The Hellion's Waltz: Feminine Pursuits

Okay, so obviously this book slaps 10/10/10 HAT TRICK. I want to get that out of the way first. All of the books in this series are fantastic, exciting, loving and extremely gay books in all the best ways, and this is no exception. However, mixing in two adorable young women in love, sticking it to The Man, and a heist all in one book?? One that got me excited FOR A CHILDREN'S MUSICAL RECITAL?? Stick a fork in me, I'm done. Ruined for all lesbian historical romances. I mean, get out of here. Something I really loved about this book (and all the books in this series, honestly) is the care that Ms. Waite takes with the research that's clearly been done to make the books seem more authentic. In the first book it was astronomy and embroidery, in the second, it was bee keeping and printing, and in this one is was weaving and music. I feel so immersed in these universes because of the care that the author took to make them so detailed and (seemingly) accurate. I say seemingly because I don't know anything about 19th century beekeeping or weaving, but I feel like I do now! I just want one of these books every year for the rest of my life, please. Each one with a pair of older ladies who are in love, mentoring a younger pair who end up making it out together. Until the entire British countryside (and London itself) is full to bursting with these lesbian/bi/queer women building and making lives together. I'm so sad this one is over, but I can't wait to read the next one!

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own. 4 .5 ⭐️ A sapphic heist romance between a pianist & a weaver, Olivia Waite’s The Hellion’s Waltz has some sentences that really stand out to me in that wow kind of way 🤩, an intriguing premise, & two leads who find ways to make use of their great talents for the good of others. That sounds divine to me. Ultimately I didn’t swoon as much as I might have hoped for this one but I did find *a lot* to appreciate about the story. Sophie Roseingrave & her large, musically-inclined family have just moved from London to a much smaller town after being taken advantage of by a conman who used musical instruction to pull off his scheming. She hasn’t played piano in the months since, & she’s anxious at the thought. So when she sees a beautiful stranger—who turns out to be Maddie Crewe—apparently trying to pull one over on a local fabric shop-owner, she’s determined to stop it. It turns out, however, that Maddie & a crew of members from the Weavers’ Library are working together to right injustice & take down the fabric shop-owner, who’s been taking advantage of people who have no legal recourse to fight back. Sophie wants to help Maddie. She also wants to kiss her & vice versa. What works for me in The Hellion’s Waltz is first its consideration of social issues & how it includes some pertinent items of material history. Through Maddie & the other members of her library I learned more…

If you want a cute, easy to follow, historical fiction story, check this out. I rented the audiobook from my library via the Libby App and soon bought the kindle edition. It does have some spice, so earphones are when listening to the audiobook. My hat is off to the author for using time specific terms for body parts when other authors would take the easy way out.

I have been waiting for this book all year - and by far my favorite Feminine Pursuits! There was a lot going on in this little book. Sophie in her righteousness and personal growth - owning that she is truly a musician and composer. Maddie's straight-up rabble-rouser who is going to take down The Man. And their beautiful relationship - that in no way is the angst of the story! My only complaint and that is why this is 4.5 rounded up - is that their relationship gets relegated to a secondary storyline for about half the book because Heists are being committed. Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 Steam: 🔥🔥(super sexy banter and the hottest consent I have read in ages) Tropes: Be Gay Do Crimes, found family, opposites attract For Fans Of: the all ladies reboot of Ocean's Eleven Subgenre: historic romance/ LGBTQ romance CW/ TW: mentions of violence, mentions of parental abandonment

The Roseingrave’s lives were turned upside down when they became the victims of a conman, causing them to lose their piano company. A year later, it still hurts Sophie to so much as look at a piano. Now that Sophie and her family have relocated and are trying to start over, playing the piano is almost completely out of the question because it just brings back the shame of what happened in full force. Then she meets Maddie Crewe, a beautiful yet suspicious woman who is running a con. Sophie is torn between what her mind and body are telling her until she finds out that the Maddie’s con has heart behind it. While this is the third book in the series, each book follows a new cast of characters, so each book can be read as a stand alone without any confusion. I started this book expecting a good romance novel and quickly discovered that it exceeded my expectations. There’s romance, friendships, good family relationships, and breathtaking worldbuilding. I will be checking out the first two books in the series for sure. The characters are absolutely wonderful and fun to follow. I loved the Roseingrave’s family dynamic, especially the relationship that Sophie had with her parents. They’re just wonderful, supportive, and talented people who care deeply about their children. I kind of want to hang out with them! I particularly loved Sophie and her dad’s relationship, which pulled a bit on my heartstrings without actually being sad. I also love Maddie, her friends, and how much she…