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.

I read this book during the heart of a dreary rainy winter. Perhaps this is the best time in reading this F Scott Fitzgerald type book .
This is the story of a nearly deserted Cape May during the mid fall of the late 1950s where a newlywed couple comes to spend their honeymoon and meets the occupants of the only other occupied house in the neighborhood. Without giving anything away, the couple comes away from their time there totally different from when they came. Highly recommend.

In September of 1957, Henry and Effie got married and Honeymooned at Cape May, NJ. But when they arrived, they found the town abandoned. They decide to leave, but then they meet a glamorous family and are swept up into their drama and lifestyle. 

This book is a fun, exciting, summer read about what happens when you get sucked into the wrong group of people. It's adventurous, exotic and just a tad crazy. And just as a warning, it is a little Rated R.

I received a review copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for a review. I found the story to carry the reader along on just a bit of a wave, with any further momentum provided by a barely-there current. How I wanted wild ups and downs, fiery passion, more heft to jealousy, pure drama set off in contrast to the sleepy beach town out of season. I get the fascination with sexual mores as they existed in the 1950s, but the characters' lack of electricity pulled the narrative down. Sex scenes only occasionally reached some heights of interest, let alone Wow Factor passion with the gift of unique description. I wanted to love this title, but instead, since it felt more like a later draft with still some work to be done, I just liked it very much. 4 stars goes to the depth of setting, characters' voices and some stellar bits of dialogue. This is an enjoyable read, and meaty for book clubs. It's just missing some emotion, or if emotion is supposed to be dulled, more of an explanation on that front.

Cheek’s writing transported me to another time and place. I swear I could smell the salt in the air while I read this book! It says so much about his skill and thoughtfulness about his writing that I read every word, not even thinking of skipping over the sexy bits (I’m admittedly a tad prude when it comes to sex scenes in books!). I felt for the young newlyweds, who were so naive and inexperienced. It was honestly refreshing to read a book that didn’t rely on crazy twists or monumental events to grab my attention (though I’m a sucker for a great twisty thriller too!) and instead built the narrative moment by moment until the characters couldn’t look back. I look forward to seeing more from Chip Cheek!

Thank you to Celadon and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy in return for an honest review!

After Cape May, I will read ANYTHING that Chip Cheek writes. I could not put it down. Not only does he develop his characters fully (and they are complex and multi-dementional, he transports his reader to the 1950s off-season in Cape May, New Jersey. I felt like I was there with Henry, Effie, Clara, Max and Alma drinking gin and tonics. The story centers around a newlywed young couple, Effie and Henry, who come to Cape May for their honeymoon; they intend to cut their trip short and end up staying longer after they meet some new friends. Effie and Henry are so young and, although they have known each other their whole lives, their relationship is new and undeveloped. The situations that they find them in challenge them to examine who they are and who they want to be. I don't want to give anything away, so it is a bit difficult to explain the plot. What I will say is that while you can see what is coming (no huge plot twists, in my opinion), Chip Cheek's writing is so beautiful that it doesn't matter. This is one of those rare books where I didn't love any one character (they are all flawed and I actually wanted to shake sense into them), but I was still attached to each of them and invested in their story. Five Stars.

Couldnt put it down. The setting was so richly described, it truly felt like I was there on the beach in the off season, being dazzled and seduced by this debaucherous and glamorous city crowd. It did get a little over the top in its description of sex at a point but it was relatable seeing a sexual awakening through the eyes of a sheltered new comer. It also did a fine job depicting the unspoek dynamic between many of the characters. Mostly I enjoyed the setting, it was beautifully painted.

This was an easy read. I didn’t love it or love any one particular character. It was a short and fast read for me. I would have liked some point of view from another character or perhaps chapters told from their point of view. The writing was done well and very descriptive. Overall it was a good read.

In most books, one expects there to be some character growth. In this book, the characters just get more and more debauched. Our main characters, Henry and Effie, are newlyweds from Georgia on their honeymoon in Cape May, NJ. It's September, so the summer resort community is largely empty, but soon Henry and Effie find another young couple in a house down the street. But their new friends are neither as young nor as innocent Henry and Effie, and soon they find themselves going inexorably down the path to dissipation and lasciviousness until they both doubt whether their marriage will outlast the honeymoon. Cheek saves most of his answers for the last chapter of the book, where the reader can trace the effects of their licentiousness.

Ultimately, this book is very readable (if you're in the mood for reading about a lot of sex) and the action (pun intended) is fairly continuous, making it feel as though things are moving along at a good pace. The descriptions of the town and the ocean are evocative (as are the descriptions of the sex) and the characters are believable, if not very likable. But there's not much movement in this book, either geographical or metaphysical, giving the book a somewhat stagnant feel.

Cheek shows his prowess (I just can't help myself) much more in the last chapter than in all the preceding ones, when he focuses on the emotions of a relationship more than the sex. He shows definite promise as a novelist (certainly anyone who can write a good sex scene is a promising novelist) but hopefully his future books will focus more on the growth of his characters than on their sex lives.

I didn’t like the characters. The plot was pointless. The only saving grace was that the book is short.

Cape May a debut novel by Chip Cheek. Knowing the Cape May area I was interested and didn't know what to expect with this book and storyline. But really enjoyed it. Set in the 1950's a young couple up from Georgia on their honeymoon staying at a relative's beach cottage. They sure never expected the turn of events that could happen when they meet up with a old family friend of her's that could possibly change their lives. The storyline and dialogue hooked me in from beginning to end. There was some spicy content. There was some twists and turns. A totally entertaining read from start to finish.

It's a really terrible idea to get married without having had some sexual experience.

Meh. I read this because it was set in Cape May, my stomping grounds of long ago. It was a a fun, forgettable read, kind of sexy. It told the story of the honeymoon of a ridiculously young couple (19 and 21, I think?), who go on their honeymoon in the 1950s to Cape May, New Jersey, which in the early autumn is kind of abandoned. It's kind of boring at first, but then they fall in with a fast crowd, have a LOT of drinks, and encounter some temptations. A lot of reviewers go on about the young husband's bad choices- but he's such a kid, and feeling sexually alive for the first time. The problem is a sex-negative culture which tells people they have to make a lifetime commitment in order to have their first sexual encounter.


This was swiftly read, and for me, will be swiftly forgotten.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I will admit that I was pulled in by the cover and short synopsis for this book. Good job Marketing team!

But that's about where the praise ends for me. None of the five characters were likable. In fact, I can't think of a place I'd less like to be than in Cape May with these people. But I pushed through, hoping the story would have an ending that made all of their terrible personalities worth knowing about. Nope. Also, reader beware. There is so much sex in this book, and it's pretty explicit. I wasn't expecting that. I guess I should be thankful to this book for really reinforcing how good my marriage is??

I will say that I would give another book by this author a chance. Chip Cheek had an excellent way with words. I could really picture the beach town, the individual houses, the clothing, etc. He is a great storyteller, even if I didn't like the story.

A different type of book from those I usually read but I enjoyed it. A young couple on their honeymoon connects with others that are party goers and from a different type of lifestyle. It’s Cape May in the off season with little to do and plenty of time to play with them. THings get out of hand and become confusing. How they deal with the changes reveals the time period.

Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgally for review purposes.

This is such a summer beach read and I feel like i havent read one of those in so long. Probably because we're in the middle of winter as I type this the weather reports it feels like a solid -15 outside, so there's that.

This book started well. I was glued pretty quick, but then the pace seemed to slow for me. I almost wish this was written differently just because we only see things from henry's perspective, and I never really understood or got to feel much toward Alma. She seemed very loose and hollow, unfleshed out, simply flat. Effie seemed interesting and likeable but again, just kind of lacking. It really felt like it was written by a man when it came down to it.

That being said, I was surprised when I found out this was a debut novel! It doesn't read like one at all. It feels very comfortable and warm, familiar with the environment. I wasn't crazy about the story but i did enjoy it, I'd definitely read more from him.

Wow. I read this book in few hours. It brought up several emotions. A novel with innocence, lust, secrecy, lots of gin and sex. Set in lovely Cape May, NJ during the off season, a young couple on their honeymoon meet up with an old friend, her lover, and his half-sister. Dive in under the covers and enjoy this page turner.

Cape May by Chip Creek - I received this Advanced Reader Copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.  When I saw this book, set in Cape May, NJ listed on NetGalley, I knew it would fit perfectly in this category. of my 2019 reading challenge (book set in home state). The beauty of the cover belies the story within. I can honestly say that I did not like this book. Five horrible human beings thrown together in a story that has no redeeming quality.  If you like a book with sex but no real substance that is even more boring than a Harlequin Romance, this book might be for you.  If you are looking for a real story, move on.