Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Still Beating by Jennifer Hartmann

29 reviews

ace97's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, Suicide, Violence, Confinement, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

wilsoncolleen's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Dark concept, but realistically depicted when it could’ve been so easy to wrap it up simply and prettily instead. Good read if you can power through the sexual assault scenes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Violence

taelorslibrary's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Rape, Murder, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Self harm, Blood, and Death

Minor: Animal death and Pregnancy

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I heard about this book from Booktube and was intrigued.
"Still Beating" is a dark romance that follows Cora and Dean. Cora has known Dean since High school, and she has loathed every minute she has to spend with him. Unfortunately for her, he is her sister's fiancé, and it looks like she is stuck with him in her life. After a night out, Cora calls Dean for a ride home from the bar, but they never make it home. Cora and Dean wake up chained in a stranger's basement, and they will have to learn to get along if they want to make it out alive.
Warning: this book is VERY dark and tackles some very challenging issues.
I devoured this book. I was so captivated by Cora's and Dean's story, and I was entirely enamored with watching their relationship evolve. I am normally not a huge fan of enemies to lovers, but this felt so believable and not like true hate, and they were not "enemies" for too much of the story. Their chemistry was undeniable, and I loved that they have known each other for so long. Their history, despite the constant teasing and pranks, really made their connection all the more believable.
 

Spoiler

Something I loved more than their raw chemistry was how Dean knew how to take care of Cora afterwards. They went through an unimaginable experience and Cora especially had a really difficult time dealing with it. Even though Dean wanted nothing more than to be with Cora, he knew what she really needed was to find herself again, and he stepped away. This selfless act was so beautiful and really proves how much Dean adores Cora. 

Spoiler

 
I 1000% will read from Jennifer Hartmann in the future and I will recommend this book to a very niche audience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Rape, Kidnapping, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

Moderate: Miscarriage and Pregnancy

ashkell's review against another edition

I understand it’s a romance book so it was never going to be a deep look into trauma and how people can bond over it and the downsides of it but nevertheless, this book was just…it rubbed me the wrong way. I’m not even upset about the graphic depictions because I knew what I was reading when I started but here is my list of issues:
- sexualised Cora and Dean’s rape a bit too much for my liking. Even though they both “consented” to have sex together, they wouldn’t have if not for the circumstances 
- not sure if we are meant to hate the sister, but I did. However, I wish she was a likeable character so even though you want Cora and Dean to be together, you still feel bad for Maddie. However, she was too shallow of a character as well and too “mean girl” sytreotypical that is just came across lazy
- 13 year olds on Wattpad can write better than this…sorry but it’s true
- Cora gave major pick me/I’m not like the other girl vibes. Like your not the only girl that’s into books and Maddie isn’t an idiot because she is blonde and wears dresses…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Animal death, Rape, Kidnapping, and Sexual violence

bookwxrmvictoria's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I could not put this book down but I did want to at times, and not because of the dark elements (CHECK TRIGGER WARNINGS) but because I found 99% of the characters unlikable (including Cora) 😬Overall, i did enjoy this and was moved to tears. This was not really a dark romance to me. I loved the writing, Dean (not a bad boy), Tabitha, and Lily. My favorite line from the book is… 

Spoiler

It’s still beating.  
    You’re still okay.  
    And I still love you.  
    —    Dean

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Murder, Self harm, and Rape

Minor: Miscarriage, Abortion, Bullying, and Pregnancy

booknerdxo88's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Torture, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Confinement, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Self harm

Moderate: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Animal death

sjbookslut's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Kidnapping, Confinement, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal death, Murder, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Death, Blood, Miscarriage, Self harm, Dementia, and Pregnancy

meaghanmeow's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

one of my favorite books of the year! this book is extremely dark and emotional, i recommend checking out the TWs before diving in.

still beating made me feel so many emotions. dean & cora are kidnapped by a serial killer who makes the victims fall in love with each other before unaliving them. dean is the fiance of cora's sister and they both have spent the last 15 years hating each other. once kidnapped, they're forced to do unspeakable things which makes their bond grow -- they need each other to get through life after what happened to them.

this book is emotional and angsty! i loved dean so much, he was so strong for the both of them. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Death, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt

roxanax's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Rape, Pregnancy, and Violence