I did not think I would enjoy this as I am not a marvel fan, but it was an enjoyable read! It was written for all audiences to enjoy. It starts really picking up about halfway through. I wanted to know what was going to happen next! Thank you for the opportunity to read this book!

This is for all the Marvel Superheroes fans out there. I’m not really sure why this is touted as one to be released on 3/25/25. It is the first in a series to be written by several authors, as book two is to be released at the end of July of 2025. Perhaps it was sent as an ARC to me by the publisher to increase readership, thus the purchase of book 2?

Let me start my review by my accolades: thank you to author Lisa Jewell, publisher Hyperion Avenue (a division of Disney Publishing Group), and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are wholly my own.

This novel lacks much in a storyline. It does its best to keep the reader engaged, but fails on many points. A retired superhero, now private investigator, creepy children seeking perfection, and an evil antagonist that takes more than half the book to truly reveal the plot of the book. Perhaps this should be marketed to the You g Adult audience. Definitely not a fan!

I am a huge Lisa Jewell fan and I can’t wait to read her upcoming thriller, but this one felt a bit too different for me. While the premise was interesting, I didn’t really have a connection to Jessica, know the backstory of her personal challenges, and the plot kind of dragged for me. I just wasn’t interested enough in any of the characters or what happened to them. I think it’s really cool that she explored a a new genre with some supernatural elements but it just wasn’t for me unfortunately :(

Thank you Net Galley for the arc!

Thank you to Netgalley and Hyperion Avenue for providing me with an ARC!

As a huge comic fan, I was really excited to dive into Breaking the Dark, even though I’ll admit I’m fairly under-read when it comes to Jessica Jones. Sure, I've seen Krysten Ritter in the TV series, but besides that, I don't know much about her story lines. That said, I really appreciate what this novel was trying to do—blending gritty crime noir with all the fun of a comic book. The mystery kept me engaged, especially for a character I knew next to nothing about! And the writing captured that classic hardboiled detective feel while still staying true to the Marvel world.

I'm exciting for all this thriller novel/marvel stories, and I’m absolutely on board for future releases!

Coming from a reader that is not into Marvel at all, this was a good read. I enjoyed reading it but I felt like it was the normal Lisa Jewell book like I've read before. That's fine because each author has their different types of audiences. I truly read this because of the title and author, who does love Lisa Jewell. But if you don't like Marvel or you don't think you can get into Marvel, this wouldn't be your book.

I will read anything and everything Lisa Jewell writes. The way she draws me in is incredible.

I was unsure due to the Marvel aspect, but the further I read the better it got. I am already looking forward to the next one.

Thank you Hyperion Avenue and Netgalley for this ARC! Being a huge Lisa Jewel fan but not a Superhero genre fan, I was a little hesitant on this book but boy I never should have been! Great book. The super hero is more of a back story and not the main theme thru the book! When Jessica Jones is at a real low point in her life; she gets hired by Amber to investigate why her teenager twin children back from the summer with their father in the UK “perfect”. Their skin is clear, they’re great students now, not really interested in their phone. What exactly happened during the summer and who is this Belle they met there? Great story line with very interesting plot! 4.5⭐️’s

I was excited to read this book because I really like Lisa Jewell, but it was really hard for me to get into this book. Admittedly, I do not know a lot about the Jessica Jones backstory. It took a long time for the story to pick up. Once it did,I found myself interested enough in the story to finish the book.

Thank you @hyperionavebooks and @netgalley for my #gifted copy of this book!

I had no idea what to expect from this book, but I love Lisa Jewell and I love the Marvel universe, so I definitely wanted to give it a try! Even watching most of the Marvel movies and shows, I never watched Jessica Jones and knew absolutely nothing going in about her or her backstory.

That said, you don’t need to be a Marvel fan or have any prior knowledge about this world to enjoy this book. I will say that it leans more heavily into sci-fi and mystery than a true thriller, so while the writing was very much Lisa Jewell’s style (and fabulous), it was definitely a departure from her usual stories.

However, I liked this one! I was intrigued by the plot right away and found Jessica to be a very relatable and refreshing FMC. She is going through a LOT in this book, and her background story is easily woven throughout.

The plot itself is a wild ride 😂 Truly by the end, I still feel like not everything was explained? but it mostly made sense. It was unique and—honestly—weird, but if you suspend belief and don’t question it too much, it’s a fun storyline and one you won’t see coming from the beginning.

Overall, I really enjoyed this! Definitely worth a read and I wouldn’t let the Marvel association scare you away. I’m excited for the Luke Cage and Daredevil books coming out, too. 😍

I’m not really familiar with Marvel, but still really enjoyed this book! There’s enough character building in the book to get a grasp of who Jessica Jones is, even if you don’t know all the details of her past. I enjoyed following the dual timelines, and the overall premise of the book; social media and the drive to be as perfect as possible. I also liked that the chapters were on the shorter side-it was easy to pick it up when I had a few spare minutes to read. I’m also looking forward to reading the upcoming Marvel
books that were teased at the end of the book. Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hyperion for the free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

jessica jones, a retired superhero and now a PI, takes on an unusual case aabout twin sixteen year olds who are acting differently after returning from a stay with their father in the UK. Jessica travels to London to find out more and discovers a greater evil at play.

i'm not a fan of Marvel, so i had no clue about who Jessica Jones is. I guess I did not realize that this was not a traditional Lisa Jewell novel. If you go into this as a Marvel fan who is not expecting a traditional, killer, Lisa Jewell book, then you will probably enjoy this more than I did. Rounded to 4 as I think my issues with the book are more mine than the novel's.

I was really excited when I saw that NetGalley approved my request to read this book by Lisa Jewell. I was surprised that she took on Marvel's Jessica Jones, when Jewell's go-to genre is thriller. Knowing that I really enjoyed the TV show, I thought I'd like this book - and I did. However, I did struggle a bit with Jessica's character because I had already formed an opinion of her based on the show. By about halfway through the book I shed the opinions I'd already formed and let myself just enjoy this somewhat different take on the character. I also found that about halfway through the story picked up its pace. I really liked the multiple timelines and POVs. With the timeline getting closer and closer to the present, the suspense picked up as well.

I thought this was a great blend of Jewell's typical style, Marvel super hero action, and what lengths some people will go to when chasing their own idea of "perfect."

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this copy!

One of my favourite all time authors Lisa Jewell, has taken a turn with her books and has entered the Marvel Multiverse with her new release.

In Breaking the Dark, we are following Jessica Jones who is a retired superhero now Private Investigator. One morning she gets a knock on her door from distraught mother Amber who is concerned about her twin teenage kids who came back home from the summer at their fathers in the UK and are now acting very weird. She doesn’t think its normal teenage behaviour and believes something sinister has happened to them. She begs for Jessica to investigate and get to the bottom of the mystery.

JESSICA JONES TO THE RESCUE!

Ok so I am not really a Marvel fan to be honest, so I wasn’t sure what to expect with this story. But Lisa reminded me why I am such a massive fan of her work because her writing is captivating. Lisa knows how to write characters and most importantly writes them so well that you genuinely care about what they are doing and stay rooting for them. Her characters are not perfect, they all have their flaws, strengths and weaknesses and its easy to relate to them.

Lisa created great intrigue and suspense with this book, and I was eager to go along the ride with Jessica to find out what was happening with the kids. It didn’t feel gimmicky and comical (ironic I know) and it was so easy to picture the scenes and atmosphere in my head.

This was more than a book of superheroes flying around everywhere and trying to catch the big bad villain. I read about loneliness, insecurities, greed and people striving for ‘perfection’.


⋆｡°✩WHAT I LIKED⋆｡°✩
➽ Good pacing
➽ Short chapters
➽ Interesting characters
➽ Dual time frame

The pacing was good and kept my attention. Overall, I really enjoyed it and wouldn’t be opposed to watching the tv adaptation.

Don’t be perfect… Be REAL
Perfection isn’t a goal, it’s a scam

This author is new to me, but I will be keeping an eye out for anything else they publish. I loved the story and the characters. The pacing of the story was great and the characters were relatable.

This is a very different book from what I usually read. Not my favourite but I was kept wondering what would happen next. I have read other books by this author and loved them. Overall this book was entertaining and the writing style was very good. Don’t expect this novel to be a standard Lisa Jewel story.

The story focuses on a superhero, Jessica Jones who is now a Private Investigator. A dark mystery, full of action fills the pages of this book. It deals with issues of family trust and betrayal, and the pressure to belong is great.

Anyone who is a Marvel fan would really enjoy this book. Thank you NetGalley and Hyperion Avenue for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Let me begin with I am a Lisa Jewell fan, however, I don’t know much about Marvel (I had to ask my husband for some background).
I struggled with the beginning of this, since I had no background of the characters. Eventually, I was able to get into it and I enjoyed it, once I understood who was who and their superpowers and all the Marvel stuff!
Jessica Jones is a retired superhero who now works as a private investigator. Her life is in shambles, but is hired by the very wealthy Amber, who is concerned about her twin teenagers. Her kids spent the summer with their Dad in England, and she feels since they returned they aren’t themselves. She believes something happened to them when they were away.
Jessica and her team investigate in New York, as well as in England to uncover what has happened.
Once it’s all done, did I really need to know the Marvel Universe to enjoy this? I think the reader needs to know a little, but I was able to enjoy and understand this first installment in Jewell’s new series.
Will I read the next one? I probably will!
Thank you to NetGalley and Hyperion for this eARC. This review is my own.

3.5/5 and while I overall enjoyed it I do have to rate it below a 4 because I think you literally have to be a marvel fan to enjoy this.

It took a bit to get interesting but honestly the last 40% was FASCINATING. I do think the last bit was a little unnecessary and essentially a summary of the entire book but that’s okay. I had a good time reading this and will likely read the rest of the series!

Also to be fair I think this was a tall task for the author to write a thriller about Jessica Jones, of all people, and I appreciate the work that was done to make Jessica seem more human and I liked all the nods to other marvel characters.

Some other quick thoughts - I thought the modernization of the thriller was interesting but also very unique so that was cool. And I did find the flashbacks to be interesting. Malcolm was a fantastic character and I loved his dynamic with Jessica - I honestly would have loved more of that. I do think Jessica’s relationship with Amber was weird, it felt more like friends than professional.

This was an entertaining book and I appreciated the jump by Lisa Jewell into a new genre. I liked the exploration of the Marvel Universe via novel instead of only via movie. Jessica Jones was a complicated but lovable character. The story was a little bit TOO bizarre for me, but the writing was good!

If you are looking for your standard Lisa Jewell thriller, then this book is not it. But Breaking the Dark is an amazing change of pace for Jewell and boy did she deliver.

I’m not a fan of the Marvel Universe but I loved this book. Go into it with an open mind, and you’ll love it.

I didn't know what to expect going into this book, but I actually thought it was good. I did think the ending felt a little rushed. It just seemed to come to an end before I knew it. I liked Jessica Jones and I liked how she cleaned herself up throughout the book. I will probably read the sequel, but we shall see. Overall, I liked this Lisa Jewell book and would recommend it to fans of her genre. I'm interested in reading the sequel to see how the story continues.