This book was good. I love Benjamin! Tess got on my nerves a bit but I hung in there. The rape scene got to me and I had to put it down for a bit. Definitely check your triggers people! Also there is a murder in this. I liked it overall but I probably won't reread it.

A deeply emotional and powerful romance that delves into trauma, healing, and love. Tessa and Benjamin have their demons but they begin to heal each other’s wounds. The writing is engaging and heartfelt capturing the emotional depth of Benjamin and Tessa’s journey. The story offers a message of hope and restoration.
Many thanks to Entangled Publishing and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I absolutely love everything that Helen Hardt writes. And My Heart Still Beats is no different. I was captivated from the first page to the last.

I can’t to read more in this series.

I voluntarily reviewed this book.

To get this all created a really intriguing and fascinating read. I loved everything in this book from start to finish. The characters and the world, and just the way that she develop the plot in the storyline cost me to never be able to put it down. I really enjoyed the character development and the storyline that she decided to go with this book. I found that the main plot conflict was one that kept me sucked in waiting to know what happened and I overall was thrilled with how the book ended.

This emotional rollercoaster was fantastic and I loved every minute. Tessa is relatable — the fragility after experiencing something so traumatic as her normal, bubbly self is reverted to a shell. When she’s invited to her friend bachelorette party, she lets Ben in.

Ben is the golden retriever type — he gives Tessa such grace and attention in this book and offers her strength where she falters. With his own past, it’s easy for them to fall together and relate to one another. This book was a wonderful read and per the usual, Hardt’s writing is a joy to read. Her ability to write a story with some difficult scenes without shock value only serves to show less is more. She really did toss Tessa through the wringer, with Ben being her saving grace

Emotional read but also very dark. There are several trigger warnings like rape and abuse so please make sure you read the authors note in the front of the book.

a dark, deeply emotional story that dives into relationships and the highs & lows of being in love. i didn’t love it but i didn’t hate it

Ben had me hooked from the start. I loved how patient he was with Tessa. And how helping her made him realize he needed to face his own trauma. They both had to navigate through very different traumatic pasts while falling in love. And I liked getting to follow along with their journey.

4.5 stars!

Firstly, the dedication in this book grabbed hold of my heart so much. I already love, admire and will read everything Helen Hardt writes… However, I knew by the dedication she left to her readers with this book that this book was going to be phenomenal, incredibly profound, emotional and inspiring.. and it made me want to read it even more and I was not disappointed. Because be mindful that this book is a dark, emotional romance with a happy ending. However, the story includes elements that might not be suitable for all readers.


𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗚𝗚𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦:
🖤 Sexual Assault
🖤 Physical Assault,
🖤 R@pe,
🖤 Child Molestation,
🖤 Suicidal Thoughts,
🖤 Suicidal Ideation,
🖤 Depression,
🖤 Anxiety,
🖤 PTSD,
🖤 Panic Attacks,
🖤 Murder.

𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦:
✨ Billionaire Romance
✨ Dark Romance
✨ Emotional Story
✨ Trauma Healing
✨ Mental Health Rep
✨ Mixed Race FMC
✨ Destination Wedding
✨ Mild Spice
✨


Tessa used to be a fun, bubbly, young and happy woman who lives with no fear Until the unspeakable happens and she experiences some trauma (Sexual assault/abuse) and her life and the way she viewed it it all changed and now she’s a shell of the person she use to be. She quickly withdrew and became extremely closed off and found it hard to really trust anyone or know or trust anyone’s real intentions. She feels like she’s never going to be happy again, never going to see the old, happy person she was and now she has to pull herself together and act like everything is fine because her best friend is getting married and she’s in charged of the bachelorette party and the last thing she wants to do is let her best friend down but how can she plan a party and act happy when she just wants to go and hide away from the world?



Ben is a rich, sexy reformed business man that works along side his brother Braden. He’s charming, sweet and is a reformed playboy that has a way of sweeping girls off their feet. He knows Tessa and what she has been through so when Ben sees her for the first time he’s extremely protective of her and wants to make her life easier for her and will go to great lengths to do that..He can see the darkness, the torment, the hurt, the fear and the scars that are inside her.

The more time Ben spends with Tessa, the more his feelings grow and the more of a connection they make. Every time he’s in the same room as her she gives him butterflies and makes his heart skip a beat. He’s falling in love with her. It’s clear as day. However, he knows she’s not ready and may never be ready for anything more than friends. That doesn’t stop him from trying to make her life easier, protecting her and trying to make her happy again. He will everything he can to make sure she gets the happiness she deserves.

Ben also has a sordid past that no one close to him knows anything about and while Tessa is slowly finding herself again and in a better head space, Ben’s darkness and demons start to surface.


Helen Hardt is known for her spice when it comes to her books and don’t get me wrong… I LOVE IT! However, this was a little different, it still had spice but this book focuses heavily on the angst, emotion, romance and the connection between these two characters.

This book was not for the faint of heart. It really hit home for me on a few occasions and I had to take steps away from the book at times. In saying that, I think this book and these intense dark topics were handled with care, well-written and executed perfectly. This book took me on a rollercoaster of emotions. I laughed, I cried and at one point I wanted to throw my kindle at the wall.

5 STARS!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I enjoyed this book and think you will to.

Thanks to Netgalley, Entangled Publishing and Helen Hardt for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've been a huge fan of Helen Hardt since I read the first Steel Brothers novel years ago. I've loved everything she's written so far, and My Heart Still Beats is no exception.

I love the mixture of romance and suspense that Helen writes so well. Her characters in My Heart Still Beats were interesting and complex. Tessa and Ben had great chemistry.
It was nice to read more about Braden and Skye again too.

I highly recommend.

4 stars from me. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

I've enjoyed Helen Hardt's previous books and this one was just as good. While a bit dark, the story had such touching times and sweet character progression. Tessa and Ben have been major characters in previous books and finally get their story. These two have had, and are now having, some seriously bad times. They're still good people and great together but they have a lot to deal with to get to their happily ever after.

I enjoyed Tessa and Ben. It was fun to see all the characters back. The story had a ton of intrigue and difficult times, some of which are pretty stressful, hard to work through and majorly life altering. Together these two are better at dealing than alone but of course it takes a lot to get to where they'll lean on one another.

I enjoyed the story with all its ups and downs. It was very interesting. There were tear, laughs, frustration and smiles.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

My heart still beats for this book. Billionaire love story. Forced proximity. Working with the best man and fighting feelings for him at the same time. One of my favorite tropes. Check the trigger warnings though.

Unfortunately this book just didn't hit the mark for me personally. I have previously read this authors book and loved them while recommending to others.

I found the plot too dark and somewhat unrealistic. I couldn't connect to the characters and I just didn't get the connection between them. Things took too many turns that I just couldn't get my head around.

If you are considering this book check the trigger warnings. This is a wonderfully written book that includes themes about overcoming trauma, that I enjoyed but may be triggering to others. The path to overcoming trauma is different for everyone and this book gives a handsome guy to help our main girl overcome hers. She is hesitant about letting him in at first but his gentle persistence to just help her wins out in the end. He is not without his own issues of course. that he also deals with throughout the book. They have a wonderful love story and it does end with a happily ever after that makes the entire journey worth it.

I would definitely recommend to my friends, and to you reading this review.

Thanks to Entangled and NetGalley for the ARC.
TWs: Sexual assault (on page), violence, abuse and PTSD.

Due to the trigger warnings above this book was not for me and I ended up DNFIng it. 3 stars simply because the writing is really really good, but I cannot stomach the actual content.

Helen Hardt has a way of hooking you in from the get go . ( I have read a few of her books )

This was an emotional story and was such a good read . 4.5 stars

Please check the Tigger warnings before reading

Thank you netgalley for my advance copy

1.5 ⭐️

I like romances with a side of trauma, but the trauma in this one was SO over-the-top that it didn’t even feel like a romance at all. It was depressing the whole way through, to the point that I wasn’t even happy that the two main characters got together in the end, and I was just ready to be done because there is such a thing as too much trauma in one book.

Tessa was not only drugged and sexually assaulted 3 months before the start of the book, but in flashbacks remembers that she was also sexually assaulted as a child on the day of her first communion by an altar boy. And then apparently the two assaulters were best friends, because of course they were, and come back for a second round of assault together at the end of the book. Then while she’s processing her grief, she’s fired from her job AND her dad dies, and she doesn’t get to say goodbye to him because she was at a bachelorette party in Jamaica.

Ben was an accessory to a murder as a teenager, and now helps run a multi-billion-dollar company. He used to use BDSM as a coping mechanism for his murder-guilt, but now he’s reformed and falls instantly in love with Tessa when he sees how broken she is from all her trauma, but then the first time they go to bed together he gets himself off on her while she just lays there and takes it like she’s his sub?? It was weird. In the end, he admits to being an accessory to murder directly to the DA and the DA is like “lol it’s okay, nobody was looking for the guy anymore, but he did have a daughter who I’m sure would love a scholarship for college from a billionaire trying to do the right thing.” Literally what????? That’s not how the law works.

Neither of these people needed to be in a relationship at this point in their lives, and definitely not with each other. They just needed a lot of therapy and Ben needed some time in prison. Their love story was completely unbelievable because they used it as a crutch to process their trauma. It was not romantic in the slightest.

The extra 1/2 ⭐️ in my rating is solely for the fact that the book talks about the benefits of cold plunging, which is a completely valid and healthy way to cope with stress, trauma, and grief, when combined with other coping mechanisms.

Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled: Amara for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is written with such emotional depth, it’s one you won’t want to put down for a second. There is so much I want to say about this book, “I loved it” just doesn’t seem adequate enough for how it made me feel while reading it

Thank you for allowing me to read My Heart Still Beats by Helen Hardt. I have to be honest, this book is darker than I expected; so, I didn't enjoy it as much as I would like to. This book has a lot of potential, but it wasn't for me. As I said, thank you so much, I appreciate the though.