Jar of Hearts was so amazingly good! I was in the mood for a thriller I couldn't put down and this novel had me gripped from start to finish. Loved the jumps between past and present as a way to understand how each character ended up connected to the death of Angela. The characters were complex with messy backstories, which made them feel very real. The mystery surrounding the new serial murders kept me guessing and the ending came as a big surprise. Highly recommend to thriller fans! Can't wait to check out more books by the author.

Review posted on Goodreads and Amazon

Angela, Geo, and Kaiser are the very best friends. Angela is the popular one of the group with Geo always falling into her shadow and Kaiser hopelessly in love with Geo. They are all but inseparable until Calvin James comes into the picture to sweep Geo off her feet. Geo is over the moon when older, handsome, and charming Calvin chooses her over Angela. Soon this close-knit group of friends has been fractured by this new romance as Geo has become all about Calvin and no longer has time for her other friends.
Suddenly Angela goes missing and the community is frantic to find her. Fourteen years later when her remains are found it comes out that she is a victim of serial killer Calvin James, Geo’s ex-boyfriend, and that Geo has been carrying a big secret all these years.
When similar murders begin again Geo cannot help to wonder if Calvin is back and if he is coming for her.
My thoughts:
Jar of Hearts is an intense, chilling, and very dark psychological thriller. The story was well paced that kept me wanting to come back to read more to find out what happened next. I really liked the used of the flashbacks as a way to slowly fill out the story and gradually big about the big reveal at the end. I have come to really enjoy this kind of dual time line kid of storytelling.
I found this to be very unique read enjoyable read with some great twists and turns along the way, though there were some places that I found difficult due to the graphic description of the violent crime.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press NetGalley for the copy of this book.

What an amazing book!! I was hooked from the very first page. This one had everything it needed to be the perfect book!

Sooo good! This is one intense page-turner! This has all the making of a great murder mystery - suspenseful, creepy, and addictive. Far exceed my expectations! A great read!

This was an extremely unputdownable (???) read. After just a few pages, I was in for the long haul and had to know exactly the truth behind what happened to Angela and what role Geo played in all of it. And by the time I made it to the end, I was a bit breathless. I sure didn't expect that ending, although once it started unfolding I wanted to thunk myself on the forehead and ask how I didn't even suspect that!!! The writing was great and the storyline engaging. A very enjoyable, suspenseful read!

This was a pretty good!! But very disturbing and dark.

Thanks to netgalley for providing me with this book.

Probably the best twisted suspense/ thriller of the year. I enjoyed a lot the writing style, the pace and the actual plot with beautiful twists. I somehow guessed part of the ending, but not the whole thing. Jennifer Hillier is quite the master of twisted plots it seems. Just wow. I cannot possibly be perfectly coherent at the moment, the book is too fresh in my mind still. While many times I was annoyed with Geo and her actions and lies, she is so complex that I realised it is ok to neither like nor not like her. Her character however is really well built throughout the book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this arc.

A Jar of Hearts kept me up late into the night, flipping pages until the end! A must read for psychological thriller fans!

Loved this read! This story kept me on the edge of my seat and I could not wait to finish to see what happens. I enjoyed the character Geo and following her story with conflicting feelings if she was a villain or victim. I would highly recommend this psychological thriller

The best way to describe Jar of Hearts is that it’s a cross between Orange is the New Black and Gone Girl.

Georgina Shaw (Geo to her friends) is a successful lawyer on the path to marry the partner’s son. But here she is, on the witness stand. She’s an eye witness to the murder and dismemberment of her best friend 14 years ago and Geo said nothing.

Her then boyfriend ends up becoming the Sweetbay Strangler. If Geo had only spoken up years ago, she could have saved the lives of many women.

Geo receives 5 years in prison. This sentence strips her of her fiance, career, income, and reputation. But she deserves the time she spent there. The first few days were horrendous, but with her business skills, she works with an inmate to gain protection and authority among the prisoners. Just one thing has here worried, Calvin James, the Sweetbay Strangler has escaped from prison.

When five years is up, Geo tries to get her life back together. Her detective best friend, who arrested her five years ago, is trying to protect her. Bodies have started to turn up. The Sweetbay Strangler is at it again, and Geo might be his next victim.

This book is definitely a thriller with a capital T. The action seems a little slow at first, especially with Geo’s time in prison. But once it picks up, it never stops. There’s many twist and turns that keep you reading and you never want to stop.

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier receives 5 stars.

Georgina Shaw has everything going for her in her life in Seattle. She's in a top position at work and she is engaged to one of the wealthiest men in the city. So why is she being arrested for the murder of her best friend, Angela Wong, 14 years earlier? Geo(as she likes to be called) didn't murder her friend, but she was there when it all happened and kept this secret for this long. There are so many secrets from that night, that need to come to the surface, but one Geo will keep hidden for as long as she can.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Geo is sentenced to 5 years in prison for her actions on the night her friend was killed. After she is released, more murders similar to what happened with her friend that night begin to happen. Geo's friend who was also friends with Angela, Kaiser Brody is now a police officer and is working on this case. But is it too much for him considering his feelings for Geo in the past. He believes, Calvin is responsible for these murders since he's escaped from prison, but there is something different about these that has everyone stumped.

I was on the edge of my seat while reading this book. It's impossible to read this story and not become fully engrossed. Geo is really the kind of girl that you would probably be friends with. She is pretty down to earth and knows how to get what she wants. My heart went out to her during the whole book, I wanted to jump in and try to save her. But the ending will have you thinking to yourself, "What the hell just happened?" I recommend this to anyone who likes a book that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

This book kept my interested 100%. Geo, Angela and Kai are best friends (2 girls 1 boy) and Kai has a major crush on Geo but the feelings aren't mutual. Geo starts spending time with an older man named Calvin and they all feel the strain. One night Angela goes missing and a few years later Angela is found dismembered. When Geo is let out of prison the murders start all over again. Who is causing this and what is going on. I loved this book.

Received this book as an ARC for my honest review.

When this book basically started with the murderer going to jail I was not so sure about where the rest of the book could possibly go.
Apparently by imagination has gone on holiday without me again.

Any-who

This book flip-flops between present day and the past slowly revealing little bites of important information that changes the reader's perspective. Good guy/Bad guy lines are blurred, which I love.

Sadly, I am also a sucker for the twisty twist and that is what I was so looking forward to in this one.
I had the 'twist' figured out before it ...twisted, that is always disappointing.

Hillier spins a good yarn though. I would be entirely interested in checking out another one of her works just to see if it scratches that itch a little better.

I received a copy of this via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Holy plot twist! An absolutely addictive read as you're uncovering the beginning to a story you think you know the end to. Jennifer Hillier is an author I will need to seek out more from. That being said, there is some fatphobia displayed that I'm unsure if was used in relation to the plot at the time.

This book kept me reading late into the night and was totally not what I was expecting when I started it! What a chilling thriller!

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review!*

I read this book very quickly. It is sure to rope in thriller readers who just want to know who is guilty of what. I found this story equally interesting and disturbing.

This author is very similar to Karin Slaughter. She has very developed characters, deep plot lines, very twisted turns to keep the reader guessing as to the outcome.

In every story, there’s a hero and villain. Sometimes one person can be both.

The last sentence of cup 21 and could have been the opening line of the book. So profound are these words.

This page turner of a story was was like taking a drive. Starting straight, having you think you can see the story laid out in front of you then coming up on breathtaking curves that leave you leaning to one side as they are so unexpected. At times moving so fast you feel like you are flying through trying to take it all in only to have your speed reduced to a crawl while you experience heartbreak alongside the character in a moment that feels like is frozen in time.

This is my first time reading this author. The way she unfolds her tale around you is a joy to behold. She is definitely on my reading list now!

This book blew me away! I am such a fan. The slow build up was fantastic. I was intrigued enough to devour this book in an evening. I can't wait to read more from the author. The end was very surprising and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I liked this one, although, wow, Geo is totally unlikable. Lots of good twists though, and an unexpected ending. Would definitely read more by this author.