4.5
This is a heartwarming, toe curling, maddening, heart wrenching, happy story about two wonderful characters that you can't help but love. Complex family drama, and independent self made woman,  a successful wounded man, wonderful side characters, just enough rotten apples and a lovely setting. It's got all the right stuff.  I ma so happy this is the beginning of a series, there will be more.
Dakota the female main character is a self made business woman with a lot of hard work and hard times under her belt. Her family is dysfunctional in the worst way, they are easy to dislike. She runs a concierge service for the rich and fabulous. When she starts working for the new owner of her family's estate causing an uproar. Oh what a family she's got !
Max, ex football god, and current money making machine is a hunk in suit. He's a playboy, who likes to have a different blond on his arm regularly. He avoids attachments at all costs. His scars run deep and that's where he keeps them. Business and money are his two attachments. He bought the big mansion estate to impress clients and his father. He also hired the previous owners family member to redo the estate for him and she is a person that interests him. Too bad she doesn't play with her meal tickets.
If you want to know what happens read the book.
Time and the right people in your life can change everything. That is what I always get from this authors work. I love reading books that make you feel good. This author is on my list of guaranteed feel good writers.

This was a quick enjoyable read that was well-written and easy to get into. I will definitely be reading this author's other books.

Wow. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this book. Straight up, I didn't think I was going to like it as much as I did. I haven't read a Laura Moore book since the end of her Rosewood trilogy, but this one sounded a little different so I thought I would give it a try. 

Dakota Hale is the illegitimate child of an heiress who's extended family never claimed her. As an adult, she has built her own personal concierge business serving the residents of the Hamptons, which is how she meets Max Carr, businessman extraordinaire. They meet, have a fling, split up, and get back together. That's the short of it. However, everything in between all these events is what really drew me into the story as well as a plot twist that happens to be one of my favorite kind. 

The main characters are great, the secondary characters are great (minus Dakota's aunt), and the overall story was really heartfelt. Loved it!

Review will be posted on the blog during release month. 

NUMBER OF HEARTS: 3 1/2
Dakota Hale has always known what it was like to be an outsider. From a birth she was an outcast in her family. But that didn’t stop her from becoming an wonderful person that has made her own success. 
Max Carr is your Wall Street guy who only thinks about the next deal, the next dollar and the next adventure. He is pretty much a self absorbed rich guy. But buying Windhaven is about to change his life in ways he never could imagine.
Making Waves was a good read. I have enjoyed Ms. Moore’s books in the past so of course when I saw she was starting a new series I knew I needed to read. I am looking forward to the next installment in this series.  I would really like to see Piper and Mimi suffer more in future books. 

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine in exchange for an honest review. This review is my own opinion and not a paid review.

Dakota Hale is the illegitimate daughter of Piper, a wealthy socialite. She has never been accepted by her family and her Mother is a self centered user out for what she can get. Her Mother has a vindictive sister who does her best to make Pipers life miserable. Piper has built a successful concierge business with no help from her family. When her Uncle is forced  to sell their family home in the Hamptons Dakota is hired by Max, the new owner, to totally redo the house. This does not go over well with her family. Sparks fly when Dakota and Max meet.

I liked this book and couldn't help but sympathize with Dakota. I wish she had stood up for herself more with her family, she let them walk all over her early in the book. This book is well written and has a great cast of interesting characters. Thank you to net galley for an advanced copy.

Two people that have bad experiences with their family and heartache. Dakota finds comfort in helping people and max was a person that didnt want to help anyone just make his money build his business till the two met then something happened that brought them together. Through friends and their own determination to try to make things work they go through a lot alone and together.

​​​​​I love novels about women that are able to finally stand up to their imprudent relatives, after years of being walked all over and treated like they do not matter. Making Waves by Laura Moore is all about Dakota Hale, a strong young woman that goes after what she wants with an honest resourcefulness. This sweet and hot love story takes place in one of the wealthiest areas of America, the Hamptons.

Dakota owns a successful concierge service.  She takes care of many households and most of her very wealthy clients appreciate her honesty, good taste, and quick response time. She has a few very good friends and when she needs some time to unwind, she surfs. Her mother is a rich socialite, that never learned how to mother or nurture. Dakota's newest client is Max Carr, an investment strategist. Max is worth millions, due to his unfailing business acumen. Dakota and Max's sexual chemistry is instantaneous, and due to circumstances beyond their control, their casual affair becomes a full blown relationship.

This is a well-written love story with an engaging plot and well-defined characters. I found Dakota and Max to be intelligent and real, and I loved the way Ms. Moore developed them both as individuals and as a couple. Their time together was replete with warmth and lustful attraction. A few of the secondary characters were quite manipulative, which brought an additional intensity to the story-line.  Overall, this is an exciting and slightly emotional read that twists and turns in all the right places.

Complimentary copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.

My book of the year! The story is rich and full of characters you love or love to hate. The main characters are lovely. I enjoyed Dakota's strong woman personality. Her weakness was her family who were OTT horrible. Max was intrigued by Dakota's strengths. He has a high powered job in the city and buys Dakota's uncle's house in the Hamptons.
Max hires Dakota to renovate the home and she is up to the task. 
I loved the pace of the story. I couldn't put it down. You'll enjoy every minute!

OHMAHGAWD...

If I could give this more than 5 stars I would. I absolutely LOVED this book. 

I say this for every book by this author but hot diggity...she gets better every single book.

Laura Moore has a way...her books grab you by the heart and don't let go. AND this one...

She hit it out of the park. The characters, the love story....oh the love story. Dakota & Max are going to stay with me for a long time. I can't wait for more

I liked this book its the first i have read by Laura and i will be checking her others out.It was a good story with interesting characters though i did not like most of them and i found myself shouting at the book and wanting Dekota to stop being such a doormat.Overall a good read and i would recommend it.

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 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’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.

I must say this was a good book.  I loved Dakota except she lets people walk all over her.  Piper - what can I say about this woman, other than she's crazy, self-centered and the mother (if you can call her that, I just call her the breeder of Dakota) she was that loathsome!!!  And yes it gets worse as it goes on!  She has a sister, Dakota's aunt who is an evil, conniving, blood-sucking parasite. Is that a little harsh?  Does that sound like I'm a little bitter and wanted to at times slam my kindle into the wall or run it over with my Corolla? Why yes, yes it does.  The whole family hated Dakota because she was illegitimate and she kept going back...Why? I would have been like...Peace - out and given the finger but not Dakota.  They never let her forget her illegitimacy and threw it up in her face every chance they got and I have to say if it had been me - I would have not taken the high road and sticks and stones route. 

Her breeder mom was a lush and a slut who slept with anything with 2 legs or is it 3 legs? :P  She would constantly describe the details of her exploits to Dakota, like that girl wanted to hear that trash!! I say "Girl, run and stay away lest you get fleas and rabies!!"  All her life she wanted a dad and she finds out that her blood-sucking stench of a mother has been lying to her (big shock...NOT.) She knew who the man was that got her pregnant.  So, Dakota finds out his name and goes to look for him.

They live in a super rich neighborhood where Dakota runs a concierge business called Premier Service and if her clients wanted something - she provided it.  From cleaning houses to buying food, booze, ice cream for kids - you name it and she got it.  All her families she provided for loved her.  

Her uncle goes and sells her grandparents mansion to a man named Max Carr and he hires Dakota to stock, remodel and furnish it for him.  He looks at her and she looks at him and BAM...it's on!!  Max though is a hard guy and no nonsense.  He's all about work and money, money and work.  Throw some sexy, sexy, sexy in there and that's Max!!  Max...Oh Max!!  Max blamed himself for his twin sisters death since he was 18 years old and his mom's death a year later because his Dad told him he was the reason they were both dead...What is it with these horrible parents??  Max, of course leaves home brokenhearted and becomes a cold-hearted man - not feeling anything until meeting Dakota. She teaches him to surf and they form a kind of friendship - then the sex happens lol!!

The cast of people you come to love in this book that I thought were standout - Hendrick!! The gay Psychiatrist was just a sweetie - I wish there was more about him.  He was a father figure to Dakota that she met when she was in middle school.  He gave her her first job watering his plants, raking his leaves and a friendship was born.  He also bought her the first surfboard she ever had!  I love Hendrick and I think we all need a little bit of a Hendrick in our lives.  Her friends, Alex, Gen and their kids - Which as a side note can be found in the story "In Your Eyes."  

I'm not big on sex scenes and I think the Lords name could have been avoided and not been in there but the majority of books today throw that in there constantly so comparing it to other books - it wasn't OTT.  I could have knocked stars off for that but I don't believe in doing that just because a book has that.  If so, every book would have 1 star!!

*****Spoiler Alert*****
I had a really hard time believing at one point the ending. If you are in labor, HARD LABOR - You don't go for a stroll along the beach while you're water is breaking and you just keep strolling!!!!  Honey child, you are screaming "Where are the drugs and drive to the hospital NOW!!!!"

Overall, I thought this was a worthwhile read and would read it again but skip over the mom parts cause she sucks life out of people!

I was given a copy of this ARC from the publisher on Netgalley for a honest review. All of the above comments are my express opinions and no one else's.

Dakota and Max were two touching characters, each having their own fair share of issues. 
Their romance developped along the whole book. Nothing was rushed. They were both very mature and level-headed which I'm always very apreciative of (I can't count the number of imature brats I read about during a year). 
I really enjoyed reading their HEA. The epilogue was a nice bonus.

What a fantastic way to start out a book series!!  Making Waves has everything I love in a great novel-- an awesome main character, a great storyline and at the heart of the book, a fabulous romance!  This is the perfect read to cozy up with and forget the rest of the world.  Having never read Laura Moore before, I knew from just the first chapter that I loved her writing style.  Ms. Moore does a nice job with connecting the reader with the characters!!  Soooo in saying that, I cannot wait to get the supporting characters stories in future installments!  Making Waves is a 4.5 star book that would make the perfect weekend read, beach read or to be honest, the perfect ANYTIME read!!  Go 1-click this gem!!!

Another winner from Laura Moore. Be sure and pick this one up!

a pretty good read. kept my attention

Making Waves, A Beach Lane Novel,  Laura Moore

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre:  romance,

I’ve enjoyed a couple of Laura’s novels but this one is by far the best, its hard to say why exactly but it’s just one of those that pulled me in quickly and kept me absorbed to the end. 

I love Dakota, she’s had a horrible background, one of those where she’s tolerated -just- by her mother’s family, and really treated as if she should be grateful for every scrap of attention. 
They’ve always let her know she’s not quite good enough, illegitimate, doesn’t know her father and a blot on the family name. You’d think her mother Piper would carry the blame but its not that way. 
She’s grown up very self reliant, made her own way in life and set up her concierge company, building on what she knows, how to sooth and cater for every whim of the rich and pretentious that live/holiday in the Hamptons. She’s made some good friends there too, not all the rich are shallow and spoiled, and she values those who see her for what she is, and not just as the outcast Hale. 

Max, what a man. Loved him, and the tension between them, the sizzle just burned off the page from their first meeting. 
Dakota doesn’t get involved with clients though and tells him that. He’s not used to hearing no, and Dakota is someone he just can’t seem to let go. Usually he’d just move on, never short of someone to fall at his feet, well his wallet too...
I loved the way he carefully kept pursuing Dakota, knowing she really wanted him as much as he wanted her. Clever to use her love of surfing to spend time with her, and from there they moved into – well, hot and sensual sex but a bit more too. 
Dakota wants a family of her own eventually, she knows Max isn’t interested in that, but still can’t seem to let go, telling herself its just a casual relationship with an expiry date at some point. 
Max too finds he’s breaking his usual roles, letting her into his life, when usually the rules are clear, it’s a fling, casual, fine while its on and when times up he’s off. 

Then there’s a hiccup, brought on by Dakota’s love of family and traditions and his steering away from anything resembling that – and that was a very emotional part, I so felt for Dakota, just trying to be nice.
They’re off, and though the parting seems OK they are both sad, regretful, but don’t know what else they can do. They want different things in life and that’s all there is to it. Oil and water don’t mix. 

There’s more though, something happens that brings them together again, puts them right in the forefront of Society gossip, threatening Dakota’s hard won business and Max’s work position. 
It doesn't stop there, even more comes out, secrets on both sides that really pull at the heart, and things that could threaten the current fragile relationship between them. Its easy to see how their delicate new connection could easily get derailed. 

Dakota had some great friends and I loved seeing them. They really valued her, saw her as a person, and got so angry at how Piper and Mimi treated her. There’s that saying about friends being people who’d help you hide a body, and Dakota’s would just say where is it, and come armed with a shovel. ( and probably champagne if it was Piper or Mimi!!)
 I’m hoping that one of those friends, Lauren, is in for a book of her own, she’s got a very sad past, and deserves a shot at happiness for herself and her two children. 
It would be great to stay with this group of characters and see more of how their lives develop. 

I love the not so nice people too in a story, they add that sharp edge a good romance needs for me, the balance to the happy side. 
Dakota’s mother, Piper was a classic rich b itch, brought up to assume the world revolves around her and her wants. She treats Dakota as though she should be grateful to have her as a parent, when in fact she’s a hopeless mother, no maternal instincts, and takes every opportunity to belittle her. 
Throw in a bitter aunt who resents the success she’s made of her life, and an uncle who we don’t actually meet but know he regards her as a nonentity and its no wonder she’s learned to rely on herself, work her own way in the world. She could have been a horrible person – and yet she’s wonderful, a great friend, kind to those who need help, hard working and ethical. 

I was so happy at the ending, and loved the drama that came up on the way to it. I would have liked those parts to be drawn out a teeny- teeny bit longer – but that’s just me, I like people to really hit rock bottom,love to wallow in the sad bits and that would have just been glitter on the icing of a fantastic cake. 
 
Stars: Five, a fabulous read, full of emotion and drama. 

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers