Review: Such a Beautiful Story!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 9, 2013
Without Boundaries by CJ AzevedoReview Written by JenWithout Boundaries by CJ Azevedo was very enjoyable to read. If you're a fan of Contemporary New Age Romance, you'll like this novel.  This is also her debut novel.Bailey Hayes moved across the country to New York 10 years ago after losing her mother in a tragic accident.  She is determined to not experience the loss of a loved one again, so she keeps her only friendship with a girl she met her freshman year in college.  She dated during those college years, but she never allowed it to turn into anything serious.  That all changed when she met the handsome and successful Hollister Harrison.  After six months of dating, Bailey moved in with Hollister.  After moving in together, Bailey noticed how possessive, controlling, and borderline abusive Hollister started to become.  Due to the fear of repeating her past and making a spontaneous decision by leaving too soon, Bailey insists on making her relationship with Hollister work.  Hollister goes out of town and Bailey decides to go out with her friend Kali for the first time in months.  They decide to go to a hockey game and then out for drinks.  On her way back from the bathroom, Bailey runs into Talon McAllister, literally!  Bailey immediately realizes that everything is about to change based on this one chance encounter.  Bailey had already been having doubts about her relationship with Hollister.  She was unhappy being with him because of the way he treated her.  Hollister comes back home earlier than expected, and shows Bailey how upset he is with her by using his hands.  Bailey decides she needs to go away for a few days with Talon and Kali to think things through and decide what she is going to do.Talon McAllister has been single for years-- focused on family, working in the family business, and playing hockey.  The second he lays eyes on Bailey, everything changes for him.  He wants her more than anything.  He finds out she lives with her boyfriend and that instantly gets him on a mission to make Bailey his.  After getting a call from Bailey to go on the vacation with Kali, he gets excited to spend time with her.  He picks her up and sees her bruised face, and immediately decides he is going to show her how she deserves to be treated.  Talon shows Bailey that he will be there for her and with her no matter what happens.  He cares about her so much and he is willing to do anything for her.  Because of the situation Bailey is facing with Hollister, Bailey tries to push Talon away because she doesn't want him involved.Does Bailey finally realize she's strong enough and capable of walking away from Hollister?  Or will she still have the fear of repeating her past and let her greatest love go? Read this beautiful love story and find out!!I have to say that I found Bailey's character to be sweet, caring, strong and smart.  Even though she wasn't in a healthy or happy relationship, she didn't let fear or anything else keep her down.  I respect her for the decisions she made, although some of the ones concerning Talon had me disagreeing, but she needed to work through things her own way.  Talon McAllister ... LOVED him just for the fact that he plays hockey.  I love athletes!  Anyway, I found his character to be very protective, sweet, caring, family oriented, and funny."Talon pulls me close with one hand and grabs my other hand to hold in his as we sway together to the sounds of Frank Sinatra. "You are so beautiful," Talon whispers close to my ear causing me to shiver. He pulls back from me and grins. "Did I just cause you to shiver Bailey?" I can tell he's holding back from laughing at me."Are you laughing at me? You whispered in my ear, what did you expect?" I'm trying real hard to be super serious but the smile I can't hide is a dead giveaway that I'm not the least bit mad at him."I am not laughing at you; I just have never made a woman shiver before just by the sound of my voice. I like it."I also really liked the flirty banter between Bailey and Talon.  They always started off serious, especially Talon, by saying something sweet."Now he's all confident and maybe even a bit smug while still whispering in my ear and I am making a vast effort to keep from sighing. I decide quickly to even the playing field some. So I slide my hand out of his and slowly run it up his arm, over his shoulder, and gently grasp the back of his neck. While playing with the small hairs on his nape, I pull his head down so I can reach his ear since even in my heels he is several inches taller than I am. "Can you honestly say that me whispering in this way does absolutely nothing... for you?" I pull back to look him in the face and I see his eyes are heavily lidded. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath."Nope, I can't honestly say that. But you're not playing fair." He's smiling happily at me and I love that I'm the one who made him so happy."Oh, I think I'm being plenty fair."I really enjoyed that the story was told in dual point of view.  It alternated between Bailey and Talon.  I didn't know at first it was going to be told in dual point of view, but I was glad because in the back of my mind I kept hoping to find out what Talon was thinking or what his point of view would be during certain scenes.  That made me really happy!!  I liked the whole book, but I LOVED the Epilogue!!  If you thought Talon was sweet before, wait until you read the Epilogue!!  I definitely fell in love with him all over again!  I have to say that CJ really does a great job incorporating such a heavy issue of domestic abuse into the story.CJ Azevedo provided BestSellers & bestsellers with an unedited copy of Without Boundaries to review.  There were quite a few errors that I found, but they did not distract or take away from the story.  I did have to re-read a few lines, but this can be expected with an unedited version.  Overall, I was impressed with the quality of the writing.  It was strong enough to keep me interested and intrigued.4 Diamonds for this beautiful story!!