I will never not read a sara cate book. 5/5 *’s for another one of a banging book - no pun intended. sara crafts such relatable and real characters that we learn to love throughout the book and this one is no exception. Killian is a scottish recluse who has wild american sylvie move in and upturn his life for the better!! i loved the highland landscape and scenery in this book and they also made me feel a little hot in my skin!!
can’t wait for the next instalment!

In the beginning I did think it was a little hilarious because they were both big ol’ spoilt brats lounging around in a fancy mansion basically drinking and dropping grapes into their mouths (you get the vibe) but then the story kind of pivoted and became a lot more moving and emotional. If I’m honest, based on the beginning I wasn’t expecting that amount of emotional depth but I really enjoyed it!

It was a little like the start of the book and the end of the book were two completely different books and I’m not saying this was a bad thing at all, it was just surprising. I was expecting it to be a lot spicier than it was - I mean don’t get me wrong there was a lot of spice but from what people had said I was expecting the spice to be spicier if that makes sense? It was much more tame than I thought it would be (still hot though).

I love a little drama and this book has it in spades, so if drama is your thing this might be the book for you. Overall, it was a fun, easy read and I’m glad I’ve finally picked up a Sara Cate book!

I would recommend it if you love banter that verges on straight nastiness, two very grumpy MCs and an unexpectedly emotional journey.

❤️Thank you to Sourcebooks UK for the ARC

🌟: 4/5
🌶: 4/5 (bdsm, exhibitionism, partner swapping, impact play and bondage)
Genre: new adult romance
POV: dual

Trigger warnings: agoraphobia, panic attacks, car accident, parental death, cheating (not between MCs)

Tropes:
✨ marriage of convenience
✨ fake dating
✨ enemies to lovers
✨ forced proximity
✨ age gap
✨ my wife
✨ touch her/him and die vibes

Sara Cate is known for her steamy dark romances and this softer version of that hits all the same. This story definitely had more of an emotional/trauma focus than the hot/steaminess. But don’t get me wrong, that spice was still woven into the story beautifully.

Killian is a grumpy Scottish recluse known for throwing kinky sex parties at his manor he inherited when his parents died. But his family want him out the house. He hasn’t left in years.

Sylvie is a girl wandering through life with no direction, recently cut off by her rich artist parents. They neglected her growing up, her scars of abandonment run deep.

After breaking and entering into his house to find her ex’s heirloom typewriter, she’s caught red handed by Killian. After escaping with a smashed phone, weeks later she’s surprised by a knock on the door from Killian’s sister. Marry him for 1 year, sign the house over to his Aunt and get 10 million dollars. WHAT!!

Guess what? She takes the deal, she has nothing to lose. And he was an arrogant brute anyway… gosh the nicknames they call each other in this book are ferocious 🤣 definitely enemies to lovers

Forced proximity, a beautiful trope, of course they are going to see what’s hidden behind each other’s hard exterior.

The agoraphobia representation !!! I’ve not read a book with it so prominent before, it’s a personal topic so I really felt the empathy for Killian. Anxiety and panic attacks are truly debilitating.

Thanks to netgalley and sourcebooks UK for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was in such a slump before picking this up, and I'm so glad I started it when I did. Grumpy, Scottish mmc, stubborn and fiesty fmc, light bdsm vibes, forced proximity, marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, age gap, I mean, the while tropes list reads like my ideal shopping list!

When I say I could not put this down, I mean I was using toothpicks to keep my eyes open as I read into the early hours!

I am so in love with Killian. The poor tortured soul just needed someone to really see him and help rather than manipulate him into something he wasn't ready for. My heart bled for him and Sylvie for all they experienced at the hands of people who were supposed to love them unconditionally.

And the "my wife" vibes *swoon*

“Don’t you say that to me again, Sylvie Barclay. I don’t care about some stupid fucking contract. I love you. With my whole fucking chest, I love you. So don’t give me any of that shite about not being your real husband, because I’m right here. And I’ll never fucking leave you, not like they did.”

Thank you so much to Sara Cate, NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review. I will be dreaming of my very own Scottish Killian for a long time!

Sara Cate can do no wrong! I was addicted to this book right from the first goddamn line! 😍 and the fact that it’s a Scottish billionaire romance 👏🏼👏🏼 yes please

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 stars

Sara Cate is my absolute favourite author, she always creates books I love and this book was no exception! I loved it so much. Killian Barclay was adorably grumpy and his story was so heartbreakingly beautiful. Sylvie was entitled and strong willed, her resilience against her grumpy husband made the banter and the story so much more entertaining. Their chemistry and spice was addictively steamy and so perfectly kinky 👀 It was everything I wanted and more. So definitely please give it a read when it releases on December 3rd!

If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that Sara Cate never misses! This book was sooo good!

I have never read a Sara cate book that I didn’t love and I don’t think that will ever change! My favourite trope is Marriage of convenience so going in to this I knew I was going to love it and I was not wrong!

Killian and Sylvie were such a fascinating couple to watch fall in love, watching the extreme hate that they had for each other at the start of the book morph into an incredible love made such a good story that I had the best time reading!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an eArc of this book!

Keep Me 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 - Sara Cate
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶🌶🌶🌶

"I just need you, mo ghràidh."

I was so lucky to be accepted as an ARC reader for this simply beautiful, Scottish romance. And ket me tell you, it DID NOT disappoint! 😍

My first read by Sara Cate was Praise and, although this is a completely different vibe, the spice is still there. Not quite on the same level as Praise definitely was, but nonetheless, there was still some of that Sara Cate kink in there. 🥵

I read this book in 2 hours, I was simply THAT HOOKED!!

From the get go you're sucked right into Sylvie and Killian. You fall in love with their characters, their story and their understanding of one another.

What was Sara Cate thinking when she gives us the picture of a sexy, broody Scotsman though?! 🤤 I'm in love.

I've found it hard to find a book that let's me fall in love with romance again but, this was definitely the book to pull me out of my dark romance cave and read something lighter!

Honestly, there is nothing i do not like about this book. The cover is beautifully fitting, the MC's and their stories are perfect and the ending is just *chefs kiss*. This is rather tame for a Sara Cate book BUT, it still had everything we need for the perfect romance/erotica book!

I am so grateful for the chance to read this early and it will NOT disappoint you! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🤍

I loved this!! I have completely read the series in the wrong order but It hasn’t made a difference on how much I love it!!
This is a super spicy romance by one of my favourite authors and I enjoyed it thoroughly!!

Keep Me by Sara Cate offers a romance that’s gentler than expected, especially for readers anticipating a darker, edgier story. Marketed as “dark” erotica with BDSM elements, the novel instead leans toward emotional themes, with only brief explicit scenes. The story follows Killian, a brooding Scotsman grappling with personal demons, and Sylvie, a privileged New Yorker with family issues, yet their connection lacks the raw intensity Cate’s fans might anticipate. The setting feels underutilized, and occasional Americanisms in Killian’s dialogue weaken the intended Scottish atmosphere.

While Cate’s writing is skillful, the characters themselves are harder to connect with. Sylvie’s immaturity and Killian’s isolated lifestyle make them less relatable, and some plot points—like his family’s unusual approach to managing his issues—feel contrived. Though it may disappoint readers seeking the depth of Cate’s Salacious Players Club series, Keep Me could still appeal as a lighter introduction to her work.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

Here’s a professional review inspired by your example:

Having read several books by this author, I went into Keep Me with certain expectations, especially given its setting in the Salacious Players’ Club universe. While it wasn’t quite as intense on the “spice” front as previous titles, it delivered with deeply emotional layers, well-developed backstories, and two flawed but endearing protagonists who win your heart from the start. For me, this is the author’s most compelling work yet.

Set against the atmospheric backdrop of Scotland (yes, kilts included!), Keep Me opens with a compelling setup: a fake marriage between two stubborn, strong-willed characters, Killian and Sylvie. The book dives into their individual traumas and family dynamics, and it explores how they support each other’s growth while grappling with mental health struggles. The author’s nuanced approach to these sensitive themes made the characters’ journey feel authentic and earned.

This novel skillfully balances emotional depth with lighthearted moments, and I couldn’t help but root for Killian and Sylvie. As their journey unfolds, we see two people who not only survive together but help one another heal and thrive in different ways. I’m looking forward to more in this series and am hoping for books about Killian’s siblings, who bring their own unique elements to the story.

For readers seeking a romance that goes beyond the surface and touches on real emotional growth, Keep Me is an excellent pick.

Sara Cate has been on my tbr list for a looong time so I was so excited to receive this eARC🤩. Despite the characters being so hateful, I actually found them quite loveable 😂 couldn't put this book down, so easy to read but I just wish there was more in depth coverage of the main characters back stories

Keep Me is a little different to what I was expecting - it was labelled as 'dark', 'bdsm' and 'erotica' with another author's review quote calling it 'super sexy' so I had an idea that it might be fairly depraved in the very best of ways. Especially as reference was made to Killian's 'raunchy house parties' in the blurb.

In fact, it was quite different, and for a Sara Cate novel, fairly tame on the spice front (which is fine - she's allowed to write all sorts of different things!). There's a tiny bit of restraint, and one instance of Killian and Sylvie getting it on at a party - all of which works well with the story but surprised me with how limited it was given the labelling. Nor would I describe this as dark. Yes, Killian struggles with his demons and drinks heavily in the beginning, but we're not in the realms of true dark romance here in my opinion.

As always Sara Cate's writing is superb and I enjoyed the main narrative of the story despite not liking the characters very much! Sylvie is an entitled New York miss with mummy and daddy issues, she's downright unlikeable for the first third of the book and behaves like a teenager, not someone in their early- to mid-twenties. Killian is more interesting and rather than sweetheart, though I wondered why his family didn't just get him the therapy he so obviously needed rather than trying to take his house away from him in such an odd way. I was also a tad frustrated by Killian (a born and raised Scotsman who didn't seem to watch TV and never left his house) using occasional Americanisms in general speech which felt like poor research. This leads me to the fact that I hardly felt like this book was predominantly set in Scotland, because of their seclusion in Killian's manor house, they could have been anywhere which is a shame and feels like a lost opportunity.

Overall, this was a really mixed bag for me, somewhere between 2.5 and 3 out of 5 stars. My biggest issue was not connecting with either character, though particularly Sylvie. I can't say I loved this but I certainly didn't hate it either and I'm sure others will feel more positively than I did!

Thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks UK and the author for the ARC, this is my honest opinion.

Having previously read the Salacious Players Club series I was delighted to be approved for this new title. This book brings a new story of a unlikely headstrong couple that have to make things work in an arranged marriage to get what each of them need. A family secret, a troubled past and unique lifestyle choices are just some of the themes that make this an addictive, entertaining and gripping read.

Love, love this book! I’ve previously read all the salacious players book so was very excited to be approved to arc read keep me!
The plot was great kept me on my toes I couldn’t put it down. I am gutted it ended the way it did I wish there was more of what was to come for there life’s but I throughly enjoyed the storyline and a fiesty female lead character. This was definitely a milder spiced book than I’m used too but the story made up for it.

Great start to a new series!

I have loved every Sara Cate book I read before this and Keep Me isn’t any different! Keep Me has some off my favourite tropes including marriage of convenience, age gap and enemies to lovers. The only reason this isn’t a five star read is that some things felt either rushed or unfinished. Cannot wait to read the rest of this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to have an ARC in return for an honest review.

I wasn't sure at first, it seemed as if it was going to be too predictable. However, I loved the main characters and there were plenty of surprises along the way. A good read.

sylvie is in Scotland to help her boyfriend find a family heirloom. Once they tracked it to a manor in the middle of nowhere sylvie decides to sneak into the house. Thinking she can sneak in and out unnoticed was shot when a tall, muscly Scotsmen demands to know why she's in his house. After a tense interaction and after heading back home to America, she's shocked to find, weeks later, a beautiful woman with a Scottish accent at her door with a very appealing offer.

I've never been so entertained a rug before 😂

I really did love this story and I'm not being biased being Scottish. I loved the dynamics between the two mcs and I loved the plot of it. I loved how i just didn't see the parties coming and the possessive nature they both fell into was well laid out.

Both mcs had amazing background stories that made you feel for them and neither felt overpowered by the other.

I did however have a few things that didn't wrap up in a nice bow for me which is why it's a 4* and not higher. The start was almost forgotten about? But then the rest of the story was great so I just brushed it off.

💙

"Grip the desk, mo ghràidh. Hold on tight."

"We're all a mess, but the trick is to find someone who
thinks your mess is a masterpiece."

Right, don’t come for me but this is the first Sara Cate book I have read… I’ve had Praise on my tbr for god knows how long. But, anyway, here I am jumping in the deep end, but at least its book 1 of a new series…

So Sylvie, our FMC, is trying so desperately to find her place in the world after being raised in what I will call an elite family. She may have grown with money and all the nicest things she could buy but the only thing she ever desperately craved, was the love of her parents. Then comes along a marriage of convenience.

Enter Killian, the angry Scotsman. I feel like we could of benefited from a bit more of his background, his story. We only got snippets and sneak peeks. But his character was thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless. Together, they turn their anger into chemistry, leaving me waiting for when they would finally give into the tension!

It wasn’t quite as smutty as I expected, but I will now dive into my tbr and finally read others of her book.

4 ⭐️

Thank you to Sourcebooks UK and NetGalley for the e-arc! I absolutely adore Sara’s work and the Salacious Players Club, it’s one of my favourite series!

This is a new series that follows Killian and Sylvie, who were a lot of fun; they really hated each other to begin with, at the start of their marriage of convenience.

I really loved the character development from both Sylvie and Killian; they really matured, especially Sylvie and Killian’s mental health representation was beautifully done. Underneath the grump exterior, he did really care about those close to him.

I will say, that I couldn’t help but feel that this is different to Sara’s usual work; it was refreshing and a different change of pace. It’s definitely on the more tamer side of things; if you’ve read any of Sara’s work previously, so if you go into this thinking that it’s similar to SPC, with all the steam, taboo aspects and kinks, then you may be a little disappointed. Nonetheless, it still had the kinky vibes that you’d expect from Sara’s writing and great banter between the characters, and I can’t wait for what’s to come next in the Sinful Manor series.

Tropes

age gap (12 years) 25/37
enemies to lovers
marriage of convenience
forced proximity
grumpy x grumpy