Book Review-Still Beating by Jennifer Hartmann

About The Book

WARNING: This is a dark romance. This book contains subject matter that may be sensitive for some readers, including rape, as well as strong language and explicit sex. 18+ only. Please read responsibly.

When Cora attends her sister’s birthday party, she expects at most a hangover or a walk of shame. She doesn’t anticipate a stolen wallet, leaving her stranded and dependent on Dean—her arch nemesis and ultimate thorn in her side.

And she really doesn’t anticipate waking up in shackles in a madman’s basement.

To make matters worse, Dean shares the space in his own set of chains.

After fifteen years of teasing, insults, and practical jokes, the ultimate joke seems to be on them. The two people who always thought they’d end up killing each other must now work together if they want to survive.

But Cora and Dean have no idea their abductor has a plan for them. A plan that will alter the course of their relationship, blur the line between hate and love, and shackle them together with far more than just chains.

We are bound, chained, tied…to our trauma and to each other…

My Review

First Impressions

Still Beating is a book that has been on my watchlist for quite some time now. I have seen this book just become so popular all over the community and when this book became a group read for a dark romance book club I am a part of, I knew it was the kick that I needed to read this one here. I absolutely loved this one. It tore my heart to shreds and was so deeply riveting. This is a DARK romance, so please check all the trigger warnings, which I have below for you. I was so captivated by this story because it was so different than even I expected. I knew that this would be a dark romance. But we get so much more than the hero and heroine being kidnapped together, we see dealing with the recovery and healing moments and how difficult of a road that can be and what it can lead to.

She doesn’t need to pretend with me, though. She doesn’t need to hide. I’m here, and I see her—every scar, every flaw, every broken, hollow piece. And I understand.

Summary

When Cora is at a party and needs a ride home, she calls her future brother in law and her nemesis, Dean to come pick her up. Neither of them expecting to be pulled over by a cop, and then kidnapped and chained to the basement. Where both are forced to do unspeakable things and forced through a sexual assault, and they form a bond of connection over the weeks that they have been kidnapped and abused. Cora and Dean in the aftermath have to learn how to live life again and how challenging that can be. But if they embrace the bond that was formed, what will be the consequences of fighting for their love?

Dean is like the ocean. Compelling, calling to me, within reach… So much magic. So much beauty. Something I want with every aching layer of my soul.

What I Loved

This story just had my heart all over the place! I absolutely adored this one here, and it’s definitely worth ALL the hype and I just couldn’t get enough of this one here and seeing how much this couples goes through to reach their HEA and YES they definitely have a HEA and the epilogue was perfection and worth seeing all the struggle that they have to face. I absolutely adored these two together. It starts out with them being very antagonistic together. They tend to pull pranks on each other and have a angst filled relationship. But I absolutely adored these two together and the connection that they form together. Because in the darkest of moments, the way that they pull each other out of it was so heartbreaking at times but just keeps the reader in the moment of it. But what is even more hard to witness for the story is the aftermath of healing and what trauma can do to a person like this. I really loved the way that they just “understand” each other and the way that this author wrote this one was just brilliant. I adored every single moment here. It was so endearing seeing this couple really learn how to heal on their own and together in their own unique way. It was a struggle to see them journey towards it but oh was it so satisfying. These two will always have my heart!!

We can’t give our heart to another without loving our own first. And that’s exactly what I plan to do.

Overall View

I found Still Beating to be an endearing, heart wrenching romance that delivered all the way! Its a story of trauma, of healing, and of love getting you through it all!

“Are you still mine?” Cora doesn’t hesitate. She reaches for my hand, placing it above her heart. “It’s still beating,” she says. Her face lights up with a radiant smile that looks exactly like how her heartbeat feels. “As long as it’s beating, I’m yours.”

*Artwork originally found through Author’s social media. Isn’t it gorgeous??? *

Title: Still Beating

Author: Jennifer Hartmann

Genre: Dark Romance

Format: eBook

Source: Kindle Unlimited

Length: 314 Pages

Book Links

Amazon| Goodreads| LibraryThing| StoryGraph| Literal Club

Trigger Warning

Sexual Assault, Abuse, Kidnapping, Self Harm (suicide)

About The Author

Jennifer Hartmann resides in northern Illinois with her own personal romance hero and three children. When she is not writing angsty love stories, she is likely pondering all the ways she can break your heart and piece it back together again. She enjoys sunsets (because mornings are hard), bike riding, traveling, bingeing Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns, and that time of day when coffee gets replaced by wine. She loves tacos. She also really, really wants to pet your dog.