Reviews with content warning for Blood - The Bodyguard

Reviews tagging 'Blood'

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

43 reviews

katherinek's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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meenakshisathish's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

It would have been such a good read because the main characters do have enough chemistry and the conflict is believable. But there’s just too many tropes trying to out-do each other: dead mom, cancer-ailing mom, dead brother, toxic ex boyfriend, betraying best friend, funny side characters to give it a Brooklyn 99 feel. It feels more like a book written to do well in TikTok’s algorithm.

Perhaps I’m being a little hard because the heart of the story is really sweet. But the writing and the composition of the story is the real downfall of this book. But I think the nail on the coffin was the unmissable pick-me vibes saturated throughout the whole narrative. There are only three female characters that are redeemable: the main character Hannah, the ailing mother of Jack Stapleton, and the quirky side character Kelly who is really there only to be a comic relief from time to time. The rest of the women in the story are shallow, selfish, and often just outright dumb. The last time I read a romance novel that invested in the patriarchal bargain was in middle school when I read fan fiction stories on Wattpad.

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keelirae113's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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melissaslibraryy's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Cute little rom com I finally picked up after seeing the hype lol. I’m glad the fmc didn’t allow those toxic people back into her life and was able to find the family she always wanted during a time of healing.

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shellanor_rigby's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

tinkeringcheck's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

First person romance is far from my usual, but I was completely taken in by the warmth and unique freshness of this story. Yes, it's a trope for the ages, but the healthiness of the relationship between the leads? A love interest with emotional maturity and an overabundance of green flags? Clear discussions of boundaries and feelings? It was a breath of fresh, Texas air and the best kind of romcom you can root for all wrapped into one wise, silly, hopeful package. I adored it. I adored all of these characters. And I especially adored Jack's family.

That being said: Do not (do not!) go into this book expecting realistic drama or steamy romance. It's a bantery, feel-good, bodyguard trope that runs on rom-com logic, but in the best way.

(Sidenote: As someone with a family member who taught crime prevention for a living: Hannah's way of looking at the world was pretty accurate. You can laugh at her for thinking about the ways a potted patio plant can be used to break a window, but there's a reason my silly painted rocks were never allowed on the front porch as a kid. Even though the romantic hijinks and kooky coworker drama could overshadow it, I thought those details showed that she really was quite capable at her job.)

Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Blood, Cancer, Medical content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Abandonment and Vomit

Overall: It's a very light-hearted, hopeful book but it deals with some background heavy topics. DEATH OF PARENT, DEATH, GRIEF: Very beginning of book skims over the main character's mother dying, and the grief from that is a catalyst for the rest of the book. Grief (and hope) is a major theme. DOMESTIC/PHYSICAL ABUSE: Past, as a memory. A very violent incidence of it and the injuries/aftermath is described by character who was a child at the time. STALKING: With one lead being a famous actor, there's lots of discussions about stalking in general. Stalking incidents are discussed in detail, though light-heartedly, until

one gets violent -> see gun violence.

GUN VIOLENCE, SUICIDE ATTEMPT, BLOOD, INJURY: Someone is shot at and mildy injured.

In a hostage situation characters are held at gunpoint and one suffers a graze on the head that bleeds a lot but isn't too serious. The shooter plans to kill himself, not the hostages, but is talked down.

TOXIC RELATIONSHIP: Heroine has a very shitty ex-boyfriend. CANCER: The male lead's mother is going through cancer treatment. There's mention of having and recovering from surgery, and the characters often briefly visit a hospital. The prognosis

ends up being very good and she completely recovers.

ALCOHOLISM: More than one background character suffers from it.

One was killed before the story from driving recklessly under the influence.

CAR ACCIDENT, DEATH: Past incident. The accident is described in detail more than once and led to a death by drowning.

The driver was under the influence, drove too fast, went off a bridge and drowned.

DROWNING: One almost-incident during the story and one in the past - both described in some detail. VOMIT: One character has a phobia that he often vomits after being exposed to. It's not described in detail. ABANDONMENT: A character briefly describes a parent leaving them and their other parent abruptly when they were very young.