{Ladies Covert Academy Review} How to Court a Covert Lady by @_JennyHartwell

How to Court a Covert Lady by Jenny Hartwell
Series: Ladies Covert Academy, Ladies Covert Academy #1
Published by Dragonblade Publishing on 01/31/2023
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Historical
Pages: 274
Source: Netgalley
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The lady fencer takes a stab at adventure…and love.

She’s keeping a secret…

For years, Miss Pippa Chester hid away in fear...until a covert academy for ladies posing as a charity group taught her to fence. Blade hidden, Pippa confidently reenters London society, but her new life is threatened when a handsome, flinty-eyed lord blackmails her. Pippa must help find his missing sister or he’ll expose the secrets of the academy Pippa would do anything to protect.

He’s looking for the truth…

Jack Dashwood, Earl of Hartwick is frantic to find his sister, and when her supposed charity group fails to assist, he takes matters into his own hands. The lovely Pippa is as good at finding clues as she is with a sword, and soon they’re chasing leads together. But the double-edged danger of his fascination with the mysterious Pippa combined with the passion that sparks with each kiss threatens to sidetrack their investigation… and overwhelm the control that Jack so desperately needs.

They’ll uncover something new…

As Pippa and Jack battle thieves, a duel, and shadowy powers in parliament, they must trust in the most powerful weapon of all…their hearts.

I received How to Court a Covert Lady for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Pippa Chester witnessed a horrible crime. She’s spent years inside her home with the belief it was her only safe haven. Slowly, with the encouragement of her younger brother and her introduction to the Ladies Covert Academy, Pippa is learning how to protect herself from anyone who’d wish to harm her. With a year of frequent visits to the academy for secret fencing and knife throwing lessons, Pippa is a little less anxious about leaving home. When she bumps into the brother of another member of the LCA, she believes she’s doing a good deed. Once she introduces Jack Dashwood, Earl of Hartwick, to the benefactress of the LCA, she thinks her job is done. Jack Dashwood has other ideas.

When Jack finds out his sister, Lydia, never made it home after a visit to the academy, he is desperate to find her. After Pippa gets him a meeting with the benefactress, he doesn’t receive much help. In a panicked state, he decides to blackmail Pippa into helping him. She has to help Jack find Lydia or he will spill the true mission of the LCA.

Pippa and Jack go back and forth between lust and anger, all while falling in love. Jack feels tremendous guilt about falling for Pippa while his sister could be suffering or even dead. While Pippa doesn’t know Lydia well, she wants to help any way she can and protect the secrets of the LCA.

Pippa is a generous soul who has overcome so much grief and anxiety in her life. She blooms as Jack awakens the woman inside her. Jack’s deep love for his sister tugs at Pippa’s heartstrings. Jack’s world spins off its axis with Lydia’s disappearance and his rigid need for control is threatened. The bumpy journey the pair take puts their lives and futures in mortal danger.

There were times when I thought they had no way out, but thankfully, Hartwell gave us the happily ever after Jack and Pippa deserve. I can’t wait to read more of this series when Hartwell releases book two, Secrets of a Covert Lord, and book three, Winning the Covert Lady’s Heart, soon.