This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
J.P. Grider is a New Adult/Young Adult author who is a sucker for a good love story--whether it's reading one or writing one. And when she's not reading or writing a fairy tale, she's living one with her husband, four children, and her two little Shih Tzus Auggie Doggie and Maggie May.
You can follow J.P. on Facebook at J.P. Grider, Author, on Instagram at @JP_Grider1, and on Twitter @JPGrider1, You may also shop on her website at jpgrider.com.
Reviewed by Christian Sia for Readers' Favorite
Don't Look at Me by JP Grider is a moving story that explores the question: What happens when we get broken beyond repair? Haven Queen, an air journalist, has put in so much work to succeed and at times she feels irritated because her mother, Hannah Queen, doesn’t appreciate what she’s got. Haven reports on a slasher who disfigures the faces of women by cutting them. Then she becomes a victim, and everything changes. Now with a hole in her face and without a job, she feels terribly lonely, without confidence, and as though someone has stolen her life. Things aren’t working out for Quest after being dishonorably discharged from the army. A collection of books left by his grandfather for Haven — one of his best customers — triggers an encounter that will bring together the lives of these broken characters. Can they heal each other?
This book has a powerful premise. Readers encounter a character who has a job and who has a life, but whose life is suddenly transformed the moment she encounters a vicious creature and her face is disfigured. The question that runs through the reader’s mind is: Can Haven ever be the same again? JP Grider gets readers to pay attention to the characters by letting their humanity and brokenness come out vividly through the narrative. The different layers of the narrative — the psychological, emotional, and physical — are well developed and balanced with empathy. The first person narrative allows readers to connect with the varying emotions experienced by the characters. Don't Look at Me is an interesting novel, infused with a rare sense of realism and dotted with literary beauty. It’s a thought provoking read.
