Still Beating: A Dark Survival Romance

By Jennifer Hartmann

He puts his hand against my chest. "It's still beating," he whispers, his words a soft kiss against my lips. "As long as it's beating, you're okay."

When Cora Lawson attends her sister's birthday party, she expects at most a hangover or a walk of shame by the end of it. She doesn't anticipate a stolen wallet, leaving her stranded and dependent on her sister's fiancé, Dean Asher--her archnemesis and perpetual thorn in her side.

And she really doesn't anticipate getting knocked out and waking up chained in a madman's basement, Dean in his own shackles beside her.

After fifteen years of teasing, insults, and never-ending pranks, the ultimate joke seems to be on them. The two people who always thought they'd end up killing each other must now work together if they want to survive long enough to escape.

But Cora and Dean don't know that their abductor has a plan for them. A plan that will alter the course of their relationship, blur the line between hate and love, and shackle them to each other long after they are freed from their chains. They're in this together--no matter what their unexpected bond might cost them.

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Published Jul 11, 2023

336 pages

Average rating: 7.79

485 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *Still Beating* by Jennifer Hartmann is an intense, emotionally raw dark romance marked by powerful prose and carefully crafted, multi-lay...

Missfitz225
Nov 01, 2025
9/10 stars
So wrong, yet so right! Check your trigger warnings. I’m still tearing up over this one. 😭
P.S. Aynia
Aug 01, 2024
9/10 stars
Here is my ❤️. She 💔 it. Then ❤️‍🩹 it. This is NOT for the faint of heart. It is rough, raw, and beautiful.
Jessie🫠
Aug 09, 2022
Definitely a darker story but one of my favorite books. There are some triggers
Rehtalia666
Jul 27, 2026
10/10 stars
This is probably the best standalone book I have ever read! Dean and Cora are exceptional characters with shared trauma. Excellent book, it is a MUST read!
Melle M.
Jul 27, 2026
10/10 stars
This book is incredibly deep, and I highly recommend checking the trigger warnings if you have any sensitivities. I appreciated the story and its layers all the way through to the final page. The characters were written with such care, and Jennifer Hartmann did an exceptional job showing each of their perspectives on such a heavy topic. It’s been many years since I’ve given a book a perfect 10, but this one absolutely deserves it.

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