Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

22 reviews

kikiki01's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Gun violence

amandamarieger's review

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This was so fun!! I’ve been reading a lot of heavy stuff the last few months, and this book was such a breath of fresh air. The writing was super funny and I felt like I was flying through it. If you’re a romantic comedy fan, this is a great one! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident and Stalking

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Cancer, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Medical content, Gaslighting, Death, Grief, and Bullying

Minor: Blood, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, and Child death

thaliareads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Such a fun concept. Overall a delightful and unique romantic comedy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Violence, Death, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Stalking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Death

Minor: Toxic friendship

There are a lot of content warnings for this book. I'll try and break them down into certain spoilers. To begin, some general non-spoiler comments. At the very start of the book, MC's mom died. I don't know if I'd call it an illness or a condition, but it was terminal. Second, as a bodyguard, the MC deals with issues of kidnapping, stalking, attempted violence, etc. They have to protect their charges sometimes which can also require violence. Spoilers related to MC:

MC's boyfriend dumps her right after her mom's funeral and ends up dating her best friend.

. Spoiler related to MC's love interest:

Their mom is diagnosed with cancer in the beginning of the book which is why they return home. This requires time in the hospital. Later in the book they do get kidnapped and threatened at gunpoint. They also struggle with recurring nightmares because they feel responsible for the death of their brother after he drowned when their car went off a bridge into the water

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cady_sass's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Cute, lighthearted, wholesome. A little less than believable but a fun time, disappointed that there is zero spice but so much sexual tension. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Alcohol, Car accident, Death of parent, Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Cancer, Grief, and Toxic relationship

brie_is_reading's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book really worked for me. I loved it. I wish somethings outside of the main romance had been concluded a bit better. But overall a really great book. 💜

Things I Loved:
both mcs- just everything them, how they were with each other. 
Sending Bobby far, far away. How the author navigated and didn’t often fall into the common pitfalls of this genre. The absolute clear way that the internal thoughts were expressed. Just enough explanations of their jobs. They way this ending felt silly, but still worked. The goddamn birdhouses.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Stalking, Death of parent, Alcohol, Cancer, Car accident, and Grief

kb33's review

lighthearted fast-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

Loved this one. There were so many scenes of Jack and Hannah just talking, spending time together, and growing their connection, and that’s what sets Katherine Center apart from other romance writers who gloss over those types of interactions. I wish there had been more chemistry/steam - for most of the book I was never really sure if they were going to end up together or if she would just end up happy with herself, or someone new toward the end of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Stalking, Bullying, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Car accident, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Cancer

Minor: Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse

janin's review

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

a cute, entertaining enough read, but i would hardly call this a romance. i thought the development of the relationship between hannah and jack was wholesome but there was barely any romantic chemistry. also pretty much zero spice, if that matters to you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Car accident

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Stalking, Alcoholism, Cancer, and Toxic friendship

fivecatsinacoat's review against another edition

funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance review copy of this audiobook. 

This was a fun summer "read" with a great narrator! While definitely predictable, I really enjoyed the story and characters. The storyline was different than others I've read, which is a nice change from the typical contemporary romcom. I also am a sucker for the fake-dating trope! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Violence, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Gun violence and Suicide attempt

decklededgess's review

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

rigger warnings: cancer, emotional abuse, alcoholism, alcohol, death, car accident, physical injury, gun violence, stalking, death threats, suicide mention, drowning

What a weird ass book in the best way possible. I expected to enjoy this book what with it being fake dating AND forced proximity but the added benefit of an incredible narrator’s voice and amazing comedic timing really hit the ball out of the park with this book. 

I enjoyed the narration and first person pov so much! It made for an incredibly engrossing reading experience, it felt like someone catching me up on their life after years apart. 

I loved Hannah and Jack. Their goofy chemistry really hooked me. The yearning and slow burn of it all was so gratifying and the payoff at the end was supreme. 

I also loved Hannah’s character growth from self loathing and escapism to acceptance and love. 

I felt like the epilogue really went on for too long mainly because it was a lot of telling and no showing but it was fun all the same. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Blood, Cancer, Death, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Vomit, Car accident, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts

alisonreadsitall's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was my first book by Katherine Center, and it certainly did not disappoint!! I can't wait to start reading her other books.

Hannah Brooks is not your average bodyguard - she's what's known as an executive protection agent. After her mother's sudden death, she tries to throw herself back into work, but her boss forces her to take some time off, and her jerk of a boyfriend (who also happens to be her coworker) dumps her the day after her mother's funeral. She desperately needs an escape to a far-off country with work to keep her mind off her of personal life imploding, but along comes Jack Stapleton.

Jack Stapleton has moved back to Houston, TX to visit his sick mother, and Hannah is assigned to be his lead protection. Jack doesn't want to stress his mother out about his little stalker problem, so he convinces Hannah, against her better judgement, to be his fake girlfriend for a few weeks. What could possibly go wrong??

The Bodyguard is the definition of a swoon worthy romantic comedy, but does deal with some difficult topics in between all the adorableness. I absolutely loved this book - I laughed, smiled and even shed a few tears. The Narrator, Patti Murin, was fantastic! I think she added so much to the flow of the story, and the character voices were great. I highly recommend this one as an audiobook, and would love to see it turned into a movie!!

Tropes: Fake Relationship

CW: death of a sibling, death of a parent, stalking, gun violence, toxic relationships

Thank you to Katherine Center, NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio for this audio ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

The book comes out July 19, 2022, so make sure to get your pre-order in now!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Death, and Car accident

Minor: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship