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 … 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 assault, self-loathing, self-harm, thoughts of suicide, dealing with death of loved ones.
See Me is a standalone MM romance novel.
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A beautiful story of emotions, healing and fighting together. I loved both MCs and loved how they both fought for themelves and their relationship.
There were some areas where I’d love to see more attention, but overall loved the story and gladly give it five stars.
TL Travis never disappoints me and her new story blew me away! So many emotions shooting at you from every page! The characters are perfectly drawn to the point I felt these were real people. Even the sub characters were wonderful additions to the story. One in particular I’m hoping is going to get his own story! The twists and turns in this one were so real and well written. I cried, swooned, and I rooted for their happy ending. You must read this story! See Me is an important lesson for all of us. It’s not just about what’s on the outside of a person. Real beauty is found on the inside.
Raphael has not had an easy life. Losing his parents and being permanently disfigured at an early age coupled with the constant health issues and childhood tauntings has made him distrustful of most people other than those in his close circle. One night of bravery changes his life…but is he ready to let someone see all of him? Both inside and out? Cooper has dealt with his own losses and failures but is open to letting someone in. That fateful night that changed everything brought him face to face with a past he regrets. Can he be the one to finally draw Raphe out? TL Travis made you feel Raphe’s pain throughout the book but she also let you feel the joy that could be brought out of him.
Its has been an hour since I have finished reading See Me. Honestly, I am taken back by the words that I want to use to express how beautiful this book is. Most we read books as a reader we see the emotional scars that are left behind from someone’s past. In this case we see Raphael’s physical scars that come with the car accident. To most people he is known as a freak, even when he is lost in his own head Raphael is lost.
When Cooper is attacked the last person who he expects to be his hero is Raphael. He honestly looks past the imperfections to see the man inside.
“Just for the record, the imperfections you see are what makes you perfect to me.” – Cooper
This slow burn is something that you didn’t know you needed to read. This pairing is perfection.
WOW!!!
This is the best the author has ever done and being that I’m a long time fan, that says a lot. This embraces what I’ve lived my life by. The human body is beautiful in all its many shapes, sizes, and shades. Who you love and your religious beliefs are just facets of you and not all that define you. Your most important defining feature is your heart. I have to say I cried while reading this. Both tears of sorrow and of joy throughout the book. The cruelty of others can cut deep but what we do to ourselves mentally can cut much deeper. I hope that when people finish this story they realize that they are beautiful and worthy of love. Hold dear those in your life and remember those that have passed are always in your heart. TL Travis is an amazing author and a truly beautiful soul.
Raphael and Cooper.
Quite an extraordinary story. The hurt of being abandoned by all the kids, no friends, and called a monster because of how you look, was extremely painful to watch. Permanently disfigured by a car accident where Raphael lost his parents and he survived heavily injured.
This story tells his life, how he gets through his day, months, years. It tells where he runs into a homophobic bashing and saves a guy who seems to be one of his bullies from school, Cooper.
Cooper finds his way to Raphael pained heart, where trust is a big issue.
Their time together was something special. Raphael’s insecurities and his big fight against himself were well designed
And dang there were several moments where the most perfect emotional sentences were written. Straight into my heart, my eyes blurred by the kindness, by honesty.
Sparkling friends and kind families were a good addition.
Two beautifully flawed men, finding their one and only.
A very well voiced story, captivating, sweet, hurtful, with strong personalities who had an enormously strength to survive.
I loved See Me. It was such an interesting story that started quickly but their romance was gradual. I liked Raphe and Cooper and both had interesting pasts and issues. I liked how they worked out things in their relationship. I thought the secondary characters definitely supported the MCs. I really enjoyed reading this book and definitely recommend this story.
Absolutely Amazing! TL Travis always delivers! You don’t want to miss this!
Good subject but did not quite live up to my expectations
3.5stars
The idea of making one of the romantic leads a heavily scarred recluse attracted me to this book. “Beastly” scarred Raphael had a tragic backstory and he’s still working on the mental issues that resulted from his injuries, his lost parents, and the cruel treatment he endured. I found him a very sympathetic character who has succeeded professionally despite the bad blows life has dealt him. I wanted Raphael to find the fellow who could “see him” rather than his scars. I just did not connect with his romantic interest Cooper who seems too open, accepting and supportive from minute one to be believed.
This story also dragged for me and I found myself just going through the motions after the big action climax to get through to the end. And I just did not understand why Cooper kept harping on about how flawed and messed up he was. I know he was trying to make Raphael feel more confident in their relationship but it did not really make sense to me. The writing was not the best and I thought there was a major inconsistency vis a vis the villains.
***Spoiler alert ***
The major villain appears twice in the story over two months apart. But he has supposedly traveled from Alabama and left a path of suspicious incidents on his way to Seattle. Why would he stick around in Seattle so long before making serious trouble?
***End spoiler***
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review and opinions expressed are completely my own.
Simply lovely !
What a heart warming tale of overcoming one’s past demons, stepping out of your comfort zone to expose your heart to love, the struggles that come along with self acceptance and finding the one….
The one who may not be perfect, maybe flawed and haunted by the ghosts of their own making, but will be willing to look beyond..not to cope/compromise, but stand by your side as the knight-in-not-so-shining armor.
‘See me’ is a beautifully written story of Raphael who’s shut himself off from the world and it’s unforgiving, judging eyes.
he story follows his journey as he not only finds true love, but triumphs over the nightmares of his past.
I really like the way the author highlighted the importance of therapy, caring counselors and kind souls that will continue to care, no matter what.
I loved every bit of it. Right from their initial meetings, the way Cooper put Ralph’s fears to rest, the way he handled the lows, expressed his undying love to Raph. The power of real love. So beautiful.
|”This is not the man I’m in love with. This is your past, the part that made you the strong man you are today. The scars are proof you’re a survivor. A warrior. Look past them, into those gorgeous chestnut eyes. So full of life. When the light catches them just right, gold flecks appear. It’s mesmerizing. I get lost in them more times than I could tell you.”|
Words..such beautiful words.
I loved the way they discovered physical intimacy in a slow, tender but so erotic-to-read fashion.
Complemented by the authors brilliant writing style and a great cast of side characters (I really do wanna read Coop’s bestie-Adrian’s Story), this novel is just the perfect hurt comfort read and will leave you with a big smile of your face and with a yearning for such true love.
Highly recommend if you are looking for a well-written, hurt-comfort read.
The author gives a fair amount of warnings about this book, so read them and be ready for heartbreak. I had to put it down a couple of times, because it was too much.
Witnessing all the pain, both emotional and physical, Raphael has suffered through was hard, and I was amazed by the wonderful man he’s grown up to be. I understood his distrust when Cooper came into his life, the latter baring his own scars and pain. That’s why is all the more awe-inspiring to watch them open up their hearts to each other.
Thank you, TL Travis for the beautiful, breathtaking story.
The details make this book. This is at times very emotional. Everyone wants to be seen and loved for who they really are. Everyone makes mistakes. This book is an intricate love story, where the characters must rise up above their past mistakes and their ingrained fears to take a chance on love. All the ways the characters are built and the events of the story really combine for an amazing feel. #loveit
WOW!!! This story just blew me away!! It is MAGNIFICENT!! This story moved me, touched me and showed me some truths about myself. Whether if our scars are inside or outside they must be laid to rest. We are our own worst enemies and it is mostly in our minds. TL Travis touched me deeply with Raphael and Cooper. There are a little piece of them in all of us. I HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!!