The Bodyguard Published by St. Martin's Press by Katherine Center
on July 19, 2022
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fake Relationship, Humor, Romance, Women's Fiction, Chick-Lit
Pages: 320
Source: Netgalley
Format: ARC, eBook
Find the Author: Website, Twitter, Goodreads
Also by this author: What You Wish For, The Rom-Commers
Find the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
ISBN: 1250219396
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She’s got his back.
Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindgerten teacher than somebody who could kill you with a wine bottle opener. Or a ballpoint pen. Or a dinner napkin. But the truth is, she’s an Executive Protection Agent (aka "bodyguard"), and she just got hired to protect superstar actor Jack Stapleton from his middle-aged, corgi-breeding stalker.
He’s got her heart.
Jack Stapleton’s a household name—captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, famous for, among other things, rising out of the waves in all manner of clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity. But a few years back, in the wake of a family tragedy, he dropped from the public eye and went off the grid.
They’ve got a secret.
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. Even though her ex, like a jerk, says no one will believe it.
What could possibly go wrong???
Hannah hardly believes it, herself. But the more time she spends with Jack, the more real it all starts to seem. And there lies the heartbreak. Because it’s easy for Hannah to protect Jack. But protecting her own, long-neglected heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done.
This is probably my favorite Katherine Center to date.
First, Hannah, the main protagonist is just a delight… Not in the happy, sunshiny way, either. No, she’s kind of a social mess. She’s taciturn, moody, doesn’t get close to people easily, and doesn’t really laugh much. However, pair her with Jack Stapleton–and she’s met her match.
Because she makes him laugh. And he makes her feel things. Things that are kind of new to her.
There were several laugh-out-loud moments for me–some from the inner dialogue of Hannah and some from the antics of the Hannah and Jack together.
Hannah as Jack’s bodyguard just may not make much sense until you read this. But Hannah is really good at her job. Unfortunately (or fortunately) for her, she’s used to having to do weird things. So when she has to pretend to be movie-star, Jack Stapleton’s girlfriend, in order to shadow and protect him, it blurs lines and confuses things.
There is very little heat in this story–pretty much non-existent. But the relationship and humor between Hannah and Jack was enough to make me not want to put this down.
The other cast of characters just enhanced this story–as does Jack’s own backstory.
The only issue I have is that there was sometimes just a little too much internal monologue from Hannah. I felt myself skimming at times.
All-in-all, this was one of my favorite reads so far this year!
About Katherine Center
BookPage calls Katherine Center “the reigning queen of comfort reads.” She's the New York Times bestselling author of eight books, including How to Walk Away, Things You Save in a Fire, and What You Wish For. Her summer 2022 book is The Bodyguard. The movie adaptation of her novel The Lost Husband (starring Josh Duhamel) hit #1 on Netflix, and her novel Happiness for Beginners is in production as a Netflix original movie (starring Ellie Kemper and Luke Grimes) right now. Katherine writes laugh-and-cry books about how life knocks us down—and how we get back up. She’s been compared to both Jane Austen and Nora Ephron, and the Dallas Morning News calls her stories, “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” Her books have made countless Best-Of lists, including RealSimple’s Best Books of 2020, Amazon's Top 100 Books of 2019, Goodreads' Best Books of the Year, the Indie Next Great Reads List, and many more. Katherine lives in her hometown of Houston, Texas, with her husband, two kids, and their fluffy-but-fierce dog.
I’ve been seeing this book around and so glad to hear you enjoyed it! I’m going to have to give it a try, it sounds like something I would like too!
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This was my first book by this author, because the others look like more women’s fiction which I don’t read much of. But I really liked this one! Great review! Here’s my review if you want to see it: https://lisalovesliterature.bookblog.io/2022/07/16/arc-review-the-bodyguard-by-katherine-center/
Wasn’t this great?? I’m going to check out your review now! 🙂