Katherine Center's The Bodyguard is “My perfect 10 of a book. As funny and sweet as all the very best nineties rom-coms, but with Center’s signature heart-tugging depth. I wish I could erase it from my mind just to read it again for the first time. A shot of pure joy.”―Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Book Lovers
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 goes 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, 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.
“Great rollicking fun! Prepare to laugh and swoon and grin your pants off.”―Helen Hoang, New York Times bestselling author of The Heart Principle
"Absolutely, unequivocally delightful!"―Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wish You Were Here
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Contemporary romantic fiction and uplifting stories offer readers a blend of emotional depth and humor in novels such as Happiness for Beginners and The Bodyguard. Katherine Center is an American author who has written numerous bestselling books centered on overcoming life's unexpected setbacks and finding resilience.
With popular titles including Hello Stranger and The Rom-Commers, her work explores personal healing, love, and growth through relatable human struggles.
Born Katherine Sherar Pannill on March 4, 1972, in Houston, Texas, she grew up in the Afton Oaks neighborhood. Her passion for writing began in sixth grade, when she wrote a novel-length fan fiction story about Duran Duran. She attended St. John's School in Houston and went on to earn her Bachelor of Arts from Vassar College, where she won the Vassar College Fiction Prize. She later completed her Master of Arts in fiction at the University of Houston, where she served as co-editor of the literary fiction magazine Gulf Coast. Her graduate thesis, a short story collection titled Peepshow, was recognized as a finalist for the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction.
Before publishing her novels, Center worked as a teacher and freelance writer. She published her debut novel The Bright Side of Disaster and subsequently authored Everyone Is Beautiful, How to Walk Away, Things You Save in a Fire, and What You Wish For. Her reach expanded through screen adaptations; the feature film adaptation of The Lost Husband reached number one on Netflix in 2020, while the film adaptation of Happiness for Beginners, starring Ellie Kemper and Luke Grimes, reached the Netflix Global Top Ten in 81 countries.
Center's writing blends humor with bittersweet emotion, exploring how characters regain their footing after experiencing unexpected life disruptions, injury, or loss. Her stories often feature central relationships that develop alongside personal recovery, balancing romantic tropes with familial bonds and emotional healing to deliver hopeful endings.
