Keep Me (26 in 2026 #2)

Author: Sara Cate
Title: Keep Me Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca Date Published: 12/03/2024

Read Dates: 01/17/2026- 01/18/2026
Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Keep Me is a dual POV marriage of convenience romance. Sylvie is a bored socialite who has been cut off by her absentee parents, looking for a little adventure, and sneaks into what she assumes is an abandoned Scottish manor house to sneak a peek at an heirloom. She finds more than she expects when she does, though, running into the grumpy owner of the home, Killian. Killian is a broody recluse with a reputation for hosting wild and salacious parties, much to his family's dismay. His family approaches her with an offer she can't turn down: marry the unpleasant Scot and stay married for one year, and then she can walk away with 10 million dollars. She gets a fresh start, he gets left alone, and his reputation is cleaned up enough to stop worrying the family- everybody wins. But Sylvie and Killian are in for much more than either expected, and their marriage might not be as convenient as they were hoping! I've really enjoyed the Sara Cate books I've read, but I think this one is my favorite so far. Sylvie and Killian both had walls 10 miles high around themselves, both needing to be protected in their own ways. I like how the subjects of PTSD and agoraphobia were handled, and I enjoyed the interactions between the two. I like how they both grew and changed, and that they both put in the work, together and on their own. I can't wait for the next in this series!

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?