This was an emotional read. Although a light steamy read, the book was well written and it's easy to see why Helen Hardt is a highly regarded author. This is my first read by this author and I'm going to back and read the first book. It was good to see Tessa grow and "return" to herself. Ben was a great book boyfriend who was rich and caring. Great read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Emotional and heavy, but a great read!

Tessa has been through some serious trauma and has since become reclusive. She has to help plan her best friend’s bachelorette party and meets Ben, the best man. Ben tries to heal Tessa without pushing her, and becomes someone she can count on.

Whew this book was good! I thought the writer did an amazing job covering a very heavy subject. This was well written and I finished it in one day it was so good. I loved the dual pov! Definitely one to read!


📘: My Heart Still Beats by Helen Hardt
🗓️: May 28, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley, Helen Hardt, and Entangled Publishing for this ARC!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*Reviewed on NetGalley, Amazon, and Goodreads.

I went into this thinking it would be dark romance and spicy. It was neither. But I can pivot if it's still a good book in its own right which did not happen with this book.

It genuinely makes me sad how disappointing this was. The FMC is recovering from an SA, full CW that there are detailed flashbacks to not only the one referenced in the beginning but other PTSD flashbacks and recovered memories that surface later. If she's not threatened in current time it will flashback to a time where she was. It's a bummer that it was essentially made her personality and you couldn't get to know her outside of it.

We have our classic billionaire MMC but the issue is the romance is so stagnant. They kiss at like 60% and prior they are just talking about the same subject of the bachelor/bachelorette destination party so even the dialogue is boring. Also, the MMC low key gives me the ick. He plans for topless women for his brother's bachelor party and there are scenes with him dancing with them and it genuinely sounded SO awkward. And then there's a classic dark romance moment where he says something along the lines of "if you let me in, let me do xyz then be sure because I won't be able to stop" but then remembers she's literally a victim of MULTIPLE SAs and backtracks and says well I won't if you don't want to. And I guess we are supposed to swoon.

TLDR this had nothing for me, no plot, no romance, no spice, no interesting characters, I do not recommend. Thank you to Entangled for the ARC.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

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 honestly wasn't expecting a Ben and Tessa book. Their story was emotional and dealt with darker issues so be sure to check your triggers before diving in.

Tessa is a shadow of her former self. Some days she can see the person she used to be, the version of herself that felt joy even passion. But she feels out of reach.

Life is moving on, and she's her best friend's maid of honor. She has a bachelorette party to plan, in Jamaica, which means working with the best man Benjamin Black.

He's a catch. Rich, hardworking and handsome.

Someone whom she wouldn't think twice about flirting with. But that was the old Tessa.

It doesn't help that he stirs something in her that she thought long dead. He's nothing like she'd thought he'd be. He helps her work through fears, slowly chipping away at the wall she's built.

And when their pasts come back to haunt them, will they be able to hold onto their love?

Thank you so much to the author, Entangled and Net Galley for this ARC to review.

This is the first book I've read by Helen Hardt. I know she's popular because there are always multiple copies of her books in the romance section. And, honestly? I kind of hated it. The characters never seemed to be on the same page, the sex scenes were weak, and there was just too much thrown into the mix. I'll probably try another of her books at a later date.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for a copy of this book, I enjoyed it and would recommend it. It’s a solid 3/5 stars for me.

MY HEART STILL BEATS by Helen Hardt
I really got totally engrossed into this riveting well written story. It certainly had me reading until the early morning hours as I could not put it down. This is Ben Black and Tessa Logan's story. He is the younger brother of Braden Black, who we met in the Follow Me series. She is the best friend of Skye Manning, fiance of Braden. Tessa is dealing with PTSD from an attack of her ex boyfriend who drugged and raped her. She is maid of honor for Skye, Ben is best man for his brother. Ben has decided he is going to help Tessa plan the bachelorette party and he is planning the bachelor party. This is 5 stars.

An interesting story with characters that are easy to connect with. I was quickly drawn into their lives and troubles. This was my first Helen Hardt book and I will be looking into more from her!

Rated at a 3.75, rounded to 4

At times this was hard to get through cause Tessa would spiral and be in her head and it would either just make me not feel great or want to violently shake her. But then I would have to take a breath and remind myself that she went through something traumatic that I wouldn't wish on anyone and she doesn't know how to go about healing herself from it. Enter Benjamin Black. This man falls for her on sight and basically makes it his life mission to make her whole again. I love how patient he was with her to make sure she was comfortable with him. The way they end up helping each other in the end is very cute.

The one thing that was not for me in this book was Tessa calling her mom "Mommy." I'm sorry, but no grown adult should still be calling their parents mommy and daddy. Did not like that. Didn't realize just how much I didn't like it until I had to keep reading her say it over and over.

This is a sharply emotional book that cuts very, very deeply as you read it. My heart broke again and again as I read this book, and the ache in my chest was painful, but thankfully my heart also melted, and I swooned just about as often as Tessa and Ben's romance takes root, grows and blossoms. Not an easy read because of the dark subject matter but it is also rich with so much hope, love and healing.

Anytime I read a Helen Hardt book, I never want to leave the characters behind. Tessa and Ben will always have a little corner of my heart just for them. I wanted to cry with happiness when they first met and his instincts were to protect her, even if he couldn’t do it the way he really wanted to. I love stories with darker themes but was a little nervous because I usually avoid anything the big R, but I ended up feeling such a connection to Tessa that it didn’t have a negative impact on my reading experience. Thank you Helen for such a beautiful story.

Tessa and Ben are supposed to be working together to plan the best bachelorette and bachelor party for her best friend Skye and his brother Braden. Tessa has been through so much torment and pain she just isn’t up to doing anything. Ben is trying to not only help with the planning of the parties but help her overcome what has happened to her. Ben never expected to develop feelings for Tessa but Tessa never thought she would be able to function like a normal person again. Both of them are ready to see where this relationship will lead them until both their pasts come knocking at their door. Will they both make it through the unbearable times ahead or will they give up and go back to how they lived before meeting? This story had me hooked from the very beginning and I could not put it down. I was given a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Entangled for the ARC!

This book was a step outside of my normal genre of choice, so this may be part of why it fell a little flat to me and I didn't quite connect to the characters. I think those who normally read this genre may connect with it a bit better.

The book is an intense emotional roller coaster (which I love!) but it is also full of triggers, including rape, so if you're sensitive to darker topics please exercise caution when deciding whether or not to read it.

I really liked this book! It covers a very heavy subject that is shown on the page, but I think the author handled it really well and didn't go into it any more than was absolutely necessary for the reader to know. Because this book has such heavy subjects, I'd highly recommend everyone read the trigger warnings in the beginning.

This story follows a woman who was recently raped and is tasked with planning a bachelorette party for her best friend. The best man asks her to meet up so they can plan both the bachelor and bachelorette (which are set to merge towards the end of the night), which challenges Tessa's fear of not only being out in the public, but around men. Ben screws up multiple times with her, and I think the dual POV was definitely the right choice here because I very much liked to get his insight on when he knew he messed up, and then Tessa's reaction to it afterward. In doing my research, it seems this book follows another one, but I didn't feel like I was missing anything because I hadn't read that series. However, I might go back and read it now!

The only critique I can give about this book is that I feel Tessa's level of comfort with Ben was a little too quick at first. I didn't quite believe that a woman who hadn't been out much and was stressing over sitting at a table with a guy would suddenly be okay with driving home in a car with him and letting him know where she lived. Otherwise, this was a great read and I'm now going to put this author's other books on my backlog!

I really enjoyed this one but the ending felt real anticlimactic. Like they went through this entire ordeal and then… what? Nothing. Skye and Braden get married. The secondary trauma they both endured at the end of the book wasn’t even touched on (briefly).

3.75🌟

This is my first book from this author and I really enjoyed it. I was hooked from the first chapter itself and I finished it in a day.

Ben and Tessa knew each other through Ben’s Brother and Tessa’s BFF for sometime now, but they never met face to face.
After surviving a horrific incident Tessa has become a recluse and I loved how Ben was drawn to her from the first meeting itself and tried to help her. He constantly tried to uplift her and helped her heal without pushing her boundaries. I really liked him.
I also liked that, they communicated openly with each other, especially in the last scenes (those are my favourite too).
Tessa was such a strong woman. Both of them had flaws and made questionable decisions but it just made the story somewhat realistic.

But I will be honest, I didn’t like some of their choices and decisions.
Epilogue was so cute.

Recommended and safe but TW.


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The story follows Ben who is about to be best man to his brother Braden & Tessa who is Maid of Honour to her best friend Skye. The two of them get together to plan a joint bachelor/bachelorette party in Jamaica.

They’re both battling their own demons due to the dark pasts they’ve both endured. Tessa was victim to an abusive ex & Ben took part in a robbery gone wrong. Both of their pasts are catching up to them & tough decisions have to be made.

The connection between the FMC & MMC is beautiful, all he wants to do is protect her and make her feel safe & be a better version of herself. She overcomes so much with his help, all whilst he’s secretly dealing with his own struggles.

When a trauma bond is done correctly, it is without a doubt my favourite trope… I LOVED this one!🥰

This is a deeply emotional romance that had a lasting impact on me. Tessa, who is struggling to recover from a traumatic past, is paired with billionaire Benjamin Black to plan their best friends' parties in Jamaica. Despite her emotional numbness, she feels a stirring attraction to Ben, who treats her with unmatched gentleness and respect. Their connection grows as Ben's protectiveness helps Tessa regain her strength, even as they both confront their haunting pasts. The novel beautifully explores love's power to heal, though it includes sensitive themes like sexual assault and PTSD. Helen Hardt's storytelling made me feel every moment of Tessa and Ben's journey. I highly recommend this read for those who appreciate heartfelt, intense romance.