3.5 ⭐️ Cute bodyguard, fake-dating romance

WHAT TO EXPECT:
✨ strong, capable bodyguard FMC
✨ hunky, sweet movie-star MMC
✨ fake-dating
✨ city girl ends up on a ranch
✨ client to friends to lovers
✨ one-bed trope
✨ emotional baggage
✨ crazy stalker drama
✨ fun banter
✨ zero spice


I liked the story. It was fun, sweet, and had some exciting moments near the end.

While there were some heavy topics (death of a family member, past childhood trauma/parental alcoholism), they didn’t weigh down the story, and it remained light-hearted for the most part.

I enjoyed seeing the character growth of both Jack and Hannah. They had a lot of big things to work through and did that on their own and together. I love how they were there for each other as friends, and it was sweet watching them blossom into something more.

Jack’s mom, Connie, is my absolute favorite! I wish we got even more scenes with her!

Jack and Hannah were cute, but I wasn’t 100% convinced of their chemistry. He mentions how ordinary and plain she is to his brother, but then when she confronts him about it, he’s like, “yeah, and I like that about you.” But that’s not really a compliment. We want the love interest to find the MC attractive in some capacity, but he never says anything to that degree. It’s also brought up 3 different times (by her ex, Jack, and Jack’s fake celebrity girlfriend) that she’s nothing special, which rubbed me the wrong way. Idk I would have liked for them to have some sort of obvious physical chemistry or at least have it mentioned a little.

But the best part about these two was Jack’s teasing and their banter! It was so stinking cute and made me smile. ☺️

The pacing was sometimes off for me. It was hard to get into at the beginning because one bad thing after another kept happening to Hannah, and she was constantly complaining about her work assignments. But once she got to the ranch, things picked up for me. So around 25% of the book. And I know some people said the ending came out of nowhere, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! Nothing like a little conflict during the last 10%!

Overall, this is a cute romance I’d recommend if you want something fun and quick to read.

Katherine Center has quickly become an autobuy author for me. I love the way she writes romance. It's more than just the relationship of the characters, but discussions of real life topics and issues is key as well. I didn't think I would like this gender-swap trope of female bodyguard with male client, but it worked! And was an enjoyable read for sure! Can't wait to see what Center writes next!

Loved the premise behind this charming rom-com and it's a great vacation read. Fans of Emily Henry and Jasmine Guillory will love this one! Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Sweet closed door romance that is very fun to read! This book made me laugh so much! It made me so happy.

Hannah is a bodyguard for the rich and famous, based in Houston, Texas. Not the big and burly type, but rather the informed and trained type, she usually excels at her job and maintains the proper protocols. When her boyfriend dumps her the night after her mother's funeral, all Hannah wants to do is escape and work. Her boss has other plans and assigns her to a local movie star named Jack Stapleton. She must pretend to be his girlfriend while protecting him from a stalker since his mother is unwell and getting treatment for cancer. The only thing Hannah does not expect is to enjoy her time with Jack and his family. With ever changing circumstances bringing them together, Hannah has a decision to make between maintaining her professional distance or finally finding enduring love.

I enjoyed this book so much, especially the humor and the encouraging quotes about life and love. The plot was relatively fast-paced and never lacked interest or suspense. The characters seemed so realistic and it was easy for me to root for Hannah as she faced the cruelty of her ex and her grief for the loss of her mother. The quotes about having confidence in yourself in spite of the way other people treat you really spoke to me, as well as the focus of living each day by making the most of your opportunities and relationships. I didn't care for the profanity and thought the narrative would've been much better without it. Other than that and some innuendos, I highly recommend this book for its heart and humor. I would love to see a follow-up story with the same characters!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. A positive review was not required, and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This was a fun, whimsical romance that I didn’t want to end! I love a good happy ever after and this author so it did not disappoint! Katherine Center just might be one of my most favorite authors. I loved this book from start to finish!

4 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was a really sweet and warm read, a little more cliched at times than I am generally used to from Ms. Center and some parts were a "tad" hard to believe, but I really enjoyed this novel overall.

A Rom-Com with a female bodyguard...definitely a first for me.
Hannah appeared somewhat neurotic for how I imagine a bodyguard to be... but I still really liked her "lots" and also Jack (a cheerful and humble actor that Hannah gets tasked with protecting).
We have a little "fake romance" action going on as Jack doesn't want his family to know that he has either a stalker or a bodyguard.


Lots of good banter.... an emotional, fun, and heartwarming romance . It was entertaining and I didn't want to put it down.
Katherine Center is an automatic go-to author for me...she never lets you down!!!!

This was my first KC book, and after only a few chapters, I went and added all of her books, that I don’t already have, to my wishlist. I didn’t read the synopsis before diving into this book, so it shocked me a little to find out who the bodyguard was. This book was so much fun to read. The banter between Jack and Hannah was great, and I couldn’t stop reading their story. I loved how KC gave us an nice, detailed epilogue at the end. I hate when I’m left hanging at the end. I lot of times I find myself wanting more, so I’m glad the author didn’t do that with this book and tied up some loose ends! The ending also threw me for a loop; there was a plot twist in there that I just did not see coming! This book was good, and I highly recommend adding it to your TBR!

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

The Bodyguard is the first book that have read by Katherine Center and it won’t be the last. It is about a famous actor who is in need of a bodyguard because he has a stalker situation. Enter the bodyguard except Jack mistakes them for the new cleaning person because he is a she for one and she is on the smaller side too. You know the saying never judge a book by its cover, well the same goes for bodyguards in this story. Hannah may be tiny but she is mighty, underestimate her at your on peril. While staying with Jack and his family 24/7 pretending to be his girlfriend, pretend quickly turns to real. Hannah may be a pro when it comes to protecting her clients from harm, but what about protecting her heart from being broken? Read The Bodyguard to find out how Hannah and Jack’s story ends. This story is about finding out what love is and how to deal with loss, and the damage secrets can cause.

'The Bodyguard,' by Katherine Center is a well-written romance. The characters are enjoyable, as is the story!

Katherine Center is back again! This book is right up there with her previous work as a cute romantic book that makes you want to curl up in bed and read it all day.
Hannah Brooks is a Bodyguard. It turns out, you don't have to be huge to be one, just blend in so people don't notice you and know how to work with what you have to de-esculate or remove a situation. Hannah just got hired to work with Jack, a huge movie star who lately has dropped out of the public eye. Now, with a stalker and his mom sick, he needs to return to his hometown, with a bodyguard. He doesn't want to worry his family so him and Hannah pretend to be a couple to throw everyone off. But what happens when the chemistry is real?

I think the book should have been longer and the twist at the end could have been fleshed out better. But overall, a good book to read!
I recommend this book for fans of Katherine Centers previous books, rom-com fans and for people who want a cute story about an opposites attract couple.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved how a female was the Bodyguard not the male and she broke the barriers.

Absolutely loved this book! I was hooked from start to finish and i adored their connection even the MC seemed blind to it ha! I think it’s relatable to a lot of women tho. Especially after having a bad relationship hurting your confidence making you question others being genuinely interested. I also loved the family and their relationships even the bad ones.
This book really got me in all the feels. It had me tearing up and laughing within moments. There’s some heartbreaking moments where they discuss heavy feelings. I just thought this novel was so well done and really enjoyable.

This was exactly the feel-good humour laced romance I didn't know I needed. It was witty and full of heart. So easy to read and *sigh* fall in love. I enjoyed Hannah's take-no-crap approach to her professional life, and her somewhat curmudgeonly personality- we're not all sunshine and roses - but I also appreciated her insecurities and the healing and growth and simultaneous but not perfect HEA.

Short summary -
Hannah is the last person you would expect to be a bodyguard, but she loves her job and she couldn’t find herself happier doing anything else. Hannah needs a distraction from her life. She just suffered the loss of her mom and an unexpected breakup with her coworker and a betrayal from her best friend. Enter her new client, Jack Stapleton, who is a household name, a big name actor who is taking a break, who also happens to be a dreamboat. But he needs protection and surveillance from the public eye and a certain lady stalker when he returns to his home town to be with his sick mom. The problem? Jack needs Hannah to pretend that she’s his girlfriend and his family needs to buy it - his mom doesn’t need any more stress right now. What could possibly go wrong?

Overall review -
This book had it all for me! It was a light romance with a completely unexpected story concept - one that I loved! I mean, what author has taken on a female bodyguard trope? It had betrayal, redemption, humor, and depth too. It was super endearing and it just warmed my heart! I absolutely loved this one!

Overall rating - 5 ⭐️

I absolutely devoured this one! The wit and sarcasm was everything I needed!! Plus Hannah is a bad bitch; but they usually are. I wasn’t expecting this one to be as heavy as it was so for sure check trigger warnings! There was almost no steam, but it didn’t need it. The story was great on its own! If you are looking for a quick read, this is it.

Katherine Center is so good at writing feel-good romance with just the right amount of angst and drama. I loved the premise of this one and the pacing. The characters took a bit for me to give with, but I ended up loving their relationship and how they interacted with each other. The ending was very well done !

Hannah wants nothing more than to throw herself back into her work as an Executive Protection Agent after the unexpected death of her mother. And then after she is dumped by her "perfect" coworker boyfriend, she needs an escape. Undercover protection of a cocky adventure star, that she secretively loves, is not what she had in mind. Hannah finds herself on a ranch in Texas in a sea of cows and on the arm of the Jack Stapleton.

As always, Katherine Center delivered a solid drama romance. She is never afraid to challenge her characters strength with trauma. Her character development of Hannah, career driven introvert, and Jack, an arrogant but tortured by the past actor, I loved. Towards the end, the story ran long but overall another good novel.

I am so sad! I was so excited about this book. I love that Hannah Brooks is the bodyguard and the fake dating trope! So good. I actually really loved the relationship between Hannah and Jack Stapleton. I felt like the progression was really good and I loved the hijinks they seemed to get into.

A couple of things that I just couldn't get over:
1. Any dialogue between Hannah and her boss/coworkers was super cringy. Like none of it was at all professional and it was all very strange. Also it made it seem like the company was security for local people in texas (i.e. low-to-medium risk) but at the same time they had international assignments that sounded like super covert CIA level operations. Like which is it?

2. Hannah is not very good at her job. She just stopped being badass very quickly. What happened to the Hannah that was able to literally floor Jack when she met him....instead she lost all of her instincts and skills and was just really bad at her job. It was kind of annoying.

This was definitely a bit too "romcom" for me. I was very distracted by how the FMC kept saying the MMC full name over and over. I tried to put myself in her place by imagining myself serving as the bodyguard for Chris Evans, and it was still a no. There were parts that felt too overdone and a bit awkward. I really wanted to love these characters, but I kept finding myself wanting more. The tone of this story felt very undervalued for a slow burn, and I found the issues they faced individually and as a couple as a bit low stake. By the time, they became more we were at the end of the story which left me not cheering for their union. The whole ending plot point was not needed in the least; I actually think it hurt the story way more than it helped. It was simple enough to follow, but I didn't find it engaging or impactful.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.