This was, boring to say the least. It had potential but fell short by 5 miles in my opinion. The two main characters seemed to spend maybe 1 day together and all of a sudden the chairman of a Korean Entertainment Industry was in love with his new bodyguard. The plot didn't really make any sense and it seemed like Kyo Seung-hyun, the chairman would have picked anyone to cling to, their relationship did not seem real. As a K-Pop fan, I do enjoy trying new reads incorporating a bit of this in there but this read was a bust.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Bodyguard by Dassy Bernhard was a book I requested because it was marketed as a K-pop male/male romance so I was expecting some drama with some cute elements but that is not what I got. The plotline (what plotline) was all over the place and not consistent like the author was unsure in what direction they wanted to go. The characters were likeable but the romance fell a bit flat for me. While the setting of Korea was practically a no show if we had not told that were it was set I would not have been able to guess as the descriptions were lacking in my opinion.
I felt I was reading a fanfic at times but having said that I will be looking into this author's other works.

Dassy Bernhard’s note kind of says it all: “Idiots in love.” (chuckle) I mean this in a really cute and funny way.

Bodyguard is a slow-burn superhero Korean romance. I love it.

Let me first give kudos to Elizabeth Turner Stokes who designed the cover. It was the cover that made me pick the book. I love this cover. The chemistry between the characters jumps off the page. The colors pop. The humor shines through. Stokes matched the author’s story perfectly.

Bernhard gives us a really cute romance. The chapter titles give a chuckle. The inner dialogue is hilarious. I love the messages behind the romance. There isn’t anything to not love in this quickie read. I’d love to have this superhero bodyguard on my security detail too.

I received a free copy of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this book, the characters were three-dimensional. I'm also a kdrama fan, so that helps. It probably wouldn't find an audience at my small rural library, but otherwise I would definitely recommend it!

I was so very excited to read this book for the longest time. Unfortunately i felt it didn’t really live up to my expectations. The premise of Bodygaurd sounded great, and i do think it was executed in a great manner but for some reason this book was hard for me to finish. I found it difficult to relate to the characters in the beginning but i did form a kind of attachment to them towards the end. The storyline was cute and very well written but i think the style of writing (whilst not bad) simply did not match the standard of the books that i’m used to reading, which is why i’m rating it 3 stars. Maybe i wasn’t the target audience for this book so i do think that there are many people who would enjoy it more than i did.

As a few reviews have mentioned, this book felt very much like a fanfic. It means it was (mostly) an easy read...however, I wasn't entirely sold on the plot. I liked the love interest, the MC felt a bit...bland and honestly, I wasn't keen on the whole powers / time-travel (??) thing. Too much happened in such a short space of time and there was quite a bit of telling, not showing. I think this book could have done with a few more chapters and a bit more thought about where the story was going. Overall, I could happily read it, but it didn't make me want to read it, I didn't feel that urge to find out what would happen next.

Overall, I give this book 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was really hoping to like this but it was just to all over the place for me. I felt like the author wasn't really sure what they wanted so they just threw in everything and hoped something stuck. It made it feel very jumbled and way to much like a fan-fic for me. This isn't one I would recommend when there are so many really great m/m romances out there.

3.5 stars.

This books alignment is 100% chaotic good. Emphasis on chaotic.

What I expected: A kpop romance.
What I got: A bodyguard and eccentric playboy millionaire romance, featuring superpowers, political and military corruption, poorly executed espionage, near death experiences, and time travel. I’m not joking. The last chapter starts with a quote from BTS directly followed by a quote from the Torah??? I can’t cope with this level of chaos.

Ok, now that’s out of the way I’ll start actually reviewing, lmao. This book was FUN. Like, my brain can’t fully cope with the amount of chaos that was jam packed into a relatively small book, but omg, we were truly going a mile a minute and it was great!

On the downside, the writing is pretty basic. Even when exciting action packed things were happening in the plot, the writing sometimes made me feel like I was reading from a shopping list. It did kind of jar me out of the story a couple times, and it took a while for me to really get into the story because of that. That being said, the characters were definitely the reason I eventually got into this book so much. They’re well crafted and likeable, with distinct personalities. I couldn’t help but root for them. Also, I love Seung-hyun, he’s such a big excitable puppy.

All in all, a fun, lighthearted read.

I wasn’t sure what to make of this book by the description. An m/m romance but also one of the characters has superpowers?
And then I was unexpectedly charmed while reading it. Bodyguard is an extremely slow burn low heat book that is part mystery/thriller, part romantic comedy, part science fiction, and it’s best to set aside any expectations and just take the book as it comes.
That’s not to say it’s perfect. The writing is a little clunky at times and I can appreciate a slow burn but I needed more than the epilogue to see how the couple worked as a couple.
Still, I’m glad I discovered this one, and I’ll read the next one in the series.
I got an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Bodyguard is a pleasing MM slow-burn contemporary romance between a bodyguard and a young chairman. Together they have to deal with an assortment of company plotters and external bad guys, while also trying to find out the truth behind Tang Jun-young's superior skills and healing abilities. This is essentially a contemporary romance with a fantasy/sci-fi twist. I liked both characters and enjoyed their interactions. However, I found myself wishing for two things: 1) to get to see things from Kyo Seung-hyun's perspective too at times; and 2) to have a bit more time to explore the fantasy/sci-fi elements, which felt a little rushed and tacked on, especially in the way they affected the finale. I believe this is the first book in a series, but I don't know if that series will continue with these same characters or introduce new ones in each book, so I can't say for sure if it's likely my questions on the sci-fi elements will be answered in the future or not. Nonetheless, I still had fun reading this tale, so it gets 3.5 stars from me. I ummed and ahhed, but I think I will round that up to a four, rather than down to a three in this case, because the story was entertaining and the Korean characters and setting fit in with my K-drama love.

This book isn't what I thought it was going to be at all . I expected it to be a romance novella more like Boyfriend Material but it isn't like that at all. I think this book is really not marketed correctly and the blurb doesn't really explain what kind of book it really is. The two main characters are really cute and everything, but there wasn't enough of what this book promises in the blurb which is a pining romance novel. Also, to me, this book reads more like someone wrote a BTS fanfiction and changed the names to get it published than an original novella.

I picked this book up on spec, not really expecting much but slightly intrigued by the blurb, especially as I've been mainlining c- and k-drama for the past 18 months or so. As a result, the prospect of a m/m novella with what seemed like a k-drama plotline seemed like a reasonably safe bet for something I'd enjoy reading. After all, what's 134 pages between friends?

Anyway, on to the book itself. It's a bit of a mess, to be perfectly honest. Somewhere in there, among the messy plotting and slightly unconvincing romantic arc, are a couple of interesting stories trying to get out but trapped by an over-ambitious writer, perhaps? The basic premise is that it's a bodyguard romance, with our point of view protagonist saving a boyband from kidnapping and finding himself signed up to protect the chairman of the company they work for. So far, so good - I haven't read much contemporary m/m and this seemed like a reasonable premise, as long as it takes into account things like the immediate power imbalance.

Tacked onto this, however, is a weird superpowers/time travel plot which seemed to be plonked in partly because of the author's slight obsession with Connie Willis books. Our bodyguard is from the future (?) and was left in modern day Seoul as a child even though (because?) he has superpowers -at one point, late on, there's a time travel deus ex machina to rescue the two of them from impending doom and my eyes started glazing over.

I would have forgiven this if the romantic arc had been more compelling. Okay, our hero is a bit of an unreliable narrator at times but there's minimal development of his relationship with his boss/love interest. Then, at the end, there's suddenly a one year later epilogue and they're talking about getting married (though not in Korea of course because it's not legal there)? Except, to be honest, it might as well have <I>not</I> been set in Korea given how little sense of place there was from the writing.

In a sentence? Lots of promise but little of it delivered, very disappointing.

<I>I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I'm leaving an honest review on a voluntary basis.</i>

“Bodyguard” by Dassy Bernhard was such a great read that I had to start it and finish it within one single day. The writing was lovely, the attention to detail and the Korean culture was impressive, and the storyline was adorable. I really love LGBTQ+ stories that DON’T center on homophobia or how “different” it is to not be straight. This story follows a rich, handsome chairman and his super strong, literal superhero bodyguard. Oh right, did I mention there was also time travel and superhuman powers? This combination of factors shouldn’t work but somehow Dassy made it happen! 10/10 would recommend to any and every reader!

I DNF-ed at about 60%of the way through. There was just too much going on, like the author couldn't pick what kind of book they wanted to write.

DNF-20%

I really wanted to like this book but it was written in a very fan fiction-like manner which I did not appreciate. It also seems like something that has been translated from another language into English, but no thorough editing has been done. Overall, 1 star for me.

This book was all over the place. There was basically no plot whatsoever. The only reason I rated it two stars was because of the cute dynamic between the two MC’s. Don’t go into this book for plot because you won’t find it. It has never taken me longer to finish such a short book. I was bored and confused all throughout it. I had high hopes so this was disappointing.

Bodyguard by Dassy Bernhard.
The Bodyguards book 1. I really really enjoyed this book. I loved Kyo. I also liked Jun-young and Seung-hyun. I was surprised with how quickly I read this book. I liked the cover too. Im looking forward to reading more from this author. 5*.

It was a good and fast reading, but I still felt like there was something missing. Looking forward for the author's next books!

I have to admit that I came across ‘Bodyguard’ quite randomly while looking through NetGalley. It was available on read now and the premise intrigued me. A bodyguard with powers? M/M romance? Sounded perfect for me and exactly what I needed as a next read.

I don’t know why I’m surprised to say I really enjoyed it. I thought the story and investigation was interesting, and enjoyed how we learned more about Jun-young’s past along the way. I actually really liked the two main characters, Jun-young and Kyo Seung-hyun, and loved the side character Yu-jin. The author developed a good relationship between the three of them with great humour. Also really appreciated that we got to see the building of friendship between the main characters before introducing any romance. I do think the romance part was quite rushed though, but let’s be honest…most of their interactions were adorable anyway.

Was a quick, fun read that I’d definitely recommend!

This is a good sized novella, 143 pages. Set in South Korea Tang Jun saves a famous K-pop band from being kidnapped by stepping in front of their van. When he wakes in the hospital it is to find Kyo Seung-hyun, new chairman of KYO Group, in his hospital room. Kyo is a billionaire and hires Tang to become his personal body guard.

So far so good. But then it takes a strange turn. They take on a sex trafficker, fight corruption between businesses and government officials and there is a sci-fi element. I wasn't sure if this was supposed to be serious or tongue in cheek. I'm confused as to what this story wanted to be. A romance? An action-mystery? It was all over the place. I don't know why it is set in Korea. This is also a clean m/m romance. I'm going to say it wasn't my cup of tea and move along. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review. (1.5 stars)