Book Review: The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

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The Details

Media Type: Audiobook
Title: The Bodyguard
Author(s): Katherine Center
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pages/Length: 9 hours and 44 minutes
Release Date: July 19, 2022
Source: Library Borrow

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She’s got his back. He’s got her heart. They’ve got a secret. What could possibly go wrong?
Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with her bare hands. But the truth is, she’s an elite bodyguard and she’s just been hired to protect a superstar actor from his stalker.

Jack Stapleton’s a Hollywood heartthrob – captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, rising out of the waves in clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity.

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.

Protecting Jack should be easy. But protecting her own heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done…

The Review

Okay so once again it has been entirely too long since I’ve written a real review, and so we’re going to our best with this one. I picked up The Bodyguard on a whim, since it was featured on the library’s first page and oh man am I glad that I did. What caught my eye was the fact that Hannah, our MC was a female bodyguard. That had me right away. Then you add in a potential romance with a Hollywood heartthrob? Well, there was no way that I wasn’t going to read this book.

Hannah was a super lovable character for me from the get-go. I loved the vibe that her workplace had, where she was basically aggressively cared for by her co-workers. Their banter had me giggling out loud. It was also so refreshing to see that Hannah wasn’t always sure about her place in the world. Our girl did not have it all together, and that was very okay with me. If there’s one thing that I am always one hundred percent in for, it’s character growth. And we got a ton of that in this book.

Now to gush over Jack Stapleton, shall we? Oh, this man. The absolute perfect rom-com man if I ever met one. Someone who is famous, wealthy, and still somehow a normal human who is actually down to Earth? Unheard of! Unless it’s a rom-com of course. Still Jack had a whole lot of heart. His love for his family absolutely radiated off of the page and made him such a likeable character. That made the interactions between him and Hannah so much more enjoyable. I was truly rooting for them the entire time.

The plot was also stellar! Keep in mind of course this is a romance book and so of course we have to suspend disbelief just a bit. I mean who is to say that a regular person who just happens to be assigned to a super attractive and kind actor as his bodyguard can’t have him fall in love with her? Exactly. Center used every page brilliantly, bringing Jack’s character to life, showing his deep familial ties, and putting Hannah in situations that tested her and contributed to her growth. It was all so lovely. I admit, their heart to hearts were my favorite. Swoon worthy is the right term, I think.

This book was so very much fun and honestly the perfect book for what I’ve been feeling lately. I must profess my love for the fact that this book is more than just your standard cookie cutter romance. The Bodyguard is a story about learning to feel comfortable in your own skin, about learning to know your worth, and about finding love along the way. It’s sweet in that kick your feet in glee kind of way, and then equal parts a tear jerker. I ate every single page up. This was my first Katherine Center book, but you can rest assured that it won’t be my last!