Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, July 19th, 2022
Format: ebook
Pages: 320
Rating: 4/5 stars
Synopsis (from Goodreads):
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 comes 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, like a jerk, 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.
My Review:
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Read if you like: fake dating
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Hannah works as a bodyguard, so when a famous actor named Jack Stapleton comes to town needing one, he hires Hannah and her company. But his mom is sick and he doesn’t want to stress her out anymore than he has to, so he convinces Hannah to pretend they are dating to explain why Hannah is always around.
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This was a really fun execution of the fake dating trope. Hannah was awesome and badass and I loved that she was the tough one protecting Jack, instead of the other way around. I thought Hannah and Jack’s chemistry was great and I was engaged throughout the whole book. I also liked the backstory behind Jack and why he wasn’t close with his family, as well as why Hannah feels like she fits in well with his family.
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CW: death of a loved one, death of a parent, child abandonment, violence, use of guns, gunshot wound, car accident, drowning.
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