Olivie Blake is delivering some of the best sci/fantasy today and this collection is a perfect example of that. Her stories hit that perfect balance of world building, excitement, action and romance. If you like sci fi fantasy at all, this is a great book to pick up because of its mix of shorter and longer stories. Highly recommend. Also, the audiobook is so well done!

I thought this was a really interesting and fun set of fantasy short stories. My favorites were Sucker for Pain where the servant of a witch becomes a vampire and gains her own power, The Animation Games where two betrothed take advantage of their resurrected afterlife to hunt one another now, and Chaos Theory, the longest story in the collection, where the actions of two individuals in one universe have ripple effects across their lives in four other alternative universes. I become a bigger and bigger fan of Olivie Blake with everything I read.

I appreciated that each short story had a different narrator, which made it easier to remember which story I was listening to as I paused and unpaused the audiobook.

I really enjoy audiobooks, and I've just recently discovered Olivie Blake. I'm beginning to love the way she writes and the emotion she can make a reader feel. Januaries is a book that the multi-cast narration brings to life for the reader. Each story was written so well, and short stories are one of the most difficult for a writer in my opinion. The writer has to pack a full story arch into just a few pages. There's no room for fluff, and the reader has to stay engaged. Blake excelled at the short form. I was hooked from the very first story. I was left wanting to know more about these characters and hear more stories with them in it. Again, I'm new to Olivie Blake, so I still have a lot to discover. There was so much imagination and storytelling here, it was an enjoyable read.

I think it was a smart move on the part of whoever decided how to set up the audio to have different narrators for each story. While the reader can tell all the stories are from the mind of the same author, having a narrator tailored to each story was much more effective than trying to make a narrator's style fit all of the stories. Pacing and tenor was all done really well by the various narrators. If the reader pays attention, they may even hear the author narrate one of their own stories which was a cool little Easter egg. Listening to the audiobook version of this, my opinion is that it brings the book to life and gives the reader a different perspective of the novel. I recommend listening to the audiobook, it is so well done.
 
Please be advised I received an Advance Reader Copy of the audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this short story collection! I had a good feeling that I'd like it, but I ended up loving it. The mix of mythology and original worldbuilding throughout the stories kept me engaged and always listening for the twists on familiar tales. The narrators gave great performances and were well matched to their stories. I highly encourage you to put this on your winter TBR!

I really enjoyed this book. There were so many different kinds of stories. There was magic, fantasy, sci-fi, and just plain weirdness. It reminded me of Neil Gaiman in a time when w need to replace Gaiman. Olivie Blake is almost ready for that. There was a story or two that I didn't follow or understand but most of them were pretty great.
I received an ARC of the audio book and I really enjoyed listening to the book. There were a variety of narrators that matched the narrators that truly brought the books to life and I would advise listening to the book.

Listening on 2x speed, I had no issues with any of the narration.

This just did not work for me. The first story or two was.... fine? But then they just progressively become harder for me to care about. I know that short stories make it difficult to build any connection with characters,. It was hard to maintain interest, and even afterwards, I can't really recall any of the stories.

Overall: 2 stars (it was ok)

**Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the free ALC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance listening copy in exchange for an honest review!

There’s something about Olivie Blake’s writing that makes me insane, and I don’t know how to describe it. She’s who I turn to when I want to read something that is just Vibing, and maybe I can get a little no thoughts head empty about it but I simply do not care!!!!

Olivie Blake is at her best, imo, when she is writing standalones and short stories, and for me, every one of these was a banger. Some were stronger than others, as you’d expect from a short story collection, but I liked the way they were organized and I thought they felt well-balanced in terms of order/content/etc. I appreciate that she’s not afraid to get a little strange and weird with the content and I love that she can put a bunch of emotions into a cauldron and it works. I love the whimsy and melancholy. Opening with “The Wish Bridge” and closing with “A Year in January” felt like the right move and the illustrations are so lovely.

I liked the audio for this a lot, and it was neat to have a multi-cast narration. Each story is pretty different from each other, but having a change in narrator between stories definitely helped keep things separate. I don’t necessarily know if I feel like the cast as a collective worked for me, but I enjoyed it on the whole.

I'll admit, I am usually apprehensive about story collections, but I'm happy to say I was wrong about this one. From paranormal fables about vampires and revenants, to bittersweet fairytales about starcrossed lovers and unavoidable fates, this collection completely captivated me. Olivie Blake has become an absolute mainstay in the adult/new adult fantasy genre because of her ability to capture readers with both brilliant premise and prose. Incredibly enjoyable.

I do not typically read short stories. I always want to, I figure it would be easy to read something quick here and there, but it never works out that way. I feel a lack of connection to the stories I think which keeps me from progressing too far in the book.

However, when I learned that Olivie Blake was releasing a short story collection I knew an exception would have to be made.

Overall I think Januaries is a very successful collection. I like how it is separated into seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, with about 3-4 stories in each season.

While I think, each season has some standouts, the season with the best, in my opinion, is Autumn. I look back at that set of stories and I think it's the one that varied the most in terms of being serious and funny and a little chaotic.

Probably my favorite story of the bunch was The Animation Games featured in Summer and dealt with a pair of lovers who challenged each other equally in their love and hate for one another.

As far as the audiobook is concerned, I liked that there were various narrators throughout. Each of them did great with their respective stories. However, special shout-out to the narrator of Monsterlove for the supreme level of commitment to the character/story.

While not necessarily a short story collection convert, Januaries certainly provided enough to keep me interested and I appreciated the varied genres and subjects along with shorter stories mixed in with the longer. If you're someone who is interested in reading Olivie Blake but maybe don't know where to start Januaries gives a great snippet of her overall work.

Note: I listened to the audiobook and I think they used AI for the titles in the chapter names (eg The Wish Branch instead of The Wish Bridge, which I verified in the sample available free on Amazon) so apologies if I got these names wrong. Maybe they actually really did mean Sentual instead of Sensual.

stories with '*' are ones I liked and were worth the read

*The Wish Bridge*--
A story about the woman (god? entity?) who has to grant people wishes who manage to find her bridge, and the adorably unordinary man who finds her repeatedly.

This was light and cute and funny, very dissimilar to the denser, more pretentious fare I'm used to from this author. I think I'll keep thinking about this one and will smile every time.

The Audit--
Wild how I immediately recognized this as the narrator of Tristan in The Atlas Six lmao. He's got a significantly higher speed than most narrators, so ymmv.

Hmm. This is a story about a man who has recently come into a lot of money, suffers from analysis paralysis over what to do with it, and maybe falls in love with an agoraphobic man?

Not gonna lie, I didn't quite understand this one.

*Sucker for Pain*--
Witches and vampires and toxic relationships, oh my! A poor, young mortal girl becomes the pet of a cruel, witch family. Explores themes of love and trauma and freedom.

I actually quite liked this one and think that, so far, it's the one I could most easily pick out as Olivie Blake's.

*The Animation Games*--
A premature death with a supernatural twist allows an engaged couple to haunt and take turns killing each other for eternity.

A very Olivie Blake take on life and death and fate and love. Kinda fun, though.

The House--
Not even a story, it's only 5m long. I kinda feel like it's a metaphor someone would use as a toast at a wedding?

To Make a Man--
A Cassandra retelling that's very obviously a Cassandra retelling.

What I least liked about it is that it's a short story already, but it first says everything from his POV, then repeats the WHOLE story from her POV. My memory is good enough to remember 15min ago, I didn't need it repeated word for word.

Preexisting Condition--
A resurrected man grapples with his love, then hate, then devotion to the one who brought him back.

The voice is a little quirky and a little naive, but I'm trying to write reviews as I go and it took a good deal to jog my memory even though I only read 2 additional stories after finishing this one, so I can't say it's very memorable or engaging.

Monster Love--
This one's weird. Real weird. And repetitive. Repetitive af. It would probably behoove me to repeat at least one more time. Because it says the same thing. Over and over again, it's the same.

I'm sure there's a reason, I just don't know what that reason is.

How to Dispel Friends and Curse People--
This one's kinda quirky, an entity who's smitten with a witch. It could be charming if there was something more to it, but it also kinda feels like like the voice of a simple computer program? idk.

Fates and Consequences--
So the premise of this was pretty fun: guy who is destined to experience tragedy and turn that pain into a cult + becoming a serial killer dies before that destiny is realized. He was generally a decent, good guy but was destined to go to hell, so that's where he ends up anyway.

But the actual story itself? Lacking. There's a sort of inevitability of fate tone, but also no real development of character or setting or plot that I can really sink my teeth into. Hades and Persephone are there, but it's not really a retelling.

Sous-vide--
I don't get it. I don't even get it enough to synopsis and I don't want to read it again. I think the narration called her a whore/slut a lot?

Meh.

Sensual Tales for Carnal Pleasures--
This is the third Greek myth retelling (or at least with the flavor and cameos of Greek figures) in this anthology. This time is Noctus.

It has the feeling of fated love but no real characterization between the leads, so I both don't know who they are nor what they see in each other, so it's pretty meaningless to me.

*Chaos Theory*--
The longest story in here by a wide margin.

This one has so many POVs and they all get introduced in a rather random manner before the plot kicks in. I was really confused and considering DNFing until it finally started the plot, and then I was very into it. This is a multi-verse story with a lot of different versions of one person (including one that's a cat) who have to kill someone in their lives because an assassin version of them killed him in her universe.

Fun, weird, sometimes pretty melancholy, sometimes silly.

A Year in January--
This was extra confusing because the first person character talks about having a clitoris and searching for only AFAB roommates but is also voiced by a male voice actor? No mentions of the character being trans that I noted.

The story of a roommate who's kinda alien and doesn't understand humans and having to teach her things.

This was my first Olivie Blake book and it definitely will not be my last. There wasn't a single story that I didn't escape into or adore in this collection. 4.5 stars for the whole collection. Highly recommend!
Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

I received the audiobook as an Arc from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley!!

Prior to reading this anthology, I had a love/hate relationship with Olivie Blake. I really enjoyed Master of Death and I have two of her other books on my TBR but I DNF’ed The Atlas Six after I reached a point in the book where I just could not go on. For this anthology, it’s a thumbs up! The stories are varied with some being whimsical and almost fairytale like with magical creatures. Then you turn the page and end up reading wedding vows. This was surprising for me and I’m glad I gave Olivie Blake another shot.

Overall, I’m giving it a 3.5.

I guess that it's a good editorial decision to put the strongest stories first but the result is that this gets progressively more boring and by the end I was like ehhh

Little late, but I was NOT going to listen to this with my family in the vehicle. Dodging that awkwardness Olivie! But "Januaries: Stories of Love, Magic, and Betrayal" from Olivie Blake is out now.

This collection of short stories run the gambit of sweet and sad to hey let's kill each other and see what powers we get for a couple of decades. Fans of her work will have a great time, new readers who might want to ruin a toxic ex or kill a pesky bird will find a story they love.

Narrated by Alexandra Palting, Daniel Henning, David Monteith, Ferdelle Capistrano, Olivie Blake, Stephanie Németh-Parker, and Steve West. Wonderful hearing from you all again as you murder/die your way through this collection.

Reasons to read:
-"I bring peeeeeeeeeeeace." Chills, so good
-Can we try that economic strategy?
-Seeing the oncoming pain because you, somehow still, know all the Greek myths
-Amazing performances for wildly different characters that pulled me into different slices of worlds
-Gotta clip you in every reality

Cons:
-I know your work and it is not safe to listen to when I am driving my little cousins!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillian audio for the audiobook!
I enjoyed this anthology more than I initially thought I would! I was so excited to see more by Olivie Blake and loved the idea of a fantasy anthology as a good starting dip into her writing. I am so glad I picked up this audiobook because it ended up being a fantastic read. I loved the theming of death and revenge; every story bring a new twist to the classic romance plotlines we all love from the young lovers to undying love. The Animation Games stood out as my favorite of the short stories as it was such an interesting perspective on how love is twisted by fate and time. My one note is I think a different story would have been a better opener than The Wish Bridge. That is not to say I didn't like the story, I actually did end up liking it but I think it gives a slightly different vibe than the rest of the anthology. I ended up expecting a different overall vibe based on the opener but after a few more stories I got a better picture of the theming (pleasant surprise because I liked the actual theming better).

WOW. Just wow. I loved this collection so incredibly much. It made me feel so many emotions, in particular “A Year in January” made me cry multiple times - and as someone who guards their emotions even to themselves that in itself is a feat, but I also felt so much joy, awe, anger, suspense, excitement, shocked shock, questioning of life etc. Literally whatever emotion you can think of.

Reading this felt like coming back to an old friend, as I got to reconnect with some of my favorite stories from Olivie’s self-published Fairytale Collections. These stories really never left my brain, but getting to experience them again in this version of myself was incredible. “To Make a Man” was even more incredible this time around than before. I knew I loved it but I don’t think I truly appreciated it the first time. Like- that story is a MASTERPIECE. I’m still so happy Olivie somehow heard all my manifesting about “Sucker for Pain” being in this collection. “Sensual Sensual Tales for Carnal Pleasures” to me is the most fairytaleesque of all the stories and I just love how dreamy the atmosphere is, I was still so entranced by it. And can never forget the OTPs that are Nile and Lila from “The Wish Bridge”, Rhosyn and Bran from “The Animation Games, and The Poet and the Village Witch from “How to Dispel Friends and Curse People”.

I found some new stories that will live in my head and heart forever too. “A Year in January” is probably the one nearest and dearest to my heart from the collection. It meant a lot to me and I cried multiple times. It’s up there with AWYITE as stories that truly touched my soul to its core. Additionally I fell in love with “Preexisting Condition” I literally have not stopped thinking about it-THE ENDING GUYS UGH INCREDIBLE. “Chaos Theory” is another favorite. Which if you know anything about me how could I not love a rival assassin’s meant to be together in every timeline but can’t type of story? The angst was so real but it was so good. I am dying to talk to people about the ending of “Sous Vide”. I don’t have kids, but as someone who tries desperately to act like everything is fine all of the time until they break down “Monsterlove” me cry. If you didn’t listen to the audio of this story in particular you are missing out. It was an entire experience in itself.

I highly recommend the audiobook in general. It's a cast and it’s INCREDIBLE. So well done-it really made me appreciate some of the stories even more.

One of my favorite reads of the year (this comes as a shock to no one I’m sure).

If you haven’t already, GO BUY THIS BOOK!!! You are bound to find a story that calls to your soul (and come back and tell me your favorites!)

Thank you to Macmillan audio, Tor Books, and Netgalley for providing me with an audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

Januaries by Olivie Blake is a magical short story collection that dives into the surreal and fantastical, bringing together fourteen unique tales about love, loss, and revenge. Each story spins an unexpected twist on classic themes, with characters like a wish-granting spirit on the brink of burnout, a Victorian orphan in a paranormal romance, and a fairy trying to make a new start through a Craigslist ad. Mixing familiar fantasy with modern touches, Januaries is an escape into enchanted worlds crafted with Blake’s signature imagination.

I’d give Januaries 3.5 stars. Olivie Blake’s creativity shines through in this collection, where each story feels like stepping into a strange, beautifully crafted world. The characters are quirky and memorable, and the mix of modern humor with classic fairy tale elements kept me intrigued. While some stories stood out as especially engaging, others felt a bit abstract or harder to follow, especially in audiobook form. I am not the biggest fan of short story collections, so you might enjoy this book more if you do!

👉🏻For my friends who like their love stories with a side of darkness, death, witchcraft, and reanimation, all delivered with humor and glee.

JANUARIES: Stories of Love, Magic & Betrayal by Olivie Blake (Narrated by a full cast and the author - see below)

🎧 Thanks, Macmillan Audio, for the #gifted audiobook. #macaudio2024 (Available now!)

This love-focused collection of ghost stories, dark poetry, reimagined mythology, and twisted fairy tales moved me. I laughed, was unnerved, was haunted, and was completely entertained. It was a #FiveSpongeAudiobook (a book so great you’re willing to clean to keep listening)! 🧽🧽🧽🧽🧽

The most lovely: "The House" read by the author
The most powerful: "Monsterlove" read by Alex Palting
The funniest: "How to Dispel Friends and Curse People" read by Daniel Henning

This is a perfect light-spooky collection for the end of October!

💀👹👺👻⚰️⚱️

"The Wish Bridge" read by Stephanie Nemeth Parker
"The Audit" read by David Monteith
"Sucker for Pain" read by Ferdelle Capistrano
"The Animation Games" read by David Monteith
💖"The House" read by Olivie Blake
"To Make a Man" read by Stephanie Nemeth Parker
"Preexisting Condition" read by Daniel Henning
😱"Monsterlove" read by Alex Palting
🤣"How to Dispel Friends and Curse People" read by Daniel Henning
"Fates and Consequences" read by Steve West
"Sous Vide" read by David Monteith
"Sensual Tales for Carnal Pleasures" read by Ferdelle Capistrano
"Chaos Theory" read by Alex Palting
"A Year in January" read by Steve West

Januaries is a collection of short fantasy stories. I always expect to have more forgettable stories mixed in with a few really good ones that stand out when reading anthologies, but there wasn’t a single story I didn’t enjoy. I do have my favorites and I’ll explain below why I’m not listing them yet.

The stories that focused on motherhood were so jarring at times that I had to pause and regroup but they found a way to leave me in awe. The narration for Monster Love had my heart pounding but I couldn’t stop listening.

That being said, I did receive the audio arc for this and I had a little trouble distinguishing between stories at times if I wasn’t 100% focused and the chapters didn’t match up in the app to help me discern which was which. I need to look at a physical copy to make sure I have some of the stories straight and take a second look which I absolutely will be doing the second I see a copy of this book! It was absolutely incredible.

This audiobook was narrated by an assortment of people including the author herself. I loved all of their performances!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Olivie Blake, and Macmillan Audio for providing this free ARC. This is my honest review. This published on October 15th.

I have posted my review on Goodreads, my Facebook book club, and will make a TikTok to post before the pub date raving about this book!

This was such a great story! Very excited for this book! I will definitely be recommended to all of my book friends.