Cora and Dean have known each other for 15 years. Dean is Cora's sister's fiancé and they hate each other, allegedly. Up to the day they were kidnapped by a "matchmaker" serial killer, who gets off on seeing his victims falling in love with one another before killing them both.

The book was originally published in 2020, but it's being republished now. While I tried to approach the story with an open mind, I couldn't help but notice some of its flaws.

Cora's "I'm not like other girls" personality made me instantly dislike her. The way she describes herself and her sister at the beginning of the book legit made me roll my eyes and her constant negativity towards Dean was frustrating. However, Dean was a great character who kept me invested in the story from start to finish. Him putting up with Cora's stubbornness and immaturity made him a standout character.

Despite some of the outdated characterizations and plot points, the book still manages to deliver an intriguing plot. However, some of the characters lacked boundaries and didn't take a hint, which was frustrating at times.

On a positive note, the audiobook narration was really good! Listening to it made it easier to get though, as I have a young child so having an earbud in my ear was way easier than trying to read it lol.

Overall, my feelings towards this book are mixed. There were moments when I genuinely enjoyed it, and others when I despised it. I remained invested in the story primarily because of Dean, while Cora's character put me off. She did improve slightly towards the end, but not enough to make me like her.

3/5

This is a dark and poignant read that left a deep impression on me. This is Cora and Dean's story, they are long-time adversaries brought together in a harrowing situation. Their journey is filled with darkness, trauma, and an unbreakable bond that forms amidst the chaos. Hartmann's storytelling is hauntingly beautiful, delving into their emotions with authenticity. I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook narrated by Laurie West and Christian Black, whose performances were exceptional, breathing life into the characters. This book is a powerful exploration of love, redemption, and human resilience. Hartmann's talent shines through, and I eagerly await more from this gifted storyteller.

I was really looking forward to the audio of this book, but after having read the physical....the audiobook has been censored and softened up so much that I was pretty disappointed. I want to hear the full book as written.

I have read this book before the reprint, and i alway found it to be so beautiful. The storyline gets me every time, and to listen to the audiobook hearing it come to life makes me emotional. I love that jJennifer is able to see her book come to life again, she is an amazing writer.

This was such a beautiful and heart-wrenching story.
There was a LOT of hard topics but the overall theme of the book was about the main characters overcoming trauma and finding healing in each other and themselves.
I usually go in blind (and I did with this book) but this is one time that I HIGHLY suggest checking out the TW.
There are a lot, and it's a tough read.
This was audiobook format, and I think the narrators did amazing. They were able to put so much feeling into what they were reading, it all felt very authentic.
I'm so thankful to @netgalley for allowing me to listen to this ALC of the re-release of the book. She got a nice facelift and I think it's so pretty!

DNF @ 35%.

This is just simply not for me. I thought the audio narrators were good & I can maybe understand why this relationship would be compelling to some, but listening to repeated scenes of on-page rape is just not something I want to continue doing in order to see a HEA.

4.25/5

This is a DARK romance and tackles some very heavy topics, please check trigger warnings.

Cora can’t stand her sister’s fiancé Dean, who has been antagonizing her since the day they met. She is less than thrilled to find him next to her when she ends up a serial killer's hostage. They are forced to depend on each other to survive their captivity.

Surprisingly, the kidnapping accounts for only about 30% of the book. The rest is them dealing with the aftermath, so lots of big emotions. They struggle readjusting to "normal" life back with their friends and family, who can't understand what they have been through. As such they continue to lean on each other, bonding over their shared trauma.

Do Cora and Dean always exhibit good decision making? No. Is it reasonable to expect someone fresh off an ordeal like theirs to always make good decisions? Probably not.

It is well written and compelling. The characters are complicated and often unlikable. I would have liked to witness more of the character growth, rather than fast forwarding past it. I also didn't care for the portrayal of many of the female characters as shallow and judgmental.

I really enjoyed the audiobook with dual narration by Laurie West and Christian Black.

I received a free copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This one got me good. When I started reading I simply didn't expect to be "kidnapped" by the tragic, twisted, gut-wrenching, raw story about Dean and Cora’s trauma and struggle to survive. I had to finish the book as fast as possible to see what would happen next and how it would end.
Since I was listening audiobook I have to say that I enjoyed in narrators' voices and they did an excellent job

Thank you to Tantor Audio, author Jennifer Hartmann, and Netgalley for the e-ARC!

A very heavy, heartwrenching story. Please look up the content/trigger warnings!

This story moved me, brought me to tears, and made me feel for the our main couple Dean and Cora. After a celebratory night on the town, Cora & Dean wind up abducted by an evil man. While in captivity, they keep each other alive. Jennifer Hartmann tells a complete story of traumatic suffering, human endurance, healing, and, most of all, LOVE. This is not a story you will forget.

I highly recommend audio. Hartmann chose present tense first person POV storytelling, which Black and West bring to life so that the listener feels there in the moment. Additionally, if you are triggered and want to speed ahead through a difficult part in the story, audio allows you to skip ahead.

As for the audio quality, Christian Black and Laurie West deliver top tier performances. Precise enunciation. Perfect pacing and pauses. Good tone modulation and inflections. Both narrators did a beautiful job giving emotionally rich and nuanced performances that not only capture the story but enhance it. I felt that West does an excellent job of connecting to the fraught mindset and emotions of Cora. Black captures a soulfulness that just makes your heart ache along with and for Dean.

Absolutely breathtaking audiobook! I loved this book so much! I couldn’t tear myself away from it. It completely engrossed me. Kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen. I also enjoyed the way the main characters relationship grew. There are triggers if you have any you are concerned about then read the blurb. I found this book sad of course you know that going in. But it was also about resilience and learning on those you love. I didn’t feel depressed and shattered like some books. The H keeps the h from going down a dark hole. When he needs the same she is there for him. The narrators were both excellent and brought the story to life. Gave so much more feeling to the MC’s. I will definitely read more by this author.
Thank You so much for this free copy to give my honest review.

Happy release Day

This reread solidified this as my favourite book of the year. It’s a very tough read but so well done. Make sure you check trigger warnings before diving in.


TW: kidnapping, attempted suicide, on page rape, sexual assault, explicit sex, murder.
This is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Probably the best romance I’ve ever read. This was so dark but the angst and the bond these two characters felt was unlike anything I’ve ever read in my life.

Cora, her sister, Mandy and Dean, her sister’s fiancé, are our at bar having a fun night. Dean and Mandy leave and Cora decided she’s going to take an Uber home. She looks and finds out her wallet has been stolen. She tries to call a bunch of friends and no one answers so she calls Dean to come pick her up. And then Dean and Cora are kidnapped.

They live chained in a basement for 20 days. Cora is raped every day by the kidnapped, Earl. And then one day Earl decides to hold a gun to Dean’s head and have him have sex with her too.

And then on day 20, they escape. The bond they have formed is undeniable. But so is the PTSD. They’re relationship with each other that is explored. The relationship between Dean and Mandy after they escape. He relationship between Mandy and Cora. It’s is beautifully crafted and so well written.

This was my first Jennifer Hartmann book and it certainly won’t be my last.

I love rereading my favorite books via audiobook!! I love when the characters come to life through narration. Now, did I totally think this through when I burst onto NetGalley and requested this one...no, no I did not! This is one of my favorite books and that is all I thought of, completely forgetting how viscerally it held me captive on the page. Listening to this heartbreaking subject matter so expertly narrated by Christian Black and Laurie West was quite the experience, and one I really would recommend!

Dean and Cora have a tempestuous relationship having spent the last 15 years bickering, teasing, hurling insults, and trying to one up each other with practical jokes, all while Dean has been in a relationship with Cora’s sister. But, on the night of her sister's engagement party Dean is Cora's only ride home. But, on their way home, Cora and Dean are abducted by a psychopath and wake up shackled in his basement. Together they endure unthinkable and unspeakable trauma, forming a life altering and life saving bond with one another.

I never give too much information about this amazing book because I think it is best going into blind. I turned on this audiobook anytime I could, forgoing physically reading another book in lieu of listening to this story again! Like many Jennifer Hartmann books, this story is not only about the darkness of the circumstances her characters face but how they rise above the trauma, how they hold each other in a space that no one else understands, and about a redemptive, self-sacrificing love. It’s a MUST read by any means necessary!

“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.”

"IT'S STILL BEATING. As long as it's beating, you're okay"

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

PLEASE check TWs.

I voluntarily listened & reviewed an ALC of this book provided by NetGalley & Jennifer Hartmann. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

Still Beating absolutely destroyed me in the best way. I first read it two years ago and when I saw that there was an audiobook I knew that I needed to listen to it as soon as possible. I connected with Cora and Dean immediately in this story. I loved listening to the flashbacks and seeing their prank filled relationship evolve over time. It is super dark in the beginning so those moments of levity really helped balance that out. The courage and strength they show throughout the book really was inspiring.

Jennifer Hartmann writes the most heart wrenching beautiful stories that will make you feel all of the feelings. I always sob and she makes me love it. Definitely check the trigger warnings because this story deals with very dark traumatic themes.

I loved the dual narration for the dual POV. It really sucked me into Cora and Dean’s minds and made me feel like part of the story. I can’t wait to listen to more of Jennifer Hartmann’s books this way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the advanced listening copy. All thoughts are my own.

The audio narration was excellent, both narrators really brought the story to life, I just feel this wasn't the story for me.
It's a really difficult book to get through because of the heavy subject matter which is being told in the story these to characters went through something super trammatic but the managed it togehter and that was really beautiful for me as a reader to read.

This was incredible just like I knew it would be! I didn’t know how I’d like dark romance via audiobook but the narrators did a great job. This story is heavy. But I was (pleasantly) surprised to discover that the darkest part is in part one and not the majority of the book which is what I had previously assumed.

Content: check TWs for sure. The initial trauma is of course heavy but most of the actual action of it is off page (in case anyone is wondering). This was a tragically beautiful story of healing from trauma and I greatly appreciated that it wasn’t linear. This asked nuanced questions of how trauma changes someone and wondering about the difference between trauma bonding and a real relationship. I was definitely emotionally invested through the ups and downs.

Narration: both of the narrators did a great job! At times that’s some tough subject material to read and they did it without overacting. Both narrators did a great non-cringey job imitating the opposite main character, something that isn’t always the case with audiobooks.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

This book seriously needs trigger warning, plus it’s labeled as a romance and I found it to be far from that. Yes the main characters caught feeling and confessed their love for each other but that was after the mfc and mmc got abducted by a serial killer who raped her repeatedly and then forced the mmc at gun point to rape her while he watched. Then after a spicy night together after they’ve been freed she commits suicide because she feels responsible for breaking up her sister’s engagement. The mmc becomes an alcoholic to cope with what he did while captive. I would not recommend this book to anyone

Thanks NetGalley for thé audiobook copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly- I don’t know how to feel about this book. I can wipe the sex part out of the review because quite frankly I don’t want to go there. And if kidnapping, torture, forced sex are too much for you - yeah just skip the first 1/4. Though I do hope someone with those triggers doesn’t pick up this book. I had to be mindful of where I was when listening to this book.

Characters. I actually liked Cora (NOT Corabelle as she apparently hates that name) and Dean together. At least during the moments they were in character. And, no, I’m not entirely sure who those characters are as they weaved often. But I think had they actually gone on some dates or do anything but jump on each other they could have made a really cute romance. But that’s clearly not the point of this book.

Mandie. I disliked the sister more than I disliked Earl. Don’t get me wrong, serial killer Earl wasn’t even remotely like able but he’s a kidnapper/rapist/murderer. We can hate him. Cora’s sister is supposed to be like able- but she’s pretty terrible. Not just to Cora, but Dean too. There was zero empathy from her.

Plot: I picked this up because of the synopsis. This book’s plot is crazy. Especially for a romance. Maybe there’s more of it than I know of? I can’t imagine more love stories coming from torture but you never know.

I can’t see this book as being positive towards mental health. There’s a mention of both Cora and Dean seeing someone, however they both lie to their therapists. This entire ordeal is traumatic enough that their family should also have received therapy (Mandie especially!!!) and SPOILER ALERT when Cora attempts suicide she was never held by psych? Really? The book even mentions because there’s no history of mental illness she could go home. WTH?

But if I don’t take anything seriously in the book I did almost enjoy it?

4.5 stars

This review is for the audiobook of the re-release Bloom edition of Still Beating which contains a bonus scene at the end of the book.

“It’s still beating,” he whispers, his words a soft kiss against my lips. “As long as it’s beating, you’re okay.”

I want to start by stating that this book depicts very dark scenes, so please be aware of that before you read this book. Search up the trigger warnings.

Dean is Cora's arch nemesis and her sister's fiance. One day, the two get abducted together. Still Beating is about the trauma they suffered through during their captivity and the bond that develops between them due to this horrific experience.

This is a heartbreaking and tragic story, yet one filled with hope and resilience. Despite the heavy, dark, and taboo topics featured in this book, I could tell that Jennifer Hartmann wrote with empathy and care.

The bonus chapter that was added to the new traditionally published book gave us more insight into two characters from the book, Tabitha and Matthew. I look forward to reading a book about them in the future, if Jennifer decides to write one.

In regard to the audiobook, I loved that this was in dual POV with two narrators, one for Cora and one for Dean. I thought that the voice actors did an amazing job. Their tone and voice fluctuations when they had to imitate other characters were on point.

My only critique on the book itself would be that I wish that Part II was a little bit longer. Even 50 pages extra would have been nice.

I loved Jennifer's writing style, and I can't wait to pick up Lotus which features a character who was briefly mentioned in Still Beating, as well as her other books! Jennifer, you have a new fan!

Thank you Netgalley, Tantor Audio, Bloom, and Jennifer Hartmann for the advanced listening copy of the audiobook.

Expected Publication Date: July 11, 2023

After attending her sister’s birthday party, Cora Lawson’s life unexpectedly changes. She is kidnapped and chained up in a madman’s basement with her sister’s fiancé Dean — her arch-nemesis. No the two of them have to work together in order to survive.

Thank you to Jennifer Hartmann, NetGalley & Tantor Audio for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions are my own and 100% HONEST.

I received this book in the audio format & devoured it. The narrators delivery, articulation and rate was clear and enhanced the experience of reading/listening to this audio.

This is a re-release of Still Beating with a brand new cover & bonus content. This book has been on my radar for about a year but I was always hesitant to pick it up because dark Romances can be hit or miss for me. With that being said this was a different type of Dark Romance and I loved it. From the very first chapter I was engaged and on the edge of my seat. Although some of the content is heavy, it is pertinent to the storyline. I was on an emotional rollercoaster while reading this novel – I literally screamed multiple times. The storyline was well developed and flowed smoothly. I finished this audio in less than 24hrs, because I need to know what happened next. Although some parts were anticipated you can’t help still wanting to know what’s going to happen, how is it going to happen, when is it going to happen. Overall this was a perfect 5 star read for me and I’m so glad I was given the opportunity to listen to this audio. Still Beating is by far one of my favorite reads of the year, I highly recommend picking this one up but make sure to check trigger warnings.

What a twisted read?! Cora (or Corabelle to family) was the baby sister to Mandy and soon to be sister-in-law to Dean Asher who drives her crazy. When both are kidnapped and asked to do unimaginable things it changes their relationship. They have no hope of ever getting out or especially getting out alive. Then things take a turn but is it for the better or worse? Cora and Dean's life will never be the same. I had a hard time with this book because my heart went out to Cora and Dean, I mean they were kidnapped, held hostage, asked to do unreasonable things and where were they support system and their search party. I guess since we were only seeing their side of the story it was hard to have an sympathy except for them. I enjoyed this book it was twisted, unique and a definite page turner. (I actually was able to listen to this thanks to Netgalley and the narrators were the best).