Eros

Love Gods #1

by Candi Kay

Eros is the god of love and lust. His only job on Earth is to bring couples together and shoot them with his magical arrows. If he occasionally hooks up with the guys first, what of it? He's all about the lust thing, but love? Not hardly. Not after all the broken relationships he's witnessed throughout his long, immortal life.

After four assignments that he nearly blows because he's quicker to shoot his load than his arrows, Aphrodite gives him a final chance to prove himself. If he fails, he could lose his privileged position among the gods and be eternally banished from the planet he calls home. Confident in his skills, he isn't overly concerned. That is, until he hooks up with the guy he's supposed to shoot for his do-or-die assignment. In the eons he's spent on Earth, he's never felt this way before. Does he risk losing everything he's ever known? Or does he fulfill his duty and walk away from the only love he's ever found?

73 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2016

About the author

A blogger by day, at night Candi Kay transforms into a writer of various genres, with an emphasis on LGBTQ and erotica. Author of the Willy the Kinky Elf & His Bad-Ass Reindeer series, Candi's books are often filled with humor, lovable, kooky characters, and sweet happily-ever-afters. You can find Candi on Facebook, Amazon, her blog, Pinterest, Twitter, or email her at CandiKayAuthor@gmail.com. She loves hearing from readers!

Reviews

[Devon McCormack · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just take what you know about Greek mythology, pound it in the ass a few times and then flip it over and pound it some more, and you'll get the world of Candi Kay's modernized tale of Eros--the Greek god of love and lust. From the moment I started reading this story, I fell in love with Eros. A jaded, bitter smart-ass, I was destined to love him from page one as he threw that little asshole Cupid under the bus, explaining that they are not the same god and that Cupid can take his chipper attitude and annoying ways and go fuck himself.

Eros is just the sort of hero I can get behind 100%. He's seen love and lust through the ages and doesn't believe that it can ever really work out...even though that's pretty much his only job. He also has a tendency to screw around with the guys he's supposed to be hooking up with their soulmates. His mom Aphrodite is tired of him dicking around on the job, and she's going to give him one last chance to prove he is worthy of his powers. Otherwise, he can say goodbye to his magic bow and arrow and kiss Olympus goodbye.

So he's just going to take this next job and breeze right through it, obvs. Oh, wait. That wouldn't be much of a story, would it? No. He sets out to get his next couple together, but there's a major problem. He likes the guy in the guy/girl couple. Uh oh! And you'll have to read the story to find out what happens from there. But I'll just say that I have read several of Candi's stories, and even though I am a huge fan of her Willy series, this one blew those stories out of the water. Eros was just a great character all the way around, and CK did such a good job with the love story that I'm now eagerly waiting for Candi's debut MM Romance because it'll be hot, steamy, and incredibly romantic. For those of you who love HEA, this one has a big fat HEA that was incredibly satisfying. I highly recommend this story!

[Candi Kay]

If you've read my holiday stories, you know I tend to mix things up a bit. I figured if I could get away with rewriting the North Pole why not dip my toes into Greek mythology? ;) I'm a sucker for a good romance and the story of Eros and Psyche has always fascinated me. They went through hell and back, but in the end, they came together stronger than ever.

With that being said, it should be noted very strongly that I took a lot of liberties in my interpretation of the myth. Eros is a gay romance in a contemporary setting. Told from the POV of Eros, it tells the story of him and Psyche finding their way back to each other after Aphrodite ripped them apart. There's a lot more to it than that but I won't give it away.

I hope you enjoy Eros as much as I enjoyed writing it. Maybe you'll even like my Aphrodite. Give her a chance. She's not all bad. She might even make you smile a time or two. :)

[Kazza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eros is the contemporary gay retelling of the Greek mythological pair of Eros and Psyche. It doesn’t matter one iota if you don’t know anything about the Greek gods or goddesses and their stories. The author provides all you need for this sexy, fun, contemporary novella. I liked the way this version was written.

Eros – do not confuse him with Cupid – has assignments, or marks, on Earth where he shoots his arrows into unsuspecting love birds, sometimes there isn’t a love match but the gods have a plan and it’s not his job to question it.

But, and there’s often a but, after a bachelor party where he ends up with his legs spread for Sy, the bachelor boy himself, things start to get intense and confusing for Eros, the perennial playboy and love-cynic extraordinaire. He’s been doing his job on Earth but he’s growing increasingly jaded and hitting on more than a few of the marks, loving them and leaving them. His mother, Aphrodite, is not amused that Eros keeps fucking his way through his assignments. If he doesn’t pull himself together and do his job without whipping out his shlong first, she’s going to call him before the Elders.

After the first time Sy and Eros are together, it doesn’t help calm Eros that Sy can see his invisible bow – to Sy it looks like a tattoo, and it’s burning on Eros’ chest. That Sy can see it confuses Eros but he can’t seem to love-him-and-leave-him like he usually does. It doesn’t help that Eros and Sy keep crossing paths, even when Eros is tying his hardest to keep away. The Fates seem to have royally fucked up this time.

Several things happening to Eros are odd, starting with Sy’s bachelor party, which is usually his gal-pal Aslyn’s type of gig but ends up being about him and Sy instead. It’s odd that the guest of honour wanted him after seeing Eros at the bar he works at. If Eros had seen Sy before he would have remembered him, of that he’s certain. Why is he having burning sensations in his bow on his chest? I mean, he knows why, but it makes no sense. Sy then turns up at a bar Eros happens to be trying to chill at, also at his home, and somehow it’s all linked back to Eros’ phone number, even though he didn’t send any messages. Why? Why is Aphrodite back on Earth dressed like a hooker? Well, it is Aphrodite…

Here is where I end this review because I can’t write too much about this story, and while it does follow the Eros and Psyche theme, I don’t want to give away this version.



Eros is actually a sexy and romantic novella with two characters I cheered for and wanted to see happy. Sy is wonderful and romantic. Eros is cocky, funny and endearing. He’s a bit of a rebel and I’m more than amenable to that. If you like a sweet ‘n sexy novella and you love love, then read Eros, I think it will be one of the best Valentine’s day e-books you’ll read this year. It’s easy to read, engaging, and hot, and I do love a retelling of mythology. I wish it had been slightly longer, hence the half star off, but that’s not particularly a bad thing, to want some more if you are enjoying the story so much. Besides, I loved seeing the way this version of the story panned out and Candi Kay did it real justice. If you like Valentine’s Day, I hope you bump into Eros -he’s feeling good right now – and have a nice time. 4.5 Love & Lust Stars!

[Dre · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't typically enjoy fantasy books, but I do love ones about mythology. I loved the little twist in this one, although I have to say I thought I had it all figured out, but I was wrong. This was a short, cute and easy read.

[Mee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holey shmoley! Sy & Eros are fun and sexy and so romantic and meant to be together. :)

[Charlene K Keller · Rating 5 out of 5]

God of love

This book was an amazing read. Humorous, serious, and a surprising ending that just absolutely made the book. It's a definite must read.

[Micky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eros is hot.
Sy is sexy and sweet.
Eros is a ho. That changes when he meets Sy.
He doesn't have sex with others after they meet.
Somebody said he did but he didnt.
I love retellings and I loved this.
My new favorite by CK because its more of a romance than just erotica.

[Kelsy Kasey · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

I've read all this author's Willy books and other Christmas stories, I think. If I missed any, I need to go back and check. Not sure why I put off reading Eros. It was a nice story, just a little short. I'd have preferred more details. The characters are a lot more fleshed out in Cupid. Cupid is actually why I read this one. I didn't want to go into it confused.

The characters -

Eros. Hello, you beautiful Greek man!
Sy. Inspired by David Garrett. If you don't know who he is, Google him. I did after reading one of Candi's blog posts. Holy damn that man's beautiful.

[mah1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a short, okay read from an author I wasn't familiar with before.

Eros is the god of lust and his job is to shoot arrows to get people together. He also has a high sex-drive and unfortunately he has a habbit of sleeping with the male marks.

In the very beginning Eros meets a guy that makes his arrow appear, which alerts him to realize that the guy is his mate. AFter the encounter Eros runs off and continues to funck his way through his marks, which was highly unsexy for me because he'd already met his mate. Then we learn that the guy, Psyche, was originally a mortal with whom Eros fell in love with. Then Afrodite had the genius idea to separate them for centuries and for some reason after all that fucking time she decides to bring the lovers back together.

Eros regains his memories and the end. Literally.

I get that this more erotica than romance and had there been some flipping, I might've enjoyed it more. If Eros had had his misadventures with the groom and the father-in-law that were entioned, before he met Sy, and had that adventure been desrcibed more, it could've been hot. As it was, the story was a let down. Also, the very beginning wasn't very well written and had a juvenile quality to it.

On the good side, Eros was a unique character and had the right amount of sass and Sy was a great match to him, they were both strong guys.

Two solid stars.