I'm so glad this book is finally being published so more people will get to read this delightful read. Katherine Center has become a favorite author of mine, though admittedly I'm still making my way through her backlist.

This one focuses on Hannah, an executive protection officer who takes her job incredibly seriously. When she takes on the role of protecting famous actor Jack Stapleton while he cares for his sick mother, she is just doing so in order to snag a promotion. But of course feelings develop during their forced proximity, and Hannah is forced to confront her own issues and childhood traumas. This is where the book really shines with its emotional depth while still being heartwarming. Jack Stapleton is a dream book boyfriend, even if he is a bit too perfect (but is so Hannah). I stayed up past my bedtime reading this one (and listened to the audio while working), and laughed out loud in a few places. The ending was a bit suspenseful, and kept it from being too predictable. If you can't tell, I really enjoyed this one. This is a great summer read if you're looking for a brain candy book.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC, and St. Martin's Press for the advanced e-copy.

Captivating storyline. Excellent narration by Patti Murin. I highly recommend this romantic comedy/mystery. Very entertaining and engaging plot that keeps you guessing and rooting for the heroine in both business and love. (Hannah swears she can keep those two things separate.) That was until she met Jack., the hunky Hollywood star she is hired to protect.
Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced review copy. In return, I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

The Bodyguard
By: Katherine Center
⭐️
I listened to The Bodyguard by Katherine Center and enjoyed every minute of this audiobook narrated by @PattiMurin. Thank you @Macmillan.audio & @Netgalley for the chance to listen prior to publishing! Happy to be able to post my review today - 1 day before publishing day 🎉
⭐️
Oh my gosh - I could not stop listening! This audiobook made my drives to and from work so much more enjoyable! I felt connected to the main character of the book within minutes of listening. I sympathized with her as she grieved her mothers death in the first few pages and rooted for her throughout the entire story. Team Hannah all the way!
⭐️
I loved the strong female lead - Hannah is powerful, confident, and a successful bodyguard/executive protection agent (particularly for celebrity Jack Stapleton in this story). As Hannah provides her services for Jack’s protection, it gets more and more difficult for them to keep things strictly professional… Jack was a puzzle for Hannah to figure out, she couldn’t tell whether he was putting on “an act” or being genuine & the more you read/listen, the more he opens up and reveals his true (and admirable) character. What a twist towards the end!!! It was heartbreaking. Definitely upsetting but I still couldn’t stop listening and the ending is so sweet. 😭💔
⭐️
This book was entertaining and I would highly recommend - it was a light, easy listen - the perfect summer book! And - I could 10000% see this as being the sweetest movie!
⭐️
Read this if you enjoy:
- Fake dating / Forced proximity tropes 🤫
- Drama / Romance / Fiction
⭐️
Overall 4.5/5!

The Bodyguard by Catherine Center is a hilarious romantic comedy. It tells the story of Hannah, an extremely experienced bodyguard taking on her first protection job of a mega-superstar. Jack has come back home to be with his mother while she is recovering from an illness. Hannah’s job is to protect him from a stalker, but Jack does not want his family to know, so she pretends to be his girlfriend. They are both acting – or are they?
This is a perfect summer read or as I did, listen to the audio version. Patti Murin does an excellent job as narrator, especially with the women’s voices, however, I was distracted by her attempts at differentiating the many male voices beyond Jack, the male lead of the story. I think that having an additional male narrator would have helped the story flow more easily.
Thank you to NetGallery for the Advanced Audio version of this book.

I really enjoyed this book. A romance troupe flipped on its head with the woman interest as the protector. Emotional turmoil and hard truths were faced. It could use some more discussion of mental health journeyed but overall a positive representation of struggle and triumph. Good twist too.

I loved this! I loved the characters and how the develop and grow through the book. I love the banter and snark. But most of all, I loved Hannah and Jack; I loved the way their relationship developed through the book. I loved how they interacted with each other and with the other characters in the book. It was all so wholesome and real. This is a great feel-good book, perfect for a beach vacation or a rainy weekend.

Audio was well done, no issues.

This was such a fun rom-com. When I read the premise of this book I really thought it was a hard buy in for me because it seemed extremely unrealistic. But somehow Katherine Center did it. She convinced me that it was plausible and I have to give her kudos for that. I loved the two main characters and their quirks. What a wonderful closed door romance to include in my summer reading.

Let me start with first saying the premise of this book is a bit far-fetched. Is this real-life, short answer no. And that has nothing to do with a female bodyguard but just the whole set up. However, the book is fun and cute and has so many real elements to it that it doesn't matter. We are reading fiction so it doesn't always have to make full, real-world, sense. However, if that is something you need to enjoy a book then go into this one with eyes wide open.

The characters were frustrating and flawed. They had egos and baggage and all the real things people have in life. By the end though I appreciated their arc, I appreciated the side-characters, especially Jack's mom. I also love some good banter and this book delivered on that front.

I definitely recommend picking this one up to anyone looking for an enjoyable romance read. I do also recommend this one on audio for those interested in the audio format.

3 - this was so fun, I have so many comments but also it was kinda entertaining....

so yes don't get me wrong I really enjoyed the reversal of the bodyguard idea, HOWEVER, this book is filled with 'pick me' lines and degrading other women for the fmc's self esteem. His ex is a famous like model or something; basically she was famous for being attractive or smth and a lot of the plot hinged on shaming her. Either about how she got cosmetic surgery or wore makeup and she was made into this very negative stereotype, then compared against the fmc, who was 'real' according the the LI, which made me roll my eyes. Yes, this was fun at times and had a good level of emotion but the woman bashing for the sake of the fmc was a bit much for me.

Also there is a lot of tragedy in this book it is not really a happy book, ‼️ SPOILERS? ‼️ it starts with her mom dying and his brother is also passed and it was just a lot of possible triggers (PLEASE CHECK TW/CW) packed into one book which like is fine but the description doesn’t really prepare you for the way some of these things are handled and it's like not all that light tbh especially towards the end. I think there are some people who will enjoy this book but definitely check tw/cw and be prepared for some women bashing on women and not great stereotyping of the LI’s ex.

Graphic: Car accident, Grief, Sexism, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Body horror, Gun violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Violence, Suicide, Cancer, and Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny
Minor: Ableism and Violence

This was my first Katherine Center book and she did not disappoint. I had a hard time putting this book down and just wanted to see where it was going. I loved that the rolls were reversed and Hannah was the one doing the protecting. I would definitely be recommending this book to others and am looking forward to reading more of her books in the future.

Hannah has an interesting profession; she is a badass bodyguard and an insane workaholic. Unfortunately, life isn't going great for Hannah. Her mother passes away, her boyfriend dumps her, and she isn't getting the assignments she wants. Hannah is forced on a domestic assignment where she has to protect the gorgeous movie star Jack Stapelton while he spends time with his mother who is unwell. Hannah ends up fake dating Jack while she protects him but is her heart protected as well?

It was cute to read a bodyguard romance where the girl does the protecting. Add some fake dating into the mix and you have a fun breezy quick read.  Jack and Hannah were interesting protagonists. Jack's parents were super cool. Some cliches with side characters but overall I enjoyed reading it. 

Thank you Macmillan Audio for sending me the ALC of the book.

Tropes: Celebrity Romance, Fake Dating, Only One Bed, Forced Proximity

I wanted to like this much more than I did. There were too many cut-scenes that must have included them falling in love. Plus the whole bodyguard thing ended up being incredibly unnecessary. She was barely a bodyguard. And the final bit was just extra for the relationship drama. I think a lot of people may like this, but not for me.

I’ve read multiple Kathrine Center books and this one is absolutely my favorite. A lot of the story takes place on a ranch and there are horses and cows. Hannah’s responses to the animals were hilarious.

This book really had Ms. Congeniality vibes and I was totally here for it. It was so fun and light-hearted with a little mystery thrown in for good measure.

The narrator was so awesome. There is a character named Kelly who legit reminded me of Kelly from the Office and the narration really highlighted her celeb-obsessed nature.

I really got a kick out of this book. Thanks so much to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for this audioARC.

I've been a big Katherine Center fan for a while now. She consistently puts out books that are heartwarming, uplifting, and absolutely delightful to read. In the past, I've felt like her books were more chick-lit than romance (maybe it's time for a re-read to reconsider), but The Bodyguard is definitely a sweet slow burn PG romance.

In a time when I was struggling to focus on reading, I couldn't put this one down. I'll put the synopsis in the comments, but basically Hannah is a "executive protection agent" who gets assigned to protect an A-list actor while he's in Texas helping with his sick mother. This is necessary in part because Jack is an A-list actor, but also because he's got a little bit of a stalker situation in the form of a corgi breeder who REALLY wants to have his babies. Not wanting to upset his mother with the bodyguard/stalker situation as she's undergoing cancer treatment, Jack convinces Hannah to pretend to be his girlfriend while they are staying at his parent's ranch.

Jack and Hannah were both fantastic characters that you can't help but love. They both have issues they need to work through, and we get to see a lot of that in the book. Their story had emotion and heart, just a little suspense to keep things interesting, and lots of snark and banter that had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion. I actually read this twice, once on ebook and once on audio. The audio was very well done on this one and I'd definitely recommend.

I do have to say, I'm all for corgi rep in my books, but not sure this is the rep I'd have picked 😂

This is the second book I’ve read by Katherine. The first one was How to Walk Away, which was absolutely amazing, so I was really excited that I got approved for the ARC (audio version) of The Bodyguard from Netgalley!

I really enjoyed this book. The Bodyguard is a clean romance novel that is full of heart, humor and cute characters. It is easy to read and makes you want more!

Katherine writes with a touch of humor and a dash of realism that creates interesting characters that are just as funny as they are charming.

I’m very particular with the narration of a book. Patti Murin was a great choice for the narrator!

The Bodyguard is a funny and clean romance perfect for book club or a summer night curled up on the couch with a glass of wine.

The Bodyguard was my first book from Katherine Center and now I want to go back and read her entire backlist. I absolutely flew through this book and it was exactly what I needed. It read like a true rom-com. Please tell me this is going to be adapted? I could picture it all perfectly!

Some of the storylines felt a little hit farfetched, but I think that's the point. This was escapism at its finest!

✨book review✨

Y’all, if anyone can get to me to read and love a traditionally published book these days, it’s going to be @katherinecenter!

The Bodyguard
Author: Katherine Center
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This one gives all the Miss Congeniality vibes and I’m 100% here for that!

Read this one if you love:
✨ a bodyguard romance
✨ a celebrity romance
✨ forced proximity
✨ opposites attract
✨ small town Texas vibes

My favorite thing about this book was the banter between Jack and Hannah. It was just perfection. I also loved that Hannah was the bodyguard, not Jack. Its a good change from the traditional bodyguard romance books.

There was definitely an emotional aspect to this book that I wasn’t expecting but it made me like it so much more. Both characters were struggling with something and they could work through it together.

This book is really good it was funny the characters worked good together loved the plot and the pacing were on point and I enjoyed the narrator.

Hannah works as an executive protection agent (aka bodyguard). Her latest assignment has her working to protect Hollywood star, Jack Stapleton. Only this assignment has a twist, he doesn’t want his family to find out she’s his bodyguard and wants her to instead pretend to be his girlfriend. She typically has no problem staying professional with her clients, but with Jack the lines very quickly get blurred.

I adore Katherine Center’s previous books and was so excited to read The Bodyguard and I am so happy to say it did not disappoint. After reading the author’s note, I thought it was interesting that she worried this book would be “too fun”. However, after reading, I can say it was truly the perfect amount of fun with a little bit of emotion in there too. This was truly a joy to read.

I switched between formats on this one, and when listening to the audiobook, I truly enjoyed Patti Muri’s performance. She did the narration flawlessly.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the advance copy.

From the outside, you would never except Hannah Brooks has the skills to take down a grown man or kill someone with a corkscrew, but she totally does. Hannah is an Executive Protection Agent (aka bodyguard), and her latest detail is famously handsome actor, Jack Stapleton. Jack is known world-wide for his superhero action movies, but hasn’t been in the public eye since his brother died a few years earlier. Back home in Texas and trying to avoid a middle-aged Corgi breeding stalker, Jack’s team hires Hannah and her colleagues to provide protection.

Get ready for fake dating, forced proximity, and also one of the most aggravating ex-boyfriends ever! While The Bodyguard doesn’t have any spicy scenes it is a slow-burn relationship story where we see both main characters grow personally and grow towards each other. I usually love a dual POV, but the single narration worked really well for this one!

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book!