Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

25 reviews

aimesericks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This was way more dark than I’d anticipated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Rape, Sexual violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Blood and Gun violence

Minor: Pedophilia

ohkaereads's review against another edition

dark reflective sad fast-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

2.5

While this book has a plot, it does nothing but give the book a point. A point where to begin and a point where to end. A reason for the reader to keep reading. That's its whole purpose, right? Well, I say that because it would be wrong to say the book is a balanced mixture of both character and plot. If not for the gore, this novel could very well be classified as literary fiction or even, romance. The book is told in 3rd person by two people: Kaiser Brody, the cop who arrested Geo, and Georgina Shaw, the arrested. The two used to be best friends in a trio, their third, Angela, was killed in their teen years. Georgina knew who did it, but Kaiser didn't. Kaiser was in love with Georgina, and Georgina was in love with her murderous abusive grooming rapist boyfriend aka Angela's killer. These characters carry the book. If you don't like them, you won't like the book. I didn't like them, care for them or think much of them in all honesty. They were self-aware but stagnant. Georgina's chapters are riddled with “Angela's dead. I'm not. So this is why I deserve to live my life and be left alone.” monologues. Kaiser's chapters are filled with him being unprofessional, Georgina this & that, and the hint of ick where nerds grow up and suddenly feel tall and deserving of this & that. These two were just stuck with each other. Not even a proper conversation about their friend or past. The investigation stalled in the book's middle just so I had to suffer reading about them longing for each other and having sex (and in between two rape scenes, might I add, which is honestly the most jarring thing ever).
 
Albeit, the book had its moments. The past and present were woven well into the novel. The chapters and parts were organized rightfully. I also liked the small integration of music into the story, the lyrics toned well to the narrative beats. The story was immersive with the cinematic qualities of a lifetime movie. The exploration of an abusive relationship was decent. The “villain monologue” at the end was one of my most liked (up until the “shift/turning point”).

But I wasn't thrilled, I was disgusted. I finished the book because it was easier than not finishing it. The romance was ick, the characters were ick and the ending was ick. There were also instances of narrative fatphobia (fatness almost always linked to disgust or disliked characters) and the discussion/mentions of race left a bad taste in my mouth. ”But the woman standing in front of him is black, her skin the color of coffee with a few drops of cream,” is used as a description. I'm a black woman and that was a personal no for me. The story felt riddled with things like internalized misogyny because, for some reason, we are trying to justify why Geo deserved this and Angela deserved that and trauma porn. While it isn't exploitative, why is the reader subjected to three on-page rape scenes? Why is it one thing after another happening to Geo? And this also brings me back to the plot. It's a thriller. You would think the plot is the biggest part but that would mean the prison sequences were pointless. I get the characters needing to be humanized and solid but in hindsight, it was excessive. In the end, the book felt like a fluke. A plot so predictable it was annoying and this is coming from someone who likes linear stories (and spoilers and seeing right through stories — give me a plot, 50 or 60% in I know how it ends, how the puzzle fits). The story was not predictable in a fun way but rather in an I-can't-wait-to-be-finished-with-this-mess way. A book that might as well have been a novella. The story was a good in-between to kick me out of a slump but extremely disturbing. I spent most of the novel horrified but bemused. The novel had a tacky quality that caused me to inappropriately laugh at times.  There were quite a few grammar errors as well but I wasn't too distracted by them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Cursing, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Vomit

Minor: Alcoholism, Car accident, Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Pedophilia, and Gun violence

The book has three on-page rape scenes (chapters 4, 22 & 24) and an on-page attempted rape (forcible incest, chapter 32 and 33). Forced institutionalization refers to the fmc's time in jail; there is no admittance to any facility based on psychiatry in the novel. Injury/injury detail refers to aspects of the murders (not considered torture since they are not prolonged) and a victim's loved one's anxious and intense fingernail biting. There is only one instance of gun usage, at the book's end, but there are a few mentions of the weapon weaved throughout the book.

hollaylonn's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Child death, Death, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Rape, and Murder

katybugggg's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Pregnancy, Violence, Vomit, Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Bullying, Body horror, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Gaslighting, Blood, Body shaming, Murder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Addiction, Car accident, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Abandonment

bek_p87's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

3.75

This thriller had me gripped from the first page. Even though I guessed one of the twists, I was still taken by surprise (and horror) by the other. The ending was fitting. 1.25 stars lost for horrid fatphobia in the early part of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Fatphobia

daniellenelson's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Child death, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual assault, Vomit, Abandonment, Blood, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, Rape, and Sexual violence

allisonh59's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Cancer, Sexual assault, Child death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Rape, Gun violence, and Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Child abuse

kaelizaco's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Rape, Child death, Alcohol, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Death, Death of parent, and Drug use

blackcats_and_coffeecups's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death, Murder, Sexual assault, Child death, and Rape

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Child abuse

Minor: Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Bullying, Gun violence, Car accident, Infidelity, Incest, Pedophilia, and Cancer

neverlandpages4's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.0

You know you’ve read a good book when it makes you immediately look for more books by the same author and has you contemplating on breaking your book buying ban. It’s been a while since I’ve read a good thriller, and I absolutely loved this. 

I’ve been seeing this all over bookstagram & booktube and every single review of it had either been 4 or 5 stars, so naturally, I had high hopes and I was not let down!! 

I read this when I was in a really bad slump and it got me out of it instantly. It’s gripping from the first few pages alone, and the suspense only escalates as you go on.

I absolutely loved the writing and it’s made me want to read this author’s entire backlist. There’s just something so easy and relatable about it. And despite it being told in third person, I still felt like I was a part of the story and I loved the narration. We mostly follow Geo, save for a few chapters following Kaiser which added more to the story. 

I also loved how balanced the past and present POVs were. It wasn’t repetitive and it didn’t drag on just for the sake of building suspense, both present and past chapters were really intriguing. 

This had everything I love in a thriller; good writing, suspense, lots of mystery, shocking and unexpected twists and turns, and unpredictable outcomes.

It was also a lot more graphic than I expected. I kind of put the book down for a while when I first started it because it made me really uncomfortable. So definitely check trigger warnings if you’re reading it. 

I rated it a 4 even though I absolutely loved this book because of last 100 pages. After the big reveal, it wasn’t as action-packed and thrilling as the rest of the book. Some things also seemed a bit ridiculous. Some of the smaller twists were easy to guess because they were foreshadowed. I had higher hopes for the ending but this was still one of the best thrillers I’ve ever read and I highly recommend it!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, Abandonment, Abortion, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Gore, Murder, and Blood

Minor: Homophobia and Alcoholism