keepreadingbooks 's review for:

Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny

4.75

emotional funny hopeful slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Early Morning Riser is a slice of life in the purest sense. There is an event at the beginning of the novel that changes life significantly for the main characters, but the rest of the novel is simply these characters figuring out how to navigate the life they’ve ended up in and finding joy and happiness in the little things. 

 

This one snuck up on me. The first half or so was enjoyable enough but nothing special, really. I was reading it rather slowly and started wondering whether I should have picked up something else. But then, almost without me noticing, I became invested and suddenly I easily read 50 or more pages a day (that’s a lot for me) and got annoyed every time I had to put it down. About 40 pages from the end, I started to feel a slight reluctance at being done soon, and I began dog-earing pages left and right. It’s warm-hearted, touching, and often surprisingly hilarious. I chuckled out loud more than once. Out loud! I don’t often do that. And I teared up proper at the end, but in a good way. Mine was a borrowed copy, but my friend had mercy on me and let me keep it as my own, since I’d grown so fond of it. Get yourself friends like mine! 

 

I’ll only recommend this one to those of you who truly enjoy slow, character-driven novels, and then only to those of you that will stick with a book beyond the first 100 pages, even if it’s not too exciting yet but you still feel it’s got potential. Quick DNF’ers might be bored before it gets good.