I have some mixed feelings about this book and I think it’s the first time Sara has stumped me. Loved the story. Loved the mental health representation. Loved the dramatic setting of a manor in Scotland. But for the first half of the book I found the FMC and MMC unlikable and obnoxious, which may have been the point given that its grumpy x grumpy. Once the characters walls started to crumble, they started warming up but it was tough trying to root for them initially.

I have to assume the next books will follow the other Barclay siblings. I’m torn as to who I want to read about next. I just hope Anna doesn’t end up with any of the men we met in this book 😂

Absolutely wonderful enemies to lovers story. Killian and Sylvie start the story as adversaries, a fake marriage contract brings them together and sparks fly. The character development is excellent. The steam is high and the feelings are deep. I highly recommend this book as its one of my best reads of the year.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I’d rate this 4 stars and 3.75 chili peppers for spice. This was such a fun kinky read. It had a rom-com vibe with the BDSM but also some deeper issues of social anxiety and guilt. The two main characters are enemies to lovers with a sort of slow burn to insta live romance. I thought it was really interesting that he knew about the contract the whole time but just didn’t know one specific part of it which she was hiding. I also loved how when he said he was going to work on his mental health, he actually used his time for therapy. Overall a really good quick read and I will totally read the next book in the series!

🖤 Age Gap
🖤 Marriage of Convenience
🖤 Forced Proximity
🖤 Mental Health Rep
🖤 Ge Falls First and Hard


I think this might be my favorite Sara Cate book yet. I absolutely love Killian Barclay. He is so real and raw. The depiction of his anxiety and panic attacks left your heart breaking for him. Sylvie's charcter grew so much throughout this book. She started out a spoiled brat, but as each layer is stripped away you learn she is just lonely and hurting and just wants someone to put her first.

The visceral banter between these two at the start of their relationship made me burst out laughing. The way he throws that rug 🤣

I cannot wait too read the next brothers story!

Whenever I pick up a Sara Cate book I know it is going to be a good time. For this one we are going to Scotland! Our FMC is Sylvie. We find her in Scotland at the Barclay manor with her boyfriend. Their mission is to see a typewriter that her boyfriends relative used. When they find that it is in fact private property she decides to go in univited to take a picture of the typerwriter anyway. This is how she meets Killian… But to find out how they end up together you are going to have to read the book!
The is a hate to love, marriage of convenience, grumpy x grumpy, forced proximity romance with the twists that you would expect from Sara Cate.
I thought her character development in this one was great as always. She has a way of writing characters that makes me care about them and become invested. I really liked the banter that happened between our two main characters though I know that they didn’t really care for each other in the beginning some of the names he called her in the beginning that he called her later on more as a joke becuase they were joking later on about still hating each other I really didn’t care for. Other than that I absolutely loved this book and it rated it 5 stars!

Tropes: ▪ Marriage of Convenience ▪ Enemies to Lovers ▪ Forced Proximity ▪ Grumpy x Grumpy ▪ Ƙìńkƴ Vibes ▪

I went into this book completely blind, because I always love Sara's books, and this one didn't disappoint at all! This is quite different to Sara's other books that I've read, in layout, themes and characters but just as good!

Sylvie is caught breaking into Barclay Manor, which leads to an unusual proposition, marry the man of the Manor for 1 year and receive 10 Million dollars, it surely can't be that hard! Killion wants to get his family off of his back so agrees to their demands, because he doesn't have to like his new wife, only live with her.

Based off of Sara's previous books and the trigger warnings, I did expect this to have more group activities and more scenes, however I still really enjoyed it. I loved that their realtionship developed and I actually really loved the progress that was made at the end, I feel like it happened how it should have! Definitely recommend!

Thank you to Hambright PR, Netgalley, Casablanca Books, and to the author for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Guys, I am suddenly in my Scottish romance era and I am 100% not mad about it. After reading the Salacious Players Club series by Sara Cate, I knew that this book would be spicy and addictive, and it definitely delivered. It’s a fiery blend of a marriage of convenience, forced proximity, and has plenty of passion! I didn’t want to put this one down.

“I never intended to fall in love with my wife”

This book had me going through all the feels!
I was angry, kicking my feet giggling, so incredibly happy, proud and I might at some point also have had tears falling down my cheeks in heartbreak.
So when I say all the feels, I mean, ALL THE FEELS!

This is grumpy little spoiled brat, meeting big old Scottish grumpy man! They fight like they mean it and they hate each other to the bones!
She call him an asshole and a brute, he calls her a cow and a wrench.
But he also in the middle of all this calls her “mo ghraidh”, darling and wife. It’s not all hate, at least it doesn’t continue to be. The fighting never stops, but somewhere along the way they stop hating each other and hate turns into passion.

“Mo ghràidh” might by the way be my new favorite nickname!

This journey they are both on and help each other through is incredible, they help each other in their own way and it’s exactly what they both need.
I’m blown away by their love for each other.

This is an incredible story and I’m so grateful to have met Sylvie & Killian Barclay!

⭐️⭐ Keep Me by Sara Cate

This book was a struggle to read. I read her Salacious Players Club books and devoured those. So, I got this one. Read it. And bleh.

The way in which Sylvie and Killian meet and enter into their fake marriage was so absolutely ridiculous. And of course, they don’t like each other. Therefore we not only have a fake marriage of convenience, but an enemies to lovers storyline as well. Okay. I can do this. But the way in which they went from enemies to lovers had no depth. It was unbelievable and full of holes. The story felt like a first draft, before the author put any thought or substance behind the story.

I hate to be so harsh as I think Sara Cate is a great author but this one was not it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this title for review.

Overall: 4.25/5
Spice level: 3.5/5
Tropes, marriage of convenience, grump/grumpy, "my wife", forced proximity, enemies to lovers

I'll be honest, at first I didn't like Sydney's character much. I can't pinpoint why, but she grew on me and became a sympathetic character. She had a lot of growth, especially after she stopped worrying about gaining her parents' love and approval.

I will say the double grump trope made for some interesting interactions between her and Killian. Kindred spirits of sorts.

I think one of my favorite aspects of the book was how Sydney accommodated Killian's anxieties and fears about just leaving the house, and he did the work of overcoming it.

The third act breakup up created time and space for them to better themselves and have development.

Keep Me is a story filled with brazen humor, no holds barred banter, and chemistry that shines through in every interaction the main characters have. On the surface, this is a marriage of convenience born between two individuals who TRULY do not like each other. Sylvie, our brash American FMC, is looking for a quick way to replenish her fastly depleting bank account. Killian, our stubborn, grumpy Scottish MMC, is facing the fact that his family wants him to relinquish his rights to the family manor. When a year-long arranged marriage offers each of them a solution to their problem, they jump on it immediately.

Keep Me is more than what we see on the surface; it's a spicy tale filled with debauchery, yes, but it's also a story of falling down and finding your way back to who you want to be, with heartfelt emotion that truly makes the reader love the characters through all of their flaws.

Sylvie and Killian are two people who've experienced so much pain in life that they've hidden themselves in various ways to avoid more hurt.

Sylvie may seem selfish in her motivations for entering the marriage, and she is. But she’s also an incredibly caring individual who seems to wear this mask of hating the world as a guise to avoid the hurt she’s felt from being let down in every interpersonal relationship she has time and time again. Killian may be the life of the party and a brute force, but he is also a man who feels deeply and it shows.

Sara Cate created a very honest tale of what grief and the loss of oneself can look like through the eyes of her characters in a way that was unexpected. I love these characters and can't wait to see what's next in the series!

“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙘𝙚, 𝙎𝙮𝙡𝙫𝙞𝙚,” 𝙄 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙞𝙧.
“𝙄’𝙢 𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨.”
“𝙒𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙘𝙚.”

Another unputdownable read by the Daddy of Spice!

Alls I’m going to tell you for the synopsis: Sylvie is offered the chance at $10 million dollars if she marries Killian, and stays married to him for 1 year, with no extramarital affairs…

Ok, so my initial thoughts on this one, as an avid Sara Cate reader: this one just felt “softer”? Don’t get me wrong, there is definitely some good spice, but the love story just felt more “gentle”, I guess.

And I just loved all those sweet, gushy feels!

These two were so passionate, in love and hate, but when they started to fall for each other? 🥰🥰🥰

They both have deep seated issues to work through, and I really appreciated the way they both worked through those separate issues, in order to get their hard earned HEA.

Thank you Sara Cate and Sourcebooks Casablanca for providing me an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

What this book is giving:
✅ Contemporary Romance
✅ Marriage of Convenience
✅ Age Gap
✅ Grumpy Scot who loves a feisty gal
✅ Forced Proximity
✅ Past traumas

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ / 5
🌶️🌶️🌶️½ / 5

3.5 stars - I liked the Beauty and the Beast (but make it Scottish) vibes that was the story of Killian and Sylvie. The marriage of convenience plot made sense, but overall this story fell flat for me.

I enjoyed Killian and Sylvie as a couple, but they did give me whiplash. They went from arguing like cats and dogs, to giving into their chemistry and deciding to give into their relationship, despite the secret Sylvie was keeping.

We didn’t spend much time outside of the castle, which added to the monotony of the story. The plot felt underdeveloped, in that some things were brought up but barely handled. The people sharing didn’t materialize into the orgy it was alluded to, the time jump at the end felt like a way to rush the story along, and the ending was very abrupt.

I would recommend this book, but I wish I’d gone in with lower expectations as this didn’t remind me of a regular Sara Cate novel.

Sweet and sappy, with a little bit of spice thrown in. Killian is a complete brute who let his past dictate his life until he met Sylvie. She is a foul mouth, entitled cow according to Killian, but she is also the only woman Killian would consider entering into a fake marriage with. Sylvie, dealing with her own issues agrees, knowing that 10 million dollars awaits at the finish line. What neither of them expected was to actually fall in love.
For those who enjoy the troupes of a marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, and forced proximity.

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.