For fans of The Vanishing Half, The Yellow Wife, The Invention of Wings and The Kitchen House comes a beautifully written, deeply emotional and inspiring story about the search for the true meaning of family and identity. In WHAT PASSES AS LOVE (Lake Union Trade Paperback Original; September 1, 2021) bestselling author, Trisha R. Thomas―who wrote the very popular series, Nappily Ever After, which is now a Netflix original film―has created the unforgettable character, Dahlia Holt, a woman who lives in a world between black and white, belonging to neither.
Born into slavery in 1850 with pale skin and a birthmark down the center of her back, Dahlia is rumored to be cursed among the quarters and finds it difficult to fit in. When her father, the owner of Vesterville plantation, takes her to work in his home as a servant, she’s desperately lonely. Dahlia never knew her mother―or what happened to her―her half-sisters mistreat her, and she misses her best friend, Bo, who she was forced to leave behind.
Ten years later, Dahlia meets Timothy Ross, an Englishman in need of a wife. Reinventing herself as Lily Dove, Dahlia allows Timothy to believe she’s white, with no family to speak of, and agrees to marry him. She knows the danger of being found out, but she also knows she’ll never have this chance at freedom again.
Ensconced in the Ross mansion, Dahlia soon finds herself held captive in a different way—as the dutiful wife of a young man who has set his sights on a political future. “Here, it seemed no better. Still unable to speak or think without caution,” she notes to herself. But when Bo arrives on the estate in shackles, Dahlia decides to risk everything to save his life. With suspicions of her true identity growing and a bounty hunter not far behind, Dahlia must act fast or pay a devastating price.