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A review by marie_thereadingotter
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
This was a cute book. I liked the characters, and there was a fair amount of attempt at humor, but most of it wasn't that funny to me. Just not my brand of humor. I love the idea of an average-sized woman being a deadly bodyguard. It's unexpected and I liked that. The issue is, that we don't really get to see her do much of what she says she can do. All the "bodyguarding" was them hanging out on a farm doing nothing.
This is the first time I've read a book by this author, I also hadn't heard of her before either. The prose was very different for me, not just for romance, but in general. It was, almost second person, and a lot of the events were told in past-tense. Example: "Later I would find out..." and so forth. It kind of made a bit of a disconnect with what was going on. The dialog passages, at times, were needlessly long. And things that could have used more explanation were glossed over. For how much time was spent on the MC talking about her trauma involving her mother, there wasn't any time spent on showing her overcome or move past what happened. She just seems to choose to let it go, and that's not how that works. There's also a bit of "not like other girls" coming from the MC, which feels out of place with characters who aren't teenagers. Not that it's okay to perpetuate that narrative but I would expect to not see that trope with adult characters.
The romance felt very surface level for me. I could buy that they were attracted to each other. But I don't buy the deep connection they say they had by the end of the book. I didn't feel the romantic chemistry. I don't know what they connected over, what they had in common, any shared interests. Nothing. They just seemingly fall in love.
I do appreciate that she told her garbage ex-boyfriend to take a hike when he tried to get back together with her after what he did. But I don't like that she risked her job for Jack. I think that climax at the end felt unnecessary. There had already been a climax for the story, and a second one felt unneeded.
I think this book would have been better had it taken place not in modern-time, but in the 70s. By the cover, I thought that was when it was taking place anyway. Especially with only three of the employees of this agency being women, I know women still aren't a large part of that industry, but not by that small of a ratio. This is also a personal preference, but I don't like when books use real celebrities and other forms of media in books. I think it dates them.
All-in-all, this book was just mostly okay for me. There were parts that I liked, but more that I'm just lukewarm on at best. I can see how this genre of romance is popular, it's just not for me.
This is the first time I've read a book by this author, I also hadn't heard of her before either. The prose was very different for me, not just for romance, but in general. It was, almost second person, and a lot of the events were told in past-tense. Example: "Later I would find out..." and so forth. It kind of made a bit of a disconnect with what was going on. The dialog passages, at times, were needlessly long. And things that could have used more explanation were glossed over. For how much time was spent on the MC talking about her trauma involving her mother, there wasn't any time spent on showing her overcome or move past what happened. She just seems to choose to let it go, and that's not how that works. There's also a bit of "not like other girls" coming from the MC, which feels out of place with characters who aren't teenagers. Not that it's okay to perpetuate that narrative but I would expect to not see that trope with adult characters.
The romance felt very surface level for me. I could buy that they were attracted to each other. But I don't buy the deep connection they say they had by the end of the book. I didn't feel the romantic chemistry. I don't know what they connected over, what they had in common, any shared interests. Nothing. They just seemingly fall in love.
I do appreciate that she told her garbage ex-boyfriend to take a hike when he tried to get back together with her after what he did. But I don't like that she risked her job for Jack. I think that climax at the end felt unnecessary. There had already been a climax for the story, and a second one felt unneeded.
I think this book would have been better had it taken place not in modern-time, but in the 70s. By the cover, I thought that was when it was taking place anyway. Especially with only three of the employees of this agency being women, I know women still aren't a large part of that industry, but not by that small of a ratio. This is also a personal preference, but I don't like when books use real celebrities and other forms of media in books. I think it dates them.
All-in-all, this book was just mostly okay for me. There were parts that I liked, but more that I'm just lukewarm on at best. I can see how this genre of romance is popular, it's just not for me.