Homecourt Advantage    by Rita Ewing & Crystal McCrary Anthony Order:  USA  Can Avon, 2004 (2004) Hardcover, Softcover, Paperback Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Shannon Bigham The New York Flyers basketball team is headed for the playoffs and a lot is on the line. If the Flyers do not win the championship, the team may be sold - at least that is the current buzz circulating among the players. Casey Rogers is a beautiful and sexy lawyer, who is also the wife of Brent Rogers, the Flyers' star forward. When the coach's wife, Alexis, pulls Casey aside and tells her that Casey needs to keep the Flyers' wives (or fiancées or girlfriends) on their best behavior so that the boys will not be distracted from their job to win the championship, Casey grudgingly takes on the responsibility. At first, it seems that any woman should want to fill Casey's shoes. She is gorgeous, a successful attorney, and she is married to a top athlete. They are rich and they live a life that most people can only fantasize about. However, things are far from perfect. Brent has cheated on Casey in the past and he fathered an illegitimate child from his involvement with a female fan. Casey is having difficulty moving on from his infidelity and Brent has done little to ease her fears that it will not happen again. He is constantly unavailable and is often inattentive when he is at home. Casey is not sure how much more she can take and she feels like she is at her wit's end with Brent. Meanwhile, her female friends, who are spouses or partners of the other players, seem to have the same problems as Casey. Their boys have a tendency to stray and there is always a pack of eager female fans to entertain them. Coupled with big money, skyrocketing fame and the Flyers' future in potential jeopardy, the women behind the team have a lot to worry about. While they have designer clothes to wear, luxury cars to drive, and mansions to live in, they are left wanting from their absent spouses or their 'fiancés' who refuse to commit to marriage. The novel is unique in the sense that the reader is given a bird's eye view of what it is like to be married to a professional athlete. Ewing and Anthony are both spouses (former in Ewing's case) of professional basketball players and it seems likely that some of the writing is based upon personal experiences. While this is not an award-winning novel, it is enlightening, unique and entertaining. The tone is dishy and the pages turn quickly. I recommend Homecourt Advantage to anyone who wonders what it is like to be married to a professional athlete. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Contemporary books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews