Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

15 reviews

lindavs22's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual content, Cursing, Violence, Blood, and Gore

Moderate: Grief, Confinement, and Child death

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Vomit, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Car accident, Child abuse, Abortion, Blood, Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Cancer, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

cady_sass's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Well, I started this in an attempt to get out of a reading slump and it most definitely did the job. Nearly every twist had my jaw on the floor. This is a tough read, lots of really heavy topics and grisly imagery, but that ending takes the cake. I feel more than a bit torn by the final conclusion, not sure how I feel about it or how I *should* feel. There are some highly problematic assumptions and implications here… i so badly wanted to give this 4 stars but i just CAN’T because of that ending. The story as a whole, though, very well done. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Rape, Vomit, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cancer, Child death, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Infertility, Infidelity, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Car accident, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy

julienicole1106's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Cancer, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Abandonment, Cursing, Rape, and Sexual assault

michelles_book_nook's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

⚠️ TW: rape, sexual assault, grooming, serial murders with multiple being children, mutilation, graphic content, mentions of child pornography, abuse and paedophilia, domestic violence, toxic relationships, drug/alcohol addiction ⚠️ Wow this book broke me and definitely isn't for the faint hearted because it is a whole new level of dark. This book is so hard to review without giving spoilers but it follows three friends, Angela, Geo and Kaiser, who are best friends throughout high school until one ends up brutally murdered, one ends up in prison and one spends their life searching for answers. Honestly this book is darkly intense, fast paced and disturbing and even when some chapters make you want to put it down you simply can't stop reading. Jennifer Hillier hands down blew my mind with her writing style! She pulled off a flawless thriller filled with jaw dropping chapters as well as explosive twists, turns and a crazy ending. However, my main issue was the extensive amount of rapes and sexual assaults. In my opinion, some of the rapes and SA's that took place were in no way necessary to further the plot or the dislike toward any characters and I'm not a fan of them being dropped into books purely for the shock factor (and I lost count of how many there were). Overall though, this is mind blowing thriller and if it sounds like something you'd be able to read then I highly recommend it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Blood, Pedophilia, and Child abuse

Minor: Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Drug abuse

lisacanteven's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I have been searching for a book that would keep me creeped out and hooked until the very end. This book accomplished that. I sort of figured out the twist, but I think I figured it out when I was supposed to if that makes sense. 

I feel a bit twisted giving this book 5 stars because the story itself is very graphically twisted. But it was just such a wild ride that I couldn't give it any less. I could have lived without the epilogue, but it wasn't enough to knock it down a star, maybe a half star instead (still rounds up to 5 stars).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Rape, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Vomit