Greetings! There are some delightful new books coming out on July 31. They include Paradox by Catherine Coulter, Purrder She Wrote by Cate Conte, Death Over Easy by Maddie Day, A Love for Leah by Amy Lillard and Poppy Harmon Investigates by Lee Hollis. Two of my favorites out of the new releases are Murder, She Reported by Peg Cochran and Forests, Fishing and Forgery by Tonya Kappes.
Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier
is set in Seattle, Washington. Fourteen
years ago, Angela Wong disappeared without a trace and now her dismembered body
has been found in the woods near Georgina “Geo” Shaw’s home. Detective Kaiser Brody, Geo’s best friend in
high school, never suspected Geo was involved in such a heinous crime. They learn that Calvin James, Geo’s high
school boyfriend, killed Angela and has since murdered three more women. Geo has kept the events of the night Angela
was killed a secret, but, after reaching a plea deal, she testifies against
Calvin at his trial. Geo is sentenced to
five years at Hazelwood Correctional Institute.
Towards the end of her stay she is visited by Kaiser and told that
Calvin has escaped. Then new bodies
start turning up in the woods killed in the exact manner at Angela. Geo is released, and she returns to her
childhood home much to the neighbors’ dismay.
As the body count rises, Geo recalls the events that led up to that
fateful night. What really happened the night Angela died?
Jar of Hearts had a good
beginning that drew me in (the first third).
After a while, though, the story took a downhill turn. The pace became slow and the story felt flat. I thought the story lacked depth and I found it
to be predictable (reminded me of many other books that I have read). I wanted
twists and turns that would surprise me and give me an OMG moment. The back and forth from the present to the
past did not help. The characters lacked development and were one dimensional. I never felt the characters emotions (there
should be hatred, anger, love, joy). I
also wanted to know why Geo did the things she did. Geo is an unlikeable and unsympathetic
character as were most of the individuals in the Jar of Hearts. I wanted to know why Geo was obsessed with
Calvin (just one of my questions).
Teenage naivete is an excuse that will only take a person so far. If a four-year-old knows the difference
between right and wrong so should a teenager.
I also felt Geo should have grown more as a person. One would hope that she would learn from her
bad decisions and time in prison. The
romance was unnecessary and did not add to the story. The ending was incomplete and anticlimactic. We are not given satisfactory answers that
would wrap up the book and epilogue was unbelievable. I want
to warn readers that the Jar of Hearts is a graphic story that contains extreme
violence, crude comments, rape and foul language. Jar of Hearts was not the right book for me (I
am in the minority on my opinion). Obtain
a sample of the Jar of Hearts to see if it is it appeals to you. The cover for Jar of Hearts is beautiful and
it is what drew me to the book. My rating for Jar of Hearts is 2 out of 5 stars.
Thank you for taking the time to read my review. If you find my reviews helpful, please consider following my blog (upper right--by email or Google). Tomorrow I will be sharing my thoughts on Forests, Fishing and Forgery by Tonya Kappes. It is the third installment in A Camper & Criminals Cozy Mystery series. I hope that you have a pleasing day. Take care, stay cool and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
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