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 … 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.
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Cover Up is the third sexy entry in the Skin Deep military/tattoo shop series. I was really excited to read Nate’s story after having felt so bad for him in Jon and Matt’s story (Pounding Skin), but I don’t feel as if Nate got the great relationship I think he deserved. Nate is going through a divorce, after having caught his husband cheating on him, when he meets Lucas when Nate comes in to have a consultation about getting his tiger tattoo covered up. Soon after meeting the hot tattoo artist, though, the cover up is kind of forgotten as they engage in a hot, FWB kind of thing that is supposed to be helping Nate move on from his ex. What it ends up doing, though, is just taking his mind off the soon to come divorce, rather than helping him deal with it.
While I enjoyed Cover Up and I liked both Nate and Lucas, I don’t feel as if it was as cohesive and emotionally well-rounded as I had been hoping for. I wanted something really intense and hot for Nate, and it is hot, but it’s also lacking the emotional intensity that I had been looking for. I never felt as if the men were in love, or even close to it. I suppose that’s to be expected considering Nate is just coming off a 10-year relationship, but still, I wanted a stronger emotional connection to go with their obviously strong physical connection. Perhaps another entry in this series will continue Nate and Lucas’ relationship and give me a glimpse into how they’re doing in the future. But, as Cover Up is written, I can’t honestly rate it higher than 3.5 stars because it’s not emotionally satisfying enough for my tastes. It’s hot, but there’s not a lot to it other than lots and lots of hot sex.
So if you’re looking for hot and sweaty MM sex, by all means, dive into Cover Up, but, if you’re looking for a well-rounded romance with a strong physical AND emotional connection, you should probably look elsewhere.
I am so happy that Nate gets his chance at happy ever after. I love him and Lucas together! So freaking hot! Although I love Nate, he irritated me with his internal monologue, I just wanted him to say what he felt instead of keeping it to himself, with both Lucas and Caleb. I love these men and this series so much! L.A. Witt has quickly become one of my favorite mm authors and I look forward to whatever she brings me next!
A fantastic M/M romance that you won’t want to miss! This is a terrific series that I highly recommend!
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.