Rating: 
Summary: Deep but not Ordinary
Review: I just finished Donna's story Rhythms which held me captive for three nights. I had to have MORE! of this wonderful writers work. I immeadiatly ran out and got her latest title Ordinary Woman. The first chapter I thought? this was going to be another typical romance book. The storyline seemed to typical...but I boughtit so I had to finish.Donna introduces her characters and then she HOOKS you with this majical style that causes you to become apart of her characters lives. Donna allows us to see her character's choices and the consequences of their actions. But what I really appreciated was although this was a terrible act it is the soul searching that each of these characters must do in order to grow to the next level. This doesn't mean that adultry is justified but it happens and one must decide how it will affect their lives.
You never know what cards your going to be dealt in this life...Donna Hill has written a incredible storyline that can happen to ORDINARY PEOPLE.
Rating:
Summary: great great read
Review: i just loved this book it was so good and so scandelous but this type of stuff happens everyday i love donna hills books shes a great author ..(well besides some of her arebasque books) her novels are much better.
Rating: 
Summary: nepadf@netscape.net
Review: I read this book during the Christmas holidays 2002. I am now writing a review after having read all eighteen logged before mine. I wanted to give this a 4 1/2 stars, but couldn't find the appropriate numbers. It was a wonderful book--the best I have read this year and in a quite a while. I am a hard reader to please, and a writer to boot. I heard Ms. Hill speak at Barnes and Noble in Jack London Square in November 2002 and was really taken with her down to earth presence. She was wonderful and very helpful to speak with afterwards. I learned much from her as a young novice writer myself. Reading her book validated everything I heard and saw in and from her. An Ordinary Woman is well written and while like Nicholas Sparks, tackles an age-old theme, Ordinary Woman successfully weaves a new plot and viewpoint through which to view actions of each of the three major characters. There was not much big action. But I don't read for that. It is heartwarming and consoling to find one author who is personalizing African Americans and doing it with middle to upper middle class characters. I also learned so much about how we all struggle. Ms. Hill does an excellent job bringing the conflicts of this story to the reader through the viewpoints of Lisa, Asha and Ross. I felt for each of them and wanted to hold and tell them everything would be okay. And in the end it was. Thank you Ms. Hill and I am looking forward to your next story.
Rating:
Summary: Wants to be just like every other woman
Review: I really enjoyed this novel, you feel for all the main characters: Lisa, Asha, and Ross. This book was written beautifully, and I didn't get confused when they would reminisce to past events. I don't want to give anything thing away, but the betrayal that occurred, makes you think if Lisa and Ross's marriage was going to last anyway. My favorite character was Lisa, and I'm happy she found peace in the end.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Novel!
Review: I think this was an outstanding story from beginning to end and I'm looking forward to the next Donna Hill novel.
Rating:
Summary: Understanding relationships
Review: In An Ordinary Woman, lifelong friends Lisa Holden and Asha Woods are as different as night and day, yet they are the best of friends supporting each other through the trials of life...or are they? Lisa, an English Professor, is a seemingly perfect, albeit controlling woman with everything a person can want in life. Asha is a photographer who lives on the edge of life and has no problems using men she encounters from one end of the globe to the other. Both women grew up together, but while Lisa came from a normal family, Asha was thrown into the life of a child with not-so-stable parents and an unloving mother. So how does Asha feel when Lisa marries Ross Davis, another perfect piece to Lisa's puzzle of life? Unfortunately the picture isn't as perfect as Lisa would like and in her efforts to control and organize her life with Ross, she emasculates him and after a major blow in his career as an architect, he's left questioning his role in the marriage. Meanwhile, Asha is wallowing in self-pity and doubt after visiting with her Mom and having yet another confrontation that leaves her in tears. One thing leads to another and the first domino in a thread of others begin to fall causing each of their worlds to come shattering down. Donna Hill has followed up her first mainstream book with a realistic and beautifully written story focusing on the intricacies of marriage, the consequences of one improper action and the affects it can have on friendship, the sanctity of marriage, and the emotional well-being of the parties involved. The characters are so well developed, they seem real and though there's much drama, it's not over the top. My only issue with the book is the ending...it just seemed a bit too neat for me and ended too soon. I wanted to know more, but nonetheless, it's a wonderful read that touches on issues relevant to everyday living.
Rating:
Summary: WHY??????????
Review: In this story Donna Hill attempts to answer the question why and how did this betrayal happen in this book. I was really into the book and trying to feel what happened, but I really thought about it and hell no could I ever forgive my best friend for so many years if she slept with my husband. Call me unforgiving and mean and even hateful. I am just keeping it real and showing you reality. I didn't like the ending but then again Donna Hill kept it real. Donna you did a great job at making a sister think about some real issues.
Rating: 
Summary: Typical Donna Hill fare..with a little more flair!
Review: It's rapidly becoming commonplace not to include any book written by Donna Hill as 'ordinary', especially after having penned 17 novels with a reputation fastly being attributed to her ability to craft page turning storylines. Her latest, An Ordinary Woman adds to this legacy and is destined to be compared favorably with Rhythms, her last. How do two women, the best of friends...sharing common bonds and sacred secrets allow division among the ranks seemingly beyond repair? I've read several of Donna's books and this is one of her best (not that Rhythms was any slouch).
This is a tale of Ash Woods and Lisa Holden, childhood friends and surrogate sisters, and. Ross Davis who marries Lisa. Inseparable? Friends for life? The intent was good, but what brought the tension to a head and caused havoc were two incidents that proved to be caustic was Lisa's marriage and Asha's disastrous confrontation with her mother. In order to get the gist and ramification of these two occurrences consider that the colors Ms Hill uses to illustrate the characters truly makes a believable and compelling tale come to life. The canvas used in painting this picture is one where we're allowed to examine with baited breath all the cracks in the facades of each character, and be put in position to ask questions on how can one sleep with her best friends' husband. The issues that the three face add tone, tenor, and temerity to a situation rife with betrayal and commitment gone awry. One of the features that make this novel a good read is the style in which it was written, using alternative voices of the main characters to tell their side of the story. It starts with Asha taking the first person narrative portrayal, Lisa following, and Ross is painted both as a supporting fixture and as the genesis for Asha's fidelity issues. It doesn't hurt that imagery and detail gives this story new twists trying to reasonable doubt for readers to determine the what and why of it. Each of the characters has reasons for the story to articulate with believable voices extolling candor, realism, and a genuine need to go to the extent for circumstance to take precedence. Usually in weaving intrigue to illustrate plot and supporting subplot, it the author loses timing which causes the story to bog down in unnecessary dialogue...not to mention the time that is paramount for the story to gel. I found a little of this, but it did dilute the author's knack for a quick recovery for the surprise ending. Donna Hill does it again! A superbly written novel where each character gives the reader reason to adamantly believe that lesson were learned and that faces can peer in the mirror in recognizing faults and move on. With this in mind, the ordinary woman who made a mistake know now can live through the hurt and healing for results extraordinary!
Rating:
Summary: Sometimes Sorry Is Not Enough
Review: Let's say this now, INFIDELITY is ugly, and most of the time unforgivable. What would make a happily married man cheat? What would make a woman betray her best friend? In the novel, An Ordinary Woman, Donna Hill gives the reader the inside story of Lisa, Ross and Asha. Told in alternating character voices, they each explain their individual account of what happened, what they were feeling and how this whole sordid affair turned into a nightmare. The reader finds things may not always be as they seem. Lisa marries Ross, but her controlling behavior and take charge personality makes Ross feel inadequate. Determined to have the perfect marriage like her parents, she often forgets to include Ross in decision making and plans for their life together. She surges forward with her idea of a perfect marriage. Ross is used to being the caregiver. He cared for his mother and sister after his father's death, his sister after his mother's death and in marriage, wants to be the caretaker for Lisa. Ross feels he can not talk to Lisa, she does not listen, so he keeps things bottled up inside, talking to no one. Asha appears to be happy go lucky, but she has a turbulent relationship with her mother. She hides her unhappiness behind the lens of her camera and meaningless relationships. One day, Ross runs into Asha at his in-laws home. On this day, both of them are feeling bad, things are not going well and their conversation leads to other things. When the truth comes out about that fateful night, damage that could not be repaired was done to these relationships. This novel grabbed my attention in the beginning and kept me captivated until the end. So much so, that I had to have continual dialogue with my book club while reading. It had me rushing through my job assignments so I could finish reading. The dialogue and situations were realistic. The characters were very well developed. I was able to empathize with each character, whether I agreed with them or their actions. Without hesitation, this book would be listed among my favorites for this year. I highly recommend this novel. Jeanette
APOOO BookClub
Rating:
Summary: I Do...Or Do I?
Review: Love plus commitment divided by betrayal equals destruction, resulting in the one person that you least suspect being the very person that destroys your life. Donna Hill, author extraordinaire and Essence Bestselling Author, has composed a "lesson to be learned" tale that shares the lives of three closely-knit friends whose lives are disrupted by one meaningless, yet hurtful act.
Lisa, the calm and conservative professor, comes from a very stable upbringing. In hopes of having her marriage to Ross emulate the loving and doting marriage that is shared between her mother and father, Lisa consumes herself with planning her life down to the minutest details. Ever since childhood, she has been a stickler for perfection and organization. Lisa, though, does not realize how her high expectations and detailed preparations are eating away at her husband's ego. However, all the planning in the world couldn't prepare Lisa for the event that was about to upset her world - the betrayal of her husband and best friend. Asha, the footloose and fancy-free photographer, lives life to the fullest by living spontaneously. Although she appears to be happy and content on the outside, Asha is at a constant struggle within herself to find love and acceptance. As different as night and day, Asha and Lisa have remained the best of friends since childhood. Coming from a single parent, dysfunctional home, Asha finds comfort and affection in the close relationship that she shares with Lisa and Lisa's family. Unknown to others, she secretly desires and admires Lisa's life-devoted family, devoted husband, etc. Over the years, Asha has had numerous insignificant affairs and used many people in an attempt to fill a void of worthlessness that she experiences in her life and that she depicts in her photographs. But never had she imagined that Ross, her best friend's husband, would be the object of her redemption. And then there's Ross. Ross, the architect and devoted soul mate, has always been the provider in his past relationships. However, when squared off against Lisa's meticulous, take-charge attitude and having to face the reality of becoming unemployed within the first several months of being married, Ross starts to have doubts about his self-worth. He starts to question his ability to care for Lisa the way that he had care for his mother and sister. Eventually, his feelings of inadequacy lead him into the arms of another woman, one who made him feel needed, wanted-that woman being Asha. This novel was a pleasant read with a poetic undertone. I would like to commend Ms. Hill on her ability to create flashback scenes that do not lose the reader or overshadow the story. Instead, the well-placed flashbacks contribute immensely to the strong character development, which helps to answer the readers' questions as to why the characters reacted the way that they did to certain situations that were presented. By no means is there anything "ordinary" about this "exceptional" novel and I anticipate the release of her next novel, In My Bedroom.
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