Reviewed by Melissa J. MacDonald
Genre: Historical, Romance
Publisher: Revell
Date: 2010
It’s 1895 and precocious Marguerite Westing resides in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She is delighted when her wealthy father tells the whole family they’ll be spending the summer camping on the shores of Lake Manawa. She imagines a summer of freedom away from her snore of a suitor, Roger Gordon. She also hopes to stay out of sight of her demanding mother. Marguerite gets a quick taste of the lake as she slips on the dock and tumbles in. Her handsome rescuer is none other than sailor Trip (ironic name?) Andrews. Never one to settle for simply “womanly” pursuits Marguerite finds herself in love with the strictly male sport of sailing. Trip Andrews isn’t too bad himself. Under the guise of chaperoning her younger brother’s sailing lessons Marguerite and Trip are inexplicably drawn to each other.
In spite of what should be a warm fun summer there is a decided chill that breaks through as Roger’s moods are unpredictable and Marguerite’s father is keeping dangerous secrets that could alter the family forever. When the secrets come to light Roger seems to be the only person who can save the family. Marguerite agrees to marry the mustached Roger with the hope of restoring her family to wealth. Lies and deceit run rampant through the story. Will Marguerite stay with Roger to save her family? Will Trip forgive Marguerite’s deceit and pursue her? I’m not telling, you’ll have to read for yourself!
I’ll fully admit that Making Waves started off a little irritating for me. Marguerite comes across as your typical spoiled brat rich kid who will do anything to get her own way. I was not amused. However, being from Iowa (and within an hour of Lake Manawa) I was completely intrigued by the elusive Lake Manawa. I read on for purely historical purposes. What I quickly found was a much better developed Marguerite and a story that took me by surprise. If you give yourself 100 pages you’ll be completely engrossed in the story and be so glad you kept reading. The story takes twists you won’t be expecting and both Marguerite and Trip have a depth to them that is not seen at first introduction.
The historical aspects of Making Waves were fascinating. Wealthy people really did camp at Lake Manawa for the summer and there really were ferries and ice cream stands and sailboat races. If the story doesn’t grab you the setting of Lake Manawa will. You’ll want to climb into your woolen swimming costume (does that sound itchy and hot to anyone else?!), grab a strawberry sundae, and watch a sailboat race!
Rated: PG for content related to gambling
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