Hannah works as an executive protection agent (aka bodyguard). Her latest assignment has her working to protect Hollywood star, Jack Stapleton. Only this assignment has a twist, he doesn’t want his family to find out she’s his bodyguard and wants her to instead pretend to be his girlfriend. She typically has no problem staying professional with her clients, but with Jack the lines very quickly get blurred.

I adore Katherine Center’s previous books and was so excited to read The Bodyguard and I am so happy to say it did not disappoint. After reading the author’s note, I thought it was interesting that she worried this book would be “too fun”. However, after reading, I can say it was truly the perfect amount of fun with a little bit of emotion in there too. This was truly a joy to read.

I switched between formats on this one, and when listening to the audiobook, I truly enjoyed Patti Muri’s performance. She did the narration flawlessly.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the advance copy.

From the outside, you would never except Hannah Brooks has the skills to take down a grown man or kill someone with a corkscrew, but she totally does. Hannah is an Executive Protection Agent (aka bodyguard), and her latest detail is famously handsome actor, Jack Stapleton. Jack is known world-wide for his superhero action movies, but hasn’t been in the public eye since his brother died a few years earlier. Back home in Texas and trying to avoid a middle-aged Corgi breeding stalker, Jack’s team hires Hannah and her colleagues to provide protection.

Get ready for fake dating, forced proximity, and also one of the most aggravating ex-boyfriends ever! While The Bodyguard doesn’t have any spicy scenes it is a slow-burn relationship story where we see both main characters grow personally and grow towards each other. I usually love a dual POV, but the single narration worked really well for this one!

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for access to this ALC in exchange for my honest review. This wonderful book comes out in just two more sleeps, July 19th.

(Full disclosure- I listened to this glorious audiobook a few months ago and just kept putting off actually writing the review. Memories of exact scenarios is a wee bit blurry at this time!)

I am a total Katherine Center stan. For me, she could truly write almost anything and I would devour it, loving every minute. Pretty sure I've read her entire backlist! When I saw her new audiobook, I knew I needed to do the same. I was really excited to see that Patti Murin was the narrator. I had listened to Soulmate Equation awhile back, a book I didn't overly care for but had stuck with because of how much I loved her voice. To say I wasn't let down by her work on this one would be an understatement!!!

I loved how Katherine made the woman the bodyguard and the way that Patti turned her into a total fangirl in places. I loved how plucky Hannah was and how real Jack became. Katherine's books can be much more geared towards the woman discovering who she is and what she's about, a little bit heavier in spaces. I felt much lighter and fluffier about this one and can't wait to try to sell it to customers as much more of a romcom than women's fiction. As discovered in a group Zoom chat that I was lucky enough to participate in with her, that was exactly the intent as this was written during the pandemic and she wanted it to be lighter. She absolutely succeeded while also writing a truly wonderful book. I can't wait to share this book with customers. In fact, I've been telling many of them about it, trying to get everyone hyped the way that I am.

If I haven't already sold you on it, Katherine is also an incredible human being, as seen in aforementioned Zoom chat. I want nothing but the best for her and love that while she's living in that, I get to live in places like Texas with characters like Hannah and Jack.

The book is generally light fare, but also explores grief on a surface level. There is some emotional depth and introspection as Hannah begins to reveal pieces of herself and learn things about herself she was previously unaware of. It's integrated well with the general lightheartedness of the book, especially because her interactions with Jack prompt many of these revelations. Their banter and intimate conversations were some of my favorite moments in the book.

The story is told solely from Hannah's point of view. I connected easily with her, identifying with her workaholic behavior and her need to keep her emotions bottled up. It was fun listening in on her thoughts. She's funny and witty. Jack is a little bit harder to read because he's an actor. Did he feel the same, or was it just great acting? I would have loved to hear what he was thinking. Jack was likeable, and his reactions often surprised me. He is a keeper.

Despite a few agonizing moments, this was a fun read. I enjoyed Patti Murin's narration and would listen to her again. I listened to it while doing things around the house, and it kept my attention nearly the entire time. I recommend this to individuals looking for a lighthearted bodyguard romance with a quirky cast of side characters. This may be a good fit for individuals who enjoy celebrity romances as well, but the celebrity aspect of it is more secondary. (3.5 stars rounded to 4 stars)

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

This was a cute romance about a movie star and his bodyguard. I loved the flip on roles and the characters were both very charming. I loved getting to know both of them.

I am glad I listened to this on audio. It was entertaining and quick. I think I may have gotten a little bored with reading it as it was predictable and nothing too unique or exciting. But at the end of day sometimes all you need is an easy to follow cute romcom, and that’s what this is!

Thank you to @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for my copy!

#audiobook #audiobookstagram #audiobooksofinstagram #audiobookrecommendation #audiobookreview #summerbooks #bookthoughts #macmillanaudio #netgalley

Katherine Center is the queen of sweet romances; I hope she doesn’t mind that I’ve given her that title.

Hannah Brooks is a petite, pretty bodyguard working for a protection agency. She may not fit the stereotype, but she can go unnoticed, seeing as most people think she is just housekeeping or something.

Things aren’t going too well for Hannah; her mother has recently passed, her boss insists she needs to cut back at work to grieve, and her jerk of a boyfriend, whom she works with, just broke up with her. Then the agency gets a call that superstar Jack Stapleton needs to hire some protection from a stalker.

Hannah gets put on the gig. Jack’s beloved mother is currently sick, and his family has converged on the family’s Texas ranch. To not alert his family about the stalker, Hannah and Jack agree to call Hannah Jack’s newest girlfriend.

I felt terrible for Hannah; she just kept having bad things happen to her, and people treated her so rudely. As much as this trope, the fake dating, was predictable, I still loved it. And Jack and Hannah were adorable together. Again, I will say that Katherine Center writes with heart and never fails to leave me with a smile.


Thank you @stmartinspress for the gifted ebook and @macmillan.audio for the gifted audiobook, which was fun to listen to.

The Bodyguard
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Romance / Rom-Com
Format: Audiobook
Date Published: 7/19/22
Author: Katherine Center
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Narrator: Patti Murin
Goodreads Rating: 4.32

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: 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. Jack Stapleton’s a household name. But a few years back, in the wake of a family tragedy, he dropped from the public eye and went off the grid. 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. Hannah struggles at protecting her own, long-neglected heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done.

My Thoughts: First and Foremost, the narrator was amazing!! Murin does an amazing job on Hannah and Jack’s characters. This would be a perfect light beach read. This is my first book from Katherine Center, since starting this one, I have added her backlog to my TBR! The story is told in the perspective of Hannah, and she is so cute, smart, strong, and a total workaholic. The way Center writes the characters and Murin portrays the characters gives them layers of depth, instant connection and chemistry between Hannah and Jack, witty banter, charismatic, they are inventive, and the supporting characters are fabulous. Center’s writing style flows flawlessly, has complexity built in layers across the story, has a creative twist intertwined that was brilliant, and just flows so well for this storyline. The spice is light, which is my preference, it was more built on the relationships. There was humor along the way, I literally laughed out loud at a few parts. Every chance I got, I would listen because I had to know more about Hannah and Jack! This is one of my top reads for this year. I am grateful for the audiobook copy from NetGalley, but I also bought the physical book through BOTM because I knew early on that I would love it that much. I highly recommend stop everything your doing right now and go preorder this book that releases on Tuesday, 7/19/22!!!

Four stars to Katherine Center's latest Romantic Comedy, The Bodyguard!
Of course this book follows a traditional RomCom arc. Of course there are cliches and troupes aplenty. But there's also depth . . . covering topics like grief, family secrets, childhood abuse, self worth and more.

THE BODYGUARD review

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5

🏞When I requested this one on NetGalley I had no idea what it was about, but I thought the cover was cute. So much for don’t judge a book by it’s cover. 🤪 This story was so cute though! This was my first Katherine Center book, and I really liked her writing style! I loved the way the main character would break the fourth wall and talk directly to the reader. The first half was definitely my favorite!!

🏞Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
As a 5’3” woman, Hannah is not what people expect a bodyguard to look like. But that’s exactly what she does for a living, and she loves her job. That is until she’s hired to be the bodyguard for famous movie star Jack Stapleton. This job will be unlike any other for Hannah. Protecting Jack from his corgi obsessed stalker? Hannah can definitely handle that. But pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend so his family doesn’t know about his stalker or the fact that he has a bodyguard? That’s more than Hannah signed up for. Especially when her feelings for Jack start to become unprofessional…

🏞I reallllly liked the first half of this one, but the back half started to get a bit too cheesy for me. Scenes where the main character says or does something and the entire crowd in a public place start clapping or cheering for them are always a bit too cheesy for me. 🤣 Other than some of the cheesy scenes, I enjoyed this one! Definitely a quick read and I’ll need to check out more of this author’s books in the future!

The Bodyguard
by Katherine Center
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

What a cute freaking book. I love the fact that this book makes the woman in power. As a female veteran who is often now 'the spouse' of an active duty military member, I'm often forgotten. I love the fact that she lays him out on his back without thinking twice. And he laughs and thanks her.
I honestly like that she stands up for herself to her 'best friend' and is like look you chose that now you lost this. Period. Goodbye!

I almost rated this 4 stars because of the long-running plot of this book being 'tossed' about 3/4 into this book. But SHE TRICKED ME and brought it back. And I honestly wrote in my book notebook, "YOU TRICKED ME!!!" I'm glad that it wasn't tossed because It would have thrown the book off. I love this book.

If you're looking for a hot and spicy romance, this isn't it. But if you're looking for a good slow romance where the female is the one in power. This is the book for you! I highly recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC version of the audiobook. Thank you, Katherine Center, for this cute and romantic tale. And lastly, thank you PAtti Murin for the wonderful Narration and bringing these characters to life.

This is my first book by Katherine Center and I highly enjoyed and recommend! Very cute rom com where the heroine is the bodyguard. I also really enjoyed the narrator. I listen to a lot of audiobooks and tend to dislike American accents, but this one was very pleasant.

Who even am I these days? I think I’ve read - and enjoyed - more beach read romcoms this spring/summer than I did all of last year!

The Bodyguard was an extremely fun take on the fake dating trope that plays out when executive protection agent Hannah Brooks is assigned to protect Hollywood megastar Jack Stapleton. Jack’s mother is recovering from breast cancer surgery and he’s come home to Texas to help her. What could possibly go wrong?

Both Hannah and Jack have their own demons and emotional baggage, and I enjoyed watching their relationship evolve as they slowly let down their guard. The characters are all well developed and I couldn’t help loving Jack’s mom and dad.

A couple scenes early on seemed a bit incongruous with Hannah’s skillset and training, but I quickly gave in to this sweet story.

Be sure to add this one to your summer reading list!

4.15⭐
A fun and cute listen!

Hannah is an unlikely bodyguard coming in rather stumpy at 5'5". She loves her job so much, even trying to work the day after she buried her mother. Her boss thinks she needs time off, but she disagrees. He cancels her planned trip to Madrid and reassigns her to look out for a very famous actor, Jack, in Houston.

Jack has a stalker, so his team hires Hannah's agency. He doesn't think he needs protection, but ultimately agrees with one stipulation...she has to pretend to be his girlfriend when she meets his mom. He doesn't want his family to know about the stalker and worry them. I bet it would be super inconvenient and difficult to pretend to be in a relationship with this hottie boom bottie ~ mmm hmmm.

Spoiler alert, but not really if you've read this trope before ~ typical fake relationship where they ultimately fall for each other. It's a slow burn, so it takes a while for us to get to the good stuff. The good stuff is pg 13, which I didn't hate at all for these two since they were super cute and lovable. Their bickering was even fun to listen to.

Robbie was one of the most unlikable characters I think I've ever read ~ man he was awful. Taylor wasn't too great either. I did, however, LOVE Connie, Jack's mom. She was all around delightful.

Narrated by Patti Murin for 10 hours and 30 minutes and she did a lovely job. I even enjoyed her Jack voice. Honestly, I don't think I would have liked this as much if I read it. It was really a well done audiobook. She even did so great of a job that there was one part towards the end that almost made me tear up with how emotional she made Hannah sound.

This is my first time with this author and I'd love to read more of her work.

This was such a fun concept! The only complaint I have about this book is the lack of spice, which is a personal preference of mine in a romance, but once my expectations were adjusted I still loved all of it.

This had all the goods: forced proximity, fake dating, one bed. This was excellent!

Thank you NetGalley for an arc in exchange for a review.

Sigh. I consider Katherine Center one of my favorite authors and she wrote one of my all time favorite books (Happiness for Beginners). However, her three most recent books haven’t worked for me - maybe KC and I are growing apart? Noooo, say it isn’t so.

I love the premise of The Bodyguard - female bodyguard, male movie star - need to fake date for reasons. I’m in! However the execution didn’t work for me. While we’ve heard Hannah is great at her job - we didn’t get to see that at all. Instead she repeatedly showed her incompetence and had to be rescued by Jack.

I also wasn’t really buying the relationship between Hannah and Jack. KC usually gets me right in the swoons with the way she writes relationships but this one just felt meh, fine, to me.

Then there’s the ending - the ending!!!!! This is the third book in a row where I feel like KC really blows it with the ending. In this case there was a final conflict that just wasn’t believable at all and then the follow up in the epilogue caused so much eyerolling I gave myself a headache.

Thank you to St Martins Press and Netgalley for the advance reading and listening copies.

Bodyguard Hannah Brooks has a work problem. She likes work, a lot. She has a work boyfriend, and a work bestie, and not much life outside of her work protecting others. But her boss has grounded her, her boyfriend dumped her, and her best friend has hoked up with her ex-boyfriend. And she's stuck guarding superstar actor Jack Stapleton. From a stalker who sends him sweaters and loves corgis.
She and Jack have to pretend to be a couple--it's the only backstory that makes sense for her to come with him while he visits his ill mother. The two stick together while the job is on, getting to know each other and sharing secrets.
Of course, once Jack no longer needs a body guard, the path gets more complicated....
This is a well-read audio book. The characters have dimension, there story includes laughter, hints for the future, and family drama to keep the story spicy.

Grab your cowboy boots!

Hannah Brooks looks like your typical mild mannered librarian or kindergarten teacher, but in reality she is trained to assess threat levels, dispatch with dangerous suspects and guard her client. Hannah is a world class bodyguard.

Fresh off of a break up, work oriented professional Hannah is thrown onto a new case to protect A List actor Jack Stapleton... by being his girlfriend.

The only problem is that although the threat is laughable, being as the stalker in question is a middle aged corgi breeder, the feelings they are developing might not be.

So how can Hanna tell if the actor is just, well, acting? Can she stick to her professional conduct until she can jump on her dream assignment? And why are the cows so big and close around here??

All will be revealed in this funny, entertaining novel. One of my favourite romances of the year!

«DEVOURED IN ONE SITTING»
I’m not sure if there’s a bigger compliment to a book than describing it as compulsively readable and devouring it in one sitting. This is not happened for me in quite some time!
Without spoiling too much, Hannah Brooks is a professional. A professional bodyguard. A professional jujitsu martial artist, A professional avoider of all her problems.
So when her mother dies and her boyfriend/coworker dumps her the next day it’s no surprise Hannah’s boss forces her to take a leave of absence, Hannah doesn’t know how to deal. She constantly refers to herself as a shark, meaning she needs to keep moving or she’ll die.
Her plans for permanently escaping her current situation are derailed when her boss assigns her to a local job with the agency’s most famous client to date.

The Bodyguard is an excellent gender flipped premise with really enjoyable tropes such as: forced proximity, one bed, slow burn, coworkers to lovers

This book has a very fun premise (female bodyguard for a Hollywood actor) and the story is light, playful and enjoyable. Nothing revolutionary brought to the fake dating trope but it’s fun nonetheless.

"Center tackles momentous issues with a levity that makes them relatable to readers."

Full review to come on FreshFiction.com