Illicit Desires: Volume 1

By: April Cross, Lacey Cross

Narrated by: Aleks Esquire

Length: 2 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

Sometimes happily ever after doesn't look like you think it should.

Includes books one to three of the Illicit Desires series, a dark romance that travels a twisted path as three people work toward an unconventional happily ever after.

Illicit Desires: Volume 1 includes:

• Emily's Secret Dom
• Mastering Emily
• Controlling Emily

Emily's Secret Dom: Sometimes temptation can be more than a person can resist.

Emily’s life is boring, and at 35, she assumes this is as good as it’s going to get. She has a decent job and a loving, if passionless, husband, but knows she should be grateful for all her blessings. Until a chance encounter in an online game introduces her to Aiden.

Aiden thrills her like no other man has before, and she doesn’t understand what is so special about him until he tempts her with an offer that she knows she should refuse.

Journey with Emily as she grapples with hidden desires she didn’t know she had and travels down a darker path than she ever thought possible.

Mastering Emily: Is the risk worth the reward?

Emily desperately wants to meet up with her dom in real life and experience everything he has to offer, but she knows she shouldn’t. This choice could shatter her marriage, and she has a good life. She has a big decision to make and Aiden isn’t making the choice any easier when he thrills her at every turn.

Emily craves the control that Aiden can provide, but is it worth risking her marriage?

Controlling Emily: Can a marriage survive a betrayal?

Can Emily and Nate's marriage be salvaged after such a betrayal? Emily must navigate the new reality, while Nate grapples with the decision he made.

But there is a third person in this triangle that they never considered. How is Aiden going to respond to the changes in all their lives?

Emily is so close to having everything she wants and she'll do anything to keep it.

©2021 Lacey Cross (P)2024 Lacey Cross

This was soooo hottt

I could only listen in privacy even with headphones on. I wasn't sure I would like it because of the online gaming part but oh my it got good really good.

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Illicit Desires: Volume 1

I enjoyed this great story. Emily has some major interest in Aiden. Her interest is because Aiden's dom side really thrills her. Nate does not. Nate does get curious and wants to know more. What harm can a little checking cause?

Loved It!

I really enjoyed this book. This is the first book I've read that has cheating in it because that's not my thing or something I want to read about in my romances. I went for it because it was specified as a MMF- so I knew at some point the two males would be involved. Not that that makes cheating okay to have done, but I'm a sucker for MMF romances.

A very steamy read. I was completely hooked to the storyline. I really liked that Nate, Emily, and Aiden all had their distinct personalities and points of view. Even if not told from whose point of view you were getting, you would have been able to tell which character's mind you were in.

I felt really badly for Nate here as you could tell just how much he loved Emily and how afraid he was that she would leave him. She's clearly not getting what she needs from Nate, but why she turned to cheating instead of just talking to him about it or trying to change things up when the guy is attentive but clearly clueless is beyond me.

I absolutely loved Aleks Esquire's narration on this audiobook! He had very clear, distinct voices for all three characters. Even Nate and Aiden's voices are very different based on the tone and depth they spoke in. I was impressed. And I can admit a big part of my decision to get the two audiobooks in this series was hearing Aleks's sexy Aiden voice. I just had to have it!

Overall: 4.5 stars
Performance: 5 stars
Story: 4 stars

Light BDSM, cheating, cuckolding

This is a series of books based on a submissive woman and her husband. The woman starts an affair with a dom and the husband is surprisingly complacent about it. The chapters flip back and forth between the characters' view points. The book has it's hot moments if you can get over certain aspects of the story as highlighted in the title of my review. if you have a problem with any of these, skip.

From Cyber to IRL

Aiden and Emily's friendship may start online, but after escalating into cheating territory, things begin to change. I may hate the cheating even if I can understand how she might be feeling, but I do like where this volume leaves off, and I look forward to more.

I received an author's copy of this collection. The narrator is Aleks Esquire. I like him with the male characters but not so much with Emily.

Story: 3.5-4 stars
Narration: 3.5 stars
Listening Speed: 1.6x

a very hot evening

every word was better than the last
my breath was caught in my throat during several chapters
the characters are complex with out the mess of a back story.

Left wanting more.

This was a good sexy story. Emily's marriage to Nate has lost its spark. She finds excitement with Aiden who makes her his sub. The affair surprisingly energizes his marriage. Even though this was an erotic tale, it was more than just sex. This had a good story and interesting characters. The ending sets up an interesting turn and left me wanting to know how things end up for this threesome.


I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

BDSM Short Stories

This boxed set includes the three first novellas in the series: Emily's Secret Dom, Mastering Emily, and Controlling Emily. The BDSM short stories are steamy, and fast-paced. Aleks Esquire did a good job with the narration. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

1-14

This is how the story or Emily, Nate, and Aiden take place from the beginning.
This was a great story and I enjoyed listening to the chapters together .

The Start of Nate, Emily & Aiden

This is the story of Nate, Emily, and Aiden. Nate and Emily have been married for 10 years and something seems a little off – they both love each other like no other, but for Emily, something seems to be missing. Emily starts flirting with a man (Aiden) on a game she is playing and one thing leads to another. They end up meeting up, and Emily finding out that she needs to be dominated. Nate feels like something is up, and ends up finding out that Emily has been discussing meeting up with Aiden – he ends up following Emily and gets turned on by what he sees. Nate is confused by what he is feeling, and Emily has become more attentive. When the affair is revealed, Nate is afraid that Emily will choose Aiden over him and then Emily reveals that she wants to keep them both. Meeting up, Aiden and Nate have a moment. Again, Nate is confused, but wondering what could be…

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.