This was a strange read, interesting in parts but also a little silly. Rob could have much more depth attributed to his character but as it stands he is quite insipid and two dimensional. He is trying to write, he can't write and spends his time behaving crazily and drinking irresponsibly in an attempt to over come writers block, He is newly married and previously hadn't been too lucky in relationships or in life so he's hoping for a change in his fortunes. While there was so much scope here for the exploration of man's struggle to right previous wrongs and to thrive in the face of adversity, I feel here the author failed to deliver in its entirety. It could have offered so much more.

I had a hard time enjoying this read. Rob is a down on his luck novelist or at least he would be a novelist if he could stop drinking. He heads off to the North Woods of Maine with his current girlfriend. More drinking and more trouble ensues. None of the characters are likable. The writing was all over the place. I felt like I needed to be there as a lot happens and not all of it was explained. It was a quick read.

Rob is an aspiring writer with a massive writer's block. Massively dependent on alcohol and bad choices, he marries his second wife, Annie, way too quickly, and together they go through a crazy trip to Maine. Car theft, alcohol and lies are a prominent feature.

This novel had a very promising description. Unfortunately, as far as the writing style is concerned, the book is in dire need of improvements. The beginning is overly abrupt, and the plot is exceedingly compact. Too much happens too fast, making the story difficult for the reader to follow. There is just too much information at once, as if the writer had to absolutely fit in everything in 200 pages or less.

The plot was mixed up, with strange flashbacks, and very confusing. All in all, it became quite incoherent at times. Moreover, the whole story made it incredibly hard to empathize with the protagonist, or any of the characters for that matter.

Overall, very underwhelming. I liked the idea and I think the intention was good but the writing was lackluster and the character development was flat.

Relapse is a novel that sounded wonderful as a concept but didn't quite come together. I loved the idea behind the piece; however, its telling became convoluted and verbose, and I simply never came to care about any of the characters, including Rob, the 'hero' of the piece. The jumps back and forth between events were sometimes a bit obscure, so it took a few sentences to realise we'd changed time and place again. That said, the concept was interesting, and I appreciated what the author was trying to create, so I am pushing what would have been a 2.5 star review to 3 stars for the novelty factor, since the storytelling style is something a bit different.