The Hellion's Waltz: Feminine Pursuits

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars | 461 ratings

Price: 21.25

Last update: 02-24-2025


About this item

It’s not a crime to steal a heart....

Sophie Roseingrave hates nothing more than a swindler. After her family lost their piano shop to a con man in London, they’re trying to start fresh in a new town. Her father is convinced Carrisford is an upright and honest place, but Sophie is not so sure. She has grave suspicions about silk-weaver Madeline Crewe, whose stunning beauty doesn’t hide the fact that she’s up to something.

All Maddie Crewe needs is one big score, one grand heist to properly fund the weavers’ union forever. She has found her mark in Mr. Giles, a greedy draper, and the entire association of weavers and tailors and clothing merchants has agreed to help her. The very last thing she needs is a small but determined piano-teacher and composer sticking her nose in other people’s business. If Sophie won’t be put off, the only thing to do is to seduce her to the cause.

Will Sophie’s scruples force her to confess the plot before Maddie gets her money? Or will Maddie lose her nerve along with her heart?


Top reviews from the United States

  • LiteraryIllusions
    5.0 out of 5 stars Be Gay, Do Crimes, Take Down the Rich
    Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2021
    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
  • Jess | The Naptime Writer
    4.0 out of 5 stars a soft heist romance
    Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2021
    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 about factory conditions, the lack of options available to the women who wished to protest them, & Combinations (a term I had never heard of before). Similarly it was cool learning more about pianos & weaving.

    Emotionally, Sophie has an intriguing arc, facing her anxiety & being brave thanks to applause-worthy moments like her mom’s speech. Later Sophie herself has a fantastic speech about making mistakes & it’s so good I could envision it celebrated on a motivational embroidery hoop.

    When it comes to the relationship between leads, the pacing was a bit off for me. First, I wanted to see the leads together more & later, when things start really moving they rush a smidge for my taste.

    But ultimately The Hellion’s Waltz is well-written, wise, & soft & I recommend it.
    Customer image
    Jess | The Naptime Writer
    4.0 out of 5 stars
    a soft heist romance

    Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2021
    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 about factory conditions, the lack of options available to the women who wished to protest them, & Combinations (a term I had never heard of before). Similarly it was cool learning more about pianos & weaving.

    Emotionally, Sophie has an intriguing arc, facing her anxiety & being brave thanks to applause-worthy moments like her mom’s speech. Later Sophie herself has a fantastic speech about making mistakes & it’s so good I could envision it celebrated on a motivational embroidery hoop.

    When it comes to the relationship between leads, the pacing was a bit off for me. First, I wanted to see the leads together more & later, when things start really moving they rush a smidge for my taste.

    But ultimately The Hellion’s Waltz is well-written, wise, & soft & I recommend it.
    Images in this review
  • Frankie D.
    5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite of this Series???
    Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2021
    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!
  • Angela Rose Brannon
    5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful in every way
    Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2021
    I found out this book was released yesterday, bought it, and started in immediately. The first chapter or two, I was extremely unsure, not knowing where this was going. But it didn't take longer than that to lose myself in it completely. It was a marvelous light romance and heist story.

    To me, what made it even better, it's NOT a coming out story, except of the musical kind. Yes, the story still mentioned the inability of the two women to marry, but both women knew who they were, and both were fully supported by friends and family. I'm seeing a lot of mixed reviews, but I would highly recommend this book if you enjoy FF romances.

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