Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

27 reviews

louandlife's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.5

The book follows a woman called Geo. When she was 16, she was an accomplice to the murder of her best friend. The murderer goes on to become a local serial killer. We see her being charged with the murder however, when the sentence is up, 5 years later, someone starts killing again.

It's a good read. The book was gripping and fast paced. I managed to finish it within about 13 hours. If I didn't sleep, I could have finished it in one go. This book does jump around the timeline to tell this story. So it's not a chronological story. I wouldn't say the characters are likeable but it is more of a plot based story. The big reveal of the killer was a bit disappointing, as was the end of the story. If I liked the ending, I think this book would have been 4 stars. I'll also know I'll forget about this boon soon which is why I wouldn't rate it 4 stars. But I also appreciate this book because it was a good choice for me to read in my goal to read more books whilst I still can during this holiday.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Rape, Physical abuse, Gore, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Infertility, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Alcohol and Terminal illness

Minor: Addiction

katybugggg's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Pregnancy, Violence, Vomit, Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Bullying, Body horror, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Gaslighting, Blood, Body shaming, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Car accident, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Abandonment

rhyanreads's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Overall I enjoyed reading this book, I felt like the middle was a little dry and repetitive it also had A LOT going on and could be a lot to follow. 

It's a very dark book with all dark things you can imagine. At times I felt like they were thrown in more for shock value than to go with the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Chronic illness, Rape, Death, Sexual assault, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Vomit, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Cancer, Child death, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion

daniellenelson's review against another edition

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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Child death, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual assault, Vomit, Abandonment, Blood, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Rape, and Sexual violence

hanndiane's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Murder, Gore, Child death, Death of parent, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Abortion, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Vomit, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, and Rape

Minor: Grief, Cursing, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Infertility, Drug use, and Eating disorder

kaela_arcuri's review

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Violence, Rape, and Alcohol

Moderate: Incest, Terminal illness, and Drug use

nrogers_1030's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Completely f***ed up, but I couldn’t put it down.  Check the TW before picking it up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Rape, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Blood, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Sexual content, Vomit, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Child death, Confinement, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cancer and Terminal illness

Minor: Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Car accident, Incest, Infertility, and Body shaming

middleagedbookworm's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Wow. That was messed up. Some deeply disturbing stuff, but dang, was it entertaining!! I love the way Jennifer Hillier writes. She writes in that way that makes you want to keep reading and not stop. She weaves the past and the present timelines seamlessly and she brings attention to some debatable topics, the main one being nature vs nurture. This was such a great thriller and I will definitely be reading her entire backlist. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Rape, Physical abuse, Cancer, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Child death, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Murder, Abortion, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Infidelity

beckyremillard's review

dark fast-paced

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

3.75

The story starts without much prefacing, Geo is testifying against Calvin (the serial killer and her high school boyfriend) before she’s off to prison herself for five years. We get a bit about Geo’s time in prison in the beginning of her sentence and right before she’s released. Then the story is about Geo’s time after prison and what is happening in the town. 

The book does skip around a bit in the timeline without clear context of when it shifted (which I can’t stand) but it was done well. I didn’t love it but it didn’t take me out of the story like it normally does for me. 

I didn’t know anything about this book before reading it. Normally I read books that have been recommended or I’ve seen often, but I just randomly saw this one at the library and thought it seemed interesting. I was right, but there’s a lot of heavy material (which is coming from someone who regularly reads dark books). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Blood, Murder, Rape, and Terminal illness

Minor: Addiction, Miscarriage, and Body shaming

susysstories's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Very dark read, gruesome, disturbing and hard to put down. Most characters were unlikeable yet likeable, I don't know how to put my feelings into words in a better way. The end had a big surprise but then fell a bit flat for me and left me with some questions/doubts, therefore not a full 5 stars. Looking forward to reading more by this author!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Child death, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cancer, Vomit, Pregnancy, Gore, and Terminal illness