Forced Proximity: Don’t miss this brand-new enemies-to-lovers romance. Perfect for fans of Katherine Center & Emily Henry for 2026!

by Dana Hawkins

PRE-ORDER this brand-new for summer 2026 enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn romance – perfect for fans of Katherine Center & Emily Henry! She's hired to protect. Not to fall in love.

Lexi Morgan is one of the best personal security guards in the an elite fighter, focused and loyal. What she’s not? A glorified babysitter. Especially for an irritatingly handsome A-list actor like Justin Greenwood – who doesn’t think he needs her help. At all.

But when a dangerous stalker sets their sights on Justin, Lexi begrudgingly accepts the job. As the stalker’s disturbing messages accelerate, so does the unexpected electricity between them. Forced to spend every waking minute together, will sparks fly? Or can she keep things strictly professional?

Perfect for fans

🎬Enemies to lovers

🎬Slow-burn

🎬Workplace romance

Readers LOVE Dana 'I don’t even know how to put into words how much I absolutely LOVE this book. Obsesseddddddd.' Reader review, ★★★★★

'Easy 5/5★ Read this book with a smile on my face almost 100% of the time!' Reader review, ★★★★★

'I could have read thousands of pages of these characters.' Reader review, ★★★★★

Genres: Romance

336 pages, Paperback

Expected publication January 5, 2027

About the author

Dana Hawkins is a contemporary romance author of fun and sparkly stories. When not searching the country for the perfect cup of piping hot Americano, she spends her time chasing her kids and rewatching ’90s movies. After living for twenty years in Seattle, she recently trekked back to her hometown in Minnesota. She is a huge romance-genre book nerd and borderline obsessed with happy-ever-afters.

Reviews

[Melissa]

The cover caught my attention, and then I saw it was about a female bodyguard and thought, “Okay, badass woman? I’m in!”
... Sadly, the execution just didn’t work for me.

I struggled with Lexi almost immediately, especially with how much she assumed about Justin instead of actually communicating with him. And once a book starts off on the wrong foot for me, it’s hard to fully recover from that.

I pushed through most of the book in one sitting, partly because I wanted to finish it, but also because I kept hoping something would finally click. Unfortunately, I never really connected with the characters or their relationship. And when your favourite character ends up being a side character who barely appears… that probably says something 😅

We were supposed to have yearning, tension and electricity, but I just didn’t feel it. And I’m the kind of person who goes feral when the MCs accidentally touch hands. The pacing wasn't doing it justice.

Even the mystery didn’t quite work. The reveal wasn’t particularly surprising, and it was over before it had a chance to become exciting.

Honestly, I’m just sad about this one. Because there IS a good concept here, and I really wanted to love it. It just needed more for me to become invested in the characters, the romance and the story.

Sadly, this one just wasn’t for me 💔

*I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

[Mandy]

I was excited to receive this ARC because I generally enjoy enemies-to-lovers, diverse representation (including non-traditional gender roles), and beautiful cover artwork. 🔥

Unfortunately, this setup didn't work for me. I usually enjoy an MMC and FMC who clash until they finally click, but Lexi and Justin felt unlikeable both individually and together. While this story didn't pull me in, I can see it working for other readers.

Thank you to NetGalley, HQ Digital, and Dana Hawkins for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review. 💛

[Alise]

Unfortunately, I ended up DNFing Forced Proximity.

The concept behind the story immediately caught my attention - a movie star that is possibly in danger from a fan and has to hire a female bodyguard? I loved the idea.

Overall though, I found myself struggling to connect with either of the main characters, even in a dual POV setup. Neither protagonist felt particularly likable to me, and I didn't feel any romantic chemistry just because their personalities seemed so different and they were both standoffish in their own ways. Because I wasn't emotionally engaged with the characters, I found it difficult to stay invested in the story.

I also wasn't a huge fan of the thought process type of internal monologue that was in the writing. I think this writing style works rarely for me, I have only enjoyed it previously in Katherine Center's books where I find the characters genuinely funny, so here it made it harder for me to connect with the characters and took me out of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Demetri Papadimitropoulos · Rating 3 out of 5]

She Can Spot a Threat Across the Room. Justin Greenwood Is Another Matter.
In “Forced Proximity,” Dana Hawkins turns professional hypervigilance into romantic trouble, asking whether a woman trained to trust her first assessment can survive discovering how spectacularly wrong an assessment can be.
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | August 11th, 2026

Danger is supposed to clarify things. Dana Hawkins’s “Forced Proximity” prefers to scramble them. Lexi Morgan is an elite executive-protection specialist paid to notice what other people miss: the hand drifting toward a pocket, the body lingering too near an exit, the tiny change before ordinary becomes unsafe. Her professional gift has hardened into a private rulebook. She looks quickly, judges quickly and trusts the verdict. Assigned to protect actor Justin Greenwood, whom she has already filed under rich, vain, famous, morally suspect, Lexi runs into an awkward limit of expertise: vigilance can save a life and still be a terrible way to know one.

Everything initially seems to support her case. Justin is an A-list action star with immaculate forearms, an aggravating smile and a public dossier Lexi considers damning. Years earlier, he withdrew from a tornado fundraiser for Midwestern families like her own; there are also arrogant-looking interviews and a viral confrontation with a fan. Justin, meanwhile, receives Lexi as an intrusion: a stranger entering his house, setting the terms of his movements and demanding the sort of instant trust that people with uncomplicated relationships to trust recommend very freely. His studio hires her after a stalker’s messages escalate into mutilated toys, violent images and evidence that somebody has learned far too much about where he is.

Much of the chassis is familiar: celebrity and bodyguard, enemies-to-lovers friction, slow burn, workplace boundaries, forced proximity, tactical competence made erotic. Readers of “The Bodyguard” by Katherine Center will recognize the silhouette. Hawkins finds her better subject once the trope inventory has finished introducing everyone. A bodyguard watches. So do fans, paparazzi, a studio, a stalker and, eventually, lovers. The difference is not how much any of them can see. It is what each believes seeing allows them to claim.

Evidence against Justin is real enough to make Lexi’s revisions matter. The tornado fundraiser supplies the first correction: suspecting financial impropriety, Justin withdrew and quietly sent money through channels he trusted. Other exhibits in Lexi’s case acquire context too. The disastrous interview happened while he was ill. The fan he seemed to attack had been pursuing Justin and his nonbinary assistant, Zane, while directing homophobic abuse at Zane. Hawkins’s point is more irritating, and more useful, than “the media lies.” Evidence can be accurate while the story assembled from it is wrong.

That problem follows Justin everywhere. Millions can recognize his face, while very few people know what his mother can do to him with a phone call or how much of his charm is practiced self-protection. Lexi presents the inverse problem. Before she understands him, she can map his schedule, doors, visitors, habits, vulnerabilities and the safest place for his body to stand in a room. She has information, not knowledge. “Forced Proximity” is best when it keeps those categories separate. Intimacy begins not when Lexi sees more, but when she stops treating every new fact as confirmation of a verdict already reached.

Rhythm makes Hawkins easy to read. The dual first-person narration runs on short-to-medium sentences, fragments, profanity, quick reversals and the internal drumrolls of commercial romance: absolutely not; fine, maybe; definitely not; oh no. Lexi’s voice benefits most. She notices bodies as potential threats and inconvenient objects of desire. She can assess whether a jacket permits proper movement and, a heartbeat later, resent that Justin’s forearms have entered the tactical picture. Security jargon, insulin, training and attraction occupy the same mental counterspace. Her body is instrument, liability, weapon, medical responsibility and, eventually, something she must allow another person to tend.

If the prose has a recurring weakness, it is mistrust of implication. Hawkins rarely lets an emotional beat stand without supervision. A scene shows Lexi relaxing around Justin; she then names the relaxation, connects it to the defenses she built after her divorce and circles back later for another diagnosis. Justin receives similar treatment. Attraction, family damage and uncertainty are polished until almost no residue remains. These characters have to learn that first readings can be incomplete, while the narration keeps supplying answer keys.

Pleasure at the sentence level makes this repetition more expensive. Dinners, movie nights, security sweeps and basketball games are brisk, often charming. The middle spreads because recognition keeps getting memos. Lexi wants Justin; wanting him threatens the job; the job is fused to trauma; trauma makes intimacy dangerous; Justin makes danger tempting. The cycle is credible. Its reiteration is not always useful. Hawkins has built the cage and shown us the lock. Too often she returns with a label maker.

Alternating perspectives let the reader live inside those errors rather than simply hearing about them. Justin can say something defensive while we know what he means, only for Lexi to hear the same words later and take them literally. When he tells his friend Conner that Lexi is “not my type,” we already know he is lying because Conner’s interest has made him jealous; Lexi hears only the phrase and takes the bruise. The device is familiar, but the fit is exact. Each protagonist keeps working from an incomplete file on the other, and the novel is stronger whenever it lets the discrepancy sit there for a while.

Past those lighter misreadings sits what Lexi calls “The Incident,” the event governing her life four years before the novel begins. Hawkins releases it by degrees: a scar, a failed marriage, professional guilt, terror of distraction. Lexi and her then-wife Katey had pursued IVF while Lexi kept postponing the next step because there was always another assignment. They argued before a protection job in Germany. Still rattled, Lexi missed danger; gunfire wounded her and the executive she guarded. The shooter caused the attack. Lexi nevertheless turned sequence into causation and causation into sentence: attachment distracted her, distraction caused failure, therefore attachment itself was unsafe.

Afterward, she leaves Katey, gives up their shared life and moves into an apartment she never really furnishes, as though temporary furniture could become a moral philosophy. Work becomes penance. Short contracts permit motion without attachment, letting her keep paying a debt no one has presented for collection. Her competence is attractive because it is real, but Hawkins is more interested in what Lexi has made it do for her. Usefulness keeps need at a manageable distance.

Diabetes belongs inside that system rather than beside it. Lexi’s Type 1 diabetes shapes meals, insulin, emergency planning and work without becoming inspirational ornament or a detachable issue plot. When Justin sees her injecting insulin and, triggered by his sister Mia’s addiction history, assumes the worst, another partial observation becomes a complete story. Later, during a serious blood-sugar crash, Justin becomes the caretaker. He learns what she needs without translating need into fragility. For Lexi, that is almost indecently intimate: a man with a weapon is easier to classify than someone who remembers whether she has eaten.

In Justin’s life, self-protection has a softer wardrobe. His parents used money and obligation as instruments of control; his mother still treats guilt as family currency. Mia’s addiction taught him vigilance of another kind. Celebrity compounds the problem by rewarding performance. People laugh harder, linger longer and remember meeting him more vividly than he remembers them. He knows how to perform approachable Justin, charming Justin, red-carpet Justin. He does not know whether anyone will stay when there is nothing to perform.

Mutual care therefore arrives in embarrassingly ordinary clothes. Justin cooks. Lexi sweeps the house. They watch movies, play basketball, trade insults and gradually stop treating every soft moment like an incident report. His kitchen begins as a room she must secure and becomes somewhere she is fed. Movie nights lose their alibi and become routine. Lexi repeatedly places herself between Justin and danger because it is her job; when Justin instinctively steps between Lexi and a man carrying a baseball bat, she is furious because affection has made the direction of protection unstable.

Inverting those roles finally cracks the logic Lexi has been living by. Justin’s attempt to protect her pushes her into explaining Germany, Katey and the guilt she has mistaken for accountability. His answer is almost offensively simple to someone who has spent four years drafting an alternate legal code inside her head: the shooter was responsible for the shooting. Lexi’s false logic is painfully credible. The speed of its loosening is less so. Years of self-punishment begin to give way once Justin supplies patience and the right counterargument. He does not cure her, but the novel sometimes lets reassurance do work that the wounds themselves might reasonably resist.

The stalker plot feels most current when it moves through screens. Threatening messages become invasive photographs, synthetic violence, dead animals, someone getting closer. Hawkins understands, without making the novel stop for a briefing, that stalking no longer has to choose between digital and physical intrusion. The synthetic video works because falseness does not make it harmless. It allows the stalker to rehearse bodily terror before laying a hand on the body.

Rather than make technology the villain, Hawkins returns to an older delusion. Tim, the eventual stalker, is a studio-linked technical worker who once had a pleasant conversation with Justin. When Justin later fails to remember him, Tim reads that ordinary asymmetry as betrayal, tracks him through public information and manufactures terror while imagining he might eventually be welcomed back as a cybersecurity expert. He takes the book’s governing error to its ugliest conclusion: being noticed becomes, in his mind, a relationship; being forgotten becomes an injury that deserves repayment.

Once Tim is unmasked, however, we understand his explanation better than we understand him. His motive fits almost too neatly. He is captured and passed into legal procedure with less dramatic friction than the romance. The mystery creates pressure; it never becomes a satisfying retrospective puzzle. Hawkins has put her best detail elsewhere. Justin cooking while Lexi pretends not to be moved tells us more about what this novel values than any clue board could.

Part of the problem is Justin himself. Hawkins wants Lexi to discover how carelessly she has assembled him from fragments, but too many fragments receive clean exculpatory footnotes. The fundraiser was nobler than it appeared. The fan confrontation was protective. The interview had mitigating circumstances. Lexi is satisfyingly wrong, but Justin is conveniently right. The argument would bite harder if understanding him required revising a judgment rather than reversing it – if the fuller picture still contained a man who could be vain, selfish or simply difficult.

Only when Lexi begins withholding information from Justin does protection acquire some moral friction. Early on she is appalled that his studio conceals the stalking’s seriousness to keep him focused on production. Later, attachment makes the logic seductive, and she withholds a grotesque synthetic threat herself. Hawkins does not inflate the reversal into a lesson. She simply lets care reproduce the behavior it once condemned. Protection can become control long before it starts looking cruel; sometimes all it needs is confidence that you know what another person can handle.

Underneath the guns, cameras and movie-star logistics lies the question both protagonists keep avoiding: what counts as safety? Lexi tries to eliminate variables – check exits, keep distance, stay fed, keep the weapon accessible, avoid emotional compromise. Justin manages people instead – charm the room, contain family conflict, pay what must be paid, make discomfort disappear. Both systems once protected them. Neither leaves much room for a life. Their romance becomes persuasive when care stops being another transaction they have to earn by performing correctly.

Late in the novel, forced proximity finally earns the second half of its title. Tim is caught. The threat ends. Lexi confesses that she loves Justin, but the confession does not magically dissolve the client-bodyguard relationship. That arrangement has to end before desire can stop borrowing authority from the job. The premise begins with access Justin has not chosen: the studio wants protection, Lexi is assigned, every outing depends on her presence. Only when the contract disappears can staying become the point.

Over two years, the epilogue tidies almost every room it enters. Justin and Lexi are married. He has drawn a boundary with his mother. Lexi remains in security without letting work consume every usable hour; Justin has begun questioning the velocity of his career. Mia is thriving, and Zane is finally going to Portugal. Few loose threads are allowed to loiter near the premises. Readers who want blueprints for the happy-ever-after may welcome the generosity; those who prefer unresolved weather may find the sky suspiciously blue.

Still, the adoption thread gives that neatness emotional logic. Lexi once postponed a family with Katey until that future vanished; she entered Justin’s life expecting another assignment and found herself unable to leave. Now, having been adopted by parents who taught her that being chosen could be one of love’s deepest verbs, she sits beside Justin preparing to choose a child in turn. “Forced Proximity” earns 79/100 and 3/5 stars: a strong, emotionally effective romance whose best idea – that attention can become care, judgment or possession depending on what the watcher believes they are owed – is subtler than its prose and more durable than its mystery. Lexi begins by believing perfect attention might keep catastrophe outside the perimeter. She ends somewhere riskier and warmer, with no weapon capable of securing it: inside a life she has finally decided to inhabit.

[Jess Svajgert · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: August 27, 2026

I generally love a bodyguard romance, and this one between an actor and his female bodyguard had a great premise. Unfortunately, the rest didn’t really work for me. They know each other for months, but it didn’t come across that their relationship is building into anything. Then surprise…they confess their love to each other, all before they’ve ever even kissed! Then they’re suddenly together and married, the end.

[BookishKB]

🎬 Forced Proximity 🎬

📖 Bookish Thoughts

My full review will be shared closer to the publication date.

✨ What to Expect
• Queer Romance
• Bodyguard Romance
• Enemies to Lovers
• Forced Proximity
• Celebrity Romance
• Stalker Suspense
_ _ _

📅 Pub Date: August 27, 2026
Thank you to HQ Digital, and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

[Jess (lucky.bookclub) Hilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The future of romance is here, and it’s queer. 🌈✨

Forced Proximity felt incredibly modern in the best way. Between the strong queer representation and the way it flips traditional gender roles on their head, this book felt fresh while still delivering all the romance and tension I was looking for.

I’m such a sucker for a bodyguard romance, and I really enjoyed watching Lexi and Justin go from barely tolerating each other to slowly learning to trust and be vulnerable with one another. Their relationship felt natural, and I loved how many of their early frustrations came from assumptions rather than actual incompatibility.

Even though the book touches on heavier topics like stalking and addiction, it never felt overwhelming. Dana Hawkins handled those themes with a lot of care while still keeping the story fun, fast-paced, and easy to read. I flew through this one in a day and had a great time with it. 📚💕

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Holly_bookbanter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to HQ and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book. This is my voluntary and honest opinion.

I have read many books by this author and am a big contemporary romance reader, huge fan of queer literature, and love the forced proximity trope!

Overall Thoughts:
Swoon. Just all the swoon. I was batting my edge lashes and puckering my lips and kicking my feet for this one. I love a slow burn and I loved forced proximity. Add in enemies to lovers and I am locked in! I loved these characters, this story, and just all of the goodness in this book!

Spice Level:
Low spice with some minor details, and no graphic language.

Characters:
I LOVE a strong woman. Give me strength and independence and determination all day. Lexi is a bad ass in all the ways. She is not just good at her job, but she is dedicated, precise, and takes her role very seriously. But she is also soft, underneath the trauma that she needs to shed there is the heart and soul of a bisexual woman who just needs to find the right human who will not only love and protect her but also respect her and accept that her job is what defines her self worth and identity.

Justin is the man that you want to hate because on the outside his life is picture perfect and you can’t help but blame him for it. But then you realize that is just a heavily curated facade and he has trauma that runs deep, with triggers that can be easily set off, and desperately needs to find a woman who will love him. Just love him for who he is and not what he has and can offer them. I adore his transition in this book. I love his need to take care of her in all the simple ways like just feeding her, and wanting to know how to help manage her diabetes. Like just stahp it’s too much!

And Zane. 10/10 no notes. He is a character that needs to be in every book. I don’t care what genre, what time period, we all need a Zane.

Shoutout to Marcus too for being the dad we all needed to see and for respecting Lexi enough to reprimand her when necessary instead of giving her special treatment. Thank you, sir.

Romance and Chemistry:
Off the charts. Love that tension, that slow burn, the little digs amid the soft glances, and the yearning was soooo good. Oh, and I can’t forget to mention the subtle flirting without flirting, because that would cross a line and Lexi could never. The gym scene, the basketball court, all the accidental touches that made their skin light up with fire. Gah, so good!

Writing Style and Pacing:
I adore Dana’s writing. She has a gift for people. Her characters are the kind that stay with you. You see yourself in them and you go on the journey with them in a way that makes it so real. I love the dual POV and it worked so perfectly in this book with just enough of Justin’s beautiful thoughts to leverage Lexi’s chaotic ones. Seeing their growth through their eyes was a great way to really feel that connection to them. The book felt like the perfect length and the epilogue was just enough to bring the story to completion without it feeling too long or predictable.

Setting and Vibes:
Gorgeous California with all those Hollywood vibes. Much of the book is set in a Hollywood mansion and yet every scene feels fresh and interesting.

Content and Triggers:
Mild violence
Medical crisis
Strained familial relationships

Final thoughts:
Yes. All the yes. Don’t sleep on this one. I can’t stop smiling after finishing it. Dana doesn’t just tell you what’s happening and how people feel, she shows you. The orange juice scene and the aftermath conversation absolutely sealed it for me. Hearing both their povs on that particular situation was almost comical and I love that Dana can bring some of that levity to a serious situation. Go grab this book, I promise you won’t regret it!

Ratings:
4.5/5
1/5 spice

[neeshreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️/5

If Dana writes it, I’m reading it!

💖Golden Retriever x Black Cat
💜She’s His Bodyguard
💙Enemies to Lovers
💖Forced Proximity…Obviously!
💜Slow Burn
💙Badass Bisexual FMC
💖Opposites Attract
💜Workplace Romance
💙Learning to Love Again
💖Late Night Ice Cream Buddies
💜Training & 1 v 1 Basketball as Flirting
💙He Takes Care of Her

Lexi has been hired to protect an A-list actor, not fall in love with him.

Lexi is the best in the business — a personal security guard with elite fighter training, immensely focused, and loyal to her craft. What she isn’t? A glorified babysitter for an annoyingly handsome actor who thinks he doesn’t need her help. What Justin doesn’t know? He’s got a dangerous stalker and his team has downplayed the threat — meaning Lexi is here to stay. And the more time they spend together? Unexpected sparks fly. The question is…can they keep things professional?

Y’all. Justin. Is. A. Green. Flag. Dreamboat. He has a disarming Nashville drawl, forearms for DAYS, doesn’t notice other women — he just has eyes for Lexi, he cooks for her, AND calls her Superwoman because of how much he sees her strength and respects her. Cut. The. Show. That’s a wrap! The forced proximity circumstances led to the ultimate romcom “fallen in love” moment…it’s me, I’ve fallen in love 😂

While Justin may seem like he had it all growing up, and as an actor now has even more, trauma knows no tax bracket and his backstory will have you in his corner. The world hasn’t always been kind to Lexi and she’s her own worst critic, healing takes work and processing her personal and work-related trauma takes time. Both characters have relatable attributes and they 100% start off on the WORST foot with one another…the dislike and loathing is strong! But when the forced proximity of their situation starts to work its magic? The walls come down on both sides, and the ease with which they can be themselves around one another is heartwarming…and complicates the bodyguard-employer aspect — something Lexi struggles with exponentially, and she doesn’t know how to do her job while being in love with the person she’s supposed to protect. Acting on those feelings without having the perpetrator in custody could cost Justin in ways he doesn’t understand. So, the emotional toll this story had on me was unexpected…I almost cried (I’m not a crier when I read). Because as much as these two are meant for each other, the road was NOT easy and my heart broke at a very crucial moment, and thankfully the air gets cleared relatively quickly.

And the sexual tension? Palpable. Thick. As Justin’s assistant would say, “Just riding in the SUV with you two is enough to make me crack the windows. The pheromones practically ricochet off the glass and land in my coffee.” 😂

I really enjoyed this one!

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lexi is an accomplished bodyguard who works in private security. When she’s hired to protect Justin, an A-list Hollywood actor, she’s immediately reluctant because of what she’s heard about him and his decision to back out of a charity event. The event is being held near Lexi’s hometown in an area recently impacted by a tornado, which makes the situation feel more personal to her. She eventually agrees to meet with Justin, but she’s ready to walk away until she realizes just how real and serious the threat against him is.

As Lexi spends more time with Justin, she starts to let him see parts of herself that she hasn’t shared with anyone in a long time. Justin, in turn, becomes increasingly interested in her and tries to break through her walls with things like cooking, playing basketball, and movie nights. When he catches her injecting insulin, he mistakenly assumes she’s struggling with addiction like his sister and wants her out of his life. Once she explains the truth, he realizes how badly he misjudged her and has some serious groveling to do.

Their relationship continues to develop, but Justin repeatedly puts himself in danger trying to protect Lexi. They clash over it because she knows his safety is her responsibility, and she’s already worried that his stalker is becoming more dangerous. Things get even more complicated when Justin’s college friend, Conner, attempts to force himself on Lexi. Justin loses it when he finds out and has to be removed from the situation and taken home. Later, when someone approaches them in a grocery store parking lot and Justin instinctively puts himself between Lexi and the threat, she decides they can’t continue getting closer and need to keep things professional because the danger surrounding him is escalating.

Eventually, the stalker shows up at the house, and Lexi is able to chase him down and apprehend him. The experience makes her realize just how much Justin has come to mean to her. After Lexi is no longer working for him, Justin shows up at her place, and they finally decide to give their relationship a real chance. They get their happily ever after.

Holy slow burn. I understand why it took them so long to get there, but wow, this girl puts herself through it. 😂 I’m so glad they finally got their HEA, especially after everything they went through and all the ways they ended up protecting each other.

[Toni Gower · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you so much @netgalley and @hqstories for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A fantastic gripping read that had me hooked from the very start. The title pretty much sums this books trope up of obviously ‘forced proximity’. Lexi AKA Doc is assigned as Justin’s a famous actors bodyguard. Firstly, I loved this role reversal of the female protecting the male character. Lexi fears that her clients see her as weaker as she’s A. A female and B. Her type 1 diabetes being held against her if her clients were to find out about it.

There is so much representation in this book and diversity which is blended into the story so well.

I almost felt like a third wheel as I was reading being in the same room as both Lexi and Justin. The tension and clear attraction is right from the get go where they both share utter distain for the other. The line between love and hate as we all know is thin!

I adored Zane they added another layer to this book and I’d love a spin off all about this side character. They really tied the story together in my opinion and it is not often when you are reading the book you want more from the male leads friend. Whenever Zane entered into the chapter they added either a comical element or an extra layer of emotion. Their coaching and support for both our main characters was true friendship.

Both Lexi and Justin have deep routed trauma and it’s wonderful to see these 2 work through this both together and individually. The character growth of both was incredible.

This book had my guessing throughout who our stalker could be which I loved trying to work it out (spoiler I didn’t).

If you love forced proximity, miscommunication, dual POV and a book where there is fantastic character growth this one’s for you!

[Kerstin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Digital for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of a reverse bodyguard romance immediately caught my attention. Lexi, a personal security guard, is one of the best in her business and has no interest in babysitting an A-list actor like Justin, which makes for plenty of entertaining banter.

The romance definitely delivered a slow burn with plenty of yearning and tension. As Lexi tries to keep things professional, she struggles with where to draw the line and Justin truly doesn't make it easy for her. While I’m generally not a huge fan of the miscommunication trope, it did give us some delicious angst.

The trauma each of the characters carries was handled well, and I appreciated how their individual struggles shaped their relationships and choices. That said, I found Lexi’s initial attitude towards Justin overly judgmental, especially given her years of working with other difficult clients.

The stalker storyline unfortunately didn’t feel quite as threatening or thrilling as I expected, and I figured out the perpetrator quite early on. Overall, some of the plot elements felt slightly convenient, and the ending wrapped up a little too quickly for my taste. I also wasn’t completely sold on the epilogue, although I’m sure other readers will definitely enjoy it.

Overall, this was a fun, comedic romance with a great premise, enjoyable chemistry, and plenty of slow-burn tension. It didn’t completely work for me when it came to some of the character development and plot resolutions, but I still had a good time reading it.

[Kelsiesinkandpages · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book opened brilliantly. It pulled me in straight away, and I absolutely loved the first third. But then the pace seemed to stall, and the constant will they, won’t they? started to feel a little repetitive. The lack of communication between Lexi and Justin was painful at times, and sadly, for me, the story lacked that extra oomph that takes a book from good to great.

I really enjoyed reading about Lexi and her past experiences as a bodyguard. Her resilience in the face of her disability, while still allowing herself to be vulnerable, made her an interesting and complex character. That said, I did find her a little too judgmental of Justin at times, which made it harder for me to connect with her.

Justin’s lack of confidence gave me the impression that he had spent most of his life being wrapped in cotton wool. At times, he behaved quite childishly, which I found a little off-putting. I wanted to connect with him more, but unfortunately, I struggled to do so.

The stalker storyline was another slight disappointment for me. The first few chapters made it feel as though this was going to become a much bigger and more sinister part of the story, but ultimately, I found it lacking and not nearly as impactful as I had expected.

Overall, if you enjoy a slow-burn romance with a touch of mystery, then this could definitely be a book for you. Sadly, though, it just didn’t quite make the cut for me.

[Louise Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Forced Proximity follows Lexi, an elite personal protection officer assigned to keep a close eye on Justin, a successful actor who has become the target of a stalker. With circumstances requiring Lexi to remain constantly by his side, the pair are forced into close quarters despite a rocky start and plenty of mutual frustration. As tensions rise and the threat becomes more apparent, attraction slowly begins to develop beneath the surface.

I really enjoyed the author's writing style and found the book easy to become immersed in. The romance unfolds at a gradual pace, which worked well for me, and I appreciated that the relationship was given time to develop rather than feeling rushed. The second half of the novel was particularly strong, allowing both Lexi and Justin to show more vulnerability and creating some genuinely sweet moments between them. I also enjoyed the supporting cast and appreciated the inclusion of topics such as infertility, adoption, bisexuality, and substance abuse.

That said, there were a few elements that prevented this from being a standout read for me. I struggled at times with Lexi's characterisation. Her initial assumptions about Justin felt quite entrenched, and while I understood why the story needed conflict between them, I found it difficult to reconcile some of her attitudes and actions with her reputation as a highly skilled professional. As a result, I never felt as connected to her as I wanted to.

I also felt the emotional side of the romance could have been developed a little more. While the chemistry was there, several of Lexi and Justin's disagreements seemed to cover similar ground, and I would have loved more scenes that strengthened their connection beyond the attraction. The suspense aspect was less successful for me too. The identity of the stalker felt fairly obvious early on, which reduced some of the tension, and the resolution arrived more quickly than I expected.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read with engaging writing, a satisfying slow-burn romance, and some meaningful themes. While a few issues with characterisation and the suspense storyline meant it didn't completely win me over, I would still recommend it to readers who enjoy celebrity romances, forced proximity, and protective-bodyguard dynamics.
Rating: 3.5 rounded to 4 stars.

[Euphonious Times · Rating 3 out of 5]

review of advanced copy received from NetGalley

Forced Proximity follows the story of Lexi, a top of her field personal security guard, who gets tasked to look after Justin, an A-list actor with a stalker. Lexi has a whole suitcase full of prejudice and bad impressions about Justin from the very beginning and is reluctant to take on the assignment, especially as one of the reasons she was picked is because she's a woman and could pass as Justin's girlfriend, should the optics call for it. Justin's team is keeping the severity of the situation hidden from him which makes it so that he's reluctant to be followed around by security. This constitutes the basis of the friction between the pair, to which a hefty dose of attraction is added.

I found the FMC to be extremely judgemental and prejudiced from the very beginning - I understand this was part of the plot but surely when you work in Hollywood you expect to have clients that are part of that world and you are also aware not everything is as it seems or gets showcased in the media. This made her character seem inconsistent and I couldn't connect to her, especially as she also became unprofessional to a worrying degree, and not due to her attraction to Justin, but due to her disdain for him. She endangered him as a result which makes me believe she isn't even that good at her job which added to the inconsistency of her profile. My partner is also a T1 diabetic so I am familiar with the condition and how it impacts day to day life and I feel like the representation here was a little exaggerated and also, again, inconsistent with what her character was supposed to be. Some of the points made in the book about T1 diabetes were a little questionable and for how much it was mentioned I feel like this could have been handled better and didn't leave me with more questions about how she's handling it.

The arguments between her and Justin were repetitive and I didn't feel like there were that many moments that built up their emotional connection. The stalker's actions also didn't seem to be grave enough to warrant what was supposed to be top security and it was also it was very clear to me who the stalker was from the very first time we got introduced to his character which was a shame as it removed the suspense element. The conclusion felt a little abrupt as well.

The second half of the book did pick up the pace and allowed the characters to build up their chemistry and show some vulnerability and I liked the side characters as well. The writing was easy to follow and I liked seeing aspects such as infertility, bisexuality, adoption, substance abuse be approached.

Thank you HQ and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

[Claire Smith-Simmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

How is it that Dana Hawkins manages to write characters that I can't get enough of?! Every single book I've read I find myself immersed in her writing and falling for the characters. I read very few romances and yet her books are like catnip to me.

This storyline had me picturing Hollywood glitz and crazy fans. I loved the gender switch having Lexi as the bodyguard and the forced proximity that gave them no choice but to tackle any misconceptions they had about each other. The emotional baggage that these two had slowly unfolded and was dealt with really well I thought.

The miscommunication had me gritting my teeth at times, but thankfully there's growth so they both get over this side of things. The growing tension between them had me doing little happy dances. I loved Zane and their input into the story into pushing the two of them to communicate.

Overall a lovely contemporary romance read.

Thank you to the author, publishers and Netgalley for my copy.

[Kelsee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew I was going to love this one!! Dana Hawkins’ writing style is one of my favorites and Forced Proximity was no exception!

Doc and Justin seem like surly enemies at first glance, thrust together in an effort to keep Justin safe. But as they each soften and get to really know one another, things start to change…

I honestly could not put this one down! The mystery aspect kept me absolutely hooked, but so did the slow burn of will-they won’t-they.

Doc is such a fun character too, and I thought her type 1 diabetes was represented so well! I also really grew fond of Justin and loved learning more about his past.

If you’re a fan of slow burn workplace romances (and who isn’t?!) please check this one out - but it’s so much more than just tropes! This was such a refreshing read for me.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Sue Plant · Rating 3 out of 5]

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

well hmm what to say about this book...wish i had read the synopsis first but it still wouldnt have made much of a difference after all its dana hawkins and normally any book by this author is a must read.... well found my first one that i actually didnt like

i did start out liking the main character after all who wouldnt lexi morgan is a powerhouse of a body guard but she seemed to have a personality transplant half way through the book and became someone totally different

and if your expecting this to be sapphic stop reading... yeah lexi is bi but there wont be any spicy scenes for sapphics this is a normal hetro book

some people might like this one but i lost patience with this one and sad to say i didnt finish it...

[Addie_bookbanter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bodyguard romance - The fmc is the bodyguard
Forced proximity
Bi FMC
Healing from trauma
Diabetes rep
Economic differences
Non-binary rep (side character)
Relationship after divorce

I flew through this one. I am hit or miss with bodyguard romance and wasn’t sure how I would feel but I really enjoyed it! FMC is hired as a body guard for a movie star who is being stalked, neither one is thrilled with the arrangement. Both characters are kind of going through it in their personal journeys and I loved watching them make baby steps towards getting to know each other and dealing with their individual traumas so they can find a way to be together.

Zane is total icon and possibly the best character in the story.

[Kasey Connors-Beron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of Forced Proximity and leave this review voluntarily.

Enemies-friends-to-lovers with a roller coaster of a emotions and drama. It was fantastic. I loved the characters (side characters included) and found the explanations for things to make complete sense as well as the perspective shift afterwards. I really enjoyed watching the female main character develop. It was slow, which made it all the more powerful when it did happen. And the male main character's personality was very much like a sour patch kid. The trauma history influences his decisions throughout the book, making those decisions feel more genuine rather than forced and inexplicable. Definitely recommended!

[thetbrhoarder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a bodyguard romance and this was the perfect flip of that trope. Even though Lexi didn’t want to take the job due to personal reasons, Justin is exactly who she needed in her life. Their budding chemistry was intense to read and I kept thinking ‘Now is the chapter they’ll finally kiss’ and I was kept waiting and waiting. But when they finally did? It was perfectly executed. I loved the writing style and was engrossed from the start. The ending was such a sweet way to end the story and I kind of need Zane’s book now

[Amy Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Main tropes:
Enemies to friends to lovers.
Close proximity

For me having bisexual FMCs in a hetero relationship is important to portray as so many people think if it is a f/m relationship the couple must be straight. Nope. Not always,
Also, it is often quite hard to find a good female bodyguard book which is equally romantic and suspenseful. But this book managed to build suspense as we go, throwing in the old, threat from inside at times. Hawkins build a good narrative of resistance between the characters with the FMC establishing throughout the barriers a female bodyguard faces. There are lenses that men have to face, especially if they are going to date their bodyguard, they might automatically assume their partner needs help but she is the bodyguard first and probably knows more than he ever will.
I loved the scene where she taught him self-defence, a classic scene often in subversion to this. The epilogue too gave me the warm and fuzzies, adorable and hopeful, whilst not ignoring major parts of the character's history.
Yes, there was spice but two chillies at most.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from #netgalley , thank you. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

[Chelsea-anne Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The miscommunication trope is strong in this book so be warned. I loved this fun romance about Lexi who has to be the bodyguard for Justin an actor who is getting death threats. It is interesting, fun to read and has great characters. I do think I would have liked a little more depth to them as they are working together for months which I don't think really came across. I do like that the characters have faults and make mistakes, which makes it more realistic as no one is perfect. The miscommunication normally annoys me but I quite liked it in this as it fit their personalities. Overall, a nice easy going romance that is fun to read.

Other tropes included:
💜Slow Burn
💜Enemies to Lovers
💜Workplace Romance
💜 Forced Proximity...obvs

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved this book! adored the storyline and adored the characters😍 It was really great to read about a female bodyguard! the chemistry between the main characters was amazing and that slowburn...was totally worth it😉 I totally recommend this book!❤️

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a funny a sweet love story. Both characters were just great fun to read and I laughed a lot.

[Chelsea Drumm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Forced Proximity is a bodyguard romance (where she is the bodyguard) that is described as enemies to lovers, but I feel like that's a bit of a stretch. Lexi is judgy and fuels her dislike of Justin based on preconceived ideas of him. Justin dislikes the idea of having a bodyguard because he thinks it is unnecessary but is into her pretty immediately and harbors no real ill-will towards her. They're not enemies. The beginning, with this disconnect between them where they're both not happy with their situation, felt a little slow and dragged out. I think the book as a whole was probably longer than it needed to be. I enjoyed watching them get to know each other, watching their attraction build, and felt like they had great chemistry. The pacing definitely picked up as the book went on, and overall, I found this fun and entertaining. Thanks Netgalley for the e-ARC!

[Liz Sturg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. When I first started reading the book I found it hard to get into it with the characters. The FMC had a very standoffish stand about the person whom she was supposed to be taking care of. Then the MMC was this down to earth person who was getting the burnt end of the stick from the FMC for no reason. I wanted to really fall in love with the characters but I didn't really connect with the FMC until maybe half past the book when she lets her guard down and lets him in. Then it was like this hot and cold thing they had going on. They would take a step ahead and then they would take two steps back. I had to take several days to finish this book because it just didn't grab my attention.

[Sophie TM · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun, but didn't completely deliver. Lexi/Doc and Justin have a true enemies-to-lovers arc that is hard to nail in romance, and are a real slow burn. Their feelings are realized internally early enough but they don't act on it until roughly the 75% mark, which was great for building tension between them. I also really loved the bi-sexual and non-binary representation, it was handled really well here.

Where it let me down was in the stalked sub-plot and frustration with the characters' behavior. The whole reason Lexi/Doc was hired to protect Justin was because of a stalker we are told is very dangerous. In reality though, we never really see it get so serious that it would warrant the intense security protocol they have Justin under. The stakes never really feel that high. On the main characters' side, while I thought they had good chemistry at parts, they themselves were inconsistent with their behavior and emotions. For example, Lexi has type 1 diabetes and is militant about minding it, but just forgets randomly one day and suffers shock so Justin can take care of her? Justin also talks a lot about how impressive Lexi is at her job but then insists on trying to protect her when it is clear he is only getting in the way.

All in all though, it was an enjoyable read, I would read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and Dana Hawkins for an ARC of this book. This was an honest review of my reading of this ARC.

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

I found this book really hard to get into in the first half. Lexi/Doc had a massive chip on her shoulder and was really stand-offish, and I found it really hard to like her. She made assumptions about Justin without ever having met him, and didn't seem to have much control over how she acted around him because of it. In the beginning, I didn't feel any chemistry between the two.

The second half of the book got significantly better. Both MCs started opening up to each other, finding common interests and building chemistry. At this point, I really wanted them to get their happy ending! The mystery element of who was targetting Justin also started to really pick up in the second half, and that kept me invested.

But then in the last 15% of the book, after they've spent a chunk of time opening up to each other, they suddenly have the same non-conversation and self-sacrificing attitude as the first half of the book. It's so frustrating that the characters clearly didn't learn anything, and it makes me think their future relationship is doomed as they do not know how to communicate!!

I think the author did a decent job of representing identities and heavier topics like bisexuality, drug use, abusive parents, infertility and adoption, and diabetes (although there were some weird points on that last one).

[LP · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

I couldn't connect with these characters and didn't really like the writing style. All of the characters except for Marcus and Jack felt very immature to me, the FMC especially. Neither Lexi nor Justin seemed to be able to have a decent conversation. I can think of a few other books I've read with a similar premise that executed the story much better. I found myself skimming too much.