Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Synopsis
A beautiful woman, scarred for life. A tortured man, seeking redemption. Brought together by fate in a small town high in the majestic Appalachian mountains. Live. Love. Believe. "Beauty is in the lie of the beholder." Heartbroken and cynical, famed actress Cathyrn Deen hides from the world after a horrific accident scars her for life. Secluded in her grandmother's North Carolina mountain home, Cathyrn at first resists the friendship of the local community and the famous biscuits served up by her loyal cousin, Delta, at The Crossroads Cafe, until a neighbor, former New York architect Thomas Mitternich, reaches out to her. Thomas lost his wife and son in the World Trade Center. In the years since he's struggled with alcohol and despair. He thinks nothing and no one can make his life worth living again. Until he meets Cathyrn.
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 Caf 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 2006 Reed Business Information.