Book Review: The Total Package

Author: Stephanie Evanovich
Title: The Total Package
Publisher: William Morrow
Publish Date: March 15, 2016
Buy: Amazon
Book Blurb: The New York Times bestselling author of Big Girl Panties and The Sweet Spot is back with a funny, sweet, and sizzling novel about the game of love, in which a hot quarterback must figure out how to score big with a beautiful and talented media analyst after a heartbreaking fumble.

Star quarterback, first-round draft-pick, and heartthrob Tyson Palmer has made a name for himself with his spectacular moves. When the head coach of the Austin Mavericks refuses to let him waste his million-dollar arm, Tyson makes a Hail Mary pass at redemption and succeeds with everyone . . . except Dani, whose negative comments about his performance draw high ratings and spectacular notices of her own.

Dani can’t forgive Tyson’s transgressions or forget the sizzling history the two of them shared in college, a passionate love Tyson casually threw away. And even more infuriating, he doesn’t realize that the bombshell with huge ratings is the cute girl whose heart he once broke.

But can a woman trying to claw her way to the top and a quarterback who knows all about rock bottom make it to the Super Bowl without destroying each other? And what will happen when Tyson—riding high now that he’s revived his career—realizes he needs to make an even more important comeback with Dani? Can he make some spectacular moves to get past her defenses—or will she sideline him for good?

Review: I am giving this book three flowers because it was a cute little book, but it was a flawed little book and I really think anyone that spent $27.00 on the hardcover should get their money back. This book is only 250 pages long and I have to say, I've read loads of Harlequins that were better then this.

Truth be told there was a series this year for sports fans about a football family and any of those books from the Harlequin Desire line were better written this one, which makes me sad. (Seriously find the Bayou Billionaires mini-series from Harlequin, much better reads at about the same length)

If you've noticed...all three of Stephanie's books tie in together. You'll meet, Holly and Logan from Big Girl Panties again, and Amy and Chase from The Sweet Spot too.

I really thought the story had a lot of potential, but it fell apart way too fast. Tyler Palmer starts out as a real jerk and then he gets his butt kicked followed by an offer that he couldn't refuse. Suddenly he turns into a different person. I'm sorry if I didn't find it believable. He was way too good to be true. He was likable though, so that was a plus in his favor.

Then there's Dani..who starts the story as Ella. She was a kind of wallflower type who, of course, blossoms. The hot football player, again, of course, has feelings for her, they have a fling and things go wrong...

Jump forward 4 years.

Yeah...4 years.

And they are working together through the wings of manipulation. She knows who he is...he doesn't recognize her at first.

The attraction is there, but she has a secret. (I'll let you guess what it is)

This is where everything goes way way way wrong for me with this book. Dani isn't very likable. We know nothing about why she really liked Tyler in the first place. To be truthful, her character isn't really well developed, at least not like Tyler, who we know a lot of back story on.

There isn't much of a romance between them at least not in the traditional sense. Its more of a book with redemption and a side of romance that leads to the HEA, which didn't even seem satisfying.

I felt like this book was just tossed out there. Most of the time I find myself saying books could be trimmed down, this one needed more ...more development...more involvement. There was the whole subplot with Marcus that really went nowhere, I could go on.

I wanted to like this book, because it was on everyone's must read list for this summer, but it was really a meh, for me. If I hadn't had it sent in from another library, I probably wouldn't have finished it.

Rating: 3 flowers

2016 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge

1. A book based on a fairy tale
2. A National Book Award winner
3. A YA bestseller
4. A book you haven't read since high school
5. A book set in your home state
6. A book translated to English
7. A romance set in the future
8. A book set in Europe
9. A book under 150 pages
10. A New York Times bestseller
11. A book that's becoming a movie this year
12. A book recommended by someone you just met
13. A self-improvement book
14. A book you can finish in a day
15. A book written by a celebrity
16. A political memoir
17. A book at least 100 years older than you
18. A book that's more than 600 pages
19. A book from Oprah's Book Club
20. A science-fiction novel
21. A book recommended by a family member
22. A graphic novel
23. A book that is published in 2016
24. A book with a protagonist who has your occupation
25. A book that takes place during Summer
26. A book and its prequel
27. A murder mystery
28. A book written by a comedian
29. A dystopian novel
30. A book with a blue cover
31. A book of poetry
32. The first book you see in a bookstore
33. A classic from the 20th century
34. A book from the library
Stephanie Evanovich - The Total Package 35. An autobiography
36. A book about a road trip
37. A book about a culture you're unfamiliar with
38. A satirical book
39. A book that takes place on an island
40. A book that's guaranteed to bring you joy