Search - Duty and Desire (Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman: Bk 2)

The first book in the series covers Pride and Prejudice through the Netherfield Ball and Christmas of that year. This second book covers the time between Christmas and Darcy's trip to Rosings Park. This covers a time when Darcy and Elizabeth do not see each other at all.

In the story, Darcy decided he needs to search for a suitable wife (to distract him from the thoughts of Elizabeth). The story takes him to the estate of a friend and a party of acquaintances and strangers. After a short time of infatuation with a young lady, the events take a tragic turn for the party.

The story didn't fit in with the Darcy I see in the original story. Some of the events, while not completely out of character, seem out of another time period. Aiden states she was imitating other Austen work, like Northanger Abbey. It really never seemed to work with Darcy's character.

Although I liked the first book, this one strayed too far from the original subjects for me. The only positive was that we do see how Darcy could come to the conclusion that character of a lady outweighs her position in life. The is never entirely clear in the original.