The Bodyguard
One would think during this time
I would go for a scary book. I chose a romance. While I worried about when the
lights would come back on and if everything in the refrigerator and freezer was
going to spoil, a light, fun romance was exactly what I needed.
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| The Bodyguard Katherine Center |
Hannah Brooks needs a change of scenery
Hannah Brooks’s life is not going
well. Her mother has died. She has been taken off an assignment she was looking
forward to. Plus, her boyfriend has broken up with her. With all this going on,
Hannah needs to get out of town. Which is why she is not at all happy when her
new assignment keeps her exactly where she lives.
Guarding Jack Stapleton
What are these assignments I am
talking about? They are for Hannah’s job as a bodyguard. Or Executive
Protection Agent, to be specific. A 5’5” woman, Hannah is not someone people
would expect to be a bodyguard. Actor Jack Stapleton certainly doesn’t. Then
Hannah flips him onto the ground and he completely understands how she could be
a bodyguard.
Guarding Jack is the in-town
assignment Hannah has. As a top celebrity, Jack has had his share of stalkers.
He does not believe he needs a bodyguard. It is the people who want him to do a
movie who believe he needs protection. They contacted the agency Hannah works
for, and that is how Hannah comes to guard Jack.
Jack is in town because his
mother has cancer. He wants to be there for her during her treatments, which is
why he has returned home. He does not, however, want to worry his family.
Introducing Hannah as a bodyguard will worry them. Jack insists Hannah pose as
his girlfriend.
Hannah becomes a celebrity girlfriend
Posing as Jack’s girlfriend does
not go over well with Hannah. She wants out of the assignment.
It does not go over well with her
ex, Robby, either. Hannah and Robby work together at the same agency. Whenever
they encounter each other, which is often, he bashes at her. During an agency
meeting he went on and on about how no one would ever believe a heartthrob like
Jack Stapleton would ever date someone as ordinary as Hannah. Their boss,
Glenn, listens to neither of them. Hannah must pose as Jack’s girlfriend.
The assignment becomes even
harder when Jack’s mother, Connie, insists Hannah and Jack stay at the family
ranch for the month leading up to Thanksgiving. Connie and her husband, Doc,
are thrilled to have them there. Jack’s brother Hank is not. Ever since their
brother, Drew, died, things have not been good between Jack and Hank. It is a
broken relationship Hank is happy to keep broken.
Unintended consequences
At the ranch, Hannah finds
herself opening up and falling for Jack, breaking a lot of bodyguard rules in
the process. She doubts Jack returns those feelings, though. Jack is an actor
after all. His affection towards her has to be acting. Something Hannah becomes
more certain of with each insult Robby throws at her.
On the ranch Hannah is able to
stay out of the public eye. That changes when Connie is rushed to the hospital.
Hannah and Jack are seen together, and Hannah becomes marked as Jack’s
girlfriend. Threats against her start to come in, and Hannah is pulled off the
assignment. She and Jack must come clean about their relationship.
Connie insists, despite how
Hannah and Jack came together, that something is going on between them. For
Hannah this is true, but the assignment is over and she and Jack are not supposed
to see each other again. Even if Jack did return her feelings, it would be hard
for a true relationship to form with these circumstances. It is best they part
ways as is procedure. Because Hannah must follow procedure, even if it means
she is left living life alone.
Easy to like everyone, except one
Nearly every character in this
book was a good character. Robby was really the only bad one. Even the person stalking
Jack was a better character than Robby. People were happy to see this person
get a good ending. As for Robby, everyone just wanted him to go away.
The one good thing about the
Robby character is no one was willing to put up with his behavior. Hannah told
him off. Jack told him off. Glenn kept punishing him in sneaky ways. Only
Taylor, Hannah’s ex-best friend because she started secretly dating Robby,
didn’t get a true comeuppance over Robby. Robby is a mentally abusive character
with his insults and attempts to make people feel less. It was good to see
people stand up to him.
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| A Heart Set Free Kate Dorsey |
A happy ending
The ultimate revenge against
Robby was the fact that Hannah and Jack make a really sweet couple. Together
they were able to work through the problems of their past and find love neither
knew they were looking for. The thing is, they didn’t just find love with each
other. They were able to find even more love than that. They were able to find
the love of family.
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