"A hot sexy read with a hero to die for and a tough-as-nails heroine"

Jessi Tanner is a woman on a mission. She is a police officer investigating the murder of a young woman in her hometown in Mississippi. All evidence leads her to believe this was not an ordinary crime, but one committed by a vampire. Her investigation leads her to New York City, right in to the lair of the one man she should avoid at all costs.

Drayden Maslow is a vampire who feeds on blood and psychic energy to survive. Every day he fights the urge to give in to his baser nature, yet he knows he cannot. When Jessi Tanner shows up at his nightclub, Club Arcadia, he realizes all of his resistance is about to be tested.

Jessi teams up with the Pagan Konstantinos to discover everything she can about the Goth community in hopes of finding the killer. Yet while he can protect her from the evil surrounding them, he cannot save her from herself. Jessi and Drayden are drawn to each other in ways neither understands. All they know is that the more they are together; the more they need each other to satisfy the cravings of the body and the mind. What will happen when Jessi solves the case and discovers Maslow's greatest secrets?

This reviewer admits to not being a fan of BDSM stories, and had she realized this story fit that genre, probably would have avoided it. So it's a good thing she wasn't aware of that fact! This story is intense, captivating, and bound to keep one reading late in to the night. The concept of the vampire and Pagan communities represented here was very well developed and obviously well researched. Maslow's Needs will entertain, all the while it teaches aspects of the represented lifestyles.

Jessi is a driven woman, longing to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Molly's murder yet frustrated at the fact she must keep her connection to the victim a secret. Drayden is tortured, knowing he can never give in entirely to the needs of his kind, all the while he is tempted so powerfully by his attraction to Jessi. The passion between them will not be denied. Nolan, Drayden's brother, is a depraved being who doesn't care who he hurts in the process of sating his uncontrollable desires. Then there is Konstantinos, the magnetic practitioner of witchcraft who takes his pursuit of women as serious as he does his protection of Jessi. He is one of this reader's favorite characters in this book, and hopefully will one day get his own story.

There were a few things in the book that could have been explained more clearly. Multiple references were made to Jessi as a "cowan" but no explanation given as to what that is. It is unknown if this was mere oversight, or if people knowledgeable about the Goth community are expected to understand. At any rate, some brief descriptions of this, among other things, could have been given. Also, maybe this is done intentionally, but though the House Meroveus is mentioned several times, as is the importance of Maslow's family to this, absolutely no explanation is given as to what House Meroveus is, or why this bloodline is so important. The readers may suffer several moments of confusion at these plot elements.

The sex scenes are searing hot, and bound to appeal to fans of the BDSM sub-genre. One may want to have an ice- cold glass of water nearby, or a significant other, to cool off after reading them. Yet, for those not especially keen on this topic, they need not worry as there are not a lot of scenes involving this lifestyle.

If readers are looking for a hot sexy read with a hero to die for and a tough-as-nails heroine, then Maslow's Needs by Sheri Gilmore is the book for them.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, September 2005. All rights reserved.

Reviewed by Kelley Hartsell
Courtesy Love Romances
Posted October 10, 2005

Summary

Want to know the real truth about vampires? Homicide detective Jessi Tanner thinks she does, when a young woman turns up dead in her Mississippi town. But then she meets Drayden Maslow, a man who purports to lead a community of vampires. A man who she is drawn to psychically and sexually against her better judgment. Drayden is a Sanguinarian Vampire, fighting his basic needs for blood and sex. He's determined to protect his people from discovery, at the same time as he protects Jessi from the killer. But he craves Jessi's 'chi'. He needs Jessi. Thrown into a world of vampirism and witchcraft, Jessi seeks the help of renowned Dark Neopagan Konstantinos, and while he teaches her protection spells against the evil she seeks, he cannot protect her from her own basic needs... or her attraction and addiction to Drayden.