Title: The Bodyguard
Author: Katherine Center
Year published: 2022
Category: Adult fiction
Pages: 256 pages
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Location: (my 2022 Google Reading map): USA (TX)
Summary: 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 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.
Review: I have enjoyed every one of Katherine Center's books that I have read (Links to my reviews: Happiness for Beginners; What You Wish For; Things You Save in a Fire; How to Walk Away) so I went in to this one a great attitude and wasn't disappointed.
Hannah and Jack are characters that I liked and wanted to have success (however that is defined). They are smart, caring, real, and Hannah's narration is full of self-doubt and bravado all rolled into one. The support characters--the ex-boyfriend, Jack's parents, Hannah's co-workers--all do a great job supporting the storyline and overall good feel of the novel.
I also liked learning a bit about the executive protection system, stalkers, and more. There was enough going on that the book doesn't feel like a romance even though that element is definitely there. Speaking of the romance, no surprise how this story ends up (as a frequent reader of this blog, you know I don't mind that!), but how it gets there is a fun journey.
Challenges for which this counts: none
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