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Still Beating is a dark romance that follows Cora on the night of her sister’s birthday party. That night, Cora loses her wallet and calls for help from an unlikely person, her future brother-in-law, Dean. Cora and Dean have never gotten along. Their relationship consists of endless pranks and torment. However, this one night will change all of that when they find themselves chained up in a sick man’s basement.
Cora and Dean must now put aside their differences and dislike for each other. Working against time and the demented man who has abducted them, they must fight to survive and escape. What Cora and Dean don’t know is that the man who took them has a plan of his own, one that will alter their relationship forever.
This was the first book I read by Jennifer Hartmann. I went into this book somewhat blind and loved every minute of it. At the beginning of the book, we see Cora and Dean as they are trapped in the basement. They undergo terrible acts and are tortured without reason. Cora and Dean start to become each other’s lifeline and are the only reason they are fighting to survive.
In the second half of the book, we see their lives after they have escaped. The events that took place in that basement have changed them forever. They are the only ones who know what they went through. Everyone else in their lives has tried to get them to move past the event. Cora and Dean have this continuous push-and-pull relationship due to their new connection. They want to lean on each other and explore these new feelings, but their old lives are still coming back for them.
Seeing how Cora and Dean grow from this event, not only individually, but together, was one of the most beautiful parts of the book. There are so many secrets revealed while they are chained up in the basement, and without giving away spoilers, I have to say Dean’s secret was something I did not expect.
Overall, this book was an amazing read that kept me intrigued the entire time. There was so much emotion and passion throughout the entire book. Due to the contents of the book, I highly recommend checking the trigger warnings. I look forward to reading more from Jennifer Hartmann in the future.
This was written by our contributing writer, Hannah Martin.
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