I was very hesitant of this one at first but I said let's carry on because I was that curious! At first I was very dissapointed Geo didn't get more time and then when I read more I was at times sorry for her. When I got to a particular part that details her memory of the event she was put away for I was like, "bitch, you should've died in the slammer". Regardless to say, this was a very interesting and difficult read since I usually do not do the whole murder mystery genre but in this case I am glad I did.

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier is set in Seattle, Washington. Fourteen years ago, Angela Wong disappeared without a trace and now her dismembered body has been found in the woods near Georgina “Geo” Shaw’s home. Detective Kaiser Brody, Geo’s best friend in high school, never suspected Geo was involved in such a heinous crime. They learn that Calvin James, Geo’s high school boyfriend, killed Angela and has since murdered three more women. Geo has kept the events of the night Angela was killed a secret, but, after reaching a plea deal, she testifies against Calvin at his trial. Geo is sentenced to five years at Hazelwood Correctional Institute. Towards the end of her stay she is visited by Kaiser and told that Calvin has escaped. Then new bodies start turning up in the woods killed in the exact manner at Angela. Geo is released, and she returns to her childhood home much to the neighbors’ dismay. As the body count rises, Geo recalls the events that led up to that fateful night. What really happened the night Angela died?

Jar of Hearts had a good beginning that drew me in (the first third). After a while, though, the story took a downhill turn. The pace became slow and the story felt flat. I thought the story lacked depth and I found it to be predictable (reminded me of many other books that I have read). I wanted twists and turns that would surprise me and give me an OMG moment. The back and forth from the present to the past did not help. The characters lacked development and were one dimensional. I never felt the characters emotions (there should be hatred, anger, love, joy). I also wanted to know why Geo did the things she did. Geo is an unlikeable and unsympathetic character as were most of the individuals in the Jar of Hearts. I wanted to know why Geo was obsessed with Calvin (just one of my questions). Teenage naivete is an excuse that will only take a person so far. If a four-year-old knows the difference between right and wrong so should a teenager. I also felt Geo should have grown more as a person. One would hope that she would learn from her bad decisions and time in prison. The romance was unnecessary and did not add to the story. The ending was incomplete and anticlimactic. We are not given satisfactory answers that would wrap up the book and epilogue was unbelievable. I want to warn readers that the Jar of Hearts is a graphic story that contains extreme violence, crude comments, rape and foul language. Jar of Hearts was not the right book for me (I am in the minority on my opinion). Obtain a sample of the Jar of Hearts to see if it is it appeals to you. The cover for Jar of Hearts is beautiful and it is what drew me to the book.

Content warning: the book does contain a few moderately graphic depictions of rape.

I really love how the story in this book is presented. At the beginning of the book, Georgina Shaw, known as Geo, testified in court to help put her ex-boyfriend in jail for committing multiple murders. She played a part in his first murder, and fourteen years after the fact, the body has been discovered, and he's been caught. Once the story came out, she served 5 years in prison for her part of the crime.

The book focuses on what is happening to Geo in the present day, and it slowly reveals the events leading up to the first murder in a series of flashbacks. Only getting small snippets of the story at a time, it definitely keeps you hooked, while also observing how that one event changed her life in so many ways.

There are many secrets in this book, and many tiny threads that come together to weave an intricate story, where the past and present come together in a very suspenseful and surprising conclusion.

I'm known among my friends for being a harsh judge and absolutely tearing books apart, but there really wasn't much I could find to criticize about this book. It was very well-written and edited, the story flowed smoothly, and I didn't feel like the story was being spoon-fed to me. The ending was exciting, and definitely did not let me down. If anything, there could have been maybe a bit more of a final story after the big conclusion, but that's my personal preference, and I think the end was fitting in this case.

Overall, I loved this book, and I'll definitely be reading more from this author! Much thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a complimentary review copy of this book.

Dark and disturbing, Jennifer Hillier's JAR OF HEARTs delivers heartstopping suspense, peopled by powerfully crafted characterizations.

this is 41/2 out of 5 stars
This is the first book I have read by this author and I must say that I was really impressed . You know when you have a secret and you are trying to keep this dark secret its bound to come out in one ay or another . Fourteen years ago Geo was part of a secret about what happened to her best friend Angela. After fourteen years and time in prison . Geo is finally released from prison and going to try and start her life over . But there is more to that night then people know . Will Geo be able to shake the fact that people are turning up dead around her that are killed in the same way Angela was. Will Geo be able to break from her past and have a life outside the lie .
This book is full of well written complex characters . Georgina aka Geo is a strong but confused woman , She has been carrying a dark secret around since she was a teen and ends up in prison at the beginning of the book . The five years she is in prison have strengthen her and made her into the woman that when she comes out all she wants is to be left alone . She is strong and gutsy but also it feels like she is still living in the past . The cast of secondary characters are varied and all have a part to play in the telling of Geo's story
This book has so many twists and turns the author can really tell a story. She takes us on a emotional rollercoaster ride that will have you sucked in from the very first page. I truly enjoyed the writing style of this author. There is such and emotional book, I cried and I got angry and I was generally perplexed and on the edge of my seat most of the way through this book . There was only one thing that left me for not giving this a five star , The ending seemed rushed like the author had taken the characters to the edge and didn't know how to pull them back and build up the ending . Over all I truly enjoyed this book and the twist at the end had me reeling . I honestly couldn't believe what the author did . This is a creepy intense story that will have you on the edge of your seat the whole way through the book . This is a great summer read and you should pick it up and read it by the pool .

I would Like to thank Net Galley fro sending me an early ARC of this book. I am a new reader of Jennifer Hillier but I will be following her from now forward.
This book is such a good thriller I couldn't put it down. Grabbed me hard and kept me enthralled. Full of lies, secrets and mystery.
As you can tell my reviews don't tell the plot but I suggest that you get this book, grab a comfy chair and just read, read, read!

4.5/5 stars - I DEVOURED this book! Although the story is very different, it is suspenseful, creepy, and enthralling in much the same was as YOU by Caroline Kepnes.

Angela Wong (16) is reported missing , Geo Shaw (16) knows what happened, and Kaiser is determined to find out what happened. 14 years later Kaiser is now a cop and Angela’s bones are found in the woods. Geo’s former boyfriend, Calvin James, is convicted for her brutal murder and dismemberment. Geo testified for the state in exchange for a plea deal where she pleads guilty as an accessory. Some secrets remain buried deep, and “what happened that fateful night is more complex and more chilling than anyone really knows. Now [five years after the trial] the obsessive past catches up with the deadly present when new bodies begin to turn up, killed in the exact same manner as Angela Wong.“

This is a nail-biting thriller you won’t be able to put down!

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for providing me with a free advanced readers copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

**review has already been posted to Goodreads, Instagram, and Twitter.

#jpbookreview #24in48 #24in48readathon

First off the cover is beautiful. Secondly, the book was so messed up. Messed up in a good way . I am always searching for that disturbing, mind bending , make you question humanity psychological thriller. I don't know what that says about me, but this book hit all the right ticks for me.
I don't like to give away anything about plots in my reviews - after all thats what reading the book is for. Yours to discover.
There should be some trigger warnings here for rape, murder, child deaths .
I am definitely going to search for more books by this author.
Thank you for the ARC

This book was reminiscent of the styles of Gillian Flynn. It kept me on my toes and turning pages way after my bedtime. What i really loved about this book was the complexity of our main character. The book gives you a look into many different areas of life, from corporate America, the prison system, foster care and infertility, small town America, high school drama, and life as an ex-con. You find yourself empathizing in ways you never thought you would and easily getting pulled into the multitudes of complex drama. I look forward to exploring other titles by this author!

A dark, psychological thriller was exactly what I was looking to read with this book. I got that plus a bit too much gore for my taste, hence the 4 stars. I found the characters to be believable and was surprised by the many twists and turns the book took. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

I really enjoyed this book. You don't usually read about a woman in prison and convicted of a murder crime so it felt new and fresh to me. I always love when an author strays from the predictable and Hillier definitely does that. There are some sensitive topics in the book that were a little hard for me to read. Overall, it was a great mystery read.

Turns out not all thrillers have an exciting ending. Jar of Hearts started very promisingly, with Georgina Shaw, a successful young woman with a prestigious job and rich fiance, getting arrested as a suspect in an old town mystery - the disappearance of her old school friend Angela Wong.

Fourteen years ago, 16-year-old Angela Wong disappeared under unknown circumstances. A bright, beautiful girl who was envied by many and what happened to her remained a mystery for fourteen years. When her remains are found buried close to Georgina’s childhood home, she becomes one of the main suspects.

It was interesting to follow Georgina as her life was turned upside down and see how she dealt with these new challenges thrown her way. But at the same time, Georgina’s acts didn’t surprise me in any way, I didn’t find myself attached to the story, just plain indifference from the beginning till the end.

Creating some deep feelings towards the characters of the book is usually not the main concern of mysteries and thrillers, as they are often very plot-driven stories, captivating their readers with events and secrets. Nevertheless, it is difficult to enjoy the book at its fullest when neither events nor characters keep you glued to the pages.

On the other hand, I was hoping to read more about adult Calvin James, his involvement in different crimes and reasoning behind them (maybe I was hoping for too much), and was disappointed to see that throughout the entire book he remained this mystery figure, especially once the story took a different direction.
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In short, Jar of Hearts is a good example of a thriller based around an old crime and serial killer, with its positives and negatives. The fact that the book is told through present events and memories from the past, makes it more engaging. I love seeing this technique of storytelling when we slowly go through the present events with snippets of the past, and eventually, the story meets in the middle, shedding some light on the main events.

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy!

This book was fast-paced; unfortunately life got in the way of reading it as quickly as I wanted to. The story took on twists that I thought I saw coming but somehow still surprised me. I truly enjoyed and it would have been a 4 star read until the very end. Although the twist caught me off guard, it felt a bit rushed.

I would certainly recommend to thriller readers!

Georgina Shaw was sixteen years old when her best friend disappeared.

Her name was Angela Wong and she was the prettiest and most popular girl in school. Captain of the cheerleaders. Ruler of the Cool Kid’s table in the cafeteria. Resident trend-setter and expert at finding the best party in town. She was a queen bee in a sea of common workers and drones. A girl to be admired, and she was . . . especially by Georgina.

One day Angela was there – her light shining the brightest in a sea of lesser stars – and the next, she was gone. The teenage girl had vanished without a trace. It was a disappearance that rocked the community and brought the girl’s parents to their knees in grief, shame, and bewilderment. Grief, in that Angela was their only child and they’d never have opportunity to raise another. Shame, in that they hadn’t made time to be a bigger part of the girl’s life. Bewilderment, in that a ransom note never came and no whisper of her whereabouts was ever sent down the line. The girl was simply gone – never to be seen or heard from again.

Everyone had given up hope and moved on with their lives, Geo included. The Wongs eventually divorced, unable to cope together with the loss of their child. Georgina went off to college and after graduation, began the inevitable claw to the top of the heap, eventually making her way into a prime spot (right next to her fiancé, who was coincidentally the owner of the thriving cosmetics company she worked for). But regardless of her successes in life, Geo continued to live in fear . . . right up until the day Angela was found.

The bones were 14 years old and the clothing that still remained attached was nothing but mere scraps and rags. Angela was a ghost brought back to life from a shallow grave, one that had been hastily dug behind Georgina’s house in the quiet neighborhood she’s grown up in with her father. It was the house where Angela had promised her parents she was spending the night when last she spoke with them . . . mere hours before she was brutally murdered.

The fear Geo had lived in for 14 years – it vanished like a puff of smoke. In its place came feelings of clear acceptance, a cool calm, and a stoic relief.

She’d carried this secret for most of her life. She’d been there the night Angela was murdered; she’d played a part in it. And when her boyfriend from way back when, the enigmatic Calvin James, was brought up on murder charges, Geo knew it was only a matter of time before her name came up as an accomplice. She fully expected the outcome – that she would end up in jail – but she guessed the one thing she didn’t expect was the fact that her one of her oldest friends, Kaiser Brody, would be the officer leading her there in handcuffs.

Officer Brody spent much of his teenage years following Angela Wong and Georgina Shaw around like a lovesick puppy. Which one he was in love with, well, that was a hard question to answer. Angela was so vibrant and full of life, no matter the fact that her attitude could turn on a dime and her pretty mouth could emit such scathing critiques or harsh words. Georgina was the soft to Angela’s hard; she was quieter and much more interesting, considering the fact that you had to scratch way beneath the surface to see what truly lay beneath the facade. He’d tagged along behind them all through high school, enjoying afternoons at Angela’s huge house spent lazing about in front of the tv sharing a pizza, or Friday night’s cheering both the girls on from the stands as they cheered on the football players. The last place Kaiser expected to be was on the side of the law against Geo, but . . . he’d always known that Calvin James was trouble . . . he’d tried to tell her plenty of times.

They said Angela’s murder was part of a serial killing, that Calvin was a sharp-tongued predator who cut down young women in their prime. He’d lure them to the woods, rape them, and then cut them into small pieces before burying them. He’d used tools from the shed behind Georgina’s house to slice up Angela Wong, and he didn’t feel sorry for it one bit. They said Georgina had watched, horrified, but frozen in time against a man who could just as easily have done the same thing to her. They said she stayed silent, and that was her crime.

Well, they got a few things right. But . . . they got more than one thing, wrong.

When she passed Calvin in the courtroom after her sentencing, Georgina felt invisible icy fingers travel up her spine. He’d passed her a note, but she was too terrified to read it. He’d nodded at her, slightly, an acknowledgment of their secrets. He looked the same. He was still the man she’d fallen in love when as a gullible teenager; he was still charismatic and charming and hopelessly good-looking.

And Geo hoped that the things they shared between them remained buried a hell of a lot better than Angela had.

Jar of Hearts is the newest novel by Jennifer Hillier, an author best known for her singular spin on psychological thrillers and her twisting plots. While this is the first novel I’ve personally red by Hillier, I don’t mind admitting that I am dying to read more (no pun intended).

The novel is fast-paced and a bit bone-chilling. Geo’s character has so many faces, it’s almost hard to keep up. The portrait painted of her serial killer boyfriend, Calvin, is cruel and as uncomfortably bumpy as a wooden roller coaster ride. The story is set in several parts – Geo’s teenage years leading up to Angela’s death, Geo’s time spent in prison for her part in the crime committed, Geo’s life after parole, and the perspective of Kaiser Brody (Geo’s childhood friend and detective assigned to the mysterious and gruesome killings that begin to take place after Geo is released from prison).

While books that bounce back and forth between time periods and perspectives can often become cumbersome, Jar of Hearts is the exact opposite. It reads like a reel of film noir, creaky and creepy and full of dark corners. The psychological aspect is well-planned and executed beautifully, while often keeping the reader on their toes and wary about making alliances with any of the characters.

I give Jar of Hearts 4.5 out of 5 stars, and recommend it to those who enjoyed books such as The Wife Between Us or Shari LaPena’s The Couple Next Door.

I really enjoyed this book. It's been 3 months since I read it. I wish I could give a better review. I will say if you've loved her other books then you will love this one too. I'll also mention that I finished reading it in one day!

Minotaur Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Jar of Hearts. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

After sixteen year old Angela Wong disappeared without a trace, her best friend Georgina Shaw kept the secret about what happened for the next fourteen years. Calvin James, who was Geo's boyfriend at the time the girl went missing, is now accused of multiple murders including Angela's. When Geo testifies against Calvin, so that she might get a deal regarding her own involvement, is she telling the absolute truth? Five years after Calvin escapes from prison, on the eve of Geo's release, two bodies are found near Angela's burial site. Is this a message for Geo or is the terror unrelated?

The ending of Jar of Hearts ruined the book for me, especially in regards to the final situation that occurs. Without spoilers, I can only say that the author seemed to have run out of ideas and decided to throw in a completely ridiculous conclusion. The relationships that Geo forms, both inside prison and outside, lack the depth that they need to be realistic. I never did feel any connection between the characters and the story, so I would be hesitant to recommend Jar of Hearts to other readers.

I was provided this book by Netgalley for my honest review. Thriller genre is my favorite, especially with a little mystery invoked. This book found a way to encompass both of those perfectly. It kept me constantly wanting more and I didn’t want it to end. Highly recommend this one!!

I've absolutely loved everything Jennifer Hillier has written, so of course I was beyond thrilled to receive an advance copy of her newest one.
Fourteen years ago Geo did the unthinkable. And now that past has caught up with her. When her best friend Angela disappeared, most people assumed that she'd run away. But not Geo. Geo knew the truth. And when everyone else finds out about her crime, there's no escaping the consequences. So she goes to prison, does her time, and tries to put her life back together when she's released. When bodies start piling up again, though, the question must be asked. What's the connection to Angela's death? And how does it involve Geo?
This book is everything you'd want in a thriller. Great characters, gripping storyline, psychopathic suspense, twists and turns...it's all there. So do yourself a favor and read it. And then read the author's others if you haven't already.

What a great read! I loved this book from the opening paragraph and found myself going back to it whenever I had a spare minute. The story is well written and the characters, while not all likeable, are believable and a bit scary. This is a great thriller/mystery that I absolutely recommend to anyone who enjoys those genres.

I really enjoyed this book! Kept my attention through the whole book. Read within 3 days, which is unusual for me, it was def hard to put down.