reading this felt like settling into eat a big ol' brownie and then discovering it has, like, a bunch of zucchini in it, like one of those mommy blogger recipes.so a mildly unpleasant surprise, but still a brownie.i signed up for a capitalist revenge arc, but by page count this was more a poly romance? the best thing i can compare it to is if katniss dated both gale AND peeta, and also wasn't spending all that much time on the hunger games part.it was just odd, pacing-wise - the actual climax ha...

You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at MidnightOkay, Dinah Caldwell needs a break, y’all. This poor girl has been through it and then some, honestly. She’s living in the Ozarks, in an extremely rural town. And frankly, I didn’t realize how far into the future it was, because it seems fairly true-to-Ozarks, at least as far as I had known in my own head. But basically, what has happened in the decades that have passed since our current ...

DRC provided directly by the author in exchange for an honest review.Representation: pansexual polyamorous white protagonist, queer German-Dominican tertiary character, Dominican tertiary character, white German tertiary character, queer Lakota Oglala tertiary character, Ghanaian tertiary characters, queer Ghanaian tertiary character, tertiary characters of colour, queer tertiary characters, asthmatic tertiary character. Content Warning: violence, death, grief, loss, alcohol, mention of slavery,...

2.5 StarsNote: I was provided with an ARC by the publisher through Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review. All opinions here are my own.I wanted to like this one. I really did. Set in the near future, in the Ozarks, and featuring a heavy revenge plot: it should have been fun, interesting, hard-hitting. Instead, it was plot-driven floundering that was soon overcome by romance. Explicit romance (i.e. not the kind of romance one expects in a book marketed as YA). And that romance subplot reall...

The Ballad of Dinah Caldwell lives up to the motorcycles, moonshine, and revenge that was advertised. Dinah is a relatable character for anyone who has experienced loss or trauma. You can immediately connect with her need for revenge and the all consuming nature of her quest. From start to finish this book grasps your attention and the need to know what will happen next will have you eager to turn the page. Amidst the chaos of plotting to overthrow the man responsible for her predicament is a ro...

"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 stru...

What a thought provoking novel about a brave group of people taking back their town and county from a bully. I use the word bully because that's precisely what Gabriel Gates is. He is power hungry, greedy, wants everything and leaves the rest with very little or nothing. If he doesn't get what he wants he and his cohorts get violent. The novel starts when Dinah's mother is assaulted and then murdered by Gates all for a water well on their property. This sets off a chain of events that drive the ...

I mean. I liked it.

Kate Brauning captivates both with Dinah's voice and her immersive world. This revenge story twists its way into your heart with a fiery shot of family, perseverance, and a bit of moonshine. The thrills in this one kept me up past my bedtime. Total #bookrec.

I'm pumped this is finally getting a release. I've read various versions of this novel over the last few years as Kate perfected it. This definitive release version is going to blow your socks off. It's got motorcycle chases, city-block-sized combines, and an anarcho-future-western Ozarks that feels all too possible and dangerous. The main characters are the glue that holds it all together and you're going to root for them as they struggle with big questions and vicious enemies. The love that bl...