If you are someone contemplating getting a tattoo for the first time, you might reconsider reading this book before you do the deed. This story gives a lot of details on the tattoo procedure and reading about Daniel, six foot something, military hunk basically gritting his teeth and nearly tap out is making me reconsider.

Colin is the tattoo artist with a lot of personal issue. Mainly to do with insecurities and self consciousness. But from just looking at him, you wouldn't know he dealt with so much inner trauma. He look badass and hot!

Daniel is sexually inexperience and luck has it that the hottest guy in the gym is reciprocating his interest. He is totally adorable and seeing him coming to term with his sexuality and experiencing pleasure for the first time is simply exquisite.

There are so much details into their foreplay and sex scenes. Initially I find it titillating and couldn't help but fan myself, but after awhile, it gets repetitive. I swore this is one of those odd romance book whereby I feel there are too much sex until I sorta skim some pages. I feel so guilty.

Anyway, both characters are totally likable and pretty laid back. They both also have a pile of baggage with them. Colin with his issue and Daniel with his homophobic parents. I like that both of them communicate really well. They are constantly having in depth conversation and sharing about their dreams and fears.

The thing that I find lacking in the story is the actual action to deal with the issue presented. Take for example Colin's situation, it was mentioned and discussed, but I don't see Daniel doing anything about it. I wish that part was more developed and able to see how Daniel help Colin improve on his well being. The ending was rather abrupt, which sorta left me hanging there. I want to see more resolution in regards to Daniel's family, but I'm sure we get to catch up with Colin and Daniel's in the next book seeing as this is a new series.

To cross post on Amazon and blog on release day.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SLIGHT SPOILERS

This is the first book I've read by this author although several of her books have been on my to-read list for awhile now. I don't know if I just picked the wrong book for me but I'm sorry to say this didn't really work for me.
This isn't a bad book far from it in fact, it's well written and deals with a sensitive subject incredibly well, the characters are flawed and real (I mean who isn't flawed?) and I can see why it's got a lot of fabulous reviews.
So what on earth is my problem?
I need an alpha male. There I said it, it's as simple as that.
People read for different reasons I never read real life tragedies I just can't cope with the upset or anguish and the fact that they leave me feeling so sad and helpless.
I read romance and while this book is a romance I just didn't enjoy reading it.
Daniel is a twenty-six year old virgin who can't come out to his homophobic parents but it's Colin (who I expected to be the muscled tattooed alpha) who carries the most baggage.
Like I said this book is well written and beautiful in places, I was so glad that Daniel's first time was with Colin who was sweet, tender and understanding with him but I just didn't like it.
There's a lot of sex in this book and I do mean a lot, the first half of the book is basically sex and tattoos, the second half felt stronger with more story.
It ends rather quickly and there's no epilogue.
This is book 1, I'm not sure if the next book continues on with Colin and Daniel or if it features a different couple but either way we've not had the end of their story.

I voluntarily read a review copy kindly provided by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press.

I am in absolute heaven with this read!!! I love LA Witt anyway but this gorgeous book really hit the nail on the head for me. I'm heavily tattooed and the attention to detail regarding tattooing was wonderful. Colin and Daniel... My gahhhd were they ever perfectly imperfect!

I have read other books by this author and I have never been let down. I love a man with tattoos and one in uniform. Daniel and Colin both have problem and never give up on each other. Colin eating disorder and the way he was treated in a ex-relationship lets the readers understand that with the right support from family and friends you can over come anything. It will not be easy but you could still find love.

3.5 Stars

I haven't ever read anything from author L.A. Witt-- but I love a military romance and also M/M books.

I loved how the relationship evolved from 'friends with benefits' to 'boyfriends' without either of them really noticing. It gave the reader more time to connection with the characters and for us to really feel their connection.
And WOW- LA Witt definitely knows how to write sexy scenes!!. I look forward to reading more from this author.

4-4.5 stars!

WOW!

Talk about coming out of the closet. Not literally of course.

I loved the premises of the story. It was unique and not something I read everyday. Daniel and Colin are completely different. One of out and one's not. One's in the army and the other is a tattoo artist. And they both carry some pretty heavy baggage.

This is not a light read. It focuses on some tough subjects that everyone will not be comfortable with.

While I loved Daniel and Colin together, I do wish that they differentiated between going into a relationship and friends with benefits. And I would have liked a more resolved ending between Daniel and his family.

Aside from that LA sure knows how to write the sex scenes. Holy hell were they steamy and hot! And she wrote some amazingly likable characters. I thoroughly enjoyed my first book by her and can't wait to read more by her.

Very cute. It tackles a lot of underepresented issues issues such as male eating disorders and such. It was a nic love story and I strongly recommend it.

Wow this was a pretty heavy book. Poor Colin had so many issues, which he will have for the rest of his life, there was no easy fixes here people. Daniel is from a religious family who is trying to come to terms with being gay. He is also a virgin. Colin has some serious personal issues, some health issues, who is trying to come to grips with dealing with those. What we have is a slow build from friends, to lovers, to more. I hated Daniel's family & also hate the fact that there are people out in the real world that not only treat people like they did but also their own son. Regardless of your beliefs, your children are your children and they should be loved unconditionally. What I didn't like about the book was there was way too much inner dialog with them second guessing the other and telling themselves that the other one really wasn't feeling the way they said they were. And Colin breaking up with Daniel was just kind of stupid. But over all I did enjoy the book & would recommend it to all the Ms. Witt fans out there.

Really liked this book.

I have some mixed feelings towards this book. On one hand, there was way too much sex for my liking. But then again, I really don’t mind if all sex happens off page. (Don’t hate me.) But on the other hand, I really enjoyed some of the more novel aspects of the plot. I just wished it played a bigger part.

I also wish there was a bit more balance to the book and the plotline. I didn’t feel like there was a natural flow to the story. For the first 60% or so it was either sex or tattoos, with some angsting thrown in for good measure, but not much substance beyond that. Sure there were teasers of depth here and there, but it was mostly just in passing, and that really frustrated me. I wanted more of a plot than just sex, thinking about sex, talking about sex and so on.

The around the 60% mark or so, there was a change in pace and there was an actual story to the words. We got to connect to the characters a bit more on another level and the story got really good.

I really liked that Colin was suffering from orthorexia. (I do which the author had named this disorder for what it was) This is still such an unknown disorder to most people, but yet so common today. It’s something I’ve never come across before in a romance novel before and I’m always happy when I come across something new. I do wish that it played a bigger role in the book, and not just briefly mentioned in relation to his eating disorder. I also loved how well Colin’s eating disorder was displayed. It was genuine, and you could really feel his anguish towards foods and eating. And it was truly wonderful to see that he had a really great support system ready to help him when needed.

I did feel like we only just scraped the surface of who both Colin and Daniel were and their personalities. I mean what did they do for fun? Who were their friends? I wanted to get to know them more as individuals and not only who they were together.

I also feel like the ending was a bit abrupt, there were many issues left to resolve. This is a first book in this series, but will this series focus solely on Colin and Daniel or will it be a new couple in focus for each new book? I guess only time will tell.

If you are looking for a book where a good chunk of it is spent with steam rising from the pages – this is absolutely the book for you. But if you are looking for something with some more depth to it, this might not be the one you are looking for.

Trigger warnings: Orthorexia, eating disorder

I was provided with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review