Review: Making Waves by Laura Moore

Title: Making Waves by Laura Moore
Beach Lane Series Book One
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 400 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

A self-made woman with a sweet, successful life discovers that even the best-laid plans are no match for unexpected passion in this brand-new series from award-winning author Laura Moore.

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 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’s 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:

The first installment in Laura Moore’s Beach Lane series, Making Waves is an absolutely delightful romance between an über responsible concierge service business owner and a wealthy Wall Street financier.

Dakota Hale is a self-made businesswoman  whose life is nothing like that of her self-absorbed, socialite mother or her embittered and vengeful aunt.  Although she has worked hard to make her concierge service business a success, the off-season in  the Hamptons is a worrisome time for her. As a favor to a close friend, Dakota  agrees to a preliminary meeting with Max Carr who, in a strange twist of fate, is the new owner of her family’s beach cottage (mansion). She is rather stunned by her startling attraction to the sexy playboy, but Dakota does not mix business with pleasure.   Once she is finished renovating Max’s home, no one is more surprised than Dakota when she decides to throw caution to the wind and embark on a no strings fling with the sexy businessman.

Dakota is a breath of fresh air among the rich and entitled residents who make up her client list. Despite the fact her relationship with her family is incredibly dysfunctional, she is surprisingly well-adjusted with a good head on her shoulders. Dakota works hard to keep her clients happy and she is always striving to take her business to the next level. She is lucky to have a few close friends whose support is unwavering.  Dakota is extremely loyal and this includes her somewhat loathsome family.  Her mother is unbelievably self-centered and her aunt is exceedingly spiteful yet Dakota maintains her ties with them not matter how poorly they treat her.

Max is a hardworking businessman who is a bit of a player and he is very wary of the people he lets into his life. Estranged from his family, he puts in long hours at the private equity firm where he is a partner and his boss is extremely impressed with his business acumen.  In both his personal and private lives, Max goes after what he wants with single-minded focus and he is stunned when Dakota initially rebuffs his advances.

It is a tossup as to who is more surprised when Dakota changes her mind about exploring her sizzling hot attraction to Max. They are soon burning up the sheets on a regular basis and they immensely enjoy one another’s company both in bed and out.  Their time together is such a source of joy and pleasure that it makes it easy for Dakota to forget that their relationship is a casual fling and with one misstep, she knows she has to disentangle her life from Max’s.  Unexpected twists and turns provide them with the opportunity to reunite, but will Max and Dakota be willing seize their chance for happiness?

Making Waves is an engaging romance between two emotionally wounded people. The setting is lavish but Max and Dakota are both incredibly down to earth and quite appealing. Max is carrying some heavy emotional baggage and since he is unable to discuss his past, it is only a matter of time before Dakota inadvertently makes a mistake.  Fortunately, they deal with their issues fairly quickly so the drama is kept to a minimum. With plenty of internal and external conflict, Max and Dakota’s relationship is fraught with tension but readers will love watching them overcome the obstacles that pop up on their way to happily ever after. This first installment in the Beach Lane series is absolutely captivating and readers find themselves impatiently awaiting Laura Moore’s next release (fingers crossed this one will feature Lauren and the mysterious Tom Hunter!).