I’m back with another review! Today I’m sharing my review of Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny.
Synopsis
A wise, bighearted, boundlessly joyful novel of love, disaster, and unconventional family
Jane falls in love with Duncan easily. He is charming, good-natured, and handsome but unfortunately, he has also slept with nearly every woman in Boyne City, Michigan. Jane sees Duncan’s old girlfriends everywhere–at restaurants, at the grocery store, even three towns away.
While Jane may be able to come to terms with dating the world’s most prolific seducer of women, she wishes she did not have to share him quite so widely. His ex-wife, Aggie, a woman with shiny hair and pale milkmaid skin, still has Duncan mow her lawn. His coworker, Jimmy, comes and goes from Duncan’s apartment at the most inopportune times. Sometimes Jane wonders if a relationship can even work with three people in it–never mind four. Five if you count Aggie’s eccentric husband, Gary. Not to mention all the other residents of Boyne City, who freely share with Jane their opinions of her choices.
But any notion Jane had of love and marriage changes with one terrible car crash. Soon Jane’s life is permanently intertwined with Duncan’s, Aggie’s, and Jimmy’s, and Jane knows she will never have Duncan to herself. But could it be possible that a deeper kind of happiness is right in front of Jane’s eyes?
Why I Decided to Read this Book
I picked this one up because I hadn’t heard much about it on Instagram (hyped books are letting me down recently) and it was recommended on the From the Front Porch podcast by Annie B Jones. Also, to be honest, I really liked the cover!
Rating
4 Stars (Check out my rating system!)
My Thoughts
This is a great feel good book, without being cheesy! I fell in love with the characters and the town. The characters are lovely but real and believable. It kind of gave me Gilmore Girls vibe (its nothing like it but just the feeling I got while reading it). The story covers topics of family, relationships and valuing what you have. I loved that the story covered a long period of time and the character development was outstanding.
I really loved the writing, its very easy to read and funny! I laughed out loud a few times. The are so many real topics covered with grace. I would say this is not a page turner but it grabbed my attention and ultimately I hugged the book when I finished (its that kind of book).
One thing I’m confused is about the title. I am still not sure why its called Early Morning Riser. If you’ve read it please let me know in the comments!
Gist
You can check out the full gist here and you can sign up for Readerly here!
Content Warnings
Mental illness, grief, death (car accident)
Who I Recommend this Book to
If you like funny, quirky characters and literary fiction you’ll like this one! While I have a complicated relationship with the literary fiction genre. This one grabbed my attention.
Get the Book!
Did this review of Early Morning Riser convince you to read it? Check out the links below to order it from Bookshop.org and libro.fm. Please consider ordering it from a Black owned independent bookstore. This list of Black owned independent bookstores accepts online ordering.
If you’ve read this book let me know your thoughts in the comments!
This cover is absolutely gorgeous! Glad this one didn’t let you down!