Struck by Eros

Holiday Hookups #2

by Kayla Grosse

THEO is done with Valentine’s Day. Dumped by his boyfriend on the most romantic night of the year, he finds himself at a hotel bar, ready to drown his sorrows alone with a drink… or ten.

One tiny there’s only one booth remaining, and he has to share it with a captivating stranger who calls himself “E.”

“E”—better known as EROS—has spent millennia shooting arrows for everyone else, never finding his own soulmate.

Until tonight.

One glance at Theo, and the god of love and desire this broken-hearted man is the missing half he’s waited eons for.

One shared bottle of wine.

One unforgettable night.

One divine spark that could rewrite forever.

Struck by Eros is an MM high-heat standalone Valentine's Day novella. Ready to make you swoon and sweat.

Genres: Novella, M M Romance, Romance, LGBT, Holiday, BDSM, Fantasy

76 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 5, 2026

Reviews

[bookgalbrock 🐝✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Struck by Eros

When your boyfriend dumps you on Valentines day, of course you find the nearest bar and let the Greek Cupid screw you within an inch of your life. Why? Because all the other options suck!!


star rating: 4 stars
spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

[Larareads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, fun and spicy!

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cupid is Kinky!

KU Read
76 Pages
MM Paranormal Romance
Valentine's Themed
Human x God (Eros)
Fated Mates
ONS
Spicy AF

I have yet to find a Kayla Grosse book I have not enjoyed, she is becoming one of my favourite short and spicy authors. This one is cute as well as spicy and leaves you with the warm happy feels and a cheeky smile too. I hope she continues this holiday themed series cos I will devour them all!!!
Essentially this story sees Theo meeting Eros in a hotel bar and thinking he was in for a ONS with a handsome man but he gets more than he bargained for with the Greek God of love who claims him as his mate... If Theo is willing to accept it?

[Toia Be Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short sweet spicy read. It’s a high heat instalove story about a regular man and the god of love passion and sexual desire. Eros brings all the things he is god of to the bedroom. Even though the story is instalove you really buy it with the characters. I would love to see more of these two. I received an ARC of this book from the author

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Spicy Rating: 4🌶

Struck by Eros by Kayla Grosse
Eros & Theo

My Rating: 4☆
Holiday Hookups Book Two
MM Romance
Valentine's Day Novella - 76 Pages
God of Love & Human
One Unforgettable Night
One Night Stand
Soulmates Found
Single MMC POV (Besides Epilogue)
High Heat
Quick & Spicy
Magical Elements

I love, love MM romance. It's an addiction. I just find it so hot and yummy. One of my favorite tropes ever. This was a quick and spicy read. Very fast paced. We didn't have to wait long for yumminess. Those spice scenes were chef's kiss. Very well written. I love dirty talk. Delicious. And I love that Eros always has a belly. Definitely check it out.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

forever 🥹

Short & Sweet

Getting dumped on valentines day is crazy

Finding out your one night stand on valentines day is your fated mate is also crazy.

I would be sure Im drunk cause ain’t no way

76 pages of spicy cuteness


“I’d rather live with the heartbreak of loving you for one night and losing you, than to never love you at all.”

Awwww 🥹 Eros, ladies and gentlemen

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75☆

[Berry's Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Kayla Grosse's books and this was no exception! I can't believe how addictive this novella was! There was so much put into it and I loved it. Def recommend! I love greek god retellings.

[Trinity · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶🌶🌶/5

TW - breakup (on page, MMC and sc), alcohol consumption, underage drinking (past, mentioned)

CW - light degradation, impact play (spanking and with a metal object), edging, D/s, toys, biting, sensory deprivation (blindfold), sensory play, pain play, perceived knife play, hand necklace

Tropes - Valentine's, novella, strangers to lovers, fated mates, light fantasy, light Greek mythology

Representation - plus size MMC, MM, queer rep

Short, fun, CUTE and smutty! Just what I wanted 😈

Scale:
⭐️ - would've DNF'ed / continued out of spite
⭐️⭐️ - shit, but whatever
⭐️⭐️⭐️ - meh, could've been better
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - lit 👅
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - loved it, inject this shit into my veins 🤪

🫑 - no smut
🌶 - no point
🌶🌶 - mediocre at best
🌶🌶🌶 - standard smut, hot
🌶🌶🌶🌶 - 🥵 okay, some CW
🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 - fuck me 🥵🥵 CWs / filthy with a side of filth - see Poison / Room Twenty-Two: Hide and Seek/ The Naughty List / The Naughtier List / By Command Alone: Book 1 of the Kinky ABC Anthology

TW/CW not to be repurposed by authors / publishers for website / book / content use without permission

[Janalee Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shocker to absolutely no one: I loved another book by Kayla and I must shout about it on the internet.

This is the perfect Valentine's novella, short (tragically so, because I wanted more), sweet, and deliciously spicy. Kayla has a gift for making you instantly invested in her characters, and that happened immediately with Eros and Theo. Like... zero hesitation, full heart involvement.

I won't give anything away, but just know I adored these two with my entire soul. Their chemistry, the emotion, the heat.
I will read anything and everything Kayla writes, and if you're looking for a novella to get you fully in the loving, swoony, Valentine's Day mood... this is the one.

[Aleja · Rating 4 out of 5]

MM romance | Strangers to lovers | Fated mates | Greek Mythology | Age gap | Novella | Edging | Spanking


Siento que leí esta segunda historia incluso más rápido que la anterior jajajja!

Theo y Eros estuvieron muy bien. No sabía qué esperar de ellos, pero me encantó lo que encontré. Es una historia súper cortita, dulce y picante al mismo tiempo🌶️.

Definitivamente me leeré cada historia corta que salga de esta serie🤭✨.

〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️

I feel like I flew through this second story even faster than the first one! lol.

Theo and Eros were great! I didn’t know what to expect from them, but I loved what I found. It’s a super short story, sweet and spicy all at once🌶️.

I’m definitely reading every short story that comes out in this series! 🤭✨

[Catie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love anything Kayla does but this was so spicy!!! Theo gets dumped on valentines and told he was just good in bed, so fucking rude (men suck)!!! He leaves and stumbles into a hotel bar to drink and finds way more than he thought. Eros, or E is a handsome man that just appears and they hit it off with conversation. One thing leads to another and what was just supposed to be a hook up turns into so much more.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 ⭐️
5/5 🌶️

I couldn’t let February go by without reading a slutty Valentine’s Day novella. This was a perfect palate cleanser for some of the darker stuff I’ve been reading lately. I wouldn’t say this was especially kinky, but there’s some mildly kinky stuff going on and there’s basically just a sprinkle of plot happening. I was into that because I find it a nice break from reading really plot-heavy books. Plus, these two were really cute together.

I don’t really include sexual content in content warnings anymore, but they’re listed in the beginning of the book…so I guess I’ll list them here.

Oral
Face fucking
Derogatory language/light degradation/dirty talk
Sensory/impact play
Edging
Anal
Magical elements

[Anita Otten · Rating 5 out of 5]

What do you do when your boyfriend dumps you on Valentine’s Day and you have nowhere to go? You go to a hotel bar to get drunk and find a hotel room to spend the night. Doing just that, Theo meets a mysterious, handsome stranger that turns his whole world upside down in just one night. But is E really who he says he is?

This is the cutest novella ever 🥹 Kayla always manages to write stories that feel… familiar somehow. Safe, and comforting. I don’t know how else to explain it. And of course, the spice is spicing!

[Caitlin 🎀🕷️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Um… I don’t know how to feel about this one. The spice is great, which is to be expected in any of Kayla’s books, but the cheese factor maybe ruins it a bit. Maybe I just wasn’t in the right head space for cheesy. If you’re into spicy MM, it’s a must read. It’s so short that even if something bothers you a bit, it doesn’t matter.

3.75⭐️ 4/5🌶️

[Meredith Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm gonna need a tall glass of milk, because this was spicy. After a bad breakup, Theo runs into E, and he's instantly accepting an offer for one night only. But more than just appendages grow as the two men spend time together.

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

a spicy, gay valentines treat!💘

Honestly one of the best novellas I’ve read. Kayla writes high heat so, so well and the plot worked incredibly within such short parameters.

Highly recommend for a hot, queer valentines romance sent from the gods💘

[Hannah Rae · Rating 5 out of 5]

kayla grosse writing mm spicy valentines novella? yeah that’ll do it for me.

[EllieGraceReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love a Kayla Grosse novella🤩

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect valentines novella

[Leigh Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[madmanreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐️ | 3 🌶️

A cute & spicy Valentine’s Day novella!

[what_emmareadnext · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this novella! It was cute and spicy quick read and it was by Kayla was it was always going to be amazing!

[Jillian Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very spicy Valentines Day novella🥵 little plot but I liked the fact that Eros was THE Eros I love a fated mates moment

[Pana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super spicy! Wickedly hot, and sexy!
Get your Valentine’s Day read on early with this scorching hot read!

[Kristen ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

┈ Read this if you like ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
✦ Valentine’s Day 💕
✦ Meet Cute
✦ One Night Stand
✦ Soul Mates
✦ Instalove 💗
✦ MM Romance 👬
✦ Novella / Short Story

┈ MY THOUGHTS ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
- Fuck Ricky. Boy bye 👋🏼
- I really need to know if Eros was using magic to get Theo to sit with him. I mean, obviously he was with the coat, but the spare seats suddenly filled?! Was it fate or Eros doing everything he could to get a moment alone with Theo🤔
- Holy hot hotel scene that lasts FOUR CHAPTERS 🔥🥵🚒🧯
- Overall: This was a great Valentine’s Day themed MM romance, it was short, spicy, and fast paced.

┈ OVERVIEW ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
⛔️ Warning - possible spoilers below ⛔️
Emojis: 🍷🏩🛌💘🏹👬🍇
Pacing: 4/5
Characters: 3.5/5
Spice: 3/5
Overall: 3.75/5
Cover Art: 4/5
Format: eBook
POV: One 👤
Would I Recommend? 👍
Read Again? 👎
Setting / Location: Grove City

Hero/MMC: Theo
〰️Characteristics: tall, lean muscle, sun-kissed bronze skin, short dark brown hair, toned ass, brown eyes, hard body
〰️Occupation: Florist
〰️Age: N/A
〰️Nickname(s): Good boy, little slut, baby

Hero/MMC: Eros
〰️Characteristics: Short curly sandy colored hair, sweet features, beautiful, long dexterous fingers decorated in silver and gold rings, plush form, perfectly straight white teeth, stubble on his curved jaw, different shades of blonde in his curls, bowed lips, blue eyes, curved belly, soft body
〰️Occupation: God of Love & Desire aka Cupid
〰️Age: ♾️
〰️Nickname(s): Beautiful, baby

H/h virgin? No
First kiss💋: 26%
First time they have sex: 63%
First time they say "I Love You": 97%
Noteworthy Chapters🔥: 3-6, epilogue
✔️Smut List: Praise, dirty talk, toys, edging/orgasm denial, no condom, 🍑 play, spanking/impact play, breeding kink, biting/marking, degradation/humiliation, hair-pulling
OW/OM Drama? No
H/h cheat? No
Time apart? No
Did I cry? No
Ending: HEA 🥰
Standalone/Series? Yes to both
Epilogue? Yes

[BookReviews_by_MissaPoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 2 in the Holiday Hookups Series

This was a sultry, sinfully delicious holiday novella that will give you just enough to wet your pallette and leave you begging for more.

Theo is in love with being in love. A hopeless romantic, he finds himself once again on the outside looking in as he's unexpectedly dumped on Valentine's Day. Looking to drown his sorrows, lick his wounds and heal his 'broken' heart, he winds up at an out of the way hotel bar ready to forget everyone and everything.

Until he locks eyes with a mysterious stranger...

"E", otherwise known as Eros, is the Greek God of Love. One look at Theo and he knows. He's finally found his soulmate. The one he's spent centuries searching for only to walk away all alone once more. Inviting him to share his table and a drink, having an air about him that Theo is unable to resist, Eros vibrates with excitement at having found his mate as Theo feels an unusual calmness and familiarity work its way throughout him.

One look, one touch, one night? Underlying tensions and an undeniable pull that'll set off an intense firestorm of chemistry, emotion and heat.
Once the storm calms and the dust settles, is Theo willing and ready to accept the truths that are right in front of him? To understand that there's a greater power beyond us that is always at work? Fate has a funny way of showing up when you least expect it...

If you're looking for an in-depth background & storyline, you won't find it here. But for what it's meant to be, this was a hot quick read! Take the super short journey, it's worth it. Cupid's Arrow strikes again...

[Cat Nunez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading this short and steamy Valentine’s novella. I always enjoy Kayla’s spicy stories, and I was happy to finally have the time to read her new release.

Theo had just broken up with his boyfriend, so he went to a bar to spend Valentine’s Day. He wasn’t looking for a rebound, but he ended up sharing a booth with a mysterious stranger named E, and he couldn’t deny the attraction he felt toward him. They talked for a while, but after some time, the pull between them became too strong. Even though Theo wasn’t looking for more, E just wanted to be with him for as long as Theo wanted.

E and Theo shared a passionate, steamy night, and I loved reading about how comfortable they felt with each other. Theo enjoyed his time with E, but after it ended, he wasn’t sure what E really was, since he noticed a glow around him and felt he was different from the moment they met. E turned out to be Eros, the god of love, and he knew that he and Theo belonged together, and that destiny had finally brought them together.

Theo wasn’t sure what to think after hearing the truth from Eros, but he couldn’t deny the connection he felt from the very first moment they shared. Eros gave him the choice to forget everything that happened between them, but Theo didn’t want to forget anything since Eros was even willing to let him go, while keeping the memory of their night together. I loved how Theo decided to stay with Eros so they could be together forever.

Eros and Theo’s story was captivating from the start, and it was nice to read how they found each other exactly when they needed it most.

[Lynnette Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

🌶️📚 Book Review 📚🌶️
Struck By Eros
By: Kayla Grosse

Listen—when I opened my email and saw Struck By Eros waiting for me, I immediately dropped everything. Coffee? Grabbed. Book? Downloaded. Responsibilities? Ignored. And just like every Kayla Grosse book before it… she did not miss.

Struck By Eros is a high-heat MM Valentine’s Day novella that hits fast, hot, and right in the feelings. When Theo gets dumped on the most romantic day of the year (rude), he heads to a hotel bar to lick his wounds. One crowded bar, one empty, corner booth left… but it’s suddenly occupied by a mysterious, beautiful man who only introduces himself as E.

From the first glance, the chemistry is electric. One shared booth turns into a bottle of wine, which turns into a one-night stand that had me fanning myself and reaching for a cold drink 🥵🔥

But what really makes this story shine isn’t just the spice (and trust me, the spice is spicing). It’s the mutual respect, the genuine desire to please one another, and the quiet longing to fill the emptiness both men are carrying. It’s tender. It’s emotional. It’s sexy and beautiful—and that combo? Elite.

✨ Short, steamy, and surprisingly heartfelt
✨ Perfect for a Valentine’s Day read
✨ High heat with actual depth (we love to see it)
✨ Paranormal twist

⭐ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️ Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

If you want a quick, scorching-hot read that also leaves your heart a little fuller—this one’s for you. 💘🔥
#BookTok #MMRomance #SpicyReads #HighHeat #ValentinesRead #KaylaGrosse

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh. My. Gods.

Did Kayla Grosse write what could be my favourite novella I’ve ever read? Yes, I think she did.

This was 76 pages and the entire thing was perfect. I’m not sure what magic was in this but it felt like a novel to read. Somehow there was a complete story told in this tiny amount of pages and I loved it.

I devoured Theo and Eros’ story. They were hot as hell together and the spice was SPICING, my friends. But they also had tender and vulnerable moments and, put together, it was everything I needed for a Valentine’s Day read 💘

💕 Highlights 💕

“You’re mine, Theo. You’ve always been mine, and there was no need for one of my arrows to bring us together. Destiny did it for us.”

“I know you may question it, but I’ll spend the rest of eternity convincing you that we belong together. That my heart was made to beat for you, and you alone.”

“You’ve limited yourself, and those around you have contributed to the thoughts in your mind that have kept you small. But you’re capable of whatever you put your mind to, Theo.”

But I suppose all love happens when it’s meant to happen. It cannot be forced, or made of wishes. The universe finally brought us together, and now we have forever.