Katherine Center feels like coming home, but that could be because she writes about Texas, where I am located. Her books are a little bit safe but extremely delightful.

Set in Houston, TX, Hannah has just lost her mother, and her boyfriend dumps her right after the funeral. They happen to both work for the same private security firm as bodyguards. When Hannah is put as the lead bodyguard for the World’s Sexiest Man Alive, Jack Stapleton, for his extended stay in Houston, we get a common troupe, of fake girlfriend, so his parents don’t know he requires a bodyguard.

Jack is dealing with heavy family issues. His brother died in a car accident, a car that they were both in. He is estranged from his other brother, and his mother is dealing with a cancer diagnosis. He also has a stalker.

While all this seems very heavy, Center likes to keep things very light in her style of writing. Lot’s of one line zingers, and fast dialogue keep this book moving. At times, this book did seem a little predictable, however this is Katherine Center, and she tends to make any story sparkle.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

✨book review✨
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚘𝚍𝚢𝚐𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝙺𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝙲𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛
Big thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for providing me with the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
Before The Bodyguard, I had not read any of Katherine Center’s books-a fact that completely blows my mind, in hindsight! Early in the story, it was clear that this book was not this author’s first rodeo. I am now convinced that Katherine Center is a pro. The Bodyguard follows the romance novel formula perfectly.
I genuinely had fun reading this. Despite the main character being a bodyguard for a famous actor, the story felt so real. The characters were very likeable, and I couldn’t help but root for Hannah from the very beginning.
Hannah’s narrative, as if she is talking to the reader, really drew me in immediately. I think listening to the audiobook really helped with this aspect as it felt as if a friend was telling me her own bizarre story. While the banter between Hannah and Jack had me giggling wherever I listened, this book had a surprisingly serious aspect to it as Hannah dealt with the death of her mother throughout the story.
I loved this book. I was sad when it was over. I would have liked a little more romance and less of a slow burn, but that is just my personal preference. Now, I am just waiting for this book to be optioned for film because it would make THE BEST onscreen rom-com. 🥰
The Bodyguard comes out on July 19th. Make sure you pick it up!💛

I love it when the heroine has an expected job. This book was a freaking delight and the audiobook had the perfect narrator! The bodyguard is one of my favorite tropes in romance and this book took it, twisted it, and delivered!!! Highly recommend it to anyone who needs something fresh!

Book Review: The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

5/5 ⭐️

Trigger Warnings: car accident, cancer, death, stalking, gun violence, death of parent, suicide attempt and alcoholism

Thank you @netgalley for this audiobook!

I absolutely loved this book! This book was fast paced, thought provoking, funny and entertaining. At the beginning, I had no idea if this would be for me and I’m so glad I stuck through it. 👏🏻

Hannah’s development throughout the book is so well written. She learns to value herself and love herself for who she is and I loved that aspect. She is strong, brave and independent!

I’ve been loving the famous person troupe and this one was done so well. Jack Stapleton was a great character and I enjoyed when he opened up about his family and past more.

I now want to read more books by Katherine Center and will read whatever she writes next!

Katherine Center is a terrific storyteller! The Bodyguard is the second of Center’s books that I’ve read and loved - the other one is Things You Save in a Fire - and she’s quickly becoming an author that I will read automatically. She says that she writes “bittersweet comic novels,” an appealing description.

This time the story centers (no pun intended) around a female bodyguard (Hannah), a concept I absolutely loved. She’s had a hard family life and near the beginning of the book, her boyfriend (a fellow bodyguard) dumps her right after her mother dies! She can’t wait to get away from Houston, Texas, preferably to some place like London or Korea. But her boss assigns her to protect a reclusive movie star (Jack) who is in town visiting his family, as his mother has been diagnosed with breast cancer and will be undergoing surgery. So that’s the set-up. What follows is a whole chain of events that has Hannah pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend and living on his family’s ranch for a few weeks. The two seem to really “get” each other and their relationship develops naturally. Jack is haunted by an event in his past (no spoilers here!), so that added a dimension to his character. The chemistry between Jack and Hannah is great and I loved their banter. I also adored Jack’s mom and dad. There are many funny moments throughout the book (and there are also some “hairy” situations because Jack has at least one stalker). The scene on Jack’s family ranch with the cows is priceless.

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient. The audiobook was beautifully narrated by Patti Murin, who did a great job with all the voices, both female and male. Her narration really brought the characters to life.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook and to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was my first Katherine Center book on the recommendation of many friends, and it did not disappoint! I can confidently say it won't be my last either.

Hannah Brooks is a female bodyguard who finds all things in her life crashing and burning at the same time. While she is super capable when it comes to work and protecting her clients, she's not as good when it comes to things in her personal life. Her mother just passed away, and as if that is not enough, she loses the two closest relationships she has shortly after.

Wanting to escape on assignment like she always does, Hannah is not happy when she must stay in Texas and is assigned as the principle to the famous Jack Stapleton. In order to be around Jack's family while his mother seeks treatment for her cancer, Hannah and Jack must pretend to fake date.

As the two are forced together, they start to relax and open up to one another. Hannah has never known what real love is, or what a real loving family is like. Being around Jack and his family start to break away at the closed off parts of herself, and she starts to realize maybe how she's been living isn't really what she wants after all.

Jack was fun and goofy and I liked the view into seeing all the silly human parts to him even though he was this huge famous movie star. There are some heavy topics dealt with around physical abuse, death of a loved one, and trauma from a deadly car accident. I think that these topics were handled very well, and made you understand the characters so much more. Uncovering their traumas and pasts with one another, built such a huge trust between Jack and Hannah. It was lovely to see two people find that person they can rely on for support.

I also loved the found family for Hannah. She really bonded with Jack's family and came from a past that didn't show her what a family was like. I enjoyed seeing how as an adult you can still get the love you deserve.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Patti Murin and it was really well done. I highly recommend!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars - Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC for an honest review.

This is my second Katherine Center book. I absolutely adored 'Things you save in a Fire' and I liked 'The Bodyguard' a lot. Hannah Brooks is a bodyguard for the sexiest actor alive. You already know where this is headed, so the story needs to be worth it to continue reading - and it is. It's a light, entertaining story, but Hannah's constant whining -"Oh, he can't possible like me, since I'm a normal woman" got on my nerves pretty quickly. And some of the hero's traits which were supposed to be romantic, were just plain cringeworthy ("oh, you want me to put you down? Well, I think its fun carrying you around, so you might as well enjoy it" - Yikes!)

Another great rom com by Katherine Center! The Romance is hot and the comedy is laugh out loud funny! Bad ass bodyguard meets handsome movie star and sit back and watch the fireworks! Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. I enjoyed the audio, very well done!

A huge grateful thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me this ARC in exchange for my objective review.

I totally loved reading this book and loved listening to it even more! What a wonderful, wonderful story! It was romantic and heartwarming and laugh-out-loud funny. I loved almost all of the characters (even the meanies) and the plot line was so clever.

There was one small part that I didn't really like at the end about one of the minor characters but, besides that, this book was a real pleasure and joy to read. In fact, I'm now going back to read it all over again!

Some profanity... not that much.

Full disclosure - I needed a new audiobook so I requested one that looked decent from Netgalley - so I started listening to The Bodyguard with a slightly begrudging attitude; I've never heard of the author, and I actually don't like bodyguard OR famous people tropes. The Bodyguard proved me wrong! Not only am I most likely going to purchase a hard-copy when it comes out (because I always buy copies of borrowed books that I really enjoy AND I have to have a copy to lend to people) but I'll be heading to the library to check out whatever else by Katherine Center I can find!

Katherine Center hits that great balance between depth and not-too-heavy that is really hard to get right. The main characters have rough spots in their past that make them relatable and endearing, and the way they worked through those rough spots was absolutely perfect.

The narrator was great (and I tend not to like female narrators as much, especially in romances where they might make spicy scenes awkward to listen to), she did the male voices really well and not once took me out of the story; perfect narrator quality.

Definite 5 stars, I plan on having my copy on hand for my high school girls to read!

I give this book 3 stars. The book started off really good and I fell in love with the characters, but the last 15% of the book went way off into the deep end with the cheesiness. I love a happy ending and I love a cute romance novel, but the ending and epilogue just went over the top for me. I found myself hating the characters and wishing they had more backbone. Perfect read if you’re into the super, cheesy, unrealistic romances, but this wasn’t for me.

Free copy of book-->honest review in return. Thank you #Netgalley. This was super cute, silly, and wildly unbelievable. You've got gender role reversals, with the hot male actor and his ditzy female bodyguard protecting him from creepy stalkers. You've got a funny FMC, who will likely make you snicker and smirk with her sarcastic commentary. And you've got your romance story arc with the fake dating trope on steroids (he's an actor and she's a bodyguard, both used to morphing their personalities for their jobs). You might be wondering if the characters were relatable and developed and I would tell you...kind of. The storyline flew by and shook out pretty surface level. At first I found it hard to care about them and relate because I knew next to nothing about them. The end threw me for a loop and the epilogue wraps it all up nicely. It was a great summer listen, but I will probably forget about the details soon after.

This was one of those books that I was truly sad when it was over. I didn't want it to end. I love it with my whole heart. The audio was fantastic. All the stars.

This was my first book by this author and it absolutely will not be my last! I LOVED it! I laughed so much! Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for approving this book for me! I will definitely be recommending it to everyone who will listen!
I loved the narrator! Very engaging and was able to transition between male and female voices seamlessly!

This book was just what I needed for some laugh out loud moments. I listened to the audiobook and think that Patty Murin was the perfect choice as the narrator, made characters lovable and of course the ones you loved to hate come to life. I loved that Hannah Brooks, Executive Protection Agent, is not someone you would expect to be in that line of work, but more of the sweet girl next door that everyone adores. But don't put a shotgun in her hands! She was a tough nut on the outside and became one on the inside as her character developed. Then there was Jack Stapleton, Texas sexiest man alive, down the earth with his own faults. Kept waiting for that hot steamy kiss, then finally. Overall I loved this book, great characters throughout and many laughs!.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC!!
I read this book as an audiobook. The basis of the story is a female bodyguard is assigned to big movie star and has to pretend to be his girlfriend. I absolutely loved it! It was such a cute rom-com. The plot moved at a good pace and it wasn’t like all the other rom-coms that are out right now. It is the perfect summer read!

The summer RomCom I didn’t know I needed, featuring my own body guard! I absolutely loved getting to know Hannah and Jack through this witty, fun, and charming read.
Hannah, a full-time body guard is assigned to Jack Stapleton….hot shot celebrity and hot overall. Let’s just say she is actually not pleased at all. Follow that up with having to fake date and this book had one of my favorite tropes included. There’s obviously no chance these two would fall in love..right?
Additionally, the epilogue was incredible the subtle hit at increased gun control was a perfect add in! It's important to find any way to stand up for what we believe in.

Review will be posted on instagram @literarylu_ on 7/14

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
A special thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the arc of this book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed this title all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Hannah Brooks is a 5’5” protection agent who looks more like a kindergarten teacher than a bodyguard. She never gets attached to her principal and she will take any job that takes her away from Texas.
Jack Stapleton is a movie star who disappeared from public life after his brother died in a car accident and he lived.
When Jack’s management team and his next movie producers decide he needs protection Hannah is the best choice to pretend to be his girlfriend and move into his family‘s home with him while his mother is getting cancer treatments.
Everything is going well until Jack and his family start to fall for Hannah and it’s her policy not to get attached.
If you’ve enjoyed other Katherine Center books you’ll love this new one.
It reminds me of the movie The Bodyguard with Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner from the 90’s only the roles are reversed with the woman being the protector. This book comes out July 19th 2022.

4.25 Perfect-Summer-Read Stars (May change to 5 when I reread!)

This book was so cute! Funny and fresh and exactly what you need in a beach or poolside read.

I was 10/10 here for the MC rocking it as a bodyguard for a big, burly actor. Also, I’m always excited when there’s a trip back home involved. Probably my favorite trope.

Here we have:
- a badass MC who is reeling from back-to-back heartbreak
- a swoony actor with perfect geeky glasses who “doesn’t laugh”
- adorable parents (including one of my fave romcom book moms, I think)
- a ranch and the associated hijinks
- one bed trope (on a cold tile floor not fit for sleeping)
- action and a dash of intrigue (more like a light sprinkle)
- crazy exes
- family.

Doesn’t get much better than that.

TW: Deaths in the family, cancer, car crash, stalker, guns, mentions of addiction

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Macmillan for letting me read this one early! It was such a blast, and I’m so grateful!

Wonderful story, and so excited that this got picked up as a Book of the Month pick! I have loved Katherine Center's books in the past, but this one felt much more fun and beachy than any I have read before. It was perfect for a weekend in Northern Michigan!