Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book to review.

Once upon a time in a land far, far away, a wish-granting spirit rapidly approaches burnout. Meanwhile, a banished fairy answers a Craigslist ad, a Victorian orphan navigates an occult situationship, and a multiverse assassin contemplates the one who got away.

With both iconic fan-favorite stories and entirely original pieces, Januaries features modified fairy tales, contemporary heists, absurdist poetry, and at least one set of actual wedding vows. Escape the slow trudge of mortality by diving into these enchanting new worlds with a master of imagination.

I really enjoyed Januaries and Blake’s exploration of love, magic and betrayal. Her storytelling is a favorite because of her intention both laying out the groundwork and the profound nature of her messages. I especially enjoyed The Wish Bridge, To Make a Man and Chaos Theory. Thank you so much for this advanced copy. I’ve linked my review that I shared with my community below.

Honestly, everything l've read by Olivie has been SO GOOD. I was so excited when I heard about this one, but it exceeded my expectations.

I am such a sucker for stories and this collection was everything I could have wanted. I love how everything came together. The thought that went into everything is SO 🤯

Blurb:
Once upon a time in a land far, far away, a wish-granting spirit rapidly approaches burnout. Meanwhile, a banished fairy answers a Craigslist ad, a Victorian orphan navigates an occult situationship, and a multiverse assassin contemplates the one who got away.

With both iconic fan-favorite stories and entirely original pieces, Januaries features modified fairy tales, contemporary heists, absurdist poetry, and at least one set of actual wedding vows. Escape the slow trudge of mortality by diving into these enchanting new worlds with a master of imagination.

Thank you for much to @torbooks @coloredpagesbt and @olivieblake for a copy

THANK YOU so much to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.
I'm writing this after reading it a couple of months ago, but school and life got in the way and I'm slow to catch up.
Olivie Blake is one of my all time, forever favorite authors, so this book was everything I was hoping for and then some. With the classic style that Olivie brings to her writing, this book was perfect, especially as we ring in that cold, cozy, slightly creepy feel to the year.
I wish my ADHD brain didn't suck the details from my memory, but I'm going off vibes here, and the vibes were immaculate.

First of all, if you like weird, magical, creative short stories that will leave you with wow-what-did-i-just-read and I-want-more feelings, then don't wait , just pick this up!!
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This is my second book by Olivie Blake, I love this one as much as the first one Twelfth knight. This one has a very different writing style while also splashes of romance, humor as in the other one.
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Januaries is a collection of short stories, which made me feel emotional and seen at times. It has stories of desire, betrayal and magic. It was so entertaining and a perfect read when you need something so weird and the need to be seen. It has stories that deals with mental health, depression, motherhood, queerness, loneliness.
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Some of my personal favourites are wish bridge, Animation games, chaos theory and How to Dispel Friends and Curse People. Not to mention the artworks, it is so beautiful, but also creepy. I am definitely going to reread some of these stories over and over.

I feel like anthologies are so hard to give a star rating to. There are short stories in here that I technically DNF’d (skipped to the end), and there are stories that I got to the end and just asked “why is there not a full version if book with this plot concept.” Either way, Olivie’s writing has such a way to pull you in. Each story was beautifully written, even if I personally didn’t vibe with it.

Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars

“We could be free,” he whispered as she traced her finger along his lips. “Nobody’s free, Guy,” she told him. “But damn if I don’t want to see you try.”

Fairytales and the macabre and magic. That’s what this anthology felt like to me.

I adored being transported to all sorts of different realms during the reading of this: from brutal to fantastical to beautiful.

“Once upon a time there was a small, unassuming village by the name of Camlann’s Strife.”

My favourite story in the collection was The Wish Bridge, because I am a hopeless romantic and endlessly in love with happy ending fairytales, followed quickly by The Audit as a lover and student of philosophy, though I don’t think I could say that any of the stories were my least favourite.

“What are you looking for?” He stares at me. “Myself, for a while,” he says slowly, and then, even slower, “But I think since I met you, I’ve been looking for you.”

Every single story in this anthology was ridiculously clever and sharp and raw, the way Olivie Blake’s writing always is. This is one of those authors who could write the phone book and I would read it.

“Part of me wonders if this is a complex psychological thriller, if he’s meant to represent some part of my inner psyche, he’s too weird to be real. Seems a highly congratulatory thing to think about yourself, he says, and goes back to writing.”

It was shockingly funny and unquestionably deep, a work of art that made you think and rethink your beliefs and truths.

““Will you kill me?” she asks in a tone so polished with false bravado it practically gleams in the dark.”

Each story seemed to put me in a trance, to truly transport me into the book and the wonderfully whimsical situations and characters. Macabre and magical fairytales that never failed to delight or thrill.

“The world will drain you, Guy, if you let it.”

It held lines that absolutely shattered my perceptions and broke my heart, as every truly good book does.

“I have a tendency to intellectualize my emotions, he says, and also lately I’ve been writing about you.”

If you are a fan of strange fairytales and stories full of, once again, magic and the macabre, or if you are a fan of Olivie Blake’s then I implore you to read this book. You will not be disappointed.

“I don’t know what I’m doing, only that if I’m lucky it will hurt.”

Thank you to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Enchanted beautiful unique stories they out
Loved the cover the writing and the worlds and people we meet through out
Easy reading and keeps your brain working and taken to another place

I really appreciated that I had this to read as I tried to re-integrate myself into the reading mode. Being able to chip away at this over the course of the weekend felt very low-commitment, even if most of these weren't experiences I loved. So, having said that, voila, here's the breakdown.

The Wish Bridge : I sort've fell into this one the more it went on. An interesting concept of a wish giving entity and the person who wants more for them and how they are determined to take advantage and appreciate what they've been given. Quite sweet. 3.5 stars.

The Audit : I didn't like the story. Didn't like the way it was told or the narrative. If I was meant to get something from this, I sure did not. 1.5 stars

Sucker for Pain : A witch and vampire story that I was liking for the most part but feel somewhat unsatisfied with the end even though I see why it went that way. Maybe 3 stars?

The Animation Games : Really liked this concept at first with the antagoism that carries these two into death into a battle of afterlife wills and turns them into enemies and then.. something else. I just felt it sorta lost steam along the way. 2.5-3 stars

The House : Very short, which was nice, but this felt more like a promise about marriage written to a friend who was soon to be married and I just didn't jive. 2 stars

To Make a Man : Maybe my favourite so far! Tragic and a little classical and mysterious and told almost out of sequence and it just totally sucked me in. Even if maybe I'm too dumb to totally get the ending. 4 stars

Preexisting Condition : This was a weird one. Noticing a death theme or resurrection theme in the last few of these though. 2.5 stars?

Monsterlove : Perhaps a metaphor for motherhood and the changes inherent in that state and what it means, what it does, etc. Not for me though. 2 stars

How to Dispel Friends And Curse People : A weird poem-style story of a village poet who falls in love with the village witch. 2.5 stars

Fates and Consequences : Finally. I really thought this was fun. It almost gave me Hercules-vibes because of the Hades element but it was very much its own thing too. And the descriptions and torture sessions in Hell were delightfully fun. 4 stars

Sous Vide : This was a mix of the dark and delicious and it was also darkly delicious. That final observation about teenage girls just hammered it home too. 4 stars

Sensual Tales for Carnal Pleasures : This initially seemed dreamy and whimsical and like a fairy tale but for me lost its lustre along the way. 2 stars

Chaos Theory : Multiverse hopping due to assassins trying to keep chaos from being well chaotic. I liked how different some of the selves were but feel also kind of ambivalent about this one. 2.5 stars

A Year in January : Confession, I skimmed most of this after the first few pages because it just wasn't working for me. 1.5 stars

Overall? Mostly middling, with a few standouts. Historically, I'm not the biggest fan of this author, so your mileage will very much vary depending on how you get on with Blake's writing and style.

Thank you to Tor and the author for my review copy. My opinions are my own.

This collection varied from short stories to poetry. I was intrigued and interested in the varies forms of story telling, but it is slow going, I advise reading it one story at a time because some of the stories are dark and emotional, but others are borderline fun. The book is divided up into the 4 seasons with different stories making up the season.

I really enjoyed the book overall, but it is slow going because there are some heavy topics addressed, even in the small stories. Recommend for those that enjoy short story collections.

Another great piece of art by Olivie Blake. I’ll be providing a more detailed review on storygraph and goodreads in the coming days!

Such an incredible book! My cousin and I are huge fans of Olivie and it was such a good book. The pacing is just right and I loved reading about this world.

Olivie Blake never fails to disappoint. There is something in her writing that just constantly captures my attention, and these stories were no exception. I will devour anything and everything she writes. However, as with all anthologies, there were some I liked more than others but I think all of the stories within this book are really strong and well-written.

It is so hard reviewing one of Olivie Blake’s works because you can see the heart and soul she pours into each and every one!
A “mix tape” for her readers, Januaries is a collection of short stories about love and relationships broken into seasons.
While there were a few stories I did not enjoy/understand, the majority of these were poignant, different, and beautiful. Each character was so distinct and no two ‘meet cute’ were the same. I highly recommend this for readers who have read and enjoyed any of Blake’s works!

I haven’t read anything by this author before. I thought this would be a good way to get a sense for her writing style. I’m not sure if her writing is for me. It could also be that short stories are not her strong suit. There were many that started off very slow and then ramped up with a quick ending. By the time I got into the story it was over. Here’s a little rating breakdown of each story:

The wish bridge – 3
The audit – 2
Sucker for pain – 4
The animation games – 3
The house – 4.5
To make a man – 3
Preexisting condition – 2
Monsterlove – 3
How to dispel friends and curse people – 3
Fates and consequences – 4
Sous vide 3
Sensual tales for carnal pleasures 3.5

This is going to be a short review. It’s so hard to review anthologies. I know there are many people that will love this. I wish I was one of them, but there were so many times I was bored. Some stories I couldn’t connect to at all. If you have enjoyed her work before, you will probably enjoy this. Overall, it was just okay, for me.

Thank you to Tor Books and Netgalley for an e-arc! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was definitely a lot different than the normal things that I read. I really enjoy Olivia’s writing though so I was very excited going in. I think this type/format of book isn’t really for me unfortunately. I did enjoy some aspect such as the writing but overall, just had a hard time connecting with the book. I still look forward to reading more of Olivie Blake’s writing in the future though.

Olivie Blake never fails to dissapoint, with her tales full of melancholy, love, and loss, knows just where to touch the reader, and caress the heartstrings of those reading these tales. Januaries is no exception to this rule, compiling short stories that will stay with you weeks or years after reading. Having read this before it's release, I had not initially left a review, as I had to sit on this and really think on what to say. That being said, I am still in awe of her writing, and will continue to rave about this book, and her other works One for my Enemy, and The Masters of Death.

The most perfect collection of short stories I've ever read. Olivie Blake has such a magical way of writing, it's almost as if you're transported into all of these stories. All were so fantastic, The Bridge has stuck with me long after I have read this. I highly recommend!

I recommend this so much, I got myself a signed special edition ordered so I can treasure it forever.

I had such a fun time reading this, the audit definitely my favorite. I needed this anthology and felt all the feels, amazing