The Bodyguard, published in 2022, is a fun-filled romantic comedy by Katherine Center. Set in Houston, the novel centers around Hannah Brooks, a bodyguard who protects high-profile clients for a living. She may be petite and generally unassuming, but that all works in her favor when she needs to surprise attack an assailant with a jujitsu move. After a couple of hard weeks—her mother recently passed away, and her boyfriend unceremoniously dumped her one day after the funeral—Hannah is determined to move onward and upward… preferably to some exotic, far-away location. She just needs to prove to her boss at the agency that she’s ready for a promotion. As luck would have it, world-famous actor Jack Stapleton has just come to town to take care of his mother, and Hannah gets assigned as his agent. Although she’d prefer something a little more high-risk, she gamely takes the opportunity to show off her competence. There’s only one caveat: Jack doesn’t want his mother to worry over the fact that he needs a bodyguard, and so he requests that Hannah pose as his girlfriend while they stay at his family’s ranch. Now, Hannah has to spend her days canoodling with People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive, and even though she knows it is Jack’s literal job to make people fall in love with him, she can’t help but wonder if the connection between the two of them is as real as it feels. A fake relationship, four weeks on a beautiful ranch with a gorgeous man and his sweet family, and her career hanging in the balance… what could possibly go wrong?

Take Miss Congeniality, mix it with The Proposal, set in on a ranch in Texas (preferably with Sandra Bullock and Matthew McConaughey circa 2000 as the two leads), and you get The Bodyguard. With this non-stop joy ride of a novel, Center takes all the best bits from your favorite romantic comedies and turns them into something fresh and exciting. There’s lots of flirty banter, a little pretend-kissing-turned-real-kissing, some swoon-worthy grand gestures, and even a couple great moments of our heroine kicking ass. I loved Hannah, with her sarcastic one-liners and flannel nightgowns, and even more, I loved the way Center depicts Hannah’s strength and practicality as assets rather than “unfeminine” shortcomings. Although the star of the show is the pitch-perfect chemistry between Hannah and Jack, I can’t not mention the chemistry between Hannah and Jack’s family; I love when a romantic comedy features the love interest's quirky extended family, and this one captured my heart. The Bodyguard is a compulsively readable good time—I absolutely loved it.

I’d recommend this book to…

• Anyone who loves a good “movie star falls in love with a regular person” storyline… it’s similar in theme to Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
• Anyone looking for something joyful and bighearted… it’s similar in tone to The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
• Anyone who appreciates a romance writer with impeccable comedic timing… it’s similar in style to Funny Story by Emily Henry