Still Beating: A Dark Survival Romance

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: 7.86

454 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 a heartfelt, intense dark romance exploring trauma, survival, and the journey to self-love. Review...

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.
Cheyenne Shepherd
Apr 23, 2026
10/10 stars
This was a good one I couldn’t put it down! A must read!
mytruths
Mar 18, 2026
10/10 stars
Another one I probably wouldn't have gravitated to on my own, but it was recommended by a friend. I devoured this audio in less than 12 hours. The writing, the story, the character development, and the yearning held my attention greatly. A tragically beautiful story. So glad I followed through. Will definitely read more from this author.
lavender_bloom
Mar 04, 2026
8/10 stars
Actually, a really heart-felt book about love and how people struggle to process their life after something so horrifyingly traumatic happens to them that alters every inch of their being. “We can’t give our heart to another without loving our own first.”

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