This book has so much heart. It's quirky and funny, exasperating and it kept me guessing. Every time I thought I knew what was next, I was thrown. It does have a happily ever after, but what an adventure it was getting there. Both of the main characters are memorable as is this amazingly well written story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
🌶🌶.5

Thank you to @netgalley and @sourcebookscasablanca for the ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed Sylvie and Killian’s story and felt like it really kept me on my toes throughout the book. This book had everything I would expect from one of Sara Cate’s books: spice, banter, and emotional turmoil. I loved the chemistry between Killian and Sylvie and how they both fought against their feelings because of how stubborn they are. As someone who is very much a grump, I really related to both characters. One thing that would have pushed this one up to a higher rating for me would have been to reveal more of Killian’s and Sylvie’s stories earlier in the story because I did spend a good part of the book being like “but WHY are they like this?!” and then once I knew my heart broke for them. I will also say that this was definitely on the tame side for Sara’s books. I expected considerably more spice from this one and was almost a little disappointed that there wasn’t more. The spice that was there was HOT and I just wanted so much more of it.

Read if you like:
- Grumpy x Grumpy
- Marriage of Convenience
- Everyone has Trauma
- Age Gap
- Billionaire
- Spicy scenes 🌶

I received a free copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca; all opinions expressed are exclusively my own.

This is another extremely difficult title for me to rate, because I have some wildly mixed feelings about it. Honestly at about 50% I considered not finishing because I just hated the characters so, SO much. Killian felt like an ass with zero redeeming qualities; Sylvie was neglected, sure, but is absolutely an entitled ass and behaves abominably to the people around her, particularly her parents' secretary Enid (I'm really not cool with calling another woman ugly because you're mad at someone else) and I found myself literally saying "I'm so glad they're together because no one else should have to put up with them!"

Then I got into the last, maybe 1/4 of the book, and my feelings changed as the main characters experienced growth and change, something they had to do APART from each other, which I appreciated. I think the single best moment in the book for me had nothing to do with the romance, but when Sylvie and Enid had a frank conversation and were able to relate to each other in terms of how they experienced Sylvie's godawful parents. So I'm really torn; most of the book put me off, but the ending made me glad I finished it after all. I'm giving it a 3 stars because I'm averaging the 2 star first 3/4 and the 4 star last 1/4.

For sensitive readers, this book contains, first of all, just some really awful people. Like, most of them suck. Also, ethical non-monogamy, NON-ethical non-monogamy (cheating), grief, trauma, PTSD, panic attacks, agoraphobia, severe childhood neglect, emotional abuse, graphic sexuality, BDSM, alcoholism, blood, injury, and betrayal.

OK ok. Now this was a surprise! The synopsis had me thinking it was going to be a lot more kinkier than it was, I have to admit. Sara is the queen of kink, BUT, this one was a little lower on the spice but at least to me, MUCH MORE full of tenderness and love. I really enjoyed this one and think it is one of her best written books. I tried reading all of Killian's words in my head with an accent because as other readers stated, it is easy to forget he's Scottish (although I am eagerly awaiting the audiobook.) Maybe it would have been helpful to have some of his words phonetically spelled instead so you could "read" the accent more? (Ala Highland Fling by Meghan Quinn?) That being said, they are not really likable characters, I will admit. And up until about halfway through, my eyes hurt from rolling at their antics but then the story shifts a bit....and took my heart with it. I truly truly loved this one.

I received an ecopy of #KeepMe by Sara Cate for a review on #NetGalley. At first, I wasn't sure I wanted a book that featured swinger's and BDSM. This book turned about to be more about two people who each have bad stuff in their backgrounds. The woman has had uncaring parents. The man is angry and guilt Ridden over his parents deaths. They sign a contract on false promises and marry. Neither of them expect to fall in love but they do and this book tells that story. Do not read if you do not want crude language and not sex behind bedroom doors. Do read if you want spice in your romance. I can imagine this book being on booktok for the same reason as Sarah Maas books are, but this is not a fantasy just a contemporary romance

While I enjoyed this I had a hard time with Sylvie at the beginning. While I liked her ability to speak her mind she was a bit of a brat and not in a good way. I loved her and Killian’s dynamic. They both gave as good as they got. Watching them grow together was both sweet and laugh out loud funny. While I know some of the twists and turns needed to come I hated that they did. I liked the representation of working on handling a tough struggle in a healthy way. I swooned hard for the ending. I was so attached to these two. I’m glad they got their happy ending.

This book had me laughing and crying. I had a hard time putting it down it was soo good!! Sylvie is freakin fantastic!
Their banter back and forth shows that they are meant to be.
Hope to see more of the Barclay family.

Oh Killian 😻😻😻
I haven't cried to a book in a LONG
time and I was like a little baby by the end of this!
Forced marriage. Basically enemies to lovers. Bullying for SURE and I LOVED it! All my years of watching Outlander paid off because I knew EXACTLY what Killain sounded like. And Sylvie is so perfect for him. She really is. The hardships they both go through are heartbreaking but I loved their growth together.

I read this book so fast and loved every minute of it. Killian is so broody but he’s not alone, Sylvie is grumpy and at rock bottom. They’re both missing something from their life and they find a spark in fighting with each other. But that spark ignites feelings between them they can’t ignore. What was supposed to be an easy pay out for Sylvie turns out to be the hardest thing she had to do. I loved their journey from hate to love and how much they loved each other. I can’t wait for more from this series!

Keep Me was so unexpected. I went in blind and Killian and Sylvie completely captivated me. Both have character traits that initially gave off some pretty big red flags but it also allowed so much growth to occur.

Sylvie was angry and broken when she agreed to marry the angry Scotsman. And Killian was convinced a marriage of convenience would help him in the long run.

What initially starts as words of anger quickly turns into words of anger and passion. Their connection is electric and it doesn't take long for each to give into their desires.

KEEP ME by sara cate is a steamy marriage of convenience romance about sylvie, a new yorker who agrees to marry a grumpy scotsman at his family's request, all for low low sum of 10 million dollars. but as she spends more time with killian, it gets harder and harder for her to keep her distance from her husband.

i really enjoy sara cate's books and this was no exception! it's a lot different from the salacious players' club series (and certainly a lot less spicy), but i loved how combative and argumentative sylvie and killian were. like they gave absolutely no shits about what they said to each other, so it really felt like the enemies were enemy-ing (until they were not).

read if you like:
- grumpy x grumpier
- extra spicy spice
- marriage of convenience

thanks to hambright PR and sourcebooks casablanca for the advanced copy! KEEP ME comes out december 3.

Keep Me is the first book in the Sinful Manor series. It follows Sylvie Devereaux who is from New York and ends up meeting Scottish Killian Barclay when she wanders into his manor in Scotland. Sylvie ends up marrying Killian in a marriage of convenience. Neither Killian nor Sylvie wanted to marry and they do not get along. They are constantly insulting each other but they have to find a way to get along as they are married after all.

This wasn’t great for me at all. I’m giving it 3 stars but to be honest if this wasn’t an arc it would probably be a 2. I can see people enjoying this especially readers who like Sara Cate’s older work like Gravity. This just has a completely different vibe to her Salacious players and Goode Brothers series and I just wasn’t into it. The story moved way too quick for me and I’m all for ignoring reality but the way these two ended up married was too forced for me. The romance wasn’t romancing for me and I just didn’t believe these two were really in love. Plus because Sara’s other works have had kink in them I was expecting this to be more kinky but it felt pretty average to me. That said this does have an audience and I will still continue to read Sara Cate because generally I love her books. This just wasn’t to my taste.

Another fantastic read by Sara Cate! I loved Killian and Sylvie’s story. The way they grew to love each other was such a beautiful story. I truly enjoyed the fact that this isn’t a love at first sight, happily ever after from the start. Sara Cate gives such great descriptions of both characters that it’s hard not to root for them. I won’t spoil this book, but I will say that you should definitely read it!

,i had ups and downs with this book but overall it was enjoyable!

Major up was the spice was good, I loved Sylvie and she really said whatever she wanted. Once they were in love I loved them together.
And the downs…the story kind of felt all over the place, killian called her some of the worst things which turned into their cute little banter and I wasn’t a fan lol. I also think killians back story and character could’ve been developed much more.

Keep Me was a love hate story that I took great pleasure in reading. Sophie Devereaux was visiting Scotland where she broke into Killian Barclay's mansion to view a legendary typewriter. When she got back to New York, she had a visit from Anna, Killian's sister. Anna explained that their parents had been killed in a car accident and Killian had been living in the mansion for over 20 years. The mansion was his and their Aunt Lorna wanted it. Anna proposed a contract. In the contract, Sophie was to go to Scotland and marry Killian. They were to stay married for a year and at the end of that year the house would be deeded to Sophie who would in turn sign it over to Aunt Lorna, and Sophie would be paid $10 million. There was only one problem: Sophie and Killian hated each other. Nevertheless, Sophie agreed to the contract. The only people who knew about the deal was Killian, Anna, her two brothers and Aunt Lorna. Sophie and Killian's job was to make the marriage believable to the public. Killian did not know about the $10 million, nor did he know that the house was going to end up with Aunt Lorna. The problem was that Killian was so attached to the house that he never left.

So the marriage happened, and Sophie and Killian had to figure out how to survive the year. It was extremely difficult because they literally hated each other. Over time, they came to like each other and eventually fell in love. Sophie came to realize how attached to the house Killian was and decided she didn't want his evil Aunt Lorna to have it. The exception to the contract was that if she backed out she would owe $10 million.

Sophie told Anna that she wanted nothing more to do with the contract, that she wanted Killian to keep the house. Anna told her that the only way out was to divorce Killian and go back to New York. Sophie decided she wanted her and Anna to tell Killian the whole story. But when Sophie got back to the house, Anna was already there and she had told Killian. Killian made the decision for her and decided she should divorce him and go back to New York. His mind was made up and he had her bags packed. So she left.

Sophie's existence in New York was pretty much non-existent. She missed Killian terribly. They talked every now and then; he called on her whenever he needed support. He told her to move on with her life but she told him she would wait for him.

The author did a stellar job moving the story forward. There was a lot of feeling in this book and I experienced it. The characters were extremely believable and the storyline did not disappoint. I gave it five stars.

Here we go again.

Like, I'm still traumatized after The Heartbreaker. What's-her-face was so unlikeable and whinny, but I really didn't want that experience to affect my perception of Keep Me, so I went into this book with my heart open, truly. I was hoping for a fresh start, but unfortunately, I found this book a bit misleading. Maybe it’s because I expected something 'kinkier' from the author of SPC, and with a series called Sinful Manor, plus the book being promoted as having 'kinky vibes,' I was expecting it to deliver on that—but it didn’t. It had so much potential, and I mean so much, but it wasn’t explored nearly enough, which is a real shame.

Sylvie, the FMC, was pissing me off from chapter 1. She's so self-centered and spoiled, and yet she acts like she isn't. I was hoping there would be some solid character growth, but that just didn't happen. She’s 25, and her parents didn’t really raise her, so she’s got this whole 'woe is me' attitude—but they’re filthy rich. So, yeah, classic poor little rich girl. They cut her off, and she managed to blow through the money that was supposed to last 18 months in just 4. And she was crying about it because she didn’t want to work. Also, it was so funny how she tried to paint her parents' PA as the villain when, honestly, she was calling Sylvie out on her bullshit, and fairly so.

Things got even worse for me when we were introduced to the MMC, Killian. He’s basically the male version of Sylvie, but worse, since he’s nearly 40 and acts like a teenager. And, of course, anyone who tries to help him is automatically the bad guy. I just couldn’t handle two selfish, entitled main characters who refuse to act their age. Honestly, they deserve each other. Both are completely out of touch with reality and don’t care about anyone but themselves—they’re the epitome of 'poor little rich kids.'

I’ll be honest, by this point, the only reason I hadn’t DNF’d the book was because ‘partner swapping’ was listed in the content warnings, and I was curious to see how that would play out. When I finally got to that part—and, to my surprise, it didn’t happen between the main characters (which was a bit of a relief, since I don’t think I’d have liked it)—the story picked up enough to keep me hooked and going. And the second half of the book was definitely better, and I felt more excited to keep reading. But my real issue with this book is the main characters—I just couldn’t empathize with either of them. That said, the breeding kink was a reward for not giving up on the book.

And I’m still trying to understand the point of that marriage—and her being chosen as the bride on top of everything else—beyond just fitting the trope. The 'hate' they had for each other didn’t make sense either. It felt like the author was trying to convince readers they hated each other, but it just came across as forced.

There wasn’t enough build-up for me. They went from hating each other to being attracted to each other way too quickly. I couldn’t grasp how they were falling for each other when there wasn’t a single genuine interaction between them. Sure, they had chemistry, but love? I don’t think so. I was fully expecting a slow burn, both sexually and emotionally. You don’t just go from calling someone a cow to worshiping her in a chapter—absolutely not.

The way the story was written is to blame. There were several time jumps, and I think we missed out on a lot of character development during the periods we didn’t get to see. By the end of the book, it felt like the main characters were completely different people, but the change wasn’t gradual; it was abrupt. One moment they hated each other, and the next, they didn’t. In the second half, their behavior seemed out of character, and it didn’t feel like real 'character growth' because the shift happened too suddenly. It was as if I couldn’t keep up with the development of their feelings.

Returning to the kink aspect of the story, I was convinced she would make him submit, creating some kind of role reversal at some point. Okay, maybe that was wishful thinking, but when she mentioned that he needed someone he could trust and that he didn’t need more control, I thought it was setting the stage for him to eventually submit. Not necessarily all the time, but perhaps in one scene or another, just to take the weight off his shoulders. For me, it was a missed opportunity.

And this book was borderline a bully romance? Because he kept calling her a cow, cunt, bitch... I mean, HE CALLED HER A COW. I'm sorry, but I wouldn't give the time of the day to any person who called me a cow, no matter how hot they were. Also, there were some scenes which he was very aggressive with her because he was drunk. And that sure wasn't consensual and it should be stated in the trigger warnings.

Finally, there are some inconsistencies throughout the book, such as Sylvie's hair color, Killian's age, the book she supposedly wrote exclusively on a typewriter that later magically appeared on her laptop, and the amount of time she spent in the Manor. I want to clarify that I understand this is an ARC, and these inconsistencies did NOT affect my rating; they just bothered me.

Phew.

By writing this review, I don’t intend to discourage anyone from reading this book. I’m fully aware that reading is subjective, and the reasons I disliked it could be the very same reasons someone else loves it. It just didn’t resonate with me at all.

When I first started this book I hated Killian and strongly disliked Sylvie. For the first time ever, I considered abandoning a Sara Cate novel. But I think I was meant to hate them at first. I saw them at their worst because they saw each other at their worst. It was only with each other that they could open up and just be the pain and hate that encompassed them. Then something magical happened, they grew, they created safe space, they protected the other and with that we saw the beauty that comes with pain. We began to watch them fight to find happiness and peace, not for themselves, that still wasn't enough, but so they could be better for each other. It was transformative and healing. So yes, I hated the characters at first and you may too, but perhaps you had to hate them in order to eventually truly love them. This was a beautiful journey and the ever present reminder that Sara Cate will always push your boundaries.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

This is a classic marriage of convenience with spice, that being said it really led you to thinking there would be an insane amount of spice that didn't really come to fruition. That being said, I am a sucker for a enemies to lovers, and throw in some mental health and I'm sold.

3 stars!

Wow! This was a hot one! It's the first time I've read a book from this author, and I will definitely seek out more.

Keep Me was my first Sara Cate novel and it’s definitely safe to say that it’s not my last!

I was immediately drawn to the idea of a fake relationship, marriage at that, between Killian Barclay, a broody Scotsman and the independent, take-charge New Yorker, Sylvie Devereaux. Travel to Barclay Manor with Sylvie as she agrees to marry Killian, a complete stranger; a marriage that must follow a legal contract and last one year. Can she survive her new hot headed, party animal husband and walk away a multimillionaire?

Over the course of the novel, you’ll fall in love with Killian and Sylvie; the two truly have so much love and compassion buried deep. The pair must trust one another and undergo individual journeys; putting in the work to peel back the layers protecting their hearts.

Keep Me is filled with self discovery, snark, steamy banter, spice, and found family.
The release date for this novel is December 3rd, but you can preorder your copy today!
•••••••
Thank you to Sara Cate, Hambright PR, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review