MAKING WAVES by Laura Moore: Review

Making Waves by Laura Moore
Series: Beach Lane #1
Published by Ballantine Books
Publication Date: April 25th 2017
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 400
Source: Publisher
Format: eARC
Goodreads
Buy Online: Amazon ♥ B&N ♥ Kobo

Disclaimer: I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book. All opinions stated are solely mine.

A self-made woman with a sweet, successful life discovers that even the best-laid plans are no match for unexpected passion in the beginning of a brand-new series for fans of Julie James and Tracy Brogan.

As the responsible daughter of an irresponsible socialite, Dakota Hale has plenty of practice catering to the whims of the rich and spoiled and she’s turned that experience into a thriving concierge business serving the needs of the Hamptons’ wealthy elite. But living and working among the upper crust has never tempted Dakota to follow in her mother’s jet-setting footsteps. Anytime the drama on land gets too outrageous, Dakota finds calm surfing the Atlantic waves. But when sexy mogul Max Carr hires her, it rocks her balance in a big way.

Max works hard, but he’s never had to put any effort into winning over a woman until now. With her stunning beauty and keen intelligence, Dakota is worth the effort. But it is plain she has no interest in a casual fling, and that’s all Max with his grief-stricken heart can offer. But one fraught night changes everything, with consequences neither Dakota nor Max anticipated. Now they must navigate the rough waters of society gossip and devastating secrets that threaten their fragile relationship. If they can trust in the strength of their growing feelings, they ll find that the dreams they’ve been chasing are close enough to embrace . . . together.

 

Review

I absolutely loved this book! MAKING WAVES is a very beautiful story; sweet, heartwarming and emotional; flows smoothly and is richly descriptive, and completely drew me in. Everything from the evolution of the characters to the setting was a really enjoyable experience and a window into the inner workings of the moneyed set.

Dakota Hale had the misfortune of being born into a family obsessed with appearances, was treated worse than the ugly stepchild and pretty much raised herself. Her choice of career as a businesswoman with a concierge service catering to her family’s peers has been interpreted by them as one more thing she does to disgrace the family name. In an ironic twist of fate, Dakota finds herself working for the guy who purchased her family’s ancestral home, much to their consternation.

Max Carr is a golden boy in the world of private equity, rumored to be in line to success his mentor and senior partner at his investment firm. Max always is on the lookout for a good deal and the Hale estate in the Hamptons is just the right addition to his holdings, a place to host clients and business acquaintances. Driven by old demons, Max is always in overdrive, trying to outrun them but meeting Dakota sparks a change in him.

Used to putting in little effort to get any woman he wants, Max meets his match in Dakota. She has a life plan, to be as different from her family as can be, grow and expand her business, prefers riding a wave to riding a man and is not fling material. Max has to work hard for her, even as he acknowledges that she threatens to bring down the walls he’s built to keep people out.

One night changes everything and they both have to navigate a minefield with society gossip, destructive secrets as well their own emotions and issues to forge a lasting relationship for themselves. Dakota and Max are really great characters, both independent and strong-willed but also starved of the affections of their families. For Max, the loss of his sister and everything after drove him to become the success he is and the new changes in his life with Dakota are driving different but no less impactful changes in his life and even his work. For Dakota, the changes in her life have made her evaluate her relationship with her mother and her family and make difficult but necessary choices, not a hard thing to with her own family determined to destroy her business and her happiness. 

One thing I enjoyed was the friends Max and Dakota surrounded themselves with, a reminder that some people are not amoral and consumed with status, in spite of their wealth. And I might have also enjoyed a heavy dose of schadenfreude at the expense of Dakota’s family and their reversal of fortune, but can you blame me?

All in all, this was a really great start to Ms. Moore’s new series and I’m excited to see where she takes us next.

 

 

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