The last book I read by Kathryn Freeman was 'O crumbs' and it got 5 stars from me. I really enjoy her writing style, but this one sadly fell a bit short. I love the bodyguard-trope and the fact that it is a reverse role, but it seemed the heroine was not really suited as a bodyguard. She was so insecure for example.

Overall, I did enjoy the book and the writing, but not the storyline. That said, I will read this author again. This one was just not my cup of tea.

*** Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC. ***

A great read.

Zac is an actor with a newly aquired stalker. Kat is his newly assigned bodyguard, but he doesn't know that the first time they meet and he flirts with her. He is a keeping secret that could affect his safety - it does make you wonder why he chose a career in the public eye when there is someone he wants to hide from.

I liked how it was told from both of their points of view.

The first thing that intrigued me about this story (besides the cute illustrated cover) was the gender-role reversal. I love the Whitney Houston/Kevin Costner movie, The Bodyguard, so I was very excited to see that this one is about a male celebrity and his female bodyguard falling in love. There's also a crazy stalker adding to the tension.

The pacing of this story is hard to describe. It felt like the action began right from the get-go but at the same time, there were some slower sections and the romance was definitely a slow burn. The execution also fell a little flat for me, particularly with the dialogue and development of the relationship, but the characters had a lot of potential. The hero and heroine were such opposites and I always enjoy the opposites attract trope so that aspect really brought me around with this story.

Overall, this was an okay read. While I didn't really get very attached to the main characters, I did enjoy the rest of the plot and the gender-role reversal. It was an interesting concept that I think with a bit more revision of character development and pacing had the potential to be a really great read.

Disclaimer: Thank you to Harper Collins UK, One More Chapter and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I like the front cover of this book, the colours immediately catch your eye.
The opening couple of pages really made me smile and throughout the book I enjoyed parts whilst others not so much unfortunately.
I found it more of a copy of the bodyguard rather than a similar story. The characters were OK but I found this middle of the road for me. Thank you to netgalley and the author and publishers for the opportunity to read this ARC for my honest opinion

I read Kathryn Freeman's The New Guy which I thought was cute, fun, light easy-read romance. I was definitely looking forward to reading her next book Up Close and Personal. I enjoyed this one a little more than the New Guy. The chemistry between Kat and Zac was great. The story moved quickly, and I finished it pretty fast. The story is a kind of twist on the movie the bodyguard with the female lead playing the bodyguard for a male celebrity. Definitely recommend it for some nice, easy beach reading this summer.

Up Close and Personal follows Zac, a professional actor who has a dangerous stalker on his hands. His bodyguard is Kat, an ex army soldier who finds herself falling for Zac's charms. But how can their relationship work, with her being his bodyguard? Kat is also worried she won't be able to keep Zac safe, due to a previous mishap whilst in Afghanistan.

I quite liked the chemistry between these two characters and quite enjoyed this book!

I received a free ebook version of this book through Netgalley. Thankyou to both Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this! My review is still honest.

Up Close and Personal is a bodyguard/celebrity romance in which Kat is our tough, no nonsense, ex-military bodyguard tasked with defending Zac, the hot actor with a dark past. This was actually a very fun romance despite some of the darker themes dealing with abuse and loss. It was humorous and the kind of romance with real chemistry that leaves you feeling all warm!
Kat Parker is officially one of my favourite female characters and Zac is literally the perfect man. He never once worries about Kat's gender affecting her competence and has respect for her in every way. Kat has a so-called 'masculine' body type and doesn't fit in with today's Instagram ambitions but she's so real and wonderful and I loved reading about a woman who doesn't fit into that 'ideal' body type.
This isn't one that totally wowed me as I think there are certain plotlines that could have been developed further (the reveal about Zac's past seemed a little rushed in comparison with all the build-up). I've ended up giving it a comfortable 3 stars, but this was a positive reading experience for me.

This review will be published on the below-mentioned blog and other social media on 06/19/2020.

Book Title: Up Close and Personal

Author: Kathryn Freeman

Genre: Romance

Publishing Date: 12 June 2020

Line Summary:

Sizzling chemistry, a page-turning will they/won’t they romance between a hot actor Zac & his bodyguard Kat.

My Review:

This is such a beautiful romance with the stereotype breaking of gender-reversed roles! Very simple lenient story with believable twists in emotions! Very few characters and the story mostly revolves around the two main characters and their emotions alone! Which made it easy to read at the same time felt like an overdose of emotions. The narration is not too fast nor too slow! The initial chapters were rapid and the sparkling chemistry between the characters was so good, I thought it's gonna be one of that great romance book, but Somehow through the middle of the book, I stopped enjoying it! It may be because of the emotional baggage of the characters in the middle of the hot witty romance. In the end, I didn't love the story but I didn't hate it either ! if you are into emotion-filled romance stories, you would love it for sure! 

Thoughts while reading :

This section has some subtle spoilers,

First the characters! Wow! I love both Zac and Kat! I love the way Kat has been defined as a strong mouthy Tomboy woman and Zac as an elegant neat actor! I couldn’t say enough about them at all!

The emotional baggage carried by both the characters somehow make the story raw but degrades the romance side so much! So I couldn't decide whether I love them or hate them!

While the story is twirling around with the romance and emotions between them, the question of who is behind the Stalking problems buzzing in the back of our head and which leads us to turn the pages! In that way, the story definitely balanced well with romance and suspense!!

Through the middle, I felt like reading the same emotions of the pulling and pushing game of the couples repeatedly!

I was thankful and appreciate the way the visit to Kat's parents described with mere lines without another emotional episode!

I love the way the emotions handled in the story! Too raw and so too believable and natural! But at the same time, I think I am not a fan of too many sad emotions in a lovely romance story and so I definitely not quite enjoy it!

But for people who love or believe that romance would cure sorrow, would help recover from their insecurities,  it would be a perfect romance with a fragment of suspense to enjoy!


Thanks to #netgalley and the publisher#harpercollinsuk  #Onemorechapter for this ARC. This review is straight from my heart, not biased in any way.

This book was so enjoyable! Zac is a famous actor and Kat is the bodyguard charged with protecting him from a stalker. He has a past that he wants to keep hidden and she is dealing with loss on many levels. They should keep their relationship strictly professional but, of course, they find themselves unable to deny their increasing romantic feelings. Their attraction starts on page one of the book and I worried that it would feel a little rushed or their conflicting emotions would grow tiresome but I should not have worried. The connection between Zac and Kat grows very naturally and they have excellent banter. I found the dark parts of their pasts and the behavior stemming from them very believable. Overall this book is fun, romantic, sweet, and a great depiction of a woman making her way in a traditionally male profession. I am so happy I got to read an advanced copy of this story!

Thank you to Kathryn Freeman, HarperCollins UK/One More Chapter, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this book to read through NetGalley in exchange for a fair review. Up Close and Personal is a lovely slow-burn romance with an edge of danger by Kathryn Freeman. Heartthrob Actor Zac Edwards has a stalker, and his new bodyguard, former soldier Kat Parker seems to be the one woman who isn’t about to fall at his feet. When the stalker ups the ante, Kat decides the best place to keep Zac safe is her home, and their relationship grows into a friendship, but they both have secrets that are going to have to be dealt with if they want a happy ever after. I enjoyed this book very much and do recommend it. Publishing Date: June 12, 2020. Medium Steam. #UpCloseAndPersonal #KathrynFreeman #NetGalley #OneMoreChapter #HarperCollinsUK #RomanticThriller #ContemporaryRomance #BodyGuardRomance #bookstagram

Absolutely adorable!

I loved Zac and Kat's relationship. Their banter was extraordinary, their chemistry undeniable! The sloooow burn, gah! Perfection.

There were a few moments where I felt the story was dragged out a bit but overall I really enjoyed this one!!

I'll he honest, this story took me a bit to get into, but once I did it was really good!

Kat and Zac both have had horrible things happen in their past and they really need to work through these in order to be ready to love each other. I like how supportive they are of each throughout this process. There was so much tension as Kat tried to keep their relationship fully professional. Zac feeling a need to protect her because he's a man was definitely frustrating, but I think he was aware of the problems with that feeling, even as he failed to fight it. Debs is super fun and I loved having her be a part of the story.

Full of chemistry from Chapter 1 which I loved! I find that creating chemistry like that is an art form and well I believed in it from the get go. But the lack of communication between the two characters was very annoying indeed. As Kat's niece Debs described it they were being stupid and well thats frustrating to read when you read both points of view on the situation.

I'm intrigued to read more of Kathyrn's work, she creates amazing chemistry between the characters and I really enjoyed that, I can't wait to read more from Kathryn in the future.

Thanks so much to Netgalley for proving me with a copy to read in exchange for my honest review!

💗 Book Review 💗
•
Up Close & Personal | Kathryn Freeman
Pub Date: 6/12/20
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RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
•
REVIEW: This was a super cute/a little suspenseful RomCom about a female bodyguard, Kat, and her celebrity client Zac. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, love a bodyguard/client romance, and have never read it when the roles were reversed! I like how yes the female in a male dominated job was brought up but not talked about to death. Kat was witty and full of heart, and Zac was such a gentleman! I could have done with a bit more physical interaction between the two characters but that’s just personal preference! The steam was fairly light, more descriptive than closed door but nothing super detailed or drawn out and only a few scenes.
•
Thank you @netgalley and @harpercollinsUK for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley, publisher and author for a copy of this book.

I LOVED this!
The attraction was instantaneous, the romance built at a great pace.
These characters presented a confident exterior l, while struggling with their own insecurities in their attraction to each other. There are secrets hinted at just enough to keep you interested.

Loved it!

I found the plot compelling and loved the idea of a female bodyguard but some aspects of the writing detracted from the story. Some of what the writer was trying to do with Zac’s character felt like his personality was undefined and the timing of the dual perspective switches someti,es made scenes take much longer than felt necessary. Not a terrible book, but also not one I’ll find myself recommending regularly.

'"I'd tell you more,' he answered quietly, bringing his face closer to hers. His eyes dipping down to her soft lips. "But I'm only a job to you.'
Her breath hitched. "You know you're more than that."
"Do I? Am I?"'

How amazing is this? A bodyguard romance trope but the heroine is the bodyguard to the hero. This whole concept made me feel all tingly with positivity and expectation. I have never read this kind of love story before, I'm sure there are more out there but Up Close and Personal gets to claim my first foray into it all.
Kat, is our bad$$, highly skilled, lethal weapon heroine, hired to protect superstar British heartthrob Zac Edwards, after he starts receiving some nefarious messages, escalating into a possible stalker scenario.

It was a bit of a slow mover in the beginning, as we established the rules, the roles and a little bit of a rapport between Zac and Kat. What I absolutely adored was the fact that Zac was never emasculated by the fact a woman was hired to shield him from danger, to willingly throw herself into harms way to protect him. It's only when he starts to develop intense feelings for her that those roles shift and cause friction, because it's more to do with the woman he is falling for putting her life on the line, than the fact of her gender.

The slow build up and reluctant friendship that first develops between our hero and heroine was fun, flirty and full of plenty of laughs. Kat's sarcastic and upfront attitude, clashing with Zac's more conservative 'having to play a role' type of personality. Zac was a total sweetheart. He was sincere, loyal, transparent and full of such intense longing and need to be loved for who he is rather than what he is and can do for people. Kat is unfazed by stardom and popularity, she sees through the man beneath the glitz and glammer and appreciates him for who he is. Kat too is a rather lonely and sad character. Each with their own secrets, past hurts and emotional damage to contend with. It made for some pretty profound and remarkable reading.

If you don't mind your book being a little slow moving, taking its sweet time building to a dazzling crescendo, then please try this story. It was impressive, realistic, sweet, sexy and a whole lot of fun.

Thank you to One More Chapter and NetGalley for a gifted copy of this ARC. All opinions are my own.

A rom com book version of the movie The Bodyguard with the female lead as the bodyguard? Sign me up!

The premise sounded really good; however, execution was a little flat. It was all a bit predictable. Kat and Zac each have their own secrets and those secrets are used to throughout the story to try and keep you reading. And I felt that they would take one step forward and one step back so overall a little repetitive. I didn't hate it but I also didn't love it.

I really enjoyed Kathryn's previous book, The New Guy, and was very excited to read this book. Up Close and Personal is the story of a movie star who has a stalker and Kat, his female bodyguard. Of course, they have their own personal struggles and concerns, but are instantly attracted to each other and that forbidden "I can't like you because you are my client" tension is so good. It slowed down a little in the middle to end and never got that page turner feeling that I was looking for, but Up Close and Personal was a good, light romance for my brain right now. (rounded up from 3.5 stars)

Up Close And Personal is an amusing and fun easy read romantic comedy.
When Kat meets Zac there is an instant mutual physical attraction. But Kat cannot act on this as Zac is a film star and she has been assigned to act as his bodyguard. As the story develops it is clear that someone is out to cause Zac serious harm, can Kat keep him safe? Will Kat stop her personal feelings for Zac interfering with her professional duties? Will Zac respect the professional boundaries Kat has put in place? Or will their mutual attraction lead to more than a working relationship? Will the close protection officer have a close relationship with the film star?
A very good read that had me wanting to find out who was hunting down Zac and how would the relationship between Zac and Kat turn out in the end of the book.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.