At What Cost, Silence?: The Texian Trilogy, Book 1
Antebellum Texas. Adrien Villere is the son of a prominent tobacco-growing family in West Texas. He is a quiet boy who spends most of his time with his best friend, Isaac, a family slave. He has always felt different from other boys. The loss of his beloved mother and hardship with the family’s tobacco plantation drives him to find comfort and support with Jacob Hart, the older son of a neighboring planter family.
The Villere and Hart families may be neighbors, but that is the only similarity. Mr. Hart is a drunken bully who beats his wife and children. Paien Villere is a devoted family man who is known for his kindness. Jacob and Adrien have a falling-out, and the relationship between them and the two families becomes increasingly tense. The situation is complicated when Adrien falls in love with Jacob’s younger sister, Lily. Secrets threaten to change the dynamic between the families. All of this happens against a backdrop of threatened secession and war.
This is the first volume in an upcoming trilogy. It accurately portrays the tensions and passion of pre-Civil War Texas as well as the forbidden relationship between Adrien and Jacob. Any fan of Southern literature or Civil War history will find this an important addition to their library. It also has the potential to be an important part of the canon of LGBTQ+ literature.
