Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Still Beating

holy. fucking. shit.
i knew going into this that it was going to be a very heavy, intense book but even though i read dark romances no problem i did have to stop a couple times and just sit there and process.

if you decide to read this book PLEASE DEAR LORD read the trigger warnings, i’ll list them below.

****MAY BE CONSIDERED SPOILERS*****

trigger warnings:
❌ Rape
❌ Abduction
❌ Physical Abuse
❌ Thoughts of Suicide
❌ Victim Blaming (i don’t know if this counts as a trigger, but i’m sure that it would bother a lot of people who have the previous triggers stated)

this book is more than just the trigger warnings though, and while it has romance the underlying message is so much more than that.
the characters went through A LOT just with their trauma and then we see the after effects on how they chose to navigate through the trauma and how they learned to grow through it as well.
this book did have the “sisters ex” trope, which normally i steer clear from, but i feel like with this book specifically it didn’t bother me as much - especially finding out more things about melody as the book progressed.
i found the epilogue to be very sweet, i feel like it was what was needed after such an intense book and wrapped up Dean and Cora perfectly.

Content Warnings

dontbechey20's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book absolutely DESTROYED me in every way possible...and has become one of my favorite books because of it. I initially tried so hard to not like this book. Seriously! I was fighting it. It's beyond messed up to fall for your sister's fiance after he is forced to do unspeakable things to you after being kidnapped together...right?! WRONG! Jennifer did such an impeccable job unraveling the story of Dean and Cora, both as enemies and lovers.

One of my favorite things about this book is how raw and real it is. It's not an insta-love story that works out perfectly. It has glaringly obvious and frustrating bumps along the way, which makes the love between Dean and Cora feel so real and authentic. As a reader, I was THROWN every which way with my emotions. I spent the entirety of this book crying, laughing, swooning, and yelling from pure and utter frustration.

Authors can very quickly and easily fall into a "pit" of trauma and pain. Writing a story stemming from pain, dispair, and trauma can be easy. Jennifer seamlessly joined two timelines together to tell the love (and hate) story between Dean and Cora. She somehow brings awareness to dark, heavy, and deep topics, while simultaneously keeping the book hopeful and hauntingly beautiful. I was honestly worried the entire book was going to be focused on the abduction, so as I got through the first chapters that were utterly disgusting (in the best way possible), I was worried Jennifer was only going to hone in on the ugly. To my surprise, she pivoted the story rather quickly to focus on the part of the story a lot of people avoid - the recovery. That is why this book is so powerful.

This book is not meant for everyone, but if you can find the mental space and capacity to read it, please do. You will not regret it. It will leave you aching, crying, and in love with both characters individually and together. Also, this book is NOT focused on the spice. Expect spice (don't worry, it gets better), but that is not the focus of this story.

Quote from the book: "I know I said you’re holding me underwater but you’re the only thing keeping me afloat." I CAN'T!! How can you read that and not fall in love?!

BRB, going to see if I can find a matching necklace, because I need to torture myself every single day with a reminder of a chef kiss of a book boyfriend.

Content Warnings