Absolutely loved this ARC! Grumpy-grump fake marriage plot set in the scottish highlands? Take me there! Great mental health subplot although it couldve had more of that, but the love was good, spice was good, what more could you want?

Having read some of the books in the Salacious Players' Club, I went into "Keep Me" thinking it was along the same lines. There were a few things that surprised me about - while it wasn't as spicy as the previous books I read by the author in my opinion - it was full of emotion, well-rounded backstories, and two characters you can't help but not cheer on.

I will say though, this wasn’t one of my favorites that have been written by the author and felt like there were some things that could have been left out.

Thank you, NetGalley, for my advance copy of this book! I read the synopsis and didn’t truly get that this was going to be a spicy book, so when I opened up the page to a content warning I was really unsure if I even wanted to read it. I appreciated the touch so much, and think I went into the novel with a much higher threshold of spice because I’ve NEVER seen that before!

That said, it was *pretty* tame. I wouldn’t say nothing happened, but it’s all kind of glossed over and the romance is actually quite cute. It feels rushed, at times, and I wish we would know more about our handsome Scot’s background earlier on. I love that he and Sylvie are paired up and that they havre such a tumultuous relationship, and the author does a wonderful job of inviting the reader into a relationship that requires work, care, patience and kindness.

I read this book in like three hours so it’s’ not a hefty read at all. Pick it up if there’s like….very little else to read and you want a shameless sex story.

A sexy, fun, beautiful romance set on an estate in the Scottish countryside. The story includes several tropes, including: marriage of convenience, age gap, dislike to lovers, grumpy billionaire, BDSM/kink, and more! After finding out her boyfriend cheated on her with her best friend, the FMC Sylvie enters into a temporary marriage with the wealthy Scottish MMC Killian. Both Sylvie and Killian have a lot of trauma and pain to work through, and seeing them help each other heal was beautiful. Killian is a sexy, dangerous, “touch her and die” type of MMC who really feels like a deeply fleshed out character and comes into his own as the story progresses. Similarly Sylvie also experiences a lot of growth that I enjoyed reading, however there were moments when her sassy/angry mentality kind of started to annoy me, and I felt this wasn’t as well fleshed out and justified as Killian’s demeanor was. In any case, I really enjoyed this romance, which was also filled with smoldering spice, and the way that the two MCs came together, opened up to each other, accepted each other, and found peace in each other. Would definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and Sara Cate for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are wholly my own.

Rounded up from 1.5. The characters were one-dimensional and the plot made no sense at all. The "BDSM" parts felt very Wattpad, in that it didn't actually matter at all in the story or romance and never really came up on the page. Also, the hero was just a big jerk, and I don't understand why the heroine could see past being called a cow all the time.

Keep Me, had me entertained from the start. Killian and Sylvie are the perfect couple. I loved that Killian was from Scotland, I could hear the accent as I read. Thanks NetGalley for an opportunity to read this brilliant romance.

Keep Me
Sara Cate
Pub Date: Dec.3, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
This book is for some people but it was not for me…
It was a good book! It just had tropes that are not my person favorite. Toxic couple!! I got tired of the screaming matches.

It was a cute book. I think the story was interesting and well written. The plot was interesting and was mostly about the relationship and a little about other things. I’m happy with the ending and would definitely read another book by this author.

This was an enjoyable story with entertaining characters and some steamy scenes that kept the pages turning.

Sara Cate’s book, Keep Me has a very sexy story. It’s about Killian, a hot kilt wearing brute and Sylvia, a desperate woman who was cutoff financially from her parents and a fake marriage.

This book is for some people but it was not for me…
It was a good book! It just had tropes that are not my person favorite. Toxic couple!!

If being immature, demonstrating toxic relationship traits (sending mixed signals, miscommunication, lying, gaslighting, etc.), and calling people derogatory names in bouts of rage makes a modern romance “spicy” then I’ll gladly sit out of the genre.

Some choice quotes:

MMC to FMC: “I’d rather marry a selfish, rude, ugly, entitled cow like you so I never have to worry about hurting your feelings or wanting to make you happy.”

FMC: “Money can get me whatever I want, so anyone who says money can’t buy happiness is probably poor and bitter.”

MMC to FMC: “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t even be this fucking drunk. But after I realized I married such a heinous bitch, I couldn’t wait to get properly smashed.”

Kudos to the author for creating such despicable characters.
Really advise people to catch the trigger/content warnings before touching this book.

Nice age-gap, enemies to lovers romance. The characters both start out completely unlikeable so you’re not sure who to root for, but by the end you want them to get their HEA. Enjoyed this one immensely, will definitely check out the authors other books as she’s a tale tented lady and I’ve heard amazing things about her.

This book is not my usual style, but the description drew me in. While I enjoyed seeing Killian and Sylvia work through their pasts to find their happily ever after, I mostly skimmed this book to make it to the end.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

Such a good time book with some smut, good banter and a (mostly) believable storyline. Totally recommend to anybody who's a fan of romance and the fake relationship trope

What I liked:
- the way the mutiple POVs were executed, it wasnt exactly a constant change but divided into parts and we stayed with one POV for multiple chapters. Really liked this as I felt more connected to each character individually (though the MMC could have had a bit more depth imo)
- nice take on the fake relationship trope and it did NOT contain some forced conflict which I really liked
- it reads really easily, I was immersed, invested and routing for the couple
- it was not insta-love but something that just grew over time, therefore felt quite plausible which as unsexy as it might sound really helps the story. There is so much out there with the MCs spending 3 days together and suddenly they are deeply in love forever.

What I didnt like:
- I mean the deal itself is pretty weird, with the trust and all. Im ok with it for the book but feel like we could have gone for a slightly more plausible trust clause?
- towards the three quarters of the book I felt like some of the inner dialogue of the characters flipped and it felt almost childish? These are adults with the MMC being 37. I dont know if I just didnt notice in the beginning or if that only happens toward the end which also leaves me to my last point
- the end felt kind of rushed. The pacing of the book is a bit off anyways at it takes course over roughly 2 years. But toward the end we got very little input into our MC and therefore the resolution just did not hit as hard as it could have

I binged this book sooo quickly I just ate it up! A brute Scottish man in a kilt with flirty banter had me drooling over this main male character. There’s a lot of angst and sexual tension and the spice takes a backseat to build a captivating plot and really give the characters depth. I do wish there was more of an explanation on the mom’s behavior at the very end but overall it was a great story that finished all loose ends into a pretty red bow. I will definitely be recommending this book to friends and family!

I really wanted to like this one - I thought the setup was fun and that the characterization was fairly clever when seen variably through first and then third person perspectives, but I just could not with this book. It felt terribly underbaked - there are all these characters in it and none of them really matter at all, the emotional story doesn't really hang together, it's got one of those weird scenes where the woman has a cold and the man loses his mind..,. maybe I've just gotten too old for new adult, but I could not with this.

One moment will change Sylvie's life but will cost her the one thing she secretly desires, to be deeply loved.

When it appears that her life is spiraling out and she's been cut-off from her family in every sense of the word salvation magically appears at her doorstep. Will she accept the offer?

✔ Strangers to Enemies to Lovers
✔ Grumpy Billionaire
✔ Sassy Heroine
✔ A contract
✔ Family Drama
✔ Trauma
✔ Age-Gap
✔ Mental Health Rep
✔ Loss/Grief
✔ Scotland

A sexy brooding Scotsman, a manor, dark secrets, trauma, and a whole lota spice.

Would you sacrifice the one thing you have been seeking in order to survive? This was an easy read with writing that kept the plot moving forward, the character arcs were easy to follow and the tropes...plenty of them!

If you like a good strangers to lovers with a heavy amount of spice be sure to grab this book and give it a read. I would give this an Inferno rating with all the heat and note the Trigger/Content warnings which I will post once the book is released to avoid potential plot spoilers. As of today they were not posted on the author or publisher website. I hope they include it as readers will want to know.


This was the first Sara Cate book I've read and I'm excited to read her backlist as I wait to see which characters might have their story unfold in future books.

BRB, I have to go break into a Scottish castle and make the grumpy owner fall in love with me.

"We're all a mess, but the trick is to find someone who thinks your mess is a masterpiece. Your parents might be blind fucking eejits, but I'm not. I know a masterpiece when I see it."

If a random woman approached me and asked me to marry her brother for somewhat questionable reasons, and a whole lot of money, I probably would have done exactly what Sylvie did.

I have yet to read a Sara Cate book that I do not love. And while I do love this one - truly, Killian and Sylvie are so so good - there were a few things that I wished we got a little bit more closure about. I think that there was a lot of allusion to sex parties and swinging, but it would have been nice to see some of those dynamics within the friend group I think the conflict with Killian’s friends felt unfinished - specifically the issue with the friend that he slept with his wife. Overall, I did love this book!! Sara Cate writes the books that I want to read.