3.5 I was excited to read about Nate and Lucas. The pair had some series heat but the more I read their story I found it lacking. There wasn't much of a plot other than Nate's divorce and it was a bit anticlimactic.
The ending was sweet and I enjoyed connecting with the other character from the series

This is a passionate romance between two guys who weren't looking for love but found it out of the blue. Nate's reeling from his divorce when his world collides with Lucas' at the tattoo parlour where he goes for a cover up of the matching tattoo he and his ex-husband have.

Lucas is running two other jobs on top of his tattoo work to try and pay back his student debt and he's already got two divorces under his belt from being an impulsive teenager and has been suffering from really bad hook ups for months.

The two meet and sparks fly, the electricity arcs off the page and the chemistry between them is clearly laid out through the talented pen of LA Witt. There's few people in this genre that write military as well as she does and her sex scenes are unfailingly passionate and emotional while bringing all the scorching heat you'd expect in any new relationship.

There's ups and downs but no huge angst in this as both men continue to pretend they're just hooking-up as their feelings move first into friendship and then into a relationship neither planned or wanted. Nate hasn't dealt with the breakup from his 10-year-marriage, Lucas fears he's just the plaster being pasted over the hurts.

The resolution is well done, believable and also allows the reader a glimpse into the protagonists of books one and two as Colin and Daniel marry and Jon and Matt talk seriously about the same. As for Nate and Lucas, the reader is left with no doubt that - for both of them - this isn't the Cover Up - this is the lifelong love.

Who doesn't love a man in uniform? 😍
I know I do, and Nate is no different!
Nate is in the military and recently getting divorced after 10 years of marriage!
Then comes Lucas-the hottie tattoo artist.
They have chemistry from the first meeting when Nate came into the shop. And when they kissed for the first time...whoa! I read it twice!
Literally throughout the book, I was waiting for the bad thing to happen. They had such a good thing going through out the book. They had chemistry for the beginning, and you can tell they were falling for each other.
It's obvious that Nate was avoiding the Caleb situation. I was waiting for it to sink in. He finally realized, "Right then, Lucas met his, and that heart-stopping smile played at his lips. Oh God. I am in way over my head with you."
Like I said, I waited for Nate to break down and he did. My heart broke for him.

I absolutely love the story of Nate and Lucas. All the emotions were there, the chemistry and the need they had for each other. I'm so happy they found each other and were able to help each other heal after both had failed marriages.

The story line was great. I really
Enjoyed reading this book!

Cover Up is a great standalone in this interconnected series. This story gives us Nate, Caleb, and Lucas's story. However, I enjoyed seeing the characters from the previous books in this one as they are a very close group of men and friends. This story was just as great as the previous book in this series and just like the ones before it, it does not disappoint. I loved the chemistry between the characters and when it comes to this book it does not lack steam. The characters were great, the storyline was great, and the flow of the story was perfect. I finished it in one sitting and I really could have read more of these characters. If you've read the previous books in this series this one is a must read. If you haven't started the series yet and enjoy a good m/m read, then this is definitely a series worth reading. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

Navy pilot Nate Chandler never thought that after ten years of marriage that he’d come face to face with his husband cheating and now to be going through a divorce. With the constant reminder of that betrayal tattooed on his arm Nate goes to his friends shop to talk to a new artist about covering it up.

Lucas makes Nates mind totally switch gears from the second they lay eyes on each other. Not one for relationships after two divorces already under his belt, they both agree to friends with benefits. However almost immediately they both know it’s so much more than that.

I honestly don’t know how I feel about this book completely so I figure this time I will break it up a bit with my likes and dislikes and let others decide for themselves.

Likes
1. I absolutely adored Nate. Even though he was still struggling from the divorce I never felt like it really affected his his relationship. Even when he realized his relationship was more he never really questioned it. He took things as they came with Lucas and didn’t make him pay for the choices of his ex.
2. The length of the book was sooooo long. This was not a short story by any means. You definitely get to watch these two fall in love with one another and see all the happy moments involved. So much so that at 30% I thought I was already at the end of the book lol
3. I loved how Lucas met another wanna be tattoo artist who came off as a complete tool bag thinking he was better then everyone because quite frankly you will meet a lot of those types in the tattoo industry!
Dislikes
1. Lucas I struggled to connect with. At first, he comes off at his cocky no relationships manwhore but at the same time he was insecure and constantly questionings almost whining about everything around him. His relationship with Nate was the only thing he didn’t really question yet that’s the one thing I would have expected it with considering he had 2 divorces under his belt. The two traits just seemed to clash to much for me
2. This is may be something others might not catch but considering I’ve been in the industry for 15 years it stood out to me a lot. There were a lot of inconsistencies in the tattoo shop portion of this story, mainly with Lucas’ “apprenticeship”. Most people don’t apprentice for years (long enough to go through a marriage and divorce) and they definitely are not a “master of cover ups” while in said apprenticeship. I’ve known guys who struggled from day one and took a while to get to the point of even being able to tattoo pig skin. I’ve also known guys who were legacy artist and could pretty much tattoo from the first day they held a machine. So, I’ve seen a wide scope of artist types and I’ve never seen a situation like the one Lucas is in where he’s apprenticing for years yet he masters something guys who’ve tattooed for 20+ cant even do. It would have been more believable for Lucas to have been an artist who was struggling after he messed up a tattoo and was trying to find his groove again. He could have easily been still being taught by the other guys (cuz you can always learn new tips and technics) and if the author wanted to show Lucas being the type to take on grunt work well that’s easily explained by being the new artist in a shop. A lot of times if you are a newbie you’ll be the last in rotation of walk ins and you’ll have to pull your weight a little more with shop clean up if the other guys just don’t divide it up themselves. Again, this may just be my own personal complaint but like I said seeing as I’ve been in the tattoo industry for 15 years on a daily basis it just really bugged the crap out of me. I would have preferred the author to just removed some of these parts of the story.


So I’ll let y’all decide. Was it a bad story… absolutely not. But was it a story that had me glued to it loving every minute…no.

This is my second M/M book. I absolutely loved it Nate and Lucas were just perfect. Fab characters xx

I really love the Skin Deep Ink series and its characters, so I was looking forward to reading Nate and Lucas' story, and I wasn't disappointed.

Both Nate and Lucas have been married and been burned by that, so neither of them is looking for a relationship. But when Nate comes to Skin Deep Ink to get a cover up for the tattoo that reminds him of his cheating ex-husband, the chemistry between him and Lucas is palpable, and they end up in bed together. Again and again. Even though they keep telling themselves it's just sex, lying to themselves becomes more and more difficult..

There isn't much I didn't like about this book. Nate and Lucas are great characters, and they're sweet together. I love how there are more and more gentle moments between them, and I also liked how Nate ends up working through his issues. Unlike with the other books, where both characters had something more or less big to work through, here it is mostly Nate. Yes, Lucas has his insecurity regarding his job, but.. that was something that didn't quite convince me, somehow. That didn't lessen my enjoyment, though.

There is plenty of sex, and while personally I could have done with fifty percent or less, it was well written and hot. L.A. Witt's writing is solid and fun to read - the only places I tripped up was when she used "the guys" rather than "they" in a few places, but since I read an ARC this could end up corrected in the final version.

My one issue with it is something I actually feel conflicted about - and it's something I felt in all three novels. The conflict that *has* to happen before the end is build up well, but in all three books is resolved too quickly to feel entirely satisfying. Especially in this book it just feels a little too fast. On the other hand, I love reading about grown ups who actually try dealing with things and do something about it, so... As I said, I'm torn. It's why this is a four star rather than a five star book - it's still a very good book and I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for great m/m to read, but it isn't *perfect*. But I absolutely loved hanging out with these characters, and I also loved how bisexuals were portrayed here as well. This definitely won't be the last book by L.A. Witt I've read.

I've never skimmed an L.A. Witt book before, but I couldn't get through this one. It's literally like every book in this series already and like her Anchor Point series. There's no buildup or anticipation. It's just two guys who see each other, like each other, and bam, they're together. I really like L.A. Witt, but her last four books have felt like the same exact books over and over again. Frankly, all the sex just gets boring after awhile, and it's tiresome how the main characters are always anti-relationship but magically fall in love. I'd like to see her try some different tropes other than jaded guys banging it out. A slower burn would be much better than the instalove that keeps happening to the characters in her books. This one just didn't work for me, and I hope she switches some things up in her future books.