5 out of 5 _____________ for Making Waves

Posted Aug 18 2011, 7:00 am in book club, Book Hungry, Compelling Stories, fiction, romance, sex, Tawna Fenske, What I'm Reading

It’s Bookhungry time!  We are officially a whole year old. Congratulations to my fellow book fans. And they said it wouldn’t last… It’s been a year of great reads, great discussions and best of all – great reach. You ladies pulled me out of my reading rut. For that, I heart you.

This month, we reviewed Tawna Fenske’s debut novel MAKING WAVES, released just this month. *cue applause*

Even better – we invited Tawna to join us on a conference call to discuss not just writing and blogging and researching but the really important things, like how much of MAKING WAVES is personal experience and how much is pure imagination?! Tawna confessed she totally made up one of the funniest scenes in this book involving a cheese doodle and a – Sorry. I’m getting ahead of myself. On to the review!

If you’ve read any of my past reviews, you know I typically eschew a star rating system in favor of something that comes from the story. It’s romantic. It’s suspenseful. It’s freakin’ hilarious. And, it’s smart. MAKING WAVES has so much going for it, it’s IMPOSSIBLE to pick just one. So, I’m going to ask you to help me NAME THIS BOOK REVIEW.

But before we get to that, let me to tell you what the story is about.

MAKING WAVES introduces us to Juli Flynn and Alex Bradshaw. Juli wants nothing more than to fit in somewhere, though maybe not with a crew of pirates led by Alex. But Alex isn’t a walk-the-plank kind of captain. He’s just one of many poor victims whose unscrupulous boss fired them and stole their pensions. Juli and Alex meet on a Caribbean island. It’s the night before Alex and his former coworkers plan to get revenge against their boss and the night before Juli plans to spread her dead uncle’s remains at sea. Things go awry when Juli ends up on Alex’s boat by mistake.

Now that you have the basic story idea, here are elements from some of my favorite scenes, which I’ve begun with a word that can fill in the blank in my title. Handy, right?

• black, lacy thong, pink plaid bikini, and air-conditioning – oh, just a few of the ways Juli entices Alex.
• Scrabble, The Newlywed Game, Battleship, Twenty Questions, and Red Light/Green Light – Sure, all of these are games. But, trust me, nobody’s ever played these games the way Juli does, much to Alex’s delight/frustration/exasperation. Except for one…. That *fans self* wasn’t a game at all.  Whoa, boy. Wait, I forgot Truth or Dare.  *reminisces*
• first edition books, diamonds, Krugerrand, human remains, or giant purple penises– one or more of these is the intended pirate booty. One or more of these is what our intrepid pirates actually found. And before you go Ewww at the human remains part… trust me, in Tawna’s capable hands, said remains were the basis of a perfectly hilarious scene and simultaneously given the respect and honor they deserved. No small feat, that.
• bacon-wrapped dates, green pea guacamole gardenias, key lime/basil sorbets, ankimo monkfish foie gras, sauteed Moroccan grains with dried pears and goat milk yogurt and *pants, wheezes* finally – cheese doodles – all but one of these are the various culinary delights to which our dauntless hero and heroine are treated by the on-board chef, “Cookie.” The one that isn’t an actual meal is, in fact, part of the Tackiest Love Scene Ever (*patent-pending) that must be read to be fully er… appreciated.
• fuses, bustiers, first-aid, translations, and the FBI – these are the various ways in which Juli saves the day.

Do you see my problem? There are so many sexy, funny, and smart scenes, I just can’t narrow it down to one plot element to fit my title.

Despite what I’ve posted on Twitter, I’m actually a smart woman. (Brief note to my husband: It’s two points, damn it!)  Where was I? Right. I’m a smart lady. I hold a few computer degrees, I can balance a check book and yes, I can even program the clocks on all my electronic equipment. MAKING WAVES is intelligent romance.

Intelligence – and lack thereof – is a running theme throughout the story, subtle in some scenes – totally obvious in others (but only for comic effect).  Ever wondered about poetic deconstruction? It’s in here. Ever worried you need some help enticing the opposite sex? How about fixing a limo whose transmission is stuck in Park? Maybe stopping the bleeding from a head wound inflicted by a flying spatula during a squall? Oh, what about the merits of non-skid floors in showers? It’s all here, baby. 

I’m drawn to compelling stories – in fact, that’s the name of my blog. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman, MAKING WAVES is a story for anyone who appreciates a good heist plot… who applauds a woman who doesn’t need some guy to rescue her because she can NOT ONLY save herself but also a guy or three…. who recognizes that intelligence comes in lots of varieties. And it’s a story for people who like to laugh – really, really like to laugh.

So I’d give Tawna Fenske’s Making Waves 5 out of 5 sighs, belly laughs, MENSA memberships, and gasps for being the perfect mix of romance, comedy, intelligence and suspense. But don’t take my word on it. Go read the rest of the Bookhungry reviews and tell me what you think of MAKING WAVES and then, for God’s sake, tell me…

How would YOU fill in the blank? 

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