Katherine Center does it again?

Badass Hannah has to submerge herself into the life of Jack ( a movie star) as his girlfriend, but in reality this “stumpy” girl is his bodyguard.

Laughter, tears, and a heart racing thriller all in one

Has to be my favorite book in a while! I laughed out loud, and cried for the best possible reasons. Jack and Hannah are forced into a fake relationship to cover up her job as his bodyguard. They are so delightfully charming with one another. But each character also helps the other bring out their deepest hurts and talk about them with care and compassion, and brings healing. Katherine Center gives us her best book yet!

I have loved Katherine Center since I met her at Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, TX. The Bodyguard is my new favorite. I will be honest, I have been in a book slump for the past several months and have not been able to finish a book. But when I got invited to read this one, I had to try! I could not put it down and finished it in 3 days! I loved Hannah and Jack. Hannah is such a strong character that really resonates with me. I loved learning about Jack's family and am honestly, disappointed that I don't know someone that owns a 500-acre ranch that I could just go to. This is the perfect summer read! I loved it.

A really good rom com with the fake dating but becomes more trope - if this sounds up your alley, you've gotta pick it up! It took me a little bit to get into the story (I wasn't very interested in Hannah's character, at first), but once I did, I really enjoyed it!

This is one of the best books I have read this year. In fact, I read it in one day because I couldn't put it down. I loved the twist on the classic "bodyguard" trope with the woman offering the protection instead of the man. Both characters had obvious mental blocks that they had to work out but they were able to help each other and both were handled beautifully. The slow burn was magic and the ending got me real good. Everyone should read this book!

I was sold over the book, just ‘cause of the tropes; bodyguard trope, slow burn, fake dating, friends to lovers (almost). The characters and story was a breath of fresh air. I really loved it, especially the WMC.

I’ve had a string of really good books lately and this one is at the top! It’s the perfect beach read and my absolute favorite @katherinecenter book I’ve read! Hannah is a bodyguard who is hired to keep watch over Jack, a Hollywood heartthrob who has stepped out of the limelight as of late. It’s funny and endearing and I did not want it to end. It’s got that “slow burn” element and a whole cast of characters that are so different from one another and feel like real people. Can I suggest that this would make a great movie? Highly recommend this one - run and grab it when it releases in July! Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC!

Fake relationship, forced proximity AND one bed trope. The perfect combination! This book did a wonderful job of being a classic rom-com while also adding some different elements. I loved that the heroine was not some damsel in distress that needed saving. I thought that the book did a good job of addressing different reactions that people have to losing a loved one. I definitely look forward to reading more from this author!
Thank you St. Martins Press for the eARC through netgalley!

The BodyGuard Review

This book was alright. I enjoyed the plot more than the writing though. The writing style wasn’t my favorite but I do love a forced -proximity fake dating trope.

I do think that the romance aspect almost did not feel like the main purpose of the writing, it didn’t quite feel like a women’s fiction but I just feel like the romance was not prioritized in the way I would expect.

There was also a bit of woman on woman conflict, which I am not the biggest fan of. Alex was super sweet and loving though, and I liked that there was a bit of a foudn family type trope. BUT the book did make me literally laugh out loud, and I did read it all in one day because I was so into it— so the rest may just be me being a little nit-picky tbh.

I do think it could have benefited from Dual POV, and I know I usually think that but I think it even more here LOL

Read For
- Fake Dating
- Forced Proximity
- Bodyguard trope (with a female bodyguard)
- Nightmare trope
- A little found family
- A bit of mystery/action

Overall, this was an interesting read and I would definitely recommend it to people who like Katherine Center’s writing or tend to like second person writing styles.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins for the opportunity to review. All thoughts are my own!

Thank you to netgalley & the publisher for providing me with an ARC - All opnions are my own and were not infuenced

This book was amazing!! I normally read super slow on my kindle but I blew right through this one! The storyline was so put together and well written and I felt so connected to all the characters. Hannah is one of the best heroines I have seen and I love that she is so strong and independent despite all her loses. Also a female bodygaurd?? YES PLEASE. Jack and Hannah's relationship was so cute and very slowburn (at least physically) but their chemistry was amazing from the start. The only reason its 4 stars and not 5 is because I didn't feel the most satisfied with the ending. I would have loved to see more scenes of the two of them as an official couple! I still loved the book and would highly reccomend!

Loved this book!! Such a fun read, funny, lovable, witty book. Highly recommend!

Thanks to netgalley for the advanced copy

first of all, i loved the premise of this book with there being a female bodyguard. the role reversal of the traditional trope was so well done. this book does cover some heavy parts of the characters lives, but does a great job of incorporating light moments. the pacing of this book was also something that was really done. the way the relationship between hannah and jack progressed felt so natural. also i loved jack's mom. she added such a nice layer to the story.

This book definitely pulled me out of a reading slump. Very quick read but well written and engaging. The female lead is a hair underdeveloped but not so much that you don’t relate to her and her experiences. There were a few laugh out loud moments that caught me off guard.

Hannah Brooks is an Executive Protection Agent (aka a Bodyguard). She's a woman that's 5'6" and could be confused with a nanny but has no issue flipping a huge man over her back and inflicting injury if needed. She's also fresh off of the death of her mom, her boyfriend dumping her the day after the funeral, and her best {work} friend hooking up with the BF within a month of the dumping.

Jack Stapleton is a Hollywood star that has gone off grid for the last two years and is coming back due to familial obligations. He carries a lot of baggage with him that no one understands.

No one until Hannah Brooks is saddled with him as her principal protection detail. Can they both act the part? Or can they both let their true feelings show past the ability to act?

This book brought tears to my eyes. Katherine Center writes the interactions so sweetly. It is also a page turner, I did NOT want to set this book down. This book is{will be} published in July 2022 and I'm already waiting for her next release!


Thank you St. Martin's Press for the eARC through NetGalley.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of The Bodyguard by Katherine Center. I discovered Katherine Center last year and now she is one of my top fav authors. Her characters are *chef's kiss--real, likable, and memorable. The Bodyguard is no exception! I loved the concept of a female, bad ass, bodyguard.. The romance was slow and a bit slim, but the relationship building between friends and family was the highlight. Super great for those romance lovers who don't want all the "spice." Overall, it was a five star read for me!

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

Hannah Brooks is a small but mighty, badass bodyguard. Her goals are clear: protect her client by whatever means necessary, protect her heart by keeping others at a distance.
When Hannah’s mom passes away and her boyfriend dumps her, Hannah wants nothing more than to dive right back into the thing she does best: work.

Hannah’s latest assignment is providing executive protection for the ridiculously dreamy actor Jack Stapleton. After the Stapleton family was touched by tragedy a few years back, Jack’s been off-grid. Now returning to his parents’ ranch home to help take care of his ill mother, Jack reluctantly accepts personal protection…with a catch. Jack doesn’t want his family to worry about stalkers and other possible threats and therefore requests that Hannah pose as his girlfriend for the duration of the job.

As Jack sells their relationship to his parents and rival brother, it becomes difficult for Hannah to distinguish what’s real. She finds herself, against her better judgement, letting down her guard and showing/experiencing/processing emotion that others rarely see.

There’s so much more to the plot of The Bodyguard, but I won’t spoil anything! I found this novel to be Center’s funniest - I laughed at the banter, especially between Hannah and Jack, but also Hannah sharing information with the audience/reader. It really felt like she was talking right to us, which made it feel even more intimate.

I also cried. One big hiccuping sob actually. There are some moments that are just that perfect 🧷

I loved Jack, Hannah, Connie and Doc. I hope you will too!

I loved everything about this book. From beginning to end. It was so much fun! Everything you’ e come to expect from a Katherine Center book. Five huge stars.

This is my first Katherine Center novel, and it was great!

The Bodyguard flips the traditional bodyguard romance trope on its side. The "let's keep this professional" bodyguard is the female lead, Hannah Brooks. The charming client is reclusive movie star Jack Stapleton. Unfortunately, Hannah finds her boundaries between her personal and professional lives tested when she has to fake date Jack, who doesn't want his family to know that he needs a bodyguard.

Hannah and Jack had a really cute dynamic! I loved how the fake dating worked its way into the plot and how quickly the lines between real and fake blurred. Honestly, I can see this being made into a cute romcom movie.

Also I loved Jack's family. His parents stole a few pages here and there. Jack and Hank's sibling dynamic was interesting to see.

All in all, I really liked The Bodyguard! Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC!

TW: drowning, gun use, stalking, death of a parent, nightmares/ptsd

Two years ago, one week after the world shut down due to a weird virus called Covid, I saw people were receiving ARCs of Katherine Center’s newest book. I had never heard of NetGalley, but I signed up on a whim and managed to get a copy of What You Wish For, which ended up being the most perfect first (of many) quarantine books. And, here I am, two years later receiving Katherine’s newest new book. If she writes it, I’ll read it. No questions asked.

The Bodyguard was a bit different than Katherine’s past novels, but I loved it and I think I may have a new favorite book boyfriend - Jack Stapleton. I loved the concept of a female bodyguard and having a strong female lead, just like Hannah. She and Jack have great chemistry, and I love the way Katherine writes her people. They're just so real.

You’ll love this book if you love: romances that you can recommend to your mother (only kissing, but still great chemistry), fake dating, heartfelt characters, and books that leave you feeling just so happy.

Overall, this is a great Katherine book. It’s not my favorite of hers, but definitely a solid read for a week at the beach.

Lastly, I want to send my thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts!

I have previously loved and enjoyed Katherine Centre’s work and I have always loved and enjoyed them. So, yes, i went into it with high expectations and didn’t come out disappointed. It was very clean contemporary romance. It served sunshine-grumpy trope. However, the WMC was the real grump in it haha. I I loved how raw, flawed and authentic-self Hannah and jack are portrayed. I loved their sweet romance and the banter. However, I didn’t saw that plot twist coming. So, in a nutshell, it’s a full 5 stars read for me.