Customer Reviews

Million Dollar Dilemma: Love Me, Love My Dog #1 (Life, Faith & Getting It Right #7) (Steeple Hill Cafe)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Like most co-workers do when a collection is taken up for a baby shower, wedding, promotion or perhaps a birthday, Cassia Carr kicks in her obligatory five dollars and then goes back to what she was doing. But one collection Cassia donates to is different -- and she doesn't realize it. She's not contributing to just any cause; she's contributing to the lottery. And she and her colleagues win. Her portion of the windfall comes to just over $20 million. Not a bad day's work, you think?

Problem is Cassia is a P.K. (preacher's kid) who speaks in scripture verses and doesn't believe in gambling. She is horrified to think that she has $20 million in ill-gotten gains -- so she decides to give it away. The problem is, it's more difficult than one would think to give large amounts of lottery gains away.

But wait! One man (in a trio of would-be suitors) is more than willing to relieve Cassia of those disgusting greenbacks. Adam, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, has recently returned from a ravaged land and that fact, and Cassia, is preventing him from getting on with his life. He's interested in Cassia but doesn't want her to know that he's also interested in her money and the story of her money.

Adam has fallen away from his faith and just might find his way back if he opens his heart and listens to it and God.

For fans of the Whitney Chronicles there is a couple of interesting cameo appearances in Million Dollar Dilemma.

I so enjoy Judy Baer's 'chick-lit' Christian fiction. It's a fun romp through life that provides each of us with thought-provoking situations. I giggled my way through The Whitney Chronicles. In this book I started laughing on page 24 and didn't ever quit.

Armchair Interviews says: Million Dollar Dilemma is a million-dollar treasure you must read! And give a wonderful gift to a friend.

Cassia has always lived a life of frugality. She's learned to live cheaply and not worldly. In fact, money is the last thing on her mind. So it's a shock for her when she finds out that what she thought was a $5 donation for an office present is really her share in a multimillion dollar jackpot lottery ticket. Now she's being bombarded by everyone, those who want her money, to give her advice, even those she barely knows. Plus now she has 2 guys are who are vying for her attention. Cassia wants nothing to do with the money, but it's everywhere she goes. Money's not just the root of all evil, it also makes a normal life practically impossible!

Ok, who hasn't dreamed about winning the lottery? Everyone, no matter what they believe in, has had thoughts about what they would do if they were given a million dollars. How they spend the money may differ, but I'm sure that even the most practical person has some plans for its use. And that is why I found Cassia to be a very unreal character. Frankly she annoyed me quite a bit. I don't mind that she didn't want the money. I just found it annoying the way she kept complaining that she didn't want anything to do with the money, and then she's worried about having to pay rent. She brought up wanting to go back to college but not being able to because she didn't have money. Ok, now she has money but she won't do it because she doesn't want to touch the money. I don't understand why Cassia couldn't save just a little for her future and then give the rest away. She kept acting like it was tainted and evil. I also didn't really like that she kept throwing around Bible verses in normal conversation. If she was my coworker, I would have thought she was either showing off. There's nothing wrong with studying Scripture, but when it's quoted out of context, it's weird. I didn't really feel her relationship with Adam had much chemistry. I liked him, he was a good guy, I just didn't feel that they clicked. I did like Cassia's final decision about what to do with her winnings.

I personally enjoyed The Whitney Chronicles a lot more than this book. Maybe it's because I could relate to the main character in that book as opposed to this one. This book was a light read, but I would recommended TWC or Norah's Ark to a first time Judy Baer reader.

I am a HUGE fan of Judy Bear. I find her books encouraging and enjoyable. But, this story fell short of her normal storyline. This books starts out well enough, it starts with Cassia a young woman who is trying to find her way in life. When she accidently wins the lottery she is completely shocked. Thus begins a different kind of story with a weird twist. I was surprised at how quickly the story picked up its pace. A quarter into the book she had already won the lottery. The scenes with Adam are quite funny and managed to crack me up several times while reading the story. The part that I didn't like was the fact that Cassia and Adam had almost zero chemistry. They spent time at each others houses but that's about it. Then when Cassia gets angry with Adam, she is able to replace him in her own mind quite quickly. I found that rather odd. Overall this story did not live up to my expectations at all. I am hoping the next story I read by this amazing author will be better then this one was.

A completely entertaining and thought-provoking novel! The characters are likeable. The main plot involves our main character splitting lottery winnings with her office mates. As a Christian, she is conflicted over this because she wouldn't have played the lottery on her own. She only contributed to the lottery ticket because she thought she was chipping in for a gift for a co-worker.

Judy Baer is a very creative and colorful writer. Million Dollar Dilemma was a fast-moving, fun read. But it did get me thinking about how I would behave in the same situation. How do you really know if someone likes you for you or for your net worth?

I LOVE Christian Chic Lit, & I even adored the prequel to this book, "The Whitney Chronicles", but Million Dollar Dilemma, was just ridiculous. I felt the plot was very contrived, and there was not a lot of character development. The pacing seemed off, and the storyline was just too bizarre. Now, sometimes it's fun to indulge in fantasy-reading, but as a reader, I sure couldn't "just go along" with it..... I love books that enrich my devotional life, but the scripture spouting seemed very forced, like the author said, "Well, think I'll throw a scripture reference on this page."

I really did not connect at all to this character, Cassia. She was very flat, unseemingly naive, weak & had no personality.

In fairness to Ms. Baer -I KNOW she is a good author, as mentioned above with her "Whitney Chronicles". I have heard from friends that other novels that she has written are equally as good. This was just not up to par.

I recommend reading the Yada Yada Prayer Group Series.

Million Dollar Dilemma was not the typical chick-lit book, well, it was, but there was something different about it. It made me actually think about my own life. I think of most chick-lit books as just an easy read-something to get my mind off my daily routine and life. This book made me actually think, "WHAT WOULD I DO IF I WON 20 MILLION DOLLARS?"
My initial reaction was, well I would give 25% to the church (I mean, look how much I have...I don't need it ALL...), put 50% in savings, and then buy a new car, a nice outfit, take a trip, etc. with the rest.
But by the end of the book I understood it all. MONEY DOES NOT BUY HAPPINESS.
This book is a wonderful book in making you realize that very important proverb.

The ONLY thing I didn't really like about this book is that I was a little concerned with Baer's idea of the main character falling in love with a man who was not firm in his Christian walk, whereas she was. It all turned out okay, and the man WAS a Christian, he was just not EQUALLY yoked with her, because she was so very strong in her faith and he was not. Minor detail though, and he came back to the Lord, strong as ever in the end.

Great book though!

I found Cassia's "scripture spouting" very inspiring. I would like to have as many scriptures on the tip of my tongue as she does and have been encouraged to add verses to my memory bank. What better way to live by God's word than to be able to recall it when you are in any given situation. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Christian chick-lit!

I adored this story from start to finish. It was the first Judy Baer book I had read and it won't be the last. I loved the main character and her quirky ways. And I thought her comparing Adam to Indiana Jones was brilliant. This book will not dissapoint.

I am glad i can find Cristian book to read.This book is very good I haven't finish it yet but i can't wait.I am glad to find Cristian Authors like you.I hope i could read all you're books one day!!!!!!!


From you're reader
Sarai

I am glad i can find Cristian book to read.This book is very good I haven't finish it yet but i can't wait.I am glad to find Cristian Authors like you.I hope i could read all you're books one day!!!!!!!


From you're reader
Sarai