This was my very first dark romance I read, which was maybe about 2 years ago and when I say dark, I mean dark. Please check TWs. Thanks so much to Netgalley, the publisher, and Jennifer Hartmann for this advanced copy of Still Beating’s rerelease.
 
This book deals with some very heavy themes and follows Cora and her arch nemesis, Dean (who happens to be in a relationship with her sister), as they end up abducted together and trapped in a basement. Both the trauma they endure during that time and how they have to come back from it once they’re free brings these two enemies a lot closer together. Their love story is dark and angsty but they do get a happy ending, and knowing that helped me keep going when it got dark and emotional. I ended up really liking their characters and rooting for them, especially as they leaned on each other for support and recovery.
 
Jennifer Hartmann writes beautiful, and often very dark love stories with this one as her darkest (that I’ve read) and while this may be a tough book to get through sometimes (and I had to skim some rough parts), it was a love story at its heart and has stuck with me since I first read it. Rereading it again was easier knowing what to expect (but still a little rough) and I was rooting just as hard for these two the second time around.

This book is deeply traumatic and trigger warnings need to be looked up but I loved the story and concept. It was such a good book.

4.5/5 stars.

I don't think I have had a book start out with such an intense beginning. This got dark fast. I did go into this completely blind because I don't personally have any triggers but this was among the darkest of books I've ever read. So if you are at all curious about it and have any certain triggers, I absolutely recommend you check the triggers for this book. It is hard to read about. But the story that comes after the trauma is so beautiful, emotional, and raw. Yes, there is a love story, but it has so much more to it. It has a love story, unlike anything I have ever read. I wouldn't say that is the take away from this book but more the trauma that people carry with them and how challenging that can be for the individual as well as those around them. How hard it can be to love someone through hard times. How hard it can be to love yourself through hard times, but that we are all deserving of love and happiness. I truly went through all the emotions reading this one and I won't soon forget it. To reiterate, check trigger warnings, please.

This is a story I don't want to give a blurb to, if you choose to read it I think you need to just experience it as it happens so you can feel all the emotions as they occur. I do recommend this one, but only to those that are comfortable with reading it.

I read this book when it was originally released and it was just as poignant the second time around. Cora and Dean’s story is one I’ve never forgotten- and I read A LOT of books. It is dark, but it isn’t dark just for the sake of being dark. The dark theme brings light to beautiful things like survival, forgiveness, selflessness, passion and love. The reader goes on an incredibly emotional and intimate journey with the main characters. The emotional pull is raw and unique and had me captivated from start to finish. A book I will always highly recommend. A truly unforgettable read.

5/5⭐️
4/5🌶

This story was so good and completely gut wrenching. I went into it blind without reading the synopsis and I’m so glad I did. Just make sure you check TWs.

Jennifer is such a good author. I fell in love with Dean from the beginning. I also love their love story. Everything captivated me from the struggles to the joys. I can’t recommend this book enough. I want to write more, but also don’t want this to be a review with a spoiler so all I can say is READ IT 👏🏼

Everything Jennifer Hartmann writes is an amazing read. Still Beating is absolutely no exception.

In this book we follow the story of Cora and Dean. Dean is Cora's sister's fiance. They have had a playful, prank-filled, frenemies relationhip since Dean started dating Cora's sister back in high school.

The book begins with a horrific trauma: Cora and Dean get kidnapped, together. They go through hell together.

This book is their journey of healing. It is heart wrenching, terrifying, traumatic... Made me cry multiple times.

The way Hartmann writes the characters makes you truly care for them. You feel like you know them. I was heavily invested in their story.

As always with dark romance, check trigger warnings. If you are a fan of the genre, this is an absolute must read, and shot Hartmann straight to the top of my auto-buy authors list.

Its hard for me to read this kind of book, the detail make me sick. I glade they able tongo throigh it. I enjoy Dean and Cora relationship. I know that not healty become that dependen but who can blame them? The bond tied them together. The back and forth between them really exhauted. I enjoy this book.

Jennifer Hartmann never disappoints. And this book was another fantastic journey!!

This book ripped my heart out and tore me apart. Like all the best books do.

This book is about friendship and love in the fact of incredible trauma and hardship. About goodness triumphing evil. About endurance and surviving against all odds. About being damaged and healing.

I loved everything about this book. I want more! I'm so glad there are other books that exist in this book universe and I can't wait to read them all!

Dipped my toe in the dark romance waters & I'm going to be diving in. Holy S$%^& <b>Jennifer Hartmann </b> this book was WILD.

*There are SO many trigger warnings for this book. Please make sure you check them out before you read.

This book slaps you in the face the first 3 chapters. My heart was racing, I was holding my breath, I couldn't turn the pages quick enough because I needed to know what happened. I needed to know how Cora & Dean's story ended. You really feel empathy for these characters throughout the story & want to make sure they end up ok. There were just a couple of things that bothered me, without giving spoilers, I will say I felt like Cora's trauma was downplayed by some of the people closest to her. However, the ending and how Jennifer tied it all up redeemed how I felt about certain parts of the book. And yes, I cried.

Read if you like
- dark romance
- enemies to lovers
- characters growing from trauma
- true crime vibes

FINAL THOUGHTS: Still BeatinG: easily got me out of my book slump. I was getting tired of the perfect lovey, dovey romances (life of a mood reader) and needed something different. This hit all the marks for my true crime loving self with some spicy, dark romance. This book has all the heart with some heavy topics. I plan on picking up another <b> Jennifer Hartmann </b> novel very soon!

I finished this book in one sitting because I could not put it down! It was so addicting!
This was such a heartbreaking, beautiful love story. This book touched on extremally dark themes and can be triggering. But Dean and Cora have a special place in my heart forever.
I enjoyed the development of the characters and how their bond developed.
The true enjoyment I got was in the aftermath of their trauma and how they each pulled themselves together and delt with their issues and grow from it was so inspiring and amazing to see.
The portrayal of their individual and combined journeys was so realistic, I admired all the steps forward and understood all their steps back.
Reading the trigger warning before is a must, you fully need to understand what it is that you will be getting into and if you are able to read this story comfortably I promise you, you will enjoy it and fall so in love with Dean and Cora.
I previously read this in 2022 and still think about it today and recommend it to everyone! I am so excited to see this book being republished and get the recognition it deserves! I also am excited to read more from Jennifer Hartmann
Again this is a DARK ROMANCE. Its hard to read but beautiful. StoryGraph has a great outline of all the TW!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. Definitely check trigger warnings with this one. This is a very dark story that in the beginning I felt dirty and wrong reading. Some parts were very OMGish. The last 2/3 of the book was amazing though. I loved seeing how the main characters fought against their trauma and never gave up.

4 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Jennifer Hartmann for the ARC!

Cora goes to her sister's birthday party where she's forced to endure her soon to be brother in law Dean. She's known Dean for 15 years and has never liked him but he's been with her sister Mandy since high school. At around 1am Cora realizes she needs to leave the bar and go home but she's managed to lose her wallet. She calls a few people who don't answer, and as her last resort she calls Dean. While waiting for him outside a creepy man tries to talk to Cora. When Dean arrives the creepy guy tells them to "enjoy your night." They're attacked on the way home and wake up chained in a basement.

• forced proximity
• forbidden love
• childhood nemesis to lovers

This story broke my heart. It's filled with so many emotional moments and I was hooked right from the beginning. Cora and Dean have my heart and when I finished their story I was so sad it was over.

The journey that Cora and Dean go on is gut-wrenching and beautiful. The trauma that they endure and how they cope with it really brings the story to life. The events that occur in the basement aren't overly graphic even though you know the horrific things that are happening.

Cora was a little tough to love at some points. She talks down about her sister Mandy because Cora is cool and doesn't wear makeup and reads books. Cora, you don't need to tear another girl down to bring yourself up. The way she also uses Dean after they escape broke my heart, Cora is obviously traumatized and hurting and wasn't dealing with it in a healthy way but she was also hurting Dean so much.

Dean has had a soft spot for Cora for 15 years. FIFTEEN YEARS. And he was still going to marry her sister. I liked Dean but that really bothered me.

Overall, I really did enjoy the story and thought the concept was unique. The main characters just needed a little more work.

I had this book on my kindle TBR for a long time, a friend’s recommendation brought it to the top of the list and I dove in yesterday and did not look up until it was finished.

This book is all the feels. At times I needed to make sure my own heart was still beating because I found myself holding back tears. They did flow along with Cora’s and Dean’s.

Still Beating was a book to experience and not just read. It is tragic, scary, sad, and heartbreaking. Yet poignant and beautiful too.

I have never, in the hundreds of books I've read, ever, cried so much. I'm seriously at a loss and so consumed by my feelings for this book. Still Beating is an emotionally gripping story filled with very dark and hard elements, survival, and trauma.

Jennifer Hartmann writes such a captivating story that will keep you hooked right from the beginning and leaves you wanting more when you are done. She really describes those dark scenes and intense emotions so beautifully. The trauma was felt, the aftermath was heartbreaking, and the healing journey was developed realistically.

I was drawn to Cora and Dean's story from bitter frenemies of fifteen years to being bonded by a traumatic experience. I loved the trust being built between these two during their captivity, and enjoyed reading the flashbacks of their relationship over the years. Dean Asher is truly an admirable character. His protectiveness and devotion to Cora, even when he seemingly couldn't stand her, is everything. Cora's character growth touched my heart, and it is something I will never forget. She is the perfect balance of strength and vulnerability.

It's heartbreaking to read at times, but it is one that will stay with me for quite some time. Please, take the trigger warning seriously. Not every love story is all rainbows and butterflies. Love is still possible, even after the worst situations.

I received an advanced reader's copy of Still Beating by Jennifer Hartmann from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Jennifer Hartmann is a new-to-me author, but the summary interested me and I am glad that I had the opportunity to read Still Beating.

The premise is intriguing, but dark as all get out. You’ll be swept in quickly and all too soon the final chapter is almost at an end (it’s that captivating). The pacing of this novel could be smoothed out a bit so the flow is better, but the writing and plot is engrossing.

Looking forward to Jennifer Hartmann’s next novel.

obsessed with this book. go into it blind- but be aware of the triggers. it’s insanely painful to read but very complex and you become so invested in the characters. i highly recommend this book

It feels kinda weird to say I enjoyed this considering the content and themes but I really did enjoy this. I read it in 2 sittings, absolutely flew through it desperate to find out what happens next. I went in with a vague idea of what happens but it just turned out so different to what I expected but in the best way! Looking forward to reading more of Jennifer Hartmann’s books

I read this book in one day! I literally couldn't put it down. I appreciate that there is a trigger warning before you even read the book, so if you don't like stories that describe traumatic experiences, then this book isn't for you. I found the story just gut wrenching and I was rooting for the main characters to survive. This story touched my soul and has given me so much to think about in terms of love, relationships and trauma.

I loved this book! I loved how Dean was so comforting throughout their time in the basement and how hard he loved her.

I feel like I’ve read this story before but either I never documented it or it’s similar to another…

But anyway… LOTS of TW in this - rape, abduction, murder, trauma, attempted suicide.. so please go in with caution if these trigger you at all.

This story was brutal - Dean and Cora go through such an unbelievably traumatic experience and the aftermath of surviving that isn’t pretty. It’s rough and destructive and painful to see just as a reader - imagine living through it! I cannot fathom the strength real-life victims similar to these two have to overcome the recovery. Thank goodness this is a romance and has a HEA because my heart couldn’t survive after this if there wasn’t one.