Need is the second installment of Sherri Hayes’ Finding Anna series, which follows the same two protagonists throughout. In the previous book, Slave, Brianna was held against her will as a slave to a wealthy man who used and abused her and passed her around to his friends for their amusement as well. When Stephan learned about her plight, he used his own considerable resources to buy her freedom. He’s been caring for her ever since and hopes that one day, she might heal enough to willingly be his submissive. This book follows them through approximately another month of their lives as they get to know one another better and continue to build trust between them. However, there are still many obstacles for them to overcome, the biggest of which is Brianna’s fears, but there is also the looming threat of her father – who it appears sold her into slavery in the first place – possibly discovering her whereabouts, as well as other reminders of her past life and abuse. Through it all, though, Stephan is right there by Brianna’s side, helping her to cope and bringing her back to some semblance of peace, but each of them still worries whether they can be the person the other needs them to be.

Doms can be hit and miss with me, but thus far, Stephan has been a wonderful hero. His age was finally revealed in this book, and he turned out to be a bit younger than I expected. That being the case, I’d have to say that he’s very mature and wise beyond his years. He certainly has some dominant tendencies, but he’s always mindful of where Brianna came from and never asks more of her than she’s willing or able to give. He has a calm, confident demeanor that engenders trust, never losing his temper and exercising an admirable level of patience and restraint. He’s ever hopeful that one day Brianna will make it to a place where she’s able to accept her submissive nature and fully trust him as her master, but he knows if that’s ever to become a reality, he’ll have to take things very slowly. Sometimes, it’s a matter of taking two steps forward and one step back, but no matter what, he’s always there offering his unconditional support. Stephan is also very protective, rushing to Brianna’s side whenever she needs him and prepared to confront anyone who’s harmed her. At the same time, he’s rather disarmed by her himself, discovering a deep love for her that he’s never felt for any other woman in his life. He’s also a gentle, tender, patient lover, taking the time to help Brianna overcome her fears and realize that sex can be something genuinely beautiful and pleasurable and not something to be afraid of.

Brianna is very sweet and meek. She probably harbors some natural submissive tendencies that were exploited when she was being trafficked, leaving her a shell of her former self, someone who’s practically afraid of her own shadow. As the story progresses, she slowly begins to blossom, although it’s a painstaking process. Sometimes, I wished that she was a little less critical of herself, but given her background it does fit. She’s still very dependent on Stephan for both physical and emotional support, but by the end, she’s starting to become a little more confident. The structure and discipline that Stephan insists upon helps keep her anxieties at bay most of the time by helping her know what to expect. However, she must come face to face with her past a number of times, as she first meets Stephan’s friend who alerted him to Brianna’s plight and later one of her old Master’s friends who abused her. She also chances to meet an old childhood friend who happens to be a business rival of Stephan’s. Through these encounters and her conversations with Stephan, we learn a bit more about what happened to her and what her life was like before being sold into slavery. By the end, I would say that Brianna still has some work to do, but she’s finally on the right track and clearly has fallen for Stephan. She simply can’t even think of a life without him, even though she fears that she might not be able to be a good submissive.

I think that the title of this book, Need, if a very fitting one, because it explores both Stephan and Brianna’s need for each other, along with their individual concerns as to whether they can each be what the other needs. Brianna is very reliant on Stephan as the person she trusts the most and one of the few people she trusts at all, but worries whether she can truly be a submissive. Stephan discovers a deep desire for Brianna that goes far beyond the sexual and into the realm of knowing that he wants her in his life always, but occasionally still harbors concern as to whether he can truly help her overcome all her fears. Together, these two are a beautiful combination, particularly as they grow to trust one another. Their relationship is sweet and tender, but gradually grows into something more passionate. Theirs is a deeply emotional story that’s left me eager to keep reading. The only thing that made me drop the half-star is that the book has a number of mechanical issues such as typos, grammar mistakes, and continuity errors that should have been caught by a good editor and that could be a bit distracting. Otherwise, though, I very much enjoyed it and look forward to the next installment, especially since this one ended on a cliffhanger.

Note: I’m classifying this book as an erotic romance, because of the underlying BDSM themes. However, the sexual content in this installment is more on par with steamy romances with nothing of a particularly kinky nature occurring. ( )

Need picks up right where the first book in the series left off, with Anna trying to figure out how to live her life as a free woman and trying to get to terms with what happened to her.

I liked this book better than the first one. First of all, while the emotional roller-coaster was still very much present, there was a big development in Anna and Stephan's relationship, more so than in Slave. I kept hoping they'd get past one point and when they did, I was very happy for them.

Second of all, we get to see Anna improve more and more. She still has a long way to go and I'm not very sure she'll ever be able to act, feel and think like any other normal woman, without her traumatic past, but I'm sure she'll get even better. I liked the fact that not once Stephan lost his temper with her, even when her reactions hurt him. I think that's one of the reasons I like him, his ability to understand Anna and his willingness do to anything for her.

We get to meet a friend from Anna's past and I'm curious about him. I'm not exactly sure what my feelings for him are, since we got only brief glimpses of him. I think Cal Ross really cares for Anna and maybe he'll play a big part in her future.

The book ends with a major cliffhanger and I really want to know what happens next. I'm curious what will happen in the future with both Anna and Stephan and if a certain someone will get what he deserves. ( )

Need is book 2 in a 4 book series. I loved book 1 even though it wasn't quite like I expected - definitely no bad thing!

In this book we find Stephan coaxing the still frightened Brianna out of her shell, he gets her to talk to him. He's given her the structure that she needs to live, she's had her spirit broken and needs guidance to live in a busy world. He encourages her to spread her wings a little, taking her places and trying to integrate her into a world she's afraid of. He's patient and caring, he pushes when he needs to but has open arms when she's upset and scared.

Again if you expect a sex-fest then you will be disappointed because its not that kind of book, there is a bit more than in book one but not full on like some. I really enjoyed it and was so very glad that book 3 was waiting for me to start! ( )

Brianna's constant sobbing really was aggravating. I mean come on, get it together. Stephan is a saint for putting up with all that crying. The book aside from Brianna was enjoyable overall but not as good as the first in the series. ( )

I am going to do something a little different then I have done before with series . I read Book 1 Slave and jumped right into this one without doing a review of Slave first . The reason being is I wanted to do one big review of both with everything together in one review . So with that said here goes nothing .


My heart is heavy, My Heart is Broken , My heart is full of happiness . How is that possible after what I have just read ??? When I started Slave within the first chapter My heart Broke For Brianna . I could not believe What Daren was telling Stephan about her . By chapter 3 my heart was so heavy with pain for her I was crying inside my own body . How could ANY human being do the things that had been done to her was beyond my belief .

Let's re-touch on book 1 Slave :

Stephan a High powered business man who owns his own Non-Profit company at the age of 25 yrs old . He became powerful because of the loss of his parents. He has worked hard for the company he owns and is very well respected by many people . He is also a Dominant . Upon meeting his high school friend Daren for a lunch one day , Daren proceeds to tell him that he saw this woman at a party and it looked to him like she was not there by her own free will . He told Stephan the woman was a slave , but she looked like a very terrified slave , who did not want to be where she was . Upon talking further with Daren Stephan found out that he would have to "buy" her from her Master in order to get her away from him . Stephan thought about this and thought , " The thought of “buying” a woman turned my stomach, but if what Daren said was true, I couldn’t just leave her there.I needed more information and ignored my food as it grew cold on my plate. his mind raced as to what he would do if he did in fact buy her , ( what would he do with her , could he treat her like a piece of meat and buy her ?" the answer was YES if it meant helping her and saving her from the hell she was in he would do it ... after all he lives and works to HELP people everyday .

Stephan gets ready to go Buy the woman and once he arrives at the house she is at , he greets her Master and then meets Brianna . One look at her and he knows he will do anything in his power to help and save her and he buys her , and takes her home .

Brianna is so broken and so deep inside her self that the slightest thing scared the shit out of her , she does not know what to think of her NEW Master , after all he did buy her , and that meant she was to serve him like she had her previous Master right ?? Brianna becomes even more closed up to herself and her surroundings as the days progress with Stephan , she does not realize that he is not going to hurt her , but she has absolutely no trust in him what so ever and she is just waiting for him to do what ever he wants with her like all the men previous have , BUT Stephan does not touch her in the way she is expecting , which confuses her to no end . she is very reserved by him and the things that he does for her .

For the first Month Stephan does everything he can to build a little bit of trust in her and get her to open up just a little to him ... Brianna is slowly starting to open up , but if something spooks her or her mind wanders to far she falls into full blown panic attacks , which she thinks will result in her New Master punishing her . When he does not punish her she is left confused and not sure what to do or how to feel , This New Master is NOTHING like her last one ...

Towards the end of Book 1 Slave , Stephan has now gotten her to open up to him a little more and talk some about what has happened to her , but with caution to the wind he takes his time with her and never pressures her into anything she does not want to say . He can see at this point when she is at the point of a panic attack and he calms her right down now with a simple touch of his hand on her , or him sitting in his chair with her on his lap nestled into him .

Slow but surely Brianna is starting to trust him and open up a little more to him . He has introduced her to his Best Friends Logan And Lily who are also A dominant and Submissive and Lily has told Brianna that she is not Stephans slave , and never would be . NOW Brianna is more confused then ever , because she does not know why he "bought her " if she was not his slave . At the end of Book 1 Stephan tells her she is not his Slave , that he bought her to Save her and Help her .... she is confused and asks him why he did that and he tells her he could not stand to know what was happening to her and not do something to help her . he then proceeds to tell her he would like her to be his submissive .. She has no idea what a submissive is and he suggest she chats with Lily and ask her questions as Lily will talk to her and help her .


We start off Need with Brianna trying to figure what to do now that Stephan has told her she did not belong to anyone and was not his slave . He explains what he did to help her , not to own her like she thought he had, but because he wanted to help her as he knew she was not where SHE wanted to be . Brianna has so many emotions and thoughts running through her mind that she does not know what to do with all this information . Stephan finds her cuddled up in her bed crying and he craddles her and comforts her until he gets her to calm down .

Stephan slowly gets her to talk and open up some more through Need , he takes her out to dinner to get her into the loop of being around people because she does not feel safe around other people especially Men . She is starting to feel safe with Stephan . he has started to do things like , register her for college , talk about getting her a car, giving her a cell phone , She does understand why he is doing these things , but she does not say nothing out loud .

Brianna is so lost , she does not know now what he expects from her or how she is to act around him now that she knows that she is not his slave . Stephan Handles her with major kid gloves and does everything he can to make her comfortable and to get her to open up to him . he has given her a Journal to help her to write down her feelings and to say things she is afraid to tell him or say to him . This seems to help her ALOT , she flows right into writing and then lets him read it at night and they discuss what she has written . he very slowly is earning her trust .

Now as we progress more into Need , we all know by now that sex is the scariest things for Brianna . given her past we all understand why . My heart breaks for her with everything she wants , but also with everything she is feeling when it comes to Stephan because she is learning to trust him more , but she is also still so scared as to when he will "Take her " as far as sex goes .

Stephan is slowly trying to work her into wanting to have sex with him as he has come to realize that he LOVES Brianna and he wants nothing more then to give her everything in the world and he wants nothing more then to show her how much he loves her . Ya they have kissed , but Stephan stops before things get out of control or before she goes into full blown panic . he handles her so carefully and he does it with so much care and love . I truly LOVE STEPHAN right now .

Things progress for Brianna little by little , Stephan has gotten her to open up more and he finds out how she ended up where she did and he finds out also from his lawyer that it seems her father might have sold her to take care of his own debt . He is furious to think how any person could sell someone let alone your own daughter . Stephan vows to protect her and keep her safe from her father and tells her he will never let anyone take her away from him .

they progress more into the touching and feeling of each other throughout the book and she seems to be adjusting well , and Stephan never pushes her to far ....


One night he decides to turn things up a little and he gets more touchy feely with her and she likes it and she sets all reserve aside and asks him to have sex with her . He does , still handling her with alot of care and it is amazing for both of them ....

We end Need with her opening the door to the Penthouse and her father standing there ...

NOW I LOVED these two people , I loved how Stephan took such amazing care of Brianna . I love how Brianna who was so damn broken and closed up has slowly started to open up more and more and is realizing that she has feelings she has never felt for any man before .

I can not wait to see where Sherri Goes with these two amazing people .

I will be patiently waiting for book 3 to come this summer :)



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