CROSS BONES is an anthology of fifteen stories of gay pirate life and love edited by Anne Regan. It's a unique theme for an anthology, and although I was expecting many of them to have a similar plots, I was pleasantly surprised to find a wide spectrum of twists on the traditional pirate tale. There was also plenty of adventure, humor and love to keep me turning the pages and channeling my own inner pirate well past my bed time.

Several stories in the collection are surprising tender given the perception we have of pirates being tough and heartless. This is true of Captain Merric by Rebecca Cohen, in which a Navy captain is turned over to pirates during a mutiny and is held captive by an old lover. Objectivity by E.S. Douglas is also a sweet and moving story about a writer who falls in love while living with pirates so that he can get a feature story.

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A couple of the stories take the pirate theme and bring it into the future, including Ghost of Jupiter by Jana Denaro. In this good-length story about pirates who raid a space ship belonging to slave traders and find captured genetic warriors on board. One of the warriors works with the captain to seek revenge and the two become closer than expected. I found this story to be very creative with a great plot, and it is one of my favorites in the anthology.

In addition to tales of troublesome sea and space voyages, there are some humorous takes on pirate life that had me laughing out loud. Two lovers own a pirate-themed restaurant and spend some time in the "stockade" in The Golden Galleon by K. R. Foster. This one was not only funny but extremely hot as well. There is no sex in Peter in the Lost Boys by Juan Kenobi, but the Peter Pan parody that portrays the lost boys as porn stars is entertaining enough without it.

There are lots of other stories of gay pirate love to round out the collection, and while a couple I found only mediocre, most are well-written, engaging and sexy. Fans of male/male romance will enjoy this original spin on the genre, and will be happy they discovered this hidden treasure.

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