There is something about a grumpy/grumpy dynamic that is just not done enough in romance, and I loveddddd how well this one did it!

💍 Marriage of Convenience
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Grumpy X Grumpy
💍 Kinky Vibes
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scottish Broody Billionaire
💍 Enemies to Lovers
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Forced Proximity

These two truly do get married against their wills, and yet even with all the grumpiness and hate towards each other, the tension is to not be ignored. And seeing their hatred morph in to love really was such a beautiful transition.

The 3rd act breakup was something that truly was necessary here, and she did make it lasttttt - but when you see how it pays off, it is all worth it!

This is the first book in the Sinful Manor series and can't wait to read the rest. Loved the Scotland setting, the romance between Killian and Sylvie and the overall storyline.

Killian and Sylvie are incredibly stubborn and grumpy with the world. There's no sunshine here. This modern day beauty and the beast retelling was shockingly fantastic!

Killian is a giant Scott ish man who refuses to leave his home and I promise it's actually quite sad and heartbreaking when you find out the reasoning why. Sylvie is daring, headstrong, and pretty fierce when she walks into Killian's home searching for a typewriter. Killian scares her off only for her to have to return later in a crazy contract that she can't refuse. She must marry Killian for a year. The plot keeps you on the edge of your seat waiting for this all to blow up.

Killian and Sylvie have a very unconventional relationship, but just like beauty and the beast. This beauty ends up falling for the beast and he opens up to her. Ultimately she saves him from himself.

Keep Me was the Scottish book of every readers dream.

The marriage of convenience, how they met, grumpy/sunshine and just everything in-between was great in this book. Both characters had real issues to deal with and it was cool to see it unfold. Personally, I love when romance books deal with the big issues and finding someone to love and push you through it. This book really did it for me.

Now, this is a bit different from SC's work in the past. But it doesn't mean I didn't love it any less. My 4 star rating is due to the POV changes seemed a bit clunky. I kind of wished that was more streamlined or easily digested.

Forced proximity and a fake relationship in a Scottish manor with an extra grumpy brute? Where do I sign up? This one gave me all types of feels and enjoyed every minute of it.

Recluse and closed off, Killian does everything in his power to resist Sylvie, who has issues of her own. These two have an immediate dislike to each other and argue constantly… until they don’t and that’s were the magic of Sara Cates heat comes in.

It was a good read. I would recommend if you are in the mood for a ETL with a broken hero.

I partly didn't like this book because dark romance isn't really my jam. I don't care for the damage and broody MMC who can't possibly let the FMC see what he really desires because it will scare her off. The relationships all seem pretty toxic which further turns me off.

I always pick up every new Sara Care book, so obviously this was no exception. I think this was a cute enemies to lovers book, but not nearly as spicy as some of her other titles. Sylvie and Killian had some great banter, and I love how both characters leaned on each other for support, but they didn't just magically fix all of each other's issues and actually worked on themselves. I loved all the side characters as well, and wish we could have gotten more of Anna and Enid.

Keep Me by Sara Cate was an absolute delight! The dynamic between Killian and Sylvie was electrifying from the start, with their intense hate and witty banter keeping me hooked. The insults they hurled at each other were hilarious, and I was giddy as their relationship developed.

This book also hit me right in the feels with its thoughtful exploration of mental health. Killian’s challenges were portrayed in such a realistic way, and I loved seeing his journey unfold. The tension between the characters was pure gold—i adore the enemies-to-lovers trope and the marriage of convenience is always a hit! The forced proximity and age gap made for an irresistible combination. I couldn’t get enough of their chemistry! The book surprised me in the best way, it went in a totally different direction than expected, and I wasnt disappointed. If you're a fan of broken characters finding their person, this is a must-read.

I didn't know I needed a grumpy, reclusive, Scottish MMC in my life...then comes Killian Barclay and OMG I didn't know what I was missing!!! Dare I say it, Killian could be at the top of my book boyfriends list (and that's huge considering how much I salivated over Beau!)
We meet him the first time when our FMC, Sylvie, sneaks into his manor in a misguided attempt at showing her love for her boyfriend. Needless to say they did not hit it off. You'd think that'd be the last time they saw each other, but cmon! That'd be a single chapter romance-less romance boo, and where's the fun in that??
Sylvie needed new direction in her life after catching her BF and BFF *together*. Enter Killian's sister's offer that Sylvie can't refuse to enter into a contractual marriage with our reclusive Scotsman. The chemistry between these two was PHENOMENAL and the *spice* was OUTSTANDING!! Sara Cate has absolutely outdone herself with this beautiful standalone!! A MUST READ!!

Sara Cate had me in a chokehold with this forced proximity enemies to lovers marriage of convenience between an agoraphobic Scot and his disowned brat of a bride determined to break him out of his shell.

***ARC Provided by the Publisher via NetGalley***

I am not sure what it was about this one, as I have read and enjoyed other titles by this author, but I just wasn't engaged and actually found myself delaying picking this one up.

DNF at 29%

I was disappointed with this book. I've read other Sara Cate books that I've loved and this one I couldn't get into. I think it was because at no point did, we get actual conversations and understandings of why the two characters feel in love. It felt very fast and surface level.

I struggled with this one. I did end up forcing myself to finish it because I have enjoyed other books my Sara Cate but this didn't hit the mark for me. I genuinely like books with messy problematic main characters because it makes character development more satisfying but I didn't get that here. Sylvie is cut off from her parents money and is struggling because she doesn't want to get a job and also her parents are mean to her but we don't really know how or why so it feels like Sylvie deserves it because she is fully mooching off of them. She is painted as messy and selfish and she literally breaks into a house within the first like 3 pages. All traits I think is fun for a main character to start out with but there is no development on her character at all. Like don't get me wrong I feel for her at the beginning but she doesn't improve herself in any way there a completely unnecessary conversation around halfway through that I thought would result in her getting a career and making a different path for herself but it goes nowhere!! It's never mentioned again!!! Why did they talk about it????? She was a "writer" throughout the book who seems to hate writing except for 1 story that she will never publish so she never finds her purpose and that thread is never resolved.

And don't get me started on Killian! The, like, second conversation they have he calls her an ugly cow and calls her a bitch constantly because "she can take it". HUH??? I like quippy sarcastic and sometimes mean spirited back and forth between love interests but they're just terrible to each other constantly. They never even apologize and they never discuss this deep animosity they had for each other from the jump it's completely unresolved. It seems like there is this inner work that they both do away from the readers eyes because there's just a switch that is flipped at some point where they both decide to like each other without any deep conversation between them. Also the whole "trying to trick my wife into cheating me" thing is icky. And he slept with his friends significant other when they used to have open sex parties together but for some reason he feels super guilty about it and that isn't ever resolved either. Like the girl and Sylvie talk but I was thinking it would be some major plot thing for Killian and as far as I remember they don't even really talk again.

After the random switch is flipped and they start liking each other I also started liking them more but the insta-love after that threw me off because the book was more situation heavy and didn't focus on the character development that this book needed. If you're just in it for the erotica part you will probably enjoy it and I think that there is an interesting story in here, but it leaves me wanting.

Keep me was a great story, and I really enjoy Sara Cate’s novels. Both main characters were interesting and I appreciated the turns in the story. I would recommend this book to others.

This was another classic Sara Cate book and was a good one! It wasn't my favorite of hers, and I struggled a little bit to connect with these characters, but it was likely just the fact that I couldn't relate as well to them as I could with some of her others. This was still an enjoyable read and I will always read her books. One of my fave authors!

Keep Me - Sara Cate

Series: Sinful Manor
Series Number: 1
Release Date: December 3, 2024
POV: Dual POV
Genre and Sub Genre: Contemporary Romance
Main Location(s): Scotland; NYC
Tropes: marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, grumpy x grumpy, scottish billionaire MMC, forced proximity, age gap (12 yrs; 25 h, 37 H), sassy FMC, reclusive MMC
Micro Tropes: nicknames, “my wife”, she tends to his injury, he cares for her when she’s sick, she cuts his hair, one horse
TW/CWs: parental neglect, cheating (not between main characters), alcohol abuse, death, PTSD, and agoraphobia. Elements of kink and BDSM (including exhibitionism, partner swapping, impact play, and bondage)
On KU?: No
HEA: Yes
Rating: 3/5
Spice: 3.5/5 (chapters 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 25, 29, 32, 40, 41)

Summary:
Killian Barclay, a broody Scot hiding out in his family’s manor, has built a reputation on throwing wild, raunchy parties that have his family fed up. Sylvie Devereaux, a tough-as-nails New Yorker, stumbles into his life while sneaking into the manor to hunt down her boyfriend’s family heirloom. Their first meeting is anything but friendly, but things get even messier when Killian’s family offers Sylvie a deal: marry Killian for a year to fix his image, and she’ll walk away with ten million dollars. She agrees, despite their constant clashes, but what starts as a cold arrangement slowly turns into something more. As their year together winds down, Sylvie has to figure out if she’s willing to fight for the man she’s come to know—or leave before things get even more complicated.

Review:
I’m usually a big fan of Sara Cate’s books, but Keep Me didn’t quite hit the mark for me. As someone who’s loved her previous books (especially The Goode Brothers series) I had high hopes for this new series, but it fell short of my expectations. I really wanted to love this book, but it just didn’t hit like her other books do. The relationship between Killian and Sylvie lacked the chemistry and emotional depth I’ve come to expect from Sara Cate’s writing. Their dynamic felt forced, with a rushed progression from hate to love that made it hard to root for them as a couple.
Sylvie, in particular, was frustratingly immature and unlikable for much of the story, while Killian’s backstory and issues weren’t explored deeply enough to make him compelling. The pacing felt uneven, and the third act breakup was predictable and overly dramatic, only adding to my disappointment. While Cate’s signature sexy storytelling and kink-positive themes were present, they felt underdeveloped and more like afterthoughts. This wasn’t a bad book, but it lacked the spark and polish I’ve come to associate with Sara Cate. I’ll still be picking up the next in the series, but I’m hoping for a return to the emotional depth and chemistry that make her books stand out.

I enjoyed this book. It wasn't thought-provoking, more like a light-hearted, feel-good romance novel, which I really enjoy reading sometimes. The added 'Scottish' bad boy is always a plus, at least for me. It was very on-par with the 'arranged marriage' trope, but I still enjoyed the book.

"Keep Me" is a captivating and entertaining read that will leave you wanting more. Cate's masterful storytelling and the sizzling romance make this a must-read for fans of the genre.

I Love Sara Cate and I devoured Salacious players club. With that being said I think I had higher expectations in this book. I did enjoyed it and do recommend it but I didnt like some of the words that were used toward the female character. Both characters were very rude towards each other but I think all the offensive words were unnecessary or could be changed for something less offensive. Overall the story was good and entertaining, I would’ve love to hear more backstory of Sylvie, her boyfriend and friend.

Great book, if maybe a bit different from this author's usual books. It was a bit hard for me to get into the book at first, which is unusual in a Sara Cate book. But it is definitely worth it, especially if you have a soft spot for broken characters like I do.

I will say I initially did not like the FMC. And I kept getting second hand embarrassment/cringe from her just immediately breaking into this house/manor right from the very beginning and acting like her friend was the unreasonable one. Overall, I do think she gets better as the course of the book goes on. Either that or I just got numb to her irritating actions. 😂😂

The MMC definitely fits the category of "grumpy". He was very mean initially to her, so maybe steer clear of this book if that is not something you can get past. But I think it came from a place of hurt that he just had to work through. Once they figured things out, I loved them together.

I don't think this was as spicy as Sara's other books, but what spice there was, was just as fantastic as ever.

Overall, while this book was good, I have come to expect more from Sara's works and this just didn't live up to the "great" 5 star read I was hoping for, so 4 🌟 for me.