Hours later, and I’m still enamored and enveloped within this dark, heart wrenching, and deeply emotional story. Hours later, and I’m still processing and feeling it all. I haven’t been able to stop thinking and feeling and experiencing what this author creates with them and their story. My mind has been thinking about Cora, about Dean, about their story, about their shared trauma, about their fight for what could be and the possibilities of them. I haven’t stopped thinking about this book since I finished reading late last night. And quite frankly, I think I’m still obsessed with them, and I love it. I was obsessed with this book, this story, and these characters.

I needed everything that this book delivered. I needed more of every single ounce of what this story so authentically and deeply gave me. I needed everything with these characters. I read it in one sitting because I literally could not put it down. This book consumed me in every way possible. It was exceptionally written, thoughtfully crafted, and brought to life through words and feelings and every emotion under the sun that OWNED me. It has to be one of the most unique dark romances I have EVER read. If Monsters in the Dark was the number 1 series that was recommended to me for Dark Reads October, then Still Beating by Jennifer Hartmann was the number 1 standalone novel with multiple recommendations, so I knew I HAD to read this book.Īnd I am damn glad I did because this book was absolutely INCREDIBLE y’all.

Not just because so many readers had recommended them, but because so many of the books recommended multiple times were ones that were brand new to me…and I LOVE me a brand new book and author to fangirl over. I also found that many books and series were recommended over and over again by my fellow readers, and I have to say that those were some of the ones I was drawn to most. Some I’d heard of, some were absolutely brand new to me, and some were books I had owned for years. On TikTok and this blog’s Facebook page, I got tons of great recommendations. I wanted to find some amazing new dark romance reads that I wouldn’t have been able to find on my own.Īnd let me tell you, my book friends showed up in the absolute best way. I wanted to discover new worlds and series. Even though I have read and loved some seriously amazing dark romance books, I also knew that I was really more of a novice in this particular subgenre, so I needed help. I knew I needed all of the recommendations because I wasn’t sure where to really start with my dark romance reading. When I set out to do Dark Reads October, I knew I needed help in deciding what to read.

Still beating by jennifer hartmann