I enjoyed the first book in this series but found Duty and Desire to be a bit tedious. Aidan tries to tell the hidden story of Darcys return to his sister and London society. The story takes a turn through religious conversion and then veers off into intrigue and susperstition. Suddenly, readers will find themselves trapped in a gothic novel, where mysterious characters and events take over the storyline and Darcy takes on the mantle of "detective." Not a bad thing if I was looking for a romance/mystery. However, this narrative is supposed to be Jane Austen, not Amanda Quick. I'd almost recommend skipping this book all together, but there are some characters that pop up in the final novel. Maybe read til the castle party and skip the rest?