Desperate Times

An EMP Survival Harem

By: Lara X. Lust

Narrated by: Zachary Zaba, Erin Bateman

Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Previously published as Desperate Times: 1-4 Collected (an EMP apocalypse survival harem) by Lara X. Lust.

Dom’s life has never been easy.

He’s fought for everything he has. Forged in the fires of poverty and neglect, he’s spent years building a life for himself. And it seems like everything is finally coming together. He lives on his own in a decent house at the edge of town, he works for himself writing novels, he’s debt-free, and, most recently, his relationship with his hot best friend and her sexy friend seems to be heading somewhere a lot more fun....

But everything is about to change. When a solar flare slams the Earth with a worldwide EMP and knocks out power everywhere, Dom and the two women he cares about most will be forced to walk hundreds of miles through chaos to a safe location. It will take everything for them to survive.

©2021 Lara X. Lust (P)2022 Royal Guard Publishing LLC

A slow start

While the book is not lacking in spicy content, it takes a while before the action starts. But I have to admit, I'm looking forward to the sequel.

wasted potential with a bad narrator

I was really hoping to like this story, but the Mary Sue self insert mc that's good at everything, and stiff and forced writing was a real letdown. the male narrator who read most of the story has an extremely wooden performance that makes him sound like a serial killer. Erin Bateman is as good as ever, but her russian accent needs some work.

Enjoyable listen

You know when you read the blurb about a book and go…hmmm, interesting? That’s what I thought until I listened to this audiobook. Interesting quickly turned into I can’t stop listening. The way the world turned chaotic and the need to escape the mass lawlessness before they get caught in it keeps you engaged in the story. Then you add in just the right amount of spicy-times for good measure. They have a long way to go which means we get several more books (I hope) to continue the journey. Zachary Zaba and Erin Bateman gave their usual impeccable performance to give the characters and the story more depth.

Enjoyed it!!

Short but sweet, really enjoyed the strong MC and his drive to live and succeed and protect his girls, well done!

awesomeness in a jar

a great post cataclysmic harem story. the MC pulls himself up by the boot straps but stays humble and helps some of the girls in his life and winds up starting a relationship with them. it's a great way to spend a few hours.

Unexpectedly Great

I went into this book really not expecting much. The Laura X Lust pen name really had me thinking that I should give it a pass, but I am glad I didn't.

There's a fun time in this EMP survival story!

Desperate Times by Lara X. Lust is a fun read with some good times in it. This EMP survival story is a fun time with excellent characters, situations, and a unique premise. I look forward to Lara's next story! Audio Version: Zachary Zaba and Erin Bateman do a great job with the story and each of their characters.

It grasps you to not let you go

It is such an amazing situation, dream come through and then the end of the world, so it turns I to a fight for survival. Super engaging that it keeps you on edge, and quite pleasant. Narrators do a great job to give personality to the characters too. I definitely recommend it!

It is pretty basic but fun.

This is pretty typical for the genre with an apocalyptic event with the MC gathering some others around him/her. With this one being a male MC and women since it is a harem story. This is definitely the first book so it is the starting of the joint-relationship and events around the apocalyptic event.
It's a nice and easy story to follow.

MC isn't the "hero" cliche and cares more about those close to him. But isn't completely numb to others.

I enjoyed both the male and female narrators and their voice ranges. Especially the child, I loved the little guy's adorable voice! Made me think of my nephew and want to visit him!

Pretty good

First time reading this author and I gotta say I really liked this book, time to look for more.