{Dukes of Distinction Review} Duke of Renown by Alexa Aston

Duke of Renown by Alexa Aston
Series: Dukes of Distinction #1, Dukes of Distinction
Published by Dragonblade Publishing on February 9th, 2021
Genres: Historical, Romance
Format: eBook
Source: Netgalley
Buy on Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, BookBub
Goodreads

Who doesn’t love a duke? How about five of them?

Welcome to bestselling author Alexa Aston’s new Regency romance series, the Dukes of Distinction! These five aristocrats all come with nicknames Polite Society has bestowed upon them. Renown. Charm. Disrepute. Arrogance. Honor.

A woman with a broken heart...

A soldier who never dreamed he’d become a duke...

Phoebe Smythe, Countess of Borwick, suffers a tragic miscarriage when she learns her husband and young son have been killed in a carriage accident. The grieving widow retreats to an isolated cottage on the coast of Cornwall, where she finds a smuggler who’s washed ashore, blood leaking from a bullet wound.

Captain Andrew Graham returns home from the Napoleonic Wars after the death of his older brother, finding his father on his deathbed. Soon he becomes the Duke of Windham and must deal not only with numerous responsibilities but his wayward half-brother, who has amassed a mountain of debt and then shoots Andrew so he can become the new duke.

Andrew awakens to an angel of mercy, Mrs. Smith, a middle-class widow who nurses him back to health. She thinks he’s a criminal, which amuses him, but he soon falls in love with her beauty and spirit. On the day he decides to ask for her hand in marriage, she disappears and he has no way to find her—until he spies her across a London ballroom.

Though her heart belongs to the Cornish smuggler she left behind, Phoebe places herself once more on the Marriage Mart. She yearns to be a mother again—which means finding a husband.

What will Phoebe do when she learns that her Mr. Andrew is none other than the famous Duke of Renown?

Find the answer in The Duke of Renown, Book 1 in the Dukes of Distinction.

Each book in Dukes of Distinction is a standalone story that can be enjoyed out of order and can be read for free in Kindle Unlimited.

Series Order:
Book #1: Duke of Renown
Book #2: Duke of Charm
Book #3: Duke of Disrepute
Book #4: Duke of Arrogance
Book #5: Duke of Honor

I received Duke of Renown for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Captain Andrew Graham was never meant to be the Duke of Windham. The Countess of Borwick, Phoebe Smythe, never imagined she would lose her husband and beloved son in an accident. Yet, it is these circumstances that bring the two together to find love through the pain.

Andrew was the second son. When his brother dies, he is called away from the battlefield to spend time with his father during his last days. Now the duke, he takes the reigns and holds them tight so the family legacy will live on. His younger half-brother isn’t keen to have a cap put on his allowance and ends up making a costly decision.

Grief unlike any other comes with the loss of a child. Not only did Phoebe lose her husband and five-year-old son in one day, she lost her unborn child as well. She is determined not to let her grief swallow her whole and sets off to a coastal town and a cottage to spend a few months completely on her own. When Andrew washes up on Phoebe’s beach with a bullet in his chest, life will never be the same.

I find myself incredibly lucky to find Aston’s first in her new series and given the chance to review it. The theme I walked away with of love ebbing the pains caused by death is incredibly touching and heart-warming. The passion and anguish felt by these exquisitely complex characters makes their happily ever after that much sweeter. So much of Andrew and Phoebe’s story can’t be summed up in my review without spoiling the best parts. I will just leave with this, we get a fascinating story, a surprising ending, and a magnificent novel to begin this five duke series. I can’t wait for four more stories of romanced dukes yet to come.