Slow moving with a long backstory. The couple doesn't even meet until after the first 25% of the book. Miles is the middle ignored child. His father favors the oldest son, his mother the youngest son. One day the horrible oldest boy shoots at Miles and his younger brother leaps in front of Miles and is killed. At ten years old, Miles is blamed for the death and is sent away to the Turner Academy, a school for troubled boys of the Ton. There he meets four other boys who were blamed for something their older brother did. After a brief listing of each boy the story quickly moves to their adulthood. The years at school and what he experienced isn't covered. Miles is summoned home as the new Duke after the death of his father and brother. Emery has lived at the estate for the last ten years as her mother is the housekeeper and her father is the steward. Her father's mind is slipping so Emery has really been the one doing his work. When Miles and Emery finally meet, Miles decides he wants to marry her within a day. Emery shows him around the village, they watch a horse have her foal, he adjusts to being the Duke. A couple of love scenes are quickly glossed over. Some apprehension that Emery won't be accepted as a Duchess since her parents work for him. Strangely an unnecessary villain appears at the very end. This just wasn't for me.

This story starts off with a bang! The first few chapters really drew me in and I wanted to know more about Miles. The story jumps forward to when he is an adult. I liked the romance. I liked the story overall and look forward to reading the other books in this series.

Duke Done Wrong follows Miles Notley , Duke of Winslow, falsely accused of murder and housekeeper Emery Jenson.

As always Alexa Aston delivers. The characters are likable. The story well-written and engrossing. I am looking forward to reading her next book!
Thank you Alexa Aston, Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

This checked off everything I look for in a book. Was not disappointed. Really enjoyed this book. I will read more from this author. Must read. Historical fiction oh yeah. Love me some Duke's

Alexa Aston has done it again! Discouraging the Duke is the first book in the Dukes Gone Wrong Series. Miles Notley pulls at your heart with his story. I cannot wait to read the stories of the other four young boys also sent to the Turner Academy.
Miles and Emery's love story is a joy to read! It was wonderful to see Emery get credit for doing a man's job as steward and successfully keeping the estate going.
Amazing story!

4 stars

Oh! What a romantic time this book was. This is a regency romance, following Emery and Miles, as they struggle with their feelings for one another and the society pressures that come with being a Duke. The angst was there and I loved that. Both main characters were great, I liked the open communication and honesty between them, especially from Miles. The drama was present and the heroism, but not over done. Emery was smart, practical, loved by all, and she struggled with a number of issues throughout the story. The relationship was sweet and built up at a good pace. This book was a great time and just a lovely read!
Trigger warnings: death of a child, attempted rape
I received this advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

Wow! From the first page you are pulled into a heart-rending story that is the start of the Duke's Gone Wrong series. The Turner Terrors are about five young boys accused of terrible wrongs and the first of the series is about Miles as his journey will keep you  spellbound by Discouraging the Duke. Alexa Aston weaves a story from beginning to end with threads of strong emotions, uncertainties, angst and multiple horrendous villions. It's a beautifully written romance that brims with tension-building twists and turns, extremely interesting characters weaves a story that will pull you into their emotional ride that keeps you involved until the very end, characters some you'll love to love but others you'll love to hate, with tear and with one strong plot. The next in the series is Wyatt's story.

Thanks to Dragonblade publishing for making this book available to me via #Netgalley because it is now my favourite book ever. I will never stop recommending this book.

We follow Miles Notley from when he was a young boy who was accused of killing his younger brother by his older brother who actually killed him. Because of this Miles was sent off to a boarding school never to see his family again (yes, even during the holiday he was not allowed home). After the death of his father, his older brother became the duke but that did not last long because he died soon after as a result of his drinking and pride.

It is left to Miles to leave his very important role in the military and return back home to be the new Duke. When he gets home is meets Emery who has been helping her parents who worked for the previous dukes. He immediately takes interest in her as she is showing him around and a girl cannot help but fall for his very respectful, charming and sexy self.

She begins to feel a lot more for him that she thinks she has a right to. He is a Duke and soon he would need to marry a woman that fits his station. Miles who has seen the bottom of the drum know that he wants a woman who love him not a woman who fits his position! I simply loved their relationship. The lingering gazes and the steamy touches were just everything, not to forget the steamy night in the barn!

I adore Miles in this story, he understands and values Emery's knowledge and opinions. With the way his father and brother are I don't know how he turned out to be such a good person. Emery is strong, smart, and kind and they are perfect together.

I really enjoyed this story. If you like Historical Romance, I'm sure you will enjoy it too. Especially if you like Hero's who are not intimidated by a strong female.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book really resonated with me because I am slowly having issues of memory and my husband calmly just steps in at Dr. appointments and when talking with others so that people don’t really realize the full extent of my problem. Emery Jensen has been doing her fathers job as the estate steward and now to have another Duke be put in place is going to be hard to hide this situation.
Miles Notley, the new Duke hasn’t set foot in this house since he was banished from it at the age of ten years old. He has never been loved and he knows he is not always a charmer. He finds that he needs a bride and wants Emery. She is definitely not one to be told she is doing this or that.
I loved how the author incorporated so much into this book about children that don’t get love and those that are separated out for too much. She touches on how family went to so much trouble to protect their loved one because of an ailment. I thought the author kept the book moving and added intrigue into it so that we want to know more about what happened to why he was banished and his life during his time away.
I can’t wait to read about his friends and their issues concerning why they too were sent off to a juvenile delinquent school! What a wonderful start to a series!

I received a advanced copy from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

Discouraging the Duke by Alexa Aston was the very clever beginning of a new series, Dukes Done Wrong. The story begins when Miles is twelve years old and he and his little brother, Tony have been lured to their father's study by their selfish older brother, Ralph. Once in the study, Ralph pulls out his father's (the Duke of Windsor) pistol and points it at Miles, and then, shoots. Tony leaps in front of his brother and takes the bullet, and dies the next moment. As his parents and various servants rush the room, Ralph declares that Miles had fired the shot. Despite Miles denying it, he is taken to hi room where he is imprisoned for the next three weeks, living only on bread and water (and whatever the cook could sneak up to him) until he was loaded into a carriage and taken to the Turner School, where he would stay, holidays and all, until he went to university thence to the army, never to return home or be spoken of again. There he met four more boys strikingly in the same sort of situation as he, who would become his brothers, known affectionately as the Turner Terrors. It is upon retreating from the Duke of Wellington's tent that he is given the news that his father had died, and Ralph died after being the duke only one week. Miles turned in his commission and went home for the first time in years. There he met Emery Jensen, the daughter of his steward and housekeeper, and learned a great many secrets about his estate and his life.

This is a frighteningly different approach, one readers will see in each of the books in this series. The basic premise is that each of the boys was accused of doing something horrible and was sent from home and disowned as punishment. They were all members of the ton. Once together they became fast friends, an excellent education, and became men of distinction. Miles was determined to be different than his father and his brother...to be a good duke. He fell in love with Emery almost immediately but problems arose because of their difference in status. That gradually became less important to all of them, but that journey was amazing. Ups and downs barely describe the blossoming of their relationship. It is such an amazingly different take, that one can barely read it quickly enough, secure in the conclusion, but beyond curious as to how they arrive there. I was a wonderful book, although we expect no less of Alexa Aston.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Discouraging the Duke by Dragonblade, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #discouragingtheduke

I really enjoyed reading this story, it was a rollercoaster of emotions. who doesn't love a duke ,he found his soulmate . I'm glad they got to have their HEA after all they went through. I highly recommend this book!

A lovely tale of romance. This book was one of those cozy reads without all the swooning involved. A meaty plot, adorable characters, and above all a well written book.

Unjustly Exiled

Miles is a duke, and Emery is his steward’s daughter. Society says that the two should not marry. Could he convince her they are meant to be?

He was unjustly exiled from his home, but in a twist of fate, he became the duke. Perhaps, being sent away from his home might have been the best thing that happened to Miles. His family is one you would not wish on your worst enemy. Where he went, he found kindness, but with his family he only found cruelty. The beginning of the story was heartbreaking. Alexa Aston writes unique stories. They are not your typical Regency stories with debutantes and balls. There is a bit of darkness, but there is also love, hope, and redemption.

I was delighted to find the beginning of a new series by this author as I have really come to enjoy her writing. Miles Notley was banished from his home with a cloud hanging over his head and sent to a school for troubled boys. There he not only receives acceptance but also an education that exceeds anything he may have expected. He also finds life-long friends who become brothers to him. Serving his country in the war against Napolean, Miles receives word that both his father and brother have died and that he is the new Duke of Winslow. Finally, arriving at the home he never thought to see again, Miles discovers that whilst things are running very smoothly, the brains behind the enterprise are those of Miss Emery Jenson. As Miles begins to learn more about Emery, he also realizes that she would make the perfect wife for him. Thus begins a courtship, unusual to be sure, but one in which trust and love is born. The story is an emotional one as Miles sets out to right the wrongs of the past and to win the delightful Emery over. I loved the main characters in this novel and was especially glad that it came to a very satisfactory conclusion. I received a copy of this romance as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

As the second son of the Duke of Winslow, he is detested by his older brother Ralph and virtually ignored by his parents. Yet, his youngest brother Tony loves him. When Tony is killed by the old Ralph, Miles is sent away to a school for troubled boys, where he meets many boys who will be his friends for life. Yet after ten years away from home, Miles is summoned back when his father and brother die, and he finds he must take on the role of the Duke. There at Wildwood, his family home, he meets Miss Emery Jenson, the daughter of his steward. He is soon captivated by her wisdom and beauty and all he has to do is convince her to marry him. Yet Emery is not going to be swayed in her belief that their relationship will not work.
I thoroughly enjoyed these two characters: Miles for his ability to love Emery despite not experiencing much love from his living family and Emery for her ability to love, despite understanding the challenges that their relationship faces.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first time reading a book by Alexa Aston and she did not disappoint. I cannot wait to read the stories of the other 4 men in this series. Miles and Emery are fantastic together. Especially when Miles realizes he doesn't need to follow convention and can marry where he pleases. Emery has kept order at Wildwood in the years she has been there. This is a book readers will love.

Miles Notley was sent away from home at only ten years old, after being accused of something he never did. It turned out to be the best thing for him and the other boys he met at a very special school. Those boys would grow to be closer to him than his own family. Many years later he is home again in a role he never expected.

Emery Jensen is the daughter of the estate steward and housekeeper on the Duke of Winslow's ancestral home. She has been helping both her parents for the last few years, but just lately her father has needed her more. There are many changes coming in a short space of time. What will that mean for those that call this place home???

A tragic start that will have you in tears, so get the tissues out. Great strong characters that easily keep our attention, and a hero who knows what he wants.

A great start to what I know is going to be a fabulous series. I will definitely be reading all of them.

I loved it.

Discouraging the Duke ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Accused of something they never did. Five boys banished from their homes in disgrace, to the place where they find the brothers of their heart—and build new family ties that will last a lifetime.

A lonely army captain who suddenly finds himself a duke. A gentleman’s daughter running an estate because her father no longer can. Two lonely souls whose sparks are undeniable . . .

Miles Notley returns home as the new Duke of Winslow after being sent away for accidentally killing his younger brother when he was ten years old, an act his older brother committed—and denied. With his brother’s death, Miles finds himself in unfamiliar waters. He has no idea how to run an estate, much less be a duke. Until he meets an intriguing young woman.

Emery Jenson came to Wildwood ten years ago with her parents, hired to be the estate’s steward and housekeeper. She has taken on more responsibility as her father’s mind grows weak and now runs the ducal country seat. When the new duke shows up, she schemes to hide her father’s deficiencies, believing the Duke of Winslow won’t remain long since the Season is in full swing and he will need to claim a bride and provide an heir.

But Miles isn’t going anywhere. He becomes captivated not only by Emery’s charm and confidence but admires her skills in making Wildwood a profitable estate. Miles decides no one but Emery can be his duchess—and he is up for the challenge, ready to convince the blunt beauty in the battle of wills that they can both come up winners—if she will only say yes.

Will Emery, who thinks she has found her place in the world and urges Miles to now find his, discover that the best place she can be is at the Duke of Winslow’s side?

The first chapters covering young Miles and his banishment were a gut punch. Your heart really goes out for his situation….. This book looks promising.

Once Miles returns, as the newest Duke, to the home he never thought to see again, the story kind of slides and for me looses some of its dramatic appeal. More drama is to come, just a little too late and is quickly wrapped up.

And they lived happily ever after. The End.

While this can be read as a stand alone book, I will probably read the next book in the series as all the back stories show promise.

I received this ARC for free in exchange for my honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you NetGalley, Alexa Aston and Dragonblade Publishing.