Received an ARC for this one and it did not disappoint.
Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors. The Bodyguard was enjoyable, although I don't particularly like books with "celebrities". Jack did not really feel like a celebrity and that was awesome.

I also enjoyed the shout out to Christina Lauren' book The Unhoneymooners! That was super cute.
Recommend this one, but if it is your first time reading her I would probably start with Things You Save in a Fire or my number one favorite Happiness for Beginners.

I really enjoyed this book. It was super cute and although it almost seemed formulaic in the beginning the twist at the end got me. I really loved how the main characters weren't what they appeared to be or how society showed them as. I really love more complex characters even in light books and this did it for me. My only critique would be that the ending was too long. I didn't really need to know how everything ended up and once the characters had their happy ending I was good.

What a fun read this was! The pages flew by and I was sad when it ended. This author writes characters that are realistic and relatable. You laugh and cry with them. She also adds humor into her stories in just the right places. This author is becoming my go to for romance. I can't wait to read more by her!

Hannah Brooks as a bodyguard is an unlikely foil for actor Jack Stapleton. Yet their relationship develops slowly and believably. The Bodyguard is a romantic comedy that had me laughing out loud over and over again. [There’s Hannah and the cow, for one!) Very enjoyable read.

Need a sweet, charming, reflective rom com that is sure to be in contention for top beach read of the summer? Look no further!

The only possible critique I could have is there wasn’t quite enough 🌶🌶🌶 for me but I loved everything else about this way too much to let it affect my star rating.

Hannah is having a tough time: dumped by her boyfriend the day after her (albeit not so great) mom’s funeral. Oh and that ex-boyfriend? She works with him. And she’s up for a promotion against him.

Hannah is usually able to escape into her work. Oh and what’s her job? She’s an executive protection agent. Or…a bodyguard. And what’s her new assignment? Having to pose as the (twice awarded) Sexiest Man Alive’s girlfriend in order to keep him safe from a stalker while trying to lay low while his mom recovers from cancer.

Any other fake dating and forced proximity fans out there?

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

CW/TW: death of a family member, cancer, car accident, drowning, abusive relationship, physical abuse, alcoholism

This was a super fun romance book. I loved the character dynamics. It was a fairly predictable storyline but that did not stop me from enjoying every moment. I finished this in a day! Great quick and fun read!

I could not put this book down, I finished it in a day. I’m not a huge romance genre reader, but this book may have changed my mind. It was the perfect amount of romance interwoven with comedic dialogue and elements. I found myself rooting for all the characters (except for “Bobby,” of course). This was the first book I’ve read by Katherine Center, and now I’m definitely going to read her other novels! 5 stars

Katherine Center never disappoints. The Bodyguard is close enough to reality to make you cry and goofy enough to make you laugh. Hannah may be an excellent bodyguard but she is a horrible girlfriend. Jack is an actor- but is he a good one? Their dynamic together was adorable.

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

Hannah is a bodyguard. She is hired to protect movie star Jack Stapleton. Everyone in her agency is over-the-moon excited to be working for him, except Hannah, who is still getting over a bad breakup. In fact, if it was up to her, she wouldn't even take the assignment. Jack asks Hannah to be his pretend girlfriend so that his parents don't know he's under protection of a body guard. When they have to temporarily move-in with his parents, things start to get a little heated...

It's predictable, but doesn't stop me from giving it a 5/5. If you love any of Katherine Center's previous novels, you'll love this one too.

This is the fourth book I have read by Katherine Center and she continues to impress me. I love her characters. She is terrific at building characters that are imperfect, but lovable. They can be simultaneously annoying and endearing. They sometimes make mistakes or bad decisions, but it is believable and you root for them.

I think she also writes emotions very well. The characters are given a range of emotions through out the story. They feel anger, embarrassment, attraction, love, sympathy, jealousy, insecurity, etc and all those emotions come through on the page. This makes her characters very relatable.

Finally, I love her humor. She sprinkles it in in just the right places and in just the right amount. It is not over the top, but just enough to lighten a mood or make you giggle.

All of the above comes together to make a sweet story that is completely enjoyable. I look forward to reading whatever Center comes out with next.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Very Serious Disclaimer: This version of my review is missing all the italics, so I will be including a link at the bottom to my Goodreads review, where you can see all the italicized words in all their glory.

Holy moly, this was adorable. Like picnic-date levels of adorable (even though they never went on a picnic date). I want to give this book the biggest hug and I want it to hug me back. Correction: I want Jack and Hannah to hug me back. That’s what this book felt like, really. Like I was wrapped up in the warmest of blankets, and like someone was hugging me tightly.

But, before I get into all the nitty gritty good, meh, and bad, let’s recap the story. Hannah Brooks is our badass bodyguard, and pretty quick into the story, you learn that not only has her mother passed away, but her boyfriend dumped her right after her mother passed away. And who said romance was dead?

For the record, her boyfriend’s name is Robby, but since Jack made a point to call him Bobby the entire time, that’s what I’m going to do too. Bobby does not deserve to be called by his real name. Anyway, he dumps her and stays an absolute asshole for the rest of the book. Whatever, we don’t really care about him. Bobby can go dumpster diving for companionship for all I care. (That’s a reference, but I don’t remember where it’s from).

Anyway, our girl Hannah has a big, scary fear of being unlovable. In part from Bobby, in part from her mother, and in part from Taylor, her betraying best friend. I won’t go into the semantics of it all, but just trust me when I say that you will not like Taylor. At the end of the day, all Hannah wants is to love and be loved unconditionally.

Enter our movie star pretty boy, Jack Stapleton. One of the sweetest and funniest characters I’ve read about. Honestly, this man laughs at just about everything Hannah does. And he doesn’t laugh at anything else. Like, literally. Ever. It’s my most favourite thing about him. Of course, besides everything else about him.

Hannah is assigned to protect Jack from a stalker, and pretty soon they realize that she’s going to have to also pretend to be his girlfriend. For the sake of his family, of course. Not because Hannah and Jack are into each other, nope. Nope nope nope. It’s all for the family. By the way, his family is really adorable.

What ensues are some of the cutest, most adorable moments I’ve read. I was practically snorting or laughing out loud at every page, and I have no idea how Katherine Center did it. How did he infuse these characters with such a sense of hope and magic? I couldn’t put this book down, in case you can’t tell.

There are certainly things that I wish were better addressed. For example, I wish we had more BIPOC and LBGTQ+ representation in the book instead of all being (presumably) White, straight couples. I wish we were better able to flesh out the relationship between Jack and Hank, and for the ending to be a little less… a-lot-happening-all-at-once vibes?

And yet. And yet, this book worked. It worked enough to make me overlook some of the things that bothered me, like the way a lot of sentences were on separate lines instead of paragraphs, especially near the beginning. Sorry, I had to get that out there. But the point is, Hannah and Jack made me feel things that made me overlook the other things I didn’t quite like.

With a lot of genuine smiling and laughter (and lots of heart-pattering moments), I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for an adorable, charming, and very comforting ride!

Another great read from Katherine Center. Hannah works for a private security team. She has professional training as a bodyguard and has kept many clients safe. Enter celebrity actor Jack who proves to be a challenging client on many levels. As threats build in intensity will Hannah’s heart interfere with her skill? Is there something deeper to Jack or is he really that good of an actor? In the end who will save the day? Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this Arc. This is my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! Katherine Center books have this quality about them that when you read them you just feel good. I don’t really know how to explain it but it’s something in her writing. I have loved all the books I have read by her but this might be my favorite! The MC Hannah is a bodyguard by trade, although you wouldn’t know that by looking at her. Then there is Jack, the annoyingly handsome movie star. She’s assigned to be his Executive Protection Agent while he’s home visiting his mother who is sick. Hannah recently lost her mother and got dumped. Jack doesn’t want his family to know that Hannah is his “bodyguard” or about the stalker situation he has, so he tells his family that she’s his girlfriend. A fake relationship? What could possibly go wrong here? This book is laugh out loud funny, it has a lot of heart, and is just a feel good read. I loved the banter between Hannah and Jack, and the way their relationship grew over the course of the book despite their better efforts.

This will be one of my favorite books of the year for sure. Katherine Center is also an auto buy author for me! She’s such a great writer and story teller!

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐲𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝, by Katherine Center, is a fun light-hearted read. I actually found myself laughing out loud a few times. While some of the content is a little heavy, the characters learn to overcome their past and move on to a better future. Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I absolutely adored this book! It may have gotten 5 stars instead of 4 because of location. Having grown up on the Brazos, I loved hearing about it in this book.

What makes this story really well written is that it is as if Hannah is telling us the story, but somehow we are still in the "now", which is really hard to be done well. Bravo Katherine for doing such a great job!

These were some of my favorite characters, even Glenn and Wilbur! Hannah has a tough exterior, but she is clearly really struggling on the inside with who she is and her feelings of being unloved. However, she doesn't portray the "woe is me" story. Instead, she seems tough as nails. That is, until Jack convinces her to open up. She realizes that she can be loved, which means that she can now accept being loved.
Jack is lovable because of how much he encourages Hannah to come out of her shell and I love that about him! I adored him from when he referred to her as "my Hannah".

The plot was different than your typical rom coms. It was fake dating, but for a reason I have yet to see! It wasn't littered with a bunch of irrelevant spice scenes or cheesy lines. The angst of "does he love me" doesn't last a really long time. Most of all, I love that it isn't this big blunder of miscommunication that most rom coms are.

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center is an easy, light read. I found myself laughing, gasping and towards the end there were two times my heart dropped. It is definitely a book I will recommend and I can't wait to read her other books! That is how I know it is a 5 star read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

the bodyguard is like if a hallmark movie and one of those horrendously cheesy netfix christmas movies had a baby. yes this book was outrageously cringe worthy but it also had me swooning. hannah and jack were sooooo cute and wholesome and lovable and i was NOT expecting that at all to get so invested in their budding romance

i’m a sucker for the typical brooding dark haired grumpy-pants as the male lead but i was so glad that jack. simply wasn’t that. he was such a sweetheart and a menace to society at times but was never outright mean for no reason? jack had it down BAD for hannah yet she was oblivious nearly the whole time. and yes i still ate that crap up even though i would normally hate when one character is so oblivious like that

anywho. i’m rounding this up to a 5/5 even though it’s really more of a 4.5/4.75. why? because i had fun. it’s as simple as that 🤷‍♀️ this book gave me all the cheese i desperately needed as i prepare to read more *ahem* soul crushing books in the coming weeks

This was my first book written by this author and I absolutely loved it! I wish I could give it more stars. Words to describe this book: fun, entertaining, page-turning, romantic, hilarious (at times). While there are some serious aspects to this book, it's nothing trigger-warning worthy and the romance is not over the top steamy.

This book is a great beach read, if you're looking for one, and I can say that from experience. There's not an over abundance of characters, which makes this an easy read. I could easily see this book being made into a rom com movie or limited series. That being said, you can probably guess that the plot is not really all that realistic. If that makes your eyes roll, then go ahead and skip it, but every now and then I like to escape reality, which is exactly what this book did for me.

At first, I didn't know how I was going to like Jack Stapleton. I thought he would be your typical self-centered, over the top celebrity, but as his character developed and I got to know more about his past, he became one of my favorite characters in the book. My least favorite character was Robby, and if you read this book you will clearly and quickly find out why. What an a_ _-hat!

Special thanks to the author, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC of this book in exchange my honest review.

This book was so good! The banter had me laughing out loud. I loved that the banter started from the first meeting of main characters, Hannah and Jack. Hannah’s inner dialogue was great and extremely relatable! Jack was so caring and gentle! I liked that even in his moments of anger he still took care of his loved ones. I loved the family dynamics and the work relationship dynamics. Each persons personality was so well written. I liked the interesting plot twist in the end. The reverse grumpy sunshine trope (girl grumpy and guy sunshine) was something different and I really like that.

It’s always a good day when you have a new Katherine Center book to read. This one does not disappoint. It has all the feels and warmth of her previous books. She knows how to write a book that is charming and funny while dealing with characters who have very difficult issues. In this one both the main characters have loss in their lives. These losses make Hannah feel unworthy and Jack guilt ridden. Heavy subjects handled with a light touch.

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The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
The Bodyguard
by Katherine Center (Goodreads Author)
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Read in July 2022
Did this book beat my other favorite Katherine Center book How To Walk Away? Very possibly 😉

Hannah is an Executive Protection agent (aka bodyguard) and had just lost her mother, her boyfriend who works with her dumped her, and she's just been assigned to protect Jack Stapleton- a Hollywood heartthrob!

To keep him protected from a small stalker, she will live with him at his family's ranch while his mother recovers from cancer removal surgery and pretend to be his girlfriend.

I really liked Hannah and Jack. They were just so fun together. I love how open he was with her and how kind he was. I liked his family (especially his sweet, sweet mom) but there were some TERRIBLE people in this book that were just MEAN to Hannah and she didn't deserve it.

This book is full of laughter, fake dating that is so fun, and a swoon worthy kiss that is worth the wait.

There was a scene near the end where I knew something was up but didn't imagine what was really happening. I KNEW Jack, I got to know him and KNEW this was a scene that was not right! I can't wait to see others reactions to that scene.