Coming Out on Top

By: Nora Phoenix

Narrated by: Kenneth Obi

Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

He's twice his size and a lot older, but will Mac let Quentin come out on top?

Quentin is searching for...something. 

Respect. 

Answers. 

His identity. 

Most of all, he’s searching for a man who will let him be in charge, despite the fact that he looks like an elf.

But all that will have to wait because right now, he’s searching for shelter after getting stranded in the middle of nowhere, New York with a massive snow storm about to hit.

He finds an unexpected host in Mac, a man the whole town seems to hate. Mac has secrets, but so does Quentin. Sparks fly between them, but can it lead to more when Mac is twice his size, a lot older, and practically a virgin...and when Mac can’t leave and there’s no way Quentin will stay?

Snow Way Out is a steamy contemporary gay romance with an age gap, a dash of kink, a ton of snow, a gentle giant of a man, and a bossy twink. It’s a stand-alone book in the Snowed In - Valentine’s Inc. series, which are only connected by the same writing prompt.  

©2020 Nora Phoenix (P)2020 Nora Phoenix

Oh my loved it

First I just want to cuddle and hug Augustus and hurt everyone in that town :(. Also this is a wonderful snowed in romance and I love the sexiness and kink :). And I love love Augustus. Heck I love both MCs but he definitely has a special place. And the narration was great the stuttering was done so well. This had me tearing up :)

Amazing on all accounts

This is by far one of the best performances I've ever heard from a narrator. From the stutters to the insecurity to the trusting conversations, all believable and 100% effect you in your core.

The writing was beyond what I expected. the story was cute, compelling, somewhat mysterious, and emotional.

The story felt like it was unraveling gradually opposed to all at once and the relationship between the characters was written with the upmost care. You can tell that the relationship the characters develop truly is something strong and you can't help wanting the best for them.

Additionally, there are A LOT of sexy scenes that are absolutely delicious and again the narration was fantastic. None of the scenes felt forced or just thrown in but again, like a gradual build again and again and I couldn't hello but love it all.

whirlwind

I loved this book. It touched many points, love, adversity, revenge, betrayal, hope, and surrealism. If you get past how fast the characters moved through their relationship everything is great. It was a palate cleanser on hopeless love affairs.

loved!

great all around! but the narrator is what makes it a million times better. I purposely look for books narrated by kenneth along with a couple others like Iggy Toma. these 2 are my favorite. highly recommend this book & those 2 narrators.

Unexpected Gem

Coming Out on Top left me pleasantly surprised. What could easily have been a shallow GFY trope was a wonderfully hearting and and meaningful tale of finding love and acceptance when you least expect it. Phoenix is fantastic at creating characters with depth and true emotions, and she really nailed it this time- especially with Augustus (Mack). I loved how the two MCs started falling for eachother right from the beginning. There was no false angst or "I can't possibly be having feelings for another man" panic, which I genuinely appreciated. There is a mild BDSM-like element to their developing relationship, although not enough to consider this a BDSM romance type story. The steamy scenes were off the charts and extremely well written, as per usual for Phoenix. Obi did a solid job with the narration, especially considering the heavy speech impediment he managed to work with. All in all, this book was a pleasure to listen to and left me with all the good feels!

Evocative & achingly brilliant

Nora Phoenix has created a story with characters so layered, you will not be able to resist being drawn into their lives.
Kenneth Obi brilliantly brings the story to life. I have listened to dozens of books he has narrated, and this is his best. Kenneth was able to bring out just about every emotion. A tennis match of emotion worthy of Wimbledon.
Highly recommend!!!

all the feels😍

i love this book! definitely credit worthy.
Such a beautiful love story and the narration 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽BRAVO!

LIGHT & SWEET!

This read had a little of everything.
It was like a delicious ice cream sunday with all the toppings. The cherry on top, was being able to hear it narrated by the decadent voice of the late Kenneth Obi.
You are truly mssed my friend. ❤

This is my 1st read where a younger twink is the Dom and the older bear of a man is the sub.
Very light BDSM, as they both are new to it, GFY, AGE GAP, D/s with a speech impediment that is endearing.
So many feels in this one.
I truly recommend it, you won't be disappointed.

Thank you for another wonderful escape Nora Phoenix!

Suspended Belief

If you can get past the fact that these two characters fell in love, had unprotected sex, brought a 10k gift and moved cross country all in a 6 week time frame, this is your book.
overall the story was OK. It dragged at parts and Mac is enduring but he seemed like a doormat.

Loved everything about this!

Wow what an amazing book! One of the best I have ever read by Nora Phoenix! Mac is probably one of my favorite characters she has ever written. A gentle giant with a heart of gold. And Quentin, oh he was a treat. Confident, self assured and a bossy twink, I adored him! The relationship between them was so real. They communicated, they worked through issues and challenges, they just got each other. The love flowed off the pages. The character development was exceptional, the connection between them was so realistic and their mutual exploration of what worked for them was wonderfully written. The book was smart, sexy, romantic and heartfelt...it was just perfect!
Ken Obi was amazing! His voice for Quentin was soft and perfect. But his voice for Mac, with his stutter, blew my socks off. It was so natural and so well done. As always the narration with Obi was smooth, well paced and on point! 

A cute story

I’ve never come across Kenneth Obi as a narrator before. I think they did a stellar job, especially with Augustus’ stammer. Enjoyable story overall with a happy ever after.

Brilliant

This is my 4th time listening to this and I absolutely love these men. Read it!

Nice but nothing special

I liked the characters. The story was average. All drama came from the secondary characters. The bdsm was laughable. The narration good.

Such gentle a soul

After having read this book previously, I was already familiar with gentle giant Augustis and Quentin their story. After hearing the narration, so beautifully done by the late Kenneth Obi, it brought my frustration and compassion for both even more to the forefront. I just love how they find their individual joy and together their hfn/ hea. Just Beautiful.

So warm and loving

This book radiates love and warmth between those men where so many people around them were plain mean and I didn’t want to leave them!

Kenneth talked about that he struggled with if he could do Augustus justice with his severe stuttering. He did an amazing job with forming him and his personality and speech impairment.

Loved every word 💕

This one is kind of personal for me as I've suffered from a similar speech impediment (not as bad now thank goodness) but wow Kenneth done an awesome job as always.

This was the first book that Kenneth narrated that I've listened to since his passing which I have to say had me in tears but loving every moment.

I love this book and will listen again and again.

Great Book, and brilliant narration

There's no such thing as a bad Nora Phoenix book. This is no exception. It's hard not to feel for both characters, as they explore a new bond, and discover that first impressions are not always to be trusted.

Kenneth dies a truly outstanding job of narrating Mac/Augustus, capturing his condition in an empathetic manner, and accurately representing him. This is my favourite of his narrations.

as great as the ebook

The story is always full stars, because if I wouldn't like the story as ebook, I wouldn't listen to the audiobook. I can't listen to an audiobook without knowing the book, that's not possible for me.

The performance from the narrator is also very important for me. I can't listen to a lot, because my English as a non-native-speaker isn't so perfect to follow a whole story over hours, when the narrator speaks too fast or too sloppy. Normally I have to SEE the person, who is talking to me in English. Kenneth Obi is one of the top 5 narrators (so far) for me, I can listen without break and have no problems to follow. I'm just not yet finish with the book, just over the half, but I listen enough to give a review.

PLEASE READ MY RATING SYSTEM!!!

To my ratings:

5* - very very good
it's like an A+

4* - very good and will be often re-listening
it's like an A

3* - it's more then a one-time-listening.
it's like a B

Heart warming

I loved this book from the start

I was engaged by both Mac and Quentin

Mac was such a gentle soul who needed someone to stand up for him

Quentin needed a guy to let him be himself

I loved the kink, it lightened the story and made me laugh

My heart broke for Mac’s past, it was well written and the performance was amazing. Ken Obi did an excellent job of performing Mac’s character, the timing was great another great book to listen too

Opposites Attract 

Quentin Frost finds himself world's away from home in a tiny snow covered town in New York hoping his research will help him gain the PhD position at his university.  Augustus McCain, owner of the town junk yard, comes to his rescue when his car dies and Quentin finds himself stranded as a snow storm approaches.  I love that these two men are not what you expect at first glance.  Quentin may be small, but he is mighty. I love how he so easily comes to Mac's defense from the people in town who treat him so poorly. Mac is a gentle giant who has been bullied his whole life and desperately needs someone to show him kindness. If you love unexpected roles and an age gap, this is a fantastic story.

The narration is great, easy to follow, and adds such emotion to the story.  Having read the book first, I did not think I could love Augustus more until I heard Kenneth Obi voice his character.  He did a fantastic job with his stutter; it felt natural and didn't keep me from following along in the story.