UGH

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This is the story about Henry and Effie who go to the seemingly deserted town of Cape May in the fall only to become acquainted with Effie's childhood friend Clara; her lover, Max; and Max's sister, Alma. Throughout the course of a few weeks, Clara and Max introduce innocent Henry and Effie to a life of excess and debauchery, which will have lasting consequences on the rest of their lives.

When I read the first few sample chapters of this book, I believed it had some potential. However, I had some reservations about the underlying perspective of the book, i.e. the emphasis on the good Christian couple that gets "corrupted" by the "wild and sexually liberated" couple. To be honest, the read was fairly quick. I did want to know what would happen next even though it turned out I expected a lot of what would happen. It was only near the end that I realized the only thing that kept me going was the underlying sexual tension throughout the entire book.

I find it ridiculous that this book is considered General Fiction. It.is.smut. If it were written by a woman, it would be labeled Romance and everyone would be, "Oh, alright, I get that." Instead, we were given a very basic premise, with an outdated male perspective that just made for a pointless and disappointed ending for those who read a lot of literary and general fiction. The climax (pun intended) was the best part of the book and there was not really much else to offer. I would recommend this book to Romance enthusiasts whose preferences do not lean toward the feminist perspective.