Book Review: Slave by Sherri Hayes (+18)

Author: Sherri Hayes
Series: Finding Anna #1
My Rating: 4 cups
Publisher: The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House
Publishing Date: July 28th 2011
Blurb: (from Goodreads)

Stephan has lived the lifestyle of a Dominant for five years. After several rebellious teenage years, it gave him the stability and control he had been seeking after his parent’s death.

As president of a not-for-profit foundation, he knows what his future holds and what he wants out of life. All that changes when a simple lunch with his college friend and Mentor, Darren, leads him to buying a slave.

Thrust into a situation he never thought he’d be in, Stephan can’t walk away. He is compelled to help this girl in the only way he knows how.

Brianna knows only one thing, she is a slave. She has nothing. She is nothing.

Can Stephan help Brianna realize that she is much more than just a Slave?

You know how sometimes you read a book that manages to have this unique hold on you, both mentally and physically, that you feel drained after reading it? That's how I feel right now after reading Slave. It's not the bad kind of draining, it's just a testament to how much I loved the story. Maybe that's why I find it a bit hard to review it. 

The one thing that I'm completely grateful of is that we get both Stephan's and Brianna's views in this story. I think I would've been a mess had one of those be missing. Another thing that I found really surprising, in a pleasant way, was that this was one of those books that make you want to read each and every word carefully.

The emotional journey you take while reading this story is also pretty amazing. I know I felt anger each time Stephan discovered more and more about Brianna's traumatic experiences, or I felt such a tenderness towards her that I wanted to be able to help her in some way. I also wanted to cry a few times. And I like the fact that by the end of the book we get to see an improved Brianna. She's not done recovering, that's for sure, and I am also sure of the fact that it won't be an easy period, but she was a little better than when the book started.

I loved both Stephan and Brianna and I cannot describe to you how much I need to read the next book and find out what happens to them. I have the sneaky suspicion the second book, Need, is going to be even more interesting and emotionally engaging. And I'm ready for a certain someone to receive what they deserve. Well, actually several someones.