This was an excellent psychological thriller. As the blurb states, you think you know the truth, but you don’t. This book is written in a style I don’t normally like, but it works for this storyline. You slowly learn throughout the whole book what happened that fateful night. As you think you know the whole story, BAM it tasked a turn you never expected. It’s going to take a few days to mull over this storyline. It was truly a very engrossing tale. Received an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review by NetGalley.

This was like a 4.5. --a nearly flawless read--for me.

After I completed this book, I took a moment and thought about its construction. Nearly everything in this book is here for a reason...there are no wasted characters or meandering subplots. The result is a tightly paced thriller that captures your attention and keeps you guessing. Even when I thought I knew exactly where this book was going, it managed to throw some surprises my way. (And that's not an easy feat considering I read a ton of serial killer books.)

In my opinion, there were only two weaker areas in this story. While Geo's time in prison and her relationship with Cat helped flesh out her character, I felt like that section slowed down the story somewhat and wasn't as relevant to the larger narrative. Thankfully it was short. Also one of the many big reveals toward the end of the book made me have more questions about Geo--questions that never really get answered. Perhaps that isn't a bad thing, though.

Overall, this book was a pleasant surprise and just the kind of of thrill-ride I wanted for a vacation read. Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jar of Hearts kept me reading and swiping as fast as my eyes would go! This is one of those books that has twists and things around the bend that you didn't see coming. Good storyline, good characters some good some you want to shake here and there and of course the bad ones, rounded out with mystery and murder.... Thank you Jennifer Hillier for writing a great book!
A big thank you to Netgalley and St.Martins Press for allowing me to read this ARC book and give my own personal opinion.

This book was excellent, completely drew me in, geo is a very flawed character but the author manages to make her sympathetic too. The ending was well plotted, when I realised how it was going to turn out I thought of the little breadcrumbs I hadn't noticed before yet were strewn throughout the book.

Really, really excellent story full of interesting characters and twists.

This book certainly kept my attention but after reading it I felt quite discontented, discombobulated even. What a bagful of unlikeable characters. Georgina (annoyingly shortened to Geo - ugh - how are we supposed to pronounce it? Geo as in geology or Jaw as in Georgina?) is an unpleasant protagonist. Her best friend Angela disappeared 14 years earlier. She knew what happened to her but didn't say. Her boyfriend of the time, Calvin, is arrested and when bones are found near her house it comes out that she was there at the murder. Unsurprisingly she is charged and sent to prison. As is Calvin but he escapes. More murders happen. At the end, I don't feel that justice was done. Very unsatisfactory. This was way too gruesome for me. There are scenes of rape and violence,
the prison scenes are horrible and generally it was very graphic in its descriptions. Not for me. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.

The twists and turns kept coming in this one. Well-defined secondary characters really kept me reading this one, and the author builds a vivid world. Will be reading more from this author, too.

I received an ARC of this book for review purposes.

Excellent thriller. Fast paced mystery involving three best friends;. one who was murdered as a teenage and remains a cold case, one who became a detective and the other a corporate executive. The unsolved murder brings the detective and executive together along with the serial killer. The plot twists are amazingly complex and the ending was completely unexpected. I can't wait to read more by this author. Edge of your seat entertainment.

I really enjoyed reading Jar of Hearts. I could not put it down once I picked it up and started reading. I was hooked on the mystery or what happened that night to Angela and what role her best friend really played in it. I thought the main characters were relatable and the book easily flowed from one character's point of view to another's. I was a bit surprised by the ending. This was a great book!

Jar of Hearts
By Jennifer Hillier

Oh my gosh! This book was so well-plotted from the very beginning. And the characters are so complex that you find yourself liking them one minute and hating the the next.
When the book opens, we find Georgina, who prefers to be known as Geo, testifying at the murder trial of Calvin Jones. Due to her involvement afterward, Geo must serve a five year prison sentence. And did I forget to mention that this murder happened 14 years earlier when Geo was 16?
The story weaves smoothly back and forth across time, but I don’t want to reveal anything more. It is a little more of a suspense novel rather than a cozy mystery, so be prepared.
This is the first of Hillier’s books I have read. I am going to look for the others.

This is the first book I have read by Jennifer Hillier. It starts out in a courtroom and moves back and forth from past to present, but is not hard to follow at all like some books can be. Geo is the main character and is immediately likable, no matter what she's done. Jennifer's style of writing keeps you reading right to the end. I would definitely read more from this offer.

Georgina is a successful executive for her fiance's company. Her best friend the cheer captain disappeared 16 yrs ago. They find her remains a few hundred feet from where Geos childhood home is. As the story unravels the author takes you back to that time when it happened. I loved this book. Read it in one sitting! Will keep you in suspense until the end.

Jar of Hearts is a compelling tale of bad decisions. When she was sixteen, Georgina (Geo) Shaw falls in love with Calvin James, an older man at twenty-one. Angela Wong, Geo's best friend, disappears without a trace. Kaiser Brody, the third in the group of best friends, later becomes a detective determined to catch a serial killer.

from the description: This is the story of three best friends: one who was murdered, one who went to prison, and one who's been searching for the truth all these years.

Jar of Hearts is an edgy, suspenseful tale that has some grim elements. While wanting to sympathize with Geo, it is sometimes difficult to do. Geo is, however, brutally honest with herself. While she keeps some things secret, she accepts and admits her role in Angela's death.

The book follows Geo in the past and in the present, and the events on the night in question are revealed a little at a time. In the present, a new nightmare is about to begin.

The conclusion bothered me a bit and seemed a bit rushed, but this is an intense book that

will keep you turning the pages, getting involved with the characters and their situations, and puzzling through your own opinions.

Read in April; blog review scheduled for May 29.

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press

Suspense/Crime. June 12, 2018. Print length: 320 pages.

I received an e-ARC of Jar of Hearst from Jennifer Hillier from NetGalley and Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review.

That was certainly a rollercoaster and I must admit I'm not sure where to put this reading experience. The book is a page-turner and consistently readable, as a thriller should be. It was twisted. It was disturbing. Those are the upsides. The downside? It was, at times, incredibly annoying and not a little convenient and predictable. And let's not get started on how many pet peeves this story knocked into over and over again (unfailingly describing the skin color of POC using food descriptions--ugh, and the repeatedly graphic rape scenes, and the weird association between fatness and badness, and *sigh* "almond-shaped eyes" because apparently we haven't outgrown that yet). The ending was pat and, being perfectly honest, felt unearned.

All in all, I think this book would be a more enjoyable experience for someone other than me, and I respect that.

Three stars.

This was such page turner that I ended up starting it at 8pm and finishing at 2am! I literally could NOT put it down! You know from the beginning of the book what the 'bad' thing was, the murder of a teenage girl. BUT what you don't know is the why/ But is the why REALLY what you think it was, or is the truth even more dark and disturbing? THAT is what keeps yoou reading the pages, that and a sympathetic character of Geo. The shocker of an ending will leave youo up the rest of the night, wondereing where you missed the VERY subtle clues that things were NOT as they seemed! This is honna be THE book of the Summer, so be sure it is on your to -read list NOW for as soon as it comes out, you won't be sorry!

We meet Georgina the not quite guilty not quite innocent as she prepares to go to prison for her part in the 14 years ago murder of ‘her best friend’. The best friend, Angela, was found dismembered in a shallow grave not too far from Georgina’s house. Her ex Calvin is found guilty of this murder and three others and is serving consecutive life sentences when he escapes early into Georgina’s 5 year sentence.

The reader gets a view into Georgina’s mind, what she did do and what she didn’t do the night of her friend’s murder and it’s not pretty. There were times when I wondered how she could live with herself after actions. And yet I could not put the book down. There was always a hint or a suggestion that what you knew about Georgina Shaw was not quite the truth.

Jar Of Hearts is not for the faint of heart. It is not tidy and neat, but it is fascinating study of the massive gray area that comprises Georgina’s conscience. I hope others will find it as gripping as I did.

Geo is a strong-willed young woman. She survived the loss of her mother when she was a small child, then lived through the loss of her best friend Angela in high school. She persevered and is flourishing in the pharmaceutical industry. Nice car, clothes, apartment, engaged to the big boss’s son. Life is good. Until she’s sitting in a courtroom pouring her heart out about how she helped hide the mutilated body of her dear friend Angela.
Five years of time in the slammer, and once again, Geo perseveres. She quickly learns the ropes and operates as if she were meant to be there all along. We’re starting to wonder, is Geo really the victim she makes out to be? Her old high school friend, Kaiser, who is investigating the cold file, is also beginning to wonder. Poor, goofy Kaiser was always the girls’ friend, but not the boyfriend. He’s still quite enamored with Geo and her charm. But there’s just something about her; a side she’s keeping well-hidden. And once again, bodies begin turning up in the same spot as Angela’s so many years before. Young women and little children; how do they figure in and who’s still manipulating these murders? There’s Calvin, her serial killer ex-boyfriend who has escaped from prison, but there’s really something not quite right with Geo. And all the way to the very last page, you won’t shake that fear.
This is not a happy read; it’s a “got you hooked in the first chapter” read with no pretty colors and flowers. I loved it!
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for making it available.)

4.5/5 stars! Jar of Hearts was a well written, suspenseful page turner!

This book starts off in a courtroom and Georgina is on trial for something that happened fourteen years before. Geo's best friend Angela disappeared all those years ago and her body is finally discovered. Geo is now on trial for her murder. Intriguing isn't it?

5 years for Geo, life for Calvin. Did Geo help Calvin kill her or was she just in the wrong place at the wrong time? She did keep it a secret after all for many years never coming forward and doing the right thing. While Geo is in prison carrying out her 5 year sentence, she finds out that Calvin has escaped. New bodies are discovered, the same spot where Angela was buried!

This is my second book by Jennifer Hillier and I was impressed. This is a bit creepy and I loved it. Not for the squeamish though. I really enjoyed this book and am now a fan of Jennifer Hiller. I will be looking for all of her future books!

A big thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for allowing me an advanced copy of this review! Greatly appreciated!

3.5 stars really but I rounded up to 4 stars as the book did move rather quickly. Solid story and writing. I wanted to find out what exactly happened years earlier to Geo that finally had landed her in prison for 5 years. The book was shallow though, it did not scratch beneath the surface of the characters. They seemed one dimensional to me. All in all, I do recommend but I was not bowled over by it..

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.
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