A review by araskov
The Ballad of Dinah Caldwell by Kate Brauning

5.0

"He had bought everything and paid for nothing, but he would pay for her family.
She'd stop his heart. She'd take his lungs. She'd break his neck for what he'd done."

This is a powerful story of grief caused by a money hungry titan who has all the power in his hands over Dinah's community. Her family, friends, neighbors - they can all barely survive with his hand in any profits they can create.

Dinah struggles to take care of her family and puts so much weight on her shoulders. Every day is a struggle, but she loves her family and would fight to the bitter end for them.

When all of that is taken from her, she is ravaged by grief and seeks revenge, but has no care for her own survival and goes down a reckless path.

Needless to say, I was gripping my copy tight as I journeyed with her down a path of discovering her true strengths, survival skills, and love. Love for herself, for her best friend, for the one who saved her when nobody else would.

I will be reading more of Brauning's work thanks to the experience I had with Dianh's Ballad.