The Bodyguard

I was laughing so hard for the majority of this book. This book was heartwarming, and hilarious I read it in one day because it was that good. Also the quotes in this book are too good. It did have me crying near the end because it was just too sweet

“Have you seen my other girlfriends? Have you seen Kennedy Monroe? She's nothing like any of them. She's short. Her teeth are crooked. She barely wears any makeup. She doesn't self-tan, wear extensions, or dye her hair. She's a totally plain, unremarkable person. She's the epitome of ordinary.”

aww it's so nice of him to compare hannah to other girls and talk about her insecurities in front of his brother

protagonists are adults (26?)

Classic romance. I love the little ridiculous but perfect things that authors throw in when writing romance. Hunting for a safety-pin with a metal detector, silly nightgowns, scared of cows, crazy corgi ladies and their nude paintings and knitted sweaters. I liked that Hannah was accidentally funny and Jack was giggly. It's an adorable read.

“Because, despite everything, I loved her.I didn't like her, but I loved her.And he'd underestimated me, as well. Because it's so much harder to love someone who's difficult than to love someone who's easy.”

This quote hit me so hard and I absolutely needed to include it here. Loving someone who in your heart you don't really want to love at all is so exhausting and emotionally taxing.

“I feel like I've been lost all my life until now—and somehow with you I'm just ... found.”

When I read this quote my first thought was ‘I want somebody to love me like this'. I can't express how beautiful the writing of this book is.

The Bodyguard was a book that has been in my ‘to be read' pile and a book that I have been excited to read for a long time and I can happily say that it didn't disappoint!

From the first few chapters I knew immediately that this book was special and was going to become a comfort read. It's not often you read a book that makes you angry because you didn't read it sooner. This book genuinely had me laughing out loud.

Hannah and Jack are probably one of my favourite fictional characters that I've come across and have quickly become comfort characters. They're so funny, relatable and interesting to read. Robby? I have never wanted to hurt a character more. You know an author has done an awesome job if it makes you want to protect a character and ruin another's life.

Something important that I gained from this book was that you don't owe anyone anything, you don't have to accept anybody's apology if you don't want to.

“But you don't have to be perfect to be lovable.”

I had to give this book five stars which is so rare for me and this is probably the longest review that I have done but this is genuinely such a comfort read for me. I loved it so much. I will most definitely be rereading this.

I love Rom-Coms with fake dating tropes. Fun fact: I didn't know this was that type of trope because I went into this blind, as I do most books. I also didn't know that the bodyguard would actually be Hannah, so that was a FUN surprise.

This book is one of my favorites for 2022. I haven't read this author before and I need to go back and read her other books now. I've heard great things and I can see why. The writing is fantastic and I was laughing so much. The banter between Jack & Hannah is GOLD.

Definitely pick this one up if you love this type of trope or just need a feel-good read with some pretty epic LOL moments.

I loved Katherine Center's books Things You Save in a Fire and What You Wish For, which I would call a blend of women's fiction and romance, so when I saw she was coming out with a romcom, I was super-excited. I subscribe to Katherine's socials, and I kept hearing her say this book was going to be fun—which hey, I love fun—but I worried a romcom meant she'd drop some of her deeper life questions/life is beautiful/goodness matters stuff that laced her women's fiction themes. Good news! She didn't! Why can't more romcom's be like The Bodyguard? I did not want this book to end. Waiting for her next book to come out will be torturous!
I loved the distinct voice Katherine formed in this novel. It was sharp, pithy and FUNNY! I felt like it took bravery for her to write this book, because it's quite distinct from other romcoms I've read, but it worked. It totally fits the genre. While fake dating tropes are quite fun, I thought the premise of The Bodyguard was one of the cleverest I've come across. The rest of the book didn't disappoint. My favourite romcom of the year, if not ever!

This book was so cute. I loved that typical gender roles were not followed. It really brought a different element to the book. It was kind of obnoxious that she couldn't figure out appropriate attire while pretending to be the girlfriend but I can look past it. The only other complaint with this book (and many others really) is that she clearly stated that something was real or not real (appearance-wise) and then immediately contradicted her initial gut assessment. I see this so much when women's feelings are being written about and it makes them seem unnecessarily weak/naive/dim witted/[insert word here]. They clearly know it's not the case so why the back and forth?

Ah, we have Hannah. Surprisingly, though she's quite a small person, she works as an Executive Protection Agent, a fancy phrase for a bodyguard. And who is she set to protect? Jack Stapleton. Yes, that's The Jack Stapleton. Actor. Movie star. Drop-dead gorgeous. Jack's being stalked, and it's Hannah's job to watch over him. But Jack doesn't want to upset his mom who is sick, so Hannah must pretend to be Jack's girlfriend. Even though, as she's been told over and over, she's ordinary, and no one will believe it of her.

A few possible spoilers below. You have been warned...

Oh, the lovely snappy talk between Hannah and Jack. That's a delight. But it's more than just the rom-com elements and the setting on a real Texas ranch and the glow a movie star brings to a story. It's Hannah as a bit of a superhero. Hannah's told she's just a regular girl, nothing special, and, in a way, that's the truth. But she is also extraordinary in some wonderful ways, and it's Jack who helps her discover that.

And, goodness, who was expecting great life wisdom in a rom-com? It's there, trust me, and it's lovely.

Let me conclude with a thank you to the author for the scene with Hannah and the cows. In fact, a thank you to the author for the whole book. I needed it.

Really liked this quote:

“You can't make people love you. But you can give the love you long for out to the world. You can be the love you wish you had. That's the way to be okay. Because giving love to other people is a way of giving it to yourself.”

And this one:

“And, in the end, do you ever truly know for sure if you're lovable?
What a question.
You don't. You can't. Of course not.
Life never hands out the answers like that.
But maybe that's not even the right question.
Maybe love isn't a judgment you render—but a chance you take. Maybe it's something you choose to do—over and over.
For yourself. And for everyone else.
Because love isn't like fame. It's not something other people bestow on you. It's not something that comes from outside.
Love is something you do.
Love is something you generate.
And loving other people really does turn out, in the end, to be a genuine way of loving yourself.”

3.5 stars. Cute

A delightful, cheerful story with endearing characters. I laughed a few times and found myself smiling at the banter quite often. I took a star off for the language (not my thing), but otherwise loved it.

I don't have a lot to say about this. It was fine, and I enjoyed the first half a lot, then it seemed to drag, and had a lot of Things to Say About Life, and also the kissing didn't start until like three chapters from the end.

But my real problem?
The author doesn't know how paragraph breaks work.
Like, most sentences were on a new line even when it was continuing the thought from the previous one.
So. Many. Poor. Broken. Paragraphs.
It was constant!
It was distracting!!

See what I did there? eyebrow waggle – 2.5 stars

The Bodyguard is about Hannah, a workaholic bodyguard, excuse me, an Executive Protection Agent, and she's hired to protect an a-lister celeb. Soon circumstances will push them closer and closer as they'll have to pretend to be dating.

I enjoyed reading this book so much, I finished it in one sitting! It's cute, romantic, emotional and even thrilling at times.

I've only read one other Katherine Center but I can already recognize her brand of romance and I love it! She writes great three-dimensional characters, and their emotional journey becomes just as important as the romance itself. And by the end you will find that you feel healed, wrapped in a warm blanket. Even though I generally like steamy romances, I never miss that in her clean romances.

Hannah, the main character was a great one to read. She's brilliant and strong. She knows what she wants and won't take shit from people. She's also struggling with losing people close to her and doesn't fully know how to deal with it other than grasping to her work harder and getting too busy to have time to feel anything. I loved that she was a bodyguard, not at all a job you usually read about in romances, and I loved that she loved her job so much. It was all quite nuanced.

The love interest Jack was fantastic too. He's a selfless, loving and funny guy who also doesn't quite know how to deal with his loss. He's the ideal fictional man, without being too unrealistically perfect.
I liked that the two characters had loss in common, but they were going through it in different ways. I thought that both of their emotional journeys were incredibly realistic, and I loved that they helped pulled each other out of their unhealthy habits. By the end, they were both changed for the better.

Some of the other characters were great as well. Jack's parents especially so. They were so in love, so supportive, so full of love for their family, and so strong too, while they're dealing with some scary possibilities. It also warmed my heart that Hannah felt so close to them and that they could act as good examples of a loving family for her.

At some point in the book Katherine Center fancast The Unhoneymooners (by Christina Lauren) with Jack the LI as the main character and that just tickled me so.

The only part that I didn't fully connect with was how/when Hannah falls in love with Jack. For me it went from he's an annoying actor dude I have to work for to I actually love him so fast that I had to flip back some pages to see if I missed something.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

Cute

Ninja Cows! I picked up this book on July 4th because I was reading a book set in the UK at the time, and that just would NOT do on that particular day. :D And I'm glad I got to have some fun with this book, because it takes Center out of her more usual tale and brings her into a bit of a less serious while still dealing with serious things kind of tale, which allows both her as the author and us as the readers to have more fun and still enjoy the work of a great storyteller. There is enough drama here to be compelling without overwhelming, enough comedy to keep things light and fresh without being distracting, and ultimately a solid love tale of an unconventional couple in a fake relationship. And yes, ninja cows. Seriously, the only negative of this book is that the ninja cows should have had more screen time. :) Very much recommended.

I read this in one evening & next morning, and loved it. I'm a fan of this author, and this newest book did not disappoint. It is a good story that had me rooting for the main characters, with some lovable, some laughable and some easy-to-dislike secondary characters thrown in for good measure.

I could not stop listening to The Bodyguard by Catherine Center. Seriously, I just sat, worked on a puzzle, and listened to the whole thing.

The Bodyguard is a fun, cute read that keeps the reader engaged throughout.

I'm a sucker for a fake relationship, and the execution in The Bodyguard is wonderful! It lasts for a good portion of the book with the requisite awkward situations and “oh no, I'm catching feelings!” moments from both sides.

I loved the chemistry between Hannah and Jack, but I think I loved Jack's family even more. I instantly loved his mom; every scene with her was my favorite.

Throughout the novel, there are hints of dark secrets (aka trauma) in Jack's past. I didn't love this plot line, but it was necessary for the overall plot and character motivations.

I liked the twist to the bodyguard roles, but I could have used more bodyguard shenanigans. There are hints about Hannah's skills, but we don't see them in action too much.

The Bodyguard will be a great addition to our library collection!

Audiobook Review: I greatly enjoyed the audiobook! I think I would have equally enjoyed the story if I had read it, but it was a fun listen!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advanced reader copy of The Bodyguard, a book I've been incredibly excited to read since it was announced!

I zipped through this one! A story about a Hollywood heartthrob actor and his temporary unconventional bodyguard, The Bodyguard was a captivating and really fun read!

As a queen of writing strong female protagonists, Center introduces us to Hannah, a 5 foot 6 executive protection agent (AKA: bodyguard).

I always find Katherine Center's books to be absorbing feel-good breaks from reality, and this was no exception. While the arc of the story was predictable (as it should be for this type of book!), I really did enjoy the twists and turns it took to get there. I especially liked the scenes that included Connie and Doc. Their characters radiated such warmth, and it was clear why Hannah was so drawn not just to Jack - the famous and unfairly handsome movie star she's been tasked with protecting - but also to his family.

That said, I felt the development of Taylor's character was a bit unbelievable. To have her first betray Hannah and so easily and completely dismiss her (“We were work friends, we were never best friends, and your problem is that you don't know the difference”), then spend the rest of the story going to great lengths to apologize and rebuild their relationship, didn't quite make sense to me. Luckily, their relationship wasn't the focus of the book so this didn't have too much of an impact.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.