Beachside Kisses With My Bodyguard by Kristin Canary: Book Review

  *Book received for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

All I wanted to do was throw my brother a surprise early wedding.
As the prince of a small country, his wedding day has been eclipsed by pomp and circumstance—and he and his fiancée deserve more. So when I find myself in a charming small town on the coast of California, I decide to plan them the perfect royal wedding without all the cameras and expectations.

But as a princess, I can't be here alone.
So my brother sends along the country's top bodyguard—his best mate, Frederick. Who ALSO happens to be the man I'm completely mad about. Not that either of them know that.

Then, assumptions are made ...
That's right. The townspeople who are helping me plan the wedding assume that I'm the bride—and that Frederick's the groom. But it makes the perfect cover story. They'll never suspect it's actually Prince Topher's nuptials I'm planning. We can keep this royal wedding under wraps from the press.

A fake engagement is the perfect plan.
But I didn't quite think through how it would be to pretend with him. To hug him. To share a room with him. To kiss him. In fact, it's going to take all the mental and emotional strength I have to remember that this fake engagement to my brother's best friend ... isn't real. No matter how brilliantly we might fit together.

Kristin is a thirty-something wife and boy mom who functions best on peach tea and cookie dough ice cream. She writes closed-door romantic comedies with lots of sizzle and spice but no explicit on-page content. A desert dweller, she always has her eye on the next trip to a beach somewhere—and if she can’t travel there in person, then you’d better believe she's going to write about it. Kristin is never fully satisfied with a movie, TV show, or book without a hefty dose of romance in it, and she's grateful to be living a true-life love story with her own crazy little family. Connect with her at KristinCanary.com. 

If you have read Kristin Canary's California Dreamin' series, you might recognize Princess Chloe and Frederick's characters, as they were previously introduced there. Having seen them in previous books, I must admit that I was really hoping they would eventually get their very own story and as such was super excited for this one! (Don't worry though--- this is the start of an all-new series and can be enjoyed as a standalone even if you haven't read those previous books.)

This was so worth the wait! Just from the glimpses we'd seen of these two in the background, I knew it was going to be good and I'm happy to say it exceeded my expectations! Chloe might be a princess, but her character was still super fun and relatable. I always love a protective MMC, so naturally a bodyguard is going to fit that bill well... but I love that he wants to protect her not just physically but emotionally as well. It's quite clear early on that his protectiveness of her goes beyond just a job description. The chemistry between them was absolutely fantastic. 

As much as I loved these two, I also really enjoyed the other side characters that were introduced as well. They all captured my attention and had me looking forward to hearing their stories too--- the perfect way to start a new series. I am looking forward to my next visit to Hallmark Beach to get to know them all even better. 

Beachside Kisses With My Bodyguard is a closed-door romance with swoon-worthy kisses, but nothing beyond that and no language.