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Meet Naomi Abbott: a former successful painter, she now runs a non-profit art program for autistic adults. She’s intelligent, and beautiful, and kind. Oh, and she’s also an alcoholic in her first year of recovery. Naomi’s working on many tough things in her life – things that can knock the breath out of her body at just a thought – and the last thing she can cope with right now is romance. A man would upset everything she’s trying to accomplish… especially that man.

Meet Matt ‘King’ Kingston: a hulking, scowling, muscular ex-Marine who has a garage with clients that include MC members, and who runs some shady special-ops group. He’s gorgeous, and generous, and sex on legs. Oh, and he’s completely and totally in lust and love with Naomi. Despite his best efforts to get close to her – hell, she won’t even accept a simple dinner invitation! – she’s holding back for reasons he can’t begin to comprehend. But King isn’t a man who takes no for an answer… and he’s determined to get Naomi to say yes.

As they get to know each other, Naomi finds herself wondering if she can trust Matt with her deepest, darkest secrets. As she lowers her walls and starts to let him in, Matt helps her heal and believe in herself – and in him. But when Naomi goes in to a tailspin, will she find the inner strength to get through it in one piece? And if she comes back to him, will King’s love still be there waiting for her?

Unknown Binding

First published January 22, 2015

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About the author

Marysol James

36 books252 followers
Marysol James was raised in a small town in Canada and is still a small-town girl at heart. She's a cancer survivor, cinnamon bun lover, and hardcore caffeine addict.

Marysol crosses genres in her writing, happily and enthusiastically. To date, she's published 30 steamy, sexy, slinky Contemporary Erotic Romances spread over five different series, including the Amazon and iBooks best selling 'Unseen Enemy', 'Dangerous Curves', and 'Road Devils MC' series. Her books incorporate action and adventure, suspense, military elements, and some surprising plot twists and turns.

Besides her romances, Marysol also writes crisp, clever, Contemporary Literature. It can be dark and provocative at times, and magical realism features heavily in her books. She loves moving between the worlds of magical realism and glorious romance, and she's grateful every day to be able to do both.

If you'd like to stay on top of her news, please visit her official author's website at www.marysoljames.com

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5 stars
144 (35%)
4 stars
166 (40%)
3 stars
83 (20%)
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15 (3%)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
Profile Image for Steph.
230 reviews18 followers
January 30, 2015
WOW what can I say but yet another brilliant story. Marysol is not scared of talking about real life things that happen .
Profile Image for Indy.
1,199 reviews34 followers
March 1, 2015
This was a fairly good book and likely if my tastes were a bit different I would have liked a lot more. Naomi is a young professional leading a special needs art program who is a newly recovered alcoholic. Matt owns a local mechanic shop but also works as a private investigator of sorts. They have strong instant attraction but timing is everything and it's a slow go as Naomi prioritizes her sobriety over any relationship entanglement. Upside is this is a more mature read, touching the references to Naomi's admirable non-profit efforts and realistic struggle with alcohol. But this book had very few light hearted moments and seemed to be a downer for me most of the book. Could have had a bit more conflict come up with the exes, Knight's Men, familial issues, etc. and just seemed to gloss over. I like a bit more angst and suspense with some humor thrown in.
Profile Image for Janey.
478 reviews22 followers
August 27, 2018
I'm really starting to love this series, these women who bring these powerful badass, alpha, gorgeous men to their knees are wonderful, I love that their not perfect but they have there own issues/responsibilities to deal with. Also wonderful is how Independant they are, they don't assume the guy is going to swoop in and solve everything and don't expect it when they do. This book was really sweet, love the slow build up with Naomi trusting King, loads of wooing as King called it...sweet, nice bit of back story and careful/compassionate handling of having an addiction. Nice touch having Jax and Sarah from the first book, you got to hear about their lives too. But having said that how cute were Noah and Callie? Adorable!!, looking forward to reading book 3.
Profile Image for Susan.
194 reviews1 follower
January 25, 2015
worth the wait

Such moving love story. This is such a debilitating disease and in this book I felt the pain struggle and finally redemption that the h felt. King was a true hero and forever kind of guy. When he fell it was forever and he meant he was going to battle right along side Naomi to get to the other side. He did that in spades. All of Marysol's books are emotional but this tops them all IMHO. So glad I discovered this author
Profile Image for Caz Malpas.
668 reviews51 followers
October 10, 2015
4 STRONG SPARKLY STARS!

This is yet another great read in yet another great series. The h and H are of course attracted to one another, yet both are battling internal demons and in turn preventing one or the other from taking a chance on a relationship. Good strong h and sexy as sin H!

Profile Image for Lovetoread.
345 reviews26 followers
June 6, 2018
Hard Curves is the second book in Marysol James's series Dangerous Curves. I enjoyed the first book in the series and decided to read the second. This is the story of Naomi Abbott and Matt Kingston, nickname is King.


Our heroine, Naomi Abbott was at one time a successful painter. She now runs an art program for autistic adults. She does have private demons as an alcoholic in her first year of sobriety. With all her waking hours working to make a go in her non-profit art program and going to AA meeting there is little to no room in her life for a man never mind romance. "Naomi Abbott: a former successful painter, she now runs a non-profit art program for autistic adults. She’s intelligent, and beautiful, and kind. Oh, and she’s also an alcoholic in her first year of recovery. Naomi’s working on many tough things in her life – things that can knock the breath out of her body at just a thought – and the last thing she can cope with right now is romance. A man would upset everything she’s trying to accomplish… Our hero is Matt ‘King’ Kingston: a hulking, scowling, muscular ex-Marine who has a garage with clients that include MC members, and who runs some shady special-ops group. He’s gorgeous, and generous, and sex on legs. Oh, and he’s completely and totally in lust and love with Naomi.

The sensuality is through the roof on this one.....I rate its' sizzle a strong and satisfying 8 out of 10. This romance has a strong story with well developed characters. I strongly recommend this romance.....

1,095 reviews7 followers
March 28, 2017
If you like steamy romance novels with hot and sexy alpha males, a good and interesting storyline then this book is worth reading.
This is one in a series of books and it is best to start at the begining as each book contains the same characters but focuses on a different couple.

I love them!
Profile Image for Leah.
55 reviews4 followers
June 8, 2015
I love a book where the hero decides on the heroine pretty much right away and never loses his focus through the book, and that's exactly how Matt/King was! Pretty much as soon as he met Naomi, he decided he wanted to know her better, and he didn't let anything persuade him otherwise. He was so sweet with her! I really liked how supportive he was of her and her issues. I also liked how she gradually came to realize that she could depend on him to be there for her. Really great story all around, can't wait to read the next book in the series!
Profile Image for Duzz.
134 reviews22 followers
January 21, 2016
I like Matt and his patience. Another man with so much understanding.
I can't wait to read another story of this series.
4,793 reviews9 followers
September 28, 2018
Good read

Developing into a really good series of strong men who don’t fit the mould but who do anything for the women they fall in love with. Only criticism of this book was the over thinking of the relationship and nothing about what happened to the ex boyfriend and girlfriend. Loose ties that I like sorted. Loved the book.
Profile Image for JJH--Judy.
1,087 reviews1 follower
August 28, 2015
Good, but not my favorite

3 1/2 stars. I'm really glad I discovered this author, I have really enjoyed reading her books. I would have to say though, that this is not one of my favorite. This has to do mainly with the fact I could not get a good "read" on the h Naomi. She's a complicated character--sweet, strong, vulnerable, caring, scared, but her characteristics did not meld well together for me, and it made her seem kind of "bipolar" to me. It also doesn't have to do with the fact she is a recovering alcoholic--I enjoy stories where the h or H has to overcome major obstacles. Something was just "off" for me when it comes to her. I also felt something was missing with the "villain" part of the story. Maybe it will be concluded in a following book.

I did really enjoy the H, King. He was super sweet, yet retained his "alpha" status. The relationship had a slower progression, which was refreshing too. There is a secondary romance happening in the background that is very sweet, but some parts that had to do with the H and h from the first book of this series seemed to be out of place in this storyline. I also actually liked the way the author did the ow in his book. She was crazy--literally-- and I liked how the situation was handled between the H and her--I would not have liked his character if he was a jerk to her.

On to the next one!
Profile Image for Amber Fueston.
1,540 reviews10 followers
October 30, 2016
Major kudos to the author for tackling the battle of alcohol addiction so superbly!

King is a fixer. When someone needs help or needs saving HE is the one you call. His methods may not always be by the book, but they get the job done. He has the reputation of a player but lately hes been feeling like something is missing in his life. When he meets Naomi, who runs an art center for autistic adults he figures out that she is what he is missing in his life. There is one small problem though. Naomi is an alcoholic. Not even a full year sober yet she is still fighting tooth and nail every day for strength to not give into her addiction. Leery at first of starting a relationship through tenderness and patience King shows her what it is to love. He struggles with not being able to fix things for her on the bad days when she is fighting her addiction so hard though.

I loved how very real Naomi and her addiction come across. I like that her low points are not glossed over and are given just as much attention as her high ones. And dont get me wrong, I love my tough, gruff, and sometimes jerk-ish alpha men but I also love the ones who turn to complete mush when it comes to the women they love.
Profile Image for Catherine.
17 reviews4 followers
January 26, 2015
I just don't know how Marysol keeps doing it, but she does.

In this one, we have a heroine struggling with recovery from alcoholism. She has lots of things working against her (biology, an alcoholic mom, a father who abandoned her, trust issues, a bad sexual experience when drunk). This is what King walks in to and to his credit, he never backs down in his faith in Naomi. THIS is a man, ladies!!

I also wanted to give a quick shout-out to Marysol's portrayal of King's ex. So often in Romance Land, exes are vengeful bitches and sluts (and our intrepid heroines are ALWAYS good girls, even when they're kind of slutty) and these awful exes are always plotting to steal the man back.

Not here, though. Yes, Janine causes problems (no spoilers from me!), but the way Marysol writes it, I actually felt sorry for her and I found her depiction of Janine sensitive and compassionate. She was not a bitch or a ho, and I really hope that we hear more about her in the next book, TBH.
Profile Image for Lauren.
648 reviews13 followers
April 19, 2015
Really good book

This could have been a really normal book. It could have been average. But it wasn't. It was taken from average to something more. And it's because of Naomi's battle with alcoholism. King, I thought, would be some total bad-a** character because of the business he runs. Thought maybe he would have some troubled past and fear of commitment. But he had none of those. He was so totally, sweet, possessive, perfect...too perfect. He wanted Naomi, wanted her to be happy. Naomi was fighting her attraction to King, and it could've been boring same old, same old. But throw in her alcoholism, and you have a pretty deep book. Something new, and interesting, something real. King was so perfect for her, while she fought her demons. The characters were ok the heat was ok, but the plot was so good. Wanted everything to turn out good for everybody, wanted her to triumph after everything Naomi had been through.

Overall really good story.
Profile Image for Terri.
37 reviews1 follower
January 26, 2015
Wow. Just - wow. Where to begin with this one?

OK, first of all. Naomi is an alcoholic in recovery and this leads to all kinds of issues right away. She's avoiding relationships and is secretive about why. When Matt/ King comes along and starts his seduction moves, she's tempted (and Holy Lord, who wouldn't be?) but she's committed to her recovery. So there's some inevitable push-and-pull between them at first, until King forces the issue and she comes clean.

For me, this is where the romance takes off and soars. King is 100% supportive of her determination to stay sober and they take it slow and sweet. But when they get together? Lord have mercy. These two set those sheets on fire.

Another great book by Ms. James. Now I'm waiting on the next one!
Profile Image for Bev .
2,216 reviews481 followers
February 14, 2015
I loved this! I was a little hesitant to read this with the alcoholism story line, I had no idea where MJ was going to take it. So glad I jumped in, what a fabulous story and so different for the heroine to have the problem and the hero to be a regular good guy (as regular as King could get lol).

I loved his unwavering belief in her, his strength, loyalty, patience and undying love for her. I loved Naomi too, for all her issues she did not have a single TSTL moment, she was so damn strong, even though she didn't see that in herself. It was fabulous to see her grow, gain confidence, slay her dragons and become the woman she was all along.

A truly fabulous read and for me it's MJ's best work so far.
Profile Image for Alznuthouse.
95 reviews2 followers
April 14, 2016
Kinda disappointed

I've just started reading all of Marysols different series. First book in this series was great but I was really disappointed (unexpectedly). I've very much enjoyed this authors writing. For the first half of this book, can't say I liked Naomi at all. She keeps telling King to leave her alone, and when he does, he is the prick. I just didn't like this character, as for King who is big and macho, from previous books, we was nothing but a big pussyfooting in this one, and as f a r as I can tell he doesn't really do anything major about the guy who hurt her. This whole book was just off, in my opinion.

Marshal is a great author n story teller for the most part, but this book just isn't one of her better works.
16 reviews
April 25, 2016
I am a huge fan of Marysol James, her books are amazing and inspirational to all readers. I purchased this book by accident and have not regret clicking the wrong book of Marysol's. What I love about her books is that she builds up the trust and mystery between two characters, adding with the drama that could end the couple. But in the end, it shows the reality of her books too, because like life, there is drama and unexpected turns. The only reason why this book took me so long to finish is because of my personal schedule, I just didn't have the time to continue flipping from one page to the next.
Profile Image for KathyB .
1,633 reviews53 followers
June 1, 2015
3.5 Stars

I thought the first book in the series was better (Dangerous Curves), but this was still enjoyable. Certain aspects of the story were a bit farfetched, but all in all it was a quick entertaining read.

Triggers -

Profile Image for Shirley.
673 reviews
November 5, 2015
5 Stars

Oh man I loved this book. I love the whole idea of a damaged heroine instead to the usual damaged hero, it made for such a good change. King oh my what can I say about King. As well as being smoking hot protective alpha he is soooo sweet, loyal, loving and patient……boy was he patient! He was exactly what Naomi needed and was all in with her 100%.
I love the fact that MJ’s heroines don’t have any TSTL moments and her heroes don’t pull any bullshit moves. Once again a fab read from MJ.

Profile Image for Sheila.
155 reviews
March 29, 2016
I really like this series so far, and have liked other books that Marysol James has written. My only complaint would be that I would love it if there were an epilogue at the end of these books.

The characters from the previous book do make an appearance, but there is no true "ending" to their story, and the same can be said for King and Naomi in this book.

I can only hope that when reading the next book in the series, there will be more flashes of these couples because I'm dying to know how their stories come to a true ending.
Profile Image for Anna.
290 reviews74 followers
November 12, 2015
Naomi and Matt- at the first sight you wouldn't think of them having anything in common, like at all. Scary big-ass biker of shady reputation and dubious moral standards vs. feminine, suit wearing, delicate businesswoman. Yet, after a strange first meeting, they seem to be unable to stop running up against each other and their mutual attraction can't be denied. Things progress rather slow in the big scheme of things but the anticipation is so much better than some fast game.
100 reviews
February 24, 2016
Naomi is a recovering alcoholic. King is the owner of a bike shop and also oversees rescues missions of questionable means to some people. Naomi and King meet when he offers to make a donation to her art gallery that helps autistic children. She refuses his donation at first, but he ends up making it anonymous anyway. King falls hard for this strong determined young lady. Once, they finally get together the love and passion is undeniable even after the controversy they must overcome.
1,112 reviews8 followers
January 31, 2016
Loved it!

As a substance abuse counselor, I can say that I found the depiction of alcoholism and sponsorship to be pretty accurate. I adored King in this story. He was unbelievably patient and understanding. He was just what Naomi needed. Getting to keep up with Jax and Sarah and their ongoing journey was a definite bonus, and the Callie/Noah storyline was my absolute favorite. I'm ready to start book three!
898 reviews
March 7, 2015
Great addition to series. I like the series much better than open skies and King was awesome! Wooooweee all he was willing to wait through for Naomi was so sweet and all her struggles were heart breaking. Also loved the updates on jax and Sarah and Noah (sooo cute!). Can't wait for the rest of the stories! I hope mirrie gets her man too and I am leaning toward Aiden or possibly Mac.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews

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