Cover Up: A Skin Deep, Inc Novel

L.A. Witt

Oct 2017 · Skin Deep Inc Book 3 · Sold by Swerve

About this ebook

After ten years of blissful marriage, Navy Pilot Nate Chandler is divorcing his cheating husband. Single for the first time in years, Nate is numb to all emotion and kisses any chance of another relationship goodbye.

Not only is Nate struggling to get through this divorce, but his body is branded with a permanent reminder of his failed marriage: a matching tattoo with his ex. Searching for a place to cover up his old tattoo, Nate finds himself at the Skin Deep, Inc., where he meets the young and charming cover-up tattoo apprentice, Lucas Brandt.

From just flirty glances to steamy hot encounters, Nate and Lucas dive headfirst into a fling of hookups. But worried that he’ll forever be Nate’s “cover up” rebound relationship, Lucas fears that their love won’t be anything more than just skin deep. What was once just a casual attraction, Lucas now hopes to turn into a real relationship. But will he be able to convince the still tender-hearted Nate to fall in love again?

Third installment of L.A. Witt’s Skin Deep romance series, COVER UP is a story of passion, pleasure, and happily ever after.

Ratings and reviews

3.5 stars — So I just went back and reread my reviews for the first two books, and apparently I feel consistently about the books in this series. There is a lot I LOVE, but I tend to have the same complaints. I always end the book not entirely sure how I feel about it…which would suggest a lower rating, but then I think of these awesome parts and I second guess. *sigh* Let’s get the annoying stuff out of the way first. These books are *definitely* erotic romance. Not erotica, because those suggest not much outside the sex. But definitely leaning towards the more erotic, because there is a LOT of sex. I mean, a LOT A LOT. And I’m not saying that the scenes aren’t steamy and delicious, but after awhile I was like “okay, I get it, they’re super compatible in bed and insatiable”. So if that’s your jam, dive on in!! If you like more balance, well you’ve been warned. The other thing I noticed very heavily is that it feels very repetitive. I know I was reading an ARC copy, so some of the literal repetitive parts are probably cleaned up. But honestly, I felt like Nate kept thinking the same things over and over again, and while I get at times he was reinforcing his points of views to himself, it just got kind of…boring? Not sure if that’s quite the right word, but I’d end up thinking “hasn’t he thought this like 5 times already?” Basically, I feel like this book could have been edited down, and I would have enjoyed the pacing more. I feel like Lucas’s story was the one that got a bit shortchanged in this one. He was kind of a unique hero — very comfortable in his bisexuality, very comfortable in his sexuality period. Pretty mature for someone so young, partially due to some young mistakes, but still…you could see his growth. I *really* wanted more of his tattoo stuff. I mean, we got a bit, but I just find that stuff fascinating, and given how much stress he was under with his confidence shot, I just wanted more there. Nate’s story felt a bit more like the focal point, and I’m not sure how I feel about how it all wrapped up. His issues take up SO MUCH of this book, and he ignored the help people were trying to give him, and then his turnaround ended up being pretty fast. I kind of wanted him to have a conversation with Jon at the end there, I think Jon deserved that. Obviously their steamy chemistry was through the roof. But if that had been all there was, I wouldn’t have been as interested. They were actually kind of adorable together…both treading so carefully knowing that they had obviously gone beyond a rebound/fling, but neither wanting to put words to it. It got frustrating, because I wanted more positive change, maybe something more gradual, but I can’t deny that I loved watching the two of them together. They made me happy smile. All in all I enjoyed this series, but I’m thinking that Ms. Witt’s stories might be just a wee bit too sex heavy for this girl. I don’t need a thousand steamy scenes (even if they’re great)…I’m okay with just a couple really pivotal ones.

Lucas is a twice divorced tattoo artist working more then one job to pay of student loan debt and his tattooing the thing he wants to succeed at has taken a blow and his love life well that just sucks so when a hot airman walks in needing a cover up dose he dare even go there the guys getting a divorce after all. Nate has been betrayed by the one person he thought he could trust after 10yrs his husband cheated and nothing is helping not drinking and forget about hook-up's he feels dead inside but he just has to get rid of the tattoo he got with his soon to be ex. So why all the sudden dose everything else just disappear when he sees Lucas. Do they have a chance when he won't deal with his past. Will Lucas stay or go know one wants to be the rebound guy. looks like someone will get hurt can they fix there broken pieces. I liked this book the story started out well and had some good parts but just fizzled in other areas the passion and connection between Lucas and Nate wasn't always there or it seemed that way to me so this was probably my least favorite in the series but I was glad to see everyone get there happy ending especially Daniel and Colin my favorite in this series.

Another hot story in this great series. When I finished reading Pounding Skin, book 2 in this series, I couldn't wait to read the next one. But for some reason I missed the release date for Cover Up earlier this month. Once I realized that, I quickly added it to my TBRL (to be read list) and I'm so glad that I finally read it. We met the MCs (main characters) briefly in Pounding Skin. Nate is still reeling from finding his husband in bed with another man. He can't wait for the end of the 6-month waiting period for their divorce to be final so he can change his name. His next task is to cover up the tattoo of a tiger that he had gotten to match his soon-to-be ex-husband's. It had been a romantic gesture at the time but one that he now regretted. Lucas is an apprentice tattoo artist but his mentors at the shop where he works think he has an amazing talent for doing "cover-ups," turning bad or unwanted tattoos into new works of art. As a bi-sexual man, one with two failed marriages to women, the last thing Lucas sees in his future is a serious relationship. Fate has other ideas. Nate is definitely not looking for a new relationship but a hook-up seems like just the thing to help him get over his ex. The attraction between Lucas and Nate is undeniable so they agree to have a good time with each other. Since this is a romance, one with an HEA, I knew that Nate and Lucas would soon be more than a hook-up for each other. However, the story that L.A. Witt wrote these two was much more complex than this simple premise. The ups and downs in their relationship had me both laughing and shedding tears. I was thoroughly entertained and hated to put my e-reader down so I could exit the plane that I'd been on for two hours. Upon waking the next morning, I promptly finished the story! I don't know if there will be any more books in this series or not but I will be reading them if there are. A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book. ***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

About the author

L.A. Witt is a M/M romance writer who has finally been released from the purgatorial corn maze of Omaha, Nebraska, and now spends her time on the southwestern coast of Spain. In between wondering how she didn’t lose her mind in Omaha, she explores the country with her husband, several clairvoyant hamsters, and an ever-growing herd of rabid plot bunnies.