Topping the Alpha

Trident Security Series

By: Samantha A. Cole

Narrated by: Sean Crisden

Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's Summary

Getting involved with your brothers’ friend and employee is never a good idea, but after being dominated by Jake Donovan for one night, Nick Sawyer wants more. A Navy SEAL, Nick’s been the alpha in every relationship he’s ever had, but now finds himself craving to submit to Jake again. The problem is Jake’s determined that will never happen.

Thrown together to help a girl in danger, Nick starts breaking through Jake’s defenses, but when things go awry, Jake must confront the ghosts from his past before he can ever think about a future. Nick just hopes that future includes him.

The Trident Security series contains elements of the BDSM lifestyle, sensual romance, nail-biting suspense, and happily ever afters.

The Trident Security series:

• Leather & Lace (Devon and Kristen)
• His Angel (Ian and Angie)
• Waiting for Him (Boomer and Kat)
• Not Negotiable: A Novella (Parker and Shelby)
• Topping the Alpha (Jake and Nick)
• Watching from the Shadows (Marco and Harper)
• Whiskey Tribute: A Novella (Curt and Dana)
• Tickle His Fancy (Brody and Fancy)
• Absolving His Sins (Carter and Jordyn)
• Option Number Three (Mitch, Tyler, and Tori)
• Salvaging His Soul (Jase and Brie)

The audiobooks of the Trident Security Series can be listened to as stand-alones; however, for optimum enjoyment, they are best listened to in order.

©2015 Samantha A. Cole (P)2018 Samantha A. Cole

Great story

While I know that the story is a good one, I also know that BDSM stories aren’t my cup of tea and that’s okay.

I enjoyed Jack and Nick’s budding romance. I adore Nick and his tenacity. Jake was kind of annoying when he was being purposefully rude to Nick. For somebody who considers himself dominant, he sure result in rude ways to discourage Nick.

There’s a lot of layers getting peeled as the story goes on. There’s action and it also talks about the BDSM community and lifestyle, so that was educational for me. For some reason, I wish there was more of Jack and Nick’s romance and their chemistry on top with their D/s relationship.

If you’re into BDSM books, a lil bit of action and strong family ties, this book is for you.

enjoyed it

Would I listen to it again: yes
Did the story keep me engaged: yes
Was I invested in the characters: yes
What did I like about the story? good pace, well developed characters and a complex story.

This book may not be for everyone, it is an m/m novel but it is very well written, tastefully done and fits in well with the other books in the series. If you haven't done m/m before, I ask you to be open minded and give it a go.

The book has two concurrent story lines. Nick and Jake team up to help out a young woman after her mother has been killed. Nick's pursuit of Jake after an off the charts one-night-stand.
I enjoyed Jake and Nicks' story. I liked the way the characters evolved.
• Jake comes to terms with the demons from his past;
• Nick takes the time to learn about the lifestyle and what Jake needs. Nicks personal growth as he opens up to his homosexuality and accepts his true self was very well written.

Sean Crisden is one of my favorite narrators. He brings life and emotion to the story, I had no problem distinguishing which character was speaking, their personalities come through all making for an immersible audio experience.

Fell instantly in love with Jake and Nick

My favorite book in the whole series!! Jake and Nick have mountains to climb and hurdles to cross before they can take their romance to the next level. Will Jake be able to get over his past and finally let love and happiness surround him? Beautifully written and emotionally charged, this will end up being a book that I will listen to time and time again. Sean Crisden brought the characters to life and was the perfect narrator for the story.

Best one of the series

Fantastic narrative, excellent story. I highly recommend, start at book one. One click today. You won’t be sorry.

Not much steam at all

Given the title and the BDSM themes, I expected more steam and was disappointed by this book. This is a tame crime novel with a little bit of m/m romance thrown in. It has an HEA, but even that failed to end on a bang of any sort at all.

Loved it

Always love Sean Crisden the mm love story is awesome all though his women voices are not that great I still loved the story and couldn’t put it down and to top it off it was a BDSM love story.

loved it

omg I absolutely loved this audio version of it. I absolutely love Jake And nick.

Enjoyed!

Solid storyline, narrator did a good job immersing me in the story which to me is the best part if reading agnes listening.

Even better on audible!

I first read this story on my Kindle and fell completely in love with Jake and Nick as a couple! It was even better on audible. I sometimes struggle with audible books as I am a fast reader and sometimes they can seem a little slow but that wasn't the case here! Sean brought Samantha's amazing story to life in a whole new way. Man did that scene with Jake and Marie hit me even harder!

great!

absolutely loved the narration as well as the storyline, this was a new to me author. I definitely want more of her MM works whether it be audio or actual books. engaging, sexy and suspenseful.

an interesting twist

Nick has always been seen as a Dom in the club but for some treason, he feels very submissive near Jake. Jake is all alpha and a strong one too. Nick will have a lot of barriers to break through to get his man he really wants. When they are thrown together to help a girl, Nick finds a way to break Jake. But what Jake does next shocked me. You will have to read it to find out!

Sean Crisden narrated this installment of the Trident series. He has an easy to listen to voice. His narration brought the characters to life. I felt as if I was a bystander within the story witnessing it happening through his narration. I enjoyed this narration.

I should have read the previous novels first.

The story is all right and the narration well done. It's just, all those characters. Everybody mentioned is getting a whole paragraph what happened before. And a lot of people are mentioned. A lot have their own point of view too. Add to this the constant mentioning and explanations of storylines from the past, and I am lost. What plot line am I supposed to remember?

Very enjoyable

This is a bit different from the usual M/M books I’ve read, there is usually an obvious Alpha and a blatant sub, this book is all about discovery for a male sub. Very enjoyable storyline with great characters and a brilliant narration.

What's not to love-

MM, some BDSM, and a good story-line. Audio was just as good as the book. This was one of the first MM books I've read but have since read many and still come back to this one as a favorite. I want more Jake and Nick!

Excellent narrator, I've listened to other MM books he's narrated for and the author made a good choice with Sean Crisden.

A great addition to the series!

I like to start by saying, the title is aptly named. Topping the Alpha, the fourth book in Trident Security is one of a hand full of MM romance books that I absolutely enjoyed. It's well-written, sweltering with engaging characters. The narration by Sean Crisden is superb; he portrayed the characters flawlessly. This was a fantastic listen one I strongly recommend. I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook, and my unbiased review is voluntarily given.

as good 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. It took me a little bit, to come into the narrator, but at the end, it worked. I only have to take a few breaks between. I'm just not yet finish with the book, 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

Topping the Alpha

I sometimes listen to M/M romance although it's not my first choice but I love this series and I did love Jake and Nick's story. Unfortunately, though, the next book in the series isn't out in audio yet so I guess I need to drag my Kindle out and read Marco's story. Sean Crisden has a really nice voice and did a great job bringing this story to life. I received this audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this unbiased review.

Another winner!

More from Trident Security series with a wee bit of MM romance. There is just something special about MM romance, add in BDSM and you'll be all a flutter!!

Topping The Alpha

Another perfect addition to this group of strong men and women. The way these two fight their ways tot he top into a beautiful relationship is so touching. I loved hearing their stories and can only hope their will be more in this series soon.

Sean Crisden does Topping the Alpha justice!

A fan of Samantha a. Cole for some time, Topping the Alpha is possibly the one I have the biggest soft spot for. Hard to say "favourite" as I absolutely adore every one of her stories.

I'm always very wary of audio books. First of all there is the American accent which I am not used to...I read with a British accent 😉, and second there is always the chance the voice or performance (or both) will be annoying. this has happened to me a couple of times and it had ruined the story a little for me.

I can honestly, hand on heart, say that Sean Crisden does this story justice. He gives the characters life and doesn't just narrate the story. he clearly took the time to become familiar with the characters. I would not be in the least surprised if he had read the previous books in the series as well.

Very highly recommended!!!