This was a very cute rom-com. It seemed a little like Hannah was dumbed down for romance reasons (afraid of cows, didn't wear boots, never rode a horse... but was a highly-trained bodyguard... from Texas), but it didn't detract too much and she was not a "ditzy" woman. (Ditzy women are a pet peeve of mine. Especially in romance novels.) I really liked this and am grateful to NetGalley for the ALC.

The Bodyguard was my 5th book by Katherine Center. I had loved each of the books I had read by her previously and The Bodyguard did not break that streak! Right away I was invested in Hannah's story, empathizing when her boyfriend broke up with her and started fooling around with her friend. I loved the premise of a female bodyguard and was hooked into the story once Jack, the Hollywood movie star was introduced. I like the forced proximity and fake dating tropes in romance. There were moments in this book where I was laughing out loud as Hannah learned how down to earth Jack the farm-boy truly was. There were also some serious moments as the two got to know each others' pasts.

Overall I gave this book 4.5 stars because it kept me engaged throughout and I thought the ending was really well done. As an audiobook, the narrator did a great job and was pleasant to listen to.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the ARC of this audibook, I would recommend it to anyone who loves a great uplit story!

I absolutely loved this. It was sweet and exciting. This is my first book by this Author but I will read more. I loved the woman being the body guard instead of the other way around.

The perfect beachy breezy read (or listen). This one was exactly what I expected in terms of a lighter romcom style story with a twist. The woman is the bodyguard. However there was unexpected depth and a nice twist that was very surprising towards the end. Narration was great also.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC.

I really loved reading the actual book, so I jumped at the chance to listen to the audio version when it came out. I was not disappointed: the narration by Patti Murin was top notch and Center's tongue in cheek, let's-laugh-at-life's-inevitable-foibles style translates beautifully to the spoken (i.e., audible) word! Just amazeballs.

Katherine Center has done it again with this sweet, fun story and lovable characters! When Hannah agrees to take the job as super famous actor Jack Stapleton's Bodyguard she doesn't plan on falling for him or his family. Spending time on his familiy's ranch, posing as Jack's girlfriend makes that very tricky.

What worked for me:
- sweet,, lovable main and side characters
- funny banter and events that kept me smiling
- a long time fight between Jack and his brother that turns out to be a tug at your heartstrings situation
- such sweet chemistry between the leading characters that you can't help but root for them

What didn't work for me:
- nothing. It was exactly what I wanted it to be

Review for the Audio/ 4.5 STARS

Narrated by: Patti Murin Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins Release date: 07-19-22 Macmillan Audio

Best Banter!

Another winner from a favorite author, Katherine Center. Heartwarming and charming, with a few unexpected turns! The narrator was fantastic.

Hannah is an Executive Protection Agent, a bodyguard. She is assigned to protect superstar, heart throb actor Jack Stapleton from a threatening stalker. She may be small, but don't let that fool you, she is tougher than she looks.

Part of the setting, takes place outside of Houston, my suburb (fun!) was mentioned a few times. There is also a 500 acre farm, with lots of cows and an enchanting garden. What an idyllic, paid vacation, escape from stress and a getaway for Hannah! But wait, things get tangly as Hannah tries to figure out the best way to keep Jack safe, his motives and body language.

There was much to laugh about, sweetness and a few scenes that had Hannah springing into action! This was easy to imagine as a feel good movie, though I'm not sure who would play Jack. Hmmm

Light, closed door romance, fake dating trope. Perfect easy, breezy read!

Thanks to Netgalley for the Audio Arc! OUT July 19, 2022

This is my first Katherine Center book. I listened to the audiobook which is read by one of my favorite narrators, Patti Murin.

A fake dating trope, that is light hearted and has you eager to see the characters slip from the facade to the romance. I liked all the characters, even the corgi stalker.

I gave it only four stars because there are few instances where the narrator breaks the fourth wall speaking directly to the reader, which seemed to take away some from the flow of the story.

The perfect summer rom-com read, light and sweet.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance listening copy.

It is incredibly gripping, exciting, and sweet with plot twists I didn't see coming. I loved the characters, and the story was really good.

In true Katherine Center fashion, The Bodyguard features a strong and likeable heroine on the brink of life changes. Hannah is a complete workaholic with little to no time for anyone outside of her next assignment. She only happens to be in a relationship because they were on the same job. Her personal life - little though it is - goes up in flames, while her professional life has a potential promotion in the wings.
Hannah is such a great character and Jack - swoon! - is the shake up she needs. I loved her growth and major kick ass-ery (if this isn't a word, it needs to be). Jack's "sexiest man" persona hides his familial trauma and I only wanted more of him.
I'm so glad we have a Katherine book releasing this year. 2021 wasn't the same without a new book from a long time favorite author. Her writing is full of joy, pain, healing, and romance.
Patti Murin is a familiar voice and her performance for The Bodyguard was an effortless listen, as expected. The audiobook is 9 hours and 44 minutes.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the advanced copy and Macmillan Audio for the alc. All thoughts in this review are my own.

***Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for a copy of the story in exchange for an honest review.

This book is such a cute rom-com and prefect for summer. The story follows Jack (a hunky movie star with a troubled past) and Hannah (a quirky woman who works as his bodyguard).
While on assignment to protect Jack from tabloids and a nutty corgi loving stalker, Hannah pretends to be involved with Jack during his stay in Texas to see his sick mother. During the long stay she learns so much about Jack, his brothers, and his family. Jack also learns and breaks away Hannah’s insecurities.
What unfolds is a cute love story with a fake dating troupe. Definitely worth a read.

- it took about a third until the fun story starts, but it’s so worth it. the last two thirds flew by and had me cracking up
- there were a couple times I literally gasped out loud. there was actual shock at some of the reveals 😂

this was funny and sweet. a quick, lighthearted read perfect for summer!!!

After a series of unfortunate events, Hannah Brooks, professional bodyguard, is longing for an assignment that will give her the time and space to just...get away. Instead, she is being forced to stay in town and. act as a fake girlfriend to one of the Hollywood's biggest movie stars.

There were a few things about this book that worked really well for me and a few that didn't.

Starting with what worked well:

I really enjoyed the relationship dynamics and reversal of typical gender roles. It was really refreshing and enjoyable to reach a bodyguard romance where the woman is the one protecting the man. Additionally, I just really liked Jack. I found him to be a generally lovely man.

What I didn't love:

The writing style often disconnected me from the story. The book is written in first person, which is fine and pretty standard for the genre, but there are a few points where Hannah speaks directly to the reader and I found it to be a little jarring. When the main character stopped to explain something to me point blank, it felt a little bit like a reminder that this is just a story which I don't love. I prefer to be able to completely lose myself in a story without being thrown from it every few pages.

There were a few storylines that didn't quite feel complete to me. For example, I would have liked to see a little more of Jack & Hank's relationship development as well as more in Hannah's journey with the grief of losing her mother. As someone who lost her mom at a relatively young age, I tend to be really sensitive to this plot line as it doesn't always feel like it truly gives justice to the overwhelming grief that comes with losing one of the most important people in your life when you need them the most. The way that Hannah acted like losing her jackass of a boyfriend was so much worse than losing her mom was something that really irked me right off the bat, especially because I have noticed an increase in the number of romance novels using the death of a parent to kickstart a story lately. Personally, I think this is okay when it's done well but in this case it felt more like the parental death was waved in front of my face without really getting to experience a proper mourning period which just...didn't sit quite right with me. All that said, I do feel like she addressed some of this grief later on in the book, but not quite as much as I would have liked.

Overall, I did really enjoy this story, particularly the romance, and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a romcom with fake dating, a bodyguard, and a little bit of a forbidden love element.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a free e-ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this audiobook!
I always enjoy Katherine Centre books.
This was a cute story and I thought unique with the main character being a bodyguard.
Katherine’s books are always feel good stories. This book was entertaining and fast paced.
There were lots of laugh out loud moments in this story.
I could totally see this as a movie!

✅️ Fake Girlfriend
✅️ Forced Proximity
✅️ Rom-Com
✅️ Past/Present POV (h)

⚠️ TW: Death of a parent, Cancer, Alcoholism

Hannah Brooks is an Executive Protection Agent who is assigned to guard moviestar Jack Stapleton.

This book was the very definition of a rom-com you would see turned into a movie. It gave you all the feels. ❤
(Happiness, pain, embarrassment, feeling not good enough, feeling loved... I could go on.)

I would most definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a romance with all of the emotions. (Brought me to tears and then wiped them away for me afterward.) 💕 📖 👌

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review and read/listen to this audioARC!

⭐️The narrator did a fantastic job!⭐️

This is my first book by Katherine Center, but I can guarantee that it will NOT be my last. I loved this audiobook and fell hard for the characters. At the beginning, I wasn't sure how I felt about Hannah, but the more I read and watched her grow, the more I related to her. I was immediately attached to Jack and everything about him. Learning more about his family history was really beautiful, heartbreaking, and made me love him even more. Besides the main characters, I also really liked most of the side characters (Glenn, Kelly, Connie) and the humor they brought to the story. I was hooked from beginning to end and felt so many different emotions. This book kept me on my toes and I appreciated every minute of it.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio s for this fantastic ALC.

TW: death of a parent; cancer; death of a sibling; stalker

I really enjoyed this book. The idea of fake dating a body guard so no one knows that she's not your girlfriend was fun, and the fact that she flipped him on their first meeting was great. I also enjoyed the Bobby instead of Robby bit that ran through the book - it made me forget which was really his name after a while.

Overall, I loved this. It was the perfect sweet romcom with no spice to get me pushing to finish my workday (the audiobook is great).

This book was okay. I think I would give it a 3.5 if that was an option. While I really enjoyed the premise of the story (a female bodyguard protecting a male movie star), the lead character, Hannah Brooks was a little irritating to me. I loved her self-confidence in regard to her job and I can take some lack of self-confidence in the world of love in a character. But, Hannah continuously dragged out how undesirable she was, even after the lead male character, movie star Jack Stapleton, professed his feelings towards her. Several times while listening to the audio version, I did wonder if I would have enjoyed it more in print because I found the narrator a little irritating, as well. Was it the character? Or the narrator? I don't know! But, if you are looking for a light beach read, this is a good choice!


I received this ARC in audiobook format from NetGalley and the publishers to read and review. All statements above are my own true opinion after fully listening to this audiobook.

This is my first KC book and I knew a lot of booksta besties love her books so I was excited to get the audio arc from Net Galley. And I loved it! It’s perfect!
🌸
The narrator was 👌🏼 and for some reasons Sandra Bullock was on my mind. This book was moments of Miss Congeniality + The Proposal + and even a little bit of While You Were Sleeping! So if this book gets turned into a movie - you know who I’m pulling for to play Hannah 😉😉
🌸
This book has forced proximity, fake dating with some action at the end. It has some language but a closed door romance. It comes out later this summer. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the alc. These are my own thoughts and opinions. I’ll definitely be reading more of KC books!!

Hannah Brooks may seem like a sweet young woman with the personality of a pre-school teacher, but she actually is a seasoned bodyguard who can likely kill you with a bottle opener. Most importantly, she never gets too attached to her assignments. This is why she is the perfect person to protect the gorgeous movie star, Jack Stapleton.

In this PG rom-com, we get it all; fake romance, witty dialogue, love triangles, and more! I love reading light-hearted romances during the summer, so this was the perfect book to pick up as the beach season begins. However, I didn’t feel as connected to the characters or have any ~feels~ about their romance. I did, however, laugh a lot! It gives a lot of Netflix rom-com vibes, so fingers crossed for a screen adaptation of this one!