I really really enjoyed this book! Katherine Center always knows how to draw you in and keep you there. I finished this book in just over a day and was really invested in the story. The reason it fell short of 5 stars was because it felt very predictable and almost cheesy at times. However, it’s the perfect kind of cheese that you need sometimes.

Reading a Katherine Center book is like eating comfort food…it just makes you feel good! I loved this book & skipped it up my reading list because I really wanted to read it.

Jack & Hannah are great characters and their chemistry was amazing. I appreciated the healing that the characters do in this story and the message that even in your darkest hour things can turn around.

That’s one thing I appreciate about Center’s stories: that they may seem like fun rom coms but there is always an underlying strong, positive message for readers.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for the chance to read this amazing story.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
I am a huge Katherine Center fan, discovering her books just two years ago. This is most definitely her best book, in my opinion.
The 2 main characters are realistically flawed, each with great backstories..one which takes a little longer for us to discover. I loved their witty banter, the slow burn romance, and the way they both help one another heal from their pasts.
This book was pure perfection!

This was so good! I couldn't stop smiling the whole book because it was so cute and I really like the characters. Katherine Center books are always a sure thing and I think this book is her best work yet!

Review posted on Goodreads

Thank you for this ARC. I have read several Katherine Center novels and this one fit her usual writing style. I enjoyed Jack’s character a lot, but Hannah was harder for me to connect with which made the novel feel distant to me. This is a rom com that felt heavier on the com side, especially the first 10 chapters or so.

Yes!!! Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, and I got a side of revenge against the evil Bobby. The non-Bobby characters are really lovable and well-developed. This is just really fun and cute, and all rom-com fans will get a kick out of it.

I have read a few books by our author so was excited for this approval on NetGalley. I do believe this is my 4th book by Katherine Center counting a short story that was released on audio. This was cute and felt refreshingly original. Many of our characters are struggling with their own issues so to speak, and it reminded me a bit of what happens when life gives you lemons.

NetGalley tells us Hannah Brooks is “an Executive Protection Agent (aka "bodyguard"), and she just got hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his middle-aged, corgi-breeding stalker.”

I thought it was really eye opening to see things through the eyes of security or someone involved in personal protection. The whole process was informative and interesting without feeling too procedural. I liked the characters and somehow the book ends up making you feel like you’re part of the family, it’s just that inviting. I can’t say that I loved the stalker corgi obsessed fan. In my opinion it didn’t quite seem to mesh with the rest of the story. I think there maybe could have been alternative options that would have felt better as a whole with the story. Overall I thought it was a cute quick read.

Many thanks to our author and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advanced eGalley copy of the book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This will be published on July 19th, 2022. I hope if you choose to read it you like it also.

I loved this book!! This was a sit down, start reading and done look up until your are done kinda book for me. I loved the main characters choice of career ( bodyguard) even when she didn’t look the part. I loved that she had a fairytale coming true in her life and even she knew it was to good for a Normal person to believe it was real… I laughed out loud. I cried out of compassion … I loved every page of this book and read it until the wee hours of the morning. I will tell all of my friends who like a good hearted, light, funny , romantic read to try this book !

LOVE Katherine Center!! Her writing style is so natural and even stories that I would normally think of as "No way would this happen" seem to be totally realistic and possible! This storyline is no different. I love the take on the stereotypical "Bodyguard". It makes so much sense when she writes it. The details and descriptions are so well crafted that now I want to see EVERY Jack Stapleton movie!

When the book started, I thought "OH great, another girl meets superstar, girls falls for superstar, blah blah blah." With social awkwardness and a completely standoffish personality, Hannah does not come off like the usual girl in a rom-com. I immediately loved her (despite her whining about having to do her job a few times) & wanted to know what came next in the almost real-life movie that her life had become!

It's hard not to give away too much of the book. Basically, if you've loved Katherine Center's previous works, you'll love this one. If you've never read her books, then do yourself a favor and start now with this one! Another Win!

Thank you Netgalley & St Martin's Press for the Advanced read! I can't wait to see what's next!

I absolutely loved this book! Hannah Brooks is an Executive Protection Agent, aka bodyguard. She’s been hired to protect Jack Stapleton, a famous Hollywood actor, “THE” famous Hollywood star. Together these two are rom-com royalty! This book really made me giggle, just like Jack constantly cracking up from Hannah’s seriousness. In my opinion, Hannah was way too serious, almost to an unbelievable degree. Like she doesn’t even crack a smile and he’s hysterical. It didn’t come off as the most realistic scenario but it still worked. Katherine Center is such a beautiful author. This is the second book of hers that I’ve read and so I think I can say with confidence that she writes amazing stories about bad things happening to good people. I always find plenty of sound if not simple advice in her books. Katherine has a great way of saying really difficult things in very simplistic terms. Most of all, I love that she constantly shows characters that believe the hype of thinking that maybe their poor circumstances have a basis in their own behavior. She writes about genuinely good people that have just been through a rough time, and that’s most of us. Life is hard but Katherine has a way of making the ugly beautiful and bringing us out the other side intact. Love this author, loved this book!

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review!

Thank you, Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, for the ARC of this charming novel. The Bodyguard was my very first read from author Katherine Center. Upon finishing, I devoured two more of her novels in rapid succession. The Bodyguard was a light, refreshing book filled with charming characters and the universal theme of hope. It is the perfect summer escape, best read poolside and with an icy beverage. 5/5 stars - highly recommended!

A fantastic read! I read this in a sitting. I can’t wait for more by author. Thanks to publisher and NetGalley for the chance to review this ARC.

This was a cute read! Them getting more comfortable and gradually letting their guard down and opening up was just so cute! It was also very funny throughout, but being from NW Ohio myself, the Toledo comments at the beginning (and epilouge) were cracking me up.

Such a good book, I think people are gonna really love this one. Keep me wanting more the whole way through. Thank you!

This was a cute rom-com and kept me guessing. I enjoyed learning more about Hannah and Jack as they each worked through tough life events they experienced in their lives.

** spoiler alert ** Katherine Center is an auto-buy author for me so I was thrilled Netgalley sent me a copy in advance of the pub date.

I really liked this book. It was so cute and I really identified with the protagonist having lost my mom recently. The Dead Mother's Club is so real. The only reason I knocked off a star was because I don't love that she accepted love from a man who viewed her as 'ordinary.' Sure, she was different from his previous relationships, but I'll be damned if a man I love doesn't think I'm extraordinary! This really soured my opinion of the book unfortunately, but I really enjoyed the premise and I love the way Katherine Center writes

Review: 5 star rating
Summary:
Hannah works for a security firm. They send her all over the world on security jobs. After her mother dies, her boyfriend dumps her. She is also assigned to a case that is in Texas. She is used to traveling for work. She is assigned to a famous actor, Jack Stapleton. He currently has a woman who is stalking him. His mother is sick, so he must return home. But after an accident, his family is not too keen in having Jack at home. Jack does not want his family to know that he has a security guard. He asks Hannah to pretend that she is his girlfriend.
My Thoughts:
Katherine Center is becoming one of my go-to authors! I always know that when I read a book by her, I will just love it! This book was no different. I was so happy to get approved for this arc through Netgalley!
The characters are cute. I really loved both Hannah and Jack. I also loved Jack’s family. It was crumby of her boyfriend (at the beginning of the novel) to dump her right after her mother passed away. I wanted to give Hannah a huge hug. You could tell she was dealing with a lot of emotions.
I think it was nice to see that two characters that are going through their own problems but also bonding over them too. With Hannah losing her mother and Jack losing his brother, we got to see how both are dealing with the grief in their own ways.
POSSIBLE SPOILER: I really liked the ending too. I knew that eventually there would be an action scene where she needs to be a security guard. I really enjoyed how it all played out.
I also liked the setting. Not only was Hannah out of her element on the ranch but also in nature. She is used to living in the city. It had me laughing from time to time. When you think of Texas, you think it is all people who can hunt, have big trucks, etc. You do not think of a city slicker from Texas! It was all just too cute!
I also loved that a female character was working in a male dominated field. She also held her ground among the men that she worked with and for. Katherine Center did not portray her as being “manly.” Normally they like to stereotype a woman to be butch in media when a woman portrays a construction worker, cop, etc.
Every step of the way, I kept comparing this book to the two Sandra Bullock movies called “The Proposal” and “Miss Congeniality.” “The Proposal” was similar due to the fake relationship with a co-worker and meeting the family in a state where she is out of her element. But also Miss Congeniality due to the security guard/cop and action scene. I would love to see Sandra Bullock play Hannah in the movie! HA

✨ARC Review✨

The Bodyguard- Katherine Center
4⭐️

This book was cheesy and cliche in all the best ways! It was so fun and a perfect cleansing read after just finishing The Shining. I’d love to see it turned into a romcom on the big screen.

Overall, the story was fairly predictable. There was one good twist at the end, but most was your classic fake dating trope. That didn’t take away from my enjoyment reading it, though.

I love that Katherine Center always delivers great romcoms with a theme of strength and resilience.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this ARC with me in exchange my honest review.

Out July 19, 2022 🥳

This is Katherine Center's best work yet! Hannah Brooks is The Bodyguard assigned to Texas movie star, Jack Stapleton. He has taken a break from making movies to sneak away back home to Texas. His mom is having surgery and she needs her boys back home with her. Hannah is always all business but protecting Jack Stapleton is proving to be her hardest assignment yet. Hannah knows she is definitely not Jack's type so this should be easier than it really is. But being with a real family is something Hannah never really experienced. And this is making her having feelings she has never had, especially when protecting someone.
I do not want to give anything away! The Bodyguard has everything! It is going to be the perfect beach reach this summer!! Fun, romance, suspense and an amazing story! I will always recommend Katherine Center but this is my favorite of her books to date. I will also always be on the look out for future reads by Katherine Center. (If Katherine ever reads this-- Jack Stapleton must be played by Alan Ritchson when this becomes a movie!) Special thanks to NetGalley, Katherine Center, and St. Martin's Press for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion! 5 HUGE stars for me

Put this on your beach read list! This is a cute rom-com, along the lines of Christina Lauren, Abby Jimenez and Emily Henry. I'm a sucker for a "famous guy falling for an ordinary girl" trope. Bonus that the ordinary girl in this story is a bad-ass bodyguard. I loved the characters, the focus on personal insecurity, and there were a few quotes of Jack's that had me swooning. I'm crossing my fingers this gets made into a movie (with stellar casting, of course).