Tuesday, July 19, 2022

5 Stars for The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

 


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.

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What I thought about The Bodyguard

The world of executive protection, blockbuster actors and small town life mash up together in this absolutely lovely opposites-attract romance from Katherine Center.  I just loved this story,Hannah, Jack and everyone in the executive protection group. What a terrific reading experience this was!

Hannah is facing some very serious and debilitating situations at the start of the story.  She's just lost her mother, her job isn't going great, her boyfriend has dumped her and worse.  And in order to get a much-coveted assignment in London, she'll have to be the bodyguard for the hottest Hollywood actor, who just happens to have disappeared from the acting scene.

Definitely not a girly-girl, Hannah likes her pantsuits and everything just-so. Then she meets Jack.  In order to blend in, she pretends to be his girlfriend.  She has to give up her pantsuits for summer dresses and sandals.  I absolutely related to Hannah in so many ways -- I just loved her so much. 

Jack is the heartthrob everyone wants, but he's very aware of the pitfalls of fame.  He's also nursing a Texas-sized ache in his heart for his recently deceased brother who died in a car accident they were both involved in. He's estranged from his brother and his mother is in a serious medical situation.  He's asked to come home, and like the good man he is, he returns home.  With fake-girlfriend/bodyguard at this side, he returns to the family ranch to be with his mom.  It's here on the ranch that both Hannah and Jack find friendship, healing and love as they deal with everyday things. 

The writing here is so easy and just flows. I fell right into the story by the third page and couldn't put it down until I finished it.  I just wanted to spend time with these characters.  And the ending is just perfect -- there's a twist that provides some action, but I just can't say enough about how it's the friendship between Hannah and Jack that made this story for me. There's humor and understanding, patience and progress in how both these characters experience life and the world.  I just can't say enough about this story.

Definitely recommended.  Romance readers-- this is what it's all about!  Get this one and enjoy!


 

About the Author

Katherine Center is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of How to Walk Away, as well as the upcoming novel, Things You Save in a Fire (August 13, 2019). She’s also written five other bittersweet comic novels about love and family, including The Bright Side of Disaster, The Lost Husband,and Happiness for Beginners. The Lost Husband is currently in production as a feature film starring Josh Duhamel and Leslie Bibb. Katherine’s work has appeared in Redbook, InStyle, People, USA Today, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, Real Simple, Southern Living, InTouch, the Dallas Morning News, and the Houston Chronicle, and many others. 

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