🎧 book review: Still Beating by Jennifer Hartmann

4.5⭐
Genre ~ dark crime fiction
Publication date ~ December 30, 2020
Page Count ~ 314 (34 chapter + p&e)
Audio length ~ 12 hours 7 minutes
Narrators ~ Laurie West, Christian Black
POV ~ dual 1st
Featuring ~ 3 part story, multiple timelines, serial killer, abduction, r@pe, forced r@pe, torture, attempted suicide, enemies to lovers, some steamage

My review:

Cora & Dean have been nemesis for 15 years, and he is engaged to her sister, Mandy. She calls him one night to give her a ride and they are abducted and held captive for 3 weeks. They are tortured, r@ped and forced to have s*x with each other. After they escape they each deal in their own way. It takes time to heal, but one thing is for sure ~ they’ll forever be bonded.

I like that it was broken up into 3 parts. Part 1 is Cora’s POV during the abduction, part 2 is Dean’s after the abduction and part 3 is a mix of how both are dealing with the aftermath, and their new feelings. There are flashbacks throughout the last 15 years, too, that showed why their relationship was the way it was.

I gotta say too that if you’re feeling bad for Mandy ~ how her fiance dumped her for her sister and her sister stabbed her in the back for falling for her fiance ~ you shouldn’t, she wasn’t a great character. And it wasn’t like they escaped and immediately fell into a relationship either.

I’ve hopped on the hype train so many times and have been disappointed, but this is one of those books that lived up to the hype for me. An emotional story of how you can move on and heal from the most traumatic experience of your life as long as your heart is still beating .

Narration notes:
They both did an outstanding job.

*Thanks to Jennifer Hartmann, Tantor Audio and NetGalley for the audio copy. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

Add to your never ending TBR  ~ goodreads

I’d love to hear your thoughts if you’ve read it.

Book blurb:

WARNING: This is a dark romance. This book contains subject matter that may be sensitive for some readers, including rape, as well as strong language and explicit sex. 18+ only. Please read responsibly.

When Cora attends her sister’s birthday party, she expects at most a hangover or a walk of shame. She doesn’t anticipate a stolen wallet, leaving her stranded and dependent on Dean—her arch nemesis and ultimate thorn in her side.

And she really doesn’t anticipate waking up in shackles in a madman’s basement.

To make matters worse, Dean shares the space in his own set of chains.

After fifteen years of teasing, insults, and practical jokes, 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.

But Cora and Dean have no idea 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 together with far more than just chains.

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