DNF

i honestly draw the lie at cheating AND belittling women with unoriginal names and that’s exactly what the MMC did in this book. i really wanted to enjoy this read but the storyline and the depiction of the male main character were everything i despise about the romance genre…

many thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange of an honest review!

Really enjoyed this one! Full of tension and angst and Sara did really well to keep me hooked onto the very last page. It was a lot more emotional than I was expecting, with a depth to the characters that felt genuine, and I really liked the development of the main characters as individuals and as a couple too.
A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC and this is my honest review 💖

I loved this book! I loved the tropes that were displayed in this book.. Age gap and enemies to lovers, say no more!! This book brought the drama and had me hooked all through!

Really enjoyable love/hate story full of tension.

The dynamic between the characters is sexy and I can’t wait to see where this series goes.

Firstly, a HUGE thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me a copy of this ARC

I adored this book. I inhaled it and binged it within 24 hrs. I couldn’t put it down. I was a huge fan of Killian for a multitude of reasons.

Let’s talk about him first… because, he’s lush. 😍 First things first, he’s a sexy Scottish man and we all swoon for a sexy scotsman, if you said you don’t then you’re lying. End of.

Then we have his emotions and being open with Sylvie. His mental health and the struggles he’s been having for over a decade. He is pure, broken and so vulnerable and I have to applaud Sylvie for how she approached this wonderful human and his struggles.

The banter between them both is fantastic. They made me laugh and swoon. I loved seeing the softer, struggling side of both characters yet being open with each other helps them and then we get the funny, sexy side to them both and it’s stunning!

This is such a well written book with the character development fantastic throughout. You could feel the connection and see the character growth. I adored the concept of the book and not going to lie, who wouldn’t want to be married to a sexy scotsman and then fall deeply in love with him? (Although, I’d be cutting his long hair!!)

I would say the only thing for me (and it’s small) is that Killian says ‘wee little’ a few times throughout and to be honest, I’d prefer to take the ‘little’ out and just use the word ‘wee’ because that’s what it means for us Scots!

A truly fantastic start to another amazing series by the wonderful Sara Cate. I cannot wait to read more.

A great, steamy read from Sara - not my first either! It was filled with tension and the odd conflict. As per with Sara’s books, the age gaps and tropes are ever so prominent and add a flare to the story as they inevitably intertwine with the plot. Steamy as hell also.

🌟🌟🌟
🔥🔥🔥

I don’t think I’ve flipped from disliking 2 characters to loving them this quickly before!
I couldn’t put this down. I absolutely loved killian (after my initial hatred)
However, I didn’t particularly like the part about the parties and felt Claire’s part was pointless, how was that even resolved?
Nevertheless, I still gobbled this up.

-Marriage of convenience
-Agoraphobic
-Scotland
-Light BDSM
-Healing
-Family drama

This was my first Sara Cate, but absolutely won’t be my last.
It was definitely more emotional than I expected and I did sob for the last few chapters as these two went through it before they made their way back to each other. It’s a great balance of hot and tender with flawed characters who show great growth separately and together.
4.5*

you can always count on Sara to deliver a corker of a romance.

this book was full on tension and angst and i devoured the book in one sitting. The age gap and the enemies to lovers vibe was immaculate and flowed very well. I loved how they literally loathed each other at first, and were determined to stay out of each others way. i mean we all know how that ends. once they started to softened towards each other and start to enjoy each other i was gone. Killian became so enamored with Sylvie and his devotion towards her was a thing of beauty. now these two weren't as Kinky as the other couples Sara has written but i loved them none the less.

I love books with snark & banter & this book had brilliant back & forth action between the main characters. Fake dating, marriage of convenience, but with bite, spice & a gorgeous MMC in a kilt, whats not to love.

Loved this book, think you for allowing me thread it. The story was well written and I found I was captured in the text.

Absolutely brilliant book!
I am a big fan of this author and love the writing style!
I cant wait to read more!

Sylvie doesn’t want to grow up, she wants to keep having fun! That is until her no good boyfriend and her backstabbing best friend force it on her. Jillian Barclay just wants to live in his Scottish Manor House and be left alone, until his family get involved.
FAKE DATING AND MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE. My all time fave tropes are what sold this book to me in the first place and I was not disappointed!
There really is nothing better than those tropes especially when written really well! I am honestly so impressed with how much I enjoyed this book. I was on the fence about reading it as I am not a massive fan of the spice and this was too spicy for me, I did have to skip through some of it! However the amount I read was really well written and the book was all plot it just happened to be spicy plot! Which I now know I’m here for! 🌶️🌶️🌶️
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Release Date - Tuesday 3rd December!

Keep Me is a forced proximity fake marriage romance set in a rural Scottish mansion. It depicts the romance between broody bearded Killian and hardheaded, stubborn artist Sylvie. I loved the tension and hate between Sylvie and Killian and the way they developed their relationship over time. In a classic Sara Cate style, you can expect to be pushed out of your comfort zone of what you think a traditional relationship should look like, be it the swinger parties with friends, sub/dom dynamics or long distance support in healing.

I thought it was fun, hot, and a classic Sara.

I've read the entire SPC series by Sara Cate and loved them so was really excited to read this new story. Set across Scotland and America, we follow two very grumpy and sometimes rude main characters. Once we get to know their backstory's their personalties make so much more sense. There is really good anxiety/agoraphobia rep in this book but I feel like I needed a little more from the characters. Maybe it was the POV's split into five main parts rather than alternating every chapter or two, but there were some scenes I would've liked to hear the other's POV.
Overall I still really enjoyed it and will definitely carry on the series.

This was cute and not what I was expecting in a Sara Cate book because of how tame it felt lol. This is a dislike to lovers because both the fmc and mmc were annoying and a bit rude at the beginning of this. They have a marriage of convenience that benefits both financially there is forced proximity as they are forced to live with each other in the mmc's manor. As we get to know the main characters we see more of them and their pasts and what made them the way they are and it made me empathize a lot with the mmc even though he's an asshole for some of the book. There are spicy scenes but not as much as I thought it would be and I loved the tender scenes between the main characters.
This was a fun read but if you don't like Alpha hole mmc then I would suggest not reading this cause the mmc is rude at, especially in the beginning. Im excited to read more books by this author. Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Hambright Pr for this arc!

This is the start of a new series, I really love Sara Cate and her books, I just devour them. The same can be said for the rest of this series. This is a marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, age gap, forced proximity romance. This essentially is a book created with all my favourite tropes in mind. Along with a hot Scottish accent and I swear I’d sell my soul for this book. This follows Sylvie and Killian, who are so broken and seeing them work through their individual trauma was so inspiring.

Thank you for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

Sara's latest release which tells the story of Killian and Sylvie, a marriage of convenience, and a brutally honest story of trauma, betrayal and, most importantly, love against all odds! I think it goes without saying that I fell in love with this book and Killian Barclay is in my top 10 book boyfriend list. Without giving too much away I absolutely loved the way Sara handled the characters different traumas and the real effect this can have on someone, without shying away from the stark reality of how a person copes with the trauma. It is there in all its beautifully messy glory and I absolutely loved this honest and raw account. If you're a fan of grumpy MMC's, a little bit of kink, and marriage of convenience trope this will tick all the boxes for you!

4.5/5⭐️
2.5🌶️

Thank you to Sourcebooks UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to ARC read this book.

I ATE this book up!! Sara Cate just does not miss🙌

Killian Murphy is a grumpy Scottish billionaire who just wants to be left alone to fester in his misery when a crazy American girl (Sylvia Devereaux) breaks into his house with absolutely no cares about the consequences.
These two enter into a marriage of convenience and things get very heated between grumpy x grumpier. The animosity and hatred is stifling at Barclay manor until they realise that there is a very fine line between hate/lust and eventually love.

“In truth, I did fall recklessly in love with him. The hate I once felt never went away - it just changed”

- Forced proximity
- Marriage of convenience
- Age gap
- Grumpy x Grumpier
- Billionaire MMC

The Scottish MMC and placing is done really well in this book. As a Scottish reader, this being done poorly is a big pet peeve of mine, however I thoroughly enjoyed this and can’t wait for the next in the series!

I enjoyed other books by Sara Cate so I was very excited by this one and the spice was right up my street.