This wasn’t as dark as I was expecting. It has dark situations and a dark concept, but nothing was dark about the romance between Dean and Cora. This one could be triggering for some readers, given the circumstances, so check triggers. It felt very similar to Jennifer Hartmann’s other book, “Lotus”. There were even some references to those characters a couple of times. It’s always fun when authors reference characters from their other literature.

Something that did set me aback was that Dean was Cora’s soon-to-be brother-in-law. It was bordering the cheating territory, which is the worst trope in the history of tropes. He flat out lied to his fiancé that he just “fell out of love with her” and it had nothing to do with his captivity with her sister. This rubbed me wrong. He could have been honest. He was very much in love with Mandy or he wouldn’t have been faithful to her for FIFTEEN YEARS. Why lie? And he justified falling in love with Cora because he liked her first? Um no.

However, given their circumstances (and looking past his lies to make Mandy feel better) I did enjoy the story. I wasn’t bored out of my mind. I was invested in the story to see its progress, I never wanted to put it down, but I can’t say I didn’t roll my eyes several times. The characters were a bit insufferable but I was invested in the journey.

This is probably the first book where I didn’t care for the characters, didn’t care for some major events in the story, but still enjoyed the main plot of the book. Is it bad to say I wish they were held captive longer? I wish that “dark” part of the book lasted a bit longer. I wanted to be afraid for them. I wanted them to capture my heart. I feel like I would have enjoyed the characters a bit more if I really felt their pain more.

Nevertheless, I would recommend this one, despite the flaws I’ve found with it.

This I definitely picked out because of booktok, and I can see why people enjoy it! I loved the spice throughout the book and the characters!! I fell in love.

This book was a wild ride... I will now be reading everything that this author writes. It was such a journey and it has changed me as a person.

I honestly didn't know what to expect going into this book besides it being really popular on bookstagram. I do enjoy a good dark romance with enemies-to-lovers and this one was no different. I felt all the emotions. I will definitely be reading other books by this author.

Thank you netgalley and source books for an arc.

Seeing Cora and Dean go through what they did.. not for the faint of heart. The way it brought them together and the story of the way they healed.. beautiful.

The growth these characters had from being enemies and literally hating each other to counting on each other to their HEA was everything.

"It was only three weeks, but it’s burned into every cell, every vein, every tainted pocket of my soul.
Forever.
And so is she."

This is a hard book review to write. I’m still processing everything, and there are no words to describe how I felt while reading this book.

I went in blind with Still Beating, only knowing that it was a dark romance.

Cora and Dean are kidnapped and forced to go through the unimaginable to survive.

Their story made a real mess of me and takes you on a hell of a ride. I felt sick to my stomach reading about what Cora and Dean were forced to endure and could feel every emotion they felt.

I did have to put the book down at times as it is dark, and it contains some very triggering heavy situations that were hard to read.

But through the tragedy, there was so much beauty and healing.

Cora and Dean's story is so hauntingly, heartbreakingly, beautiful, and will always stay with me.

Thank you so much to Jennifer Hartmann, Bloom Books, and NetGalley for this ARC 💙

⚠️ * Please check the trigger warnings before reading! * ⚠️

Absolutely loved this title! Heartbreaking, heart wrenching and yet we still get a HEA. Soo good and excited to read more from this author.

"It's still beating" "As long as it's beating, you're okay."

There are not enough stars for this book. I devoured this book. I read this book in 3 sittings, but I could have read it in one. Before I proceed, I have to say this is a dark romance. There's nothing light and fluffy about this book. It deals with some very hard to read moments and some very traumatic experiences. So if you're someone easily triggered, please read the warnings. And if not, I say go into this book blind.

If you're a fan of thrillers and romance, this book will have you in a chokehold. It's definitely a romance, but not in your typical sense. It's messy and complicated and traumatic. But there's much growth and strength that comes out of the wreckage.

Cora and Dean went through something unimaginable. The worst days of their lives. Something that bonded them forever. But they're not the same people as they were before. Watching their journey after was a lot. So much happens, there is so much that needs healing, there is pain and forgiveness, there is confusion and hurt, but there is love and beauty, and it's remarkable.

Still Beating will be a book that stays with me forever. It's unlike anything I've ever read. The writing is phenomenal. It will remain one of my favorite books. A beautiful, tragic, love story.

I kept seeing this all over social media and I don't know why I waited so long!

It was captivating and raw that I couldn't put it down. Everything they went through just hit you right in the feels. Both MC's were amazingly written but Dean, yeah I'll wait until someone can top him.. I don't think that would ever be possible. This book is riveting and a must add to the reading list!

This book will put you thru it. Please be prepared to have your heart ripped out and put back together. This couple endures so much that hea seems impossible. Jennifer makes it worth it.

I started to read this book a couple of months ago, and then I had to put it down. I picked it back up a couple of days ago and blew through the rest of the book.

The first thing I will say is to check your trigger warnings, this one deals with LOTS of very difficult topics and this book will not be for everyone.

I have very mixed feelings about this book, I thought it was a compelling story and once I got into it, I devoured it. I can't imagine the difficulty these two characters went through while in captivity. I know it would bond you to someone if you had to endure all that they went through. I thought the way the coped with being kidnapped together was believable and I think the emotions they had to endure when they were free were also believable. I felt the pain that Cora felt and the confusion she felt over he feelings for Dean, I can't say I would've handled the situation any better. I think the flashbacks to the entirety of their relationship was helpful to understand their relationship post kidnapping. It was obvious from the beginning of the book that Dean had feelings for Cora and had them for a very long time, he even said he saw Cora first and was immediately attracted to her.

One of the problems I had was the relationship with Dean and Cora's sister. He was with Cora's sister for 15 years, he was engaged to her, he was supposed to marry her in a few weeks when they were kidnapped. I just had a problem, knowing that he had feelings for Cora and the fact that he was just still with her sister when he obviously was attracted to her sister. 15 years is a very long time and I just really had a hard time reconciling that part of the story. I understand trauma bonding is a thing, but these two obviously had feelings before they were kidnapped together.

Another aspect I wish was explored more in this story was some sort of therapy. Both of these characters went through a lot and needed to process everything that happened when they were kidnapped and after, trying to reenter the world. But there was very little mention of therapy. I would've liked some more information about the healing journey these character went on, especially Cora. She seemed to be having the worst of it when they escaped.

Overall, I did think enjoy it, but these problems kept this from rating it higher. I would be interested in reading more from this author.

First 30% was hard to get through. But what a story. The trauma that they both went through and survived. In the end, I loved this book

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and author for the copy of this eARC for my honest review. All ratings and any reviews are opinions of my own.

“He’s the only calm to my madness, the only light to my dark, the only sweet to my bitter remains.”

I have to preface this by saying I don’t think the writing is worthy of 4 stars (and when I first started the book I was looking at peoples 3/4 star reviews and judging them heavilyyyy but my mind has been changed).

I was instantly hooked by this book because of the premise and I applied for an arc last year and have only just got around to reading it now…whoops (thank you netgalley).

As I started all I could think was this book had such a wattpad feel with “oh popular bully guy” and a “smart stubborn bookish girl”. (Sidenote: I did feel immediately uncomfortable by Cora calling Dean attractive so much because like chemistry aside that’s your sisters fiancé love). And this didn’t set me up for much hope. Alongside this I also have criticisms over the whole actual kidnapping scene because hello logistics..??( I have to admit I thought there was a second kidnapper). And also the pacing was a bit all over the place and In my personal opinion I think the book needed to start in a different place or their time in captivity needed to be longer.

Hartman writes incredible romance and the way she has you stressing over all the conflicting feelings is a testament to this. Cora and Dean were so messy and it was so painful but in such a beautiful way.

However, there was something missing within the first 25% or this book and I don’t find it surprising with the content. This is an extremely difficult plot to pull off and although I think the execution of getting to the end of the event wasn’t the best she pulls it together with the romance.

At the start of the book I wondered how they were going to play it because Mandy and her sister seemed so close and it all seemed so healthy. I do understand the couple had been together 15 years but after the kidnapping Mandy turned into a horrible person. I’m sorry but feeling neglected from no sex for 6 weeks after her partner of 15 years watched her sister be r*ped for 20 days???!!!! (Baring in mind this is all she knew about) I am trying to think within her perspective a little with the fear and worry that she was going through but it was just pure selfishness on her part. That made her unlikeable and therefore hard to garner sympathy for.

I enjoyed the conflicting emotions between Cora and Dean and it reminded me why I enjoyed reading a previous book by this author. The building of love, the guilt the longing and relief all came across in such a good way. It’s just a shame it’s only reserved for these two characters.

Ps. The locket was incredible and I loved it

Pps. Rip blizzard… that hurt

This book was so dark and so beautiful. I loved this book, Jennifer just knows how to tug at your heartstrings, rip them out and mend it all together again. This is the second book I've read by this author and I need to read the rest of her back list. This is easily my top 5 for this years reads of dark romance. I wish I could get more of Cora and Dean but with the end that she gave us was perfect. I wasn't too fond of how her sister and her friends just wanted her to get over it. Like it was nothing, but you can't be a goof writer if you have characters that you hate right? I loved it and I can't wait to read more by her.

Dark romance that reads a little like a contemporary. Hartmann has a knack for making you care about characters even when the content is somewhat dark. This book has stayed with me long after reading it and will always recommend to others wanting to read a dark romance with character connection.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶

This book was tragic and heartbreaking in the best way possible. Definitely check trigger warnings, as it is a dark romance, but it is amazing. It was my first Jennifer Hartmann book, but certainly not my last. She is my favorite dark romance author. She will shatter your heart into a million pieces and then put it back together again, every time.

I love this book so, so much. Jennifer does a fantastic job at portraying realistic and raw characters with emotional stories that captivates you from the first page and never lets you go until the very end. I cannot recommend this book enough!

Omg this was a wild ride! a good one! I was hooked immediately! It was my first Jennifer Hartmann book but definitely not my last

Wow. This book stayed with me for a long time after and got me feeling all the feels. The twistedness of the storyline pulled you in and broke your heart. What a compelling read.