Dakota has created her own concierge business. He mother and her Aunt are pieces of work. They are spoiled, rich and selfish.

Max buys Dakota's childhood home and hires Dakota to redo it. Do the sparks fly, not only between Dakota and max but between Dakota and her family.

I really liked this book it was a fast, funny end enjoyable read.

Thank you netgally and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read for an honest review

I love when the hero chances the heroine. Max doesn't have to work for much in his life - but working for Dakota he must if they are going to have a chance.

This is a perfect beach book! Between the Hamptons setting and the romance dance between Dakota and Max, it's just a terrific read. I liked that this is a more mature romance than some. Yes there is angst and there are secrets, but these two are grown ups. It's plot driven but the characters are very good- I found myself really rooting for Dakota, in particular, especially as she deal with her mother (geez!). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a pleasure to read.

This was a light and fun romance set in The Hamptons. I was turned off by the setting at first (more spoiled rich characters? No thanks), but I ended up really liking the story. I'm not sure this kind of whirlwind romance is at all realistic, but as a summer escape read, it was just what I needed.

Arc from NetGalley.

This is one of the books that one can pick to read on a beach, over a weekend. Nice story that will keep you reading until the end.

Making Waves has been a truly pleasurable read from start to finish. Laura Moore has crafted a lovely warm tale about two strong people finding their perfect match despite a cast of characters on both sides who are determined to make their lives miserable.
Dakota had a bit of a cinderella upbringing having been raised by her wealthy trust fund mother, who was far more interested in having fun than caring for her child. Having been shunned by her maternal grandparents, bullied by her aunt and treated like a carpet by her mother, she has learned early in life to stand on her own two feet and is successfully running her own exclusive concierge business when she meets Max.
Max is a successful Wall Street financier who specialises in acquiring struggling companies and turning them around for profit. Until meeting Dakota he's been a casual relationships kind of guy, and having been badly burned by a recent affair he's none too willing to trust the fairer sex. Having purchased Dakota's grandparents house he hires Dakota to redecorate and furnish it. The attraction between these two is instant, yet Dakota keeps crossing the emotional line and Max is forever pushing her away as a result.
There is a lot to like in this story - strong hero and heroine that still have human flaws, a support cast of well developed characters who are easy to imagine as they walk through the pages, a plot with some lovely twists in it, and excellent pacing that kept me reading. All in all, this story is the complete package.

Excellent book, brilliant writing! The plot is exactly how I like books, a great story, great characters, and a little sex to spice it up. The whole gang of characters were perfect to round up the book, give it the feel of good friends, great community, wealthy people with soul and a couple of witches (with a b) to make it interesting and angsty. Loved the author's writing and will be looking for more of her books!

4.5 Stars

I really enjoyed reading Making Waves by Laura Moore, it was one of those books you didn't want to put down.
The writing is well done, the characters Dakota and Max were likable, entertaining and I loved watching their relationship unfold.

Making Waves is a beautiful, heartfelt read and I highly recommend it.

What a great start to the Beach Lane series, looking forward to the next book.

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the advance copy.

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I loved this book. It kept me engaged throughout. Even tho they both had family issues, the love came out first.
Both were independent and strong. Would have like to have kept reading

Sometimes I just need to read a book full of shivery, lovely goodness all wrapped up in a delightful and well written love story. This was that book for me.

Dakota and Max were maddening and stubborn and fabulous. The setting was gorgeous, time spent at the beach in a book is always time well spent. The secondary characters were as well written as the hero and heroine and I hope we see more of them in books to come. There were some quirky characters, and a couple I really detested, making for some great angst. This was just an all around beautifully written book and I loved every page.

I highly recommend this one to anyone who loves a steamy, shivery love story, a fabulously delicious beach setting and characters who you come to love and root for. It was a winner for me.

"Making Waves" another wonderful romance from Ms Moore, with engrossing primary characters and supporting characters.
Dakota Hale,,illegitimate daughter of a Hampton.'s socialite Piper Hale is a warm , beautiful, intelligent women the total antithesis of her cold, self absorbed mother. Being raised by such a women and her equally snobbish extended family , Dakota is the exact opposite , she runs fairly successful conceirge service and has many freinds and is well respected so it is to surprising that when her uncle sells the families Hampton home Windhaven to a successful private equity manager and freind of her freinds and clients the Millers that she is recommended to Max Carr as the conceirge service to use.
Max Carr has made millions with Summitt development and being groomed to take over as CEO , handsome, successful playboy bachelor m views Windhaven as another tool that is in his belt, a space to entertain for business and a quick getaway from Manhattan.
Max sets an appointment to meet with Dakota, unsure of hiring someone from the family whom previously owned Windhaven, until meeting Dakota, stunned by her beauty and was wowed by her business sense , he hires her on the spot, the only problem , he is extremely attracted to her .
Max is used to never having to chase women . Dakota is different , Max is going to have to chase Dakota even though their is obvious chemistry. Both of them carry baggage around from their childhood making this budding relationship a challenge , but one they both soon learn worth the effort and the growth required.
Such a great story and difficult to put down .
Arc copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Dakota was the best kind of heroine to read - strong courageous, and doesn't take nothing from no one. Enter Max, a man completely against her type and somehow just right. I enjoyed watching them figure each other, and themselves, out and figure out a way to live happily ever after.

Dakota was raised in The Hamptons though she is part of a upper crust family she is nothing like her family. Dakota is a self made business woman and runs a concierge service for the rich and famous. Her family is dysfunctional and hard to really like. Then she accepts a job to work on her family’s estate Windhaven for the new owner after it had been sold. Max is an ex football star and is currently a money making machine. Max is a playboy and likes a variety of woman on his arm. He avoids attachments as he fears run deep. Dakota is the illegitimate daughter of an heiress- Piper- who is focused on being an heiress. Max works hard at his job. Dakota starts working for Max who is the new owner of her family estate and her family causes an uproar. Max’s two attachments are business and money. Max bought the big estate to impress clients and his father. He had the previous owner’s family member to revamp the estate. But Max is also interested in Dakota. Max works for Wall Street, a partner in a private equity firm. Both Max and Dakota had dealt with rejection and heartache. Dakota’s family “had never included or accepted her” as she had been born illegitimate and of an affair. Dakota has never had the desire to follow in her mother’s jet setting ways. Dakota’s ways of calming herself when her life has too much chaos is to go surfing. Piper was crazy, self centered, and Dakota’s mother- if that is what you could call her. Piper had lied about knowing who Dakota’s father was and when she finds out the truth and knows who her father really is she goes looking for him. Dakota’s business is called Premier Services. If her clients want something like for example their house cleaned or groceries bought she made sure they got it.Dakota was hired to stock, remodel, and refurnish the estate for Max. Max blamed himself for his twin sisters death in a car accident when he was eighteen. Then his mother’s death a year later. His father told Max these deaths were his fault. Dakota teaches Max how to surf but also how to feel again through a kind of friendship than more. Dakota had met Hendrick in middle school he was a psychiatrist and a father figure to her. Hendrick had given Dakota her first job watering his plants, and raking his leaves and they became friends Hendrick also bought Dakota her first surfboard. Dakota still plays the dutiful daughter and takes care of Piper as much as she can. Then Max and Dakota became a real couple expecting a child.
I loved this story all though at times it was a little slow and confusing but got through it and it really didn’t take that much away from the story. I definitely didn’t care for Dakota’s family. I didn’t understand why Dakota kept going back when they didn’t love her in any way or even liked her. I loved Hendrick and how he had and was there for Dakota. I love the plot and the writing. The pace was great most of the time. But the ending was just out there. With Dakota in labor and her water breaking and her walking on the beach. I loved the characters and the twists and turns of this story and I highly recommend this story.

Making Waves, the first Beach Lane book by Laura Moore, is a fall/winter book. It would have been weird to read in spring, except I live in the Rockies and spring often means snowy/rainy gloomy weather. The timing worked out rather perfectly in that respect. The season reflects the initial impression of Max Carr, hedge fund billionaire that has just purchased Dakota Hale’s family home and hires her to remodel it. To say Dakota’s relationship with her family is strained is an understatement. Her mother is self-absorbed; her grandparents and aunt downright hostile. Her willingness to remodel the family home certainly doesn’t help matters.

This is really Dakota’s book, though a significant portion of her growth comes from her interactions with Max. Max himself is not unchanged by their relationship. They quickly find they are better together than they are apart, though the lesson takes a while to sink in.

I really enjoyed this book. At times I felt like I could know some of the secondary characters better, but that didn’t diminish my love for Dakota and Max. This is a great read for a hot cup of tea and a warm fire. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this novel.

A top quality read. An immersive story line which kept me engaged the whole time

Sandy M’s review of Making Waves (Beach Lane, Book 1) by Laura Moore
Contemporary Romance published by Ballantine Books 25 Apr 17

Because I’ve been a bit disillusioned by a couple of my favorite authors lately, I thought it’s time to try someone new. So when the blurb for Making Waves intrigued me, I decided to give it a try. Laura Moore is now on my list of authors to read more of and to keep an eye on in the future.

Max and Dakota are perfect examples of those tortured characters I enjoy reading. Instead of wallowing in their years of heartache and rejection, though, they’ve made something of themselves, but they’ve taken very different paths to get where they are in life. Dakota is the illegitimate child of a Hamptons socialite who has no nurturing characteristics whatsoever. This is a dysfunctional family on steriods. So Dakota has gone her own way, building her concierge business that caters to the rich from the ground up – sans a trust fund. She’s happy and successful and has a number of true and good friends. Max, on the other hand, though successful and on the fast track in an equity firm, sticks with making money however he can, has few friends, and is definitely a playboy. Isolation and keeping his nose to the grindstone works best for him.

When Dakota’s uncle has to sell the family home, it’s Max who buys it to wine and dine his clients and maybe make inroads with his estranged father. He hires Dakota, and while he’s impressed with her professionalism, he’s also attracted to her. However, she rebuffs him at every turn, which Max is not used to and it spurs him on to break through her walls. They begin a hot and sizzling affair, both keeping their growing feelings buried deep. It’s Dakota who walks away to guard her heart, before things get more intense, when it seems Max has reached his emotional limit. But the result of that affair brings them back together, turning their lives upside down in ways they never imagined.

As love grows between them and secrets are kept on both sides, you see slow but positive changes in them as they become more secure in the relationship. Max especially begins to view life and his outlook on issues differently. I really enjoyed that transformation in him when it comes to business. Dakota too has decisions to make, mostly in relation to her family, and though they make it easy for her, it’s still difficult. It’s not hard at all to dislike those related to her. Thank goodness for her family of friends, all of whom I like a lot.

This is a wonderful story with a fun and lovely romance guiding these characters along to their happily ever after. As lovely as it all is, of course there are rough patches. Both Max and Dakota have deep, heartrending secrets, but I like that they eventually talk to one another and allow some healing to begin. I will be looking into Laura Moore’s backlist while I anxiously await the next book in this series. I have a feeling she’s going to become a favorite very quickly.

Grade: A

Laura Moore
Making Waves: A Beach Lane Novel
Ballantine / April 25, 2017 / $16.00 print, $11.99 digital
There are many types of heroines and heroes—and we readers like a variety. Maybe a wallflower heroine in this book or a career women in the next. An alpha hero can make us swoon in one book, but so can the quiet intellectual in the next. Sometimes we want the down- to- earth hero—but I suspect that we all have the guilty pleasure of wanting to read about the prince
You know what I mean—the man who seems to have it all—wealth, good looks, and just a touch of arrogance. And of course, he meets the woman who doesn’t seem overly impressed with all his attributes—a woman who doesn’t fall at his feet. Now, I don’t know about you, but for the time it takes me to read the book, I love to live vicariously through the heroines.
Because the heroines are no slouches either. They’re smart, intelligent and caring. In fact, a perfect match for the hero—a princess-in-waiting and the story of their romance is the perfect fairytale.
Laura Moore writes the perfect fairytale stories.  There is just enough of that larger-than-life theme going on to feed our guilty pleasure—but then there is a genuineness to her books too that prevents the characters from being stereotypes. And there is the always the noteworthy internal conflict. The perfect balance—which is exactly what you get in her latest book, Making Waves.  If you haven’t read Moore before then this is the terrific book for you to read as an introduction to her work, because it is the beginning of a brand-new series.
Even though her family has money, Dakota has always been treated as an outsider. Per her mother, socialite Piper Hale, Dakota was conceived after Piper had sex with a perfect stranger—a fact she bluntly explained to Piper when she was twelve:
“Thank God for Erica Jong.” Piper took a long sip of her wine. “The sex I had with your father? Straight out of Fear of Flying, believe me. It was glorious and wild. No questions asked, just two strangers coming together. . .
“Anyway, he was the perfect screw. Strong as a bull and relentless. Masterful. I remember giggling with Nina afterward because I could barely walk. . .
What a night. Definitely one for the books. I’ve often felt I should have written to Erica Jong about it.”
Ugh. “But what about . . . my dad?”
Piper looked at her blankly, “What about him? And really, he’s not your dad or even your father so much as a sperm donor—not that I was in the market for a baby, believe you me?
The microwaved macaroni and cheese Dakota had eaten for dinner bubbled unpleasantly in her stomach. “So, you never found out who he was?” Her voice cracked as she asked.
Piper frowned in annoyance. “Why should I have? That was the whole point. For all I know he was a Mexican millionaire, an Arab sheikh, or a Brazilian diamond mine owner. Who cares? I wasn’t interested in his identity. I wanted the experience. And that’s what you want when you have sex with a guy, Dakota. Pure animal lust. It’s the ultimate. You’ll see. Don’t listen to anything the teacher in that stupid sex ed class tells you.
For some reason her mother decided to not terminate the pregnancy –probably more to antagonize her parents. So, Dakota grew up being actively disliked by her grandparents, and neglected by her mother. It's no wonder that she loves order in her life –something sadly lacking in her life  growing up.  And that need for order has served her well as an adult —giving her the neccessary attributes to become a successful business woman. Dakota has her own concierge company –taking care of the Hampton’s elite and wealthy.
Max Carr’s upbringing was a lot more traditional. He and his sister whom he loved squabbling with, were raised in a traditional two couple household. Then tragedy hit— not once, but twice. Those incidences changed him dramatically. Changed his focus. And clearly being single-minded about his career has help him achieve his goals. He is now very wealthy, powerful and respected.
Max’s and Dakota’s lives collide when he wants to hire her to take care of his new Hampton estate, Windhaven—an estate that used to belong to her family. Of course, having his business would be a definite feather in her cap. Still, she is not sure that his business would be worth the grief she would get from her mother and aunt if she worked for the enemy. Then there is his reputation:
After what she’d read online she wasn’t sure she wanted anything to do with Max Carr. From her brief search, it was clear he was a MOTU—a master-of-the-universe type. But he didn’t just grace the pages of Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg Businessweek; he also hit the gossip pages. There’d been dozens of pictures showing him with one model/starlet type after another. Clearly his “I can have anything I want” aura worked well with the opposite sex.
Of course, even with his reputation, Max still is an impressive specimen:
Max Carr was even more strikingly handsome in person. His face, chiseled and strong, would have suited a Roman soldier, and his blue-gray eyes shone with a fierce intelligence.
Max is immediately attracted to Dakota too:
Max had been surprised when he opened the door. For all that Alex had hinted at how different Dakota was, he’d nonetheless expected a female version of her uncle Elliott: a blond, blue-eyed country club type. Instead he found himself staring at an Amazon whose olive skin tone would never fade in the dead of winter.
She stood easily five foot ten. In heels, she’d be nearly eye to eye with him. It would be easy to lose himself in those gold-brown depths. . .
The locale is lavish and affluent. The characters varied and diverse. The love story is scrumptious. Treat yourself to this enticing story. It’s pure romantic escapism.
***

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.