Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson

Hello everyone.  I hope you are enjoying your day.

When you got married did you have a nice honeymoon?  My sister went to one of those islands...one of the "amas" or "ini" places off the coast of Florida.  I can't remember where but I'm certain she had a nice time.  For me, I got one night in Scranton, PA.  Now if you're from Pennsylvania don't get your drawers in a twist.  I love the state, lots of my family came from PA.  However, as far as exotic, seductive locales go, the Hilton in Scranton doesn't exactly blow up your skirt.  Okay, between us buddies, it was cool.  It was an old train station that we got to explore, but as far as brag-ability it isn't great.  "Oh so your sister went to the islands.  Where did you go? One night in Scranton???"  Hubby said not to tell you this story lest you think he's cheap.  In his defense, we purchased our first house thirty days before our wedding and we used our honeymoon money for a down payment.  But if he asks, yes, I think he's cheap and owes me a trip to Europe at the minimum!

I recently read Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson.  This is the story of Abigail and Bruce. They are getting married.  First Abigail is attending her shower, only not the kind where you get a toaster, the kind where you and your friends go to a resort. While at this resort, Abigail meets another man who wonders if she loves her husband-to-be as much as she thinks she does, especially after she sleeps with him.  Of course, once home and during the final preparations for the wedding, she tells Bruce nothing about what happened on the trip.  Panic sets in when she sees the man she slept with and when he starts emailing her.  She kindly refuses his advances and proceeds with the wedding.  After the nuptials, Bruce whisks his new bride away for a lovely honeymoon, but guess who shows up? Oh yes, it's deliciously evil.  If you want more, you'll have to read it.  This book has got great pacing and an even better setting.  Lots of fun with this story and a nice escape!

After reading Every Vow You Break I'm a little more grateful for my single night in Scranton, but I'm gonna tell people it was Scranton, France.

Cape May by Chip Cheek

Hello everyone.

I live in the south, near the beach. I grew up in upstate New York. No, I don't have that accent, upstate people don't have the city accent. My parents loved the beach and were constantly pulling us out of school to go on beach vacations. I swore I was going to marry the pool boy at some sandy resort. Almost, my husband grew up four blocks off the ocean, renting bikes and at hotels, checking in tourists. Yes, he has a southern accent, just ask him to say theater...he stretches it into a four syllable word . It is odd living somewhere that people save up all year to come to on vacation. Weird and, during the summer, traffic filled. By the way, when you are a visitor you don't have to worry about hurricanes, the one drawback to living near the ocean.

When we were kids we could not tolerate a long car trip, or maybe truth be told it was our parents who couldn't tolerate it with us! (My sisters were total brats. I, of course, was an angel.) So we went to New Jersey to the beach. It was only six hours away. Now, for those of you who don't live on the east coast of the USA don't picture something awful. It's not all young men that say "yous guys" with open shirts and lots of jewelry or medical waste on the beach. Nope. We went to Cape May. It is a beautiful seaside town filled with old hotels and gobs of well kept Victorian homes. The next town north is the ever popular Wildwood, filled with original hotels from the 50's, perfectly maintained. Both towns are like stepping into movie sets. If you have not visited them, you are missing out.

When we were in Cape May, we rode bikes every morning on the boardwalk, got red shoestring licorice at Morrow's Nuthouse (not really for eating but for tying into knots then dipping into the sand driving my mother crazy), and learned to love steamed clams with my dad.  A few years ago, I returned with my husband to the same resort, he got us the same room my family had stayed in each year when I was a kid. I made a complete fool of myself breaking into tears in front of the desk clerk, my parents long passed and the place thick with memories. Guess what, I got my husband, the world's pickiest eater to eat steamed clams at Cape May. Amazing, huh? Okay, I'm boring, for me it was special and a little tribute to my dad.

I was so happy to receive an early copy of the book Cape May by Chip Cheek. I had heard you either love it or hate it. The people that didn't like it said they didn't care for it because it was filthy. It has some bad language and sex but I don't think it is filthy. Hell, 50 Shades describes and uses every sex toy known to man. Besides this is the story of two young people in 1957, from Georgia, who are on their honeymoon. They arrive in Cape May at the end of September finding much of it is closed for the season. (The same time of year I took hubby.) The story is about this couple really getting to know each other, losing some of their inhibitions, finding their way as newlyweds both physically and emotionally. After several days they notice one of the houses up the street is now occupied. As they interact with the people in that house the story shifts. It becomes a story of exploration and a warning. The events of those few weeks in Cape May end up shaping the rest of their lives.

When I first finished the book, I put it down not knowing what to think. Honestly, days later I keep thinking about the characters, what they did or didn't do. I think that is a sign of a good story. The writing was good, the story moved quickly and was well told. It is just a cautionary tale, but a good one. I don't know, I've gone from being unsure of my opinion to thinking this might be one of my favorites for the year. Guess I'm fickle, but I can't help it this book lingers!

 Enough book talk, I am going to book a room in Cape May, I need some clams.