(26)The Total Package by Stephanie Evanovich

Monday, March 14, 2016


Ella is focused on her education.  She keeps her head down and is skilled at avoiding the distractions that come along with college.  She agrees to tutor a student that challenges all of her beliefs.  Tyson Palmer is a genius on the football field, but he is struggling to maintain the grades necessary to play.  That is where Ella comes in to play.  Ella knows that working with Tyson won't be easy, as he is used to the whole world bowing at his feet. What she doesn't expect is to fall in love with him.  But it isn't until Tyson has graduated and is a rising star in the NFL and is on the verge of self destruction before she gives into his charm. Now it is five years later and they both have been through a rebirth.  Tyson went through rehab and is now back in the NFL.  Ella changed her name to Dani Carr and is a rising star in sports broadcasting.  And she has a five year old son, Brendan.  Even though they now work in the same industry, Dani has successfully avoided Tyson up until now.  He is just as handsome and charming as she remembered, but now the stakes are higher.  She has her son and her heart to protect.

I have enjoyed Stephanie Evanovich's first two books, but The Total Package just didn't strike the same chord with me as the other two books.   Tyson was not somebody that I was enamored with, in fact, I thought he was a bit of a jerk.  And given the way the author described Ella to be bookish and nerdy, I was surprised that she chose a career in sports journalism. Maybe that is a bit of a stereotype, as a bookish girl I love sports, but  it didn't really come across as authentic.  I also found the romantic scenes to be not as steamy as in previous books by the author.  We did get to see a few familiar faces again.  For example, Logan from Big Girl Panties was the one who trained Tyson back into the NFL.

Bottom line - While I didn't  love The Total Package as much as I had hoped, it was still a good read.  If you go into it with low expectations you won't be disappointed and may even enjoy the book, but you have to keep those expectations low.

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