This is one of those books that I didn’t want to ever end because I was having so much fun reading about Hannah and Jack and their misadventures. Hannah Brooks is a small woman in stature but she leaves a big footprint as an executive protection agent. Her current assignment is to protect superstar Jack Stapleton from a would-be stalker and against her better judgment, she pretends to be his girlfriend in order to stay undercover. Her role as a bodyguard soon takes a swift turn off the tracks when Hannah finds herself protecting her own heart just as much as she is protecting Jack. The story of these two totally different people is one for the record books and was laugh out loud humorous at times. There were also serious moments as Hannah came to some deep realizations about herself, her past and her choices. The lessons she learns as she travels the path of self-acceptance are invaluable to all of us who have ever dealt with self-esteem issues. The characters are mostly likable and relatable, although I must admit that Robby is a playboy who thinks he’s all that and more, so not particularly my cup of tea. I did enjoy meeting Wilbur, a man with deep problems and a huge talent for making birdhouses. Glenn, Hannah’s boss, was rough around the edges and very demanding but also practical and real-to-life. The plot moved along at a fast clip, much to my dismay, because I seriously did not want this story to end. I wanted to know more about Hank, Jack’s brother, and his parents and Hannah’s backstory. And I wanted to know more about Doghouse and Kelly who seemed kind of attracted to each other in a quirky kind of way. There are so many reasons to like this book and I cannot think of one reason why someone wouldn’t enjoy it. It’s light, contemporary fiction with some very original twists in a creative plot.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Sigh. I consider Katherine Center one of my favorite authors and she wrote one of my all time favorite books (Happiness for Beginners). However, her three most recent books haven’t worked for me - maybe KC and I are growing apart? Noooo, say it isn’t so.

I love the premise of The Bodyguard - female bodyguard, male movie star - need to fake date for reasons. I’m in! However the execution didn’t work for me. While we’ve heard Hannah is great at her job - we didn’t get to see that at all. Instead she repeatedly showed her incompetence and had to be rescued by Jack.

I also wasn’t really buying the relationship between Hannah and Jack. KC usually gets me right in the swoons with the way she writes relationships but this one just felt meh, fine, to me.

Then there’s the ending - the ending!!!!! This is the third book in a row where I feel like KC really blows it with the ending. In this case there was a final conflict that just wasn’t believable at all and then the follow up in the epilogue caused so much eyerolling I gave myself a headache.

Thank you to St Martins Press and Netgalley for the advance reading and listening copies.

The Bodyguard is a rom-com that subverts a common trope- body guard and client fall in love, except the bodyguard is a woman and the client is a very attractive and somewhat stubborn man. I’ll admit, I was surprised at this change of pace (I clearly didn’t remember the synopsis by the time I sat down to read it!) but it made for a very unique, funny, and quirky read in what feels like a sea of rom-coms these days.

Protagonist Hannah Brooks is an Executive Protection Agent who’s personal life is crumbling around her and she dives herself into her job for solace. However, instead of taking pity on her and assigning her to an exciting, long, overseas assignment, her (somewhat petty) boss assigns her to protect a movie star right in her home city of Houston, despite her desire to flee her family and romance troubles. Coupled with the facts that the actor, Jack, is ridiculously good looking (he and his family low key gave me Hemsworth vibes), she must give up her non-nonsense personality to pretend to be his girlfriend, and they must stay at his family’s picturesque ranch outside of the city, the premise of the story sets up nicely for a desirable rom-com read.

While I knew that *obviously* the story was setting up for a romance between Hannah and Jack (I read this genre of books for a happy ending, after all) I actually found there to be some real moments of pain and empathy in the beginnings of their relationship. Since Hannah and Jack start out using the “fake dating” trope, there are times when comments are made about Hannah needing a makeover, no one buying that someone who looks like her could be with someone that looks like him, when her relatively normal physical “flaws are mentioned by Jack or others (slightly crooked teeth, no spray tan, sleeps in a frumpy, comfortable nightgown, etc). Being in my 30s, I recognize that there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of those things, and prioritizing comfort and well being over physical appearance is now my norm. But dang if it the way it made Hannah feel didn’t resonate with me a little bit in a world where we’re constantly bombarded with influencer appearances and body types that are so often a product of procedures, filters, etc but we’ve become desensitized due to their frequency. Even as Hannah and Jack’s relationship progresses and a reader can tell they’re genuinely compatible, there are constant reminders for Hannah that she is just so ordinary compared to Jack, and it was equal parts painful, frustrating, and yet realistic to read about. In some ways, this wish-fulfillment premise felt more realistic than many overly idealized ones I’ve read before.

While I really enjoyed the overall romance and development of the relationship between Hannah and Jack, the plot was a bit far-fetched and many of the supporting characters a bit one-dimensional for my liking. I felt like Hannah was set up to be a badass at the beginning of the novel yet she makes quite a few novice type mistakes that seem incompatible with her experience as a bodyguard of such esteem. I know these are likely to drive the plot forward, but it was a little disappointing at times. Her work crew also felt lackluster despite the fact that they were also supposed to be highly trained agents but often served as cardboard caricatures to further Hannah’s character development along (slimy Robby, betraying Taylor, etc). In contrast, however, I really enjoyed Jack’s family and wish Hannah’s supporting cast had been a bit more fleshed out like them. There’s also just some really hilarious moments/quirks to this story (a corgi-breeding stalker was really a unique touch, I must say).

Overall: The Bodyguard is a fun, quick read that definitely feels like a rom-com, with all of the wonderful and cringey moments that the genre entails. It does put a unique spin on its premise, but could do with a bit more character development of its supporting cast and a few more believable touches. However, I laughed a lot when reading it!

A completely entertaining and satisfying rom-com! 4 out of 5 stars and a book I will definitely recommend.

First, I have to give credit to any author who is able to introduce me to a new profession. It's so easy to write about something we all know or see in pop-culture (publishing, the medical field, teaching, etc), and I enjoy it when an author deviates from those norms and introduces us to something new - - like a woman who works for an Executive Protection Agency!

Hannah was a strong main character. I found her funny without being overly quirky. She reminded me a bit of Sandra Bullock's character in Miss Congeniality and I LOVED it! Her tension and banter with Jack was excellently written and I was rooting for them the entire time.

This book was joyful to read and checked every box on my rom-com wishlist.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this book!

«DEVOURED IN ONE SITTING»
I’m not sure if there’s a bigger compliment to a book than describing it as compulsively readable and devouring it in one sitting. This is not happened for me in quite some time!
Without spoiling too much, Hannah Brooks is a professional. A professional bodyguard. A professional jujitsu martial artist, A professional avoider of all her problems.
So when her mother dies and her boyfriend/coworker dumps her the next day it’s no surprise Hannah’s boss forces her to take a leave of absence, Hannah doesn’t know how to deal. She constantly refers to herself as a shark, meaning she needs to keep moving or she’ll die.
Her plans for permanently escaping her current situation are derailed when her boss assigns her to a local job with the agency’s most famous client to date.

The Bodyguard is an excellent gender flipped premise with really enjoyable tropes such as: forced proximity, one bed, slow burn, coworkers to lovers

Hannah is a private bodyguard with a fair amount of bad assery to her. However, she’s been deceived by people very close to her. Her new assignment is to deceive new people.
I was impressed. by Hannahs’a skills and talents and wanted learn more.
I was a tad bit disappointed when she seems to change in character a bit.
It’s a good read with a good message.

I was provided a free advanced copy of this from @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.
Although she looks like a petite polite lady, Hannah knows how to take down people twice her size and even kill you with as little as a wine bottle opener! Working at a prestigious Executive Protection Agency she has served as a bodyguard for a lot of rich and famous people. But none quite as famous as Jack Stapleton. And whereas she normally tries to fade into the background, she is now asked to pretend to be his girlfriend! This was definitely NOT the job she signed up for! Then again... Who wouldn't want to pretend to be a superstar's girlfriend for a little while. Although, it may be hard to figure out where the acting ends, and possible real feelings begin!
I have read two of Katherine Center's previous books, and didn't like this one quite as much as those. I debated between 3 and 4 stars, but ultimately chose three because it was a lot fluffier than her others, and Hannah was a bit of a hard character to like. She has gone through some tough things, and built up her defenses, but it was hard to see the chemistry between Jack and her. It was still a fun read, and had some twists I didn't see coming!
It is set to be published in Tuesday (19 July), so add it to your TBR and check it out when it becomes available!
#NetGalley #TheBodyguard

Fun summer rom com. I liked the characters of Jake and Hannah and his parents! An unlikely romance on a ranch outside of Houston is the setting for this entertaining heartwarming story with lots of laughs.

This book was AMAZING.

This author was new to me but it sounded like a good read. This book is one of the funniest and most entertaining stories ever! It tells the story of Hannah, who is an Executive Protection Agent, hired to work for Hollywood star Jack Stapleton, who comes home to Texas to spend time with his sick mother. He doesn’t want his family to know that he has a bodyguard, so he convinces Hannah to pretend to be his girlfriend.

These two characters have amazing banter and chemistry and the story that unfolds is so great! Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Katherine Center, and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I received this as an arc in exchange for an honest review.

And HONESTLY IM OBSESSED.

The FUNNIEST female main character ever. Hannah, the grumpy workaholic bodyguard is my new comfort character.
Combine her with fake dating a celebrity on his families picturesque farm???!?!
Plus moments that were so tender and deep enough to make me cry paired with the actual cackles I was releasing reading this book...

Absolutely perfect.

Perfection! Fake dating, celebrity romance and a bad-ass heroine! An amazing feel-good rom com that I could not put down! And ugh the ending! So so good!
Loved this one so much I had to order a physical copy after reading the e-arc and I will be eagerly awaiting the release of the audiobook!

After the loss of her mom and subsequent break up with her boyfriend/coworker, bodyguard Hannah is in a bit of a slump. She is hopeful that her next big job will send her to an exciting and exotic location, but she is surprised to learn the next target she is to protect is right at home in Houston, TX. What she doesn’t know is that she will be tasked with protecting famous actor Jack Stapleton from his corgi-loving stalker who is back in Houston to help his mom recover from surgery. But there’s a catch: Jack doesn’t want his family to worry about his stalker, so Hannah will have to pretend to be his girlfriend…

I loved the banter, heart-warming moments and charming family dynamic. Jack’s parents were absolutely stars! After what has been a pretty heavy month, this book was exactly what I needed. I’ve read all of Katherine Center’s books so far and she has absolutely cemented herself as an auto-buy author!

Oh my goodness, where do I begin? I absolutely loved this book! Katherine Center always writes such strong female characters, and she does not disappoint with Hannah.

Hannah is an Executive Protection Agent, hired to work for Hollywood star Jack Stapleton, who comes home to Texas to spend time with his sick mother. He doesn’t want his family to know that he has a bodyguard, so he convinces Hannah to pretend to be his girlfriend.

Hannah and Jack have such good banter that I found myself smiling throughout the book. Both characters have their flaws, but I found myself rooting for them the entire time.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy. This book publishes July 19, 2022.

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center is a romance about Hannah Brooks, a bodyguard, hired to look after Jack Stapleton, a superstar actor. Jack has a stalker that Hannah has to watch out for while she is at Jack's family's Texas ranch. Part of her cover for being there is that she is dating Jack, so obviously this leads to lots of fun stories and mishaps. This was a really fun and enjoyable read. I highly recommend this book as well as Katherine Center's other books. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

The Bodyguard is my fourth book by this author. It is a mix of contemporary romance and women's fiction.

The narrator is Hannah (1st person POV). She is an Executive Protection Agent.

For some reason the cover made me think that this was going to be a romantic comedy. But the book starts off the day after her mom's funeral. This part was extremely difficult to read as my mom recently died.

The idea of a female bodyguard was fun. I really enjoyed the place where Hannah worked (and her boss and co-workers added a lot to the story).

Hannah was a very different type of heroine. She was not overly warm. She was super focused on her job. She was outwardly tough. I would definitely categorize her as a workaholic.

But the more that I read the more I grew to like her. I enjoyed the case that she worked on. And the banter was so fun. I adored Jack. And his mom Connie. She was such a loving mom and it made me miss my mom so much.

Overall this was a super quick read. And even though it wasn't exactly what I was expecting I did enjoy the book.

I really had high hopes for this book. It was posted all over social media with such high reviews. I really wasn't a fan of our main character. She's a workaholic with not much of a personality. I didn't enjoy her explanation of how she got the job as a bodyguard. I really wasn't a fan of how the breaks the 4th wall multiple times by having the main character talk to us. I hate when books do this and they take me out of the book entirely.

Read if you love:
👢Fake dating
👢So much mutual pining
👢Friendship pins
👢Found family
👢Strong heroines
👢Only one bed
👢Movie stars
👢Grand gestures
👢Satisfying epilogues

“𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒇 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚—𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚, 𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚, 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍-𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚—𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒆.”

Gosh, I don’t even know where to start. Please excuse this review that probably won’t make sense and the word vomit that is to follow.

I freaking loved this book — from the first word to the last — this has got to be one of the most satisfying books I’ve ever read. It’s definitely now one of my favorite books of all time. Like I just want to walk around with this book…hugging it like it’s a security blanket. Thank you, Katherine Center, for this amazing story. Here’s what I loved…this may be spoilery. I’m sorry..you’ve been warned.

•Hannah being unapologetically Hannah and her super confidence in being a bodyguard. “I could kill you with a bottle opener.”
•The way Hannah handled the betrayal…go girl. “I hope he’s worth it.”
•Jack and Hannah meeting and Hannah manhandling him…hilarious! “Jujitsu me!”
•Jack calling Robby — Bobby
•Glenn
•Australian freckles
•”You look like a Victorian child.”
•Jack not acting.
•Jack smelling Hannah.
•Stumps!
•Jack and Hannah sharing their trauma.
•Jack’s family
•”Jack and Kennedy. Holy cow. What a preposterous couple name.”
•The cows
•”You’re hilarious. You’re like a chihuahua.”
•”Their the befores…you’re the after.”

Sooooo much more. I fell in love with both Jack and Hannah. Jack is probably one of my favorite book boyfriends of all time. Though the story is completely told through Hannah’s POV — you could easily see how much he cared for Hannah and pined for her. I loved Hannah discovering real love and realizing that she is lovable. I just loved everything about this book and I think you should read it too!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's for an opportunity to read The Bodyguard before its release date. All opinions are my own.

First off, I loved this book! I must not have read the description that carefully because I didn't realize the bodyguard was the female protagonist. I loved that twist on a traditonal rom com. This book made me cringe, laugh out loud and tear up at times. It was the perfect, quick summer read. I loved the characters - both good and bad. It had a very satisfying ending for all involved.

This was my first Katherine Center book but it won't be my last.

What a fantastic rom com!! I’ve never met a Katherine Center book that I didn’t adore, and The Bodyguard did not disappoint. Hannah is a unlikely bodyguard, assigned to protect handsome movie star Jack… who doesn’t quite want a bodyguard in the first place. As expected, things do not quite go as planned when she “protects” him by being his fake girlfriend. This book made me laugh and cry, and even had a bit of mysterious intrigue thrown in for good measure. My favorite part about Katherine Center’s books is that she explores characters’ humanity so well. In this novel she focuses in on grief, loss, and a bit of trauma in a gentle, caring way. This book is absolutely amazing!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced ebook copy. All opinions are my own.

I was in a crappy mood recently, but this one had me smiling 😄 I do think this was a little different from the author's previous books! My favorites before were Happiness For Beginners and Things You Save In A Fire, but I think this one has surpassed them now!❣️⁣
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The Bodyguard felt a bit rom-com-ish but I wouldn't completely categorize it as a romance either. It reminded me of some of those Sandra Bullock movies(which I absolutely love)⁣
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Hannah Brooks is an Executive Protection Agent, who has just lost her mom and though she wants to distract herself from her grief by working, her boss won't allow it. To add insult to injury, her boyfriend Robby (who's a real tool tbh) dumps her the day after her mom's funeral. She then gets assigned to protect Jack Stapleton, a famous movie star who took a break from acting a few years back. He's back in his hometown to accompany his family as his mom gets a surgery done, but he's got a weird stalker fan that he doesn't want them to worry about. So he asks Hannah to pretend to be his girlfriend as she 'accompanies' him on protection duty. And as they spend more time together he has her wondering is it real or is Jack just too good at acting?⁣
⁣
I've got to say fake dating is one of my top favorite tropes! Their first meeting was hilarious 🤣 and Hannah is very good at her job lol. Jack was also pretty cute and earnest. Almost all the interactions between them were so amusing because of the banter and the way they were just so comfortable with each other! There were some heavy topics, but that was balanced well with the humor and romance!⁣
If you're looking to read something this month that makes you feel good, I'll definitely recommend this one! It comes out on July 19th!❣️

*I was provided with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I have to say: this book was a treat for me. 5/5, I’m talking responsibilities ignored, shut yourself in a room with a “do not disturb” sign, and refuse to put down until the end, kind of book.

Katherine Center proves that a closed-door romance can be packed with chemistry, humor, and action. Yet, masterfully balanced out with a good side of angst and tender moments.

Hannah Brooks, body guard, is not your typical leading lady in most romances. She is gritty, though, strong, and could come off as difficult to love. However, she grew on me and I admired her for her strengths and the faults she worked hard to overcome.

Jack Stapleton, sexiest man alive and famous actor, was her opposite, a charming Hollywood heart throb . That was until you begin to see him though Hannah’s eyes and notice the many layers underneath the Hollywood star persona.

Both carried regrets and insecurities which made the relationship that developed between them authentic and special. Although this was a closed door romance, the chemistry and emotions were well paced and took front row seat in this story. However, The plot itself was great and kept you guessing as to what would happen next.

My first book by Katherine Center and but certainly not my last. This story checked all the boxes for me. With its well thought out plot, intriguing characters, a strong female lead and charismatic hero, The Bodyguard is not in to be missed! Highly recommend!

I was provided an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts and review.