I loved this! The banter, the plot line, and the found family were well done in this fake dating adult rom com! I do wish there were some steam but overall I enjoyed this one and definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a sweet romance with comedic dialogue. I found myself laughing out loud often while listening to the audiobook.

The narration was done well. Patti Murin is definitely becoming one of my favorite romance narrators!

I loved this book. No one is more surprised by this than me -- I am particular with novels about celebrities, having worked in the entertainment industry. A lot of them get it wrong. This one got it so right.

Jack is such a great love interest, and Hannah is an incredibly interesting main character. I loved her point of view. Their relationship developed so well and so naturally, I really enjoyed seeing them open up slowly, and falling in love without even realizing it.

And the cast pf supporting characters! Everyone was so consistent and fun, I really felt like every single character from Hannah down to the fans at the hospital were so clearly written that I could picture their entire personalities and histories as I read. Really incredible character work there.

I also really loved the narrator. Her voice was natural and kept me engaged, even while reading while working. Her cadence was really great to listen to!

I'll be buying this one as a gift for some friends I know will love it. And I will definitely be reading future books by Center!!

I first saw Patti Murin in Frozen on broadway and I loved her voice then and it works so well in this adorable romance. Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ARC for my honest review.

Very easy, light hearted read! Concept was unique and easy to follow. I loved the book showing a powerful, career driven woman as that is not a common trope. Lots of fun to read!

A very sweet and enjoyable read. It is charming and just tugs at your heart. The characters are great and romance development was believable and genuine. This is a perfect beach read!

Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Semi forced - rebound - betrayal- fake dating - handsome manly options

Wanna get paid to play the girlfriend of a rich good looking movie star, for three weeks on a private ranch?

Yeah idk either his mom is gonna be there 🤷‍♀️🫣

The stocker is everything laughing and loving all of that mess.

I enjoyed this story it had a good pace to the story and the information, character connection was great the mom was funny at times but she’s going through things I’d say.

Recommended for lovers of light romances

Thank you NetGalley and the author for my copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to the Author and NetGalley for the audiobook copy for my honest review #netgalley @katherinecenter #thebodygaurd

"You don’t have to be perfect to be lovable.”

I devoured Katherine Center's The Bodyguard in one day. It's a nearly 10 hour audiobook (narrated fabulously by Patti Murin), but I simply couldn't put it down. It follows Hannah Brooks, a bodyguard assigned to protect Jack Stapleton from a stalker. But Jack is home visiting his family and doesn't want to upset his sick mother, so asks that Hannah pretend to be his girlfriend instead.

Hannah is reeling from the loss of her own mother and the end of her relationship with a coworker when the book opens. She's ready to throw herself completely into work and doesn't have the patience for Jack's goofy antics. I loved the way that she slowly let herself open up to him and how wholly embraced she was by Jack's family and the way that healed a part of her that needed to be welcomed and loved.

Meanwhile, Jack is still grappling with the death of his brother and the way it fractured his relationship with his other sibling. He puts on a good front, but is more emotional beneath the surface than Hannah first assumes. And despite his teasing her into showing off that she can take him down, he's in awe of how capable she is.

There are definitely emotional content warnings for this one, but it was also packed with so much humor and light. In terms of vibes, this book reminded me a lot of Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes, so if you enjoyed this book definitely check out that one and vice versa! This was my first Katherine Center book and definitely won't be my last.

5 stars! The Bodyguard was such a fun read! I can easily see it turning into a movie. Highly recommend!
Thank you to Katherine Center, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was great! I loved the banter between Hannah and Jack. She was a little clueless sometimes, but their relationship was adorable. Loved every minute!

Katherine Center never disappoints, ever. I loved the banter, the dynamic characters, their relationships, how KC always nails the badass female MC!

OK...so, I kind of loved this book. The bodyguard for an extremely famous actor who had a stalker is a small, unsuspecting female. Of course it had to be spun that she was his love interest to not worry his family, but the way it was written was more than than annoying. I wish it was a series because I miss these characters!

I enjoy Katherine Center's books quite a lot. She is an auto read author for me. This book was no exception. It was fun, and I liked how the relationship developed between the characters. Her female characters are always well thought out and strong women. The fake dating trope is always fun. Overall, a fun romance!

I don't believe I've ever given a Katherine Center book less than five stars, and The Bodyguard was no less.

It was everything I expect out of her stories, sweet yet quirky, slow burn yet fulfilling and most of all emotionally intelligent and focusing on realistic positivity. The laughter was there, so were the tears, and OMG that kissing scene - just perfect. I agree there are a few unrealistic parts, but guys, it's fiction, it's supposed to make you feel good, so I have no complaints.

I can't wait for her next book to come out, and meanwhile I'll go reread her backlist.

I loved the narration by Patti Murin, and she made the overall listening experience so much better.

This book was fun, and I liked how the relationship developed between the characters. I did predict a few of the twists that would happen, but it was feel good by the end and was rooting for the two.
Would definitely read another story by the author.

This was a fun read and has one of my favorite romantic tropes. I flew through this book in like a day, and I would definitely read more by this author

I absolutely loved this book! This was the type of story that I could not put down and compulsively finished in less than a day. It's filled with so many things that I love - a strong, intelligent heroine who breaks gender stereotypes, a sexy, hilarious love interest, fake dating and lots of laughs!

Hannah is the type of character you'd love to hang out with. Jack is so loveable with how much he cares about his family and the fact that he's willing to do whatever it takes to be there for his mom when she gets sick. The chemistry between these two was absolutely entertaining and I couldn't have adored them together more. This book has definitely been added to my favorites list.

Title: The Bodyguard
Author: Katherine Center
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 3.25
Pub Date: July 19, 2022

Thank you to MacMillian Audio for offering me an audio-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

T H R E E • W O R D S

Quirky • Excessive • Adventurous

📖 S Y N O P S I S

After the death of her mom, Hannah's attempting to forge forward while ignoring her grief. To make matters worse, her co-worker/boyfriend has just dumped her. All of this has her willing and hoping to take on whatever work assignment her boss assigns, if only to escape it all. As a highly touted Executive Protection Agent (aka bodyguard), she's begging her boss to send her somewhere.

In the wake of a family tragedy, Jack, a famous celebrity and actor, disappeared completely from the public eye. When his mom gets sick, he returns to his family's Texas ranch to help out, all to the dismay of his brother. Not wanting his family to find out about a corgi-breeding stalker, his agent enlists protection. Enter Hannah, and one small problem - he doesn't want his family to find out she's a bodyguard. The solution - Hannah will be forced to pretend she's Jack's girlfriend. And the more time they spend together, the more real it begins to feel.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I have come to love Katherine Center's signature style making The Bodyguard my most anticipated 2022 release. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a let down. Still a solid read, it just wasn't everything I wanted it to be. Maybe my sky high expectations were to blame, but it felt like something was missing.

The characters are so wholesome. Hannah's drive and awkwardness paired with Jack's genuine nature came across like a match made in heaven. Jack's family seemed so caring, loving and open, something I definitely wanted to be a part of. One of the reasons I've loved Katherine's books is for the depth, and while this one had some, I wanted more. More of Jack's story, and less of the romance. I wanted to uncover the details of his relationship with his brother, Hank, and know what happened to Drew.

The setting is also fantastic! In the vain of Something Wilder the ranch setting came across as adventurous and fun. It was a bit of an off-the-beaten path vibe, which has been something I've really enjoyed recently.

And then there was the ending... which on it's own dropped this down a notch for me. The last major scene was completely unnecessary, unbelievable and more than a tad outlandish.

In sum, The Bodyguard definitely had the wit to make me laugh, but it was fairly obvious this was a pandemic book. I just didn't love the story as whole, and it required a little too much suspension of reality (especially near the end) for my liking. The audio narration is fantastic and really brought the characters to life in a different way. I am still a huge fan of Katherine Center's writing, despite this being my least favourite of her books so far, and cannot wait to read what she writes next (hopefully it's more of what I've come to love).

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Katherine Center fans
• lovers of the fake dating trope
• anyone who liked film version of The Bodyguard

⚠️ CW: car accident, stalking, death, death of parent, sibling death, cancer, grief, gun violence, domestic abuse, suicide attempt, alcoholism, drowning

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"You can't make people love you. But you can give the love you long for out to the world. You can be the love you wish you had. That's the way to be okay. Because giving love to other people is a way of giving it to yourself."

"I think just because you can’t keep something doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth it. Nothing lasts forever. What matters is what we take with us."

What is there not to love about faking dating that involves a
famous person?! This was the first Katherine Center book
have read and I have been super excited to read this book.
Needless to say, I will be checking out her other books. What I
loved about this book is having a female as a body guard
because it isn't something you normally expect. I really hope
they turn it into a movie! If you don't like romance novels that
are spicy and want a cute and funny romcom this is for you!
Special thanks to NetGalley and publisher for a copy of the E.
book in exchange my pure honest review.

A great, sugary, rom-com read. The writing wasn’t my absolute favorite which is why I didn’t give it 4 stars but I did really enjoy it!

I loved everything about this book! From the female bodyguard angle through everything about this book just flaunted any gender stereotypes you could think of. While this story tackles some tough things like death of family members throughout it never felt too heavy and man that plot twist toward the end! Definitely never saw it coming. The narration was extremely well done and kept me engaged. All around one of my favorite audiobooks of the year!