Reviewed by Becca & Jen
TITLE: See Me
AUTHOR: T.L.Travis
PUBLISHER: Sapphire Publishing
LENGTH: 176 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 14, 2020
BLURB:
For Raphe Lombardi, life hasn’t been easy.
Permanently disfigured by a car crash at the age of nine that claimed the lives of his parents, set him on a never ending path of doctors and painful procedures.
“Never judge a book by its cover, Il mio piccolo,” Aunt Sophia would always say, tapping the space above her heart. “Trust what’s inside. Even beauty sometimes has an evil lurking beneath.” Over the years her nickname for me, my little one, was shorted to Mio. Calling me little when I now towered over her five foot frame by more than fourteen inches made it even more adorable to hear her say.
Is it best to see someone for who they truly are, or is it safer to hide in the shadows and avoid risking it all?
Potential triggers: Verbal abuse/bullying, physical abuse, self-loathing, self-harm, thoughts of suicide, dealing with death of loved ones.
BECCA’s REVIEW:
Before we get started, I need to warn you of several things. One you are going to need tissues from page one. Two, pay attention to the trigger warnings in the blurb. It’s no joke. This gets dark and heavy at some points because of things the main MC has gone through and is still going through so please, please be aware.
Now, I loved the heck out of this story. Although it’s got a lot of darkness in it because of the subjects involved, it is still a beautiful story. And a true one when the phrase says, ‘never judge a book by it’s cover’.
The opening line of the blurb is so true. So very true. Raphe has had the life of horror novels. Caught in a car accident that left most of his body scarred and disfigured and losing his parents, has sent him on a spiral that 20 years later, he’s still trying to cope with. It didn’t help the whole time as a child he craved to be with others but he was bullied for his burns and scars. And that left its mark as well. Now at almost 30, he’s very successful in business, but it’s all behind the scenes. He’s basically a hermit.
I guess what got me the most from the beginning, wasn’t just that he was disfigured and scarred or that he lost his parents. For me, I started bawling the minute he was bullied. He couldn’t help what had happened to him, and all he wanted was a little friend. And it pisses me off to no end, how parents teach their children it’s ok to be cruel. Because that very much is a taught behavior. It’s natural to be nurturing and caring, maybe curious, but to be cruel is wrong. And my heart broke for that little boy. And I don’t for one minute blame him for who he became as a man. It hurts less. But I also understand where his therapist was coming from. When you are so lonely, you have to open yourself up a bit to let someone in. And that is a VERY hard thing to do. But I love Raphe, because even with everything he’s been through, he’s done his best to keep going. There were dark days, don’t get me wrong. And he had to resort to some drastic things to get through the pain, but he survived. He’s a survivor. And every time he faces the world, to me he’s a hero. Because he’s doing his best to overcome everything that has crippled him emotionally. And sometimes that’s worse than the physical. Not in this case but often. And while the physical scars may heal, the emotional and mental ones attack when we aren’t looking. So yes, I love Raphe for trying. Even when he felt he wasn’t good enough, even at his lowest point, he tried to reach out to someone to keep going. And sometimes that’s all we have. Because he truly wanted to get better. To be better.
Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. It doesn’t take a huge thing to be a hero. And that was the case for me with Raphe. The minute he kept trying despite all odds, every single day, to me he is a hero. Because to face your fears, your doubts and the cruelty of others, is a huge thing. And to keep going in spite of it. Doesn’t mean life is easy, but it makes you strong and courageous. And I admire the heck out him for it.
RATING: 
JEN’S REVIEW:
I’m a sucker for a good damaged character story. Here, the blurb gives a pretty clear picture of what Raphe has endured and continues to endure.
Raphe lives a successful but rather reclusive life. He still has a high degree of anxiety and self esteem/body issues and sees a therapist regularly to deal with them.
Imagine the irony of him saving one of his childhood bullies from a hate crime. People change quite a bit from when they were kids though, and thankfully, Raphe gives him a chance.
Even though the two take cautious steps forward with their relationship, they hit a few snags. Just as things seem to be back on track, Raphe is injured, but that is when the story changes direction and everything that seemed to be causing roadblocks seemed to crumble away.
But I really enjoyed these two together, watching them fit together and fall in love. The main theme seemed to be that how people see themselves is not the same as how others see them, and I enjoyed that aspect as well.
I’ve enjoyed this author before and continue to look forward to more in the future.
RATING: 
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Beautiful reviews ❤