decide to love each other ever after. You will have to read to learn what the obstacles were and how they happen to fall in love. (Smiles)--By Beverly C. Sanders

I am getting ready to take off for the Bahamas next month so I decided to take a trip to the ship's store and have a look at the cruising guides. I am heading to the Southern Bahamas so you would think that this guide would be perfect. It is NOT. I took a quick look through the contents and index and discovered he did not cover the Exumas. How could this be? Ah... Mr. Pavlidis wants you to buy YET ANOTHER of his books, one specifically covering the Exumas. Appauling. How can you say you are covering the central and southern Bahamas WITHOUT even one chapter on the Exumas?

I think I will stick with my trusty Yachtsman's guide to the Bahamas. It actually covers the Bahamas. It does not leave out A WHOLE ISLAND CHAIN in order to suck up another 30 bucks.

The book's name should be The Central and Southern Bahamas Guide EXCLUDING a Great Deal of the Southern and Central Bahamas.

Good Grief!

Pavlidis' guide will get you to places you didnt think you could visit. It also assumes you are a competent tropical water sailor and wont do stupid things like run into rocks, etc. Where other guides state "local knowledge required" for an area Pavlidis gives you the best current info and then warns you to be aware of possible changes and hazards. If you want to find places where there is still a lobster under every rock and no other boats in sight, this is the guide to use.

I used this book from April to June 2000 cruising the Bahamas on our way to Panama via the Windward Passage.I found if the wind blew from the east then the book did not give information on other anchorages that one could change to E.G. White Cay Berri Islands and Stanley Cay in the Exums.In other instances the best anchorages were not even mentioned by Wilson. The books G.P.S. waypoints were dangerous wrong E.G.George Town .The lack of information on entrances from the sound to the banks E.G. The entrance to Thunder Ball Cave area .It is my belief that this book is dangerous and it is best to find another guide book.

During a cruise through the Bahamas in the spring of 2000, this guide was a great disappointment. The BA charts are woefully lacking in detail -- especially depths -- and discussions of shore sites are in many cases unduly negative. We visited a number of places about which Mr. Wilson used disparaging terms and found them delightful. Coverage of the Exumas assumes one is approaching from the banks side and gives little attention to approaches from Exuma Sound. In some places the author gets on a soapbox for environmental concerns and in other places he tacitly approves practices (such as feeding fish at snorkel sites) that are not ecologically sound. Fails to acknowledge existence of the Explorer series of charts that are by far the best for practical use in the area. In general, the "yellow pages" info is current and useful, but all things considered, there are better cruising guides for the Bahamas.

I have several Bahamas cruising guides and this is the BEST ! I live in the Bahamas and have found things here I did not know. It is accurate, easy to read,and well written. I highly reccomend this book to anybody that is interested in cruising the Bahamas or even those interested in the Bahamas at all. A REALLY GOOD BOOK ! Head and shoulders above the rest of the Bahamian cruising guides!

Having just returned from Grand Bahama, I must say that this guide was just far enough out of date to exasperate the vacationer trying to use it.

Quite a few resorts there have changed hands, folded, or scaled back. Example: Running Mon Resort-which this guide says was rennovated in 2000, w/ 66 slip marina and has a diving facility coming on line any day- is closed. Two of the three botanical gardens featured had closed (Rand Nature Center and Hydroflora) and a third, Garden of the Groves, listed as a major attraction of the Island, looked as though it had once been quite nice but was suffering from underfunding and neglect.

We also discarded the fold-out map included with the book; the freebie street maps available at the airport were more up to date. Example: looking at Frommer's map, you would think you could drive West Sunrise Drive, the main east-west artery on the island, straight through. However, it is blocked off by a resort forcing a confusing detour. Also, the Bahamian traffic circles, which are numerous, are not even shown on the map. This, coupled with the island's smallish, hit or miss street signs, makes it difficult for a new comer trying to find the way around.

Inexplicably, they don't devote any page space to the network of condo rentals which are a plentiful and inexpensive alternative to the hotels and resorts.

We have found Frommers guides to be reliable in the past, and we did not check out everything they listed for Grand Bahama, but if our experience is any indicator, this one needs to be updated if it is to meet their usually high standards. If it's any consolation, Lonely Planet's guide was also out of step in many of the same items.

This book, although riddled with inaccuracies, was helpful on my first trip to the Bahamas. Much of the information was incorrect but acted as a "springboard" to find out what was really going on. The lesson learned was to double check everything. DO NOT TRUST THIS BOOK!

This book tells you every detail you need to know in order to have a perfect vacation. From where to stay, eat, and find entertainment the author gives you honest, reliable information that you can trust. After reading this book you will know what to expect when you arrive in The Bahamas and how you want to spend your time.

Agree with the "pretty but shallow" assessment below. On a recent trip to the Abacos, found it completely useless without map coordinates. There must be a market out there for dive guides without maps or GPS coordinates (people who don't actually want to dive? the clairvoyant?) but...

There's some good things about this book: in typical Lonely Planet style you've got great general travel information for the area (which if I really wanted, I'd buy a general travel book).

It does also cover a large number of sites - though is still far from comprehensive.

And it has some nice additional information occasionally through the book.

Two main peeves though. And they're killers:

- Each description is a paragraph, or two at most. You can't tell me very much about a dive site in so few words.

- There are no maps / diagrams for specific dive sites (just area overview maps) - a dive guide fails totally without these.

It's a pretty book, but to be any use you need to include maps and more detail per site (if this was done it could be forgiven for not being totally comprehensive).

In short, it's nice, but it's no use as a tool for researching a dive holiday.

What'S further is I now own two of these (Red Sea and Bahamas) - I certainly will not buy another.

I've just used the new dive guide by Lonely Planet on my recent dive trip to the Bahamas (Eleuthera). It was an excellent resource - solid dive site descriptions of 108 sites, which were organized by dive region. For someone not familiar with the Bahamas prior to going there, I found the book an invaluable tool for helping me plan where to go.The sidebars were entertaining to read as well (and useful), and the color photos are pretty inspiring too. Recommended highly!

I am a die-hard fan of Susan Cooper. I have read all of her books multiple times and never get tired of her incredible talent of weaving flawlessly together the elements of myth, fantasy, magic, and the timeless fight between good and evil. I was very excited to read "Green Boy"...and was very disappointed. Terribly disappointed! The story is basically a heavy-handed environmentalist tract, flimsily placed in a fantasy plot. I can't imagine what she was thinking. It is difficult to connect to any of the characters, and Cooper's usually flowing and descriptive prose is jarring and disconnected. The plot is contrived and clichéd, and I finished the book with a relieved sigh because I got through it, not because I had a desire to read it again. Though I will never pick up this book again, it hasn't tarnished my opinion of her other works, which are definitely worth reading over and over again.

Trey and his silent younger brother love to visit their special Bahamas cay, but when they discover that their visits are bringing them to a frightening future world, linked to their own, their become involved in fighting off an environmental threat to their own beloved home. Fantasy blends with more than a touch of realistic settings in this fast paced fantasy.

This book had some nice photos and did include a bit of information on the wrecks and dive sites, but is definitely not a book for a serious wreck diver. For example, no information is given on the locations of the wrecks so anyone interested in seeing the wrecks is forced to find a local dive operation. Since most local dive trips cater to casual, recreational divers who normally follow the recommendations of the operator and have little input on the destination anyway one wonders about the usefulness or potential audience for this book.

I have read almost all of the Bergs books and those penned by Daniel Berg solo. The Bergs are well known wreck divers. The book has many really exellent photos and hits most of the highlights of Island wreck diving. It is broken down by Islands and gives a little blurb about history and conditions for each wreck. What the book lacks are, the exact locations of the wrecks and the accessability, e.g. shore dive, dive charter, 1 hr. trip or 2 hr. trip? A good photo book to get psyched up for your vacation.

I visited Port Lucaya last year and I plan on returning this year and wanted up-to-the-minute restaurant and hotel listings with critical reviews. This appears current but the reviews are not very detailed and do not give much flavor of insider information. Review seem slanted to the high-end etablishments. There are no maps and no travel tips. These listings might be valuable for first time visitors. This information is all available in other books. $9 seems steep for a non-physical book, but this is my first experience with eBooks.

Upon reading 'Andros Before Our Time' by native Bahamian Earthel Moxey, I was both intrigued by the author's knowledge of Androsian folktales and at the same time somewhat disappointed in the way he chose to present them. His depictions of Andros as a wild island steeped in superstition and myth were extremely accurate, but the stories tended to get varitably choppy in random places. Still, I would recommend Moxey's book to anyone interested in the Bahamas, especially those interested in the mysterious and colorful Andros Island. It was indeed a very necessary book, and I hope the author continues to seek out as-of-yet unrecorded Bahamian folklore to record for future generations. As a college student majoring in writing, this book exceeded all of my expectations by providing me with ample amounts of writing fuel and inspiration on my current story subject, Andros Island.

The book has nice color photos of the islands, approaches and maps to highlight all the locations. Information on imigration forms and emergency gear also. It is plastic bound and about an inch thick. It covers each island and the local airports. It also covers the main attractions and things to do.

One thing surprised me a little, it is full of advertisements. Probably 1/3 to 1/2 of the book are advertisements from local establishments. Its like a pilot guide crossed with a magazine from Apple Vacations or a Cruise Line. It is sort of like the Oshkosh Program guide in that respect. It depends on your outlook as to wether you like all the advertisements or not (my wife liked the adds to see what was there, I didn't).