The Reluctant Blogger by Ryan Rapier

Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages

Publisher: Cedar Fort, Inc. (August 13, 2013)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1462112544

Dr. Schenk, I don’t know if what I’ve written amounts to a breakthrough or not, but I hope you know how difficult this was for me. I also hope this proves how serious I am.

Todd knows he is in a bad place. That’s why he went to a therapist in the first place, and that alone took a lot of doing. So when Dr. Schenk threatens to stop their sessions unless Todd puts in more effort, he grasps at the last available straw: a personal blog that will force Todd to confront his demons.

Ever since he lost his wife, Todd has not been the same. He’s been forced to Single Adult activities at church, and everyone seems to expect him to just forget Marci and get married again—especially when he meets Emily, who makes him smile and starts to bring him out of his depression. But dating again is hard when Todd has three kids of his own, not to mention an overbearing father and friends with their own problems.

This beautifully woven and emotional tale is both heartbreaking and humorous. Championing friendship, love, and family, Ryan Rapier deals adeptly with the everyday struggles we face as well as the strongest ties that keep us together. You’re sure to fall in love with this magnificent tale of redemption, forgiveness, and new beginnings.

Let me just start out by saying that this is an LDS fiction book.  There are religious elements throughout and some LDS specific things that some people outside of this religion may not understand.  The author does a good job of explaining though.

I'm not sure what I expected when I started reading this book but I can honestly say this book wasn't what I was expecting.  I was mostly pleasantly surprised.  :)

It isn't too often that I come across a whole book from the male point of view.  This book deals with a lot of hard topics, not usually expressed from the male character standpoint.  Especially in the LDS world.  It was interesting and I really did feel pulled in by the story going on.

Todd has a lot of weighty issues to deal with.  The loss of his wife has left him despondent and depressed.  Finding himself a single father is overwhelming.  He has three children struggling and needing their father.  Combine that with social struggles, family relationships that are somewhat strained and friends who mean well, and Todd is almost in over his head.  Heading to therapy wasn't his choice, but he knows he needs help.  

I really felt for Todd and his struggles.  They seemed real and identifiable.  I enjoyed the journey of his healing process.  This was a long book- over 400 pages- and by the end it started to feel really long.  But I still enjoyed it from beginning to end.  It was interesting and engaging.  It had a bit of every kind of struggle in it so everyone who reads it will be able to identify at some point or another.

My thanks to Cedar Fort for allowing me to read and review for them.

You can find The Reluctant Blogger at Amazon.

RYAN RAPIER is an Arizona native and through the course of his life has come face to face with a rattlesnake more than once. For that reason alone, he would likely have left the desert behind years ago were it not for one thing—the luxury of year-round golf. When Ryan isn’t on the course or in front of a computer screen, he can usually be found chasing behind his four children or doing errands for his amazing wife in the isolated beautiful valley they have both called home forever. Ryan’s thoughts and opinions that concern nobody but himself can be found here at his website. The Reluctant Blogger is his first novel.

http://www.ryansrapierwit.com/