Not gonna lie, this was very tame and not what I expect from Cate but I loved it.

This was a story of convenience to help each other out. I did not like Sylvie in the beginning, she was very spoiled and entitled. She won me over as her character developed and how she became a better person while living with Killian.

As I mentioned, this was a departure from Cate's normal kinky story and it had so much depth with both of them having personal issues that needed to be resolved.

There were still a lot of steamy scenes and the story kept me interested. I am looking forward to more of this series.

Will Watt did a great job with the Scottish accent and Kelli Tager was a perfect Sylvie.

Thank you @sourcebookscasa @dreamscape_media for a copy of the audiobook.

ALC Review: Keep Me by Sara Cate
Pub Date: December 3, 2024
Narrators: Kelli Tager and Will Watt

Keep Me is a marriage of convenience in a Scottish manor and man, I was so excited for this one! It wasn't exactly what I was expecting but I ended up really having a great time listening to the audio. The start of the book was a little rough for me - both Sylvie and Killian are kind of terrible people and pretty terrible to each other (I really didn't love the name calling). But as the book goes on you really get to appreciate their growth and get to know more about why they act the way they do given their pasts.

I ended up really loving their relationship - there are quite a few really lovely and soft moments between the two as well as pretty spicy scenes. I was actually expecting slightly more spice but I think the balance here really worked well for me since we were able to see that personal growth. I'm typically a third act breakup hater BUT I do think it can be good when the MMCs use that time to grow, which Killian definitely did. It was clear that even though they were apart, they both still loved and cared for each other.

The narration by Kelli Tager and Will Watt was fantastic! Will Watt especially is one of my favorite male narrators to listen to and his accent work is just so so good. I love a good Scottish accent and he certainly made me swoon throughout.

Read this for:
- Marriage of Convenience
- Kink
- Forced Proximity
- Age Gap
- Enemies to Lovers
- Scottish MMC/Scottish setting


Thank you to Dreamscape Media for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Omg this book was beautiful!!!! I literally sobbed for an hour at the end. I loveddddd it. The character arcs were soooooo good. The way these two people grow up and change is soooooo cool.
I wishhhhhh it was duet style narration though. Both narrators were absolutely amazing. But with the Scottish accent. I think it would have been better if we only got that accent from the male narrator for the MMCs lines.
Nevertheless, a beautiful story!!!

5⭐️
3.5🌶️
4🎧

Keep Me🩷
By Sara Cate🏵️

Review✔️

Wow, this book really took me by surprise! I did not expect this degree of brilliance. A well crafted marriage of convenience that made me fall in love with both main characters. I believe it turned out so good since both leads were going through challenging periods. They healed themselves and learned to lean on one another. The character development was great. The spicy parts were definitely hot! The chemistry was tense.You know there's a delicate line between love and hate; that was obvious from the beginning. Great read!

Marriage of convenience💍
Enemies to lovers🤌🏻
Forced proximity🏡
Age gap👀

4.5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫


Audio review:
I loved both the male and female narrators! The male was especially great for me. An amazing audio!

5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sara Cate crafts a captivating narrative in Keep Me, intertwining passion, vulnerability, and redemption. Killian Barclay, the brooding hero, is a man burdened by heartbreak, a feeling we all can relate to, who seeks solace in indulgence. On the other hand, Sylvie Devereaux, a woman hardened by neglect, resonates with her fierce independence. Their unexpected meeting sets the stage for a story that defies expectations.
The story beautifully delves into themes of self-worth, healing, and the transformative power of love. Sylvie's journey from guarded detachment to vulnerability is as compelling as Killian's reluctant surrender to hope and connection. Cate masterfully builds the tension between the two, balancing fiery banter with tender moments that reveal the depth of their characters.
The Scottish setting adds an evocative charm, with Barclay Manor as both a backdrop and a metaphor for the emotional walls the protagonists must navigate. The story's premise—a modern marriage of convenience, where the characters enter into a marriage for practical reasons, laced with deceit—provides a fresh spin on a classic trope, keeping the stakes high and the reader invested.
Through narration, Kelli Tager and Will Watt breathe life into this captivating story. Tager perfectly captures Sylvie's sharp wit and emotional growth, while Watt's portrayal of Killian's smouldering intensity and vulnerability is nothing short of mesmerizing. Their dynamic performance elevates the story, drawing listeners into the characters' evolving relationship and amplifying the emotional resonance of every scene.
Keep Me is a seductive and deeply emotional tale that lingers long after the final page. In comparison to other contemporary romance novels, Cate's masterful storytelling and Tager and Watt's exceptional narration make this a standout, particularly in its exploration of themes and the depth of its characters.

Thank you so much to Sara Cate, @netgalley, @dreamscape_media and @sourcebookscasa for the opportunity to read the ARC and listen to the ALC.

Well I gobbled this up in one sitting and loved every minute of it. I had just come off of dnfing a book and this was just what I needed! A quick, wickedly delicious and sexy book full of witty banter, steamy moments and past trauma.

If you love:
👩🏻Headstrong FMC
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Broody Scottish MMC
💵Millionaire Romance
💙He Falls Hard
💍Marriage of Convenience
⛓️Taboo
💚Jealous MMC

The audio was so much fun! I loved the male narrator’s voice! He was perfect for the role 🔥

#keepme #saracate #saracatebooks #smut #smutbooks #taboo #scottish #millionaire #millionaireromance #marraigeofconvenience #arc #review #bookreview #bookreviewer #netgalley #audiobook

Having only read one other Sara Cate book, I went in thinking this would be a super spicy Scottish smutty read. And while it ~was~ spicy, it didn’t hold up to that of the SPC. And that’s fine! I was just surprised.

I also thought the description was a little misleading—the swinger-aspect didn’t quite feel accurate, but I digress. ALSO I was NOT down for the frequent use of the word “cow,” which is what the MMC called his “wife” for most of the beginning of the book.😡

Spice was like 3-3.5/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️

(Thank you, Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.)

Sarah Cate never misses! Keep Me was so freaking delectable, and gut wrenching at the same time! I literally related to the characters so much which made this read that much more impactful! This has also got me wanting a Scottish man (iykyk). They both overcame their personal situations in the end and were that much better for each other! I can’t wait to see where she takes the series next!

Narration: 4/5 stars
Plot: 3/5 stars

This was my first Sara Cate novel and I wasn't entirely sure what to expect, besides spice. The overall plot had me intrigued and I was excited to give it a go. While I did enjoy the audio, I might not have enjoyed it as much if I read it. I felt the plot got boring and highly predictable at times, but the overall themes were executed nicely. I want to say I felt anything for these characters, but unfortunately, I did not. I will be looking forward to her other writing to see if any of that can change my opinion.

"I'm your husband. I wont let you go. I will always be by your side. I will always care about you, you understand?"
"You're not really-"
"Don't you say that to me again, Sylvie Barclay. I don't care about some stupid f- contract. I love you.. With my whole f- chest, I love you. So don't give me any of that s- about not being your real husband, because I'm right here."

Nothing makes me happier than reading a Sara cate romance - because you know you're getting spice, angst, and just characters that have a unique connection. And this book is no different! ALSO its a grumpy x grumpy pairing which I just adored. Sylvie's family/ ex/. friend are all the worst and I just loved how she found solace (if not begrudgingly) with the grumpy and reclusive Killian. I was desperate to find out more of Killian's backstory (the sad and the spicy) and once I did I just enjoyed his character and growth so much more!

"In truth, I did fall recklessly in love with him. The hate I once felt never went away - it just changed. The passion is a different color now."

💜Marriage of Convenience
💚Enemies to Lovers
💙Grumpy x Grumpy
💚Forced Proximity
💜International: Primarily set in Scotland

Final Rating: 3.75⭐, 3.75🌶️- This wasn't my favorite SC romance - maybe because it was straight to traditional publishing? I'm not sure, but the storyline and flow was off for me, and I didn't get as H&B over the spicy scenes as I normally do. The pacing for the love/ connection between Killian and Sylvie threw me off at times. Like there was a rather quick jump from hostile aggression to spice to warm and fuzzies. And while I recognized the purpose of the third act break-up, I just was discouraged over it. I wanted how Killian found out about the contract to be different. However, while this isn't my fave book by Sara, I'm still a STAN of her writing and you'll find me giddy for the next book in this series aw well as any other book she gifts us with publishing!

"My woman. My Wife. My Darling."

Brief Plot: Killian and Sylvie have a meet-cute, but more of a hate-bad, when S breaks into K's home to see a typewriter. A few days later, K's sister approaches S with an offer for a fake marriage for a wholeeeee lotta money, but at the downfall of her soon to be hubs. But because of the whole hate-bad meeting, she has no problem with stabbing Killian, the reclusive Scot. Or...will she start feeling bad when they start to grow closer, and spicer 😉 (I mean it is a Sara Cate romance!)

Thank you Sara Cate, Hambright PR & NetGalley for eARC's of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Keep me did a fantastic job of using romance for healing. It was a tale of two people with major parental trauma forced to marry and, in return, forced to deal with the personal demons that plague them. That part of the story was lovely!

However, I didn't like any of the main characters. Mfc is spoiled and feels unnecessarily prilliaged and gets upset that her parents aren't paying for her whole life despite her horrible financial habits. I also couldn't grasp the convenience of how she was picked for the marriage.

The mmc is a straight asshole!! I don't care that it's a drak romance calling a woman a "cow" through the whole book is unacceptable! It was extremely hard to get through the first few of his chapters.

The spice was good, but with all the trigger warnings, I was expecting more taboo heat, and we got more generic spice. Which is fine. I just personally thought it was going to be darker. Overall, once you get past the chapters with his horrible name calling and her entitlement, it's a beautiful story of friendship, love, and healing.

Easily the best book I've listened to on Netgalley so far. Devoured this in 2 days and could happily listen to it again already. Sara Cate never disappoints. This was the perfect enemies to lovers, steamy romance. The only part I didn't love was the female narrator doing the Scottish accent but can definitely look past that for all the great moments this book had.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
🌶️🌶️

💕Marriage of Convenience
💚Forced Proximity
💕Enemies to Lovers
💚Spice
💕Banter
💚GrumpyxGrumpy

This book was very interesting. It has marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers and banter. The majority of this book does take place in Scotland, which I absolutely loved.

I love a good book that has the hate to love between the two main characters. I love the FMC did not take crap from no one. Both of the main characters had something that they had to overcome. The MMC past trauma that he is still trying to overcome and has not left his house in six years and the FMC has issues with not feeling like she is enough and problems with her parents.

The FMC opportunity to have her own money by getting married to the FMC. The MMC thinks it’s just to help his image but there is a secret that he does not know.

I listened to the audio for this one and I loved the audio. I was not too into how the female narrator did the male characters voice. I did love how the male narrator narrated his parts and her parts. I do think that the female narrator did a great job overall. I would definitely listen to more books by each of these narrators and I would definitely recommend this audiobook to others.

I truly loved Keep Me, and hearing the narrators bring Sylvie and Killian to life really elevated the experience. Like Killian's accent???????? WHEW!!! They added a sense of depth and emotion to the characters that really helped me understand and connect with them in a way that was unexpected.

Initial thoughts:

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!

4.5 stars! Keep Me is a new release from Sara Cate and the start of a new series! It’s marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, grumpy x grumpy, age gap (she’s 25, he’s 37), forced proximity, broody hero, broken MMCs and I ate it up! Honestly this was nothing like I thought it would be from the synopsis, but in the best way. I am trash for broken characters and seeing them find their person, and this book was that, with a grumpy hot Scot to boot.

“Just because I can do it without you doesn’t meant I want to.”

Sylvie’s life is up in the air, she was cut off by her artist parents (who are legit trash and treat her horribly), she kinda wants to write a book but has no inspiration, her phone was broken by a grumpy Scot whose house she walked into (more to come on that), and she just walked into seeing her longtime boyfriend cheating on her with her best friend. So when the grumpy Scot’s sister shows up in NYC with an offer of 10 million dollars if she marries Killian (said grumpy Scot) and remains married for one year…well what does she have to lose.

Killian Barclay has been holed up in his Scottish manor for years and his family wants him to join the real world again, with his aunt even wanting to get the home back from him because of the raunchy parties he’s thrown there over the years. Killian is actually down for the marriage of convenience to Sylvie because he thinks it’ll finally get his family off his back if his reputation is cleaned up by being married. He just doesn’t know the extra part about his family really wanting him to get married because it’s the only way for them to access ownership of the manor, as it can be transferred from Killian if he is married for a year to his wife who will then sign the home over to the family and get paid to leave…

It took me a little bit to get into the story, but once I did, I really enjoyed it and these characters. Seeing how truly broken Killian was and everything he was working through was so sad and I loved how much he and Sylvie were there for one another. Sylvie as well has past trauma to work through with her relationship with her parents, or lack thereof. It was healing seeing these 2 together going through it while also falling in love. I’m a sucker for a marriage of convenience and this one just worked for me. I don’t think the mention of raunchy parties in the past, light BDSM, and his friends were even needed in the story honestly, there was so much to work through already for the couple. Which has nothing to do with the kink, I love how this author writes it (her SPC series is SO good), I just don’t think it added to this story particularly. I just adored Sylvie and Killian together, their grumpy banter and name calling as their love language was so fun. I’m very excited to see where this series goes!

I received an ARC, all thoughts in this review are my own!

CW (provided by author): parental neglect, cheating (not between main characters), alcohol abuse, death, PTSD, and agoraphobia. Elements of kink and BDSM—to include exhibitionism, partner swapping, impact play, and bondage.

dnf 43%

"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be this f*cking drunk, but after I realized I married such a heinous b*tch, i couldn't wait to be properly smashed"

Keep me. (alternatively: If your man is like this run immidiately or Even 10 mil $ wouldn't make me stay with this man two days or Grown ass man with anger issues and neglected nepo baby with no self respect fuck)

also this is my first ever dnf after years of finishing even the worst books known to mankind so if this pushed my limit it should tell you everything

I am genuinely tweaking, cus i love salacious players club and this was just so bad

I'm not sitting on a high horse and judging main character marrying some guy she met once for 1 year for 10 mil dollars, cus honestly id prob do the same, but I'm judging how she stayed with for so long cus even 100000 billion gazillion american dollars wouldn't make me stay with THIS ABUSER

first meeting gave me ick, okey she got into his house without any care for consequences, but how he treated her then made my skin crawl lowkey and then it was way worse

second meeting - their wedding, after the ceremony he got drunk, hurt his hand and passed out, she helped him with wound and cleaned his mess and then when he gained back consciousness he told her that direct quote in the top of my review.

yep.
three seconds of silence.
and they say romance is dead.
sorry i got confused and thought for love interest there will be at least a little teensy bit of love or at least niceness? involved, but the guy repeatedly called her cunt, bitch etc for literally nothing??? and was very drunk a lot with clear af ANGER ISSUES THAT NEED THERAPIST ASAP, he was a grown ass man 37 years and he was acting like a teenager, for 10 years he didn't go out of his home and throw kinky parties

a month after she married him he invited his friends AND HE TOLD HIS FRIEND THEY'RE IN OPEN MARRIEGE AND HE CAN HIT UP HIS WIFE AND WHEN SAID FRIEND DID EXACTLY THAT HE THROW A FUCKING TANTRUM OFC HE WAS DRUNK AND IT TURNS OUT HE ALSO HAD A LONG RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS FRIEND'S WIFE AND THEY'RE CHEATING TOGETHER AND IT MADE MY BLOOD BOIL SO FUCKING MUCH

don't get me started on all that "angry passion" and insta lust and how he was just in silly goofy mood calling her cunt at every second

Thank you Netgalley for providing digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review.

Marriage of convenience done right! Sara's writing is so unique and engages you the whole way. I always love how you get one point of view for part of the book and it goes to the other. Her characters always have so much depth!

First, I want to thank Dreamscape Media for the early access to this audiobook. I always get excited when they reach out because they consistently deliver incredible stories—and Sara Cate is one of my favorite authors. I was especially thrilled about this book because it’s set in Scotland, and let’s be honest: we’ve all been dreaming about a swoony Scottish Lord since Jamie Fraser came into our lives in Outlander.

The story itself has me completely hooked. A marriage of convenience with a grumpy Scottish billionaire? Yes, please. I was so excited to dive into this world, but unfortunately, the narration didn’t work for me. During HER POV chapters, the narrator uses a Scottish accent for Killian’s dialogue, and it reminded me too much of Groundskeeper Willie from The Simpsons. It’s hard to stay immersed in a spicy scene when the voice doesn’t match the mood, and I found myself struggling to continue.

That being said, Dreamscape Media has such a fantastic track record of delivering compelling audiobooks, and while this particular narration didn’t work for me, I know many listeners will enjoy diving into this audiobook.

Thank you again to Dreamscape Media and Sara Cate for this opportunity. Even though the audiobook didn’t work for me, I’m still invested in the story and will absolutely pick it up in print when it’s available, because Sara Cate’s stories always deliver, and I really want to continue.

4.5/5
Very rarely do books bring me to tears. But this was pretty close at one point. Shocking. Especially wasn’t expecting it from a smut book.

A steamy enemies to lovers, dual POV, forced proximity, marriage of convenience romance set in Scotland that sees a broke American aspiring writer making a deal with an agoraphobic reclusive grumpy Scotsman's family in order for them to trick him out of the family estate.

Good on audio narrated by Kelli Tager and Will Watt, this book has great panic attack and grief rep and also includes graphic consensual sex (ie light BDSM). My first by Sara Cate, I enjoyed it more than I was expecting and liked the Scottish setting, the male narrator's accent and the mental health and therapy rep.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!