Carl Bronson and Keith O’Leary are costars in the wildly popular weekly cable drama Forever Young. They play a gay couple on screen, but they are also lovers in real life. Although it pains them to lie about their relationship, they know that if they were to admit to being homosexual, their careers might be ruined. Gay men simply don’t play the lead in action and romantic films, so their professional futures after Forever Young might be dim.

The two men try to be discreet off camera, but somebody within the studio is determined to out them to the world – stories appear in the local gossip rag and raw footage of their filmed love scenes appears on YouTube. They don’t know who the responsible party is, but they figure that they can play dirty just as well as anyone, and they determine to fight back. Unfortunately, this involves dating a couple of women, and while the women in question are nice enough, Keith and Carl are miserable in their company.

To exacerbate the situation, the two men meet the gorgeous Mark Richfield, who happens to be a friend of Keith’s agent. One look at Mark, and it is instant lust for the two actors. Now they have to figure out how to get Mark into their bed without infuriating his lover Steve and without blowing their cover as straight men. How can they concentrate on remaining discreet when temptation is dangling right in their faces? All the acting skill in the world might not help them if the tabloids were to catch wind of this situation.

Playing Dirty by G. A. Hauser continues the saga of two young actors who are struggling to deal with the Hollywood double standard. This story carries the hallmarks that make Ms. Hauser’s work so popular– it is well-written, sexy, and extremely entertaining. Her men are beautiful if somewhat confused, and while they may make repeated errors in judgment, their love for each other shines through any conflict.

In this story, Carl and Keith remain as adorably dedicated to each other as ever. Keith throws himself into being gay with a zest that adds a comic touch. He seems to have lost his sense of self-control, and it takes a slightly more reserved Carl to pull him back from the edge of disaster.

Ms. Hauser brings her world together in Playing Dirty by giving Mark Richfield and his friends a prominent role. As always, it’s a little difficult to get a handle on Mark. I want to dislike him, but somehow I can’t. Mark’s middle name should be Trouble: he whines about how he’s weak and basically messed up and also says that Steve has his hands full with him. He’s willing to be unfaithful to Steve, yet he somehow remains completely loveable. We’re going to see more of Mark in the next novel of this Action! series, and I can hardly wait to see what kind of mess he gets involved in this time.

Reviewed by: Whitney