Sara Cate is a queen! I love everything she has written, and I feel like this is one of the more emotional books. I really connected with Sylvie - while I didn't grow up like her, I really liked her tenacity and drive. It took me a minute to warm up to Killian, but him with Sylvie was chemistry off the chart. I really loved this book!

OH MY GOD!
I want a grumpy Scottish man!

This was AMAZING! I devoured it, couldn’t put it down once I started it and I’m so in love with Killian and Sylvie!
I knew it was going to be good but wow!

It starts as enemies to lovers and a marriage of convenience but quickly becomes steamy and real!

The ending was so amazing and I love how Killian did what he needed to, and how he came back for her! (Sorry slight spoiler)
This is such a fun steamy read and I already want to reread it!

I'm in love your honor.
This book was fantastic and I was addicted right from away. yall...there's something about a big, Scotsman that'll have giggling and kicking your feet.
The hate to love in this is freaking PHENOMENAL. You can feel the tension coming off the pages. I absolutely adored Sylvie & Killian.
They are on the list as one of my favorite Sara cate couples by far. The way these two grow from two strangers that hate one another but agree to a marriage of convenience to actual lovers is chefs kiss. They are truly the perfect match for one another. And they had me giggling!!
They are also so damn hot I swear I could feel it.
I loveeeeeed everything about this book & couldn't put it down 10/10 recommend

I love a good spicy romance, this one didn't disappoint. It was a fun read. Three stars due to a lack of character development and the writing wasn't great in places. But still enjoyable!

How does an American girl who's down on her luck turn it all around? She's offered a deal she can't refuse & moves to Scotland for a marriage of convenience for a year. It's just a year, right? Smooth sailing is what Sylvie thinks. She's outspoken, hardheaded, stubborn & fights constantly with Killian, the Scotsman, she's married to.
He is so grumpy & a recluse who never leaves the Barclay Manor estate. But for her, he did.

This big grump of a man turns into a teddy bear who only has eyes for Sylvie. He wants to be better for her, she wants to help & be there for him. This has a lot of healing going on that I can get behind. The ending is beautiful & so good.

I love everything Sara Cate writes and this book is no exception. Keep Me is a deliciously sexy grumpy x grumpy romance full of smut, angst, and healing.

Keep Me by Sara Cate doesn't neglect the plot for spice. It has complex characters, spice, witty banter, and a hopeless conflict.

What you can expect:

Fake Marriage

HATE to lovers

Alphahole MC

Sassy FMC

Burly Scotsman

He falls first

Mental health rep

BDSM

Alcoholism

HEA

The first few chapters moved slowly, however, once the plot started to take off I became obsessed. It was hard to see how their visceral hate for one another could ever be more. They seemed to have more at odds than in common, but like with life, sometimes it takes a while to get to know someone. They both had challenges with vulnerability, which prevented them from seeing each other early on.

"Killian and I have always collided like two stars."

It was hard to like either Killian or Sylvie at the start since they were both mean and selfish. I was shocked at how much I ended up loving them, both individually and as a couple. They both have past trauma but found ways to work through it throughout Keep Me.

"So, no one else loves you. Big deal. But I'm here, mo ghraidh. And I am telling you that I will love you enough to make up for all of them."

Sara Cate is known for her spice and Keep Me didn't disappoint. There are sex parties, BDSM, and plenty of spicy scenes. Their hate really makes the chemistry all that much better.

"Oh...Look who listens to me now." Biting my lip, I fight a smile. "Don't get too used to it."

I fell in love with Killian and Sylvie and their love and struggles felt real to me, so much so that the end left me in tears. I was on a beach in Mexico, quietly sobbing drinking Mango Tangos. Sure, you can blame the rum, but I know my tears were real! Luckily there is a HEA but Cate doesn't let you know that until the very last minute.

Final thoughts: This story ripped me apart and I still randomly think about Killian and Sylvie. Add it to your TBR!

I absolutely ate this book up. This was my first Sara Cate read, and it will not be the last. I love her character development and the emotional rollercoaster she took readers on. We’re presented with two relatively unlikeable main characters, so I was hesitant on whether I’d be able to make it through the story. However, that concern was quickly put to rest. Both Killian and Sylvie are beautiful yet flawed characters that have to learn to love each other before they can be there for anyone else. I also love the fake dating trope which when paired with a marriage of convenience is an automatic win for me. Even better, have this all take place in Scotland. The wide range of emotions Cate had me feeling throughout this book was truly impressive from anger at the characters to laughing at their antics to heart break and tears. This was a complete rollercoaster, and I loved every minute of it. With how this story wrapped up, I can’t wait to see how the next in series goes.

I loved this story. It had me laughing and crying. Sylvie and Killian are great characters. They both have their flaws but they are perfect for each other. The storyline kept me engaged. I loved the fake marriage. There's plenty of spice but also emotion. Overall a great read I binged in a few hours.

Overall: 4.25

If Sara Cate writes it, I will IMMEDIATELY be reading it. Ever since first reading Praise, she's quickly become an auto-buy author for me, and with this new series she does it again! I loved the bickering back and forth, and how these two grumpy characters couldn't help warming up to each other and eventually falling in love.

Can't wait to see what the rest of this series holds and the havoc that happens within the walls of the Barclay manor!

Keep Me by Sara Cate
Publisher - Sourcebooks Casablanca

SYNOPSIS

Their marriage of convenience is anything but…

All Killian Barclay wants is to be left the hell alone. He's had enough heartache to last a lifetime, and he has no more need for love—earning him the reputation of a broody Scot and eventually turning his famous ancestral home into a den of iniquity. It doesn't take long for tales of his raunchy house parties to reach the rest of his family, though, inspiring them to hatch a plan to shake Killian out of his routine.

New Yorker Sylvie Devereaux is tough as nails—as the daughter of famous yet neglectful parents, she's grown a hard shell and keeps everyone at arm's length. So when she sneaks into Barclay Manor during a trip to Scotland to get a glimpse of a famous heirloom, she doesn't anticipate facing off against the brutish, maddening highlander who lives there. And she certainly didn't expect to ever see the bastard again.

Yet just weeks later, she's approached by Killian's family with a proposal—move to Scotland and marry Killian to improve his playboy reputation, and after one year, she'll walk away with ten million dollars. Sylvie agrees, even knowing that their plan is more deceptive than he realizes. But as she grows closer to Killian and the end of their year together, she has to decide: Is the love of a good man with a dark soul worth keeping, or is she willing to break Killian's heart now that it's well and truly hers?




MY THOUGHTS
A hot billionaire from Scotland with kinks hell yeah sign me up!

I loved the Salacious Players Club series by Sara Cate and so when I heard she was doing another series I jumped right on it.

I couldn’t put this book down! Sara Cate is a master at pacing and keeping the flow going.

I found myself liking both these characters even though they were set up to be unlikeable. Killian is a recluse playboy and Sylvie is a money grubber. Both are the black sheep of their families. Both enter this fake marriage scheme with selfish motives only to discover they are each others match in every way.

I enjoyed the enemies to lovers angle, the bickering, and the name calling. I didn’t like his friends, but I don’t think the reader was suppose to like them.

The spice was tamer than I thought it would be going in. The kinks were a bit on the lighter side so I would say it’s a good introductory to kinks.

Overall, I loved this story! Definitely give this a try!

This book was amazing. I loved the dynamic between the characters and how he wanted to heal to be better for her. It was great that he supported her with her parents and to follow her dreams.

The fact that Sara Cate wrote this guaranteed I would read it, but if you took that away what would attract me to this book? Well, two of my favorite tropes: forced proximity and grumpy versus grumpy. In this case, it’s a grumpy, reclusive Scottish billionaire and a grumpy, tough-as-nails New Yorker. What a delightfully volatile combination.

It’s not until I was reading Keep Me that I realized I was going to fall in love with these characters, because they’re both heavily motivated by the same thing that’s gotten me through some of the toughest spots in my life: spite. Spite is not only one of the most powerful and relatable motivators, it’s also one of the most combustible.

Sylvie and Killian are a fire waiting to ignite as they both loathe and lust at first sight. All too often a book bills itself as enemies-to-lovers and softballs it; Keep Me goes hard and gives you no cause to doubt that our main characters might just go and drown each other in a nearby loch at some point. The tension will make you shiver in the best way.

When these two break, it’s like a sundering of the earth.

There are vital themes underneath the romance about pride, self-worth, parental abandonment, grief, anxiety, self-esteem, repressed emotions, and trust, but the romance between Sylvie and Killian was so enthralling I can only think of it all as scaffolding for their beautiful story.

I was provided a copy of this title by the author via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Billionaire Romance/Book Series/Contemporary Romance/Kink Friendly/Spice Level 3

A tall, bearded, strong Scotsman MMC? YES PLEASE 🥵

A huge thank you to NetGalley for getting to read this ARC 🙏

Sylvie is a scrappy, resilient, badass child of two snotty artists. After her boyfriend cheats on her with her best friend, she is hesitant but excited when an opportunity comes her way to make 10 million dollars.
Killian is the oldest of his siblings and just wants to live his life without anyone bothering him. When his family offers him a deal for him to seemingly get what he wants, he begrudgingly goes along with it.

This story has such witty banter and delicious tension. Fake marriage, forced proximity, enemies to lovers, but also anxiety/panic and trauma representation?? This book is 10/10 in every way 💙🤍

Keep Me is the first in a new series by @saracatebooks. It’s a marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, age gap, forced proximity romance set in Scotland.

The spark between Killian and Slyvie is evident from the moment they meet, and it’s anything but a meet cute moment. The hate they spew towards each other is horrible yet delicious. The tension builds and erupts with hot spicy scenes. When they give way to the tension, and open themselves up, they start to see there’s more to the other than they thoughts. Both are broken in different ways, but they can recognise the pain and hurt easily for the other.

I loved how this story was written - it’s duel POV but in parts - each part is from either Killians or Slyvies perspective.

Thank you @saracatebooks and @netgalley for the e-ARC of this story. I can’t wait to see where the rest of the series heads.

Keep Me by Sara Cate- This book is a perfect blend of heartfelt romance and irresistible spice, guaranteed to tug at your heartstrings and leave you swooning!❤️

The first few chapters had me completely hooked! Sara Cate has an incredible talent for crafting beautifully written spicy scenes that feel natural and never overdone. The story between Killian and Sylvie is so sweet, romantic, and unique, and I also loved the witty banter between the characters, which added so much charm and depth. I found myself fully immersed in their love story and couldn’t help but think—I need to find my own broody Scottish man! I truly enjoyed this book. If you’re into heartfelt romance with all the spice, this book is a must-read! ❤️🥵

Favorite Quote-

He took the ugliest parts of me and loved them right along with the beautiful ones. He let me scream and cry and held me afterward like I was the most important person in his life.

A grumpy Scottish kilt wearing man written by Sara Cate?!?!? TAKE MY MONEY AND GIVE ME THE SMUT!


What do you get when you mix a free spirited American woman who gets cut off by her rich parents and a brutish Scottish man whose family hatches a plan to get him married? A blazing HAWT marriage of convenience!

I can never get enough of Sara's books. The way she is able to write taboo, kinky books that also have so much depth is exactly what I'm always looking for in a book. And while I'm constantly reading other books by other authors. There is just something about Sara's writing that can't compare to others, in my opinion. Every time I finish one of her books, I end up in a reading slump for weeks after because I can't find another book as good as hers.

I absolutely loved the angst between Sylvie and Killian! And the slower burn was perfect and exactly what I needed! I felt so much for both characters and the things they were going through. Sylvie and her issues with her parents and Killian with his PTSD struggles. I loved seeing both of them support each other through those difficult situations.

If you loved salacious players or really any other book by Sara Cate, you'll love this one just as much. It's exactly what you'd expect from her writing. Pure gold!

Age gap
Scottish mmc
Possessive mmc
Marriage of convenience
Exhibitionist
Kinky parties

My spice rating:🌶🌶🌶


Possible triggers
Parental neglect
Light Partner sharing
OW drama (not entertained intentionally by mmc)
Cheating (not between mcs)
Parental death
Abuse of alcohol

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5

Grumpy, reclusive Killian Barclay just wants to be left alone… a goal which proves impossible when equally grumpy Sylvie Devereaux quite literally breaks into his life and his manor in Scotland. Weeks later, Sylvie is approached by Killian’s family with an offer: marry Killian to help his playboy antics and walk away with ten million. The catch? They have to stay married for a year. Initial mutual loathing soon turns into something more… but can Sylvie keep her feeling separate from her final goal of a payout?

Good golly, do I love Sara’s writing. Her characters had such a range of development of their relationship… the mutual disdain of our two MCs and their development in their relationship and trust made for a wonderful storyline. I rarely get to witness a grumpy/grumpy pairing, and I simply LOVE when the FMC is this much of a crank! The setting of the story was almost like an additional character in the story, creating such a visual backdrop that kept me in the story. AND THE SPICE!! Ms. Cate always knows how to make me squeal in delight, somehow always timing the spiciest of scenes to be when I was reading on the CTA. This book was so great!

Tropes in this story:
✨Arranged marriage
✨Grumpy x Grumpy
✨Strangers to intense hate to lovers
✨Spice which was a little k!nky and taboo (YUM)
✨Scottish brogues & men in kilts

I received an Advanced Reading Copy of this book via HambrightPR, Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley but my review is all my own.

What do you get when you bring together a kilt-wearing brutish Scotsman who hates the world and a once-rich self-centered brat with zero dollars to her name? An explosive marriage of convenience.

Admittedly, I had hoped for a bit more character growth, particularly for Sylvie, and the third act breakup was cliché. Yet the story was angsty and sexy, just with a slower burn and less overt kink and spice than what we've come to expect from Sara Cate. Make no mistakes, it was emotional and addictive, just a bit different.

Once i started this book, I couldn't stop. Killian and Sylvie are literal enemies to lovers. Hate sex that turns into a longing for each other was delicious.

I really enjoyed the growth of Killian and loved this transformation - it almost felt Beauty and the Beast-y. Beautiful girl agrees to a contractual marriage, stands up to the Beast in this castle - an event happens and love comes through.

10/10 - I can't wait to see the rest of the series!