This book was a comfortable read and I liked the characters, sometimes you just want a nice, simple read that you can loose yourself in and this fits the bill perfectly. No too taxing but enjoyable.

I’m really not sure what to make of Early Morning Riser. It’s certainly not like any book I’ve read before and is the first novel I’ve read by Katherine Heiny.

I enjoyed how the characters developed throughout the book, especially Duncan who seemed to grow with each chapter and I found the overall sentiment of the novel to be pleasant. However I did find the novel dragged in some places and wasn’t laugh out loud funny as the blurb promised. I would rate this 3.5 stars though. Thank you to NetGalley, 4th Estate and the author for the chance to review.

I received an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review

This book starts out a bit frothy and unfolds slowly into some deep water. The characters grown on you and you find yourself really feeling what they feel through the ups and downs. A pleasant meditation on love and family; not too sweet, not too sour.

I have just finished reading this book which is the story of the life of Jane, the main character in the book. I really struggled with this story and a few times felt like stopping, there is no real plot or action or building of a story, just a slow description of the characters.

The story of the life of Jane - her loves, her family, her ups and downs. No real plot or action or character arc, just a slow description of people’s lives.

Early Morning Riser is a gentle story centered around Jane, a primary school teacher, Duncan and their mixture of friends. The novel is well written and so for that reason I kept reading, but apart from Jane I wasn't hugely interested in the characters and I'm not sure if they were even very likeable. I don't know what Jane saw in Duncan (or what all the other hundreds of women he'd slept with saw either!), Aggie and her husband Gary just didn't make sense to me (in any context) and the only real drama around Jimmy and Willard was brushed over. For me, this book didn't live up to the 5* reviews.

I was really looking forward to reading this book based on the cover and the great reviews already posted, however I was disappointed right from the start. The characters didn’t engage me, there didn’t seem to be a plot and the writing left me cold - I tried several times to get back into the story but finally gave up - sorry, just not for me!

A brilliant tale about Jane and the ordinary, chaotic, highs and lows of life, involving ex partners, parents and village life.
This book swept me along on a tide of emotions. Beautifully written around ordinary everyday lives.

Whilst there were things that frustrated me about this book (plot - there isn't one, the ending - just happens, love interest - he's slept with pretty much the whole town and then some!) still there was something very engaging about it and I really enjoyed reading it. I just found I wanted to see what else would happen to Jane, even though it wasn't very much and she was basically just living her life. I enjoyed all the school teacher bits, with the pupils who made me laugh, and I loved the way Jimmy became family.
Jane's mum is very funny too, because she's really terrible, but in a way that you want to read more about her!
I really struggled with Duncan, because I just wanted Jane to find someone else so things wouldn't be so difficult for her. But still he is charming, and you can see the appeal even amongst the frustrations.
So, whilst there were things I found annoying, it was a really enjoyable read. Don't go into it looking for a complete arc of a story. Think of it more as spending a couple of decades with someone and getting to know their life, but then losing touch.

I tried really hard to get into this book but even skipping bits along the way did not help. I just did not have any empathy with the characters or their situations

I tried reading this a few times and I struggled to connect with it at all. The writing and story felt disjointed and a bit messy.

This book was comfortable pyjamas and an open fire on a cold night, with a hot cup of cocoa (Aggie’s recipe, please). The comic turns of phrase had me cackling behind my facemask on the tube; there are parts which are realistic enough to be believable, but simultaneously teetering on the edge of absurdity. I want this to be made into a film ASAP with Miranda July playing Jane, please. Loved it.

I couldn’t finish this - the style of the prose felt almost outline-y to me and I just wasn’t enjoying it at all. Sorry.

With so many 5 star reviews and such great cover art, I was excited to read this book. Just a short way into the book though, I highlighted my first line for all the wrong reasons "She was 26 years old, tall & slender, with dark blonde hair that looked good in a ponytail, and she didnt need much makeup". Worse was to come when the writer spoke of "sexily swollen" breasts during pregnancy. Just these 2 quotes alone was enough to put me off.
Although the book is a very easy read, I really didn't connect to the characters, the story or the writing style. On the upside, I did learn an inappropriate joke to tell the kids over dinner, which is deserving of a star in it's own right.

It is hard to know how to review this book. At first I felt a bit like nothing was happening, although I soon realised lots was happening but the way it is written makes you focus in more detail on the little things than the big events.

The book follows the life of Jane over a few years as she falls in and out of love, becomes a mother and deals with the ups and downs of life.

The characters are so real and I could instantly imagine the small American town where they live and everyone knows everyone.

This book is a quiet look at life and was thoroughly enjoyable.

I loved this book. It felt like such a love story to community and the wonder of close relationships and support networks.
I loved the characters and felt so invested in their stories and wanted the best for them. I found myself worried from about 50% through that something was going to go wrong and rooted for them.

It’s very much a character driven novel and I loved it.

This book was unassuming and brought to life the reality of the day to day life on a young woman, marred by tragedy and how she moved on, and coped. Enjoyable quick read, with very likeable characters, and some equally awful ... but that’s ok. Would recommend.

A very gentle read around a small town in North America. I did wonder, at first, where it was going and struggled slightly as basically nothing much happens but more life evolves around Jane, a teacher and incomer to the town and Duncan who has lived there all his life and their on-off relationship..

It is a warmhearted read about a small town where everyone looks out for everyone else and, apart from the gossip, are very neighbourly, genuinely helping those in need, particularly a educationally challenged young man who loses his mother without sapping his confidence. I think some of the reason I found it difficult to start with was getting accustomed to an American way of life (I am British) and had to look up a few things, e.g. language and how old the children in Jane's class were being different to the UK but this doesn't detract from the read. Wonderfully quirky characters throughout that one can identify with whichever country one is in.

This is a book to relax with and go with the flow!

Having loved Standard Deviation, I was looking forward with great anticipation to Katherine Heiny's latest novel, which brims with her trademark humour, warmth, and wit. Like another of my favourite writers, Elizabeth Strout, she captures the extraordinary in the ordinariness in her inspired characters, whilst revealing the heart of a small town American community, in this case, Boyne City in Michigan. 26 year old elementary teacher, Jane, meets, Duncan, in his early forties, within the first month of relocating for her new job when he arrives at her home after she has locked herself out. He is handsome, kind, and she falls for him hook, line and sinker, unaware initially that he has, it seems, slept with every woman in town. Everywhere she goes, she comes face to face with these women, with whom he manages mostly to remain on friendly terms. He even helps with mowing the lawn of his beautiful ex-wife, Aggie, and her second husband, Gary.

We follow Jane's life through almost two decades of her life, the class of children she teaches, and the ins and outs of her relationships with best friend, Frieda, a music teacher who is never to be seen without her mandolin, Duncan's work colleague, Jimmy, with his learning difficulties, the organising Aggie, who is a wonderful cook, and Gary. There are times Jane wishes that she and Duncan had more alone time with each other, and Aggie ignites resentment, fear, and all her inner insecurities. However, a tragedy and guilt is to shape her more expansive perception of what family is, whilst becoming a parent and raising two daughters, Glenn and the more challenging Patrice, and fostering a closer relationship with Aggie with its changing dynamics through the years.

Heiny's beautifully written prose is assured and confident, her vibrant and perceptive storytelling shines with its intelligence, tenderness, observations and humour that draws the reader skilfully into the small town world she creates, with her wide range of characters that feel authentic, idiosyncratic and imbued with their all too human flaws. My favourite character is Jimmy, a pivotal character who illustrates the emotional depth of Duncan's character, gelling the small circle of supportive friends more closely together, and provides Jane with the opportunity to come to terms with a more broader definition and understanding of what and who is family. This is a wonderfully joyful book and a sheer bliss of a reading experience, of life, love, loss, family, friendship and community that will appeal to so many readers. Highly recommended. Many thanks to HarperCollins 4th Estate for an ARC.

Oh dear. Having seen so many 5-star reviews for this book I was really excited to start reading. Sadly, it did not live up to my expectations and honestly, I cannot even tell you what the storyline is as there really isn’t one.

A long, drawn out and rather depressing tale about nothing with characters who could have come to life much more.

I guess if you are after a nice, simple read that you do not need to pay much attention to then this is for you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t waste your time.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.