Fifteen Minutes

For anyone with a music talent, all they are longing for is just their 15 minutes of fame. A chance to prove to the world and themselves that they truly possess a talent that could possibly launch them into being the next big thing. That is just what Zack Dylan, a talented country music singer with the looks of Elvis, hopes to prove by auditioning for Fifteen Minutes, a music show much like The Voice or American Idol that could offer Zack the brass ring to fame. Believing that he does have what it takes to rise to the top of the music charts, Zack believes that God is leading him to this path, a way to provide for his family financially if he makes it to the final round and wins the competition. But his grandfather and his girlfriend, Reese Weatherly believe that this isn't the way God wants him to go. Nonetheless they will both keep him in prayer and if God wants Zack to continue, then they will support whatever doors God opens for him.

Struggling to keep his family's horse farm afloat as well as provide for the ongoing medical care his sister A.J. requires, Zack believes God wouldn't let him move forward in the music competition unless that is what He is calling him to do. And at first, Zack remains committed to keeping his faith intact and praying for God to use him as a tool in this industry. But soon the scenes behind the television series show that the things people see on the show aren't really what's going on and what sells ratings and increased viewers are where they will go despite the reservations of the competitors, one of which is to prohibit Zack from openly sharing his faith in God and instead show a seedier side of romance blossoming between him and fellow competitor Zoey.

Reese Weatherly has been given an opportunity to teach her equine therapeutic skills to a facility in London for the next year, and while despite having some reservations about the limited conversations she is having with Zack while he is going through the auditions, she believes he still loves her.

"She prayed for him. Not that he'd be the best singer or that this would be his brightest stage moment ever. She prayed for something else, something that mattered more. For God's will, whatever it was. That above all else."

When the season opener of Fifteen Minutes airing an episode that shows Zack and Zoey in a dark hallway and kissing, Reese doesn't know what God's plans are for her and Zack. Taking all the clues together paints a far different picture than the one Zack is leading her to believe. Will she be willing to wait for Zack or will she accept the fact that God has different plans for them than becoming man and wife despite their heartfelt prayers?

I received Fifteen Minutes by Karen Kingsbury compliments of Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed are my own. This takes readers behind the scenes at what might possibly go on in the music competition shows that are becoming the latest rage and once again showing that what we see on television isn't necessarily what is really happening. It teaches us through the story that there is a price for everything in life and the one for fame and fortune might just cost us everything we hold dear including our faith. "She, more than anyone, understood the depth of the dream, the impossibility of it. The cost."

What I took away from this novel is that our perceptions of what television shows us is a tainted one. One that puts ratings about anything else. That there is a cost associated with anything we do and sometimes that line can be blurred between what we think God has placed in front of us or in fact our own desires superseding His. It made me look at what the real cost of fame and being a celebrity really is and how truly sad their lives are despite all their wealth and notoriety. They search for happiness in all the wrong places and in the end have little more than shattered lives left in the end. I rate this novel a 5 out of 5 stars and once again Karen Kingsbury has hit a home run!

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Fifteen Minutes by Karen Kingsbury

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• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Howard Books (October 29, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451647050
• ISBN-13: 978-1451647051
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.5 inches