Cape May kept me turning the pages. The writing put me right there at Cape May with the characters. When you first start reading Cape May, you think its going to be one thing and then....its not what you think. Effie and Henry are very young newlyweds and it shows. When you put 2 very young ,inexperienced people in a nearly deserted Cape May, they are going to find trouble. Cape May takes place during Henry and Effie's 2 week honeymoon and includes excessive drinking, sex, and all kinds of trouble. The story is told through Henry's point of view. My rating would have been higher if not for the rushed ending.

This book could also be titled How to Destroy your Relationship in Two Weeks.  But that's just my opinion.

The time period is the 1950’s and setting is off-season Cape May, New Jersey.  Some of the appeal was the cover,  the time period and subject of a relationships.

It’s the tale of virginal newlyweds Henry and Effie slowly and shyly getting to know one another. Seemingly good people at heart, they cautiously learn about each other’s bodies and love. They talk about their future, having children, settling down in their small Georgia town.   A few days into the honeymoon Effie wants to go home because Cape May during off-season isn’t as fun as remembered it. When she visited as a young girl it was the summer high season. So much was going on then.

If only they had left when Effie first suggested it.  But then we wouldn't have a story as it all revolves around the two week honeymoon.   The holiday homes are empty and most stores are closed.  One afternoon they notice cars at one home down the block.  As they stop by to say hello,  Effie is surprised to see a woman from her childhood.  Clara was  much older and used to tease Effie when she was a young girl, embarrassing her.  Clara, who has the moral code of a cat in heat, is partying with her friends Max and Alma. 

Against Effie’s better judgement they are cajoled into staying longer and have dinner and drinks with Clara, Max and Alma. Things start spiraling out of control soon afterwards. Gin and tonics are consumed by the bucketful. Eventually they break into the other homes, vacant holiday homes that won’t be visited until the following May. They walk through the houses on the block and look at the possessions as if they are in a museum. They try on clothes and play with homeowner's belongings. Creepy isn’t it?

Here come some spoilers

Henry is a complete piece of crap. While he cheats on his wife he also wonders how she could have gone off on a boat outing without him. He wouldn’t have gone anywhere without her, he muses. Seriously, one of the worst examples of a husband Ever.
Not that any of the other characters are sterling examples of virtue. None of them.

The last 15% of the book seems to be written by someone else. Almost the entire book focuses on the two week honeymoon period and the interactions with Clara and her group. Honestly, the best way I can categorize it is under the genre pornography. There are graphic sex scenes, very detailed, throughout the book. It was expected there would be passages about love and sex as the book is advertised as a plot of “marriage, love and sexuality and the lifelong repercussions a group of debauched cosmopolitans may have.” That’s an understatement.

Another unbelievable part is when Effie wonders if she is pregnant.  OK, so.....she was a virgin and it's only been two weeks at the most and she thinks she's pregnant.  I can suspend disbelief for many scenarios but this didn't qualify.  Never mind the other "relationships" that formed, also unlikely but hey....maybe I'm naive.

The last bit of the story wraps up with the final 50 years of Henry and Effie’s respective lives. Bam, bam, bam you are given the life story in a fast forward mode.

If graphic sex scenes offend then skip this book. If you would like a snapshot of 1950’s depravity and a dose of double standards from our Henry, by all means pick this one up.  

Netgalley kindly gave me a complimentary copy prior to it's publication on April 30, 2019.  Opinions are mine and I was not compensated for my honest review.

Another fabulous summer read! This one deviates from my normal selections. Set in Cape May in New Jersey in 1957, two newlyweds find themselves honeymooning in a nearly deserted town until they meet up with some New England socialites. The book explores the sexuality of the 1950s with the more sophisticated socialites. The book has some sexual scenes and some rather far-out ideas that the couples think of to do, but overall the storyline was interesting and compelling. As you are reading you are kept wondering if the newlyweds can survive this encounter or will their honeymoon turn into the scandal of a one-week marriage. I got caught up in the glamour of 1950s life: the gin, the yachts, the dresses, the food... it all came together for me as a glimpse into the 50s we don't see often. I would consider this a psychodrama, exploring themes of lust, betrayal, and manipulation.

1957 Georgia; fresh out of school, poor rube Henry marries sweet and sort of popular Effie. His main intent appears to be to lose his virginity, but surely what he’s feeling is also true love. They spend their honeymoon in Cape May, New Jersey where Effie has fond memories of busy summers at the beach. But it’s near the end of September; the community and its beach is a ghost town. Nevertheless, they awkwardly manage to consummate their marriage. Henry’s mixture of excitement and guilt is so palpable that he wonders if the waiter at the diner can tell they just had sex. So sets the pace of their boring and listless vacation.
Intending to cut their honeymoon short, they realize the beach house down the lane is hosting a huge party so they casually drop in. Effie remembers, not too fondly, the hostess Clara. In a whirlwind of alcohol, late nights, free food, drinks, boat rides, and socializing, Henry and Effie’s innocent small-town minds are fried to a crisp in the aura of self-indulgence and immodesty.
The next few days are a quick descent into depravity and pleasure-seeking, the likes that neither of the innocent honeymooners had ever known of back in small-town Georgia.
With the knack of describing believable whirlwind emotions, Chip Cheek takes this poor vulnerable couple through experiences that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. This may not be the most pleasurable read you’ll experience, but you definitely won’t be able to look away.
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks so much to Celadon Books and NetGalley for making it available.)

The book opens in the 1950's with Henry and Effie who are newly married. They have arrived in Cape May from their home in Georgia during the off-season. The town is pretty much deserted - a beach town after everyone has gone back to their regular lives. They are both virgins and there is much time spent discovering each other. When they see some people have moved into the house nearby they stop by to say hello and get pulled into what seems like fun at first, but turns into a bad situation for the newlyweds.

Unfortunately I didn't like the characters nor the plot very much. The writing style wasn't bad though. Mostly the book was filled with sex and drinking.

Thanks to Celadon Books through Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed Cape May. This is a story about the honeymoon of two very young newlyweds in Cape May during the off season. The story is told through the husband's eyes. He's very young and new to sex. Once initiated he's overcome with lust, leading to some very bad choices when he and his bride meet an older couple also vacationing at Cape May. Although the characters were not particularly sympathetic, I enjoyed reading about them and their choices. The end of the book was disappointing however. The balance of the couple's live were wrapped up in a chapter.

The 1950s have always struck me as a dull, goody two shoes decade. And Henry and Effie certainly fit that mold. Newlyweds, just out of high school, they head from Georgia to Cape May for their honeymoon. And not height of summer Cape May, but out of season, everything’s closed Cape May. So when they notice a whole batch of cars parked outside the house a few doors down, they stop by. But the woman who answers the door is someone Effie has no desire to see. “She’s a snot nosed bully and a harlot.”

But these two rubes get drawn into the party atmosphere of the city slickers.

Henry and Effie never seemed more than caricatures to me, on top of which Henry is not at all a sympathetic character. And the story just never engaged me. Other than lots of drinking and sex, not a lot seemed to happen. You could see where the storyline was heading. Moral of the story - don’t get married young. I soon found myself skimming the pages. And the last chapter just seemed totally unnecessary.

Sorry, this isn’t one I can recommend.

My thanks to netgalley and Celadon Books for an advance copy of this novel.

Enjoyable and a quick read, "Cape May" presents honeymooners Henry and Effie visiting Cape May in the fall, when the town and the beach are practically deserted. Effie chose to bring Henry to the childhood summer place where she visited her Aunt and made many happy memories, but finds it a different place in the fall. Soon, the encounter someone else in for a weekend, and there time turns drunken and dangerous. Their neighbors throw parties and drink to excess; sail and dance; and draw them into a very different word than there home near Macon, GA. In the end it's a bit of a coming of age story and a family drama, although the ending wraps up a little too quickly and covers decades of their lives in mere pages.

WARNING: Some passages include very mature content and discussion of sex.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

Two young newlyweds, fresh out of highschool, arrive in Cape May, NJ for their honeymoon. They are faithful to their families, their church, their community, to one another. Their first week brings the loss of virginity and romantic notions. The tone is set for the remainder of their married lives: Church, Sunday roasts, children, chaste kisses, and little to no adventure behind closed doors.

The second week brings neighbors - unconventional characters who enjoy jazz, art, fine foods, alcohol, and exotic partners. Our young and pure couple is gradually drawn in to a hedonistic lifestyle that will change the course of their futures and the set a new tone for their relationship.

This book was EXCELLENT. I love Cheek's writing style - sparse and youthful, with nothing held back. This, of course, leads to the trigger warning: gratuitous sex in unflattering detail. I say unflattering because it reads like it was written by a 20 year old boy who just graduated from highschool and these are the words he knows and the way he would write them. It terrifically realistic that way.

I did not feel that any part of the story was sensational - everything included felt like it was true to the characters and their experience. I read it over two days and was emotionally wiped out at the end. A week later I am still thinking about it. This book could easily translate into film or the stage. Perhaps Cheek was thinking of Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" or Ingmar Bergman's "Cries and Whispers." This is a writer to watch.

In Cape May, we meet Henry and Effie, two young people from Georgia who have gotten married. It’s September 1957 and they are on their honeymoon. Effie remembers Cape May from the summers she spent there as a child at her uncle’s beach house. But when Henry and Effie arrive at the house, they find the town is basically deserted, the summer crowd long gone. Henry and Effie spend the first couple of days alone and you begin to see the small cracks forming in their marriage. The doubt begins to creep in through those cracks. The book is told entirely through Henry’s point of view. He is doubtful, but hopeful in the early days. But Effie must feel something too. Because she tells Henry she wants to leave early and go back home.
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Maybe they should have left. But they decide to stay and as they are taking a walk through Cape May’s deserted streets, they see a light in the house across the street. Cars begin to arrive and suddenly they aren’t alone. Henry and Effie go and introduce themselves to the new arrivals-Clara, Max and Alma. Clara is a wealthy socialite from New York. Max is her lover. Alma is Max’s half-sister. The newcomers invite Henry and Effie to join their party. It turns out that Clara knew Effie from the past and their shared summers together. After the party, Henry and Effie decide to stay for the duration of their honeymoon. No longer alone, the couple becomes absorbed into a world far different than their own. Clara seems to have an unlimited source of money. Their days are filled with frivolity on Clara’s boat. There’s a party every night, fueled by gin and debauchery.
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Cape May is a book that is thought-provoking, explicit and brutal as you read about a young couple whose marriage becomes unmoored and adrift before it even starts. Henry and Effie pull further away from one another as they are swept up into a web of sex, money, alcohol—the complete opposite of the societal norms of the late 1950’s.
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The backdrop of Cape May in September, after the summer has long become a memory, is beautifully written and juxtaposed with a marriage in decline. And it makes you wonder why some people hang onto a marriage that they know is doomed from the start.
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There is a lot of graphic sex scenes in this book, but those scenes fit with the psychology of the narrator. If that bothers you as a reader, I would not recommend this book to you. But, Cape May is compulsively readable and at 256 pages, it leaves you with many questions to ponder. This is a book that will be hard for me to forget. For me, that’s one of the hallmarks of great literary fiction. You may not love the characters or the choices they’ve made. But those characters will be hard to forget. I received a copy of Cape May via Netgalley and Celadon Books in exchange for an honest review.

Being familiar with the Jersey shore in the off-season, I was looking forward to this but had to continually adjust to the era, for some reason I wasn't anchored there. Lots of sex and a lot of repetition and a constant threat of darkness behind it, just a twinge. It made me think a lot about marriage and knowing someone. This would be a good beach read.

Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Chip Cheek makes his debut with a page-turner about newlyweds who are faced with a number of temptations (beautiful people + way too much booze) and the aftermath of their choices. It's a very sexy and sex-filled book, so readers who might not be up for graphic scenes should steer clear. But if you are not deterred, you'll be rewarded with extraordinarily well-drawn characters, an exquisitely rendered backdrop of the town of Cape May in 1957, and a deep dive into the dynamics of relationships, friendships, and the tenuous nature of both. Cape May is captivating, seductive and at times shocking. It's a book I'll be thinking about for a long time to come.

Thanks Celadon for the copy for early review.

I found Chip Creek a good writer. I enjoyed his descriptions of the people and places. His story describes two innocent newlyweds on their honeymoon in the off-season side town of Cape May, New Jersey during the Cold War. While there, they meet a bunch of high-flowing socialites and get wrapped up in their drunken parties.

However, I only read the first half, because the sexual content was too graphic for my taste. I understand that sex was pivotal to the story, and I could see that the author had a thoughtful approach to the subject, but it was still much too much for me. Overall, I would not recommend it.

This was a very strange book. I never expected it to take the direction it did. I finished it because I had to see how it ended.
I would not recommend it.

It is time to get the buzz going for Chip Cheek’s debut novel, Cape May. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Here is the quick scoop to get you started. It’s September, 1957 and young newlyweds Henry and Effie are embarking on their honeymoon in Cape May, N.J. It is officially off season in this beach side town, leaving Effie and Henry virtually to themselves. Early on in their stay though, they discover a few other people sharing a house across the road. They quickly fall into their new friends’ lives filled with heavy drinking and provocative play. Henry and Effie immediately need to figure out how to navigate their new friends’ closely acquainted behavior with their own personal temptations.

Chip Cheek’s book definitely has a vast sexual tone. The intimate physical contact is abundant in this novel and in my opinion, well executed and FUN to read. Do not be alarmed though. Cheek’s writing is not cheesy or overplayed. The sexual content in his book is not only well done, but truly represents the impulsive and urgent needs these young characters possess. At first, Cape May appears to be a straight forward read. However, readers will quickly come to know how complex these characters really are.

Cape May is not only nostalgic, but a glamorous tale filled with love, lust and self discovery. This book is a tremendous poolside/beach read!
Well done Chip Cheek!!!!
Be on the lookout for this Spring book. It hits shelves on April 30, 2019.

*****I received Cape May, by Chip Cheek as an ARC provided by the publisher (@celadonbooks) via @Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
****Even though I have lived in New England for the past 18 years, I was born and raised in New Jersey. Jersey Girl at heart. Do not hold it against me!!!!!

There is way too much graphic sex in this to sell to our clientele. I would never recommend this and only skimmed the back half.

Having been to Cape May, NJ many times, I was excited to get my hands on Chip Cheek’s debut novel, Cape May! This novel is set in 1957 and centers around Henry and Effie, who have just graduated high school and gotten married. The young couple decides to honeymoon at Effie’s uncle’s beach house in Cape May, New Jersey. Being that it was September, the usually bustling summer destination was empty. Then the newlyweds meet several “friends” and from that point, Effie and Henry are introduced to a fast and glamorous world that will forever alter their relationship...and the rest of their lives.

I devoured this novel in record time! The storyline was super original, full of debauchery, and extremely salacious—hence the reason I started and finished this book in the same day! I enjoyed Chip Cheek’s writing style, I was on the hook the entire way through. I really thought he did a great job with the last chapter- it was an epilogue of sorts and I LOVED that I didn’t feel the like ending left me hanging! I am looking forward to seeing what Chip Cheeks comes out with next!

FIrst off I would like to say that the writing itself was wonderful. It was so descriptive I felt like I was right on the beach. BUT there was no plot. No real story. Nothing happened. No major conflict. I was a little disappointed that the book fell flat.

I was very impressed with Chip Cheek's CAPE MAY; hard to believe it is a debut novel, the writing was mesmerizing, the plot well thought out and the characters well defined. Cape May, a place I have visited came alive for me.

When Henry and Effie, a couple from a small town honeymoon in Cape May, they arrive off-season, a time when Cape May is nearly a ghost town. The beaches are deserted and many of the businesses are closed til the summer. It is not what Henry and Effie expected and though they are learning about each other sexually and otherwise they find themselves at a loss and want to go home early..

A few days into their honeymoon Henry and Effie meet Clara, Max and Alma and their honeymoon becomes an exploration into their lives and their sexuality.

This novel is erotic and moving and well done on both accounts. An exploration into marriage, friendship and one's sexuality and all the repercussions this has on their marriage.

Read it! I devoured the pages, when I was done I did not immediately pick up another book, I wanted to savor the locale and the characters for a few more days. Will be on the lookout for more books by Chip Cheek!

Effie and Henry, very young newlyweds from a small town in Georgia, are spending their honeymoon in Cape May. They are fresh out of high school and both virgins before their marriage. They are true innocents and are on their own, away from their families and their small social sphere, for the first time.

Unbeknownst to Effie, who chose the destination, Cape May is deserted as the summer season has ended. The lively beach town is not as she remembered it from summers spent there. The two wander the empty streets and through their first forays into sex together. They are almost ready to end their honeymoon early, when they become involved with an unconventional, sophisticated older couple and and the man’s younger sister. Their new friends are from New York City and seem to have unlimited funds. Their days are endless parties, fueled by gin and ennui. Effie and Henry, fascinated by these new people, decide to extend their honeymoon and then are invited to stay at the home of their new friends.

Clara, Max, and Alma are extremely generous with their booze, their food, their time, their home. They are, however, far from innocent. While they are at first amused by this unsophisticated young honeymoon couple, they ensnare them in their web of excess. However, Effie and Henry are not blameless. Formerly trapped by the narrow parameters of the societal expectations of their small town, they now find themselves caught in a marriage that lacks true passion. Though they never voice this to one another, both viscerally know they have committed themselves to a lonely union.

Though they decide to return to their sheltered and safe life in Georgia, what transpires on Cape May defines the rest of Effie and Henry’s long marriage.