I did cringe sometimes but it was the most fun and relaxed romance book i have read since the hating game. although these two books have little to no similarities either in vibe nor in tropes.

Thank you Netgalley & publisher for this e arc of The Bodyguard by Katherine Center. I also picked this for my book of the month choice and go a physical copy.
This is a great rom com novel. 4.5*.
Synopsis: " Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindgerten teacher than somebody who could kill you with a wine bottle opener.... But the truth is, she’s a bodyguard, and she just got hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his middle-aged, corgi-breeding stalker... When Jack’s mom gets sick, he comes home to the family’s Texas ranch .. And so Hannah—against her will and her better judgment—finds herself pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend as a cover... it’s easy for Hannah to protect Jack. But protecting her own, long-neglected heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done. "
3 things I liked:
1. Funny
2. Also "all the feels"
3. Loved the female was the bodyguard
3 things I disliked:
1. The first chapter did not hook me...but, after a few chapters I was hooked and read the last 80% of the book in one evening
2. That she is described as plain ...cliché
3. Nothing, this was a great read
I was glad to read this one. If you like rom coms, give it a try.

So cute! This was a fun read. It was funny, a little self discovery, someone to hate, someone to swoon over. I enjoyed it and I loved how many times I laughed out loud. It was super cute and heartwarming so pick up this book when you want something to smile about.

If you are looking for a great beach read, a rom-com, or just a good laugh then I highly recommend Katherine Center’s book, The Bodyguard. Is it predictable? Yes, but who cares? Sometimes you just need something fun to read with characters that are endearing.

Hannah Brooks, who was raised by an alcoholic mother, learned at a young age to protect herself. She now makes her living as an Executive Protection Agent. At only 5′ 5″ inches tall, she is able to blend into the scenery as she protects the rich and famous. Based out of Houston, workaholic Hannah longs for overseas travel, especially getting the plumb assignment of opening the agency’s new London office. Unfortunately, her chief competitor for the job is her ex-boyfriend who said very rude things to her when he dumped her the day after her mother’s funeral.

Hannah is furious when her boss assigns her as the primary protection agent for the actor Jack Stapleton, who has been named “The Sexiest Man Alive” twice. Jack is back in Houston because of an illness in his family. To keep the family unaware that Jack has a bodyguard, Hannah must pretend to be his girlfriend. Things get more complicated from there as Hannah finds herself for the very first time getting emotionally connected to her client.

This story is full of both funny lines and honest raw emotions. I suspect this will be a Hollywood Movie. My choices: Anna Kendrick as Hannah Brooks, Liam Hemsworth as Jack Stapleton, and Chris Hemsworth as Hank Stapleton, Jack’s older brother. (Okay, not much imagination on the Hemsworth Brothers, but a girl can dream). Seriously, in my second life, I want to be a casting agent.

4-plus stars. Thank you to NetGalley and the awesome #St. Martin’s Press for my advanced reader copy. This book was published on July 19, 2022. I will definitely check out more Katherine Center novels!!

The Bodyguard is only the second book I've read from Katherine Center, but after reading this, I know for sure I want to read the rest of her work. I can be quite picky/particular when it comes to rom-com books, but I found this one to be perfectly light-hearted, enjoyable, and funny! I love when a book can make me laugh out loud, and this one did exactly that.

I really enjoyed the characters in this book. I felt that they were well-developed and I really found myself rooting for Hannah and Jack. I also got a kick out of Glenn's personality, and I think everyone who reads this book would love Connie.

I don't want to say much more because I don't want to give away any spoilers, and you can certainly read the synopsis on your own. But I will say that at one point, this book left me reeling (for a short time), which is not something I find too often in rom-coms. They tend to have a pretty predictable storyline, and while this one had some of those elements, it also took a little detour along the way. I enjoyed every minute of it.

I think this book is the perfect summer read and/or lighthearted pick-me-up. It will have you smiling, laughing, and tearing through it with a reluctance to put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this new genre from Katherine Center! While not my favorite book of hers, it was still great. I felt like Hannah could have been a better bodyguard because there were times I was wondering if she knew what she was doing, lol! However, I feel like it was supposed to be lighthearted this way. But Jack, oh sweet Jack! She swept me away with him. And in typical Katherine Center fashion, she still had me all up in my feels even though this is a rom com. Well done!!

This is my second book by Katherine Center and I can safely say I am now a fan! She writes some super sweet romances and the Bodyguard is one of them.

Hannah Brooks looks more like a school teacher then her real profession: bodyguard. While small in stature, she can kill you with a dinner napkin or ballpoint pen. He latest job is protecting super star singer Jack Stapleton from a stalker while he’s home visiting his family. The catch? He doesn’t want to worry them so he wants to say him and Hannah are in a relationship… what could go wrong?

This romance was super charming! So sweet it was just enjoyable cover to cover. I also have to say it was quite funny too! Lots of witty banter between the two main characters so I found myself laughing out loud quite a bit.

I also find it really enjoyable to read romances where the careers are very interesting and let me tell you, Hannah’s career as a bodyguard is interesting indeed! It’s a fun premise for a story and adds a bit of action/ mystery vibes to the romance because of Jackson’s Stalker.

Overall highly recommend both The Bodyguard and Katherine Center books in general and I can’t wait to read more from her!

My Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Steam Gauge: 🌶/4

“𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸’𝚖 𝚜𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚜, 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚒𝚕𝚎—𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝—𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢’𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 ‘𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚜.’ 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 . . .” 𝙷𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚢 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜. “𝚈𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 ‘𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛.’”

I LOVED this book! This was my first time reading this author so I really didn’t know what to expect. Jack and Hannah’s chemistry was everything! Their banter had me laughing out loud. And the secondary characters were almost as interesting as the main ones.

The Bodyguard is a fake dating, forced proximity romcom about a female bodyguard and her “principle,” who’s an A-list celebrity.

This needs to be made into a movie like ASAP! It would make a great one!

This was just an adorable read. Hannah was so likeable. The part with her and Jack’s dad with the shotgun where she earned herself the nickname of Desperado was freaking hysterical.

I will say there is pretty much zero steam in this book (except for some very sexy smooches), but really, I still enjoyed the heck out of it regardless.

The only thing I was left wanting was more on Hank. Please tell me he gets his own book?! He wasn’t mentioned in the ending at all so I’m going to choose to take that as a yes! 🤞🏼😁

This was absolutely romcom GOLD and I cannot wait to read more from this author soon!

Thank you to @netgalley and the author for my complimentary e-ARC.

Everyone who I work with knows that Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors and I recommend her books to everyone I meet. It breaks my heart to say that her newest book, just didn't work for me. One of the main things I love about Center's books is that she writes strong, independent women in male dominant environments. I did love that it was a fake-dating romance about a woman who takes on the role of bodyguard to an world famous actor. My biggest issue with The Bodyguard was that I found Hannah to be unlikable and often annoying. Most of the characters overall did not act like grown adults and were not likeable. It was hard for me to see the growth of Hannah and Jack's love interest, as it did not feel it was even a slow burn. This review hurts me to write, because I seriously LOVE every one of Katherine Center's other books. I will not let this discourage me and continue to proclaim her as one of my favorite authors and recommend all her other books.

This is my first book by this author and I will definitely be reading her other books!

This is probably the funniest book I have read all year, the banter was perfection.

I tend to require steam with my rom coms but I still loved this book although a little bit of steam would have been icing on the cake.

I would love a spin-off book about Hank!

I am basically a Katherine Center super fan! I love all her books and The Bodyguard is no exception. Her books make me feel so happy and this fake dating story is one of my new favorites. I loved Hannah’s spunkiness and how relatable Jack was even though he’s famous. I truly think Center can do no wrong. Can I get her next one ASAP please? This one just came out and if it’s not on your TBR, it should be.

4.5 stars!

I’m torn between 4-5 stars here, but after some of my other recent reads, I’m realizing that I actually want to bump this one up even more.

Katherine Center has become one of my favorite authors, and I love that her books provide that heartwarming story when I just need something to escape with.

I loved that THE BODYGUARD featured a woman in a male dominated field, as an Executive Protection Agent, and that while you do have to suspend reality a bit here (Hannah comes off as kind of immature, and although she’s small and mighty, could she realistically defend a high profile celebrity like Jack Stapleton?)

Either way, I devoured the story and ended up alternating between the physical book and the audiobook, which was narrated by Patti Murin. The fake dating storyline and the funny banter between Hannah and Jack was the best, and I thought the narrator was a great choice!

*many thanks to St Martin’s Press/Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the gifted copy and ALC for review

I am the biggest fan of Center's Happiness for Beginners (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1273667244) and enjoyed a few of her releases that followed. While What You Wish For wasn't for me, I was hoping The Bodyguard would be a better fit. After all, I weirdly love romances about Hollywood stars and the fake dating trop. So, I went in with the highest hopes! Unfortunately, it was just too cheesy for me. Readers are told repeatedly that the heroine is excellent at her job, but all we see is her acting like an unprofessional fool. She's freaked out by a herd of cows, almost drowns, and is so caught up in her own self esteem issues. I wasn't feeling the chemistry between the couple, the heroine's "not like other girls" vibes were strong, the storyline with the stalker was so cringey, and it all just so… blah. It was a quick read and did fit with my "I just want something light and fun" mood, but I wanted it to be better. I was So Okay With It.

The Bodyguard was fun, uplifting, hilarious, and had a beautiful setting! It was the perfect escape during a very hectic time in my life, and I’m so grateful. I didn’t want to put it down while reading and flew through it.

I loved the funny and complex characters in this book. Hannah was a relatable character that I couldn’t help but root for to win in life. Jack was the perfect movie star book bf who wasn’t a jerk. And Bobby (I mean Robby) was the worst but provided great comedic relief.

Overall, I felt like I was watching a rom-com on a Saturday afternoon while reading The Bodyguard, which is the ultimate vibe for me. Long story short, I highly recommend this book, especially if you want to escape into a book that will make you smile and laugh! ❤️

Oh, how I adore Katherine Center. I am convinced she can do no wrong. Her books are just like a big warm hug. I absolutely loved The Bodyguard. It was sweet, swoony, and made me giggle out loud. I loved both main characters and felt the fake dating trope really worked in this story. I think The Bodyguard has moved into the number one spot for favorite rom-com and Katherine Center book. I highly recommend grabbing this book for your beach bag.

I absolutely LOVED this. Katherine Center does such an incredible job with the character development through the internal dialogues. I loved Hannah's personality and her struggles felt so real and relatable. The romance was so sweet and it was fun to read this bodyguard/famous person trope flipped on its head with a badass female bodyguard. I think Center's books just keep getting better and better so i cannot wait to see what she has in store for us next!


Thank you SO much for this advanced copy.

The Bodyguard absolutely melted my heart and left me with a silly smile on my face for days.

Hannah Brooks is one underestimated bodyguard; she looks like a petite “stumpy” sweet girl but has the means to bring down anyone. Jack Stapleton, the famous heartthrob movie star, is in need of a little protection from your not so average stalker. Together Hannah and Jack will need to do a little undercover “dating” to keep Jack and his family safe.

The plot of this book ticked all the boxes of what I like in a fun rom com. The characters were great, I loved the roll reversal of the female bodyguard. The author included such a great description of the Texas ranch that I felt like I was there. This is the ultimate summer read when looking for something fun and light.

One more review, this time for Katherine Center’s newest release, The Bodyguard. I adore Katherine Center and her perfect mix of likeable characters, witty banter and lighthearted plot lines. The Bodyguard mixes it up a bit, with a 5’5” female bodyguard charged with keeping watch over a world-renowned movie star. Is it predictable? Absolutely. Did I enjoy it any less because of that? Not in the slightest. This book was light, enjoyable and a perfect summer read. I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 📚📚📚📚1/2 (4.5 stars)

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center was my first book by this author, but it will not be my last. I am picking up her backlist titles immediately. The Bodyguard had a character-driven plot that kept the reader's interest while also having a twist to the action. The story flips the script for a typical "bodyguard" plot-line, with the main female character being the bodyguard to a famous male actor. The two main characters' chemistry was perfectly done. I look forward to reading more of her work.

Katherine Center can just do no wrong in my eyes. Every book of hers is a just such a delight to read and this one was no exception. Predictable at times? Perhaps. But that doesn't necessarily make a book less enjoyable. I loved the characters in this book, and I loved that our female lead was this touch, kick-ass bodyguard! What a cool job. This book hooked me from the beginning and I devoured it in a few short days. I loved all the supporting characters and I could definitely see this one being made into a fun rom-com movie!

Huge thank you to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for the advanced e-copy. All opinions my own.