NetGalley Buddy Readers discussion

We will be doing a buddy read of The Bodyguard by Katherine Center beginning on June 25th. Everyone is free to join. Please use spoiler tags as needed.



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.

Yay! Excited about this one. I don't read a lot of this genre ( I call it the "happy cover genre"), but I do like this author.

This one sounds like it might be a lot of fun! I'm going to watch to see what you guys think of this one.

I've just stated reading more of this genre because I needed some lighter reads. I'm really looking forward to this one. I've read a couple of her books and loved them.

good to know!

I clicked on her name to see if I recognize any of her books and I see that I have How to Walk Away on my tbr. I may try to get to it sooner than later now, maybe this summer.

I thought that one was really good, Tasha. I also loved Things You Save in a Fire. The only one I wasn't crazy about was What You Wish For. I still thought it was good, but it wasn't my favorite.

I'm definitely going to check her stuff out. :)

I read it already and it was a very fun read

The story was good as well imo

I am in for this one too.
I have read the same too as you Kristie and I pretty much agree with that opinion.

Hi all! Are you all ready to start this one? I'm really looking forward to it. I started today, but only got to chapter 4. So far it's good.

I really feel for our MC. Not sure why (view spoiler)[ she doesn't want to be a bodyguard for Jack Stapleton, but I'm sure we're going to find out soon.

What a jack@$$ her ex is! He was so awful when he broke up with her. I bet he'll regret that later. Do you think he slept with her best friend while they were away? I'm hoping not and her best friend is a true friend to her. (hide spoiler)]

I just finished Listen To Me and am almost done with The Resort so this one is up next!

Very good! I probably won't be reading it too quickly because our grand just arrived last night for the summer. You'll catch up to me very quickly.

Nice! Enjoy your time with the little one. How fun. :)

Thanks. He comes every year. We love it. :)

So sweet. :)

I am at about chapter 4 too
and I was wondering the same thing

(view spoiler)[ I love the idea of these elite bodyguards. It is a very interesting aspect to the story.

I love her no nonsense boss Glenn!

The break up! OMG - What a jerk. He is also coming off as a jerk at the workplace in general so maybe not such a loss after all.

I wondered if he (the jerk) will get together with her friend too.
(hide spoiler)]

This is going to be a good one for sure!

Yes! (view spoiler)[ I wasn't sure how to feel about Glenn. He was doing what he thought was best, but still... he forced her to take time off and sent her best friend out with her boyfriend. Plus, he threatened to blacklist her! I do like that he's just straight forward though. I think he'll grow on me as the story progresses. Or I'll just want to kill him. lol I think he's too strong of a personality to not go one way or the other. I'm guessing he'll be a favorite. (hide spoiler)]

I'm up to chapter 8 (view spoiler)[ I'm a little bored with our MC's recurring thoughts and her pushback. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me. She has said that she never turned down an assignment, but she tried to turn this one down. She has worn all sorts of things for jobs, but won't get a makeover to blend in with this one. She has pretended to be all sorts of things, including an assistant, but is not ok with pretending to be his girlfriend. It just seems inconsistent. Plus, why can't she pretend to be his assistant? He could claim that the company is making him keep her around? I'll be glad when they settle in to their story and she stops being so... petulant. I think I'm going to really like her as a character once we get past this point because otherwise she seems great. I really like him too. (hide spoiler)]

I am in the middle of Chapter 6 - It seems like the chapters are long with breaks in the chapters, doesn't it?

I read your spoiler before I figured out where I was, but it didn't spoil anything past what I know.

(view spoiler)[She does seem kind whiny about things. I would think she would be better at hiding her emotions. I think she is passionate about work, but it is coming across as whiny.
She is also super bad ass which I like in a good way. Her knowledge, strength and such, not just she is beautiful and has white teeth or whatever.

I was surprised that she was complaining about being his GF as a cover. She wanted to get back to work so badly, why didn't she just say, "great!"

I just finished the part where she took him down because he didn't think she could be strong enough. I sensed a shift in him that he now notices her and some sparks will be coming.

This one has a good pacing and background setting so I think the story will only build from here!
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I'm a little further along now, but I don't think this is any more of a spoiler. (view spoiler)[ I still find her to be too much of a complainer. It's bothering me. I do like Jack a lot though. Funny, the last book I read by her I liked the woman, but not the guy so much. He grew on me, but I still thought he handled the beginning of the book like a jerk. I'm guessing this one will be similar, but in reverse. I like him already, but she needs to stop complaining so she can grow on me. I think that's about to happen now, unless she keeps complaining about the same stuff over and over.

I also love that she is is a badass and not just a pretty face. That's my favorite bit about her. I also love how he handled being taken down by her. lol (hide spoiler)]

37% (view spoiler)[ Her "friend" is such a jerk! She made so many excuses for sleeping with her ex. It was not ok. I'm looking forward to both of them getting their karma. (hide spoiler)]

52%
(view spoiler)[ Yeah, she is still bugging me too. The fact that she was going to go "quit" again and then didn't because she couldn't get Glenn on the phone.
And how she is sleeping on the floor instead of in the bed. Just dumb.
However! It isn't taking away from the enjoyment of the book for me. Just something to note.
I do think it is cute and fun about how out of touch she is about anything "country". The cow, horses, wearing proper footwear etc.

I do like Jack. He is great! I like his parents too.
I am curious about how his relationship with his brother Hank is going to change.

Did his fear of bridges stem from his other brothers death? Did the brother die in the Death River that she got sucked into? I couldn't remember how many details they already gave us about that whole thing. (hide spoiler)]

Oh you read a lot! I'll get there... lol

70% End of Chap. 24

(view spoiler)[The nightmare scene was sweet and building, so of course now the other shoe is going to drop and
so now she is complaining about being taken OFF the case. LOL

Oh! Now we know what really happened with his brother.

Hysterical that now Robby wants her back now that he can see she is wanted by someone else. And the friend is so devastated she can't work!

I like how this author (and she has done it in other books too) can inject humor within books with serious situations. I mean his mom is dying and that could drag the whole thing down, but the author lightens it up with stuff like Naked Corgi Stalker. Which actually stalking is serious too, but somehow it all works.
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By the way, I was going to try to slow down a little ( I know you don't read as much in the summer), but this one is hard to put down!

Glad you're enjoying it! :)

Vicki Willis wrote: "52%
[spoilers removed]"

I'm at 55% and I had pretty much all the exact same thoughts. :)

(view spoiler)[ Hannah still kind of bugs me, but at the same time I like her too. I think it's because all the annoying stuff she puts out there is her way of protecting herself. As the reader, we can see all her vulnerability through the cracks. It seems she's been through quite a bit and hasn't really had any healthy relationships.

I love Jack. He is pretty open and grounded for someone as famous as he is. I also think his parents are adorable together. I did love that Hannah showed up his dad when he was insulting her with his little woman attitude. lol And I love that Jack thought it was entertaining. Plus, he had no problem putting her in the driver's seat when his mom needed to get to the hospital asap.

The scene at the river was so interesting to me. My dad was like that when he was scared. He would yell at you in a 'don't do that!" type of way just like Jack did, so I could totally relate to both of them in that moment.

I feel so bad for her that she lost her pin. I wonder if Jack will find it for her later? I have to admit that I thought it was pretty crappy of her mom to take it and keep it without letting her know. She was so sad that she lost it and looking for it everywhere and her mom had it tucked away. That's pretty messed up. Even though it was meant for her, she should have waited for it to be given to her or at least told her she had it. Maybe she wanted it as something her daughter made and didn't know she was going to give it to her? I guess that's a little more sentimental, but still if that's the case, then she stole it from her daughter and still let her search for it. I don't know... I get that it is special to Hannah, but I probably would have been ticked when I found it there.
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I'm really enjoying this one. I wish I had more time available. I could probably read it all in one sitting. Then, I'd be sad that I didn't have any time left with these characters, so I guess maybe it's a good thing after all.

That's a sign of a good book, I love when you just want to sit all day and read. :)

I finished this one and am going to give it 5 stars when I do my review.
I stayed up til 12:30 at night to finish! And I am a early person so that says a lot!

I just loved everything about it. I don't read a lot of romance books because they irritate me, but this author knows exactly how I like them.

(view spoiler)[
OMG the Pin! What he did to find the pin. That was one of my favorite parts.

Seeing Robby grovel. Thank goodness she didn't give him the time of day!

Were you tricked and puzzled about how he acted when he answered the door? I was for a second, then I knew! But reading her feeling while that was going on was heartbreaking! The author let her feel the pain for just long enough!

The whole stalker thing turning into a poor dumpy dude fit with the book, but I don't know. And taking the Corgi lady to Florida to live happily every after... I guess it needed to just be a light stalking so there would be a happily ever after.

Just an excellent book all around! I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
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lol! I'm reading more today. I have to admit that I think about it a lot when I'm not reading and I can't wait to get back to it. I'm sure I'll be giving it a high rating as well. Can't wait to read your spoilers!

I also love her writing! If you want to try another romance author that I enjoy, try Great and Precious Things.

I'm at 88% and I'm dying to finish it now! (view spoiler)[ She just went to his door for their date and he turned her away. Something weird is going on there. I want to know what is happening, but my family seems the think I should give them some attention. Hmph... haha

My guess... he's acting because stalker lady (or maybe Robbie? or someone. Kelly??) is in his house and he's trying to protect her. I'm not sure how he could act his way through her cutting her foot open like that though. Guess he really is a good actor...
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I completely understand why you stayed up late to finish! Maybe I'll have to stay up in the middle of the night to finish too!

Vicki Willis wrote: "70% End of Chap. 24

[spoilers removed]"

My response is still from the perspective of 88% because of course I don't know exactly when this stuff happened.

(view spoiler)[ My heart broke when he finally told what happened with his brother. He was keeping that secret the whole time and losing his family over it. So sad that he felt responsible.

You had to know Robbie would want her back. Jerk. I felt bad for Taylor, but at the same time not really. I mean she went behind her best friend's back and then was a complete jerk about it. When Hannah said she was her best friend and Taylor responded with they were work friends... Grrr... Well, she just got what was coming to her IMO.

I completely agree with Center being able to lighten the mood with subtle humor. Naked Corgi Stalker... lol When Hannah told him about the pictures and he was like, please don't show me those. lol Just the little witty comments and almost, but not quite over the top situations. She does it so well.

Also, I love that this is a slow burn romance. We are at 88% and the MCs have not done more than a make-out session yet.
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This is one of those books that I'll be disappointed when it publishes because I won't get to read it with everyone else and will have to wait for her next book.

Sounds like this is a good one to keep on my radar! I'm going to keep an eye out for it at my library.

Turns out 88% was a terrible place to stop last night. I woke up at 3am and something about the book snuck in my head. It took me forever to get back to sleep! I kept thinking about it. Finishing today for sure.

That's it, I'm putting it on hold. My library has copies on-order. lol

hahaha I hope you love it!

me too now. ;)

Vicki Willis wrote: "I finished this one and am going to give it 5 stars when I do my review.
I stayed up til 12:30 at night to finish! And I am a early person so that says a lot!

I just loved everything about it. I ..."

I finished! (view spoiler)[ It took me a second when he answered the door like a jerk too. I was like what?! Wait a minute... the first thing that struck me was that he wouldn't have given her his brother's necklace if he was serious or he would have at least asked for it back. Which led me to - he was acting all sweet and searching for her pin etc way before his mom made that comment. I went through a bunch of thoughts very quickly and settled on why did he just crack the door - someone had to be in there with him and he was protecting her. (I was so hoping it wasn't a secret twin situation! lol)

I really thought it would be someone we knew, not a new person introduced at the last minute, but I did think about the fact that he was on TV at that house and she had been concerned about the threat that opened him up to. So I didn't think it was too far off to be a new person. He was a bit of a strange stalker-non-stalker though. I thought it was funny how he was the I hate Jack guy from online because his wife loved Jack. lol Poor dude. Definitely a bit more fluffy than realistic.

I think her books in general are usually tied up pretty neatly. I noticed all the sexy times were off page with this one. Although you are informed it's happening, you're not in the bedroom with them. I thought this was a good tactic, especially since she was talking directly to the reader. It might have been strange to be in the middle of an intimate moment when she was drawing the read into the story like that. I'm trying to remember if this is her typical and I think it might be. I don't recall a lot of graphic sex in her previous books that I've read either.
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Overall, I really enjoyed this one too. I'm teetering between four and five, but I think I'm going to round up. It was just fun.

my Bodyguard review

Great review!
I still need to write mine.
What a fun buddy read that was!

Thanks! I agree. :)