The Crossroads Cafe

By: Deborah Smith

Narrated by: Kathy Bell Denton

Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2006 Deborah Smith (P)2012 BelleBooks, Inc.

Good story WORST production

So.... I really liked this book
However the production quality of the audio version is the WORST I've ever experienced.

-Can you say nose whistle? What? It was through-out the whole book. (Not to mention swallows and other mouth noises)

-The reader .....has..... long pauses.........that....are very ....distracting. (Although she had a nice voice and portrayed characters well)

-The volume went up and down, up and down. At one point, I had turn my volume up to Max and I still couldn't hear it.

-Pages turning and other back ground noise. I think I even heard someone speaking once.

It was WEIRD.

Did they record this in someones living room?

Still the story was very good

4 1/2 stars-story and Deborah Smith

3 stars- The reader

0 stars- the production

Entertaining Listen

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I recommend The Crossroads Cafe for its poignant story, empathetic characters, social/ cultural relevance & commentary, and the pleasing voice of the narrator. Ms. Denton speaks with clear, clean diction, and has a full, rich, deep, throaty voice that is easy to listen to. I appreciate and agree with the point of view that Ms. Smith expresses regarding the world of Hollywood and the kind of people that inhabit it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Crossroads Cafe?

The first meeting in person between the protagonists Thomas & Kathy, and Delta & Kathy, were the most anticipated and memorable moments of the story.

Which character – as performed by Kathy Bell Denton – was your favorite?

Kathy Bell Denton's portrayal of Delta is thoroughly charming and engaging. She inspires the feeling that you want to meet Delta in person yourself.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I had no extreme reaction to listening to this book; perhaps I would if I had read it myself, but that is not a criticism of the story, writing or reading of it. It was a satisfying listening experience throughout.

Deborah Smith’s books

Always a long read/listen, but worth it. Great insight into people’s emotions and motivations

Worth reading

This one was also verrrry long but the subject matter was worth sticking with it; especially when she realized that she was a "burn survivor and not a burn victim."

Great story - bad audio

Was not a fan of the story teller. Audio was weird. Different volumes at many different places and there were several weird pauses. But the story itself was great!

narration detracts from the story

Any additional comments?

Other reviewers seemed to like this one so maybe it's just me, but I could not stand the narration. The story itself was great, but the narrator read so slowly it completely ruined the story. It was like listening to paint dry. There were long pauses between sentences and even in the middle of sentences. Not to mention the times she stumbled over words. I'm all for a narrator that draws out the story to build suspense, but this one just made me comatose trying to get through it.

Great book, horrible recording

This is a really good story, nearly ruined by the narrator's painfully slow reading, mispronunciations, smacking and swallowing noises, bizarre pauses in the middle of words and sentences. The recording quality is equally bad. Lots of background fuzz. If the story wasn't so good, I wouldn't have listened past the first hour.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book

My first book by this author and narrator and I just loved every minute of it. Thomas is by far my favourite character - although he struggles with his own hurt he manages to be both compassionate and dependable.

A favorite made portable!!

I've loved this book for a long time, but now I can take it gardening!

Sweet, boring at times, so-so narrator.

Sweet and heart warming story, but kinda dragged on in some chapters. The narrator was ok as Delta and Kathy, but the other characters sounded the same. She read entirely too slow and stammered here and there. Also constantly sounded like she was swallowing spit or sniffing. I could hear background and white noise also.