Waltz With a Rogue

by Kathleen Baldwin, Kathleen Baldwin, Lisa Noeli

The ballroom is the perfect setting for romance, as seductively handsome rogues dance away with women's hearts in this delightful trio of Regency novellas. Original.

Genres: Historical Romance

254 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2005

About the author

Get ready to fall in love with the heartwarming humorous novels of Kathleen Baldwin, a Wall Street Journal, #1 Barnes & Noble, and Amazon bestselling author. Delighting readers around the globe, her stories have been translated into several languages, and more than 650,000 books sold worldwide. Baldwin's unique plots even captured the attention of a Japanese publisher who adapted her Regency Romance, LADY FIASCO, into a manga.

#1 USA Today bestselling author Meg Cabot raves that Kathleen’s A SCHOOL FOR UNUSUAL GIRLS is “completely original and totally engrossing.”
The New York Times Book Review called it “enticing from the first sentence.”

Kathleen’s love of adventure isn’t limited to her writing. She taught rock climbing in the Rockies, survival camped in the desert and in the snow, slept beside a mountain lion, and lost an argument with a rattlesnake. Later, she married her very own hero and raised four feisty children.

Kathleen is also an avid reader and adores the wit and humor of Oscar Wilde, P.G. Wodehouse, and Jane Austen. Her eclectic reading interests range from Frank Herbert to Meg Cabot, and on to the incredibly imaginative tales of Diana Wynne Jones.

News and other fun stuff at: Website, Newsletter,Instagram, Twitter, Facebook
A School for Unusual Girls , was her first historical romance for Young Adults. It is a Junior Library Guild selection, and Texas Librarians gave it the 2016 Spirit of Texas reading program award. Publisher’s Lunch listed it in their 2015 Young Adult BookBuzz. Kansas State NEA Reading Circle gave it a starred review in their 2016 “Best of the Best” for High Schools. Scholastic licensed it for book fairs. The Stranje House series is currently under a renewed film option.

Reviews

[Lexie · Rating 3 out of 5]

each story will be reviewed individually

The Highwayman Came Waltzing--I enjoyed this for the most part. I thought that Ryerton was a little bit hasty in his judgment of why Elizabeth and her relatives had resorted to waylaying travelers and his stepfather, Lord Mulvern, was definitely neglectful of his duties. The romance however was nice and if it felt rushed, a lot can be forgiven in a short story.

The Rebel and the Rogue--I liked this story the most. The romance part of it made me raise an eyebrow (if I understood correctly Vivian was 18 and her beau was at least 36, since he was a childhood friend of Vivian’s best girl friend’s mother), but it was such a sweet story. Vivian had sass and fire within her--she didn’t let anyone order her around or demand she submit.

Dance With Me--I’ll be honest I read the first five pages and had to stop. Even my sense of disbelief was put to the test with this story.

Overall the book was an interesting good time and I am glad to (finally) have read it!

[QNPoohBear · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book of short stories contains three stories by well-known Regency authors.

The first, The Highwayman Came Waltzing by Kathleen Baldwin, follows a very different plot line from the usual Regency story. It's loosely based on the poem "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes. In this story, Elizabeth Claegborn is the long suffering heroine, living with her aunt, grandmother and cousins on the estate of her cheapskate uncle. The family has a very unique way of earning money. When Elizabeth's childhood sweetheart Trace, Lord Ryerton returns from the wars, he's determined to find the highwaymen robbing his stepfather's guests and put a stop to those rogues once and for all. He also wants to rekindle the relationship with Elizabeth but she hides a terrible secret that could force her true love to choose between his duty and his heart. She's certain he'll choose duty but will he? This is the best of the three stories. It's well written and has a slightly Gothic air but is also funny and sweet at the same time. Elizabeth comes across as a bit of a Mary Sue but her big secret prevents her from actually being so bland. She and Trace have great chemistry. The story was suspenseful enough to really hold my interest though it bears little resemblance to the poem.

In The Rebel and the Rogue by Mona Gedney, Vivian Woodruff tries to avoid being married off to her odious stepfather's youngest brother. Her stepparents yell and threaten but Vivian will not give in. She will marry for love or not at all. When she encounters the dashing and dangerous Anthony Mallory, she decides to use some secret knowledge she has of him to blackmail him into helping her. Anthony is amused and intrigued by the young lady and can't believe the trap he's fallen into but he agreed to help after all, and maybe he's enjoying himself more than he ever has before. This is a predictable story about a hardened rake who meets his match in a naive young girl. The writing isn't bad but not as great as Georgette Heyer or some of the other authors who have tackled the same plot.


Dance with Me by Lisa Noeli features a Lord in disguise as a dancing master. Neville Dunsleigh knows he will find his bride when he dances with her, but all the ladies he meets are the same old boring fortune and title hunters. In disguise, he'll have the chance to meet his true love at last. He hadn't counted on his clients flirting with him or being fired because he refused to flirt back. He also didn't know just how painful it could be when a lady steps on his toes. When a chance encounter with a beautiful woman comes his way, he just knows she's the one. However, she disappears and makes it difficult for him to reach. Penelope Spencer also has a secret. She's the daughter of theater performers raised as a gentlewoman. She thinks she loves Neville but she isn't sure and will he love her if he finds out her secret? This is the lightest of the three stories. It's almost a fairy tale it's so unrealistic. It's sweet and charming and if you can overlook the rapid advancement of the romance and the unlikeliness of it all, you will enjoy it.

[Theresa Caligiuri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ms. Baldwin is by far one of my favorite writers. Any book I read of hers becomes like and instant friend I can visit again and again, and Waltz with a Rouge is no exception! Such a fun read, I very much recommend!

[Fedora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute stories.