5⭐️ 3.5🌶️

“My wife comes first”

And come first she did. Where the definition of “selfish” is concerned, Killian Barclay is so far away from it. This book is everything I needed it to be and then some. What a great fucking time I had.

All I want now is a broody man in a kilt, with a beard, a thick accent and a hunger for me so insatiable I’m the only thing he wants to eat.

OMFG ALL THE “MY WIFE” IN THIS WAS MY ENDING KAHAUSHEIWJSJWB. The chemistry was palpable from the very start. There’s no need for a meeting cute when you can meet someone the way Killian and Sylvie met. Sylvie is a pure baddie and Killian matched her energy every single second. Talk about enemies to lovers and you’ll find a picture of these two on the page. It was a little mean and a lot horny and the match of it all was such a perfect combination, it had my knees weak.

It was impossible to put down… specially when listening to the audiobook and the delicious accents the narrators did 🥵

Sara baby, you continue to rule my life 😮‍💨

My face lived in this tearful distress the whole book. I constantly went from laughing from the banter to smiling from the love Killian and Sylvie battled so hard not to feel with each other. It was so beautiful to see how their feelings inched their ways into each other’s hearts. Tear threatened my eye to watch each of them as they dealt with the struggles in their lives at the same time as their incoming feelings for each other. Killian strong but yet damaged from his past is the Scottish Brute that won my heart. Sylvie strong, Independent, and fierce still struggles with her family and the feelings associated with them. This story was phenomenal and the accents were perfection. Narrators Will Watt and Kelli Tager did an amazing job with this audio and it was their narration combined with Sara Cate word that brought all the emotions to the surface.

Audiobook: Every time I dive into Sara Cate book, I am honestly never disappoint. Keep Me, book 1 in the Sinful Manor series, follows Scottish recluse Killian Barclay and American Sylvie Devereaux. Sylvie sneaks into Killian's Scottish manor to try to find a very old typewriter of an ex boyfriend's family member used. After being caught by Killian, Sylvie goes back home to America. Fast forward a few months, Killian's sister finds Sylvie in NY and offers her a contract for marriage with Killian to help both of them. Sylvie gets much needed money & Killian gets to clean up his public image. But after needing to stay married for 1 year, the tension, the banter, everything comes to a head and explodes. Seeing different sides to the surface, Sylvie & Killian start to realize the age old, don't judge a book by its cover. Plus Sylvie is hiding a huge secret in regards to the contract that will devastate Killian. My heart and ears of hearing Will Watt preforming the Scottish accent as Killian and Kelli Tager as Sylvie fulfilled my soul. Sara continues to wrote in-depth characters and storylines. I'm so excited to continue the series & see what happens with Killian's siblings.

5/5⭐️ 3/5🌶️ 4/5🎧
When I go long periods of time without reading or listening to a Sara Cate book, I forget just how much I love her writing and enjoy her stories. Keep Me was hilarious, sexy, sad, and so so satisfying. The banter between Sylvie and Killian was so freaking funny. The names they called each other had me howling. Top tier banter. It was perfectly paced for the storyline and gave me all the feels. Sara knocked it out of the park with this one.

The dual narration with Kelli Tager and Will Watt was amazing. Loved their Scottish accents. It made spicy scenes so much more erotic.

Okay but I didn’t know I needed this book?!? My gosh Killian is SO fine. I adored their hate for each other, the tension, the spiceeeee, these two were just so dang good.

I listened on audio and it was spectacular! So dang good!

Tropes:
Marriage of convenience
Grumpy x grumpy
Age gap
Enemies to lovers
Forced proximity

This was not a vibe...

I had such high hopes being Sara Cate, and I loved her SPC series.

I froth a fake marriage trope, and I was looking forward to seeing Sara's take on this but this has none of the tension and forced proximity you would want with this trope. The MMC calls the FMC so many insults (and not in a sexy way) including a 'fat ugly cow' on multiple occasions.

This was billed as a Scottish romance, and despite the MMC being Scottish it ever actually delivered on that either, there was no cultural things I would have oved to see.

For the narration; my family is Scottish so maybe I have high standards... but I really wish they'd cast someone that did a better job of the accents for the FMC.... the male narrator did a better job though. It's a pity, as both actors seemed like really great actors in every other aspect.

Keep Me is a spicy, enemies-to-lovers romance between a Scottish brute and a quick-witted New York woman. Kelli Tager and Will Watt wonderfully portray these characters in this dual pov narration giving listeners emotion, spice, and tension. I think these two narrators brought these characters to life in a way that felt truthful to the story. They did Sara Cate's writing justice!

Now, I was surprised at how emotional I was while listening to the story. I know Sara Cate is known for steamy and spicy scenes, but I was not expecting to feel so connected to these characters and the emotions they are going through. This book features marriage of convenience and enemies to lovers and I enjoyed it. Killian is so broody and so vulnerable, even though he likes to keep to himself in his huge family manor. Sylvie is dealing with the effects of being cut off financially from her parents and we also see how her parent's lack of compassion has affected her through the years. Without even knowing, Sylvie and Killian needed each other and I believe they found each other at the right time.

There are secrets, a fake marriage, and heartwarming moments. This book has it all and even more!

I think maybe this smut book was not for me. Am I a prude? Yes. Do I have some smut I love? Also yes. This is not it. This is far too fifty shades of gray for me. I am more of a "girl talks to dragons and also sleeps with the king" type. Or something.

The narrator did a good job though! I am proud. I will definately listen to the narrator again.
I hope this negative review does not hurt the author. It is not meant to be negative. My review is just a reflection of me and my prudishness.

DNF. This book just isn't for me. The narrator did a good job but the story itself was just not to my taste. If you're into the way romance from 10 years ago was written you'll probably like this since it has similar vibes to 50 Shades and Beautiful Bastard, but I don't care for that and just found the entire premise and characters to be off.

Keep Me has an absolutely absurd premise but is such a fun read!

Killian is a broody Scottish recluse and Sylvie is a tough woman with a snarky attitude. Killian's sister approaches Sylvie with a proposal - marry Killian for a year so the family can reclaim the family home and she'll be paid 10 million dollars.

This book is such a riot, but I loved it. Crazy antics, dreamy Scottish brute, Beauty and the Beast vibes, swinger parties, banter, and family drama!

Tropes:
* Marriage of convenience
* Forced Proximity
* Exhibitionism
* Age gap
* Size difference
* Dislike to lovers

4.5 stars

Overall, my rating of this book is 3.5 out of 5 stars for both the story and audiobook narration. It's not my favorite Sara Cate book, if I'm being honest, it's probably my least favorite so far. I do plan to read the other Sinful Manor books because I'm interested to see how the other characters' storylines play out in their respective novels, but I hope it's not grump vs grump again (like this storyline). I did enjoy that the POVs switched regularly within the different sections of the book! As with all the other Sara Cate books I’ve read, this one was very easy to read and moved along at a good pace.

Tropes:
* Scottish Billionaire
* Marriage of Convenience
* Enemies to Lovers
* Emotional Trauma
* Dual POV
* Grumpy X Grumpy

Honestly, Sylvie was super annoying for over 50% of the book. She’s in her mid-20s and is still living off her parents, but mad at the parents' assistant who works for them? At least she had a job… I understand wanting to follow your passions, but as someone who’s worked since I was 16 and held down two part-time jobs at the same time during college while pursuing a full-time degree, I don’t have much sympathy for Sylvie at the beginning of the book. The assistant probably doesn’t want to be in that position her entire career, or even if she does, of course, she’s going to do what Sylvie’s parents instruct her to do since she works for them. Sylie is so self-centered and whiny, it’s honestly frustrating as a reader to have to listen to this narrative sometimes. Maybe I’m just projecting my own experiences onto the character, but it is frustrating for me. Sylvie finally did experience some character growth, but not as much as I would've hoped for her.

Another thing I didn't like was that the female narrator’s (Kelli Tager) Scottish accent was also not the best and felt very fake. She also placed odd emphasis on the verbal narrative when I wouldn’t expect her to do so. She is probably my least favorite narrator that Sara has chosen so far for any of her books.

The male narrator (Will Watt) did a much better job overall than the female narrator in covering both characters' sections of the book. The spice was good, once it started happening (around 50% into the story). I did enjoy the setting of the book - an old manor in the countryside.

Keep Me- Sara Cate
Narrated by Kelli Tager and Will Watt

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Narration 🎧🎧🎧🎧

Sara Cate has done it again with another spectacular and spicy book! 😏 was I expecting this to be a romcom going in? No, but I found myself cracking up at Sylvie’s antics and her and Killian’s banter. Did I expect to be emotionally distraught by this book? Also no, but ugh the emotions were pulling on my heartstrings. Between Sylvie’s abandonment issues and Killian’s own guilt, there was a lot more emotional damage in this one than I was expecting. Overall, I absolutely loved it and wish I could read it again for the first time all over again.

Kelli and Will did absolutely magnificent on this one. I think they’re made an incredible Sylvie and Killian. I do think this particular audio would have been just 🤏🏻 that much better if it was in duet rather than dual, but like I said, I loved it and it’s still an incredible audiobook.

“Gazing up into his eyes, I feel something I never felt with him before. It feels like mine and home. Safety. Comfort.”

Oh my goodness, Sara Cate toyed with the heartstrings with her new scorching-hot release, Keep Me! When a reclusive billionaire Scot meets a vivacious plotting American, hate-at-first-sight vibes soar. Killian flocking Barclay still has a chokehold on me weeks after listening to this banger series starter! Sylvie Devereaux is a down but not out sweetheart with a tearjerker upbringing and ferocious spirit. Killian and Sylvie’s love story was a spicy, hard-fought, endearing HEA. I love Sara Cate’s storytelling and these complex MCs.

Will Watt and Kelli Tager were amazing in their performances to turn this emotional story into a visceral listening experience. Will Watt’s gritty, passionate, schmexy AF performance is seared into my heart. His growly Scottish accent nearly melted my headphones. I loved the way Kelli portrayed Sylvie’s complicated, heartbreaking, and healing character arc. While her Scottish accent wasn’t my favorite, I enjoyed her endearing performance of Sylvie. Kelli and Will made a scorching hot duo, Keep Me is a must-listen!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️
Audio: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So....this is a dnf for me. At 26%

I didn't like the characters at all.
I thought the female lead was quite entitled and selfish in general. She was also manipulative and didn't care how her actions would impact others.
The author tried to make her parents sound bad, but two wrongs don't make a right.

Then the dude....like maybe this would have been okay if I liked one of the main characters until the other is redeemed. But nope.
We get to hear inside his head and he was absolutely giddy about how she is a firecracker when he called her the c word.

I totally hear people on how both characters are supposed to be unlikeable in the beginning. But I'm already 26% of the way into this book. I feel like it's been long enough that its not worth continuing.

I did think the author's writing is super good though. I would be willing to try another one of her work because the writing style does pull me in.

I also loved the male narrator!!!! His accent was so hot.

When I saw this arc I was immediately intrigued. Marriage of convenience, Scotland estate, enemies to lovers… then 2 seconds in and I’m listening to the content warning and I was honestly really worried what I had gotten myself into.

Based on the warnings in the content, I would say that this book actually felt very tame. I had some issues with the story at first, but the characters changed so much by the end that it almost felt like a different story and I ended up really enjoying it.

I have to say though, thank the lord for this man’s pov because if we had only had hers, I would’ve stopped reading immediately. I can understand why some people would dnf early on, because this is HATE to lovers…. These two are both pretty insufferable in the beginning and unnecessarily mean. BUT, the growth 👨‍🍳💋

For being such hard-headed characters, these two are incredibly loving and surprisingly sweet.

The second half of this book MADE this story, and I honestly really enjoyed it and I'm excited to see where the rest of the series goes!

Keep Me by Sara Cate is the first book in their new series, Sinful Manor. The story follows a deeply troubled Scottish “brute” Killian who lives in the family manor and Sylvie, who is the daughter of famous artists but has been cut off. Killian and Sylvie are forced into a marriage by offering financially struggling Sylvie money and hoping to take the manor away from Killian. Killian being aggressive and Sylvie being headstrong start them off to a rough start.

This book follows the enemies to lover’s troupe. They have great chemistry and their banter is fun and witty. There are explicit sex scenes, a lot of them, so would highly recommend for fans of extra spicy books! If you chose the audiobook route, the narrators were amazing. They kept to the accents according to each character and I loved it. I would recommend the library to purchase this book.

🎧𝗔𝗟𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪🎧
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𝗞𝗘𝗘𝗣 𝗠𝗘 𝗯𝘆 @saracatebooks

𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦: Sinful Manor? (Book 1)

𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗧: Audiobook (Dual Narration)
Kelli Tager @tageraway
Will Watt @willmwatt

𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: 5/5 ⭐️

𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: 4/5 🔥

𝗡𝗔𝗥𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡: 5/5 🎙️

𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗥𝗘: Forbidden Romance

𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: Enemies to Lovers, Marriage of Convenience, Forced Proximity, Grumpy x Grumpy, Mental Health Rep, Kinky

𝗕𝗟𝗨𝗥𝗕: Slide 2️⃣

This was exactly the type of great story telling I expect from Sara Cate and simultaneously unexpected at the same time! I love to see a Queen who fights to save her King and a King who fights for himself and does the work to deserve his Queen!

This a perfect example of enemies to lovers being the elite trope!!! The tension and fighting between these two was so. good and created the perfect build up of chemistry. Neither Sylvie or Killian were on good terms with their families, both having dealt with grief and betrayal - finding comfort and safety in their isolation. But that saying “it takes one to know one” or “like begets like” - they start to see those scars and cracks in the each other when they’re forced together.

The audiobook was outstanding especially all the accent work, but I have to give Kelli props for not only performing a believable accent, but doing it as the MMC Killian! Male Kelli is HOT!

Will’s seductive, grouchy Killian was spot on but what I loved most was tender and vulnerable Killian! Granted - snarky Killian was pretty great too! 😏

Highly recommend putting this one on your TBL!

Thank you to Sara Cate for the ALC!

Keep Me by Sara Cate (Sinful Manor #1)
Pub Date: 12/3/24
Format: audio
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Whew did I have mixed emotions on this book. First, let me speak to the audiobook (thank you NetGalley and Libro.fm for the advanced listening copies in exchange for an honest review)! Kelli Tager and Will Watt were an absolute treat in this dual POV audiobook. I believed they were really in this story together and the Scottish accents (both his and also hers when doing his pieces of dialogue in female POV chapters) were fab!

This book had such beautiful and tender characters with a lot of depth. I really loved Killian’s character specifically because I’m a sucker for male love interests that have anxiety representation! Sylvie took me longer to come around on, but I did appreciate her backstory with time and she had a really nice growth arc. Their relationship was much more touching than I expected going into this book and I truly loved that!

There were two pieces that I did not love about the plot and one, which isn’t really a spoiler, is that Sylvie enters a contract to marry Killian but he doesn’t know this contract is to steal his family home away from him and to sign it over to his evil aunt. This really took me out of their story because it felt like there was so much deception tainting their story of falling in love. I hate reading a romance novel and just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The other piece is small and spoilery but just didn’t love some double standards in Killian’s backstory.

Anywho, the deception piece is usually enough for me to DNF a romance book and I still finished and truly enjoyed this book for the most part which is really saying something! Would recommend as long as that isn’t a hard nonstarter for you!

I will definitely check out the next book in this series!

I listened to the audio of Keep Me and I was hooked from the start! We meet Killian & Sylvie when they are both at their worst but going on their journey to healing was so good! You could feel their initial hate and you could feel when it started to turn. Definitely looking forward to more in this series!

Again the audio was superb! Kelli Tager was so good and I could listen to Will Watt all day long!

4 ⭐️ 3 🌶️ 5🎧

I really liked this book a lot and was pleasantly surprised with how much the characters grew and changed throughout the story! It didn’t feel like a Sara Cate book, but it was definitely a top fav of hers besides Praise and GMM.

Killian and Sylvie enter a marriage of convenience and neither of them want to be in it. Sylvie has a secret she’s keeping from Killian and the tension and hate between these two is palpable. Killian is this angry Scottish asshole that just wants to be left alone in his big mansion. The enemies to lovers trope is strong in this book, but I was here for the angry sex and explosive tension. The smut was fantastic and it didn’t disappoint. I loved the story between them and seeing their past traumas really broke my heart. The ending was wonderful and I loved seeing them both heal and work through the issues they had.

A bit of a spoiler -I didn’t realize I would be triggered by a word, but in this book he calls her a cow a lot in the beginning when they hate each other. I wasn’t sure if it’s a Scottish insult, but after some research I found out it is lol.. In general I disliked that he called her that even if it wasn’t in reference to her body or anything -it took me out of the story a lot.

The audio was fantastic and I really thought Kelly and Will did a great job bringing the story to life with their narration.