Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

43 reviews

alindeman's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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

Wow this book. Brutal, heart wrenching. This content is pretty depressing. *incredible* writing and story telling. Moves so seamlessly between perspectives and time frames you don’t even realize it. Does a 5 year time skip which surprised me but worked well- again just such good writing. 

The book details Geo’s life after her trial, during, and after her prison sentence while simultaneously going into the past and slowly uncovering the story of Calvin James & what really happened the night Angela died. Once she finishes her prison sentence (after the 5 year time skip) you start learning through Kaiser’s perspective about

the murders currently occurring, where Calvin James is, and how he might be involved

. 

Geo’s story is honestly so fucking sad. Part of me was so incredibly angry, I just wanted to shake her and yell “just tell the fucking truth!!” But at the end of the day, she was a victim too, and you learn more about that throughout the whole book. 

Over all- excellent writing and a compelling mystery, & story about trauma 

CHECK TW!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Pregnancy, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Child death, Murder, Death of parent, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Cancer, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, and War

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

theliteraryhooker's review against another edition

dark 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

4.0

Wow, I don't know what I expected but this was DARK. The plot is incredibly compelling and this was a total pageturner, I had to keep reading to see what new facts would surface next! I did find Geo to be a tad naive and, frankly, dumb in the last 50 or so pages which was a bit frustrating given that it didn't feel like it fit with the rest of her character, so that dropped it down a star for me. Otherwise, a very engaging and well written thriller that's every bit as good as the hype around it. A rare feat!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Child death, Sexual assault, Confinement, Rape, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer and Vomit

Minor: Pregnancy, Stalking, and Gore

jolikestoread's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Child death and Physical abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Vomit, Fatphobia, Addiction, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Alcoholism

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

creepycrawlybookworm's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Rape, Pregnancy, Child death, Murder, Violence, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Grief, Infertility, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Cancer, and Death of parent

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and Homophobia

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

rhyanreads's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Overall I enjoyed reading this book, I felt like the middle was a little dry and repetitive it also had A LOT going on and could be a lot to follow. 

It's a very dark book with all dark things you can imagine. At times I felt like they were thrown in more for shock value than to go with the story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Chronic illness, Rape, Death, Sexual assault, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Vomit, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Cancer, Child death, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy

Minor: Abortion

nabaraditi's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

it has high school drama, boyfriend is shit, sexual assault, murder, unrequited love.
I mean it has it all and there's a good twist at the end that I didn't see coming.. 
4.5 stars? i think!! i'm not sure yet. its definitely 4 to 4.5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual assault, Infertility, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Pregnancy, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Car accident, and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent and Toxic friendship

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