Hannah Brooks is not having a good day. She’s just buried her mother, her boyfriend dumps her and she finds out he’s been cheating on her – with her best friend. Crushed by grief and heartbreak, she asks her boss for an assignment that will take her far away but instead her boss assigns her a job she really doesn’t want – working with world-famous (and very handsome) movie star Jack Stapleton in The Bodyguard by Katherine Center.

Hannah is not pleased and Jack isn’t exactly on board either. You see, Hannah is a bodyguard and despite the fact that people usually mistake her for a kindergarten teacher, she is very good at her job. In fact, the first time she meets Jack he mistakes her for the cleaning lady. Plus, he doesn’t think he needs a bodyguard – a slightly overenthusiastic fan appears to be stalking him, but he doesn’t think she poses a threat. His movie studio thinks otherwise and Hannah is assigned as his principal.

OK, so no big deal, right? Hannah is a professional and she can quietly blend into the background. Things get complicated though when, through a convoluted series of events, Hannah must pretend to be Jack’s girlfriend. To his family.

This is at a glance, a common rom-com trope – fake dating. What raises it a few notches up from the basic is the writing – sharp and fast moving, the humor – lots of bantering between Jack and Hannah as well as Hannah’s inner thoughts, and tackling real issues – grief, loss, guilt and broken relationships. It is heartbreaking and funny, a quick and satisfying read.