Despite Hannah's petite stature, she's an Executive Protection Agent (aka boduguard). She has just been hired to protect Jack, a super-star actor who has a stalker. Her mother just passed away, so the assignement and distraction is welcome. Jack's mother got sick and he has to go home to help and support her, but he doesn't want anyone to know he heas a stalker, so he proposes to introduce Hannah as his girlfriend. She accpets despite always trying to keep a distance from her clients. What could go wrong?
This is a lighthearted and fun read, with a fake-dating trop (which I'm not a fan of, but this was well done). Obviously, it is predictable, but I enjoyed the journey with all the witty banter.
I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was my first Katherine Center book and let me tell you I’m HOOKED!

I found this book sweet, funny, and very entertaining. When I first saw the cover I wasn’t interested but then I read the synopsis. I absolutely adore the fact that SHE is the bodyguard and not him! Jack is a cinnamon roll if there ever was one. He’s adorable. But Hannah is hilarious and so relatable. She has so many You Go Girl! moments. Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and this one was just superb!

I only have 2 complaints: **SPOILERS**

I love a “there’s only one bed” trope and it was set up so perfectly I almost squealed! And then… ONLY ONE OF THEM SLEPT IN THE BED! How dare you Katherine!
Y’all know by now I like things spicy but I don’t necessarily mind a closed door romance… but there was still nothing physical until the last 20%. It was definitely a slow burn and practically a no burn since the only thing that happens on page is ONE ACTUAL KISS! I cannot. When I’m reading a romance and realize it’s already 80% in and nothings happened…😐 👏🏻GIVE 👏🏻US 👏🏻SOME SPICE! PLZ.

Okay that was dramatic and honestly I still loved the book. Read this if you want a funny, feminist, slow burn, closed door romance!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 (5 Stars)
Steam 0/5 closed door romance, some kissing

Narration: I really enjoyed the narrator for this audiobook! They did an excellent job keeping me interested and distinguishing between characters!

No spoiler review 👇🏻

I absolutely loved this book! Im surprised how much I did. It was just such a fun romance read. This is a closed door romance! I know a lot of people like this and I usually read open door so this is an awesome rec!

This book follows Taylor, she is an elite executive protection agent. She usually protects large oil executives. This time she gets put on a case to protect Jack, one of the biggest celebrities. As he visits his mom with cancer. Taylor is a fan of Jack and their interactions are cute and hilarious.

In order to keep her cover and not worry Jacks family, Taylor must pretend to be his girlfriend and live with him/his family. (I just love fake dating!) It’s so cute, funny, romantic and such a entertaining read. Plus Taylor is such a strong female MC. I loved reading her point of view.

This is a perfect summer romance read! I highly recommend this one! It’s so worth the hype it’s been getting on bookstagram.

CW: death of parent, cancer, alcoholism, stalking

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan audio for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book. It was a perfect book for a vacation read. Yes, there were parts that were predictable, but I didn’t care because who doesn’t love a sweet romcom that has a sweet pair of parents to balance out the absent mom? Or the role reversal by having a tiny nerdy woman as a feisty ass-kicking body guard who is balanced by a hot actor who in tune with his feelings. If you are looking for a feel good book, this is a great read. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

It was a great story, a protection agent and a movie star, this rom-com will hook you from the start, so many laughs and happiness after reading heavy books, this is what I needed. I got the audiobook and the narration by Patti Murin was spot on, I so enjoyed this story. Looking forward to what Katherine Center writes next.

A great romance story. Great character development. I left feeling great on the outcome of the book..

Hanna Brooks is a bodyguard. She is a trained professional and has worked all over the world as part of an elite team of Executive Protection Agents. She is conscientious and thorough, aware of her surroundings and the potential dangers of protecting a client.

She’s not had as much success protecting her heart.

After a relationship with a fellow protection agent ends badly, Hannah needs something new to throw herself into. There is a possible promotion in her future, running the new office in London, but unfortunately she’s competing with her ex for the spot. But when a last minute job comes up in their native Houston, Hannah throws herself into it, hoping it will get her that promotion.

But when that job turns out to be protecting Hollywood heartthrob Jack Stapleton while he’s in Texas with his family, helping his mother recover from cancer. But there is a catch with this job. Jack doesn’t want to add any extra stress to his mother, so he doesn’t want his parents to know that the studio is insisting he has protection. He’d been taking a break from films for a couple of years, so the team is taking his protection seriously but categorizing the threat as light. Jack does have a stalker who knits him sweaters and breeds corgis. But they still have to protect him at all times, without his family knowing what’s going on, so he agrees to let Hannah be his bodyguard only if she pretends to be his girlfriend.

Hannah is a little intimidated by Jack. She’s watched him in movies for years, seeing him bigger than life in action movies and romances. One of her movies has her all-time favorite kiss. Pretending to be his girlfriend isn’t her first choice, but she understands that he doesn’t want to upset his mother. And when she meets Jack’s family, Hannah understands. There is a sweetness there that she never had in her own family, and she too wants to protect that. Jack’s brother is angry with him for reasons he doesn’t explain to Hannah, but she can work with that.

After Jack’s mother’s surgery goes well, she suggests that everyone move out to their ranch for the next month, until Thanksgiving. And when Jack’s stalker shows up at his rental house in town, the protection team thinks it’s not a bad idea for him to stay at the ranch. Hannah does what she can to stay the pretend girlfriend, but she struggles with her crush on Jack. And when he acts like they are a couple, her confused feelings grow. But when photos of Hannah and Jack at the hospital together are released online and death threats come in against her, she has to protect more than just her heart. More than just her client. She may have to protect her own life as well.

The Bodyguard is a heart-warming romance with genuine laugh-out-loud moments. I’ve heard this called a rom com, and there is romance, and there is comedy, but it’s not as formulaic as a typical beach read rom com. Author Katherine Center has created these characters with depth and secrets, with honesty and flaws. This is a story of healing and hope, with romantic overtones.

I listened to the audio book of The Bodyguard, narrated by Patti Murin. She had an intelligent snark to her for Hannah’s voice that I found particularly charming. She really brought Hannah to life for me, especially when Jack was making fun of her and she was being feisty. I wasn’t sure how the story would play out, with the bodyguard and the movie star, but these characters were very real to me, so all of my worries were for nothing.

I am a big fan of rom coms, books and movies, and this has a classic story for that formula of storytelling. But Center took that idea and grew it into something deeper and richer and fantastically entertaining. I think romance fans can find something here that they could enjoy, but it has a lot more layers than a typical romance. And while I was laughing out loud whenever Jack called Hannah “Stumpy,” or when she showed him just how capable she was at her job, I was also so moved by the moments of true family they had. This book has it all, from a great story to phenomenal characters to real feelings and a perfect ending.

An early copy of the audio book was provided by Macmillan Audio through NetGalley, with many thanks.

This felt like the comfort of watching a Hallmark Movie, in book form.

This book is the bodyguard and fake dating trope - and such a perfect one!

Hannah is a private security agent and one of the best. When the biggest and most elusive movie star in the world, Jack Stapleton comes to town, Hannah is assigned as the point on his security detail. It should be a relatively simply job, until Jack requests that she poses as his girlfriend to his family.

This is a perfect cozy romance. It felt fresh, relevant, and current. There is no spice in this book, just a lot of heart - which makes it a great one to pass on without worry over their spice comfort level. ;)

The author did a fantastic job developing these characters in a way that I really felt like I knew them by the end of the book. Jack Stapleton officially goes down in my list of Book Boyfriends.

This is a great book for anyone who’s looking for a sweet, largely uncomplicated romance with a HEA!

This book was absolutely fantastic!
It had the ladies taking care of the big buff men, it had fake dating, it had banter, it had adorable family moments.
I loved the main character Hannah. She wasn't perfect, but she loved her job as a bodyguard and she was good at it. I absolutely loved movie star Jack Stapleton. We get Hannah's first impression as a typical spoiled, arrogant famous person, but we come to learn he is so much more than that. Hannah and Jack stay at his parents house because his mom is sick and I really loved his family. They were not perfect either and had their own dark past, but his parents were so loving and I feel like it's hard to find that in books a lot of the time. There were 2 characters in particular I didn't like but I don't want to spoil anything.
The whole premise of this book was just so fun. Jack is being mildly stalked by a lady who loves corgis and knitting him sweaters. So he hires a bodyguard. Hannah gets chosen. Hannah is determined to keep work and home life separate and is very good at doing so, but not with Jack. As she learns more about him, she finds herself able to share parts of herself as well. A lot of this book is just the ranch life and watching Hannah and Jack fall for each other and Hannah doesn't realize it at all. The ending was really exciting. Just when you think things are settling down, we get a super exciting ending which I loved.
The writing style was amazing. I laughed out loud several times and listening to the audiobook was such a pleasure. My mind never wandered and the narrator did a wonderful job.

I loved the reverse general role occupations of the characters. It really made the book more fun than the traditional woman needs help

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center was an absolute delight to listen to.

Fully of well-written, likeable characters, some twists and turns to keep the story interesting, and plenty of heartwarming moments as well as several truly funny moments, all made this a great rom-com to listen to.

Hannah Brooks is a diminutive, serious bodyguard with no room in her life for love or fun since her breakup with her boyfriend. Jack Stapleton is a drop dead gorgeous movie star who dropped out of the limelight after a family tragedy and has since gained a corgi-loving woman stalker. When he goes back to his hometown to see his mom who is sick, he needs to protect both himself and his family, but doesn't want them to know he's in danger.

Hannah is hired to protect Jack, and together they decide that Hannah will play his girlfriend. What could possibly go wrong... At what point are they both still acting?

A good feel-good novel.

I loved The Bodyguard. It's a laugh out loud rom com, forced proximity- puts the traditional Bodyguard trope on its head. A great story, wonderful characters, and a sweet, swoony romance. This book was such a good time on audio that I picked up a physical copy as well.. Perfect summer read that will appeal to lovers of contemporary fiction and romance.

This was the perfect summer read mixed in with some action! I loved Hannah's personality and how dedicated she was to being the best bodyguard, even if that meant taking up some acting! This romance had some serious plot twists that I did not see coming, and I enjoyed watching the characters navigate family situations, stalkers, and workplace drama!

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for a free audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the audio version of the Bodyguard by Katherine Center. I have been eyeing this book for a while now and I am so glad I had the chance to read/listen to it.

I really enjoyed the characters. They were well written and interesting. The narration was very fresh and I liked being in Hannah’s mind.

The story was the classic bodyguard falls for the person they are protecting, but I loved how the girl was the bodyguard and how the male character never acted all macho and had no problem with her being bad a$$.

I am giving the book 4 stars instead of 5 because I would have like see Hannah actually do some a$$ kicking instead of only being emotional, it felt like the two started feel it very comfortable with one another a little bit too soon.

I found Robbie kind of original as a character. You rarely see someone acting like he did in these books, I am also glad Hannah was right about how he would have treated her best friend.

I feel like the book needed a little bit of spice. Not too much but maybe something Emily Henry style but without going into details.

I really love the cover. That is the first thing that attracted me about the book.

This was my first book by this author even if I gave almost all her books in my TBR and they will definitely get some attention now.

For the audio version: I like the narrator voice, I feel she did an amazing job.

When it comes to romance, fake dating is an exceedingly common trope. The list is mighty, and it is endless. Popular titles that orbit around a fake relationship plot include TO ALL THE BOYS I LOVED BEFORE, THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS. THE UNHONEYMOONERS, THE SPANISH LOVE DECEPTION, THE DATING PLAN — and that’s just the beginning. Katherine Center’s THE BODYGUARD follows the same formula, but with a refreshing twist.

Meet Hannah Brooks and Jack Stapleton, our protagonists for an ever-ridiculous journey into fake love that is destined for more. The two kick things off under the guise of a pseudo-relationship, strictly for professional purposes. Hannah, an unassuming-looking-but-really-highly-trained elite bodyguard, is hired to protect Jack, an A-list celebrity, from an obsessive stalker. But things get complicated quickly when Jack has Hannah pose as his girlfriend to avoid worrying his sick mom as he visits his family farm. Hilarity — and several swoon-worthy moments — ensue from there.

THE BODYGUARD doesn’t reinvent the romance wheel, but it does add a sparkling new dimension to a tried-and-true tale. Part of its charm is the build-up — one that from the jump doesn’t allow for anything from this story but a HEA. Center’s spin on this is quirky and full of hijinks, making THE BODYGUARD a light, witty summer read. One that you’re sure to feel good about when you’re done.

*Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan for an ARC of this book.*

This book was amazing! From the characters to the story and everything in between. Definitely one of my new favorites! Kept my attention the whole time. I’d love to see a sequel.

At a time when there is so much chaos in the world, it is nice to get lost in a book. The Bodyguard by @katherinecenter is fun, comical and brought me so much joy – everything I didn’t know I needed.

Hannah Brooks works as an Executive Protection Agent and gets hired to protect mega celebrity Jack Stapleton from a stalker. She is petite, and not at all what Jack expected in a bodyguard, making it difficult to explain to his family what she is doing there so Hannah and Jack agree to pretend they are dating and lie to his family.

This is a romcom so you expect all the love fluff, but I really enjoyed that Center brought forth some real issues in the story, for example dealing with a death in the family and recognizing self-worth.

I listened to the audiobook version and loved every second of it! @pattimurin did a phenomenal job narrating and made it so easy to follow along.

I loved it so much that I visited my local bookstore @booksandbooks yesterday, on Pub Day, and picked up a physical copy for my good friend @ohteeshirts_boutique 📚

If you love romcoms, pick this one up. You won’t be disappointed 💕

The Bodyguard is out now!

Huge thank you to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I usually shy away from anything romantic, but I'm a huge fan of Katherine Center's work so of course I had to read this book! I love the idea of a female body guard and I was an immediate fan of Hannah's. She could be a badass when she wanted to be, but she also very much reminded me of the girl next door. I really resonated with Hannah's mind, particularly her feelings of disbelief when it comes to men, so it was nice to be there while she worked through what was true and real and what was false.

You can always count on Katherine Center to deliver a hidden message in her books. I don't like to give away the plot in my reviews so I will say I found this book to have several hidden life messages that I really enjoyed.

If you are looking for a delightful, fast-paced rom com read, look no further!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Patti Murin did a fantastic job as the narrator.

I loved this audiobook! It was such a cute story. I loved the whole premise of a female body guard! Than we get fake dating to! A hot male celebrity, a cow ranch and some family Dynamics and the right amount of drama! take my heart now! I thought it was so funny! The narrator did a great job of making Hannah come to life!! And I loved her character development through out the book too, and her being invoked with jacks family (especially the mother) made my heart so happy. Hannah really deserved the world!! And Jack! Jack was so funny!! I loved his parts with Hannah! They had such great chemistry! He has also great character development and even tho he was really funny he also was a pretty deep character! And the whole drama between Hannah, Robbie, and Taylor was funny but brought a good edge to the story and really helped Hannah figure out who was! And that epilogue! I LOVE a good epilogue!! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook for review out now!

Great book! I can't say enough how much I enjoyed it. The plot was good, the characters were charming and the narration on the audiobook was fantastic. I look forward to reading more books by Katherine Center.