Review: Four stars: Are you ready to delve into thr mind of a man?
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 17, 2012
Tom Crayder is hoping for a quick, routine flight in his small Cesna plane.  He is a private pilot, who thoroughly loves to fly.  Today his cargo is a man named, Tiny, who for the record is not so Tiny.  Tom, desperate to make ends meet and keep up with payments on his plane, occasionally transports passengers and items for cash for his friend, Jake.  The money is good but the jobs often fall into that "grayish area."  Tom isn't certain of the specifics on Tiny (the man who weighs about four hundred pounds), he prefers to remain in the dark and just do the flying.  What he plans on being a simple, easy flight, goes south when one of the engines suddenly stalls.  Tom makes a crash landing, err scratch that, an excellent forced landing in a cow pasture, all while listening to an enormous man, scream like a girl.  A few scrapes and bruises and a few cow pies later, our hero is ready to put the event behind him.  Little does he know that his graceful, crash landing, I mean emergency landing with style, has caught the attention of some powerful, clandestine people.  Tom, armed with his formidable Lady Smith gun, is in for a life changing adventure.  Will he live to tell the tale, or will he screw up and get shot in his private parts?What I Liked:*Tom Crayder, okay ladies are you ready for the next super hot, debonair, smooth, gun wielding crime fighter? Well, Tom Crayder is not any of the above.  Instead, this action hero is an unassuming, regular guy.  He is happily married to a wonderful, supportive, beautiful woman.  He, like many Americans, is fighting to stay afloat.  His business is struggling and he is trying to stay current on his plane payments.  Is he sexy and hot? Not exactly.  He is a slightly paunchy, middle aged man, who is still trying to prove he is a suave ladies magnet.  Now you must be thinking, why on earth would I want to read about this average Joe?  I will tell you, because he is a realistic portrayal of a normal guy.  Ladies, if you want to get into a guy's head and see what they are really thinking, then this book is for you.  No big surprise, to find that men think about sex, food, sex, guns, sex, planes, sex on planes...ok you get the point.  This is a humorous look into the mind of a typical, ordinary man suddenly thrust into a dangerous situation.*The humor in this book is so much fun.  The Reluctant, is brimming with witty, slightly sarcastic commentary, that will definitely have you grinning and chuckling.  I found it to be the perfect amount of sarcasm, not over the top by any means.*As I mentioned, this is a guy's book but it is fun for a girl to get inside a man's head.  I found it refreshing to see how a man thinks.  Sure he leers at other women, but his heart belongs to his wife.  I liked all the numerous references to the coolness of being a pilot and flying.  I even for the most part, enjoyed all the discussion on flying.  I know nothing about aerial transportation, so it was fun to learn the specifics of piloting small planes.*Tom's gun.  It cracked me up that Tom didn't carry a weapon with clout.  Instead he chooses to pack a small, Lady Smith pistol. He gets a bunch of flack for it too.  Not really what you would call "packing some heat", it is more like some warmth.*I have to throw this in, I found it particularly funny that one of the female characters threatened Tom twice, with shooting him in his nether regions.  Obviously, a man's biggest fear.*This book is a self published book that can be purchased for $.99.  Now, before you turn away and write this off as a "no thank you read", because it is self published, I will tell you that this is one indie title you do want to read.  This book is properly edited and well written.  In fact, the author, C.S. Splitter recently did a post on his blog regarding everything that a self published author should be doing to get a good product out to market.  If you are an author, who is thinking of self publishing your work, then I would highly recommend you check out The Reluctant and Mr. Splitter's blog, Splitter's World.  The Reluctant, is how a good self published book should be done.  In reality, I wouldn't have known it was self published while reading it.And The Not So Much:*This is a man book, that doesn't mean a lady can't enjoy it.  Just be prepared for some boy talk, mostly sex talk and typical guy stuff.  The only problem I had was after awhile all the pilot and flying detail became a little much toward the end.  Again, I am not the target audience, so perhaps if you are man, you will love every detail on planes and piloting.*Near the end, the book had a couple of graphic scenes involving animals.  To be fair, the author did warn me up front before I read the book that there was a bit of animal cruelty.  He said it pained him to write those scenes, as he is an animal lover himself.  He told me, it was necessary to establish the bad guy as a scum bag. Armed with that information, I chose to gloss over those pages.  Mr. Splitter makes up for it by including a fat feline, with an affinity for scrambled eggs and the appearance of a lovable chihuahua at the end.*While this book drew me in with the comedic commentary and interesting story, it took awhile for the plot to settle in and reveal itself.  I was over half way in before I uncovered the true story line.  Up until that point, the book focuses on character development and introductions. Thankfully,  I was never bored due to the humorous quips, while I waited for the real story to be told.The Reluctant, is a fun, entertaining book that will keep you laughing as you follow the adventures of the reluctant and unassuming, Tom Crayder.  Take a chance and step outside of your normal reading zone and pick up a copy.  For $.99 this comedic gem is a steal.  Ladies, you will enjoy an entertaining and revealing look into a man's head.  This book made it even more clear to me, that men and women must be from two different worlds.  I can say that I won't be reluctant to read the next installment of the Crayder's Chronicles. The Willing, available now at amazon.com and other ebook retailers, for $2.99.A copy of this book was provided by the author, in exchange for an honest review.Favorite Quotations:"He needed one of those slaps that calms people down in the movies but I couldn't reach back that far. Even if I could, I didn't have a third hand to spare.""Fiery death was to be avoided at all costs.""Being tough can suck.""Macho was mandatory in these kinds of encounters.""I didn't want to abandon the adventure. I felt like Chevy Chase standing beside the pool, swinging his arms, and muttering, "This is crazy.""I wasn't sure how much of my decision making was coming from either head, but that lack of knowledge didn't affect my thinking. I was on an adventure and I felt alive.""The one thing I had never liked about the Lady Smith pistol, besides not being able to find one without "Lady Smith" printed on it, was the trigger.""A new smell, open sewer, had also been added to his repertoire.""I swear stores train their people to sneak up on customers. "