Truth, by Sherri Hayes

I am thrilled to be participating in the blog tour for this book. From the first page of slave, the first book in the Finding Anna series, I was hooked, captivated, drawn into this world, deeply caring about the characters. This new book, Truth, was no exception.
It starts exactly where book two ended, with the arrival of Brianna’s father. Brianna terrified lost in herself and in panic, Stephan, terrified, desperately trying to get to her. Throughout the book, there is the sense of the outside world beginning to close in around Stephan and Brianna, even as we see their strength as individuals and as a couple grow.
As Brianna takes each step forward, I read with my breath held at times, feeling her fear and then feeling Stephan’s pride. Sherri Hayes makes me feel these characters in my heart. I want to cheer when Brianna excels or combats her fears and inner demons. I want to hug Stephan for his never-failing care and gentleness with her.
When the ending came I was shocked and in a way heartbroken, and yet, it is exactly how this had to go. Stephan has done everything to help Brianna, and now she can do something for him. At the same time, it is her greatest leap into trying to live; gaining self-confidence and strength that she has taken so far, absolutely what she needed to do. But I think I’m going to weep from the idea of waiting a whole year till I can learn what happened next!
It’s hard to describe why this series means so much to me. It’s not like anything else I’ve read. The depth of the writing, the strength of the characters, it’s all part of it. I am more interested in characters than anything else in a book, and Stephan and Brianna ring a chord with me. As I read and see not only Brianna’s growth but Stephan’s as well, I feel like I am watching two friends surmount terribly odds and coming out on the other side, strong and proud and confident. I wish I could meet them and tell them how much I applaud who they are, even though, of course, I know they are only fiction. Perhaps that’s the greatest compliment I can pay the and their creator. I read many many books, but rarely do I feel such a connection and even more rarely do the characters live on with my imagination year to year.