When I saw Katherine Center was writing a bodyguard romance, I was thrilled. I've read several bodyguard romances, but I don't think I've ever read one where the bodyguard was a woman.

Hannah Brooks is tough. She may not look it at 5'5" with a petite frame, but she can (and has) take a grown man down easily. Jack Stapleton is a famous actor who has a stalker and even though he doesn't want a bodyguard he has one. The issue is, his mom is sick and he doesn't want to worry her more, so instead of bringing a bodyguard home, he brings home his new girlfriend... Hannah.

I love a good fake dating romance and this also had a bit of the grumpy sunshine troupe I love so much. Jack was most definitely the sunshine character in this story. He showed Hannah there was more to life than just work and I loved how Hannah went from protecting Jack, to being his friend, and of course watching them fall in love. Sigh.

Katherine Center writes an emotional, fun, and heartwarming romance with The Bodyguard. It was entertaining and I didn't want to put it down. If you're in the mood for a feel good read with lots of heart, pick this one up!

This was my first story by Katherine Center and I really enjoyed her writing style. I wasn’t in love with the first half of the book, but really enjoyed the second half. I was conflicted on Hannah in the beginning because she has such a power job but emotionally was very immature. She was in love with Jack before we really saw his personality. Jack was very sweet but he could have been more fleshed out, especially for the MMC. In the end, I thought the two worked well together but needed just a little more development between them. I really liked seeing Hannah’s growth and her finding self love. This is a solid 3.5 closed door rom-com.

I would give The Bodyguard 10 stars if I could - I absolutely loved it! I was expecting the usual romance using the celebrity/non-celebrity trope, but I should have known that anything written by Katherine Center would not qualify as the “usual”. Funny, heartwarming, and SO romantic, The Bodyguard has depth and a little twist at the end, that was just right.

So conflicted on this book! I LOVED the premise and adored both Hannah and Jack, but the writing fell flat for me. Jack was so charming and I also loved his family, but a lot of the dialogue between characters felt jilted. Some of the things especially that Taylor and Robby said were just super corny and didn't feel realistic or have any motivation behind them at all? And it pissed me off how fast Hannah forgave Taylor! I'll definitely give it another read when it comes out to see if I feel differently, but I just wish the writing was little more cohesive since I couldn't tell how serious a lot of moments were.

Hannah Brooks is an Executive Protection Agent, otherwise known as a bodyguard. She's had the worst week of her life. Her mother just died and then her before/coworker dumped her the next day. If things couldn't get worse her best friend (also a fellow coworker) is sleeping with her ex.

John Stapleton is a Hollywood Hunk A-list movie star who needs protecting. Hannah's firm is all hands-on deck, and she is the lead agent protecting the asset.

Yes, there were parts of the story that was so far-fetched it made it hard to accept, but that's the point with writing fiction. For me, the comedy outweighed the cheesy hard to believe factor. I laughed a lot throughout this book.

Thank you Saint Martin’s press for gifting me a physical copy of the bodyguard.

This book is exactly what you expect. It's easy to read and a good choice for a light summer beach read. I would have liked a few more interactions between Hannah and Jack as they got to know each other, or for something a little more than her always making him laugh. And if I'm being honest, I was sick of the writing style by the end. But overall, it delivers what it's supposed to and is an enjoyable book.

Katherine Center does it again!
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I was in a major reading slump, and The Bodyguard pulled me right out. I stayed up way too late to finish this one - once I hit the 50% mark I couldn’t put it down.
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The characters are so well developed and easy to fall in love with. The story was unique and a bit quirky, but still had such heart and depth.
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And don’t get me started on the fake relationship trope - so well done and swoony! Sexy movie star + a small but mighty female bodyguard 💀!!! Just so fun!
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You’ll definitely want to put this on your tbr!
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Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors and The Bodyguard is one of her best! A romance novel with an unusual plot - the protagonist is a bodyguard for a movie star! You can see the ending coming from a mile away but that’s what makes it so satisfying and fun to read. Perfect for the beach. I received a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my favorite reads lately!!! Katherine Center always hits the mark for me. I love her storytelling and her outlook on love. If you want a heartwarming contemporary romance that will both make you laugh and pull on your heartstrings, The Bodyguard is it!

Katherine Center always writes fun books, perfect for getting away from it all for a while. She writes the dialogue between characters especially well which keeps me laughing out loud throughout the story. In fact, I have a tendency to race through the pages just because I'm having such a great time and want to see what happens next. The premise for this one is a bit different in the grand scheme of things. Hannah is assigned to be a bodyguard for a popular movie star, Jack, who has come home to be with his mother as she faces serious health issues. He's not sure it's necessary to have a bodyguard. And her heart isn't exactly in it either. But it may mean a big promotion for her, IF she can convince Jack, and her boss, that she knows what she's doing. There's much more to the story than that. But I don't want to give too much away. I can tell you that reading this will make you happy, no matter what mood you were in before you picked it up. Thank you to #NetGalley for my copy. And for a brighter day or two.

This was a cute and fun story, but somewhat unbelievable and a little over the top for me. Sadly, I'm not loving Center's more recent books a much as I've loved her backlist books. I will likely keep reading her, but I hope she puts a bit more depth into her books moving forward.

I adore Katherine Center! She is one of my favorite authors and this book didn't disappoint.

This book was not what I was expecting by the title. BUT I loved it! You have a female bodyguard aimed to protect this very sexy movie star. Can she keep it all professional? You will have to read to find out.

This book gets all the stars!! Pre-order this NOW!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, for this free review copy.


Katherine Center does it again 👏 I loved the setting, the characters, especially Jack and Hannah! Jacks parents were super cute, and I loved the whole setting of the ranch. Hannah being a body guard is different, but good!! Overall I really enjoyed this super cute romcom, and as always, look forward to more from Center! I can quickly see this becoming a movie, and it would be such a fun one to watch. 🤞

The Bodyguard comes out July 19th, 2022.

"And I will always love you!!!" Katherine Center, it is true that I will always love you, but unfortunately, The Bodyguard didn't live up to my Kevin Costner expectations. Hannah works for an executive protection agency. In short, she's a bodyguard. She lands the job of a lifetime when she's contracted to protect Hollywood hunk Jack Stapleton. Not only does she get to guard Jack, she gets to pretend to be his girlfriend. You can probably see where this storyline is going without me needing to say more. Center is a lovely writer and her books always make me laugh out loud. But this one just had a bit too much cheese for me to totally love. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest feedback.

I received an ARC for an honest review. Read it in a day! I loved the direct, first person narrative-I literally laughed out loud multiple times reading this. Did I feel like the plot was a bit thin? Yes-it's a pretty contrived scenario but it didn't impact my enjoyment of this book at all. Such excellent, funny dialogue and also-regular people meeting celebrities is my favorite trope.

Katherine Center always gives me just what I need at the time that I need it. I've been reading some very heavy material and needed something light, fun and a little campy. The Bodyguard fit the bill!

Where do we start?

Hannah is a girl after my own heart. Strong and Sassy and takes no prisoners. I loved the relationship she had with Jack. It felt authentic once they got to "the ranch" . Outside noise is the worst. Once you have zero interference from the outside world things become much cleared.

Jack is such a gentleman. His love for his family and especially his momma made my heart melt. He was the sweetest with his family even after they faced such a horrible tragedy.

It all came together really well probably too well.

Katherine Center is an auto-read for me.

This was definitely more 4.5 than 4 stars but unfortunately good reads doesn't allow half star ratings.

This rom com treasure was ADORABLE and the way that it was written was such a breath of fresh air. It was exactly the read that I needed to get over my book hangover.

Hannah is the not so obvious choice for a bodyguard, and she knows she's not supposed to get attached to her assignments. After a rough break up with her boyfriend and the death of her mother her assignment to protect the notorious bodyguard Jack Stapleton comes at what may be the worst time for her. If she wants London she has to do this so she ends up forced to stay with Jack out on his family ranch to protect him.

The sparks FLY in this one and the lines between real and pretend start to blur. And let me just stop here before I give too much away but good luck putting this gem down.

3.5 stars!!

"Every chance you take is a choice. A choice to decide who you are."

I thought this was such a cute story. It starts off a little heavy with Hannah mourning her mother and turns into a fast paced, laugh out loud story. I loved Hannah's role in the story and was immediately intrigued that the female lead is an executive protection agent aka bodyguard. Women empowerment!! With that being said, I didn't particularly like her. I thought she was very immature and unprofessional in a way. Some of the things she did was cringe worthy. I loved Jack and his family! I really loved getting to know them and seeing everything that they had been through. I feel like they were genuinely down to earth people. I've never really cared for reading about celebrities, even fictional ones, but I really enjoyed it. The ending really caught me off guard. The situation became surprisingly tense. The book did deal with things that may be triggering to some, but it was handled very well. I liked the writing style/storytelling, I just don't particularly like when the MC is talking in a way that makes it seem like they are talking/explaining to the reader. Overall, I thought this was a fun read. I've heard so many wonderful things about this author and so happy I got to experience it.

ADD, dyslexia, and dysgraphia respesentation

TW: death by drunk driving/drowning, stalking, attempting suicide, abuse

Fake dating ✔️
Forced proximity ✔️

Hannah is a bodyguard for the 1%. Celebrities, dignitaries, politicians. Hannah travels all over the world to protect the rich and famous. Fresh off a breakup she is given an assignment to work with heart throb actor Jack Stapleton who is back home in Texas to be with his ailing mother.

Katherine Center books feel like a warm hug. The writing is quick and witty. This is a closed door romance which I typically don’t prefer. (I like some steam) 🔥 BUT her writing is so good that you don’t really miss it.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC. This was a solid 3.5/5 for me. I didn’t rate it higher because there were parts where I felt I needed “more”. It’s mentioned several times that Hannah doesn’t have a close relationship with her mom, but why? I also didn’t care for the best friend/ex bf storyline. It seemed implausible that Hannah would date such a jerk to begin with. This story is far fetched but it was fun! It would make for a great rom com.

4.5 stars

Hannah Brooks may look like a kindergarten teacher, but she's a certified Executive Protection agent. In other words, she is a bodyguard and she can kill you with a wine bottle opener. Her new assignment? Protecting Hollywood superstar Jack Stapleton from a stalker. How? By pretending to be Jack's girlfriend while they stay with his family at their Texas ranch. Easy, right?

Okay, how is this my first Katherine Center book?! The Bodyguard was such a pleasant surprise!! I LOVED the writing style and I especially loved Hannah's voice as the narrator. She cracked me up as much as she made Jack laugh his butt off 😂😂😂 I love how Hannah is the only one who makes Jack laugh—this is one of my favourite niche tropes. Both Hannah and Jack are well-developed characters with rich backstories. Additionally, both Hannah and Jack have to deal with the death of a loved one and the author does a great job navigating this serious theme in a novel that is 99% romantic comedy.

I only have two complaints. Firstly, "mean" characters such as Robby and Kennedy had zero depth and were basically caricatures. They were not as fleshed out as the other supporting characters. They were designed to be the mean and shallow exes and they remained mean and shallow until the end. My last complaint has to do with the doll metaphor, which did not sit well with me. I know what the author was aiming for, but the wording of the metaphor made me uncomfortable. Aside from these two complaints, The Bodyguard was pretty much the perfect romantic comedy.

If you're looking for a rom-com that is written like an actual rom-com and has a lot of laugh out loud moments, then I highly recommend The Bodyguard! The romance is closed door with some brief kissing, but trust me—Katherine Center's writing is so good that steam is not even needed! I said what I said! Steam is not even required in this delightful book! I need Netflix to adapt this book ASAP!!