A Cheap Racket by Syd McGinley introduces us to Tim, a high price rent boy who specializes in making his older customers' fantasies come true. From washing cars to being the hot, young tennis player in need of a coach, Tim works hard to fulfill his client's desires.

Syd McGinley has written a story that I was expecting to be a typical "Pretty Boy", if you'll excuse the pun, type of romance. I was wrong. A Cheap Racket manages to come off as a piece about a young man who has firm goals in mind and is unashamed about what he is willing to do to reach them. But not in a hardened street pro way, no, Tim is a sweetheart who genuinely seems to care about his clients and certainly enjoys his work. I also liked how the author incorporated the subject of elderly abuse into the story in such a way as to shed light on it but not in a preachy way.

A Hard Man is Good to Find by Kiernan Kelly is the story of Chaos and R.J. Chaos is a stripper who has been continually knocked down by life and is just trying to get by. RJ is a successful gay man with a loving family, everything that Chaos is not. Yet when the two meet at a bachelorette party the attraction is too intense to ignore.

I liked the opposites attract angle of this story, I liked the characters, but I wish that it was a bit longer in length so that we could have explored the relationship between Chaos and RJ more in depth. I also wanted to know why Paula, RJ's sister, would marry a man like Steven. Although it did parallel the main theme of the story- nothing is exactly what it seems if you just dig a bit below the surface.

Cops and Robby by Carol Lynne tells the tale of Robby, Cole, and Morgan, a very unlikely trio. Cole finds Robby in an alley naked, bloody, and obviously the victim of a sex crime, unable to not help the man he takes him to his own home. He suspects that Robby is a prostitute but something about him draws Cole like a moth to the flame. Now he just has to explain to his lover why he's brought a strange man into their home. But Morgan, in spite of his initial reservations, agrees that the best place for Robby to stay, at least until he is healed, is with them. But can the three men find a way to be together when each holds a secret that could destroy all they've built?

I love Carol Lynne and her way with building a character. I quickly fell in love with Robby, Cole, and Morgan and was rooting for them to overcome their differences and find their happily ever after. Fair warning to readers uncomfortable with alternative relationships, Cole and Morgan are not only lovers but brothers as well. I'm hoping that this won't be the last we see of the trio. Cops and Robby was the perfect ending to an anthology filled with good stories.

Reviewed by: Hayley