“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.”

The Bodyguard

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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.

Hannah isn’t what you’d expect from a bodyguard, or an Executive Protection Agent, as she would say, but she’s good at her job. However, doing her job well proves to be difficult when she’s hired to protect famous actor Jack from a stalker. Jack not following protocol makes things hard enough, but when he says that he doesn’t want his family to know about the stalker or the bodyguard thing, it proves to be her most challenging assignment to date.

The Bodyguard was not what I expected when I picked it up, but I was thoroughly entertained from start to finish.

Most of the characters were lovable, well developed, and had good character growth arcs. Hannah was strong and no-nonsense, and Jack was fun-loving and outgoing. They were complete opposites, but together they were charming and had great chemistry. I also loved Jack’s family. However, the antagonistic characters lacked dimension, and it felt like they were caricatures rather than fully fleshed-out characters.

I also did not particularly like how Jack’s neurodiversity was handled. He mentions his ADHD once, and it’s never really brought up again, nor does it come through in his characterization other than him being outgoing. It ends up feeling like a throwaway detail.

Although the plot and the characters were a little over the top, The Bodyguard was a fun ride with twists and turns to grab your attention the entire time. It’s a perfect lighthearted summer read.