I absolutely LOVED this book. I laughed, I cried, and I had a goofy ass smile on my face reading/listening to it. I thought the book was written so well.

I loved Hannah. She was relatable to me..well kinda! I really enjoyed her character. She'd gone through stuff and still gave it her all. And Jack, what can I say about Jack? He was such a sweet guy. Plus I'm a sucker for a guy in glasses.

The story was predictable, even with the other characters. I called things from the very start, but I still enjoyed the book. It was a great beach read. I think the narrator did a great job. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Press for the ebook and audio in exchange for my honest review.


I will add my link to Instagram when I post.

I LOVED this romance! It made me laugh, cry, stopped me in my tracks and reminded me what it means to be lovable.

Even though she may not look the part, Hannah Brooks is a bodyguard and assigned to protect hotshot actor, Jack Stapleton. But here's the catch, no one can know she's his bodyguard - so naturally, they fake a relationship. I love a good fake-dating trope. You can only guess what happens next...

Not only were there sweet romantic scenes, there were wonderful depictions of familial love (especially regarding mothers) and chill-inducing plot twists. Such a great read and very enjoyable on audio.

I loved, loved, loved this book! It had me laughing, it had moments filled with tearful emotion, and it had a cast of characters I wanted to be friends with!

Hannah Brooks is a kick-ass woman. I absolutely loved her as the MC. She’s a trained bodyguard, but as she’ll let you know, if she has to use any of that kick-assery…she’s already failed at her job. Her role is to identify the issue before it’s an issue. When she’s assigned to Jack Stapleton, a super famous movie star, things don’t go quite as she planned. She ends up having to pretend to be Jack’s girlfriend to protect his family from knowing he needs a bodyguard.

The fake dating was adorable. I loved how cute they were together and how hard they worked to keep the facade up. They obviously had strong chemistry, and I really enjoyed watching their relationship evolve.

The characters in this are fantastic. There are a few that are quite polarizing (like Hannah’s jerk ex boyfriend) and there are some that you just want to hug (like Jack’s mom). And then there are Jack and Hannah. These two characters really do steal the show. Jack is going to steal your heart. He’s a wounded man with a backstory, and it makes his that much more special. Hannah’s personality makes her funny and just a blast to read about!

I highly recommend this one if you enjoy women’s fiction with some fun, uplifting moments!

What a fantastic book! This is my first book by Katherine Center, but I will look for more by her in the future.

This book has it all - humor, work frustrations, significant other betrayals, best friend betrayals, a stalker, family drama, but did I mention humor??? Even though heavy topics are covered, this book is not heavy at all. It is purely delightful.

Hannah is basically a body guard and her newest assignment is to protect Hollywood’s sexiest man alive. As she gets closer to Jack, she can never decide when he is serious versus when he is acting. But when a crazy stalker hunts them down, Hannah and Jack will need to work together to survive.

Such a truly delightful book.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions stated above are mine without biases.

Bestselling Author Katherine Center returns with her winning signature style in THE BODYGUARD —a witty, charming, heartwarming romance perfect for a summer beach escape.

Hannah is a trained Executive Protection Agent (Bodyguard). She travels the world on assignments and has just been hired to protect a famous movie star. She always competes with her former boyfriend at work, who does not appreciate her.

Jack Stapleton is a real looker and receives stalking threats from a crazy woman and more.

Jack's mom is sick, so they must travel to a Texas ranch for the holidays where his family lives while staying with them. Hannah is supposed to be his girlfriend (or pretending for their parent's sake). Fake Dating may lead to something more.

Even though on stage, he dates someone who is all glam, and Hannah is just a regular girl, genuine, with lots of heart and smarts —without all the fake.

They do not want the parents to worry about the stalker. However, Jack's family, especially the mom, falls for Hannah, and their stay gets extended.

The unlikely pair develop some sparks with a bit of romance, fun, quirks, and witty banter. When danger arises, Hannah is there to do what she does best - thinking fast and on her feet.

DELIGHTFUL! A mix of romcom, humor, action, and romance. Soulful, heartwarming, and full of wisdom and life lessons.

The author always pulls out all the stops with her endearing characters and delightful vivid settings. Hannah was a gem under her rough exterior and a relatable strong female protagonist with a cast of supporting fun and quirky characters.

I listened to the audiobook, and Patti Murin, the narrator, delivered an entertaining performance which I thoroughly enjoyed. A perfect listen for the beach, your summer vacation, a cozy porch read, or a hammock.

You cannot go wrong with any KC book! Made for the small or big screen.

A special thank you to #StMartinPress #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio for an ARC to listen to, enjoy, and review.

Blog Review Posted @
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars 💛🧡💙💗💚
July 2022 Must-Read Books

This book has some really cute and funny moments, but fill of pieces that were just completely unbelievable and cheesy. I personally, found it to be way too slow and predictable. I wanted to love Hannah, I did enjoy how it was written to break the 4th wall, but I found her to be such a push over and sometimes unbearably dumb considering her career. It felt like she was 2 completely different characters rather than growing and evolving.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley. I do want to check out some more of the authors work, even though this wasn’t a personal favorite.

This book was adorable! I really thought the plot was very believable but the ending was a bit off in the writing style. Outside of that, I really enjoyed the book and the narrator was very good.

Charming and fun despite heaviness.

Narration was excellent, with separate voices for each character, and inflection with performance.

While the triggers in this one did affect my own enjoyment of it, I still liked it.


Triggers - MFC’s off page death of mother, MFC’s childhood with seeing her mother domestically abused, MMC’s mother’s disease diagnosis, DUI, one vehicle car accident, off and on page descriptions of MMC’s brother’s death



Audiobook kindly provided by Macmillan Audio and NetGalley. Opinions shared are my own.

Read this if you:
•like celebrity romances
•love a good down to earth MC
•want a unique take on what you think of “bodyguards”
•want to swoon

Katherine Center is quickly becoming an auto-buy author for me. I couldn’t put this down. I was intrigued, I loved the banter, I swooned. That epilogue 👌

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center was a charming, romcom read perfect to take on your summer vacation. While it was at times a little predictable, it was still thoroughly entertaining, cute and funny book. "Spice level" was virtually zero, so this is perfectly safe to read for book club with your mother in law and grandmother.

Super fun and I could tell the author loved writing this! I loved the switch atop of roles where the bodyguard is the woman! I think this is a book so many people will enjoy and I don’t have any criticisms tbh

I"m a sucker for a good fake dating story and this one was so much fun! The narration was spot on and Hannah is the perfect scrappy hero. I couldn't wait to get back to this one each day and sped through it. This was my first Katherine Center novel, but definitely not my last.

The Bodyguard
by Katherine Center
Pub Date: July 19, 2022
Macmillan Audio Patti Murin
(Narrator)
Language
English
Thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the audio version of this book. I personally love having the opportunity to listen to books and this one is so good! When I listened to this book, there were times I wanted to laugh, cheer, and cry along with Hannah and Jack. Patti Murin is off the charts good as the narrator who loves to throw out snarky side comments to the reader. One of my favorite audiobooks this year, people!
I highly recommend this audio book!
5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and MacMillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the latest book by Katherine Center - 5 stars!

Hannah Brooks may not look the part, but she is a trained Executive Protection Agent, or bodyguard. She just got hired to protect a famous movie star, Jack Stapleton, after he has received stalking threats. When Jack's mom becomes sick, he heads to their Texas ranch to be with the family. He doesn't want his family to know about the stalking situation, so Hannah has to pretend to his family to be his latest girlfriend. A part that she feels she definitely isn't cut out for, emphasized by her ex-boyfriend/coworker. But Hannah's status isn't the only secret in Jack's family.

I just adored this book - it kept calling to me every time I put it down. I loved the characters (most of them), the dialogue, and the audio narration by Patti Murin was perfect. This is a spot-on rom com but with more depth - stress on believing in yourself, helping each other, letting ourselves be loved and love in return. The ending was perfect too - definitely a must read!

His book was ok for me. There were little pieces that I enjoyed. and it's a really slow burner. I really don't feel the connection between the two characters.

It usually takes me about a week to finish an audiobook. I finished this in 2 days!! Did I ignore my family during those 2 days? Maybe… 🤷🏻‍♀️ But I couldn’t help it. It was so fun!!

Hannah, unassuming looking but super tough bodyguard, gets assigned to protect the Hottest Man Alive… literally! Jack, a famous Hollywood actor, has a stalker. Jack doesn’t want his family to know about the stalker or that he has to have a bodyguard. For cover, Hannah has to pretend to be Jack’s girlfriend. These two have such great chemistry! This book is full of sarcastic and witty banter. This book did have some deep subjects: Sibling and parent death, abusive relationship, and hostage situation….

This is a funny and romantic book. I really enjoyed the audiobook! The narrator did an excellent job.

Oh and I can’t not mention Jack’s family! I loved them! That’s all. ❤️

As someone who prefers closed door romance, I really appreciated that this book had only kissing! There is some language though.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this ARC. I really enjoyed it!

Meet Hannah Brooks. She is deceptively small (don't call her stumpy) and packs a punch. Her new job is Jack Stapleton, the movie star. I am imagining Brad Pitt. (Sorry, I am on the early side of Gen X here.) Send the two of them to the Stapleton family ranch and throw in a trick horse. There is so much more. I just don't want to ruin any surprises for the rest of you. When I listened to this book, there were times I wanted to laugh, to cheer, and to cry along with Hannah and Jack. Patti Murin is off the charts good as the narrator who loves to throw out snarky side comments to the reader. One of my favorite audiobooks this year, people!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to get my hands on an audio ARC of my first ever Katherine Center novel. I've heard her raved about on Bookstagram and was told she was a closed door author.

If we are focusing just on the story alone I would say that I absolutely adored this book! Like I would read it again without hesitation because it was so cute. Great characters, excellent writing, and I loved the celebrity trope.

Jack and his family were so down to earth and made me fall in love with them. Hannah was giving me some major Miss Congeniality vibes and I loved it.

For content I dock this story one star. It is closed door and you get nothing more than kissing but there was language throughout including four *f* words and many uses of the Lord's name in vain. It is unnecessary for the story and rubs me the wrong way. I know that is a personal preference though and some people don't mind it. I prefer a writer who can get their point across without resorting to cuss words.

The narrator for this audiobook was excellent and I enjoyed the performance.

Hannah reluctantly accepts an assignment to be the executive protection agent (aka bodyguard) for famous actor Jack Stapleton. He wants her to pretend to be his girlfriend to make his mother happy while she recovers from surgery. It was refreshing to see a woman cast in the role of a smart and very capable bodyguard, and it was interesting to learn about that line of work. However, some of the dialog was melodramatic, and the epilogue too long. The audio version is very well done with a funny interpretation of the character Kennedy Monroe.

Such a fun and lighthearted book. I loved it from the beginning to the end.

Hannah gets broken up with and then becomes the bodyguard for Jack, a famous actor. It’s fun to watch their love story unfold as Hannah tries to hold herself back from falling for Jack.

Quirky, cute, and fun all around.

Thanks for the great audiobook netgalley!