The Total Package audiobook

Right from the beginning it was no secret that I knew how this story was going to end. However, it was still fun to read this book. Tyson really did a complete 180 improvement on his life. He was more mature, thoughtful, a good friend and team mate. Dani is a fighter. I like that she fought hard for her career to make sure she was taken seriously as a sports commentator . The funniest moments were when Dani was drunk and she was trying to seduce Tyson. I could tell her lack of experience was playing a big part. Not that this is a bad thing. It just showed that Dani would not give her heart to just anyone. Although, watching Dani in action was funny and charming. Tyson showed that he could be a perfect gentleman. It took all his will power. I felt the strong connection between these two. If you are a fan of this author's or are a new reader, you will enjoy this book. Tyson truly is the total package.

This is a story about second chances.Tyson’s professional football career is just about to hit rock bottom. Coming back to his Alma mater, he is faced with ridicule and disgust. Except for Ella, she offers to love, support and friendship. He takes her then leaves her in the dust only to have his party life style nearly destroy all his chances at furthering his career.Tyson is given a singular chance to turn his life around, rehab, a professional trainer and a contract that could pull him out of the downward spiral. He decides to make these drastic changes and thrives…all expect for a spitfire’s journalist that haunts him.When a new team mate demands said journalist, Dani (aka Ella) joins their team, Tyson finds himself drawn toward the woman that has thrown a curve ball into stellar return performance.Dani always dreamed about the day she would reunite with Tyson…but it doesn’t go as planned. He doesn’t even recognizer her and worse, her misadvised comment ends up labeling Tyson. Of course, it’s the opposite of… I had your baby and I still love you. Can she break the down the barrier and share her biggest secret?I enjoyed The Total Package. I really enjoyed the way Tyson reinvents himself, surrounds himself with positive people and learns to heal those old wounds. Don’t get me wrong, the story isn’t overly deep or emotional but overall a nice easy read.I received this ARC copy of The Total Package from William Morrow in exchange for a honest review. This book is set for publication March 15, 2015.Rating: 4 StarsWritten by: Stephanie EvanovichPaperback: 352 pagesPrint Length: 256 pagesPublisher: William Morrow Publication Date: March 15, 2016Sold by: HarperCollins PublishersASIN: B00OG7A2NIGenre: Contemporary Sports RomanceAmazon: http://www.amazon.com/Total-Package-N...Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-t...

4 starsWhat a great beach read! Genuinely nice and humble characters, a little football fun and a good romance - a recipe for some nice and easy summer reading!

Favorite Quotes:“I’m a weed-smoking, pill-popping alcoholic. No crack or smack. I had to draw the line somewhere.”“Sometimes I don’t know what was harder, straightening out my head or my heart.”“One look at her in this outfit and the most memorable gift her father got this Christmas would’ve been a stroke. She pulled at the tags under her arm and caught sight of the designer – Tart Collections. Never was a garment so aptly named.”“Her dreams and reality had finally merged, and she was still reeling (although maybe that was thanks to her first, well several, orgasms that had nothing to do with batteries). Now Dani fully understood what all the fuss was about.”“Sweetheart. I would sit with Satan and present a united front if it helped you. That’s just what mothers do.”“For way too long now, I’ve kept my distance from people. Not because I didn’t think they were worthy, but because I didn’t think I was.”My Review:I wasn’t sure what to expect but I enjoyed this endearing story of second chances and redemption. The writing was emotive, insightful, and entertaining and the plot was generally well paced although the characters did go back and forth in their timelines as they recalled their memories and histories. Toss in a bit of intrigue, clever humor, and some steamy sensual scenes and you have an interesting read on your hands. This was my first Stephanie Evanovich read but it certainly will not be my last.

I liked how this book mentions characters from Stephanie's other books. Quick, fun book. I'm taking off one star because I really didn't care for the bit where she keeps the truth from Tyson.

I really enjoyed this romantic sports story. It involves two people who meet in college, one who is in a downward spiral, but claws his way back up to the top. The other becomes a sports reporter who never really forgot her first crush. They meet each other later in life and become friends but one is holding a secret from the other. A fun romantic second chance book, with football!

Fans of Susan Elizabeth Phillips will simply adore THE TOTAL PACKAGE!Not only do you get a hero who starts out at the bottom of the barrel, and a heroine who goes from sweet tutor to a sassy "gonna take him down" power house, but you also get a wonderful and funny story about personal growth, growing up and making changes and maybe finding the love of your life in the process. I was swept away, sucked in, and left with a huge smile on my face! What more can you ask for? If you are a fan of SEP's Chicago Stars Series, you will absolutely love THE TOTAL PACKAGE!

I am a huge Stephanie Evanovich fan! I have to say she really upped her game with this one. The characters are rich and fully developed and very enjoyable. As always, I'm looking forward to more from this lady!

4 starsI loved this book, it was a cute and sweet read while looking at the downsides of being a professional sports star. I loved the new set of characters and the fact that we did get to revisit the old characters from previous books and get a wedding and baby out of it. I enjoyed how the book was set, the first 26% of the book was Tyson the early years. Both Tyson and Dani were very likeable characters and I enjoyed Marcus to.What I wasn't such a fan of was the fact that we didn't get to see a lot of Dani and Tyson and their relationship rebuilding, it sort of went from zero to ninety very fast and then from ninety to one hundred was a little slower but I still wanted to see more. I would have also loved to see more of Tyson and Brendon together as well but hopefully in her next book we may get to see more of Dani and Tyson.

Ok, so, I have a confession. I got this author mixed up with Janet Evanovich. I have a bunch of Janet's books in her series, the name of which had escaped me, and which I hadn't started reading yet, and when I saw this book offered up in a BookCrossing friend's post on FB, I thought it sounded good and would be a good introduction to Ms. Evanovich. It wasn't until I finished this book that I suddenly remembered her series was Stephanie Plum. And then I thought, wait, she named her main character after herself? And then I suddenly remembered that author is Janet, not Stephanie! But I am sooooo glad I made that mistake because I LOVED this book! I was expecting light fluffy romance, which would've been great, I'm always down with that. I was not expecting to be 70 or so pages into the book and so far it was all about the hero battling his alcoholic demons. And the heroine nowhere in sight. But I zipped through half the book on a Saturday afternoon, and then last night I was up way too late finishing it. Yes, it was that good!I'm often a little leery of secret baby plots. To empathize with the heroine there has to be really compelling motivation for her to keep the dad in the dark, and Ms. Evanovich pulled that off wonderfully here. I was completely on board with Dani's reasons, and understood completely why it took her so long to come clean. And I loved Tyson for sure. I was excited to learn that two of the other couples in this book have already had their own books! I NEED them!The Total Package. An apt title. Stephanie Evanovich has a new fan!

**Josie's Review**After reading this book I’m definitely a fan of this authors work and plan to read more of her books in the future. I am huge fan of football and I enjoyed how this story developed throughout the book. The characters were multifaceted and fascinating. I really appreciate when an author that is not afraid to give readers characters with realistic struggles. The characters deal with some heavy issues that felt realistic. I really felt like the author made it so the insecurities and secrets, addiction, and the struggle to stay sober and drug free feel believable. Dani was Tyson’s tutor in college, she had a secret crush on him but he never even noticed her. Years later, Tyson and Dani’s paths cross again but Tyson is no longer the golden boy. He is at the lowest point of his life. He is addicted to drugs and is about to lose his spot on his team. He’s also plagued by numerous sexual scandals. Despite all the years that have past and all the speculation surrounding Tyson, Dani believes that she can help him. She honestly believes that by sleeping with Tyson, by giving him a piece of her she change him. Well, that does not happen folks, what happen is Dani’s worst fears. She becomes another one of Tyson many victims. We get to see Tyson during his very difficult, grueling recovery process. The author left nothing out about what happens to someone when they are sobering up. She really gives it to us straight in this so we have a real account on what happens. While we see him hit rock bottom we also see him slowly claw his way out. He starts to take back his life and make his way back to his former self and his football team. I really enjoyed this part of the book, I thought watching this man go through this struggle was vital to this story. In order to appreciate the man he is today, we needed to see what he had to endure. When Tyson and Dani cross paths once again, she is skeptical of Tyson’s new found reformed status and I don’t blame her considering their very turbulent past. What hurts her most is Tyson does not remember her or the night they shared. I really loved seeing them reconnect. Their second chance at love was so refreshing. It was nice, sweet and I really loved the slow buildup. Dani was not ready to trust Tyson with her heart again and Tyson is afraid of the pressure that a relationship brings. What Tyson doesn’t know is Dani is hiding a big secret, one that might test his sobriety. Can Tyson and Dani find love the second time around? Will Dani’s secret erase Tyson’s 4 years of sobriety? This is definitely worth picking up and reading.

For the record, Stephanie Evanovich is a new-to-me-author and I really enjoyed this book, so I would definitely add her to my authors-to-watch-for list. If you are in the mood for a fun, quick romance novel, then you'll really enjoy this one. Honestly, I managed to finish this book in one setting because it's only 256 pages but it reads like a 150 page book. You'll fly through this story. So we start with Tyson Palmer, presumably at one of his lowest points, basically losing his lucrative football career to drugs and alcohol, and his alma mater doesn't even want to be associated with him. Enter Ella (later known as Dani), who was his tutor in college, and we have a not-so-steamy night that he doesn't totally remember but she kind of regrets. I mean, she was clearly in love with him but she certainly thought maybe she wouldn't be a bang and leave type of girl, but that's what happens to her. Cue intense rehab, training, and hard work to rebuild his career and become successful again, Tyson worked hard to get to that point. Dani, now with a four year old child (yes, it's Tyson's, you know where this will go), is trying to build a career as a sports correspondent and she finds herself with a too-good-to-turn-down offer which puts her squarely in the daily presence of Tyson again. If you are an avid reader of romance novels, you know how this story line will finish out because it really does follow basically the same route as all of the others. What is a little bit different in this story is I didn't care for Ella/Dani, but I really liked Tyson. I felt his was so sincere and really trying to do good things and stay on a positive path whereas Ella/Dani.. meh. She's just refusing to believe that a person like him could change for the better and be sincere about it. But overall? It was fun read compared to the last few books I've read with a heavy story line, so this was definitely a welcomed change. I think if you are looking for a romance novel unlike anything you read, you might be disappointed. If you want something solid with a great guy at the center of it and a comeback story, then this is definitely something you are going to enjoy. I'd have to give this a solid 4/5 stars and I would definitely read more from Stephanie Evanovich.

What a lovely surprise, I won this copy from WmMorrow Books. Had to start reading right away.I am normally a murder who dun it, type person, and love books that also make me laugh, so I don't normally read a Romance book. Story, nice girl from a good loving close Italian family tutors a football athlete, named Tyson. He goes onto the big league, however, his father pulls him into a bad life, he ends up ruining his career with drugs, alcohol and a huge sex scandal. He has reached the bottom. He turns up to a college reunion, and meets his prior tutor, nice girl, who he calls Ella. She tries to help him. Loosing her virginity that night, he treats her badly and walks out on her. This guy, is blessed, as a owner of a football team in Texas takes an interest in him. He places him in rehab and changes his life. Tyson becomes a Star again. In the meanwhile Ella (nickname) changes her name and becomes a professional t.v. sports interviewer. Ella is now a beauty and he does not recognize her. Sparks fly, but Ella has an ace up her sleeve! Love conquers all, but not without a big stumbling block and boulders on the way. I enjoyed reading this book.

I loved this book! It was light, yet poignant, humorous and wholly entertaining. I loved Stephanie Evanovich's two prior books (even more than those by her more famous cousin-by-marriage), Big Girl Panties and The Sweet Spot, and was delighted to see characters from those books appear here. Ms. Evanovich has a gift for writing male banter especially. The passages with banter between the characters were often laugh-out-loud funny. You do not have to have read the earlier books to follow this one, but all three are worth the read. Brava, Ms. Evanovich. Touchdown!!I listened to this as an audiobook (during my commute to/from work) and Katie Schorr's narration made it even more enjoyable. Her voices and, particularly, Southern twang for the applicable characters brought them to life.

This started off rough. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it. Tyson was a complete a-hole, and I didn't have much respect for Ella either. But then it got so much better. I couldn't put it down! It was kind of the reverse of The Sweet Spot where it started off good and then got cheesy. I ended up really liking Tyson. My only complaint is that the heroes seem to get really cold/mean when they've been slighted and the heroines forgive them so easily! Other than that - this was a great read!

*I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review*Those who know me know that I love to read (always have), and I love to win stuff (apparently I was born with a horseshoe), so when I received an advance copy of Stephanie Evanovich's The Total Package from Wm Morrow Books, I was thrilled! I have been following Stephanie on Facebook for some time now, and I highly recommend you follow her. She is hilarious! Plus she has giveaways from time to time, which is how I got this book. I've never actually written a book review. I talk about the books I read all the time. I've just never actually put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard) to share my thoughts about them. I enjoyed The Total Package so much that I decided to share my review.My first choice of genre in books tends to be suspense, horror or thriller, so I wasn't sure how I would like The Total Package. The description says it's 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," so I was prepared for a sports romance novel - again, not my first choice of genre, but I love to read and I've come to like Stephanie so I figured I'd give it a chance. The story is about heartthrob Tyson Palmer who overcomes his addiction to prescription drugs and alcohol to become a star quarterback on the best team in the league after millionaire Clinton Barrow, owner of the Austin Mavericks, takes an interest in his million-dollar arm and pulls him out of rock bottom. Tyson had just been suspended from his team and was on the verge of bankruptcy due to his addictions and a devastating sex scandal. Thanks to Clint, Tyson cleans up his act and gets a second chance at his football career. The description of his rehab experience was enjoyable and relatable. A lot of people deal with addictions of various kinds, and the way Evanovich dealt with those issues was realistic and tactful. I do wish, however, that she had developed that story line a little more. Enter Dani Carr, a sports broadcast reporter who used to be Tyson's tutor in college, when she was Daniella "Ella" Carrolli. She's always been after Tyson's heart, and had even tried to "save" him when they had a chance encounter at their college reunion. The timing wasn't right, however, as Tyson was in the depths of his worst days. They had a one night stand and she was devastated after he discarded her. Years later, after changing her name and image, she finds herself working for the Mavericks and is horrified when she realizes Tyson is in the same organization. She tries to avoid him, but eventually Tyson realizes who she is and now the romance game begins.This part of the book had me on a roller coaster of emotions. At times I was as frustrated as the characters pursued their professional and personal goals. Nobody is perfect, and boy do Dani and Tyson make some bad choices throughout this novel. That was part of what made this book irresistible to put down. Other times I was literally laughing out loud. At a party, Dani "didn't care if her feet were nothing more than bloody stumps when it was over," something a lot of women can relate to when it comes to fashion. I've actually used the same phrase ("bloody stumps") in similar situations! Over all, I like how Evanovich tells the story and develops each character. They are realistic and relatable. Redemption, second chances, forgiveness and acceptance are some of the themes in the book that really captured my interest. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.