I always enjoy Olivie Blake's writing and getting multiple short stories from them was great! There were some that I didn't connect with as much as others, but overall I really enjoyed every story in this book and plan to get a hardcopy.

Thank you NetGalley, Olivie Blake, and MacMillan Audio for the audiobook ARC!

4/5 stars
Januaries is an anthology of whimsical short stories ranging from dealing with magic wishes, love and betrayal, and in some cases, death. I'm not a huge short story fan but I love Olivie Blake's writing and was excited to check out this audiobook! I love audiobooks and the narration for these short stories were fantastic.

My favorite stories included The Wish Bridge, Sucker for Pain, and Fate and Consequences. I honestly wish these were longer because they caught my attention despite being so short. I liked how there was a diverse range of what the stories were about, and would definitely reccomend it for those who can sometimes get bored of longer books.

If you're a fan of lyrical writing and whimsical stories, I would definitely reccomend giving the audiobook a listen!

Januaries is a magical anthology from Olivie Blake. The anthology features a wide range of short stories that deal with love, betrayal, fairy tales, magic that comes with a price, and so much more. Some of these stories have been published before, while others are brand-new. I can’t wait to get a hard copy! I listened to this on audio and was in complete awe of the cast of audiobook narrators that participated. Every story was narrated with care and intention.

I really enjoyed the creativity of “The Wish Bridge,” which questions how the fairy tale creatures that wait by a bridge to strike bargains might feel about it.

One of the stories that really stood out and I loved was “Monsterlove,” which is impressively narrated by Alex Palting with spirit and fervor. In “Monsterlove,” a mother grapples with the cost of having a baby. The pain, joy, and longing come across in vivid emotions that you can literally hear in Alex Palting’s voice. It’s beautiful, sad, and heartbreakingly real.

“Chaos Theory” absolutely broke my brain with how clever it was. When I initially started the story, I thought things were going a certain way and then Olivie Blake expanded the entire universe of the story in a way that I never considered. I loved all the characters, the exploration of chaos theory, and the difficult choices they had to make.

“Sous Vide” was hilarious and I loved the concept of cooking for demons/eldritch horrors who really love your food and dispense some forbidden life advice along the way.

“A Year in January” was bittersweet and kind. A man places an ad for a roommate and is surprised by who answers him. The mental health rep was excellent. One of my favorite lines was “sometimes things are real even if they aren’t.”

I enjoyed something from every story and would highly recommend this magical anthology to anyone.

Thank you to Olivie Blake, Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for a free audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc.

Januaries is a collection of short stories and novellas written by Olivie Blake that I was just absolutely in love with. What I appreciated about the audio is the collection of different narrators that read each story, including some of my favorites from other books she has written.

Overall, these stories feel like a collection of fairy tales, and there's such a mix of emotions. From desperation to hopelessness to love to humor, there's such a wide range of stories that there's definitely something there for everyone. One of my favorites, "The Animation Games," was definitely a humorous story that I fell in love with immediately. And for the most part, I loved every single story in this collection. If you haven't read anything by Olivie Blake by this point and you want to start somewhere to get a feel for her writing, literally pick up this book and read any one of these. They are all absolutely amazing and packed full of the usual charm you'll see in her novels.

From whimsical fantasy to dark speculative fiction, this is a great collection that has something for everyone. While I connected with some stories in this anthology more than others, Monsterlove and The Wish Bridge really stood out to me. The narrator of Monsterlove really captured my attention and made the story come alive!

I didn’t realize this was a series of short stories initially, but it was so well done and really cool. The prose is lovely and because they’re short stories it keeps you very interested. This is a great read for fall and I really enjoyed myself.

Thank you so much to the publisher & NetGalley for this advanced listener copy. Januaries is a magical collection of short stories, and the audiobook features a multi cast narration. Overall this was a four star read for me. I did DNF two of the short stories but this was due to the narrator, I’m not sure I would have skipped them on paper.

The Wish Bridge - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Absolutely loved this one, beautiful start to the collection with a fairytale/folklore vibe.

The Audit - ⭐️⭐️
I have no idea what the point of this was, to be honest

Sucker for Pain - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I genuinely wished this one was a full book. I loved this story.

The Animation Games - ⭐️

The House - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Interesting concept, I love that Olivie Blake narrated this herself. Poetic story

To Make A Man - ⭐️

Preexisting Condition - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was funny but didn’t really stand out to me

Monster Love - DNF
The narrator ruined this one for me. It sounded like slam poetry and I was totally distracted by this narrator.

How to Dispel Friends and Curse People - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Letters to the village witch is a super fun concept, execution was just okay

Fate and Consequences - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
So funny, enjoyed this

Sous Vide - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Was excited for a New England setting. The story itself was just okay.

Sensual Tales for Carnal Desires - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Just okay

Chaos Theory - DNF
I cannot with this narrator

A Year in January - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sweet exploration of human kindness, mental health, and being strange

I had such a wonderful time with this anthology. I find short story collections to be a hit or miss for me, but most of the stories in this were a hit. I especially loved The Animation Game, The Wish Bridge, and the Audit. These stories were magical, fantastical, and occasionally quite emotional.

I also really liked that there were multiple narrators for this audiobook. It kept things feeling fresh and new which I appreciated.

Overall, I really liked this collection and I recommend it!

First, thank you to Netgalley and the author for this ARC!

I had the audiobook version of this, which was quite nice as it was narrated by multiple people. Most of the stories were quite enjoyable, with my favorites being 'The Wish Bridge', 'Sucker for Pain', and 'The Animation Games'. There were a few where I really didn't know what was going on, even by the end, and one that I just didn't enjoy, and those are really the only reasons why I can't give this a full five stars. Otherwise, the stories were written beautifully and each narrator did a wonderful job!

I am obsessed with this audio! All the different narrators bringing their stories to life in only the way that they can. The audio quality was great and there were not distortions or glitches of ant type. The stories themselves were a grab bag of beautiful, lush, thought provoking and weird in the best way.

A wonderful collection of short stories, this book was full of fairytales, sci-fi, and musings on the human experience. I’ve never read anything by Oliveri Blake before, but I will certainly be picking up her backlist now! I loved that each story was a different length, and so I never knew what to expect and how much development of a plot or character there would be. Highly, highly enjoyable! Please pick this up if you’re a lover of short story collections, a lover of futuristic, parallel, universes, a lover of diverse tellings, or a lover of being lost in another world for a few minutes.

Januaries is an wonderful short story collection. by the masterful Olivie Blake examining love, life, and death. The stories cover genres including Olivie's signature fantasy and sci-fi, and the audiobook is beautifully narrated by a whole host of actors. I definitely recommend the collection to anyone looking to escape in bite-sized story bits.

The collection kicks off with The Wish Bridge, which ended up being one of my favorites of the whole collection - I don't want to spoil too much, but this one made my heart absolutely sing as Lila, the bridge-keeper becomes more and more aware of the world. This is followed up by The Audit where the government is piloting a program to provide people with their future earnings in their 20's so that they can better enjoy their life while their young. The House was another favorite of mine that reads like a treatise on marriage and I can absolutely see this becoming a reading in many literary-minded wedding ceremonies in the future. Chaos Theory was another gem for me - following five women across different worlds and what happens when their lives intertwine. There were certainly a few stories that didn't quite hit for me, but the excellent far outweigh the ones that didn't quite work.

I would also definitely. recommend listening to Januaries as an audiobook, the different narrators each bring their own flair to the different stories and I loved each and every one. Januaries accompanied me on a long road trip up and I couldn't have asked for better company.

Overall, I highly recommend - thank you so much to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the advanced copy.

Januaries is a truly unique volume of short stories. Most of them lean towards fantasy but a few have a more sci-fi vibe. There are over a dozen stories in all, broken up by season. The length of each story varies widely. With the audiobook, the shortest is about five minutes and the longest story is over three hours. I listened to them in order but I think you could read them in any order if you really wanted to. They don’t necessarily build on each other.

All of the stories are a bit open-ended. Each one left me wondering what would happen next. They almost feel like story starters or plot bunnies. This may be frustrating for some readers but I think it works well with this type of anthology. It gives you a sense of the author’s style without the commitment of a longer work. Januaries can be read or listened to in bite sized pieces. It definitely has me eager to read more books by this author.

The audiobook is well done. There are seven narrators who read the different stories. While the title is read for each section, the narrators never say their names. Unless you’re already familiar with each voice, it may be difficult to tell who is who. Each of them does a wonderful job though.

Januaries is the first book that I have read from author Olivie Blake but I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

I voluntarily listened to and reviewed an advanced copy of this audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is phenomenal. It is a fabulous example of Olivie Blake's masterful prose and wordplay. From the first short story to the last, "Januaries" evoked every emotion in me: grief, joy, devotion, resignation, purpose, excitement. "The Wish Bridge," "The Animation Games," and "To Make a Man" were my favorites and I recommend all readers at least explore those three stories.

I listened to the audiobook and I feel that the narrators added to the stories immensely. The narrator for "Monsterlove" was particularly talented and the narrator of "Fates and Consequences" is one of my favorite narrators. I recognize their voice from listening to "Masters of Death."

I received this audiobook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Olivie Blake, and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted to GoodReads check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863 and it will be posted to my bookstagram account https://www.instagram.com/tinynightingales/
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Rating each short story as I go ☆
Spring
1. The Wish Bridge | ★★★★★
2. The Audit | ★★★★★
3. Sucker for Pain | ★★★

Summer
4. The Animation Games | ★★★★★
5. The House | ★★★★★
6. To Make a Man | ★★★★★
7. Preexisting Condition | ★★★★

Autumn
8. Monsterlove | ★★★★★ (fantastic narrator)
9. How to Dispel Friends and Curse People | ★★★
10. Fates and Consequences | ★★★☆ (my fav narrator)
11. Sous Vide | ★★★☆

Winter
12. Sensual Tales for Carnal Pleasures | ★★★★
13. Chaos Theory | ★★★
14. A Year in January | ★★★★★

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the Audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Pub Date: October 15, 2024

5 stars (listen to the audiobook!)
I normally struggle with books of short stories as there just isn't enough time for me to get invested and understand the characters but Blake is magic. I can somehow understand and feel more connection to characters in her short stories than I can to other authors characters in entire novels.

And the narrators...they were all different for each story (a few narrators had a few stories they read) but totally amazing and just right for their respective stories. I think having different narrators also really helped with the breaks between the different stories; this is the way a book of short stories needs to be done. And Alex Palting ("Monsterlove" and "Chaos Theory") needs to win awards. I don't think I would have liked/appreciated/understood "Monsterlove" (or at least not as much) if I read it.

I will always be enraptured by this authors work. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the gifted audio.

4 ⭐️
This was my first Olivie Blake and I enjoyed this so much!!☺️ it was definitely very different than what I’m used to reading (I have never read short stories before) but I really enjoyed that each story had a touch of magic, fairy tales, and super captivating detail!!😍
I will say though, that I did find myself losing interest on some of the stories! My favorite one out of all was the very first story (The Wish Bridge) and I really really wished it was longer!!!😭🩷
I appreciated the narrators as well, I think for me they are the ones who made really brought the stories to life! 😍

Thank you so much MacMillian Audio and NetGalley for the ARC!

As someone who is not typically drawn to short stories, I completely fell in love with this book. These stories will have you falling in love with the characters on the page and questioning the truths of life itself. A book of absolutely magical stories full of yearning and wishes, bloodlust and seduction, strangeness and otherworldly connections. Explore magical bridges and witches, vampires and alternate realities, unfulfilled wishes and happy endings, young love and old rivalries. Olivie Blake simply does no wrong, and her short stories are as incredible as you would expect.

Januaries is a compilation of short stories divided into four parts, each representing a different season. Like many collections of short stories, I found that I liked some of these more than others.

Januaries captivated me from the beginning. Starting with stories about wish granting and transitioning into supernatural beings, bargains, and fairy tales, it's enchanting. There's a distinct sense to each story. You can feel each of them brought to life in front of our eyes. And there's something for everyone here. I could write mini love letters to each stories. Like a collection, this feels eclectic and prismatic.

The fact that the audiobook has a whole cast of narrators, Alexandra Palting, Daniel Henning, David Monteith, Ferdelle Capistrano, Olivie Blake, Stephanie Németh-Parker & Steve West feels like such a gift. Not only is that incredibly fun, but it means that each story quickly establishes itself. And I love when short story collections have multicast narration! It's the icing on the cake of what is already a phenomenal story.