Fifteen Minutes

by Karen Kingsbury
Howard Books

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury comes a dramatic story about fame, true love, and the cost of having it all. 

Zack Dylan made a promise to God and his college sweetheart as he left his family’s horse farm in Kentucky to compete on the popular reality television show Fifteen Minutes: If he makes it, the fame won’t change him. 

Overnight, Zack is the nation’s most popular contestant, a country singer with the looks and voice of a young Elvis. As his star rises, Zack is asked to compromise and quiet his beliefs, and also something more. Something Zack could never have imagined. Just as America is falling in love with Zack, just as he’s on the verge of winning it all, his choices lead him to the brink of personal disaster. 

At the same time, Reese Weatherly, a therapeutic horse instructor, is no longer sure about her relationship with Zack, or the wedding they had dreamed about. While Zack advances from one round of the competition to the next, an offer comes to Reese—one that will take her to a home halfway around the world. 

Then Chandra Olson—reigning diva pop star and one of the Fifteen Minutes judges—intervenes. Chandra has suffered so much public pain and private agony since her days as a Fifteen Minutes contestant. Now she wants just one thing: meaning. 

Can Chandra’s private losses help Zack find his way, or will his fifteen minutes of fame cause him to lose the life he once loved? Fifteen Minutes is a story of character, compromise, and the cost of having it all. A story that raises the question: Who are the real winners?

My Review:

I would rather be a nobody loved by somebody, than a somebody that nobody loves. Fame comes at a price, and the price of admission may be higher than you're willing to pay. Zack discovers that having it all doesn't mean happiness, and that the dreams in life mean nothing when you no longer have anyone to share it with. Zack is driven to win, but when the pressure mounts, can he stay strong against all the temptations the world has to offer?

Something that struck me about this novel, is that Kingsbury manages to write a story about a hometown boy turned famous that pulled at my heartstrings. She made me see Zack's side of the tale; his struggles, his triumphs, his sorrows and his victories. Every chapter brought me closer an closer to the climax, and I stayed up all night anticipating the final throes of the death of either the old Zack or the new. A must read that demands to be noticed, Kingsbury gives us the picture of the price of fame, and the cost of standing up and for what is right.

This book was provided by the publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. 

View the book trailer here: http://youtu.be/7WwZUfXNU84