Still Beating

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: 7.87

412 RATINGS

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Readers say *Still Beating* by Jennifer Hartmann is a haunting, intense dark romance with raw emotional depth, exploring trauma, loss, survival, and c...

Missfitz225
Nov 01, 2025
9/10 stars
So wrong, yet so right! Check your trigger warnings. I’m still tearing up over this one. 😭
TWilli
Jan 05, 2026
10/10 stars
This book…. Ripped my heart out!!!! And put it back together just to rip out again. It takes real maturity to understand and appreciate a story like this. There’s trauma. There’s devastation, loss and there’s sacrifice. I loved every minute of it.
Laura
Dec 17, 2025
10/10 stars
Wow ! This was such a well written story but please read the trigger warnings for emotional trauma. The epilogue sets up for another book or a secondary side character which now I want to read. I have to thank Ericka with a K on TikTok for her review of Jennifer Hartmann and praise for her books. I had never read any and now I have added four to my TBR !

Bekahh
Dec 05, 2025
8/10 stars
OMG this wrecked me I was no expecting all the happened so much pain, hurt, and the fight. It was such an amazing read
Cheryl’s Cozy Reads
Sep 14, 2025
10/10 stars
One of my favorite books ever!! If I could read this for the first time again I would!

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