The Crossroads Cafe [Paperback]

Deborah Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2006

A Hollywood actress known for her beauty flees to a secluded mountain cabin in North Carolina after being severely scarred in a car accident. There she finds unexpected love and a new life with a man who lost his family in 9-11.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Two damaged people find love and redemption in bestseller Smith's latest, a heavy-on-the-syrup romance that drafts 9/11 into sentimental service. Cathy Deen is Hollywood's "it girl" until a paparazzi car chase ends in a car fire that horrifically scars Cathy, ending her glamorous life. News of the accident soon reaches her hometown in the mountains of North Carolina, where Cathy's cousin, Crossroads Café proprietress Delta Whittlespoon, sees the news on CNN and resolves to get in touch with Cathy. She enlists the help of Thomas Mitternich, a new addition to the Crossroads community who appeared in town four years ago to drink himself through the grief of losing his wife and son in 9/11. Thomas, using his New York contacts, helps Delta get through to Cathy, and after phone calls from Thomas and overnighted boxes of Delta's biscuits, Cathy returns to her ancestral home, where she falls in love with Thomas as they both try to rebuild their lives. Smith's prose does little to enliven a boilerplate plot, and 9/11 amounts to little more than an easy way to heap suffering on a character. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Cathy is on top of the world--beautiful, rich, a top movie star about to launch a new career as a cosmetics queen--when an unscrupulous photographer in search of a story causes her car to crash and burn, destroying her perfect body as well as her career and sending her scurrying for a place to hide her scars. Thomas, on the other hand, is still mourning the deaths of his wife and young son in the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center and is slowly drinking himself to death while sleeping in the bed of his truck in an isolated hamlet in the North Carolina Blue Ridge Mountains. Together, however, they find they are stronger and better people, and they begin to take an active interest in the mountain community that has taken them both into their hearts, and into their kitchens. Once again, Smith has created an unforgettably poignant story in the best tradition of contemporary southern romantic women's fiction. Lynne Welch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 365 pages
• Publisher: BelleBooks, Inc. (August 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976876051
• ISBN-13: 978-0976876052
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (281 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bell Bridge Books

Deborah Smith is a founding partner and VP of BelleBooks and its main division, Bell Bridge Books. Check here for news and updates on the titles she and her partners are publishing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

188 of 194 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hooked from the first line., January 12, 2007

By 

Carol Burnside "RomWriter" (Eastern US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Crossroads Cafe (Paperback)

Seriously. That first line:
Before the accident, I never had to seduce a man in the dark.
was intriguing enough to keep me reading for some time.
First of all, what accident?
Who is she?
Why is she seducing someone?
Who is he?
Why does she HAVE to seduce him in the dark?
Was the accident THAT bad?
The other reviews here tell you about the plot. I'm here to tell you that the writing is wonderful.

I came across Ms. Smith's first posted excerpt on the Belle Books website (bellebooks dot com)and could not stop reading. At that time she'd only posted one or two chapters. Each month I came back looking for a little more on Cathryn and Thomas. I wanted to know the why's and when's and how's of their story. The odds of their inevitable coming together (given the first line) were gi-normous. Yet, in weaving their stories together, Smith makes you believe that these two very damaged people can not only help each other, but are the ONLY ones who can help each other heal.

Perhaps I should confess that before reading an excerpt of The Crossroads Cafe, I'd never read anything by Deborah Smith (How did I NOT know about her???) By the time this book hit the store shelves, I'd purchased and read another of her books. I liked it well-enough, but wasn't bowled over. That made me apprehensive. Could she keep my interest in TCC?

She did. Not only was the plot intriguing, but the wildly eclectic cast of characters were richly drawn and multi-faceted. This rich characterization didn't stop at Thomas and Cathryn, but extended to Delta, who runs the cafe, and her husband Pike. It extended from the sideline characters of young Cora and Ivy, to the lesbian couple Macy and Alberta and their motley collection of abused women. Each character had purpose and helped move the story along. Even the Southern setting became an integral part of the story without long passages of description and brought a deeper understanding to the characters.

If you don't like emotional reads, fascinating characters, gripping prose and books with enough southern flavor you swear you can taste the grits and sweet tea, just ignore this post. But if you do, the Crossroads Cafe may very well become one of those books you keep, re-read, and hug to your memory with an affection usually reserved for long-time, cherished friends.

47 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wow!, December 28, 2009

By 

M. Cotto - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Crossroads Cafe (Kindle Edition)

Im not particularly good with writing reviews but I just had to write something. I read this book in 2 days and it has been one of he best books ive ever read. I went through many emotions reading this book, laughing on one page, crying on the next. I have recommended this book to everyone i know and i just know it will touch their heart as it did mine. If biscuits are food for the soul through your stomach...this is food for the soul through your eyes. Beautiful.

37 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Started slow but..., January 4, 2010

By 

E. C. (GA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Crossroads Cafe (Kindle Edition)

I enjoyed it. I do not like books written in the first person. But I enjoyed this one and it is written in 2 first persons. (It switches viewpoint with each chapter.) This story is about 2 people who have a hard time and how they overcome it. Crossroads characters are bunch of oddballs...reminds of the old show Northern Exposure. Yes that shows my age!! lol Get this book you will enjoy it.