I really enjoyed Pounding Skin, but I didn't love it as much as I did Back Piece, the first book in this series. I loved Matt, a young tattoo artist, struggling with his career and his sexuality. I found him to be very authentic--plenty of people his age deal with the same issues, trying to establish themselves in their careers, struggling to make ends meet. He was very introspective and thoughtful about his newly discovered (accepted?) bisexuality. His reaction to Jon, a needle-phobic fighter pilot client, both confused and enlightened him. I loved that he questioned his past behavior and didn't jump in without giving it a lot of thought. For me, he came across as a really nice, somewhat shy but friendly, young man exploring his sexuality. He was mature, and genuinely cared about the people in his life. Jon, an experienced, slightly older man was really what kept me from loving Pounding Skin. While I felt I really got to know Matt, Jon's character wasn't as well developed. This story felt more like Matt's story, with Jon playing a large, important part, instead of their story. Jon, an unrepentant manwhore with a one and done philosophy, was adamantly opposed to relationships, but I never understood why he felt that way. I never got a satisfactory explanation. His epiphany about his relationship with Matt seemed to come out of nowhere--it didn't take him long to do a complete about face. Other than his insistence of not being in a relationship, I liked Jon. I would have liked to know him better, but I liked most of what I saw from him. This series has an interesting cast of secondary characters, who fit well into the story. Their interactions are natural and flow seamlessly, not like they were thrown in as an awkward lead-in to the next book. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Lucas' story, Cover Up. 
 Review copy provided for a voluntary review.