Cover Up is a good fit for those seeking a heartwarming and lighthearted romance that explores themes of new beginnings, self-discovery, and the power of love to heal past wounds.

I was intrigued to find out more about Navy Pilot Nate Chandler. In the last book we found out that he’d been cheated on by his husband and the very last thing he was looking for was another relationship. Ten years of investing your love and trust in someone only to be betrayed has left him heartbroken, devoid of emotion and with a dormant libido. He’s also got a damn tattoo that reminds him of his ex; a matching one they’d had done together. Nate wants it gone, like now, and he heads to Skin Deep Inc. where he meets young apprentice and cover-up artist, Lucas Brandt. What begins with stolen glance and flirty exchanges evolves into some really hot encounters. Lucas is convinced that he’ll only be a re-bound hook-up and Nate can’t believe this young, beautiful and sexy guy wants to spend time with him, but that’s all he can give because he can’t go through that heartache again, it nearly broke him last time. But things they are a-changing, no longer can Nate just treat Lucas like a hook-up, he’s beginning to feel things, and his feelings are running far deeper than what he ever felt for his husband. This story is about betrayal and heartache and also moving on and the unexpected surprises along the way that can turn you world around, I felt for Nate, I really did, his heartbreak was tangible and Lucas, falling in love and finding his soul mate and finding his place in the world. The sex scenes throughout the book were incredible and there was a sweet and realistic conclusion to the story. I’ve really enjoyed this series and every book in it for different reasons and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

Review Copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMG Reads.

A rebound relationship that becomes a true one is a difficult premise to work with. I enjoyed the read and find that it's like any number of beach reads. If you want a comfort/hurt romance read with a military spin you could do worse.

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.

The Skin Deep, Inc. series started out on a high note, but has been unable to sustain it over the last two books. In Cover Up (perfect title, btw), Nate meets tattoo artist Lucas when he goes for a consultation to cover up a tattoo he and his soon-to-be ex-husband got together. For the first time in a long time, he finds himself attracted to a man, and he and Lucas embark on a casual, no-strings sexual relationship. Except, Nate has never been a casual, no-strings kind of man. I liked Nate and Lucas a lot. They are both very appealing characters, however, Nate’s denial and steadfast refusal to talk about or deal with his emotions regarding the end of his ten-year relationship were frustrating (for me, and Lucas!), and obviously going to lead to trouble. Given the nature of their relationship, a multitude of sex scenes make perfect sense, but I honestly got tired of them after a while. I wanted the two men to spend more time talking and getting to know each other better, to build their relationship beyond sex. The few scenes where they did spend time outside the bedroom, were some of my favorites, but they were much too rare, for me. When the inevitable fallout from Nate’s refusal to deal with his life came to fruition, I totally felt the emotional pain he was going through, but I felt it was too rushed. The speed at which he suddenly recognized what he was burying instead of processing, and the manner in which it was resolved just didn’t work for me. I guess I wanted more from Nate, more of the hard work it takes to get over the end of a long term relationship. For me, Cover Up was a disappointment.

After catching his husband of ten years cheating on him, Nate Chandler is now in the midst of divorce. He just wants the whole thing to be over and to put his marriage behind him, and that includes covering up the tattoo that he got to match Caleb’s. So Nate heads to Skin Deep to see Lucas, a tattoo artist who specializes in cover up work.

When Nate and Lucas meet, it is lust at first sight. Nate has had pretty much zero libido since the divorce proceedings started, nor has he ever been a guy for random hookups, but he takes one look at Lucas and that all changes. With Nate recently off his breakup and Lucas having some failed relationships of his own, the guys decide that some no strings sex is the best bet. So they share a night together, and that one night leads to more.

As the men spend time together, they realize that their relationship has turned from one that was just sex to a connection where emotions are involved. They both would like it to turn into a real romantic relationship and it seems like things are heading that way. But Nate still hasn’t dealt with his feelings about the end of his marriage, and Lucas doesn’t just want to be a rebound. Now Nate must figure out if he can focus on his feelings about his marriage and move forward if he wants to have a chance for something real with Lucas.

Cover Up is the third book in L.A. Witt’s Skin Deep, Inc series. We meet both men in Pounding Skin, as Nate is Jon’s military partner and Lucas works at the tattoo shop. In that previous book, we see Nate’s discovery that Caleb is cheating on him and witness the dissolution of his marriage. So we are set up there for Nate’s story and I was really looking forward to seeing it play out.

I have to say that while I liked this one, it didn’t quite meet my hopes for the story. I liked both Nate and Lucas and even with the copious amounts of sex, I still felt like we got to see a nice development of their relationship. The men accept and support one another, and I particularly liked that even though things start off casual, neither man balks when he realizes that it is turning into more (this is particularly nice since that was the conflict in both prior books). The guys both have baggage, but they are also both open to the new connection they are forming. I also continue to like the tattoo aspects of the story, particularly how Lucas does his cover up work. I found it really interesting and I liked learning about the process.

I think I struggled here because once again, this story is very sex heavy with not enough else happening plotwise for most of the book. Now my regular readers know I enjoy sex in my books, but this series seems to use the sex as the major plot device, rather than to enhance the story. There is just not enough else going on to really hold things together for me. The guys meet, they hook up, they keep hooking up, they start to fall for each other, and then there is a conflict at the very end to close things out. I would have loved to see more exploration of Lucas’ insecurities about being ready to move on from being a tattoo apprentice, for example. There is much made of this issue, but it never really gets addressed head on or resolved. Or how Lucas’ past two divorces affected him. Or just something else to help carry the story.

The source of conflict here ultimately comes late in the game as Lucas gets concerned that Nate hasn’t really processed or dealt with the emotions from his divorce. This doesn’t necessarily come out of nowhere as I think Witt does do a nice job here planting these seeds. I noticed while reading how little his divorce seems to come up. So I think it was likely intentional on Witt’s part to show that Nate doesn’t really talk about it, but at the same time, it left a hole in the story for me. We see Nate’s discovery of the cheating in the last book, along with the end of the marriage, but then here it is barely addressed and it felt like a big missing piece. Not to mention his lack of emotions regarding the end of his marriage aren’t an issue for anyone until suddenly it is the breaking point between them. I also have to say that the conflict seems to come late in the story and then is resolved in such a blink as to be almost absurd. Lucas’ problem is that Nate hasn’t dealt with his emotions or feelings about the end of his marriage, and it is less than a day before Nate is suddenly all better and the conflict is over. It felt kind of ridiculous that this is a huge, break up level conflict, yet Nate is done working through all his issues within a day and things are all better.

So overall I found this book not quite as strong as other in the series. But I did still enjoy the story and seeing the resolution to Nate’s journey that starts in Pounding Skin. The series as a whole is pretty heavy on the sex and light on the plot, but if you are looking for some steamy fun between tattoo artists and military men, this is a fun series to check out.

Really enjoyed it, especially in audio. Steamy, heartwarming, sometimes funny.
Nate decides to try and forgey his cheating ex-husband by having a no strings affair with his tattoo artist, Lucas. As with all best laid plans, things don't go as planned - they fall in love. Loved their journey from hook up to falling in love.

While reading Cover Up I kept thinking about Nate in Jon’s book and how at first things seemed so good between him and his husband but things started changing and the shift was devastating. I liked knowing that the anger in Nate really helped him move onto Lucas. I loved how Lucas gave him something to focus on. I’ll admit throughout the whole first part of the story I was waiting for something….something felt like it was building. Knowing that Nate really just jumped straight to anger had me feeling very anxious the whole story. I realized as the story progressed and the relationship developed what exactly I was waiting for and LA Witt didn’t disappoint. To really heal and move on sometimes have to be broken down to be built back up even stronger.
Lucas is an apprentice in a tattoo parlor. He specializes in cover up tattoos but his confidence took a beating recently when he messed up a tattoo he was supposed to be fixing. Twice divorced, Lucas has lived through a lot in his 27 years.
Noah is going through a messy divorce and needs to get rid of a tattoo he got with his soon to be ex husband. When he’s introduced to Lucas the attraction between them is immediate and Lucas pushes all of Nate’s buttons.
As their friends with benefits relationship continues feelings between both men grow stronger and deepen.
Lucas realizes Nate doesn’t want to open up about his ongoing divorce. He realizes that what he and Nate have started has no chance to become more until Nate is truly ready.
This was another really good story in the Skin Deep Inc. series. Nate and Lucas were incredibly hot but also really tender towards each other. I love these stories where friends to lovers become more. Great writing, great characters, sweet, funny…and hot…
Recommend.

I could NOT resist this cover, you guys. It’s hot AF, as I’m sure you’ll all agree, and I simply had to know the story underneath. All the covers in this series have been fabulous, but the brightness of this one is what drew me in. Cover Up is the third book in LA Witt’s Skin Deep Inc. series, but stands up perfectly fine on its own. In fact, I haven’t read the previous two books and was able to enjoy this one with no hiccups whatsoever. Though, as you might expect, all the guys from the other books either show up on page, or are at least mentioned here, as Witt weaves them in to enhance Nate and Lucas’s story.

Nate is going through a pretty rough divorce. When we meet him, he is tossing his wedding ring into the James River, and leaning on his best friend Jon for emotional support. Nate caught his husband, Caleb, cheating on him in their own bedroom, so of course there is a certain amount of emotional scarring that goes along with that; even though it was several months ago, the pain is still fresh. The ring isn’t the only memento he wants gone from his life, however. He also has a tattoo that he got with his ex that he desperately wants to get rid of. Enter Lucas, the new apprentice at Skin Deep, the studio where Jon’s boyfriend, Matt, works. The apprentice who specializes in coverups, as luck would have it. Before seeing Lucas, Nate would have sworn that his sex drive had all but disappeared; he told Jon that his libido was as dead as his marriage! At least, that seemed true until he meets Lucas…

I loved Lucas. For someone in his twenties, he has amazing drive and work ethic. He is working three jobs to make ends meet and to get closer to meeting his goal of being hired on full time at the tattoo studio. Even the owners of Skin Deep are impressed by Lucas’s talent and envious of his portfolio, but Lucas is having a hard time shaking off the after-affects of having recently messed up a tattoo. His confidence took a big hit, and he’s really struggling with believing he’s worthy of moving up from his apprenticeship, even though Colin and Matt both think he’s ready. On top of that, his recent sex life seems cursed as well. The string of unsatisfying and awkward hookups seems never-ending, but with sparks flying between him and Nate, he’s certainly hoping that’s all about to change.

I did like these two together. They certainly have lots of fun! Read: lots of hot, dirty, sex. But, I do wish there had been a teeeeeeny bit more UST. They pretty much fall immediately into bed. Repeatedly. Ha! I did ultimately like how their relationship unfolded—it sort of snuck up on both of them, even though they went into it planning on things remaining purely physical—but I wish there had been more story to their story. That being said, I liked where they ended up; the last quarter of the book was fairly strong as they were figuring it all out. I also want to give kudos to Witt for more fantastic bi rep. The way she reveals her characters’ bisexuality is always so authentic. It’s not just having a character say, “Oh, yeah, I’m bi,” so that the author can check off a diversity box.

Cover Up wasn’t my favorite of Witt’s books, but it was still a good read. Perhaps the best way to sum it up would be: I liked it but didn’t love it. If you’re looking for something pretty light, with lots of steam and likeable characters, then go ahead and give this one a shot!

Reviewed by Jules

A fun, sexy read, continuing with characters from her tattoo parlor series. I'm not that interested in ink, but this was more about emotion, recovering from the end of relationships, and so on. Witt has a great way of drawing you in and getting you to care about the characters.

Not one of the best book by this author. I debated what I was going to say. But lately it seems like this author is lacking the same quality in her writing. Maybe it’s just me. But it was just meh for me.

Good story interesting characters .
Not really interested in the MM but I found this well written and easy to follow.

Well written and an enjoyable story. I really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more by this author.

Cover Up is book three in this series. Each book is a standalone but I highly recommend reading them in order so that you can get a feel for each character as the books build relationships and issues. I enjoyed this book greatly. The characters were believable and their relationship was entertaining. I loved watching the relationships grow and I was on tenterhooks waiting for the shoe to drop, they always do!

The heat level was pretty steamy. So get the fan ready. This was a fun romantic romance and I would recommend it to anyone who loves the M/M genre, Military men, and hot tattoo artists.

Nate is divorcing his cheating husband but needs to get rid of the reminder of him, in the form of a tattoo, so he goes to Skin Deep, to see about getting a cover up tattoo. Lucas is an expert at cover up tattoos. When sparks fly between Lucas and Nate, they allows themselves to fall into bed together, while keeping a tight rein on their feelings.

Lucas is ready to have a happy ever with Nate, but Nate needs to learn to trust again. This was a captivating story, I enjoyed both Nate and Lucas even when Nate was being stubborn.

Cover Up is the third book in the Skin Deep series about tattoo artists and their significant other.

I really loved this book. Lucas and Nate were a cute couple and I was glad to see that Nate got an happy ending, after the way we left him in the previous book.

I always find it easier to point out what I didn't like about a book, and since I pretty much liked everything about Cover Up my review will end here. I was missing one little thing about this book, but I can't really pinpoint what, so I'm just going to let that slide.

Rating: 4,5 stars

Cover Up by author L.A. Witt is the third book in the Skin Deep series. Can be read as a stand-alone I have read them in order. I like meeting again people we already know and love and seeing where they are and what they are doing. Adds to the story for me. But you would get the basic love story by just picking this one up to read.
Lucas is a tattoo apprentice. He really cares about his work almost too much. He is torn up about a tattoo that went wrong on someone. He loves his job but must learn how to let some of it go.
Overall that is how he is in his life. He cares deeply and is all in with the people he loves.
Nate is an aviator. He goes into Skin Deep to get a cover-up of a matching tattoo he has with a soon to be ex-husband had. He is a solid guy. Very into commitment and just overall a rock.
I liked these two together they balance each other out perfectly. They also learn a lot from each other as friends. I loved that, really gave them another dimension. Overall I cannot wait for more from this series. The connection and love almost jump off the pages. If you are a romantic who loves to fall in love this is a must-read.

Five Shooting Stars

I was very eager to read their story and it did not disappoint! One of the things I loved the most was that Nate's transition from a long term relationship to this new one did not seemed rushed but rather you get to see how he slowly turns away from the yesterday to embrace what is to come, his future with Lucas.

Another excellent addition to the Skin Deep Inc. series! I loved the romance between Lucas and Nate. It was pretty fast moving, but that's what happens with a friends-with-benefits relationship, right??

But things did slow down a bit once Lucas and Nate started realizing there was something more happening. They were falling in love, and neither of them were ready for that to happen. Nate still needed to work through all the crap related to his divorce and Lucas was struggling to find his place professionally in the world. But that didn't stop love from happening.

I adored watching how Nate and Lucas reconciled their feeling with their realities. That this was an adult relationship, that it wasn't easy, but that it was worth it to work through their challenges because they loved each other and didn't want to be apart. There are so many sexy, swoony moments. Great moments with the rest of the cast of characters from the series. Loved catching up with Daniel and Colin and Matt and Jon. Fun, smart, swoony, and sexy. I can't wait for more!

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars rounded up for lust turned to love story!

This is the third book in the series, and if you have read the previous two, you will have remembered that this was predicted. If not, well you could still enjoy this as a standalone too.

It is most definitely a hot story of two guys who are seeking to avoid the errors of their pasts, which include too many emotions and heartbreak, but still young enough to want to enjoy sex. And these two most definitely find that there is no shortage of lust for each other, and though in denial, there is a healthy dose of like thrown in. It is fun to watch.

But there is an undercurrent of uncertainty, a cover up if you will, and the lid needs to come off, if the relationship stands a chance. I really liked how this was done – there was no accident that led to the realisation of love, but a simple BBQ amongst friends which brought up a lot of history and blew the cover. It was much more powerful than anything else, and was cleverly written.

Another good addition to the series.


Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars
M/M Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

This was, so far, the least favorite of these books. I have read the previous books.

Nate is recovering from his broken marriage. He is in the process of a divorce when he realizes that the tattoo that he and his now, almost ex-husband share is not something he wants to look at the rest of his life. I really liked his character, but felt that despite how smart he was in his job, he was kind of an oaf when it came to his relationship with Lucas. I did like that he finally came to his own conclusion of his own marriage. It seemed that for a long time, he was just burying his head.

Lucas is a hard working, lovable guy. I really enjoyed him in this story and felt that he was much more mature than his described age would suggest. He knew what he needed and wanted from a relationship and also, he was comfortable with his own sexuality.

These two tore the sheets up and they had a great chemistry. It just took too long in the story for them to figure out their relationship.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is a sweet and sexy second chance romance. We met Nate just as his marriage ended in the previous book. In his own story, he is determined to move on with his life – and he starts with a tattoo cover up and a hookup with his much younger tattoo artist.

This story worked for me in so many ways. I love the hook-up to happily ever after storyline. I love the second chance romance (or third in Luca’s case) and I love that both of these guys are pretty jaded about love and relationships when we first meet them.

There is an instant attraction between Nate and Luca and they jump into bed almost immediately. So there is a crazy amount of sex in this story. Honestly, I was skimming some of the sex by the midpoint – but these two are very hot together. I don’t always enjoy stories where a relationship is built in the bedroom but because Nate and Luca are determined to remain friends with benefits enjoying casual hook ups, it makes sense that their intimacy builds through sex.

So much of this story really resonated with me on a personal level and anyone who has ever been through a divorce will see themselves in Nate and/or Luca. Both Nate’s initial avoidance – his need to ‘cover up’ the evidence of his ten year marriage – and his messy, conflicting emotions when he finally starts to deal with his divorce are painfully realistic and perfectly observed. Nate’s journey isn’t easy reading, but it is honestly and beautifully written.

This is probably my favourite story in this series but it is probably the most difficult of the books in the series. New readers should start at the beginning – or at least with the second book where Nate is introduced.