Keep Me by Sara Cate

Keep Me by Sara Cate

About The Book

Title: Keep Me
Series: Sinful Manor #1
Author: Sara Cate
Pages: 336
Genre: Romance

Links

Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Kindle ~ Audiobook

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Their marriage of convenience is anything but…

All Killian Barclay wants is to be left the hell alone. He’s had enough heartache to last a lifetime, and he has no more need for love—earning him the reputation of a broody Scot and eventually turning his famous ancestral home into a den of iniquity. It doesn’t take long for tales of his raunchy house parties to reach the rest of his family, though, inspiring them to hatch a plan to shake Killian out of his routine.

New Yorker Sylvie Devereaux is tough as nails—as the daughter of famous yet neglectful parents, she’s grown a hard shell and keeps everyone at arm’s length. So when she sneaks into Barclay Manor during a trip to Scotland to get a glimpse of a famous heirloom, she doesn’t anticipate facing off against the brutish, maddening Highlander who lives there. And she certainly didn’t expect to ever see the bastard again.

Yet just weeks later, she’s approached by Killian’s family with a proposal—move to Scotland and marry Killian to improve his playboy reputation, and after one year, she’ll walk away with ten million dollars. Sylvie agrees, even knowing that their plan is more deceptive than he realizes. But as she grows closer to Killian and the end of their year together, she has to Is the love of a good man with a dark soul worth keeping, or is she willing to break Killian’s heart now that it’s well and truly hers?

My Review

Marriage of convenience will always be one of my all-time favorite tropes!

In Keep Me, we follow Sylvie, a New York girl who has never known love from her parents. While on a trip with her boyfriend, she impulsively decides to break into a manor in search of an old typewriter. Her little adventure takes a dramatic turn when she’s caught by the manor’s owner, Killian. After smashing her phone in a fit of fury, he kicks her out.

Back in New York, Sylvie is shocked when Killian’s sister shows up with an offer she can’t refuse: marry Killian, stay married for a year, and walk away with ten million dollars. With her family no longer a safety net, Sylvie agrees to the deal.

But there’s a catch—Killian’s family is determined to take the house away from him after the year is up. They believe he’s unfit to keep it, and his controlling aunt is leading the charge. On top of that, Killian is agoraphobic, having been confined to the manor for six years.

Sylvie returns to Scotland, and the two enter a rocky marriage that’s equal parts hate-to-love and grumpy-sunshine. Their dynamic had me pausing the audiobook more than once—especially when Killian called her “cow.” It was so absurd it had me laughing out loud!

While I enjoyed the story, it wasn’t quite a five-star read for me. It felt like it was missing something, possibly the more pronounced kink that Sara’s books often explore. There’s a hint of it here, but it didn’t hit the mark I was expecting.

That said, I loved watching Sylvie help Killian confront his fears and take small steps toward leaving the house, even if her initial motives were selfish. Their individual growth after the third-act breakup was a standout element—I appreciated how they both found strength without leaning on each other.

I’m definitely excited to see what’s next for this series. The next book focuses on one of Killian’s brothers, and I can’t wait to dive back into this intriguing manor!

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Disclosures:
This post contains links to Amazon where I am an affiliate. If you purchase a book using my links from this page, I would gain a small percentage of that sale.

All reviews are always my opinion. I do not get paid to review books or give good reviews. There will be times where books are provided for my honest review. I will always indicate whether a book was provided to me for review

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