When I first started posting reviews, I promised myself that I would always be honest and forthright so for what it is worth here are my thoughts:

Based on the description, I expected this book to be a satirical version of a romance. I thought it might be a bit vulgar, but wrought with humor. I was correct that it was vulgar, but otherwise it is nothing more than discombobulated mind vomit. It is like trying to follow a story being told by a 3 year old, although the 3 year old would probably be able to string a more coherent plot together. The best thing I can say is that it is a book and it has words. I'm honestly wondering if the author wrote it as a joke to see if people who read it would be honest about what they thought of it.

The Hack, a book full of colourful language so if you are not a lover of swear words best to stir clear of it as you won't find much of infinity with the book.
But if it doesn't bother you, then this an enjoyable read and very well crafted. Interesting plot and one that gets you thinking.

Not for me - the language was too much for me to continue reading. It may appeal to other types of readers but I was hoping for humor instead.

I enjoyed this read.... it was engaging and kept me pulled in. I look forward to reading more of this author's and appreciate the opportunity to review this one!

I like the idea for this book. It's about a guy who is a self-professed a**hole who is telling a tale. He knows (or thinks he knows) who he is, and is not afraid to admit it. Now, whether you think this is a good thing or not is up to you, but I appreciate the honesty. However, what I did not appreciate is that inherent misogyny in the book. Not remembering womens' names, degrading others by referring to them as sex workers, and the lack of focus are jarring to me. If I thought the narrative was going somewhere, perhaps I would have enjoyed it more. So one star for honesty and a third for some interesting situations, but all in all not my cup of tea. It may be yours, though. It's not a bad book, just not for me.

Personally, I was not a fan of the writing style. I get that he was trying to portray the narrator as neurotic. But it was just grating. It's possible that the author was trying to be meta, and have this book come off as being written by a hack. But I couldn't know for sure. Another thing that was unclear was the point of the story. To tell a tragedy about a writer who believes himself to be a hack despite having the love and adoration of critics and fans is a classic tale. To have the story be narrated by its own doomed lead is also not uncommon. In this case, however, it causes the story to be told in jilted speech with disjointed sentences and pointless asides and it results in the main character being deeply unlikable in a way I haven't experienced since reading The Catcher in the Rye. The main difference here is that I was required to finish Salinger's book for an English class, and I don't foresee this book being studied or discussed intellectually. That being said, I can't imagine a lot of books I enjoy to be studied in school either, and I'm sure this book has an audience. It's just not me.

Full disclosure: I was unable to finish this book, partially because the way it was narrated made reading it an unenjoyable slog, but also because the ebook provided was poorly formatted. Line breaks interrupted sentences, paragraphs weren't indented, chapters weren't separated, etc.

This was okay. The language was bit over the top for my tastes and while I understand it was part of the character, it was just too much for me at times. This affected my opinion because I had to stop reading every once in a while and the interruptions messed with the flow of the story for me. It took a while to read.

An unusual read. While some reviewers found this book 'hilarious', it was difficult to find much laughable. It felt as though the author was trying to create a unique style to identify himself by overusing scatological language. The copyright page is an example: "The characters and events portrayed in this book are fucking fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. If you think he included you in this book, you can go fuck yourself."
The story is not bad and the main character is interesting, but it's a struggle to get past the style.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

I wanted to love this book, but it had me going in so many circles I wasn't sure if I could or not. I have to admit that I'm still uncertain even as I write this review so I'm giving it 3 stars. I've sat for a few days before writing to try to really delve into my thoughts on it.

This novel is about two writer friends, one extremely successful (Max) and one who has been dealt a really bad hand of cards (Jack). Jack writes beautifully according to Max, but yet he can't get published while Max is an author that no matter what he does, he is loved and respected.

This novel brought me in and then brought me out in the way he wrote that was in too many circles and made no sense at times. I learned to take some of it with a grain of salt because I realized the writer was trying to make a point about how you can fake your life and have people believe you. Max, the wealthy writer is far from a normal person and he wants to help his friend Jack, Jane (who is dying of cancer) and their young children, Lucy and Nathan who are the only 4 people he truly loves. He steals Jack's manuscript as a grand gesture to get it published only to let the world know that he, Max McMillan is a liar and a cheat. When Max gets married to a woman whose name he can't remember, it is only then that you truly find out Max really is.

One wild ride. Hard to get behind the central character, sometimes funny, sometimes just odd. I really felt this story could have been better. Too many storylines just fell flat rather than being humorous. It became hard to finish. Overall I didn’t care for the main character, he was a complete ass. I gave this book three stars for the attempts at humor. I would have a difficult time recommending this book.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC, my comments are my own and unsolicited.

God, I hate.......this is the consistent line throughout this book. And while I endorse many of this narcissist's feelings. for a writer he is very repetitive. For a true jerk, who works hard at covering up any true signs of humanity in his soul, Max now and then does good things....

It was tough to make progress in this book, it seemed to circle back to how much Max hated things far too much. I did enjoy the opening, it seemed refreshing but sadly soon became predictable.

The cancer thing strikes home, that part was tough to read.

Not sure if I could say I would recommend the read, both liked and didn't like this story.

What a ride !
Hilarious, rude, offensive in parts. A narrative delivered at a breakneck speed, making me read this extremely quickly, and I felt exhausted come the end of it.
Max McMillan is a mass selling author - wealthy, self-absorbed and totally over the top. This is his story and the story of his friend, unpublished author Jack.

This book blew me away! I was unable to but it down. Perfect, dazzlingly, very well written. The details the author described throughout the book was so amazing. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

This is a satirically written story about a famous and rich author and his friendship with an unpublished writer. While it’s a quick read, it’s also all over the place and sometimes rather strange. There’s a lot of swearing, which was to be expected so it didn’t really bother me, however all the repetitions of sentences/exclamations were getting a bit annoying with time. Overall, I did find ‘The Hack’ enjoyable, with the second half of it being better in my opinion.

I am so glad I had the opportunity to preview this book on Net Galley. It is a style and genre I don't often read so it took me a bit to get into the rhythm of the writing. At times Max's stream of consciousness ramblings were overwhelming but once I got used to them I found it to be a really good way to really get to know the character and he became very likeable.
I very much enjoyed this book.

I have never read a book that is such garbage. I can usually find one good thing to say but this is not the case reading THE HACK...and yes this writer is a hack. His grammar, punctuation and sentence structure is abhorrent and the words he uses most are offensive and not necessary. The only thing we learn in this book is that the writer is a narcissistic and has no concern for anyone but himself and his self induced importance. I can't even give this book a one star and it is my opinion that this book was a waste of ink and paper.
The fact that he tells his readers to F off if they don't like his way of writing should have told me to stop at that point but I wanted to be fair so I read on and on and on ad-nauseam.

The narcissistic, self-centered, arrogant Max McMillan has a lot to say about his life, his friends, and especially his sexual pursuits. He is rich, entitled, and loyal to his friends. The language used in this book is rough, but it does help the reader to understand Max. The story, despite some meandering, kept my attention and all turned out well in the end.

A man convinced of his own place on the higher rungs of humanities ladder, the fictional author this story revolves around has a very jaded opinion of everyone else. The language is a little over the top, but it fits the character and his daily interactions with those he loathes most. When this outrageous excuse for a man finds that one of the very few people he considers his peer has cancer and the prognosis is not good, he must step outside his self centered lifestyle and actually think of someone else. The consequences are pretty entertaining. This book is not for everyone. The language alone will turn off some readers and the way the story unwinds will have you turning back pages to see what you missed, but stick with it....the story and the characters are redeemed in the end.

I could not finish this book. I really tried but the story jumped all over the place. It had some funny lines but again it was just all over the place. It did not flow.

I couldn't finish this book. I think I got about 20% in and just couldn't take it anymore. I felt like I was wasting time for no good reason and reading a book for enjoyment should never feel like a waste of time.
The main character was so full of himself that it was off-putting. He couldn't complete a sentence without interrupting it with some rambling, non-nonsensical thought that left me wondering exactly what point he was trying to make. He was all over the place and I just couldn't get the gist of the book. I wish that I had something positive to say about it, but sadly I don't. I can't recommend this book because I can't think of anyone who would stick with it long enough to see the end result.