The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
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…
For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #28: A yellow spine)
2024 Library Love Challenge
The Reason
I’ve been seeing a lot of praise for Katherine Center in general and this book in particular. I also needed a fun book to get me out of a reading slump, and this one fit the bill.
The Quotes
“I guess there really is something profoundly healing about letting somebody love you.”
“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 everyone else.”
“People who want to be famous think it’s the same thing as being loved, but it’s not. Strangers can only ever love a version of you. People loving you for your best qualities is not the same as people loving you despite your worst.”
“Every chance you take is a choice. A choice to decide who you are.”
The Characters
I love that Hannah Brooks, the female protagonist, transcends all stereotypes of what a bodyguard should be. I love her as a character, and I love Jack Stapleton too. I love his family so much (his brother was a little bit of a jerk though, but only a little).
You know who I hate? Robby. I hate him so much! And just when I thought I couldn’t hate him more, guess what? Yep, I hate him more!
I did wish that some of the characters were more fleshed out; there were a couple of scenes where I felt like some of them were only there as plot devices, and that they weren’t given fair representation, but overall, they were all interesting enough, and I loved the two main characters together, which is the whole point for this story!
My Thoughts
Fake dating? Check. Banter? Check. Only one bed? Check. All the fun tropes!! Plus I really, really love banter in a budding romance.
I love that the female protagonist is the bodyguard, and the male protagonist is the one who needs protecting. It was really cool seeing Hannah be a badass and do her job while also allowing the story to move the romance along. I thought the balance between male and female, masculine and feminine, yin and yang, was just so perfect here.
I also love that the author was able to write about difficult topics while telling a light-hearted love story. I’ve read one other book from the author, What You Wish For, and I remember that was one of the things I loved about that book as well.
My Feels
Honestly, I cannot resist a romance with banter and conversation. It is my biggest weakness and I just swoon whenever I read about how the MCs fall in love through conversation. I loved their conversations so much; how they got to know each other, and trusted each other enough to talk about the vulnerable things. It keeps me reading and wanting more!
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars. It’s so much fun and it got me through a reading slump!
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
