• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
FanFiAddict

FanFiAddict

A gaggle of nerds talking about Fantasy, Science Fiction, and everything in-between. They also occasionally write reviews about said books. 2x Stabby Award-Nominated and home to the Stabby Award-Winning TBRCon.

  • Home
  • About
    • Reviewers
    • Review Policy
    • Stance on AI
    • Contact
    • Friends of FFA
  • Blog
    • Reviews
      • Children’s / Middle Grade Books
      • Comics / Graphic Novels
      • Fantasy
        • Alt History
        • Epic Fantasy
        • Fairy Tales
        • Grimdark
        • Heroic Fantasy
        • LitRPG
        • Paranormal Fantasy
        • Romantic Fantasy
        • Steampunk
        • Superheroes
        • Sword and Sorcery
        • Urban Fantasy
      • Fear For All
        • Demons
        • Ghosts
        • Gothic
        • Lovecraftian
        • Monsters
        • Occult
        • Psychological
        • Slasher
        • Vampires
        • Werewolves
        • Witches
        • Zombies
      • Fiction
      • Science Fiction
        • Aliens
        • Artificial Intelligence
        • Alt History
        • Cyberpunk
        • Dystopian
        • Hard SciFi
        • Mechs/Robots
        • Military SF
        • Space Opera
        • Steampunk
        • Time Travel
      • Thriller
    • Neurodivergence in Fiction
    • Interviews
      • Book Tube
      • Authorly Writing Advice
  • SFF Addicts
    • SFF Addicts Clips
    • SFF Addicts (Episode Archive)
  • TBRCon
    • TBRCon2025
    • TBRCon2024
    • TBRCon2023
    • TBRCon2022
  • FFA Book Club
  • FFA TBR Toppers
    • Advertise Your Book on FFA!
  • Writer Resources
    • Artists
    • Cartographers
    • Editing/Formatting/Proofing

Review: The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings

September 28, 2022 by Cassidee Lanstra Leave a Comment

Rating: 9/10

Synopsis:

In a fantastical version of New Orleans where music is magic, a battle for the city’s soul brews between two young mages, a vengeful wraith, and one powerful song in this vibrant and imaginative debut.

Nola is a city full of wonders. A place of sky trolleys and dead cabs, where haints dance the night away and Wise Women keep the order, and where songs walk, talk and keep the spirit of the city alive. To those from Far Away, Nola might seem strange. To failed magician, Perilous Graves, it’s simply home. Then the rhythm stutters.

Nine songs of power have escaped from the magical piano that maintains the city’s beat and without them, Nola will fail. Unexpectedly, Perry and his sister, Brendy, are tasked with saving the city. But a storm is brewing and the Haint of All Haints is awake. Even if they capture the songs, Nola’s time might be coming to an end.

Review:

I finished The Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings over two months ago but life got in the way and I wasn’t able to sit down for a review.

I figured moving into fall would be the perfect time to finally do so! When I saw that this novel was set in New Orleans, I had to pick it up. It’s a city that speaks to my soul, and Alex Jennings captured the soul of NOLA beautifully. The jazz, the history, the supernatural aura. Jennings had me itching to take a trip immediately.

I LOVED that this novel centered around music being the literal heartbeat of NOLA and the songs being spirits. There are beings that want to destroy NOLA by taking away that heartbeat and the songs that it beats through.

Our protagonists are tasked with battling these dark spirits with none other than music itself.

The writing almost reminded me of being in a Neil Gaiman novel; fully immersive and a bit confusing, but with patience, the pay off is stunning. Yes, I just compared Jennings to Neil Gaiman. Jennings writes with a magical, dreamlike quality that few writers can boast. It felt unforced and joyful. It was mythological and musical. Glorious work!

The audio was absolutely fantastic, as well. Graylen Bryant Banks takes narration to the next level. I could hear the heartbeat of NOLA’s music in their voice. I felt surrounded by these spirits. GBB is fully committed to taking us on a journey with their voice and it was astounding.

If you’re looking for a fall book to dive into, what better than a novel set in New Orleans? Major thanks to Redhook/Orbit and Hachette Audio for the review copies.

Filed Under: Fantasy, Historical, Paranormal Fantasy, Reviews, Urban Fantasy Tagged With: Alex Jennings, Hachette Audio, Orbit, Redhook

About Cassidee Lanstra

Michigander with a love of dogs. Enjoys a wide range of sub-genres from romance to grimdark. Huge fan of character-driven fantasy. A sucker for stunning prose and animal companions.

Other Reviews You Might Like

Review: A Claiming of Souls by R A Sandpiper (Amefyre #3)

Review: The Lamb by Lucy Rose

Book Review: Anji Kills a King (The Rising Tide #1) by Evan Leikam

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Sponsored By

Use Discount Code FANFI For 5% Off!

FFA Newsletter!

Sign up for updates and get FREE stories from Michael R. Fletcher and Richard Ford!

What Would You Like To See?(Required)
Please select the type of content you want to receive from FanFi Addict. You can even mix and match if you want!

FFA Author Hub

Read A.J. Calvin
Read Andy Peloquin
Read C.J. Daily
Read C.M. Caplan
Read D.A. Smith
Read DB Rook
Read Francisca Liliana
Read Frasier Armitage
Read Josh Hanson
Read Krystle Matar
Read M.J. Kuhn

Recent Reviews

Recent Comments

  1. Mark Matthews on COVER REVEAL: To Those Willing to Drown by Mark MatthewsJanuary 7, 2025
  2. Basra Myeba on Worth reading Jack Reacher books by Lee Child?January 5, 2025
  3. Ali on Review: Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory by Yaroslav BarsukovJanuary 5, 2025
  4. Carter on So you want to start reading Warhammer 40,000? Here’s where to start!January 4, 2025
  5. M. Zaugg on Bender’s Best LitRPG reads of 2024January 3, 2025

Archive

Copyright © 2025 · Powered by ModFarm Sites · Log In