I can't believe I didn't read this book AS SOON as it was made available to me by NetGalley! What an incredible read.

This is the story of the choices we make haunting us and others for the rest of our lives. There's not a single characteristic of Georgina that isn't dead-on in this book. As a young high schooler, with the head cheerleader for a best friend, Georgina makes the ill-advised mistake of falling in love with the wrong man, Calvin. He's older, he's edgy, and he's dangerous; but, because he's one of the only men to show HER the attention instead of her gorgeous best friend, Angela, she goes all in, even when red flags are waving right in her face. Her relationship is abusive, and then murderous. Not only is a friend murdered, but Georgina murders her own future when she covers up the crime and tries to move on with life as if it hadn't happened. And this is how life really is. Every decision you make has the ability to haunt you forever. Georgina hit the bad decision lottery!

The story alternates between Georgina as a high schooler, who ultimately commits a major crime with Calvin, and then as an adult paying for that sin. Her relationship with Calvin is described perfectly: obsession, jealousy, fighting, honeymoon periods, and anxiety. All of her victim traits are carried over into her later years, when she ultimately serves prison time for their actions. Georgina finds in prison a structure, a routine, and the comfort of good friends. On the outside, left with only her own dark thoughts, she feels "too free" and unsettled. There's a killer on the loose and she doesn't even care. She's a textbook abuse "survivor". Post-prison Georgina reunites with her old high school buddy, Kaiser, a boy who had an undying crush on her all those years ago, but who ultimately became a detective and arrested her thereafter. Because of a series of gruesome murders taking place in the area again, Kaiser is back in Georgina's life. It's a storyline that provides both Georgina and the reader something comfortable to hold onto amidst all the gory details.

The overall theme of "first love" is brilliantly written in this book. Not all "high school sweetheart" stories are true love stories, and Georgina's certainly isn't one. And for Kaiser, arresting the subject of his unrequited love certainly doesn't help his cause.

I loved this read. It wasn't much of a thriller, but more of a gruesome, psychological roller coaster.
There were some plot holes, some things not explained, and some points that seemed rushed (the ending), so I would give this 4 out of 5 stars.

First, do not start this novel late in the day. If you do, you'll pay the price the next day when you're asleep on your feet. "Jar of Hearts" is a tense psychological thriller that you keep you up late reading. If you do fall asleep, expect a restless night or nightmares. Hillier has crafted a story about three high school friends. One is dead, one is living a lie, and one is determined to learn the truth. Their story comes together 14 years after Angela's remains were discovered near Georgina's childhood home. Their friend Derek, once caught in the middle of their tight, often volatile friendship, is searching for the truth that shifted their world in a wrong direction. At the middle of it is Calvin, a suspected serial killer. He also was Georgina's first love in high school. What happened the night Angela died is a secret that no one is prepared to share - until more bodies are found. I don't want to give away the story, but trust me that this one is tensely twisted. It's as packed with suspense as the jar of candy hearts that once sat on Georgina's desk. A jar of hearts from a killer.

Georgina Shaw, Angela Wong and Kaiser Brody were best friends all through high school. Angela was the one that everyone looked up to and wanted to be her friend. Georgina was never envious of her friend’s needs. On the other hand, Angela could not stand it when Calvin James became very interested in Georgina. Georgina falls in love with Calvin. Then, one night after a party Angela goes missing. Georgina Knew what happened to Angela that night but did not tell anyone. Fourteen years later her remains are found in the woods behind Geogina’s House. Detective Kaiser Brody, former high school friend, arrested Georgina. She is sentenced for 5 years in exchange for her testimony and Calvin James is sentenced for life.
This book will keep you up past your bedtime! I would highly recommend this book to anyone that likes a little suspense!

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier is a thriller with twists and turns you don’t see coming until you look back and keep thinking about what went wrong. A story about first love, a best friend, abuse and perseverance... Hillier does not back down from all the gruesome truths of rape, murder and the secrets of one’s heart. I highly recommend this book. I received an ARC of this book, but all opinions are my own.

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.

Wow! What a chilling, dark, story from the talented Jennifer Hillier!
Geo, the main protagonist, is a woman for whom I wanted to have sympathy, but found it quite difficult. She, after all, went to prison for her role in the death of her best friend, Angela.

I truly enjoyed this one and was especially surprised at the twist near the very end. I will be looking for more books by Ms. Hillier. Highly recommended.

This book was a page turner right from the start. I had to finish it over two days flat. Kept me on the edge of my seat. A must read!

I'm really picky when it comes to this genre and tend to be very critical of it, but I enjoyed this book a lot. It was done really well.

Jennifer Hillier never disappoints & this one is delight; so engaging, pulled me right in, as all her books do. The characters had me pulled in from the het-go & I read it pretty fast. I look forward to the next one!

This is a super creepy book that I could not put down. I didn't know what was going to happen next and it had quite the surprise ending.

The actions of the characters in Jar of Hearts will thrill and horrify you, yet you will want to know more. I read this book that I couldn’t put down in less than a day. Someone would have had to rip my Kindle out of my hands to get it away from me. It’s a good thing no one attempted to do that.

Geo hooks up with the wrong kind of guy, the kind who controls you and takes over your entire life. Turns out he’s a serial killer, but he is usually so tender with Geo. Of course, he does hit her once in a while. And he does end up killing her best friend. For some reason, she doesn’t turn him in. Instead, she covers up for him. What happened? Did Geo have something to do with her murder?

Whether she was involved or not, guilt follows her everywhere she goes. When she is sent to prison for the cover-up and murder of her former best friend, relief washes over her. It is finally over. But is it? Life in prison is not a piece of cake and Geo has so much to learn in order to survive there. But nothing prepares her for what will happen once she gets out.

This book is full of suspense that won’t stop or even take a break. Almost on every page, some dark and horrible secret comes to life. Some of them you might have expected; most of them you won’t have had a clue were coming.

Despite the chilling suspense, many issues are covered throughout the course of this story: abuse, unplanned pregnancy, abortion, adoption, friendship. This riveting story will show you that your actions don’t always have the outcome you want them to.

5 stars! I couldn’t put this book down, it was so good! Hillier did an amazing job weaving the story together, creating flawed yet likeable characters, and keeping the reader guessing till the end.

Geo’s best friend Angela disappeared when they were sixteen without a trace. Fast forward 14 years –Angela’s remains are found in the woods behind Geo’s childhood home. Kaiser, a former childhood friend of Angela and Geo’s, is now a police officer who is in charge of handling the case. Everyone knows that Calvin James, Geo’s first love from high school and known serial killer committed the crime but Kaiser knows that Geo is hiding something, but what is it?

I received an advanced copy from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review.

A real page turner! I love psychological thrillers and Hiller does not disappoint. This is a book that I could not put down. A real twist of a plot which discusses whether or not one thing we do defines us. Highly recommended.

Many thanks go to Jennifer Hillier, Minotaur, and Netgalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review. Geo and Angela were best friends growing up. Angela was murdered by the Sweetbay Strangler. Geo watched. She knew and didn't tell. So now she's going to be punished. She loses her rich fiancé; she loses her job. Her other friend, Kaiser, is the police officer in charge of the case. When she's let of jail and moves back home, Kaiser stays in touch. He has to as Geo is being terrorized by the community. And her memories. And that's when the story gets juicy! I loved the dynamics of this story! It was creepy and heartless and morbid, but still so good. I wanted to hate it on principle, but nope nothing doing! So many plot twists, some that could be seen coming, but it didn't matter. It was still an excellent plot. Great job Hillier!

I had high hopes for this book but felt it very difficult to feel any sympathy for Geo. She brought all of her issues on herself and was a willing participant (mostly) to the crimes committed. I wish they had told some of the viewpoint from Calvin which might have added to the book.

Jar of Hearts was a wonderful suspense thriller that I did not want to put down. It held my interest all the way through with so many twists and turns. The climactic moment was predictable, but there was even a twist after that, so I was not disappointed. I immediately searched for the author online, hoping this wasn't her debut novel, because I wanted to read more from her! I was so happy to find she has several other books already, one of which I am now reading.

This was an intense rollercoaster of a read. The subject matter was very dark, but the author handled it well. The characters were well-developed and the story was intriguing. I enjoyed it.

This book truly held on to me until the end. It was twisty enough that I was mostly surprised. There was one twist that I saw coming, but the way it was done kept me reading. I will read other books by this novelist!

I’ll admit that I had a bit of trouble getting in to this one at the beginning (although, to be fair, that could have been a “me” problem), but once it got going I didn’t want to put it down! This was an awesome thriller, that included some interesting twists that actually surprised me in a place or two! I definitely recommend this for you thriller fans!

What a book! Full of twists and turns kept me in suspense, wanting to know more. Quite a chilling storyline and something you hope to never encounter. However, was justice really served by all? I recommend this book!

Not your typical thriller that kept you engaged through out the entire book. I loved it from beginning to end and highly recommend it to other readers.