Book Review: Making Waves, by Lorna Seilstad

Making Waves, by Lorna Seilstad
When spunky Marguerite Westing discovers that her family will summer at Lake Manawa in 1895, she couldn't be more thrilled. It is the perfect way to escape her agonizingly boring suitor, Roger Gordon. It's also where she stumbles upon two new loves: sailing, and sailing instructor Trip Andrews. But this summer of fun turns to turmoil as her father's gambling problems threaten to ruin the family forever. Will free-spirited Marguerite marry Roger to save her father's name and fortune? Or will she follow her heart--even if it means abandoning the family she loves?
 
Author Lorna Seilstad's fresh and entertaining voice will whisk readers away to a breezy lakeside summer holiday. Full of sharp wit and blossoming romance, "Making Waves" is the first book in the LAKE MANAWA SUMMERS series.

My Review:
I've been reading a lot of Christian Romance lately.

Making Waves was a really cute historical romance novel.  It had everything that a Christian Romance novel should have: a horrible suitor, a mysterious and handsome hero, a feisty and adventurous heroin, and plenty of Christian values thrown in.

I've never been sailing, but I was able to appreciate Marguerite's love of it from the way the author describes everything so well.  Marguerite is a disaster most of the book.  She stirs up trouble (albeit mostly unintentional) wherever she goes, she is perpetually late for everything, and has this very unladylike love of the water and sailing.  

The challenges and restrictions placed on women during this time period were well described.  Women should not go swimming, sailing, or do anything other than sit around and chat with one another.  While other women do not even seem to notice the restrictions placed on them, Marguerite is not one for sticking to the expectations of others.  She wants to live life to the fullest and she fully plans on doing so, whether it is proper or not.

Roger was a perfectly horrible suitor.  He was boring, self-centered, and rude.  He even became a heartless and violent towards the end.  

Trip was a nicely flawed hero that I couldn't help but love.  Besides being handsome, he also sports a wicked temper and an uncanny way of making Marguerite feel special.  He treats her well and does not expect her to be anyone or anything that she is not.  They both have to learn some things and change a few others along the way.

The Cover:  Meh.  Don't love it, don't hate it.  It is what it is.

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About the Author:
For as long as I can remember, I loved writing. I even dreamed in plots. I also grew up attending antique auctions nearly every weekend, so history was as much a part of my life as chores on our farm in Iowa, reading books, and playing with Barbies.

So, writing historical romances fit perfectly. Times may change, the style of clothes, the way we speak, but the common threads that unite us remain the same. Couples fall in love. Injustices
happen. We fight for what we believe in. We struggle. We endure. We grow.

After graduating from York College in York, Nebraska with an A.A. and then receiving a B.S.Ed. from Lubbock Christian University, I met and married the love of my life, David. God had
written our love story, and I knew from the moment we met that he was the one. It was not love at first sight by any means, but I was so sure he was "it" that I wrote that I'd met the man I would marry in my diary. We pledged our hearts to one another two and half years later.

I taught high school English until my oldest child was born. After that I began my career as a professional wiper. I wiped noses, counter tops, tiny tushes, tears, and scraped knees.

Deciding that my children were now older and less in need of my constant supervision, I started pursuing my first love again --writing. After joining American Christian Fiction Writers, I found a wonderful critique group and began studying the craft of writing.

David and I have three children ages 18, 16, and 11. We also work in youth ministry and teach youth and adult Bible classes. Pin It