Cape May

by Chip Cheek

Cape May explores the social and sexual mores of 1950s America through the eyes of a newly married couple from the genteel south corrupted by sophisticated New England urbanites.

Late September 1957. Henry and Effie, very young newlyweds from Georgia, arrive in Cape May, New Jersey, for their honeymoon only to find the town is deserted. Feeling shy of each other and isolated, they decide to cut the trip short. But before they leave, they meet a glamorous set of people who sweep them up into their drama. Clara, a beautiful socialite who feels her youth slipping away; Max, a wealthy playboy and Clara’s lover; and Alma, Max’s aloof and mysterious half-sister, to whom Henry is irresistibly drawn.

The empty beach town becomes their playground, and as they sneak into abandoned summer homes, go sailing, walk naked under the stars, make love, and drink a great deal of gin, Henry and Effie slip from innocence into betrayal, with irrevocable consequences.

Erotic and moving, this is a novel about marriage, love and sexuality, and the lifelong repercussions that meeting a group of debauched cosmopolitans has on a new marriage.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Audiobook, Historical, Literary Fiction, Adult

256 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 2019

Reviews

[Joel Rochester · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book was supposed to be like gatsby, but there was nothing great about it

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Jennifer Blankfein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Desire and early marriage are a perfect match but on their honeymoon in Cape May, the brand new and unfamiliar feeling of lust sends naive newlyweds Effie and Henry down a dangerous path. Can they retrace their steps and go back to pure and innocent times, or will their unforgivable actions alter the course of their relationship forever?

Chip Cheek's debut, Cape May, is set in 1957 and the innocent, young couple is right out of high school. After a disappointing few days on their honeymoon in a sleepier than what they expected, New Jersey seaside village, where their fun and togetherness feels awkward, forced and unnatural, they decide to return home to Georgia early. But a chance meeting with beautiful, socialite neighbors who are having a party change their minds and boy, do things heat up. Socializing, drinking, dancing, swimming and sailing with the people down the street add energy and excitement and contribute to the electricity in the air. Having great fun in the vacation mode, and experiencing thrills and lowered inhibitions lead Effie and Henry, along with the neighbors, to sexual experimentation, manipulation and betrayals.

This book is steamy and fast paced - a good, hot beach read. It was a little too "50 Shades of Grey" for me personally, but I still enjoyed and appreciated the story of the loss of innocence in a new marriage, the inner conflicts regarding morality and the impact continually flowing cocktails, clandestine meetings in the night and sexual freedom can have. This is not your mother's honeymoon! Q and A with the author can be seem on https://booknationbyjen.com.

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the first books from the new Celadon imprint, so I've had it for a while but was waiting to read it until closer to its publication date. A quick weekend trip to the rainy coast was the perfect setting.

It's 1957 and Henry and Effie are newlyweds, headed to Cape May (NJ) in late September for their honeymoon. Of course they are practically the only people there in the off season and the weather is miserable. Effie grew up going to Cape May in the summers, but didn't realize what it would be like in the fall.

The narrative perspective is largely that of Henry, a somewhat naive goody two shoes kind of virgin, who assumes his new wife is as inexperienced as he is. When one of her old summer nemeses shows up down the street, all sorts of drama and shenanigans start to play out.

I couldn't put it down, I read it all in a day. This reads like really gossipy dishy contemporary romance of the steamy variety but written by a man (this is really obvious because of the number of times bowel movements are mentioned, ha!)

I would almost call it "women's fiction" but I think it has more sex than most "women's fiction" does. The author captures the complete awkwardness of brand new marriage when all of the sudden it's just the two of you with a lifetime ahead of you, and then uses that to the advantage of the story and the conflicts/encounters with the other people who show up. It was a very visual story and I could easily see it translating to film as well.

I received access to this title from the publisher through NetGalley. It comes out April 30!

[Theresa Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well this was a massive let down. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but it seems you should extend this to the praise by others printed upon said cover as well. This just didn’t work for me. Effie and Henry are on their honeymoon, and they are so young, fresh out of high school and already married. They barely know how to be adults themselves, much less adults together. There was definitely an atmospheric 1950s feel to this novel, for sure, but I think the dead weight of it came from being narrated entirely from Henry’s perspective. Everything we learn about Effie is through the haze of Henry’s gaze, and I’ll be frank here, Henry was boring. And very much a stereotypical 1950s young man. This story would have greatly benefited from the addition of Effie’s perspective along with ditching that final chapter that told the reader every miserable thing that happened to them for the rest of their married lives, post honeymoon.

The content of this novel became a little too much after a while. It’s entirely about sex and people behaving badly. In the beginning, sex between Henry and Effie, and even though they are on their honeymoon, it became repetitive. Particularly as the writing style was very mechanical. We read about everything without distinction: Effie sweeping the floor, Henry’s bowel movements (or lack thereof), what they order at the diner, what sexual position they utilise next – and then it starts all over again in the same dry, mechanical manner. In the middle, Henry is having sex with both his wife and another woman – on his honeymoon! – and the story just goes from bad to worse from here on in. He is such a despicable liar and then he has the audacity to get angry at Effie when the pair of them get caught up in a swinging situation (not sure how else to describe this) as he watches Effie’s reactions while she is having sex with another man and doesn’t like what he sees. I must point out that while he is watching this, he is of course having sex with a third woman.

‘His little Effie, his wife: he didn’t know her anymore. What she’d done, what she’d let him do to her. It was one thing for Henry, but for her, his wife, his girl. A lady. He should have stopped it before it started, he should never have let it go so far. But he didn’t know himself either. A degenerate with no fixed centre. Less than a man.’

Honestly, this is just trash dressed up as literature because someone along the production line decided to compare it to The Great Gatsby (which many may argue is really not that great). The characters are all below par when it comes to morality. They drink all day long, don’t even really like each other, break into other people’s empty beach houses and make messes they don’t clean up, and then they just wake up the next day and do it all over again. In the end, Henry gets away with every single atrocious thing he does whilst on honeymoon, retains his good looks into old age and goes on to have multiple affairs throughout his marriage. Of course he does. While Effie, as described by Henry, gets fat and mean. Yes, you read that right. I’ve rarely had occasion for a novel to make me so angry. This one tops the lot, that’s for sure. Needless to say, I don’t recommend this novel at all.

Thanks is extended to Hachette Australia for providing me with a copy of Cape May for review.

[Tracy P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Cape May' is an electric, unputdownable read from start to finish. This novel is filled with intrigue, scandal, sexual discovery, self-discovery and just trying to grow-up at a time when people got married much younger and still did not yet know themselves. Lots of tough lessons learned and emotional turmoils experienced during what was supposed to be the best times of young lives just starting out.
I hope Chip Creek has more in store for us in the near future. Highly recommend.

[Dannii Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the synopsis, this novel is described as a "mesmerizing debut novel by Chip Cheek". The unputdownable nature of its contents and the speed with which I tore through the pages can certainly attest to that!

It is 1957 and two newlyweds make their temporary home in New Jersey, for the duration of their honeymoon. The streets are deserted, the homes are abandoned, and this popular setting for summer escape lies in a silent and gloomy out-of-season solitude. Thrown in such close proximity, and without the reprieve of other individuals, Henry and Effie decide to cut their trip short. But on the cusp of disembarking, they find their first time together saved with the unlikely arrival of a trio of wealthy socialites. They soon discover that these saviours will also deliver them so much more.

In amongst the sea of alcohol-infused debauchery this novel becomes unmoored upon, is an insight to 1950s American culture. The characters act either according to or purposefully against the accepted norms and the reader is introduced to the tricky social politics that governed this time. This isolated setting becomes the backdrop to this unburdening of these expectations and what resides underneath is a sexual and sensual awakening, a burgeoning awareness of the self, and many an erotic and gin-soaked scene that makes this novel both a riveting read as well as an unexpectedly profound one.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, Thank you to the author, Chip Cheek, and the publisher, Celadon Books, for this opportunity.

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Cortney - Bookworm & Vine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was great book for a debut author! The writing and the characters were very well done.

Being 2019, you forget how young and naive couples used to be when they got married in the 1950s (Henry was 20 and Effie was 18). I SO appreciated that we got a glimpse of the rest of Henry and Effie's life at the end of the book... only wish we knew how Clara, Max, and Alma's lives went as well. I love a good wrap-up!

While Cape May isn't my normal type of book, I really ended up enjoying it.

[Roman Clodia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun read but it feels ultimately a bit inconsequential to me: essentially a 'betrayal of innocence' tale, it follows two young newly-weds in 1957 - both virgins on their wedding night - and how they get sucked into the glamorous world of excessive drink, sex and hedonism on their two-week honeymoon. There are no surprises and the dynamics of the seduced and the seducers have been done before, arguably with more impact.

Most of the book is focalised through Henry, the young husband, and his masculine desire for sex with as many women as possible. The sex scenes are fairly explicit but not porn-y. I was actually more interested in his wife Effie but we don't really get the opportunity to experience things through her eyes which is a shame: the dual standard that allows masculine sexuality to flourish while female sexuality is curtailed means that Effie has a higher hurdle to jump to overcome her upbringing and social moral standards - how she does this is left unexplored.

The final chapter jumps from the honeymoon experiences to summarise how they impact the marriage over its entire life, something that doesn't quite work: it feels flimsy and an add-on.

So I'd file this as a superior beach read (and the bright UK cover from Orion with its neon cocktail glass adds to the connection) - the writing is smooth and fluent, and it's an entertaining page-turner of a novel.

Thanks to Orion for an ARC via NetGalley.

[Caro · Rating 3 out of 5]

A newly-wed, young couple from Georgia spends their honeymoon in Cape May, New England during the 50s. What happens those days will alter their lives.

A few careless moments from the main characters and the story takes shape. The novel is about marriage, trust, and sexuality. I did not find the characters compelling or utterly interesting and there were sections I did not find engaging. 

Overall, it was ok. I recommend it to those who enjoy contemporary fiction. 

[Christopher Castellani · Rating 5 out of 5]

As some other reviews have indicated, you think you've seen this book, but you haven't. There is a simultaneous tenderness and brutality in these pages -- both in the complexity of the narrator, and the gorgeously precise and evocative descriptions of a resort town in the off-season -- and a mastery of storytelling and pacing that kept me completely mesmerized. Yes, there is a surfeit of sex, but it's not gratuitous; it's an essential part of the narrator's psychology and the project of the novel. The suspense of the second half is almost unbearable in the best possible way, and the final chapter is both surprising and inevitable and refreshingly honest.

[Toni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two young innocents arrive to spend their short honeymoon in a relative’s beach cottage, in the off-season shore town of Cape May, based at the southern tip of New Jersey in 1957. Cape May during this era wasn’t the resort it is today, where the season extends well past Labor Day and there are plenty of places for summer guests to stay, as they bicycle past the old Victorian houses.

Henry is 20 and Effie is 18, having traveled by train all the way from their little country town south of Macon, Georgia. They’ve known each other most of their lives, but only started dating their senior year of high school. Things move much slower out in the country usually following farming schedules rather than what’s fashionable in the rest of the country That’s why the newlyweds are in a New Jersey beach town in September where most of the businesses close up after Labor Day. The other, is Aunt Louise’s beach cottage is rent-free for their two-week honeymoon, plus it’s way far from Georgia. Effie spent many summers here as a child and has fond memories.

The beginning of this book is sweet as Henry and Effie awkwardly discover each other and make love for the first time ever, in their young lives. They spend the first week totally immersed with one another and explore tiny Cape May and its beautiful, deserted beaches. They feel the whole town belongs to them alone.

Walking into town one evening they pass a house just down the block from theirs with its lights aglow, cars parked in the drive and in front, with the faint sound of music coming from inside. Effie remembers the house owned by the family of a girl her older cousin, Holly used to play with, sometimes with the younger Effie dragged along. “Claire, I think her name was Claire, but she wasn’t very nice.” said Effie. “Sounds like a party.” says Henry. “Let’s just knock and say hi before we go to dinner.” says Effie. “Fine with me.” says Henry.

That simple exchange between Henry and Effie will be the last pleasant and least-complex words they will say to each other ever again. Once they walk through that door their lives will change forever. They will meet “city folk” like they’ve never met before; easy-talkin’, smoking, drinking all day and night, dancing, eating foods they’ve never tasted, and partying all night long. They were mesmerized! One gin and tonic, a first for both, led to another and several more after that. It was so easy, so much fun!

Her name was Claire and she was about ten years older than Effie, but her husband was probably twenty years older than her! But he wasn’t a problem because he left the next day, but her really, good friend Max stayed around, with his half-sisterl, Alma. They were all so carefree and fun. Maybe too much fun, especially when …..!

Yes, I’m going to stop here and let your imaginations go wild. The keyword here is wild; it is NOT historical fiction. Other than a few street names, the Light House, and the Coast Guard training center there is not much as far as sightseeing. The book will be fun reading for some, but not so much for this reader. I feel a tiny bit led astray. The last chapter or two brings us to Henry and Effie years later. Yep, they are still together, but that’s all I’ll say about that.
I would rate this 3.5 for the first half and 3.0 for the second. The ending did not put me in a pleasant mood.

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for the early read.

[Bill Kupersmith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I so expected to enjoy this book for the setting, the period, and theme. Cape May, New Jersey, a charming town where I once spent a couple of days, only here it's in 1957, and an innocent young couple of honeymooners from rural Georgia arrive in the offseason. They encounter some worldly and sophisticated people and end up overstaying, with lots of drinking and adulterous sex, especially for the new husband Henry. The sex scenes are very explicit and overwritten, often unintentionally (I trust) funny. Here's my favorite: "She had a near V of straw-colored pubic hair. Small, upturned breasts, bright pale where her bathing suit had covered them. A constellation of moles on her stomach, one prominent one, raised like a third nipple, just under her left breast. . . . He was standing there naked himself, his cock sticking out from him like a bowsprit." Bowsprit's good but that "constellation of moles" had me nearly rolling on floor. I hope they didn't tickle. Clearly this is "literary fiction" because the characters are both unrealistic and boringly ordinary, especially our honeymooners. Because they read Lovecraft I was actually hoping for some supernatural elements (which could explain the improbable plot) but no such luck. There are several ways a story like this could go. The naive innocents could become wild romantics, or they repent and learn from their experience with the vanity of glamour. Instead we get a final chapter on their future life, utterly meaningless and vapid, which describes this book. A huge disappointment.

[Jypsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could not decide if I actually wanted to read Cape May or not. Of course, in the end, I did decide to read this book. Now, I am honestly regretting that decision. It's well written and solid. It's the content of the story that bothered me the most. These young and wide eyed newlyweds are in a place in Cape Cod where they probably shouldn't have gone. They become entangled with other couples, people, etc. They see this decadent life full of people with no inhibitions about anything, and this couple begins to transform to match their surroundings. They don't really know each other as well as they thought, so it's eye opening. It's a lot of sex scenes that I could have done without. I was uncomfortable reading this.

 

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine Florence and Edward, the young virginal newlyweds of Ian McEwan’s On Chesil Beach. Place them in a Great Gatsby setting. And then, for the fun of it, add in a liberal dose of prurient interest — Susan Minot’s Lust comes to mind. Now you may have an idea about what to expect from Cape May.

In this novel, Effie and Henry are woefully unprepared for marriage. They barely have a clear understanding of themselves let alone each other. While on a sometimes awkward honeymoon at Cape May, they end up meeting Clara – a rich and free-spirited friend of Effie’s older cousin — as well as her bodybuilder lover Max and his rootless half-sister Alma.

As the couple falls into the spell of this trio, living the alcohol-soaked life where moral boundaries and indeed, trust itself, seem to conveniently disappear, their fledging marriage, barely a week old, begins to unravel at the seams. How that happens is for the reader to discover.

Chip Creek is walking a fine line throughout the book on examining the very nature of desire and eroticism. From time to time, the book inches over that line into eroticism; it is more satisfying when the focus is on desire, as evidenced by sexual awakenings. Chip Creek beautifully depicts two careless, still unformed people who do not have the emotional resources to withstand the steamy lure of a glittery and vulgar scene they become a part of An early scene —a naked walk around the neighborhood — wonderfully sets up the aura of invisibility that Effie and Henry carry with them.

The book, to me, was page-turning and yes, seductive. Definitely recommended. 4.5 stars.

[Caren · Rating 1 out of 5]

I must have read a different book from the one reviewed as "brilliantly unsettling" and "exquisite". The title attracted me, drawing on all my visits to this beautiful South Jersey shore, Victorian town. But, this narrative took me to the "underbelly" of that magic place in the 1950s and I couldn't get out of there fast enough!

Cheek's characters are cardboard stereotypes. The naïve honeymoon couple from Georgia (Henry and Effie) is drawn into a lustful "adventure" with the fast-moving, "swinging" older lovers (Clara and Max), opening the young Southerners to experiences of erotic sexual activity and betrayal. When the author finally chooses to call an end to their meticulously detailed lust, instead of finishing the novel with their obvious guilt, leaving the readers to wonder how and if they will live out the rest of their lives together, Cheek rushes in with a couple chapters of "here's how their next 40 years play out".

A totally forgettable piece of writing, I'm afraid. :(

[Christina (Confessions of a Book Addict) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Henry is a young country boy from Georgia and he just married his high school sweet heart, Effie. They are on their honeymoon in Cape May, New Jersey and the year is 1957. They are not only exploring their sexuality as newlyweds, but they are also expanding their horizons as this isn't rural Georgia anymore. In fact, Cape May is pretty much abandoned for the season except for a group of sophisticated city dwellers from up North. They have money, they throw lavish dinner parties, they drink, they go boating, they drink more.... rinse and repeat. When Henry and Effie fall into their clutches, it alters their marriage irrevocably. Cape May by Chip Cheek is an erotic story filled with despicable characters and horrible situations--very much so that I was unable to put down the book.
Read the rest of my review here: http://www.confessionsofabookaddict.c...

[Eren · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the most Caucasian thing I have ever read and I’ve read books by Hemingway. When I saw “testicles meant testify” I knew this would be something I couldn’t take seriously.

Y’all got me soooo fucked up. I can’t believe Mr. Cheek got 800k for this dogshit. Just goes to show you how overpaid white people are in this industry.

[Barb · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Cape May. So I bought a book for it's cover and title. My mistake. Lovely setting but awful book. Self indulgent characters. No plot. ABSOLUTELY POINTLESS.

[Monte Price]

I'm not going to give this book a star rating, mostly because I can't be bothered but mostly because I don't really have a whole lot to say. Not going to pretend that this book was on my radar for any other reason than the #PublishingPaidMe post about this particular novel, so I guess shoutout to that because it's truly the best marketing that this book could have received.

I could talk about how I'm confused that any publishing house would have acquired this book for the price that they did. At the end of the day really just shoutout Mr. Cheek for securing the bag and getting his book published.

I don't think that this was a good book. Aside from the lackluster smutty content, I don't think that the book really knows what it wants to do. I think at the outset the novel tries to paint this picture of two prudish Southerners being exposed to the sexual deviancy of the North on their honeymoon. Though that quickly disappears and most of the book is really just an extended look at this man's affair while on said honeymoon. The thing is that Mr. Cheek is incapable of forging any kind of emotional connection between the reader and any of the characters and so it makes little difference if our protaganist is sticking "tall mushroom" in his wife or his mistress or the friend down the street.

Of all the scenes that were not fun to get through the most uncomfortable scene by far was the swinging sing in the middle of the third act following by the fallout. The way the book concludes is also baffling; mixing a flash forward with a "where are the characters now" kind of thing from the end of everyone's favorite late nineties early aught's romantic comedies. There was something about the voice there that felt particularly disjointed.

I really didn't want to review this book or talk about this book, particularly with how I came to the title and giving it any kind of hype when the purpose of the hashtag was to highlight the discrepancies in what Black authors get paid just felt kind of slimy. Definitely not my finest moment. I've definitely read worse things and have read books very similar to this that I did like at the time of reading them. Either way it's hard for me to really tear into this because it was very clearly never a book that was for me, but I'm sure that with this little bit of a boost it will find one.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so smug to be reading this around the time of a short trip to Cape May last month. What could be more perfect for reading on location? I asked myself. Unfortunately, it stood out for the wrong reasons. In October 1957 a young pair of virgins, Effie and Henry, travel from Georgia to New Jersey for an off-season honeymoon in her uncle’s vacation home. They’re happy enough with each other but underwhelmed with the place (strangely enough, this matched my experience of Cape May), and even consider going home early until they fall in with Clara, a friend of Effie’s cousin; Clara’s lover, Max; and Max’s younger sister, Alma. Effie and Henry join the others for nightly drunken revelry.

As the weeks pass Effie, ill and dejected, almost seems to disappear as Cheek delves into Henry’s besotted shenanigans, described in unnecessarily explicit sexual detail. When Effie makes a bid or two for her own sexual freedom late on, it only emphasizes the injustice of spending so much time foregrounding Henry’s perspective. Despite the strength of the period atmosphere and seaside location, this ends up being dull and dated. If you’re after a typically ‘trashy’ beach read and don’t mind lots of sex scenes, you may get on with it better than I did.

[Crystal King · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Katrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book-- it creeps up on you stealthily and with great finesse, and then packs a real punch. I loved the way the author entered the protagonist's psyche and kept the voice and tone believable throughout, even when things begin to get a bit crazy. It's a a simmering novel that leaves you thinking: sexy and sad, explicit while also purposeful, wistful and furious, and finally quite provocative and moving.

[Uta Birken · Rating 1 out of 5]

First I thought, it will be a really good book, but while reading and waiting for the surprise it felt like reading a porn. Horrible.

[Laura • lauralovestoread · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read a love story by the beach and instead got a story about young newlyweds in Cape May, entangled with other people and couples that they shouldn’t have been a part of.

1950’s Cape May, Henry and Effie start their honeymoon discovering one another, and the people they meet in coastal New Jersey. Sexual desires abound, along with the gin and tonic that’s flowing, and it doesn’t take long before these couples discover their hidden desires.

Overall I enjoyed this, but I think I was expecting a different story! Definitely seeing mixed reviews on this, and while I wasn’t blown away, I found it entertaining.

*Thank you to netgalley and Celadon books for this complimentary book. All opinions are my own

[Lizzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an ARC First Reads Good Reads giveaway.

The writing was lyrical and it was nice to read about a town I had visited. Since it focused on sex and honeymoon in the 1950s, it made me think of the movie "On Chesil Beach." However, I found the story to be slow, and the characters incredibly unsympathetic, and while their making poor life choices was the point of the story, I found myself constantly judging them and was just not interested in their lives.

[Lady R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely gripping and emotionally charged character study based in 1950’s Cape May; I raced through this book. A perfect summer read and I can’t wait to see what Chip Cheek writes next - his way of writing makes you feel as if are directly with the characters in the story, at the same party, sipping the same martinis and being a voyeur on this hedonistic tale!

[JoAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very readable, but with a few problems.
I'll have a full review on the blog soon.

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sloppy Plot

"Cape May: a Novel" is truly a mess of a book.

I think the author was trying to duplicate the Great Gatsby with they are kind of swash buckling attitude towards life but he missed by a long way.