What happens when a PA (personal assistant) and the Prime Minister of Canada are caught in what looks like a compromising position? She’ll be fake dating his bodyguard, of course. Like most Amy Lea novels, this story has its share of quirky humor but it also explores heavier topics including child abandonment and a parent with dementia. While I had a few quibbles with the book, I enjoyed this heartfelt romance.

It was Andi’s first night out at a bar after her boyfriend she had been seeing for a year broke up with her and, to top it off, she finds out he’s been seeing her best friend. That same night, Andi and Nolan have a funny meet-cute at the bar. Their first night together was very sweet even though hardly anything happened. She tells him about her dream to be a writer and it’s sweet the way he encourages her. She’s surprised to wake up the next morning and discover he put together her new writing desk before he left.

Fast forward three years later and Andi is working as a PA for Gretchen, the Canadian Prime Minister’s wife. She’s also secretly been writing steamy romances under a pen name. She is surprised when she sees Nolan, who has just been hired as security for Eric, the Prime Minister. Eric and Gretchen have been struggling with the pressures of his job and the long hours and so he plans a special anniversary dinner for them at a restaurant with Andi’s help. When Gretchen cancels at the last minute, Eric is devastated and asks Andi for advice on how to win her back. It gets awkward when photos of them sitting together at the restaurant come out and then there are rumors that she is the author of a steamy new book (written by Andi!) The Prime Minister and Me. The internet is SURE they are having an affair. Andi lies to everyone (but Nolan) and says she is not the author. Nolan knows the affair rumors aren’t true because he is with them all the time (including at the restaurant). He has been thinking about Andi since he met her three years ago. When Gretchen suspects he and Andi are attracted to each other, she suggests they fake date to save her husband’s reputation and they are happy to help. 

Nolan’s mother has Alzheimer’s and he came back to Ottawa to help his sister take care of her. He moved in with his mother and hired a nurse to help while he’s at work. It’s extra hard for him because his mother used to disappear when he was young and he and his sister had to stay with relatives. There is an opening for her in a care facility in the fall so he plans to stay in town until then, when he plans to take a security job abroad. He and Andi decide to enjoy the time they have together for the summer. It does get spicy and it’s fun when Nolan is happy to help Andi with her research for the sex scenes in her book.

One thing that felt awkward was I wondered why Andi wrote a spicy book about a prime minister and PA because it seemed so risky, even if she did write it anonymously. It felt like there was too much at stake. Another quibble was when she and Nolan took a break in the third act and the way it was handled felt really out of character for them both. But I really liked both Andi and Nolan (and his rescue dog) and enjoyed their love story.

I have loved the humor in Amy Lea’s books, especially Exes and O’s and The Catch and while The Bodyguard Affair isn’t perfect, it has a lot of heart and humor and I’m happy I got the chance to read it.