Attractions Books

Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

Ana was adopted as a child and returns to Peru to find out about her origins and why she feels such a strong bond to jaguars. Once there she meets Mace Ridfort who immediately senses what she is. Only problem is, her birth father is the most evil sorcerer there is and Mace is convinced she is evil too. Ana believes she is good, like her mother was. As these two look for the answers they discover their fate is in each other and that only together can they fight off the greatest danger to all the shape shifter kind... her father's plans.

Dark Truth seemed to take an exceptionally long time to really get revved up and happening. I kept wondering when we were going to get into the action. This may be because I did not read the first book in the series and if I had, much of the story here would have appealed to me a bit more and not seemed so slow going. Then once events started to unfold they were over and done with far too quickly, and the final portion of the book read more like a prelude to book three than a conclusion of this particular story. Since I had the same problem with McKenna's Bombshell books I read while so many others raved about them, that's why I've come to the conclusion she just isn't for me.

I never really got completely emotionally invested in Mace and Ana's story. I felt for Ana struggling with the knowledge her father is one of the most horrendously evil beings out there and her struggle to prove she is nothing like him. I felt sorry for her dealing with the prejudice born of others' knowledge of her blood line. The struggle of Ana and Mace to overcome her legacy and build their own on the path of light instead of dark was well developed, but for some reason it just didn't resonate with me the way I expect my books to do.

The thing about Dark Truth that got to me the most, making me not fall in love with the story, was the evil Tupe (pronounced too-PAY in the audio book). The pronunciation sounded too much like something else to me and it just ruined the book for me. I'm sorry but I had a really hard time envisioning these bad-ass sorcery-practicing characters when every time I heard the word I was seeing a giant hair piece. The dark mood of the book is destroyed when I start giggling over the image that word portrayed in my mind.

[...] She has hordes of fans out there though so obviously she's doing something very right to keep so many people coming back for more, all the while attracting new readers. I am just not one of them.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, February 2008. All rights reserved.

Alright, this book is very, very bad. So bad in fact that I got to page 83 and threw it in the trash. It took me 3 days to get that far. The book never seems to take off. It starts at boring and does not improve. I was bothered by the fact that there was such a search for "my real parents" by Ana and the hero MACE - as if that is not a bad enough name - then goes on to say that he still thinks of the people who raised him as his second parents. Second? Shouldn't they be first. They did raise him. I was insulted by the lack of understanding of what an adoptive parent means to a child. Don't bother. Don't trust the Harriet lady's review. It is not a good read.

Ana is not a character I could sympathize with. Her story was too unbeleivable to swallow. Not the best from the Nocturne line.

Oh my, oh my--the first item that caught my attention in a negative way was the melodramatic behavior of the female lead character. What is she--nine years old? She wants to find out information about her early years before her adoption. So she goes to the orphanage where it all started, gets some info and goes outside and has a tantrum, a psychic moment and fortunately instead of getting arrested--is saved by her hero. Really I expect a little more from my lead female characters nowadays. Still there is some interesting stuff about Peruvian culture and for the $$ not too bad a choice, but not this series again for me.

As a small child, Ana Rafael was adopted. Unfortunately, nightmares have continuously plagued her, and a vision of a jaguar haunts her dreams. Determined to find her birth parents, Ana heads to Peru where she meets Mace Ridfort. But Mace has a secret... Mace knows who Ana's father is and Mace intends to kill him. Will this secret destroy them both before the DARK TRUTH is revealed?

DARK TRUTH is the second installment of the Warriors of the Light series, and presents a much more cohesive story than the first. It is not necessary to read UNFORGIVEN to understand DARK TRUTH as all of the information you need is provided in this stand alone novel. Calen and Reno do reappear from the first tale, but enough back history is provided that reading their story is not required.

DARK TRUTH continues along the mystical thread first started in UNFORGIVEN. The emerald necklace sought by both the dark energies of the Tupay and the light energies of the Taqe is integral to the storyline. Unlike the first book in which the plot seemed fragmented, DARK TRUTH smoothly meshes together the immediate story of Ana's search for her birth parents with the ongoing thread of the battle between good and evil. I am curious to see where all of these various stories are headed, and so for now I will continue reading this series. Readers looking for a short but very mystical storyline will appreciate DARK TRUTH.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

This book is comprehensive, well-writtena and a great all-around vacation planning tool. The money saving tips were particularly useful

This book is full of money saving tips. It's fun to read and very informative!

I like the presentation of information in this book. I have been to Disney many times and purchased many guide books, and this is a good one. I especially liked the rating system, for children and adults. Very helpful. It was easy to read and understand, with pictures and maps. Kind of big for traveling, but the information is worth bringing the book along on vacation.

Having had quite a lot of previous Walt Disney World experience, I was really disappointed with this book. I will say that the book looks nice and is laid out all right, but the content is awful. The book mentions attractions and shows that were long gone (I mean years) by it's release date in late 1998. One of Disney's major resort hotels isn't even named properly in the book. There is a big difference between Coronado Springs (correct) and Colorado Springs (wrong). Anyone who has even briefly visited the hotel can pick up on the southwest/Mayan/Aztec theme and should realize that the name Colorado Springs wouldn't make sense. I think if an author is claiming to be enough of an expert on something to write a guidebook, the basic facts should be right, which they are not. Virtually any other guidebook will give you better and more relevant information!

I was looking for a book that covered both Disney World and Universal. I visited DW in 1996 and wanted information about new stuff. I picked up the book at a Brick and Morder B&N and thought it seemed like the best choice.

It's not bad for a 1st time vister. But there are so many holes in the information. I used the web links that were mention in the first chapter like http://www.wdwinfo.com/ which has more info then the book.

They just say "Disney will have a 15 month Millenium Celiberation" no more info about it! That's what I wanted to know. I'm on Amazon today to order a better Disney World book. A good update and a better editor would make this an awsome buy. Big book for under $13, but no pictures like the offical guide and not a lot of inside information. Plus they didn't update for the millenium celibration. Or Islands of adventure in Universal. Just said there there was going to be one.

Honestly, I've never read a book where the author contradicts himself so much. Supposedly we are reincarnated over and over, and there is one soulmate for you who is also reincarnated over and over. But wait, then it says there are many soulmates for each person. To find them, you must telepathically send them messages to come to you. It might take years, but someday a person will show up and you'll just know it's the one. When that first happened to the author (he found "the one") he spent a lot of time trying to convince her that they were soulmates. She finally believes him, but uh-oh, they have nothing in common at all! Oops, maybe they aren't soul mates. Well, she was, but there are others too. WHATEVER! This book goes on and on like this. It makes absolutely no sense. I would not recommend buying it.

He had some good points, but I think for the most part- this book contradicts itself.
I'm sorry, but this soulmate search plants a seed of expectations. Then having expectations cloud your vision and colors your perceptions. Then your missing what is actually in front of you, missing out on possibly something even better than what your searching for. Maybe you will find what you are looking for if you just open your eyes instead of having tunnel vision. These expectations can make a person blind from acknowledgeing and maybe even realizing that that person that your currently with is a match for you. The person in search becomes not satisified and on a search outside of themselves to find their "soulmate" come on now, how much control do you really have in life?

That's really all there is to it. If you read the WHOLE book, and you already believe in the "esoteric" principles, you'll find yours. I did. Been w/him ever since he was a dewdrop in my mind.

...it was way too esoteric and I felt that the author was way off in left field! He didn't give any concrete, practical advice on finding or recognizing your own soulmate - he just went on and on about his own so-called "soulmate" experiences. The meditation exercises he suggests to do towards the end of the book to attract your own soulmate into your life was pretty goofy, too. If you are looking for a book that will give more practical, real world advice on finding your true love, I would recommend "Soulmates : Following Inner Guidance to the Relationship of Your Dreams" by Carolyn Godschild Miller. Godschild Miller's book at least will give you a sense of hope and some ideas of improving your own interpersonal relationships. Don't waste your money on Michael's "Soulmate" book - it's not even worth the paper it was written on.

In this book, many spiritual laws are described. When we follow these laws, we can manifest all our desires in our lives, including our ideal mates at a soul level. One important and very basic law is: energy follows thought. I would like to say that the author Michael is extremely intelligent and spiritually gifted. He is a metaphysical genius. I wonder most of the information in this book was channeled. His spiritual levels may be a little too advanced for an average reader today. He is a little bit ahead of his time. I would like to see many more books published by this author.

The book's tital says it all, LOL.

Fun, silly read basically tells you anything that a regular magazine could, but it was still a cute effort by the author.

I bought this book a while back but thought that it was very thorough and easy to read. It was a fun read that tells you how to be a Sex Goddess as well as define everything there is to being one. You see examples of celebrities "Goddesses" and what makes them one. I'd reccomend this to any woman who either is already a Sex Goddess or a Sex Goddess in training. How to be a Sex Goddess is just under 10 bucks so what do you have to lose.

This is very cool, and there are several profiles of celebrities that the author views as "sex goddesses." She tells us some info about them and why she put them in her book. There are quite a bit of good suggestions in here and the price is low. It could be better, but I'm not complaining!

This book is akin to a fashion magazine. There are lots of great pictures, and interesting celebrity "sex goddess" profiles, but you won't gain anything significant by reading this. The "sex tips" are bland and very typical -- nothing new to be learned here.

There's not much else to say about this book. It didn't teach me anything I didn't already know, and I'm not sure why I bothered to waste money and time on it.

The title of this book talks the talk but the pages don't walk the walk. It wasn't the entertaining read that i expected. the book is not comprehensive enough to be of any use and at times, it appeared, not mature enough for the audience I believe the author is catering to.

Ms. Garvey is an author that shows very good promise with her first full length novel. What she lacked in depth and development I'm sure she will gain with future efforts.

Maggie Harding is a planner from the word go. There is a reason why day planners have been created. The concept of "fly by the seat of you pants" is beyond her realm of thinking. Who does that??? The fact that she did something totally out of character five years earlier was not setting a precedence...no, it was a fluke thing. So when she shows up in the Hamptons with her friend Lucy, who just so happens to be in charge of a comeback party in the form of PR for an actor that has just left rehab. Oh, and the fact that her three day stand from five years earlier also seems to be in attendance should matter not at all...right!!! Maggie though can't get past the fact that Tyler still brings out the wild woman in her and when she tries to put distance between herself and temptation, Tyler won't stay away from her! Oh, but that's not the worst, the worst is when they wake up the next morning only to find Mr. Comback, Drew is found dead on the lawn, and now Maggie is trapped with the rest of "Hollywood" as well as Tyler on the grounds of Spindrift until the murder is caught. It's going to be a long weekend. Especially when Maggie starts acting impulsive and dayplanners are the last thing on her mind when it comes to Yummy Tyler!

The storyline seemed a bit simple and Maggie was an unusual character. Tyler on the other hand was quite fun and this balanced out the "conflict" between them. This read put me in the mind of "Clue" the board game and at times I admit to doing some "eye rolling" as the plot plodded along. Still, this was a decent debut effort and Ms. Garvey is probably an author that you will want to keep on your radar in the future.

Official Reviewer for Romance Designs

Maggie Harding is a rather uptight young woman who craves control and likes rules and boundaries. She rarely does anything crazy or spontaneous but she did so in a big way five years ago. She spent a wild weekend in a Key West hotel room with a gorgeous and very sexy man. They did not exchange last names and she snuck out like the coward she is while he was sleeping. Fun as it was, thank God she'll never see him again! And she's determined to never lose control like that again. Now she has agreed to accompany a girlfriend to a weekend houseparty in the Hamptons. The occasion is the launch of a former teen idol's comeback after a stint in rehab. The house is full of "beautiful people" who are really quite ugly. Jealous co-stars, nasty producers, agents and so-called friends. And one tall, dark and gorgeous man that is all too familiar. Oh no! It's him!

Tyler Brody did a double-take when he saw her. He never forgot that wonderful weekend in the Keys with that beautiful, fun-loving woman. And now here she was being introduced to him by their hostess. Unfortunately, she seems nothing like the woman he remembers. She seems uptight, nervous - what happened to her? He was extremely disappointed when he woke up alone five years ago, sorry that there was no way for him to find her. But Tyler is a live-for-the-moment kind of guy. He's spontaneous, free spirited and he does what he wants, when he wants. And right now he wants to rekindle the romance with Maggie.

The weekend is off to a bumpy start with Tyler pursuing Maggie and Maggie trying to avoid Tyler. Not to mention the tension of the assembled company. So much sniping and drinking making the atmosphere extremely uncomfortable, especially for outsiders like Maggie and Tyler (who's reason for being invited I never really got). Maggie's resolve begins to crumble fast under Tyler's dogged pursuit and her own attraction to him. Soon they are lovers again though Maggie still has her concerns about the kind of man Tyler is. But there's little time to worry about that when one of the guests is found dead on the lawn and the police place them all under house arrest until the crime is solved. Great. So much for avoiding him or even leaving early! Maggie decides she needs to find the murderer soon before she loses her heart to a man who's likely to take off again as soon as the mood strikes him. So Maggie begins doing some amateur sleuthing and, because he wants to be near her, Tyler tags along and together they set out to find out which of the guests is a murderer.

I loved Tyler. What a terrific guy! I couldn't understand why she fought her attraction to him so hard and that's my biggest problem with the book. The lady doth protest too much that he was somehow wrong for her. As for the murder mystery, I found that on a certain level I didn't care who done it. There were a few too many suspects and they were all so unlikable that I really didn't care about any of them. And I was really bummed that she killed off a fairly nice character when there were so many hateful people who deserved it more! The only other thing that I didn't like was the slightly chick lit feel to the book - I don't care for chick lit.

My issues aside, I think this is a promising debut and I would read more from this author.

If a poorly written, tedious novel ridden with copy editing mistakes is your idea of fun, this is your book. A snorer.

Manhattan designer Maggie Harding accompanies her friend Lucy at a Hollywood stars gala at Paige Redmond's Hampton Estate. However, her stomach turns upside down when she sees Tyler at the event. Five years following her boyfriend "Terrible Tom" ending their relationship via voice mail she met Tyler in the Keys; they exchanged first names and had three incredible one-night-stands before Maggie fled in the morning light. Tyler has looked for her ever since.

Maggie hopes to sneak away as she fears how deep Tyler touched her then and how much she wants him now. Tyler plans to never let her go as he knows she is the one. She tries to slip back to Manhattan, but a corpse on the lawn has led to the proverbial don't leave town by the police. While Maggie concludes she must uncover the killer to escape from Tyler, he mounts a campaign to win her heart.

This is a fun amateur sleuth romance starring a likable hero who knows who he wants for life and a confused chick lit like individual who sees solving the case as her escape from her heart. Converging on Maggie, the two subplots keep the reader entertained as Tyler pursues a running away Maggie while she chases after the killer. MURDER IN THE HAMPTONS is a fine tale.

Harriet Klausner

This is a romance novel with a murder mystery added in. The romance part dominates the story. The main setting is a beachfront estate in the Hamptons owned by a family with moderately old money - not an old family in terms of the Mayflower, or a nouveau riche family, but one with money several generations old; long enough to breed good manners. The main story takes place during a weekend house party which includes a lot of name dropping status seekers trying to be in the right place with the right people. To quote an expression I remember, "You can put a saddle on a cart horse, but..." The author, like some other authors, has apparently included her personal fantasies in the story. The graphic sexual content gives the novel an R rating or, in the alternate system, an AO rating for adults only.

Maggie Harding, an interior decorator, has accompanied her friend Lucy to the party. Lucy works for a PR firm and had made arrangements for the party, the purpose being to screen a new film starring the man engaged to the house owner's daughter. The Friday night dinner turns into a disaster, more like a redneck affair than a chic social gathering. This is interpersed with Maggie's discovery of an old acquaintance at the party, the male half of a weekend affair several years earlier in Florida; Tyler Brody, someone she had hoped never to see again. Action switches to the bedroom and a long scene on the renewal of the affair.

On page 80, the story introduces the murder mystery when Maggie is awakened to the screams of a woman house guest who has just found the dead body of a male house guest on the back lawn. The action from that point switches back and forth between the murder investigation, and activity between Maggie and Ty, who can't seem to keep their pants on when the victim's body is barely cold. Ty seems to have a one track mind, and Maggie offers little resistance.

It was my personal opinion that the heavy sexual content detracted from the murder mystery, to the point of being a little unrealistic, i.e., the main characters seem to have a cold attitude towards the victim, even though they help solve the case.

David Prill's first two novels won him a cult following among horror fans who appreciate his warped world view and macabre sense of humor. In The Unnatural, embalming took baseball's place as the national pastime. Serial Killer Days told the story of a small Minnesota town that actually celebrates the annual visits of a serial killer. This time out, Prill targets the Christian inspirational film industry, with the story of Good Samaritan Films, producers of such epics as The Man Who Rose Again and Three Strikes and You're Saved.

The main character of Second Coming Attractions is Leviticus Speck, son of Good Samaritan founder Noah Speck. Leviticus wonders if the films produced by Good Samaritan are relevant to today's Christian audience. Good Samaritan is not the powerhouse it once was, as evidenced by a declining market share and a challenge from an upstart, Blood of the Lamb Films. This new company produces films with grim anti-abortion messages, usurping markets that Good Samaritan once dominated.

Leviticus, obsessed with his rivals, is willing to do anything to thwart them. Introduced to a hot property that seems tailor made for Blood of the Lamb, Leviticus pretends his studio is interested in the project even though he has no intention of ever making the film. What follows is grim farce, as Leviticus and young screenwriter Nicholas Puckett collaborate on a script for an anti-abortion action film called "The Fetal Detective". The title character (nicknamed "The Unborn Avenger") is a trash talking, gun-toting fetus who dispatches his pro-choice enemies from the womb.

Once again, Prill creates convincing, sympathetic characters and places them in a world which, though ridiculous, is so fully imagined that readers have to buy in. Along the way, he demonstrates his talent for offbeat, off the wall humor, all the while delivering a message against intolerance and one dimensional thinking. Whether writing about a pistol-packing fetus, a support group for spouses of actors who portray deities, or abortion clinic violence, Prill writes authority and conviction.

Although Prill comes close to overdoing it at times (naming a character "Una Bonner" will probably make you groan out loud), he walks a fine line without becoming preachy. Nobody writes like Prill, and nobody covers the same bizarre terrain.

"Attractions" was not quite what I expected when I picked it up (from a remainders rack). I was expecting more of a satire of Hollywood, and less of the Christian entertainment industry. Still, it was a pleasant, and often very funny, read. No, this is not the Great American Novel. You will learn no great truths, or get any insights into the meaning of life. You will be entertained, nothing more or less. This is not reading for The Art of Literature - This is something to read on a summer afternoon in the park, or on a crowded flight, when you don't want to (or can't) give your full concentration to something more serious. Here's the truth of my recommendation: I came back to this page in order to see what else David Prill had written. If I'm willing to give him a second shot, it couldn't be as bad as all that, could it? (For comparison, some of my favorite authors are John Irving, Kurt Vonnegut, Martin Amis, & Don Delillo)

What a waste of a great premise. This subject is begging for a good satircal novel. This isn't it.

Critics of this short novel seem quick to be harsh towards its "lack" of powerful and satirical points to drive home, but as a former Fundamentalist Christian I found his keen perceptions of the extremist Christians to be dead-on and absolutely hilarious, partly because I've had first-hand experience with God's less logical and misguided creations. I found it to be a very engaging read and I am planning to pick up some of his other works. Definitely worth more than the 4 dollars I paid for it. I fully intend to pass this book on to my friends.

A dubious use of good paper and ink, this satire has an interesting premise and takes it nowhere, fortunately the non-journey is quick, and the reader can move on to more profitable fare. The hype the St. Martin's publicist gives the book makes one wonder if she even read it... It starts as a moderately interesting look at the inspiration Christian film "industry" which makes it's point in the first thirty pages and then keep repeating, until there is enough paper to be bound into a book. Despite my personal predisposition to laugh at jokes about Christian "culture," this book is not nearly as funny as it (or the publisher) wishes it was.

We bought the Mobile book, the Frommer's book and this book all on New Enland. The maps in this book were probably the most lacking. However, the recommendations were laid out in regional sections which was really helpful. This book had the more "down to earth" recommendations which helped us. I enjoyed the "boxes" of information.

I found this book after visiting Kim's website on About.com. Divided into chapters that cover six New England states, this book offers not only travel destinations, but website addresses, phone numbers, maps and tons of helpful information. I found the "Travel Tips" and "Fast Facts" interesting and the Day Trip suggestions are a lifesaver since I don't have a lot of time to research options. This book will help you plan a New England getaway -- or buy one to give to a friend, or send to someone you know who lives there. They'll love it!

I agree that the details are out of wack with this book. I have lived in New England my entire life and this book does a poor showing of it.

I've owned, & or read, at least a couple of dozen travel guides, & probably 7 or 8 on New England. This is the only travel book that I've ever truly disliked. Part of it is the layout & design of the book--it looks "cheap", & the pages look "choppy"--it's just much harder to read & digest the information than Frommer's, Fodor's, or Lonely Planet.

Second is the information, or lack thereof. It has both Lexington & Concord Massachusetts in the section on the North Shore (??), without explaining that those towns are both at least 1 hour away from the North Shore, & in fact are in a totally different area. The restaurant recommendations leave much to be desired--anyone who knows Kennebunkport or Portland Maine, will be baffled at some of their selections, & all they left out. My 6-8 y.o. Frommer's & Fodor's guides have much better recommendations.

Get Frommer's, Fodor's, Lonely Planet, or all 3--& there are also other good travel, Inn, & B&B guidebooks to New England that you might want to explore. But avoid this one: it has almost nothing of value for the native New Englander, & I'd hate to be a visitor relying on it.

I recently got married and this guide was all I needed to find the best of Jamaica. With its section on the Best of Jamaica, I was given the top choices for everything from the best beaches, honeymoon resorts, romantic getaways, shopping buys, and gold courses. This guide made planning my trip simple, with all the information I needed to know before I got there, like the exchange rate, the calendar of events, and tips on dining out and shopping.

I very much liked the 2nd edition of this text. I purchased the 3rd edition because we are planning our third trip to Jamaica. Unfortunately, this new edition contains very little updated information. In fact, two of the newer Riu hotels in Negril (one of which opened in 2001) are not even included in this guide.
This is a very helpful guidebook, but don't bother buying the new edition if you already have the 2nd edition. You can find as much useful information online.

A fairly useless guide, with many facts but no feeling. Everyone knows their own expectations of Jamaica. This book does not address this at all.

I grew up in Jamaica, but never really took advantage of the "tourist stuff" while there (who does that at home?). I found this book very helpful for sifting through all the many things the island had to offer and targeting the best (and most reasonably priced) restaurants, hotels, etc. on my last visit.

Only thing they missed, like most reviews, is the cultural differences across the island. Just like Arkansas and New York don't have the same culture, accent, terms, etc., the same is true of different regions in Jamaica.

This book was great.I think you all need to reread it again and keep an open mind. For one it is just a book,unless the author states this is based on a true story they can do or relate things however they choose. besides what one person finds rural another may not. Do yourself a favor and just read it I have read all her books up to date and have enjoyed everyone of them. Some more than others, I have reread and reread my favorites which their are to many to list.

Can you believe it? This is a book by Nora Roberts that I didn't like - I didn't think that was possible, but it happened. I should clarify that remark - the writing was very good, but the research was horrid and I found error after error that made the story very difficult to get through.

Lee Radcliffe is a reporter for a celebrity magazine and she's determined to find Hunter Brown, a famous author, and interview him. Hunter is very reclusive and no one knows where he lives or anything about his personal life, which only adds to the determination that Lee find him. She learns that he will be a guest speaker at a writer's convention in Flagstaff, Arizona and she goes to try to finagle a meeting. Little does she know that he was the man in the lobby she spoke with and then to top it all off, she loses him after the seminar. She finally tracks him down and they begin their journey along the romantic path laid out by Roberts.

The plot has a few different angles that would have been a nice treat if there hadn't been so many blatant errors in the book.

It was obvious that Nora Roberts did very little research into the Flagstaff area or the surrounding area of Sedona. I lived in Arizona for almost five years and have visited both of these places.

One mistake was that she has a character land at the airport in Flagstaff (which is a small airport by the way) and driving a short distance to Sedona along rural roads. Actually, to get from Flagstaff to Sedona it takes just under an hour and you travel a good portion of it along I-17 or AZ-89Alt, which is definitely not what I would consider rural roads. Another error is that Oak Creek Canyon is in Sedona not Flagstaff and Roberts' repeated referral to Oak Creek and Oak Creek Canyon outside of Flagstaff became annoying (it's at least 25 miles away). And just to make another point, I'll let you know that the last time I checked, they didn't have direct flights from Los Angeles to Flagstaff - you had to fly into Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix and take a commuter hop to Flagstaff. Can you tell that I was annoyed?

I can't even give an unbiased opinion on the story line because I couldn't get past the numerous errors pertaining to the geographic location in which the story took place. This is a first for me, but here goes: I'm not recommending this Nora Roberts book. Those that know me understand that I'm an avid Nora Roberts fan and realize how difficult that was for me to say, but I can't advocate something that I know has wrong information in it! Don't spend your money on this one; pick up a different Nora Roberts book instead.

Throughout the book, I had the sense of deja-vu, a feeling that I had read this story before, however elements of it were so unique that I was sure that I hadn't. I suppose this is because it contained a basic plot that many other stories share (several of Linda Howard's come to mind) - a domineering man draws a woman into spending time in the wilderness with him so he can see what shee's really made of, testing whether or not she has the strength and courage to rise to the challenge. Hunter was a darkly intriguing man, a smooth talker, with an aura of mystery about him and a tremendous charisma. Lee was a composed, independent, hard-working woman who became reduced to a bundle of nerves around him. The connection between them was intense, and crumbled the protective walls they had so carefully constructed around them over the years. The gorgeous setting (canyons of Arizona)was described in vivid detail. The story and dialogue was very well-written, with a good balance of romance, action, and surprise. The two protagonists were considered brilliant writers, each in their own special genre, and they picked up on subtleties of their surroundings that would have gone unnoticed by the average person, and expressed them in tangible words, showcasing how writers are truly artists.

Lenore "Lee" Radcliffe is a magazine reporter who seeks an in-depth interview with publicity-shy horror author Hunter Brown. Okay, here's the unrealistic part: he'll only grant the interview if she comes camping with him for two weeks in a canyon in Arizona. Now, most magazines would never let their employees spend that kind of time on just one article, but apparently Lee's employer really wants this story, so she has to do it. Over the two weeks, they learn all about each other and fall in love. This book introduces the character of Lee's best female friend, photographer Bryan Mitchell, who gets a book of her own, the much superior sequel, "One Summer." Lee and Hunter briefly appear in that book as well.
...

This book is way out of date. Many things hve changed in Disney since this was written. I recommend one of the Birmbaum guides instead (especially the Kids version).

I recently purchased this book along with a few others for my upcoming trip to Disney. It will be our first trip there as a family ( I have a 9 and a 2 year old). I found this book to be my least favorite by far. The information is generally vague and is repetitive (eg. "avoid carrying to much stuff......don't forget to bring your camera......wear a raincoat") by the time you read this 4-5 times you kind of get the point. My favorite book to date is The Unofficial Guide to WDW 2005 and also ranking in my top picks is Fodor's WDW & Universal Orlando with Kids 2005. These books get down to the specifics, if you want to eat breakfast with Cinderella in the Castle, the Unofficial Guide has the details to give you the best chance at securing a priority seating (I was able to get priority seating for two different days).
Some people might find that this book is enough, but for me I needed more.

I purchased this book while planning my family trip to Orlando. I found it to be extremely helpful and is one of the few books available that covers Walt Disney World, Orlando and Seaworld at the same time. This book is ideal for first time visitors to the Orlando area, repeat visitors who have not been to Orlando in awhile and/or those who want to do a good bit of planning before their trip.

When my family first started planning our trip, we knew that there was no way for us to be able to see everything we wanted to in this visit. We wanted to make the most of our travel dollars and visit only places that the whole family can enjoy. This book was extremely useful in giving us information on accommodations, restaurants, parks and their must-see attractions. For each ride/attraction/show within the major theme parks, for instance, the author provides a star rating system based on the individual's age (e.g. 2-4 years, 5-10 years, and so on, including Senior Citizens) as well as information on the attraction itself. There are also "Helpful Hints" sprinkled throughout the book as well as "Travel Tips," "Hot Spots" and "Fast Facts." I found this extremely useful in helping us determine which theme parks would provide the optimum enjoyment for our family.

To give you an idea of how much this book covers, I have listed the chapters below:

1. Preparing for your Vacation
2. Choosing your Accommodations
3. Admission to the Disney Theme Parks
4. Orlando-Area Dining

5. Introduction to the Magic Kingdom
6. Exploring the Magic Kingdom
7. Kid-Oriented Areas of the Magic Kingdom
8. All About Epcot
9. The Disney-MGM Studios
10. Disney's Animal Kingdom
11. Disney's Water Parks
12. Disney Nightlife
13. A High Seas Adventure (Disney Cruise Lines)
14. The Universal Orlando Resort
15. The Universal Studios Florida Theme Park
16. Universal Escape's Islands of Adventure
17. Universal City Walk
18. SeaWorld and Discovery Cove
19. Exploring Greater Orlando
20. Planning Your Trip

In addition to this extensive list are maps, important phone numbers, an attraction selection worksheet and daily itinerary. In short, I would have to say that this book gives a lot of bang for the buck. It would recommend it to those with families who are planning to visit the Orlando area and plan to enjoy Walt Disney World as well as the other non-Disney theme parks.