Award-winning relationship expert Darby Vauhn has her life turned upside down when she finds out not only that her husband has been cheating on her with his ex-wife, but that he’s divorcing her. What’s worse is she finds out on national television while promoting her new book. Torn apart internally, hounded by reporters and gossip columnists, and desperate to get her step-children back, Darby quickly retreats toward the warmth of a close-knit circle of friends and hires the best divorce attorney she can find in response to her husband’s demands. Fifteen Minutes of Shame focuses on the harried woman trying to get custody of the children, trying to save her career, and falling in love all at the same time.

I’ve always felt bad for celebrities. Sure, they now know what to expect from the limelight before going in, but this is no excuse for the media and paparazzi to turn into rabid sharks smelling blood when tragedy strikes. Darby’s encounters with this were horrifying to me as a person, while also amusing in a bizarre way as she unerringly stumbles into one bad situation from another. Leaning on the advice of her friends, she further proves that to make it through the tough times, having that all-important support group is crucial. The budding romance between her and a certain someone took me by surprise as it’s not the generally grinned-upon approach, but I was rooting for the handsome couple by the end of the story with both hands raised.

I was wondering how the author would handle the taboo situation with the children. I can see both the legal – and the main characters’ – perspective. In the end, it is handled well with the right sort of closure, the only sort that makes sense. As a character, Darby is a fun one. She has a sense of humor that helps her stay alive yet is serious where she’s supposed to be. Her sense of self is strong, but of course she’s human and falls prey to the typical self-doubts and self-recriminations all too common for us all.

In the beginning, the pace holds strong as disaster continuously strikes from all directions - reminds me of a hurricane attacking a house built with dominoes. The middle section is more about picking up the pieces, trying various antics advised to her through her publicist and friends (some work well, leaving me cheering – others fail, leaving me laughing). While it’s not clear to what end it’s leading, it ultimately finds a good, comfortable place.

As a chick-lit story, this one should please readers of the genre. Fun, witty, serious, it deals with issues that confront most of us, and the resolution is found not by Darby looking to lean on others or a man but by searching deeper inside herself. Highly recommended for a fun, but also slightly thought-provoking, time. ( )

Darby Vaughn is America's relationship expert. She has a successful dating tips book, TV and radios shows, a loyal following of fans and a perfect marriage. That is until her weasel of a husband dumps her for his ex-wife. To make matters worse Darby finds out about the break up from Matt Lauer on the Today Show and she promptly tosses her cookies on live TV.

Utterly humiliated Darby runs to the comfort of her "Dreamgirls", the group of friends that have been there for each other since college. After wallowing in shame and margaritas for a few days Darby has to pick up the pieces of her failed marriage and rapidly failing career and figure out a way to win back her family.

Fifteen Minutes of Shame had me cracking up from the opening scene. Darby is a wonderfully likable character that goes through this horrible experience and still comes out a winner. The plot is typical chick-lit but the story is still a page turner because of Darby's struggles and ultimate triumph.

Author Lisa Daily is a real TV relationship expert with a published dating book so peppered throughout the book are tips and pieces of advice that I found helpful and able to apply to my marriage so that was an enjoyable plus with this read. Romance and chick-lit fans will love this book. ( )

For those of you who haven't heard of Lisa Daily, she's a dating specialist and the founder of the Dreamgirl Academy, in which she teaches women to be their best selves so they can be better catches and find better men. She wrote the nonfiction dating guide book Stop Getting Dumped! which eventually became a bestseller. Fifteen Minutes of Shame is her first novel.

The book opens with Darby spotting her husband at a gas station down the street even though he's supposed to be on a business trip in Atlanta. From there we follow Darby through all of the freak-out modes any woman would go through if they find out they've been lied to about something that has sure signs of an affair. In the end her freak out appears to have been a big mistake. Everything seems to be in order, so she heads off on her previously-scheduled book tour...only to find out on the Today show that her husband has filed for divorce. Dating expert Darby Vaughn has just been broken up with on national television. In essence, the terribly public divorce ruins her carreer (albeit momentarily) and she is left depending on her girlfriends to help her figure out what went wrong as she navigates through the sea of divorce and strives to get custody of her stepchildren.

All in all, I really liked this book. It was a fun easy read and I loved that it didn't make "finding a man" the main point of the story. Most chick lit books irritate me because the women in them all seem to think they have no life, no matter how successful and powerful they are, if they don't have a man. In this book, we see Darby take the humiliation of a nationally televised breakup and work her way out of it within weeks. She shows strength of character and realizes that maybe all the advice she's been giving over the years (never take back a cheater, etc.) aren't quite as easy to follow when it's your own relationship on the line. The one part of the book that I didn't really buy into was her wanting to get the kids back because she loved them so much. There were a lot of touching moments with the kids in the beginning, but once they are gone with their dad and his ex-wife it seems like they're just thrown in haphazardly.

So, overall, I'd recommend this book. It's a great beach read and doesn't take too much concentration. And it had the added benefit of not making me feel completely vapid and empty after I read it. ( )