Favorite romance of year I think! I loved the strong woman protagonist and her journey to find herself. Plus, how cool is a female bodyguard! The romance is palpable and the dude seems super amazing.

The best part was the narrator though. Her intonation made this audio so enjoyable and easy to follow. She helped me paint a picture in my mind of exactly whats happening.

Also, even though there was a “threat” … it turned around and made me smile. No loose ends (thank goodness) to close it out.

Thank you Net Galley for an ARC of The Bodyguard by Katherine Center. Wow! She did it again. This was a totally heart warming romance that I would recommend to anyone. Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors and this is totally why. What a beautiful book, I should say another beautiful book.

Thank you to SMP Romance for sending an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I'l be honest, going in I wasn't entirely certain if I'd enjoy it. I'm not realy interested in Southern romances or anything based in texas, but I have only heard great things about it!

And surprise, I loved it! I thought Hannah was a wonderful character who is a bodyguard and is still grieving from the loss of her mom and the breaking up of her boyfriend/co-worker on the same night of the funeral. When she's assigned to actor JAck stapelton, it's the last thing she wants.

Until it isn't.

Overall ,I thought it was a really well crafted romance, and I found myself struggling to put it down! I also thought the audiobook narrato did a great job with it. I was admittedly confused at the twist in the end and needed to have a work with the author until I fgure out where she was going with it.

A note: this is a very very whtie book. Although I did enjoy it, I know that Texas has BIPOC, so I wish we'd seen just a bit of diversity (like, unless I'm missing something, I'm pretty sure the entire cast was white), otherwise I still enjoyed it!

CW: grief and death of a parent

This book is SO good I already read it twice! Amazing narration. See below for original review about the book!

LOVED LOVED LOVED!!! I couldn’t put it down. Compared to the two other books I read by Center, this was more of a romance than a women’s fiction. Still, there were emotional moments, laugh out loud moments, and suspenseful moments.

What I loved:
-The important of family and forgiveness
-Similar to Things You Save in a Fire (one of my all time favorite books), we get to see another women in a predominantly male profession and watch her kick ass
-The fake dating trope
-The banter and chemistry between Hannah and Jack
-The vivid descriptions of life on the Texas ranch
-The epilogue, which was one of the best I’ve read in a while with so much closure and happiness

Honestly, I can’t think of anything I didn’t like. I literally was not ready to say goodbye to Hannah, Jack, Glenn, Connie and the rest of the supporting characters. My heart is so full!

4.5 ⭐️

I went into this one totally blind. I have loved every other KC book I’ve read thus far, so I need not read the synopsis to know I must read whatever she’s writing. I was so excited when I was approved for the audio ARC, and couldn’t wait to dive in.

The Bodyguard was everything you could want in a rom-com. It was fun, entertaining, and full of feels. It had the perfect mix lol humor, heartwarming moments, and even a little suspense sprinkled in. The story was well written, and had that charming Katherine Center feel to it, so of course it was hard to put down. I loved the great mix characters and the strong focus on family. This will make the best Summer read.

Patti Murin was the narrator and she did a fantastic job! I am happy to say my 2nd Netgalley audiobook was a much better experience.

What I loved;
💛Forced proximity
💛Fake dating
💛Loveable characters
💛Swoony romance

The Bodyguard is available July 19, 2022. It was sweet, and touching, and you will absolutely want to read it!

Thank you @Netgalley and @MacmillanAudio for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Every year I look forward to a new Katherine Center rom-com. The Bodyguard is the perfect summer listen! I don’t want to talk about the plot too much because one of my favorite things about the book is how the story unfolds, with a few, small unexpected surprises. I went into the book completely blind & it worked for me. There’s a fake dating trope between a bodyguard & a movie star and I’ll leave it at that. Wonderful narration by Patti Murin!

Thanks so much to NetGalley & MacMillan Audio for providing me with an early copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I adore Katherine Center and would read her grocery list. I was so so excited to get approved of the audiobook for this one. I've never listened to an audiobook on Netgalley so this was a first, but I would do anything for A Katherine Center book.

I need to start this out by saying this book was very cheesy and kinda far fetched, but it was perfect for my rom com loving heart. Hannah's relationship with Jack was so natural and cute and gave me all the feels.

At the beginning of the book, my heart was broken for Hannah. So many things were going so wrong. And with Katherine Center's writing I was so empathic towards her. It was like she was my friend and I wanted to yell at everyone who was being so unfair towards her. But it ended up that she was her own badass and didn't need me help.

As with all of her books, this was about the lead and her growth and journey to figure out her worth and for Hannah's case that she is and always was lovable. And this was a lesson close to my heart that I need to remember more.

And sometimes if you get uncomfortable with a book because the characters are upset and distraught and it makes you feel things, keep reading. Because the end of the book will be that much more satisfying.

5/5

Great feel good book. Interesting characters that keep the story moving. Quick listen and I enjoyed the narrator.

The plot of The Bodyguard is excellent. The unassuming Hannah Brooks is actually a world-class Executive Protection Agent (aka “bodyguard”) tasked with protecting handsome, A-list movie star, Jack Stapleton. There is fake dating, forced proximity, and decent chemistry between Hannah and Jack.

Overall, this was a sweet, wholesome, and enjoyable story. Katherine Center has a knack for building tension and growing affection between the romantic leads of her novels. Patti Murin narrates the audiobook version and does a nice job voicing the various characters. I do wish that Hannah’s character was more self-confident. With her being a top performer in her high-stakes job, it was sad to see her be so insecure about her looks and what she has to offer a potential romantic partner. Can we let women be confident and also avoid comparisons to/disparaging remarks about other women?!

I recommend this to fans of Katherine Center’s other works and romance readers who enjoy forced proximity, celebrity romance, and fake dating tropes (with a dash of grumpy/sunshine). 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this ARC.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and SMP Romance for our gifted audiobook of The Bodyguard by Katherine Center. This book is available on July 19th, 2022.

Rating: 5 star (Can I give it more??)
Genre: Romance

This is hands down Katherine Center's best book. I LOVE LOVED this book. I definitely see this as a movie! I will say that this book has more romance than some of her other books.

I recommend this book if:
-You love Katherine Center's books.
-You loved the movie Miss Congeniality
-You love 90s romcoms!

What is your favorite Katherine Center book?

Fake dating
Girl body guards
Forced proximity
Laugh out loud, sweet swoony type of story. The Bodyguard was absolutely precious and I loved every second of it. It’s not often a book can capture my attention so fully that I rather not do other tasks because I rather finish the story. Even though it is a romcom, no worries, the spice level is at a .5 out of 5 so this book is able to be shared with everyone. The narrator did a fantastic job as well.

Special thanks to netgalley and McMillan audio for providing an audio arc in return for an honest review.

Although I would probably give Katherine Center's grocery list 5 stars, I really loved her take on the bodyguard trope. It was funny, touching, romantic, and best of all featured a woman as the bodyguard. Hannah is charged with protecting superstar Jack Stapleton who is in Houston because of a family crisis. He doesn't want his family to know he needs a bodyguard, so she has to pretend she is his girlfriend. The publishing date is July 19, 2022. Don't miss this one! Many thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an early look in exchange for an honest review.

This was so much fun and so adorable! Both celebrity and fake dating stories are almost over done at this point, so it takes a really good story to catch my interest, and this story definitely fit the bill! Everything about this from the setting to the characters to the premise were absolutely charming.

I absolutely loved the unique spin of Hannah's career as a bodyguard. It added a different dynamic to the relationship as she was the protector, which was fun to see.

I listened to the audiobook, and it was well-narrated.

Recommended if you're in the mood for a mostly light-hearted romcom!

Content: language, fade-to-black

This was such a cute and cozy rom-com!
The characters were so lovable and I loved the bodyguard plot. Being from North Dakota I love when books even briefly mention it! Definitely a great fast listen!

4/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC of The Bodyguard in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ARC. 3.5 stars, I really enjoyed The bodyguard by Katherine Center, it was very cutesy. Our female heroine is an executive protective agent/bodygaurd and has the crapiest month of her life. The very next month shes hired by an famous actors production company. She is hired to be his bodyguard and fake girlfriend. We definitely see growth in the heroine from the beginning to the end, she goes from a workaholic bodyguard to learning the meaning of love at the end. The only issue I have is that Hannah learns the meaning of love by falling in love with the actor Jack Stapleton. After years of being cold to everyone even her ex douche boyfriend she has an Epiphany about how to love and be loved.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for providing me with this ALC!

SHE’S a bodyguard, HE’s a superstar, they fake date?! What could go wrong!?!
Anyway I LOVED IT! Super cute, super fun! Fell in love with both main characters. Any romcom fan needs to add this to their TBR immediately!

I was so excited to see that this audiobook was narrated by Patti Murin. She is one of my favorite narrators. This was my first Katherine Center book, and it did not disappoint. It was emotional, romantic, and funny. It also had a bit of mystery. I look forward to reading more from this author and listen to more books narrated by Patti Murin.

I loved listening to this audiobook. Great narration of a truly fun, riotous, somewhat outlandish story that at its heart is about family, love, loss and moving forward. Hannah is an executive protection agent. In other words, she’s a bodyguard. It is what she does, who she is and she loves her job except for her twisted boss who is a huge ass, her ex, a co-worker who is narcissistic jerk so has zero self awareness whatsoever and her ex-bff who is now sleeping with said ex because she is “unlovable”. Wow. Hannah loses her mom and within 24 hours her BF breaks top with her with some truly unkind words. I repeat, narcissistic egomaniac who truly believes he is the be all end all. What is he is an idiot, but apparently so good at his job, their collective boss keeps throwing them together for assignments and mostly for his own sick twisted entertainment. Ex then tells her (in front of the entire staff) she shouldn’t get the assignment because who will believe that she, a plain ordinary bland looking boring woman would be believable as the girlfriend of one of the most bankable high profile move stars. Again, WOW! I so wanted someone to throat punch him, but thats just me. It’s funny, irreverent and ultimately a great learning experience that leads her to find out who she really is, what makes her happy and ultimately to love. A really fun sweet story. I cannot wait for what comes next from this truly wonderful author.

Katherine Center's brand-new audiobook The Bodyguard is a warm and loveable audio that will make you laugh out loud. With her funny and touching writing style Katherine Center does a great job placing you in the center of the action. The Bodyguard is a fun romantic rom-com that will grab your heart!

Synopsis:
Hannah Brooks is a bodyguard aka Executive Protection Agent. Even though Hannah is not your average bodyguard standing at only five feet two inches tall she refuses to let that stand in her way of being the most knowledgeable in the business. Due to a family crisis Hannah's current assignment is Hollywood A-lister Jack Stapleton, a gorgerous actor in Houston, Texas. As Hannah's assignment, she is to protect Jack from a stalker without his family finding out. Can Hannah accomplish this monumental task?

The Bodyguard is available on July 19th. Don't miss this brand-new audiobook by Katherine Center narrated by Patti Murin. (4.25 ⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to review this wonderful audiobook. Your kindness is appreciated.

Katherine Center writes very comforting, sweet, squeaky clean romances with a lot of heart. I was thrilled to get this advanced reader copy from St. Martin' Press because she is a wonderful cozy romance writer and that is exactly what I got. Set on an idyllic farm in Texas, a Type-A female body guard and her reclusive ex-actor client enter a fake relationshipto hide the existence of a overzealous fan from his family. Their relationship unfold painfully slowly but it was also very sweet. The perfect summer read for your bookclub