“Inside this mesmerizing tale of sexual desire and discovery, naive newlyweds Henry and Effie are honeymooning in Cape May, N.J., in 1957, tentatively navigating intimacy. Then they meet Clara and Max, hard-partying lovers who dazzle the innocent pair until they’ve lost more than their virginity. Cheek’s sensual first novel leaves you wanting more.” – PEOPLE “Henry and Effie’s honeymoon is meant … “Henry and Effie’s honeymoon is meant to be their introduction to the pleasures of the body, but in the company of Clara and her promiscuous cohort they lose all track of boundaries. A dozy, luxurious sense of enchantment comes over the story, until the rude awakening at its finale…. Cape May does something better than critique or satirize: It seduces.”
– The Wall Street Journal
Cape May is a raw, provocative portrayal of a young 1950s couple on the cusp of a sexual awakening, and the temptations that upturn their honeymoon and reshape their marriage.
In this erotic and intimate debut novel, a naïve southern couple is exposed to a group of raucous, debauched urbanites. Arriving for their honeymoon in Cape May, New Jersey, during the off season, Henry and Effie are startled to find the beach town deserted. The abandoned homes and desolate beaches make them shy of each other, and, isolated in their new marriage, they decide to cut their trip short.
But before they leave, they encounter their glamorous, sensual neighbors and become swept up by 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, mysterious, and evocative half-sister, to whom Henry is irresistibly drawn. Slowly, agonizingly, these deeply-flawed, profoundly human characters pull Henry and Effie out of themselves and expose them to a side of desire they never expected.
While they discover new truths in each other and in their marriage, the empty beach town becomes their playground. And as they sneak into the vacant summer homes, go sailing, walk naked under the stars, make love, and drink an enormous amount of gin, Henry and Effie slip from innocence into betrayal, with irrevocable consequences.
Seductive and moving, this is a novel about marriage, love, raw sexuality, and the ways in which desire and betrayal can reverberate endlessly throughout our lives.
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By jypsy lynn
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.
What a treat. Glamorous and nostalgic and very sexy, Cape May is a novel about marriage, lust, shabby seaside towns and lots of gin. Brilliantly unsettling—one of those books that stays with you.
Very mixed feelings, I received this book ARC on Goodreads giveaway. I did read discription but didnt expect this. Expected more depth to the characters…I did finish and am glad I read till the end. That said nor sure it was my genre…
Picture it….It’s 1957. A young married couple from Georgia on their honeymoon, the beautiful but abandoned seaside town of Cape May, NJ in Fall and the arrival of three wealthy, alcohol infused, socialites just a few houses away leads to choices with life-long repercussions by the powers of desire.
This debut narrative is richly descriptive, exudes naivety and raucous behavior, it’s graphic, lusty and erotic. The story moves quickly yet felt a bit lacking as to its back story and character development. A bit raw for my liking, however the writing is powerful and delivered in a way that keeps the reader moving forward. I would have liked to have seen the timing of the twist in this story brought to the reader sooner than 3/4 + of the way through as well as the storyline composed with a bit more depth of the characters themselves as I found them too be a bit flat and unlikable.
Personally this isn’t my preferred type of story, I was hopeful due alone to it’s setting of Cape May, yet the novel as a whole has lead me to review it for the most part as well executed but predictable due to its subject matter.
If you enjoy a sexually intensive read that leads you from one romp into another, this is your book, but if you enjoy the growth of characters and storyline this may not be a read for you.
I thank Celadon Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
3 Stars
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While this was a relatively quick read, I only liked it.
Henry and Effie are just out of high school and on their honeymoon. They leave Georgia and go to Cape May for what was to be only one week, but turned into several more weeks. They went off-season so almost everything was closed. They stayed in a relative’s cottage. One night, while out for a walk, they see a bunch of cars outside one house so they decide to walk up and see what’s going on. The woman who opens the door knew Effie when they were children visiting Cape May during the summers. Effie did not like her but they get swept into the environment around Clara, Max and Alma. Parties almost every night and lots of drinking. Henry and Effie are a bit dull until they get swept up in this lifestyle. This is why their one-week honeymoon morphs into a longer stay.
It was a rather predictable story and the last chapter/ending felt a bit rushed and unnecessary.
Don’t waste your time with this book. It holds very little of the charm which one truly finds in the Victorian town of Cape May. There are barely any meaningful references to the town, but lots of steamy sex between all the characters.
I read an advanced readers copy of this book. Cape May was a different genre from books I normally choose to read but I thought I’d give it a chance. I’m glad I did. It was dark, sexy, intriguing, and fast-paced. It drew me in from the very beginning and I could not put it down. I am pretty prudish and normally stear clear from books with erotic scenes. Some are really lame and poorly written porn. I could not tear my eyes away from the graphic scenes in this book. They were written well and I actually found myself enjoying them. I give away books when I’m done reading them except for a select few. I am keeping this book for my bookshelf and will be on the lookout for more books by Chip Cheek in the hopefully very near future.
While I did finish it I found this to be one of the weirdest books I have ever read. I don’t enjoy watching people ruin their lives. While one tends to want to see what happens with a hope of something good, it is just not my kind of book and this is not an author I would recommend.
My very favorite summer read. I can’t wait for Chip ‘a next novel
Cape May is the story of a Henry and Effie, newlyweds off to enjoy their honeymoon at a family house on the beach. A honeymoon that proves to be so much more and will test their young marriage to the fullest. A honeymoon that also rests the bounds of Effie and Henry individually to discover who they really are. Great story to spice up your trip to the shore! @ChipCreek @CeladonBooks #WelcomeToCapeMay
By ridiculous4
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.
This book reminds me of a modern Great Gatsby. The characters were delightful and the details of Cape May after the season is over was on target.
The steamiest summer read! Combine it with VERY NICE (out in July!) for a luscious poolside / beachside duo.
All I can say about Chip Cheek’s Debut novel Cape May is This Book! From the moment I entered the off-season resort town visited by honeymooners in the late nineteen fifties, I couldn’t pull away. Is it Cheek’s flawless writing style? Yes. Is it the way Cheek creates a moody atmosphere that makes you cozy up into the words, pages and chapters? That too. Even though the time frame is different – there were moments in Cape May when I was certain that Jay Gatsby may stroll across the stage along with main the characters, naive Effie and Henry and the other personalities skillfully elucidated by Chip’s ‘cheeky’ (pun intended) pen. I recommend this book for readers who enjoy prose redolent of elegance while racing circles around some pretty spicy scenarios. I kept thinking – did this just happen? I loved it.
The book started out great holding my interest. But as the book continued it became strange and depressing. I did not like the ending – it felt hopeless.
Effie and Henry are innocent newlyweds, just out of high school in 1957. Effie had great memories of Cape May from summer visits in her childhood, so they decide to honeymoon there. In late September, the most have packed up and gone home, the weather isn’t great, and they are lonely. They decide to cut the trip short, and before they leave, they run into a woman that was friends with Effie’s sister growing up. Invited to join the party, they get drawn into a life that is completely different from anything they know or have ever experienced.
Temptation, Loss of innocence, and betrayal, these two are faced with more than they expected and have decisions to make. The story is well-written, the setting vividly described, and the characters make for an interesting study. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t find any of the characters particularly likeable. Ultimately, the decisions they make for their future ring true for the time, and I wasn’t surprised with the ultimate ending for each. They definitely should have gone to Florida.
This novel was a departure from my normal reading, and, while it wasn’t quite my cup of tea, I am not sorry I read it.
#Celadon #WelcometoCapeMay #ChipCheek
I thought this was going to be such a good book. I love the era and the setting sounded so nice. The more I read the more I was thinking that I was very disappointed in this book. I don’t mind books that contain sex scenes, drinking and other things but this one went way overboard. To much detail. Way to much.
I liked the very beginning, not so much the middle, and HATED the end. It was just not at all the story I thought it would be. I was just not happy with this story at all.
For me it’s just a two star read and the second star is because I actually finished this crazy book.
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and from Bookish First. I’m sorry but I just didn’t like it.
This was a very good read. Took just a few hours. I couldnt put it down. Can easily see it being made into a Hallmark movie. The Story if these honeymooners and how new awakened desires and bad influences can effect an entire life is so good. I appreciated how the details were just enough without being over the top. I look forward to reading more from Chip Creek in the future.
Earthy and sensual, raw and real, Cape May is an exquisitely crafted exploration of young love, the power of desire, and the lifelong ramifications of choices made in an instant. Cheek’s virtuosic prose reads like a modern classic, piercing through the veneer of male sexual fantasies of the 1950s and rendering a heartbreaking portrait of a man—and a marriage—undone by betrayal.
Cape May is a book With a lot of references to sexual acts and body parts. It may not suit all, but never did I feel they were inappropriate or gratuitous. Chip Cheek is taking the reader on a voyage of self-discovery with The main characters, Effie and Henry, and the journey isn’t always a comfortable one. I thought Cape May was sensitively and honestly written, atmospheric and affecting. I’ll be thinking about it for some time.