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A review by bookish_leigh
Still Beating by Jennifer Hartmann
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This book missed several rounds of editing because HOW on God's green earth did this get picked up by a publishing house.
If I was reading this on fanfiction.net in 2016 this would get 5 stars.
The start of this book was ok. But in hind sight, I must have been swindled by the suspense and trauma to miss how mediocre the writing is and how annoying Cora is.
For the writing, it's good quantity fanfiction AT BEST. So juvenile that, at times, I completely forgot that the characters are touching 30. And Miss Corabelle is no better than the next 17 year old. The only silver lining is that the dialogue and emotions flowed clearly and seamlessly.
For the plot, I really like the kidnapping concept and everything that came with it, but everything that came after was a mess. I wish the psychology of Earl (The Matchmaker) and his victims were expanded upon but no such luck.
For the characters, everyone outside of Dean and Cora were an after thought. The parents were TOO hands off after their daughter and future son-in-law was just kidnapped and brutalized for weeks. At some point, after Cora tried to unalive herself, the mother mentioned wanting to give her space....seriously😑. The lack of attention on Cora's mental health is CRIMINAL. This book could have been a medium to create a dialogue around mental health but failed miserably.
Mandy is a victim of biased writing. She was made to seem like the mean girl of Cora's life from the beginning with out any standing. Only to paint Cora with the "not like other girls" persona...she likes books and pranking Dean...it was never that deep.
Y'all on Book Tok stay exaggerating.
Plot: 2.5/5
Writing: 2.5/5
Characters: 2.5/5
Spice🌶:2 out of 5 forgettable, and hard to rate given how much I disliked this book
Overall: 2.5/5⭐
If I was reading this on fanfiction.net in 2016 this would get 5 stars.
The start of this book was ok. But in hind sight, I must have been swindled by the suspense and trauma to miss how mediocre the writing is and how annoying Cora is.
For the writing, it's good quantity fanfiction AT BEST. So juvenile that, at times, I completely forgot that the characters are touching 30. And Miss Corabelle is no better than the next 17 year old. The only silver lining is that the dialogue and emotions flowed clearly and seamlessly.
For the plot, I really like the kidnapping concept and everything that came with it, but everything that came after was a mess. I wish the psychology of Earl (The Matchmaker) and his victims were expanded upon but no such luck.
For the characters, everyone outside of Dean and Cora were an after thought. The parents were TOO hands off after their daughter and future son-in-law was just kidnapped and brutalized for weeks. At some point, after Cora tried to unalive herself, the mother mentioned wanting to give her space....seriously😑. The lack of attention on Cora's mental health is CRIMINAL. This book could have been a medium to create a dialogue around mental health but failed miserably.
Mandy is a victim of biased writing. She was made to seem like the mean girl of Cora's life from the beginning with out any standing. Only to paint Cora with the "not like other girls" persona...she likes books and pranking Dean...it was never that deep.
Y'all on Book Tok stay exaggerating.
Plot: 2.5/5
Writing: 2.5/5
Characters: 2.5/5
Spice🌶:2 out of 5 forgettable, and hard to rate given how much I disliked this book
Overall: 2.5/5⭐
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Sexual harassment, Miscarriage, Murder, Suicide attempt, Confinement, Violence, Rape, and Mental illness