Title: The Bodyguard
Author: Katherine Center
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, July 19, 2022
Pages: 310
Genre: Contemporary Romance
She’s got his back.
Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten 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 goes 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, 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.
Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten 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 goes 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, 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.
** spoiler alert **
The blurb for this book piqued my interest SO much. You hear about a bodyguard romance, you're thinking female celebrity with a hulking male bodyguard. I sure was. And then you find it's a hunky male celebrity and a short, ordinary female bodyguard. I had to know!!! (Also, damn my own preconceptions!)
I should have checked for content warnings before I started reading. We meet Hannah Brooks on the worst day of her life. Her mother has just died and her coworker/boyfriend broke up with her. The night after the funeral. (He's awesome...) Her boss benches her when all she wants is a distraction, and she's truly unraveling.
THEN her ex goes on a mission with her best friend. I knew in my gut, that something was going on there. And I was right. Hannah doesn't catch a break for the first 30-40% of this book. All she wants is to go on assignment out of town. She wants to escape and have a distraction. So her boss dangles an opportunity to do just that, if she does this one, puny assignment in her hometown.
Jack Stapleton is great. He's a bit too aloof about his own safety, but he's a solid hero. I loved him. You'll love him. Hannah definitely loves him.
She agrees to fake date Jack Stapleton, for his safety, so his mom won't worry and know about the stalkers and safety concerns.
It was SO GOOD! I can say, I haven't stayed up all night to finish a book in a looooong time. Especially not a book that I had to read through tears to get to the end. I mean this thing was good! The only reason I can't give it 5 stars, is how close to a "she's not like regular girls" narrative we get. She never says it, nobody ever says those words. But the vibes are absolutely there. We have the best friend who sleeps with her ex of like 2 days during the worst week of her life. We have the celebrity who is flabbergasted that anyone would choose her over them, and tries to humiliate her in front of a full Thanksgiving crowd. We have the female stalker who threatens to kill her in creative ways for being in Jack's life. We had this awesome book that was SO close to putting all of these gender roles and stereotypes on their head, and then just....didn't follow through all of the way. I'm sure I'm missing some big twist that was supposed to make those things subversive and stuff, but I can tell you I got REAL pissed at 6am after reading and crying my eyes out all night, to have been duped into rooting against all these different women.
It got better again. I mean I only took away one star for it. But it was rough for a hot second there. I still highly recommend this though. But be careful with yourself, it's got some really heavy themes.
I should have checked for content warnings before I started reading. We meet Hannah Brooks on the worst day of her life. Her mother has just died and her coworker/boyfriend broke up with her. The night after the funeral. (He's awesome...) Her boss benches her when all she wants is a distraction, and she's truly unraveling.
THEN her ex goes on a mission with her best friend. I knew in my gut, that something was going on there. And I was right. Hannah doesn't catch a break for the first 30-40% of this book. All she wants is to go on assignment out of town. She wants to escape and have a distraction. So her boss dangles an opportunity to do just that, if she does this one, puny assignment in her hometown.
Jack Stapleton is great. He's a bit too aloof about his own safety, but he's a solid hero. I loved him. You'll love him. Hannah definitely loves him.
She agrees to fake date Jack Stapleton, for his safety, so his mom won't worry and know about the stalkers and safety concerns.
It was SO GOOD! I can say, I haven't stayed up all night to finish a book in a looooong time. Especially not a book that I had to read through tears to get to the end. I mean this thing was good! The only reason I can't give it 5 stars, is how close to a "she's not like regular girls" narrative we get. She never says it, nobody ever says those words. But the vibes are absolutely there. We have the best friend who sleeps with her ex of like 2 days during the worst week of her life. We have the celebrity who is flabbergasted that anyone would choose her over them, and tries to humiliate her in front of a full Thanksgiving crowd. We have the female stalker who threatens to kill her in creative ways for being in Jack's life. We had this awesome book that was SO close to putting all of these gender roles and stereotypes on their head, and then just....didn't follow through all of the way. I'm sure I'm missing some big twist that was supposed to make those things subversive and stuff, but I can tell you I got REAL pissed at 6am after reading and crying my eyes out all night, to have been duped into rooting against all these different women.
It got better again. I mean I only took away one star for it. But it was rough for a hot second there. I still highly recommend this though. But be careful with yourself, it's got some really heavy themes.
Ratings
Stars: 4/5
Spice: 1/5
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