Customer Reviews

Pot of Gold

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Claire Goddard, a beautiful young divorcee, raising a teenaged daughter Emma, wins the lottery- a staggering $60 million! They both go slightly beserk,spending thousands on clothes and a huge amount for a beautiful house.From out of the blue appears an elderly woman,Hannah, claiming to be a distant cousin who appoints herself their housekeeper and gaurdian.When Claire and Emma take a cruise to Alaska, they meet father and son,Quentin and Brix Eiger who proceed to charm and seduce them. Emma becomes totally infatuated with Brix who introduces her to drink and drugs and suggests that she abandons her plans to go to college and becomes a model instead.Meanwhile Claire falls into a dangerous,subservient way of life with Quentin who dominates her sexually. Quentins laboratories are manufacturing a line of cosmetics which promises to be hugely lucrative but which in actuality, are extremely dangerous, to the point of causing blindness.I enjoyed the book as a good read but while I can understand a 17 year old being infatuated to the point of unquestioning obedience, I find it difficult to understand how a mature, intelligent woman who has her own huge financial security, could go along with this dominating monster,even for a while!Another point that wasn't explained was how they took a stranger into their lives, not even questioning the relationship--no one could be a trusting as that !

I'm glad to have discovered Judith Michael's books. I've read two and enjoyed both of them. There were a few parts in the book a little hard to believe! A virtual stranger, Hannah arrives at their doorstep shortly after Claire wins the lottery. She is welcomed into the home that same day and immediately becomes cook, counselor, and confidant for this mother and daughter. This was stretching it a bit... nowadays, would someone actually allow a stranger to become their housekeeper, caregiver, and confidant?? I don't think so!! But overlooking that, I thought the book was nicely written, with other characters quite believeable. Judith Michael is a good writer who keeps the story moving. It was an easy and enjoyable read. I find myself looking for other Judith Michael's books now. I would definately recommend this book to others.

Claire's biggest problem isn't managing her lottery winnings, but dealing with rich parasites who want to prey on her and lure in her gorgeous, underage daughter with fame, fashion and drugs.

The protagonist is a 34-year-old introvert who isn't particularly take-charge, but deals with the dramatic changes in her life anyway. I liked that a lot. These days, books claiming to be about introverts almost always turn out to be about extroverts having a couple of quiet days.

How would it change you if you won the lottery - won big? Would your priorities change, your personality, your relationships? When Claire, a single mom and talented graphic designer, wins 60 million dollars, her life, and that of her teen aged daughter changes in all the expected ways, and in some very unexpected ways as well. What makes this such a delightful read is the depth of Judith Michael's analysis; we follow Claire's thoughtful decision-making, and learn of the primacy of family love in her value system, while we're entertained by the greed and power hunger of people she meets, who get their comeuppance in this satisfying story. There are crises, romances, travel, dastardly corporate types, and lots to keep the story moving, and the question remains at the end - how would you handle such a windfall?

I agree with the reviewers who said that this Judith Michael book Pot of Gold book isn't good. It started off okay and seemed like it could have been really good but the more I read the more I didn't like this story. The main character Claire was okay in the beginning of the story but after that she became way too silly and like one of the previous reviewers said, she was too gullible! Also her 18 year old daughter Emma was a major brat and I just couldn't like these two characters!

I'm a big fan of some of Judith Michael's other novels, including Possessions, Deceptions, and A Tangled Web. However, Pot of Gold was a real disappointment to me by comparison. It almost seemed like a knockoff written by some other author. The plot twists seemed thin and unbelievable -- for example, why on earth would Claire fall for Quentin, and Emma for Brix so fast? The men were hardly presented in an appealing way. There's just not nearly enough of the lush descriptions and tight characterizations present in other Judith Michael novels. On one page Claire and Emma are described as having a great mother-daughter relationship (which I believed), and then a few pages later Emma is acting like a spoiled brat and they're losing touch with each other, in a not very convincing manner. Don't waste your time with this book.

Ok this book really was crappy i mean ok its fine in some parts but absolutely terrible in others!!! I mean ok i was going to buy another one of Judith Micheals (the husband and wife writing team) books but after reading that its absolute torcher!!!

This is my all-time favorite of Judith Michael's. Okay, so it isn't a "literary" masterpiece, but I couldn't put it down. It's a great escape for a few hours, and its selling point is that you can really identify with Claire ... who doesn't dream of winning the lottery? This book explores that "reality." I especially loved the part where Claire and Emma go on a shopping spree at the snooty Simone's. Of course Simone doesn't want anything to do with two "mall-dressed" women, but ah! does money talk!

Hannah, the unexplained relative is a little hard to swallow, and I would've liked a better explanation of from where and how she came to be right at the pivotal moment Claire wins her millions. However, she adds nicely to the story in that she's practical, level-headed and displays a much-needed "wisdom" in how to handle those excess dollars!

I've read a few others of Judith Michael's, but this is the BEST! Buy it now! You'll be engrossed!

Once, a friend told me to read DECEPTIONS, Judith Michael's masterpice. By this time, I haven't read anything by this writing team, I didn't read it, because I thought that POT OF GOLD seemed more interesting. And when I started reading it, the book really gripped me. It's not to say that it is a marvelous book, but it's the kind of reading you seek for when you arrive at home looking for something to forget the world you live and all you want is a light, soft reading. The plot is great fun, the main characters are nice guys and when you finish reading it, you feel much better looking for something else by this author. The only problem is the ending. Not satisfatory to my point-of-view. Though some friends of mine liked it. I did, but it could be better. The book's worthwhile, anyway, and you won't be disappointed.

I'd also recommend A CERTAIN SMILE.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were excellantly written whereas you could actually picture them and feel their struggles as well as their happiness. The story was very good and it was very realistic. It actually brought you into the lives of the characters and I think many people feel like Claire and can relate to her life and style before winning the lottery and experience the same feelings as she did afterward. This was my first Judith Michael novel and I will be searching for another one.