Inner Circle

by Evelyn Lozada, Courtney Parker (Contributor)

Evelyn Lozada, the star of VH1’s hit reality show Basketball Wives, brings you her first novel in the hot new series The Wives Association—Inner Circle is a jaw-dropping peek into the lives of a group of women married to professional athletes, and it will be impossible to determine where real life ends and fiction begins in this gripping page-turner.Inner Circle depicts the life of Evelyn Lozada’s off-camera alter ego Eve Inez. Much like on The Basketball Wives, Inner Circle reveals everything athlete’s wives live through complete with the cheating, scandal, manipulation, and gossip. However, this time nothing is being held back. None of the wives are prepared for how addictive their rich lifestyles can be and find themselves stooping to unimaginable levels of deception to preserve their social status. Eve encourages the wives to band together and becomes the mastermind behind the drastic measures these women are willing to take to maintain their celebrity, until she herself comes face to face with a reality that shakes her to the core. The riveting ending will leave readers dying for more.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, African American, Urban, Audiobook

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 5, 2012

About the author

Evelyn Alexandra Lozada is an American television personality, model and spokesperson. Lozada was one of the five main cast members in the VH1 reality series Basketball Wives throughout its run. Lozada is set to return to the cast of the sixth season of the series.

Reviews

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this in a day and a half, only because I wanted to get through it, and thought it would get better. It didn't. The book came across like a stereotypical 'black' movie. There was a lot if neck rolls, rolling of the eyes, threats of beating someone's ass, chiles and bitches. Pretty much what you see Evelyn and Tami doing on BBWs, is what this book is about.

The book needs heavy editing, many grammatical mistakes. Some scenes were just too long.

If you watched Evelyn on BBWs, consider yourself having read the book.

[Joi · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Inner Circle is a story loosely based on alleged Basketball wife Evelyn Lozada's life and experiences. Eve Inez is a smart beautiful paralegal that works for one of the top sports agencies in Miami Florida. Eve's beauty is so enticing that she is used on more then one occasion as bate for the many football and basketball players that come through the agency. While working her dream job Eve meets a baller who Will not take no for an answer. Chase Landon is the smooth superstar wide receiver of the Los Angeles Leopards and he only has eyes for Eve. After much wining and dinning Chase is able to convince Eve that she is the women for him and against her mothers wishes they become man and wife. After marrying Chase and attempting to juggle her life in Miami and Los Angeles Eve makes friends with several wives and soon discover that they have the usually problems that baller wives experience. In order to help protect her friends Eve develops The Wives Association and that is when all of the problems began. Can Eve's organization help solve all of the wives problems or is this organization a huge mistake?

Evelyn Lozada's book The Inner Circle was a fast pace and easy read but also very predictable. You could really tell that this story was based on her personal inner circles exploits. If your a fan of the show Basketball Wives you can place a face with each character. This in itself is not the problem the real problem was the strategic product placement through out the story and all of Evelyn's tag lines that she made sure the main character recited over and over again (I mean come on how many times can you say some one is' a non M'f Factor, I was like if I read that one more time I am going to scream). I also felt that Evelyn bragged on herself (through the main character) a lot. Even thought this book is suppose to be the first book in a series I just can not see myself picking up the next installment it was just to predictable for me.

Read this novel if

Read this novel if you like fast pace easy to figure out stories.
Read this novel if you are a fan of the VH1 Show Basketball Wives.
Read this novel if you like semi trashy hood fiction (Sometimes my guilty pleasure)



Joi Chatman
The Pretty Little Book Blogger

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was skeptical at first, not sure if I liked the narrator's voice but it grew on me and I enjoyed her slight variations to sound different for other characters. If you like drama and scandal, there's enough here to keep you engulfed. I'll definitely be reading or listening to the following books to come in the series.

[Samantha March · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a big fan of sports, reality shows, and novels. So when I was asked to review Inner Circle, the first novel in The Wives Association series written by Evelyn Lozada, I was obviously sold. Lozada is currently married to NFL star Chad Ochocinco, and her books (co-authored by Courtney Parker) are loosely based on her knowledge of what it is like to be an athlete’s wife. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this book, but as someone who constantly says she is in love with men such Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews and Donald Driver (GB fan- can you tell?) I was curious to get the inside scoop on the ladies with these men we see on TV.

Well, I’ll say this – after reading Inner Circle, I don’t think I would ever want to date an athlete. They do not come across attractive (in the non-physical sense at least) in any way. It’s hard for me to think of men such as Drew Brees or Tom Brady treating their wives this way, but a disturbing pattern was to be found. Now to the story – the main character is Eve Inez, wife of Chase Landon, the super-star wide receiver for the Los Angeles Leopard’s. Eve is insistent on keeping her independence, which means sticking with her job as a sports agent and not letting her just be Mrs. Chase Landon. When her BFF Amber finds out her husband had an affair and knocked up their chef, Eve decides to form The Wives Association. Wives of famous athletes will band together to protect each other, should their men ever try to leave them and cut off their swanky lifestyle they have grown accustomed to. While Eve pours herself into protecting her friends, she doesn’t realize that her own best friend has been keeping a secret from her – one that will threaten Eve’s own marriage and happiness.

Overall, I really did enjoy Inner Circle. I’ve been browsing through some reviews on Amazon, and there were many that disliked the book and were pretty vocal about it. I liked the behind the scenes look, even if it did make me a bit scared of athletes now. I thought the writing was good, a little slow and repetitive at times, but I thought it was juicy enough to make me okay with those lows. There was a bit too much “beating bitch’s asses” for my like, that got old really fast to me. But the ending really had me on my toes, and I sped through the last few chapters at lightning speed. I loved the cliff-hanger ending! It made me definitely interested in reading the second book. If you are a sports fan or know Lozada from reality TV, I think this one should be on your list. I will say there is a lot of what some are calling “hood language” and a handful of extremely explicit sex scenes sprinkled throughout. Looking forward to this series!

[Tiffunee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is so self serving I can't even, say much more. Please don't write another one..

[Brililah · Rating 1 out of 5]

If Evelyn had wrote this book before her fame off the reality show nobody would be so into this new series of books to come this book was very poorly written to me it was not good until the last two chapters throughout the book it was way to easy for me to predict and be correct about everything was going to happen....I would not recommend this book or read the next book in the series

[Jessica Holtzen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book! Plot is full of twists and surprises and the end completely leaves you hanging! I can't wait for the next one to come out! This is a summer must read for sure

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was entertaining. lol at a few moments. The song gucci, gucci kept coming to mind.

[Monique · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yeah I got to finish a book in a day!! Too good to be true but a lazy clean-up Sunday with football in the background, Thanksgiving leftovers still available to eliminate dinner and a read that went by oh so fast I am loving how December starts :)-this book was just like my guilty pleasure reality tv shows like Basketball Wives, the Real Housewives etc. and went into the seemingly glamorous lives of impossibly beautiful women being wined and dined and married to very attractive, talented men with endless bank accounts--sigh the kind of life you think you want to lead until the ugly side of baby mamas, cheating, self esteem issues, independence and neglect is exposed to all that glitters...Basically the book centers around Eve-one of those jealousy inducing beauties with an amazing figure that is sought after by many before succumbing to the life she didn't want as an athlete's wife and her "friends" as they fall victim to the drama and heartache that also unwillingly comes with the territory of marrying into the spotlight...As I said I love reality TV so the description of clothes, restaurants, drinks and lavish lifestyle was expected as was the drama which had some little unexpected twists but I just couldn't get with the idea of a Wives Association to help a sister out if their man left them high and dry..these women actually thought to require dues and contracts and extreme loyalty in helping them through the serious act of consciously joining your life to another in marriage uh after the I Dos its basically your problem if it fails LOL ..I kinda found the whole idea preposterous that you think you would form a sisterhood with women to protect you from an act you chose..I thought it silly and for that it lost a star (sorry Evelyn I do like you on the show) and it also lost a star for the overuse of the phrase "Non muthafucking factor" okay we get it when you used it was hot and trademarked and even used by me but enough its just too much in print right? And she used it like four times..anyways like I said this book wasn't bad--fast read with lots of messy girl situations, relationship mishaps and a cliff hanger ending hmm may read the next one but furiously working on my reading goal...

[Lauren Ummel]

The writing was elementary and had a lot of mistakes. It was also repetitive with sayings and trying to be clever. I felt like Evelyn was bragging a little bit through the main character about all that she has, and using her own sayings and merchandise in the book was no coincidence. However, the story was intriguing and it was fun to try and figure out which characters in the book were the ones in real life and what was true and what wasn't. I read it in one day and will only read the next one because I wanna know what happens (which I guess is the what she wants! $$$). Other than that, now I'm reading a non fiction book about WWII to bring my IQ back up after reading this.....

[Chivon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I read it in two days because it was a page turner. I only rated it three stars because the content was to be expected. A bunch of athletes wives dealing with crazy drama. I was pleasantly surprised that the book was not predictable, although the type of drama was, how that drama unfolded was not. Love the characters, and I really thought Evelyn did a good job with this story, it was better than I thought. yes, there were lots of mistakes in text.

[Roxana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I initially thought when I grabbed this book off the shelf that it was a biographical book but when I realized it was a novel I was iffy about liking it. It actually turned out to be a decent book and the main character reminded me so much of Evelyn that I kept hearing her voice as I read. I was just a little irked by the ending. I hate to be continued. Drives me bananas! Overall its a book worth trying.

[Tanya Jackson · Rating 1 out of 5]

MY DISCLAIMER: Since I have yet to write or publish a novel of my own, I prefer not to speak negatively of other people's work.

However, this was not good, sorry.
Gold-digging, label name-droppping, and bitch this and bitch that was so annoying to me I could not even finish the book.

[Sheryl Medina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book for the entertaining, sexy, urban fiction that I hope it was meant to be. However, maybe I should have read this book in print because there were several things about the audio book that annoyed me. First of all, there were random sound effects throughout that were kind of cheesy...a doorbell, car engine, phone ringing, etc. Also, there were multiple errors in pronunciation of words and character references...including the very last scene, leaving me totally confused. The editors did not do a great job.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story.

[Shawna Hansen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio book. This book is very physical, so if messy. slurpy sex scenes aren't appealing, this book may not be one you'd enjoy. I had to make sure to turn the volume down and close the moon roof when I was at red lights. This book is a fascinating insider's look at the lifestyle of some incredibly rich and self-absorbed celebrity wives. Every now and then one of the wives seems to be a little deeper than you expect, but then it all reverts down to primal needs - Gucci, lunch in trendy hot spots, spending their husband's money and getting mani/pedis. All in all, it's not a bad life. They are married to sexy guys who apparently need to practice their sport both in and out of bed quite a bit. Some of the wives also need quite a bit of practice time (it seems). The wives team up to form an association to protect each other. They are predators, so protecting is not really in their nature, but they do try. Some of the minor characters may turn out to be the "best" people in this Inner Circle, but for the most part, I'd have to say that to reach the pinnacle of sports wives' stardom, you'd have to be cut throat, very, very beautiful and willing to throw another female to the floor and beat the living daylights out of her for cheating with your man.

[Roxie · Rating 1 out of 5]

OMG.
I love trashy reality tv, and have been watching Basketball Wives for a few years. Naturally, when my library got this in, I had to check it out.
It was so appallingly bad that I couldn't even get halfway through it.
There were MULTIPLE times for multiple characters where the sex scenes were suuuuuper duper rapey, but she wrote it off as their man just being super duper into them. That was off-putting.
Also, if you absolutely loooove the 1% and hearing about how they're disconnected from reality, this book is all for you. I found so much of the financial stuff in here to be incredibly irritating. OMG, he's cheating on you and said all you'll get if you leave him is $10K a month!
Like seriously? That sounds absolutely AMAZING! I'll take that deal.
Basically, it was stuff like that. The grammar was terrible and the storyline sucked.
If you're looking for a trashy summer beach read like i was, I'd look elsewhere.

[Leidy Bee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am disappointed to say that I found this book pretty bad overall. I think in some cases it just completely bored me how immature these women were. They were constantly talking about “beating up” other women who might get in their way. In pretty much every chapter it is mentioned that someone will get their ass kicked. Eve thinks she is a great schemer but her grand scheme feels like something I would have read in the Sweet Valley twins books I picked up in elementary school. The characters are so young minded that Gossip Girl is a High School girl series and I felt more challenged and intrigued by it than by this book. I was originally interested in it because I was vying for a fresh look at the entertainment industry from a sports perspective

I try to avoid spoilers but you can read the full recap on my blog: https://oneandonlyladyb.wordpress.com....

[Sandra (Book Loves) Atueyi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evelyn Lozada is a business and successful woman. She did a really good job. Inner Circle (Wives Association) is a good book to read. I like the concept and vibe book. Evelyn Lozada take her time to write for this book.

I'm a fan of the Evelyn Lozada. Evelyn Lozada is my role model. I have never judge who she is. The main character of Eve is a business, successful, friendly, honor, talent, model, and lovely woman for this book. She helps lot of people in this book. She is also a wonderful wife and loyal to Chase. I could related to Eve in this book.

I enjoyed reading this book. I give 10.5 starts to Evelyn Lozada and this book but amazon and goodreads only allow for five starts. I am looking forward to read another book from this author. I'm ready for part 2 of Inner Circle.

[Ashley Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here's the thing, for what it is, Basketball Wives drama in novel format, it's pretty good. It was very exciting and enthralling. However between the degrading behavior of women and minor typos, I was slightly annoyed by the portrayal of women with access to so much money. Other than that, I will be reading the sequel for entertainment because there are apparently plenty of woman who actually live with this type of behavior and drama and I'm totally entertained by it.

[Nicole Westley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was totally impressed by what I read. I truly believe this was the Evelyn Lozada that I should of met on BBW.

If you have not read this book, please go and pick it up you will not be disappointed. I loved the way that Evelyn kept her loyalty to the girls throughout this whole book.

I would of NEVER in a million years thought JACKIE was the way she was, especially the way she came off on BBW of LA. Totally blew me in this book.

I can't wait for part 2.

[Nikki Archer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the story it was good it about married rich woman and their famous basketball husband .So when two wives husband get caught up cheating. eve come up with the Association it to take care of your self when your man try to leave you dry with nothing. then eve runs in problem with her Husband and from they it a hold like action. i must say this book keep you reading till the end

[Nay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was ready to hate this book because I'm not a fan of the Evelyn on Basketball Wives. Unfortunately for me the book is not that bad. It's actually entertaining up until the too predictable ending. The main Character Eve starts behaving as they do on Basketball wives which annoys me. I always feel like they are too old to be fighting and throwing drinks at parties.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised how much I liked this book. I expected Basketball Wives Reality TV Show but this was not like that. This book was well written and I definitely want to continue reading from the series and books by Evelyn.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never seen any of the Wives shows. After reading a few chapters, I realize why I haven't.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my goodness...the ending of this book shocked me so much. This was a very entertaining book. As a fan of Basketball Wives, I felt like I could hear Evelyn's voice reading the book to me!

[C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was actually surprised by this book. I picked it up at my library, not really expecting to like it. I loved it. I can't wait until the next book.

[Jenn Himes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where is book two cant wait

[Jissenia Carrion · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this book so sad the second one hasn't come out

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The storyline seemed believable and I could actually hear Evelyn's voice in my head. It's a shame there won't be any more books.

[Jessica Alvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love

This book is so good. Wish she would have finished the series would have loved to know what happened next.