Calling…well, everyone. Get this book asap. Read it. Live it. Love it.

It’s the story of Hannah, the titular bodyguard, who has been hired to protect Jack, a famous actor, from a stalker. To keep things on the down-low, they’ll have to fake date, but will fake feelings transform into fierce flames? Read and find out.

If you’re like me and prefer your pearls to remain unclutched while reading a romance, this one is for you. Rest assured, there are sparks-a-plenty, but your glasses won’t steam up while you’re trying to read. You’ll still get all the feels, though. All. The. Feels. You’ll smile, laugh, and swoon.

There’s so much to appreciate here. The stakes remain high, but the charm of it all will wrap you in a cocoon of warmth. From start to finish, it’s practically perfect in every way, and I could not have loved it more.

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors, and this did not disappoint. Loved it! I was unsure when I read the description, but was sucked into the story quickly and devoured it in one day.

I LOVED this book by Katherine Center. It is part romcom with laugh out loud scenes, part mystery, and some serious notes all rolled up into a great book.
I loved the strong family element and the conversations about grief, the effect it has on a person and how to continue to love others were so well written. Also The main characters were entertaining and likeable which I appreciated.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a multilayered contemporary romance story.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

Tiny Hannah Brooks doesn't look like an Executive Protection Agent (or bodyguard), but that's exactly what she is. And she's good at it. Her firm has been assigned to guard superstar actor Jack Stapleton from a recent threat. Jack is well-known, but has been laying low for a couple of years after a loss in the family. His mom is sick now, though, and he's heading home to their Texas ranch. Worried about protecting her, he doesn't want the family knowing about the threat (or the bodyguard). Enter Hannah, who will have to pretend to be Jack's girlfriend while actually keeping him safe. And what would you know? Stuck out there on that ranch, being Jack's girlfriend doesn't seem so bad.

This read is cheesy at times, but truly very charming too. Even I found Jack Stapleton dreamy! His family is completely adorable, especially his sweet mom, and it was hard not to fall for all of them. Hannah is a tough cookie trying to figure out life after a terrible ex (who frankly deserves everything he gets). She has her annoying moments, but you have to love her too.

The female bodyguard angle here is really fun and something different. And, I mean, it's always enjoyable to read about hot actors and the celebrity world, right? You feel like you're being let into a secret space. This one had a little bit of a wild ending, but it was a fun, quick read and exactly what I needed and expected from a romance.

I liked the reverse gender roles, but for me unfortunately I was hoping for a bit more. I think this is the book for you especially if you prefer lighter to no spice. I think there were so cute parts, but there are also some parts that really didnt do it for me. I think that I am going to go read more from this author because I can tell that I like her writing style I just think that this story in particular was missing something

The Bodyguard
rating: 4⭐️
genre: contemporary romance
read this if you liked: The Soulmate Equation

Katherine Center does it again with this cute, heartwarming book! I loved the representation of a female in the role of a protection agent. Both of the MCs were so cute & I was rooting for them! I couldn’t help but smile when reading this one. As always, Katherine Center’s books aren’t just about romance, there’s always something a bit deeper within them, and this book was no different! I really liked learning more about Hannah and Jack - it made their relationship and circumstances so much more relatable. There was one part that felt a little too over the top and not really necessary (hello, the roof top scene) but other than that this was such an enjoyable book that had me smiling and rooting for them the whole time! I’m already looking forward to KC’s next book!

This is a great book to lose yourself in or get out of a reading slump. The slow-burn romance is enjoyable. The fast pace of the book makes it a fun read, but at the same time you don't want it to end.

I loved the premise of The Bodygaurd and was really excited to see the usual gender roles reversed. I think it was refreshing to see the woman as the bodyguard for once. However, the chemistry between the MC and LI didn't seem genuine. Honestly, I didn't think they had very much chemistry at all, which was kind of a letdown, considering this was marketed as a fun romcom. I also think that the MC's personality crossed the line from bubbly into immature at times.

Not really against the story, because you can enjoy a story without liking the characters or how they act, but I just gotta say that the MCs exboyfriend is like a total jerk to her, especially when you take into consideration that he broke up with her AND he said they never really had any feelings. It just made me so mad.

Would I read this again? Probably not. Did I enjoy reading it once? Ya, it was a really fast read. If you are in the market for something that you aren't going to be analyzing too indepth and you just want something fun, then you might enjoy this one.
3/5

Loved this book. I liked how the characters developed. Their relationship was sweet and the fmc wasn't just one dimensional.

~ ARC provided by NetGalley ~

I read this book on the recommendation of Emily Henry, one of my favorite romance authors, and I'm happy I read it. "The Bodyguard" is a trio of romance-comedy-adventure, not unlike "Something Wilder" by Christina Lauren. I think the romance was sweet and compelling enough to keep me hooked for the entire reading; however, I am not the biggest fan of "normal person/celebrity" romances, so some dimensions of the characters seemed a little flat for me. This is just a fun, quick read. If anything, read this for the dialogue. It's so snappy and fun.

I enjoyed this fun and lighthearted book that frequently made me laugh. It does have its serious moments but overall very enjoyable. Hannah is an Executive Protection Agent assigned to a Jack, a movie star, and she has to pretend to be his girlfriend in front of his family. His parents were great and added a lot of depth to the story. Both Hannah and Jack had some personal challenges to overcome. Thank you NetGalley for another great Katherine Center book.

I love the movie The Bodyguard with Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner so I was excited about the gender role swaps in this book version, but this was just… bad. The dialogue made me cringe and was so unbelievable. No one in real life would say the things every single one of these characters said to each other. It was incredibly cliched and the author had a habit of listing things in a really long winded way, that again, would never happen in a real conversation.

Also, I was so tired of being told how Hannah was supposedly the most observant person in the world and was basically a world renowned assassin/bodyguard to then have her constantly be shocked by farm animals (including an entire herd of slow moving cows?!) sneaking up on her. Her list of strengths at the beginning did not make sense with her behavior throughout the rest of the book.

I feel bad being so hard on this, but the thanksgiving scene with Kennedy Monroe sent me over the edge and I had to finally stop. There are several other complaints I have with the book but to avoid spoilers I’ll be done. It’s disappointing because I really did love the premise and I had high hopes seeing the early review ratings!

This was a bit lighter than Center's usually light books, but by no means was it weaker. The chemistry and connection between the two leads were great! It was an overall charming read.

Loved the trope of this book! I love seeing this author grow and change. This book to me reflects her growth and development as a writer. This book was a warm hug and left me smiling. So good and so fun!

3.5 star rating rounded to 4 stars.

Hannah Brooks doesn't have much luck keeping people in her life. Her father deserted the family when she was 7, her mother has just died, and her boyfriend has dumped her. She's working as an executive protection specialist and work has seemed to take the place of a family. She should be happy because she's gotten what could be seen as the job of a lifetime - protecting a hot Hollywood star - but she'd really rather have a different assignment.
Katherine Center always writes books that will entertain you and this is still the case with The Bodyguard. I'm not sure how convincing Hannah was as a bodyguard, and the ending was a bit over the top for me. But, I liked a number of the messages in the book and the opportunity to visit a Texas ranch!
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read The Bodyguard in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn't for me. It very much had the "love conquers all" and "it doesn't matter how damaged you are, love of an equally hot person will solve it all!" tropes.

I didn't like our MC, she was very hard to read from. Especially in the beginning. If I hadn't been reading this for a challenge prompt, I would have DNF'd.

Just the idea of this girl's mom dying, her boyfriend dumping her the next day and basically being like "by the way, you're a shit human and everyone hates you." and then she meets some emotionally scarred dude whose mom is dying of cancer and I'm supposed to get behind their romance? Sure, they both deserve a HEA, but they need HEAPS of therapy first.

It's not a bad book, just not one I stand behind.

I was over the moon when I got the publisher’s invitation to review The Bodyguard. I love Katherine Center’s books. So, I didn’t even think about it when I accepted the invitation. But life happens, and I put The Bodyguard on the back burner as I dealt with some significant issues that I had going on. I am glad I finally got to read this book because it was amazing!!

Hannah is an Executive Protection Agent (aka a bodyguard) and is good at what she does. People underestimate her because she is small and blends into the background. Jack is a movie star who has been in seclusion since his brother was killed in a car accident a few years earlier. Hannah is assigned to Jack when he returns home to help out his family when his mother is diagnosed with cancer. His stalker, a middle-aged corgi breeder who knits sweaters, has found out he is home and has made some demands of him. But Jack doesn’t want a bodyguard, and his family doesn’t know about the stalker. So Jack makes a deal with Hannah; she needs to pretend to be his girlfriend, and his family cannot find out that he has a stalker. Hannah agrees but isn’t prepared for how comfortable she is with his family and Jack. The more time she spends with Jack, the more she likes him. What will happen when the stalker threat is gone? Will Hannah and Jack figure out that they are meant for each other? Or will their time at the ranch become a memory?

The Bodyguard is a medium to fast-paced book that is set in and around the city of Houston. The pacing of this book was perfect. It didn’t go so fast that I had issues following the plotline, and it also slowed down enough to process certain scenes. I also loved that the author set it in and around Houston. Houston has been a place I have wanted to visit (and is on my USA bucket list).

The main characters made this book with their witty dialogue and interchanges. There were characters that I would have loved to meet (if in real life).

Hannah—The Bodyguard didn’t start so well for her. Her mother died, and her coworker/boyfriend dumped her on the night of the funeral. Then, she finds out that her best friend/coworker has been sleeping with him. I wondered how she didn’t snap (because I would have). I felt awful for her. Hannah was tough but sweet. I loved how she got starstruck when she first met Jack. She reacted to how I pictured a regular person would act when meeting someone famous. I also loved her vulnerable side. She was hurting from everything that happened and didn’t have a chance to process it. Overall, she was just a nice person. Of course, she was tough and proved it towards the end of the book. Oh, and I get how insecure she was with Jack. She had a tough upbringing (her mom chose abusive men over her daughter). She didn’t know if she could trust him or not.
Jack—He took a little more time to get to know in this book. Not that I didn’t like him, but he wasn’t very open with personal things (Hannah was an open book). Like his brother’s death. From his reactions, I knew that something wasn’t right about it. And it took until almost halfway through for the truth to come out. I also liked that the author didn’t have Jack living a hunky-dory life after his brother died. He had issues (mainly PTSD and anxiety). The author handled his issues delicately and allowed them to be worked on throughout the book (notice I didn’t say worked out). I did think that his being super casual about the corgi stalker wasn’t cool. He did realize how deranged she was once Hannah got threatened.
The secondary characters brought depth and extra life to the book. I loved everyone in this book. Well, not everyone. I thought that Jack’s older brother was a d-tickle for how he treated Jack (he assumed something, and it came back to bite him). Hannah’s ex-boyfriend/coworker and her ex-best friend/coworker were awful. I couldn’t believe what they both said to her (each separately and each different thing). It stung me as a reader.

The Bodyguard fits perfectly into the romance genre. Jack and Hannah had a slow-burn romance forced by their proximity. While I knew what Hannah was feeling (the author told the book from her POV), I couldn’t understand what Jack was feeling. One scene at the end, where Jack told Hannah to get lost after inviting her to his house for a date, broke my heart. But I am glad that Hannah had second thoughts about what he said because if she didn’t, things would have ended differently.

The storyline with Hannah, her coworkers, and the fallout from her breakup was hilarious and sad. What upset me was not what her ex said to her (and it was a dick thing to say) but what her supposed best friend said. I liked how everything worked out in the end and how her ex ended up with no one (teaches him to be a jerk!!).

The storyline with Hannah, her coworkers, and the fallout from her breakup was hilarious and sad. What upset me was not what her ex said to her (and it was a dick thing to say) but what her supposed best friend said. I liked how everything worked out in the end and how her ex ended up with no one (teaches him to be a jerk!!).

The end of The Bodyguard had me almost in tears. The author wrapped up each storyline and did it in such a way that it made me smile. But I almost had a heart attack when Hannah and Jack’s storyline was wrapped up. What Hannah said made me go, “What the heck” for a minute before I read the following line. That was so not funny.

I would recommend The Bodyguard to anyone over 21. There is mild language, violence, and mild sexual situations.

Romance touches the heart! The Bodyguard follows the story of a broken hearted woman whose estranged mother dies and in the same week her coworker boyfriend dumps her. Also, a movie star needs some assistance. Center makes formulaic less predictable and fun to follow.

I feel like such an outlier, but I didn't love this book like everyone else in the world. Part of it was the unknown trigger I was in for about Hannah's mother's death. And honestly, Hannah wasn't a very likable character. Jack's storyline was dramatic. His mother is sick and the trope of hiding the bodyguard as girlfriend was just ok.

This was a rom-com with some surprising depth, and exploration of a career that most of us misunderstand these days. Having just gone through grieving a parent myself, some parts struck a bit raw for me, but not untrue. Also there were some third-act twists and turns that I wasn't expecting. Stay with this one until the end.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my temporary copy of The Bodyguard by Katherine Center in exchange for an honest review. It appears July 19, 2022.