Thanks so much to NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of "The Bodyguard" by Katherine Center, which is releasing on July 19th, 2022!

The book tells the story of Hannah, who works as a bodyguard to protect others. Many are skeptical at first due to the fact that she's a woman of shorter stature, which is not typically how bodyguards are portrayed. But I will say that after reading this novel, she is pretty damn badass.

Her world comes crashing down when her mother passes away and her boyfriend dumps her. Her boss Glenn wants her to take time off and grieve, but she's unsure of how to do so. Eventually, she is given a new assignment - to protect the famous actor Jack Stapleton.

This novel was written with hilarity, intensity, and so much more. It fully deserves it's 5-star rating!

I have yet to read a Katherine Center book I didn’t love! I will say this book is way different than the others I’ve read of hers. This one is less about one main characters journey to self discovery/recovery and more alone the lines of ROMCOM. This new style of hers fits really well with all the ROMCOM coming out. I have zero bad things to say about this books. She stayed true to her characters personality’s, developed them well, built them together well, and didn’t have any missteps.

This is a slow burn, take dating, fade to black trope. Has a strong female character who is a bodyguard protecting a famous man. The premise itself is already funny for me. Katherine does great banter! Lots of dialogue so you aren’t stuck in annoying monologues. Do I wish Katherine wrote spice, yes! Are her books still so great without it? Also yes!

I have no doubt you’ll enjoy this book there is no huge emotional downshift. So it stays light. Love it.

Hannah Brooks is 5-foot-5 and is the last person you'd believe is a bodyguard. But she's the top female agent at her firm and loves working undercover and traveling all over the world. She's been unlucky in love having just been dumped by Robby, her fellow agent. The two become rivals for a big promotion when Glenn, their boss, gives Hannah the local assignment of protecting sexiest-man-alive actor Jack Stapleton, who is in the Houston area to visit his ill mother. If she handles this high-profile client well, Hannah will be a lock to head the company's London office. In order to not worry his family that he has a stalker, Jack pretends that Hannah is his girlfriend, and she is embraced as a refreshing change from his normal parade of models and starlets. And Hannah finds herself enjoying being surrounded by Jack's family. And Jack has turned out to be very different than she expected.

The always joyful Katherine Center has created a sweet, heartwarming story that will keep you smiling throughout. The Bodyguard will make you swoon and hope for a happily ever after. When it's time for a break from heavier reads, consider adding this enjoyable, feel-good book to your list.

Just so so good! What a fun book and relationship between the main characters! Love the role reversal in this one. I enjoyed all of the characters and it was funny! This is my first Katherine Center book and I can't wait to read more!

Thank you NetGalley and Katherine Center!

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center was so funny and cute. It was a role reversal where the main character, Hannah, is the bodyguard for a famous actor. I could not put it down and I can’t wait to read Katherine Center’s other books!

If you LOVE Katherine Center's other books, you will LOVE LOVE this one!! Highly recommend this book to Center fans everywhere!

This was unlike any other romance I've read before! It was cute, funny, and unexpected.

What I loved:
– Texas ranch backdrop
– Female bodyguard protecting a famous & swoony actor
– Fake dating
– Slow-burn, adorable romance that was closed door

What I didn't love:
– Author's choice to have the MC speak directly to the reader like a conversation (it pulled me out of the story)
– MC's tendency to complain about her job ten pages after saying how much she loves her job
– Some plot points threw me for a loop, like the book was trying too hard to be silly in a serious situation

Overall, I thought it was a fun and enjoyable read. It did toe the line of being too much for me at first—too much complaining, too much silliness, too much awkward speaking to the reader, but the cute romance made up for it.

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 3
Plot/Movement: 4
Character Development: 5
Overall: 4

Thank you, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley, for the ARC!

Trigger/Content Warnings: stalker, car accident death, gun violence threat, suicide threat

First off thank you for letting me read your book. I was so excited to read this and it definitely didn't disappoint. I love that the woman was the bodyguard and protecting the man for once. I've never read a book like that and I appreciate that so much. Hannah was so relatable the struggle she had with work and taking a break, trying to balance in her life I understand completely. I laughed out loud so many times.

I just reviewed The Bodyguard by Katherine Center. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Title: The Bodyguard
Author: Katherine Center
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

She’s got his back.
Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with a wine bottle opener. Or a ballpoint pen. Or a dinner napkin. But the truth is, she’s an Executive Protection Agent (aka "bodyguard"), and she just got hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his middle-aged, corgi-breeding stalker.

He’s got her heart.
Jack Stapleton’s a household name—captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, famous for, among other things, rising out of the waves in all manner of clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity. But a few years back, in the wake of a family tragedy, he dropped from the public eye and went off the grid.

They’ve got a secret.
When Jack’s mom gets sick, he comes home to the family’s Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn’t want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah—against her will and her better judgment—finds herself pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend as a cover. Even though her ex, like a jerk, says no one will believe it.

What could possibly go wrong???
Hannah hardly believes it, herself. But the more time she spends with Jack, the more real it all starts to seem. And there lies the heartbreak. Because it’s easy for Hannah to protect Jack. But protecting her own, long-neglected heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done.

I loved this so much! The voice is excellent, and I was laughing at Hannah’s antics and thoughts—especially her reaction to the cow. Pretty sure I actually snorted at that point. This was sweet, and funny, and just so much fun to read! I highly recommend it!

Katherine Center is a bestselling author. The Bodyguard is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

What wasn't to love about Hannah and Jack? Hannah is a bodyguard and she is assigned to protect Jack who is a famous movie star currently on a break from Hollywood after the death of his brother a few years ago. Hannah's job is the priority in her life. Her father left when she was young, her mother recently passed (but they weren't that close), boyfriend broke up with her the night after her mother's funeral and she didn't get to go on a job to Madrid. Hannah never gets involved with her the people she is protecting but Jack is different. I really enjoyed this story.

This is surprisingly only my second time reading Katherine Center. I really enjoyed ‘Things You Save in A Fire” for its perfect balance of easy, fast-paced, rom-com with a valuable lesson. ‘The Bodyguard’ was also just that.

Hannah Brooks is the most unassuming Executive Protection Agent (aka a bodyguard) you will ever meet which is exactly why she gets hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his unhinged super-fan, corgi-loving stalker.

This comes as the perfect distraction since her coworker and boyfriend recently broke up with her. However, Jack doesn’t want his family to know about his stalker so he asks Hannah to pretend to be his girlfriend as a cover. But Hannah and Jack couldn’t have more opposite personalities and lifestyles which means chaos will be incoming.

If you enjoy stories with …

✨fake dating tropes
✨the blend of romance and comedy
✨difficult family relationships
✨wholesome life lessons

Then this is a great addition to your shelf! I am a sucker for fake dating and this did not disappoint. Even the aspects that were predictable were still a joy to watch unravel. But I will say there were some plot twists I did not see coming.

I loved any messaging around discovering self-worth, self-love and forgiveness which were explored through both characters.

“People loving you for your best qualities is not the same as people loving you despite your worst”

The epilogue also wrapped everything together I was left feeling very satisfied with the ending. This was such a fun cute read.

It was such a fun story with a badass main female character. I enjoyed the writing, the plot and the characters. The characters were very relatable and at times laugh out loud funny. The chemistry between Hannah and Jack was amazing. Their relationship was a slow burn but I was rooting for them, and I loved seeing their relationship evolve. It was such a unique plot with Hannah being a bodyguard, and the ending was perfect. I think this one would make a great movie!

A huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exhange for my honest review.

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center was such a fun romance novel! Hannah is a bodyguard hired to protect Jack Stapleton, the superstar actor because he has a stalker. I listened to the audiobook, and I could not stop listening! The narrator did a great job giving voice to these characters. I love Hannah and Jack so much! Everything Katherine Center writes is a must-read. Consider her an auto-buy author!

Thank you, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio, for my gifted copies.

A new favorite Katherine Center book??? Maybe!!!

Center can do absolutely no wrong in my mind, but THIS BOOK! I’m still smiling at the thought. Definitely the heaviest romance I’ve read from her by far, which you know I am HERE FOR!! And, still she manages to spin in her trademark women’s fiction.

🌺Bodyguard/celebrity romance
🌼Forced proximity
🌸Opposites attract
🌷Great Texas ranch setting
🌻Sweet family and interesting side characters

I absolutely LOVED these two characters together. I could have read 300 more pages about Jack and Hannah. Their chemistry and banter was absolute perfection for me. Jack. WHAT A GUY! He was swoonalicious!!!! And I loved that Hannah was the bodyguard, she was such a bad ass, but we got to see her hidden vulnerable side which was just so special.

Here are some words that came to mind while reading::
Heartwarming•Lovely•Sweet•Feel-good•banter •SWOON•I LOVE JACK STAPLETON!!

I loved everything about it and can’t think of a single thing I would change ♥️

Hannah's life at the moment is rough and she just wants to escape into work. Her mother recently died and her boyfriend broke up with her. She works for an elite security company and reluctantly takes a job of providing security for Jack, at the moment the hottest thing in Hollywood. What a fun, laugh out loud read despite it's predictability. A perfect summer, vacay or anytime read.

Katherine Center does it again! Whether you're an existing fan of this author's books or this is the first book you pick up by Center, I guarantee it will win you right over. This was the perfect romance and journey of self-discovery and I was here for every last second of it. The premise is simple but the story oh so rich! A famous actor is signed up to have a bodyguard he didn't ask for and the bodyguard is about to throw the towel in completely on her career if she cannot land the job she wants to be given by her boss. Let's just say, staying around to cover this famous actor was not what she was hoping for.

The characters here were absolute dynamite and so incredibly well-written. I loved coming alongside them and how real they became to me throughout the story. Who they were felt genuine and. so alongside that, I felt their connection to be genuine as well and it was so well explored.

I laughed, I swooned, I smiled my way through this book and couldn't put it down! The characters situations, struggles, and growth were so perfectly developed throughout. Not to mention that the story itself felt so fresh and unique. Center does such an incredible job at storytelling and hooking her readers, and that's exactly what happened here.

I just absolutely adored this book in every possible way! It was the perfect summertime read and just checked all of those readerly boxes of mine. Do not hesitate to pick this book up! All the love, all the stars.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the gifted e-copy.

This was a classic case of I couldn't put this book down while at the same time never wanting it to end.  I simply devoured it.  Katherine Center, this book was brilliant beyond brilliant - the words just flowed like having the best conversation with your bestest friend.

She's got his back.  He's got her heart.  They've got a secret.  What could possibly go wrong?

Synopsis: Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than a bodyguard, and she gets assigned to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his middle-aged, corgi breeding stalker.  Jack Stapleton is a household name and high on the paparazzi watch-list.  But due to a family tragedy, he has escaped the public eye and is living off the grid.  When Jack's mom gets sick, Jack moves back to the family home in Texas to help out.  Not wanting his family to know he has a stalker or a bodyguard, Hannah finds herself pretending to be Jack's girlfriend as a cover.  But the more time she spends with Jack, the more real it all starts to seem.  Is she protecting Jack or her long-neglected heart?

I was immediately drawn to Hannah as a bad-ass bodyguard.  Strong female leads are so fun to read about.  Her relationship with Jack was so real and authentic.  I appreciated that he wasn't a super arrogant and annoying superstar.  He seemed so real and down to earth with Hannah and his family. 
I loved the supporting characters of Jack's family, especially his mom.  Her live-life-to-the-fullest attitude and to slow down enough to enjoy it was super impactful. Besides the delicious romance, there were so many wonderful messages in this novel.

This one HAS to become a movie, right?  Who'd you pick to play Hannah and Jack?  I'm thinking Emma Watson and Ryan Reynolds?

Thank you to St. Martin's Press & NetGalley for the early e-copy.
The Bodyguard has a publication date of July 19th and you better believe I'll be the first in line for a physical copy.

I've been reading Katherine Center's books since HOW TO WALK AWAY and have really enjoyed her strong female leads so I couldn't wait to read THE BODYGUARD. I'm happy to say, it did not disappoint and might be my favorite Center book to date!

Hannah Brooks might not look like your average bodyguard, but that's what makes her really good at her job. When Jack Stapleton, world-famous movie star and the Sexiest Man Alive for two years in a row, needs protection, she's the perfect agent to step in, since he doesn't want his family to know he's in danger. Hannah pretends to be Jack's girlfriend while she lives on his family's ranch and of course, sparks start to fly between the two.

I loved the characters in this book! In my head, Jack is definitely Chris Evans. Jack's family in particular was adorable. I loved how Hannah was able to heal from some of her childhood trauma because of her relationship with them. Hannah and Jack were adorable together and I loved their witty banter - it was so fun and I couldn't help but smile while reading this!!

THE BODYGUARD was playful and entertaining but also tackled some weightier topics as the two main characters are both struggling with trauma from their past. I read it during my summer vacation and this was exactly the book I was looking for. It's the perfect rom-com for summer (it would also make an excellent Netflix rom-com, so if you're into that kind of thing, this book is for you).

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

Petite, ordinary, maybe stumpy legged, Hannah Brooks works as an Executive Protection Agent. Life was hard growing up and Hannah has trust issues. She learned that no one would take care of her so she had to take care of herself. And now she makes a living taking care of others. She is obsessed with working, she always wants to be on the job. She wants no downtime, never takes vacation, and is considered boring by the guy who just dumped her. Worse yet is that he told her she is a lousy kisser. Dating two years and now he tells her!

Hannah is always fighting self esteem issues so her ex boyfriend's pronouncement and dumping doesn't help her. She needs to work, now! Her sadistic boss likes to put his employees in the most uncomfortable positions for whatever is going on in their lives. So when a full team job pops up, he assigns Hannah to be the girlfriend of a world famous hunk of an actor, Jack Stapleton, who is dealing with a stalker and personal issues. Jack doesn't want his family to worry, especially his mother, so that's why he doesn't want them to know that he has been assigned a bodyguard. But now Hannah can't wear her "work suit" outfits and sturdy shoes and instead, must wear sundresses and sandals and sleep in Jack's room.

You'd think wealthy, famous, Jack would be a jerk, narcissist, someone with no time for the regular people of the world. But instead, he's friendly, silly, funny, maybe even a bit dorky, and Hannah has to fight to remember he's acting, he's an actor, he's pretending to like her, this is not real. Hannah adores Jack's family, they are the family she always wished she had, especially Jack's mother, who obviously thinks Hannah is good for her son. She is falling fast and hard for something that isn't real but Hannah is loving her time with Jack and his family, on the family ranch.

I adore this story, Jack, and his family. Hannah is pretty internally neurotic for a bodyguard but what do I know, really, I've never met a bodyguard. She sees that there is a possibility for life outside of her armor of her constant work but this life and man that she is falling for will be gone once this job it over. The Bodyguard is a fun story of people who enjoy being around each other and with side helpings of dysfunctional co-workers. Hannah fits right in with her dysfunctional co-workers but sees that isn't where she really wants to be, anymore.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

A reverse bodyguard, fake dating and celebrity romance rolled into one, can you just imagine how much fun that would bring? Entertaining as it is comforting and definitely not bad for my first Katherine Center.

Told from Hannah's POV with her dry humor as she recounts her time as Jack's security detail and pretend-girlfriend, from their painfully hilarious meet-cute to how their relationship developed into something real. Hannah, with all her badassery is not without her flaws and insecurities and I loved reading her inner monologues as she questions herself. Jack, Sexiest Man Alive that he is, is surprisingly human as well who carries this grief on his shoulders. Together, it's clear that they make for a great relationship.

There are some aspects in this book that I found too far-fetched despite my suspension of disbelief, the handling of the stalker situation for one. Thus, my reason for not giving this the full five-stars.

So, if you're ever feeling blue and in need of a good laugh, will not mind some heavy themes of grief and self-doubt, and you like found families and any of the above mentioned tropes, pick this one up.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley and the author for my early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.