Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

20 reviews

nrogers_1030's review against another edition

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

lindavs22's review against another edition

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

middleagedbookworm's review against another edition

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

cady_sass's review against another edition

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

meeklovestoread's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Murder, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Physical abuse, Body shaming, Death of parent, Vomit, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Cursing and Cancer

maryrhg's review against another edition

dark 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

1.0

TW: rape (happens multiple times through out the story basically the big hitter of the entire book)

Maybe I’m the weird one but I seriously have no idea why people rate this book so highly. There is so many rape scenes in this book most of which seem to be there just to make the reader uncomfortable and don’t really ad anything to the story? (If you know, you know I’m talking about the last one). The ending is rushed, the romance is rushed and unbelievable. You could remove kai from the story and it would have basically been exactly the same. I didn’t find it thrilling or suspenseful at all just icky to read. If you’re looking for something to disturb you this might work for you, but for me this was definitely not it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child death, Death, Sexual content, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Cancer, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Vomit, and Body shaming

beckyremillard's review against another edition

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

janjanjukebox's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.0

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier 311 pages 10 hours and 43 minutes narrated by January LaVoy

Genre: Mystery Thriller, Crime Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Contemporary 

Featuring: Seattle, Washington, Graphic Depictions, Dead Bodies, Prison Life, Sexual Assault, Rape, Murder, Child Murder, Police Investigation, Multiracial Characters, Harassment, Violence, Multiple Timelines, Some Graphic Descriptions, Child Abuse, Sex, Teenagers, Preview of Little Secrets

Rating as a movie: N-17 for violence, disturbing themes, and content 

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My thoughts: 11% - Interesting opening, but then it got real. I'm going back to Sugarberry Cove. 
25% - I might have to quit this one. The story is good but too graphic for my taste. 
32% - I saw that coming. 
50% - I went from not sure if I wanted to hear more to getting annoyed every time I had to get out of the car. Now, I'm at home and free to enjoy this book uninterrupted for the rest of the evening. 
81% - I have solved this case, and I'm rewarding myself with a long break. And by break, I mean, I'm starting another book.

I'm not sure if it is predictable if you figure everything out 75% in even though the author hasn't revealed it yet. Anyway, this book was written well and held my interest but also repulsed me. I wanted to slap MC, but she was young and had some excuses for her stupidity. There were plotholes but the way the story flowed; I didn't even care. 

Recommend to others?: Sure, but this book isn't for those with sensitive palates; my senses were definitely violated.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Drug use, Grief, Cancer, Stalking, Vomit, Alcohol, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Medical content

Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Car accident, and Suicidal thoughts

katyannreads's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Rape, Physical abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Body shaming and Vomit

melsuke's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Incest, and Gun violence