Still beating

Tropes: dark taboo romance, enemies to lovers, hate-to-love, slow burn, soulmates, forbidden love, kidnapping, captivity, non-con, trauma bonding, forced proximity, multiple POV, emotional intensity, sisters fiance------------- It was a dark and rainy late Friday evening when I decided to read this book. I grabbed a cup of tea, a piece of cake and sat in my favorite spot to read. My cup became empty, my cake long gone, I barely moved off my spot. I went to sleep with about 100 pages left, bawling my eyes out, woke up immediately had tears in my eyes the second this book came to my mind. I don’t know if it was a good idea to listen to Six Feet Under by Billie Eilish ON REPEAT until the end, but that song just belongs to this book and to their story, and the combination fcked me up big time. BIG TIME. I WAS A MESS. Dean and Cora have my heart for fcking ever. I can’t remember the last time I rooted so hard for a couple to make it. Their energy is the beating heart of this book. And Cora. She is written so outstandingly well. See, nobody wants to deal with difficult characters. Nobody wants to deal with characters who can’t find their way out anymore and get stuck in the darkness (I’m a Nesta person with all my being, and I’ll fight for her till the end of fcking time; don’t try me). Those who dare to make mistakes. Who dare to listen to their heart. The unlikable and the unwanted. Those who can’t move on. Who are at war with themselves. Who are ANGRY. I totally believe, with all my being, that we don’t get enough of them, especially in dark romance, AND WE NEED TO PROTECT THEM AT ALL COSTS. And that's the reason why Jennifer Hartmann will forever hold a special place in my bookshelf. For being brave enough to write about the truth and not forget about the broken and lost ones because they deserve to be heard and read about. No matter how ugly it gets. And the moment Dean and Cora saw each other for the first time again? I swear to you I stopped breathing. The world vanished around them, and they were the only people left in the world. They are otherworldly and beyond beautiful, and my love for them runs so insanely deep. Ugh. I need a drink.