I always find it so interesting to find an anthology or collection of additional works by an author I admire. I feel as though it allows me to glimpse beyond the curtain into their writing process and see a bit more into how their mind works on a smaller scale, rather than in just the larger novels which hit the shelves.

When we, as readers, get our hands on a novel, the author is focused on one particular idea and is able to more fully explore that idea. They are able to allow the characters within to develop and are able to create various plot points and twists and turns. In these short stories and novellas, the author is given a much more limited window and is often brain dumping an idea. Sometimes it could turn into more and sometimes it will remain the nugget of what it is.

I think each is unique and shows she has a lot of great thoughts. Not all of them are perfect but I don't think all of them are meant to be. Writers explore a lot of voices, styles, situations, etc, in order to find what works for them and what they are trying to convey. This was a great example of showing a collection of works which make up part of a writer's body of works and how their style can change as they explore the boundaries of how they want to convey a story to their reader.

It was incredibly well done and I am so thankful I got the chance to feel like I was sitting at Olivie Blake's desk, rifling through pages, reading bits and pieces of works she has not yet shared before.

I will always be here for anything written by Blake. Her creativity, choice of theme, dialogue, turn of phrases, and characters are always interesting and engrossing.

This collection is a prime example. The very first story roped me in and kept me interested til the very end. We get stories spanning time and universes, exploring love, desires, and existence. There is definitely a story here for everyone. Unexpected yet enjoyed were the stories that gave multi-perspectives across time and with shocking interactions.

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ 5 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤 ˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗

I will read everything and anything Olivie Blake writes, which even means reading a collection of short stories because it's not typically a go to for me but I really enjoyed these.

In this collection you’ll find witches, fairytales, multiverses, and life lessons. I found many of the them captivating, super weird, moving, or charming. Even a set of wedding vows. It's divided by season and the stories range from sci-fi to fantasy to speculative or metaphorical. Sometimes drawing on mythology or folklore, sometimes poetic, often tragic. Covering topics such as relationships, motherhood, mental health, power and more.

ೃ⁀➷ ★ ₊ ˚ If you love lyrical, witty prose with whimsy and all the magic- highly recommend.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ I received the audio arc and the cast of narrators are absolutely fantastic - Olivie Blake aka Alexene Farol Follmuth even offers her own narration which was amazing.

ೃ⁀➷ ★ ₊ ˚ Perfect for spooky season and available right around the corner on 10/15/24 - highly recommend for when you need something extraordinary - but with minimal pages.

✨ Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio (BFF's 😘) for the advanced audio copy - all thoughts are my own. ✨

Januaries is a collection of short stories, split into four sections, one for each season. As with many short story collections, I enjoyed some of these more than others. Overall, taking my rating of each story and averaging it out, my rating for the collection as a whole is , which is sadly lower than I expected. I think I don't understand why each story fit into each season, and why it was split into seasons in the first place. I would still recommend this book for those who already like Blake's writing style, or those who want to get a glimpse of what she is capable of.

There is a conversation about human nature in all of these stories, but I think for my favorites those meditations were focused on betrayal, which made them more interesting than others. For the ones I didn't enjoy as much, I found I either didn't get the meaning or the story itself was too boring to finish to get the meaning. There were some stories as well that were just fine. The kind of story where you listen, enjoy it, but know you won't think about it again once it's finished.

The audiobook has different narrators for each story. Like the stories themselves, some were better than others, but all were easy to listen to and understand, even at a higher speed.

4.25⭐
This is a collection of short stories and novelas grouped by season: stories of love, magic, and betrayal. As with any collection, some will probably resonate more with you than others, but I think the themes are fairly week grouped and quality across the board is pretty high. Some get pretty dark; being familiar with Olivie's Atlas trilogy, I wasn't surprised. The cast of narrators do an excellent job and I really enjoyed them all. Stories I particularly enjoyed: The Wish Bridge, Sucker for Pain, The Animation Games, Monsterlove, How to Disturb Friends and Curse People, Sous Vide, and Chaos Theory. The narrator for Monsterlove and Chaos Theory (Alex Palting) was a level above in terms of emoting.

Thank you to Macmillian Audio for an ALC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book is due to be published 10/15/24. I'll be posting to Instagram shortly before the publish date.

Picture Neil Gaimen and Stephen King sitting around chatting about story ideas and you might wind up with a book like this. I put Gaimen first as the prose is a bit lyrical.

This author is new to me, but I will definitely be looking for more of her work. Every single narrator in this book is top-notch, and I will be on the lookout for more of them as well.

I will say this is a book I would want to have on my bookshelf in hard copy form for years to enjoy. I did find it a bit difficult to follow in audiobook form, as is usually the case with collections of short stories. A bit more focus is required as the stories change pretty frequently, so just know going in to keep to more mindless tasks while listening to this one. It is absolutely worth it to own the audio as well.

Thanks to Netgalley for the audio ARC

Genre: speculative fiction short stories
Narrated by Alexandra Palting; Daniel Henning; David Monteith; Ferdelle Capistrano; Olivie Blake; Stephanie Németh-Parker; Steve West

I'm a sucker for speculative fiction short stories, and in this collection from Olivie Blake, I'm happiest with the ones that veers more towards the speculative than the fantasy. For me the ideal short story is one that leaves you thinking, rather than presenting you with a beginning-middle-end. The stories that make you wonder and reflect on your own nature as a human and as a reader. There is a good mix for any reader, though, with some jaunts through faerie and a beautiful passage about marriage that would work well for a wedding reading, some dark and twisty murder plots, and a thought exercise about getting paid your life's worth in advance.

The audiobook is very well produced - there are different narrators for different stories, which keeps you engaged from one to the next. The stories themselves are also well organized, varying in length and grouped by tone: spring, summer, autumn, winter.

I've only read one of Blake's novels to date, and it was *fine* for me. Enjoyable, some clever moments, but not quite a fit for me as a reader. This collection on the other hand was excellent. Her writing is showcased in the tight structures with limited word counts. It's no that there isn't room for fluff or style, but these hold their shape in a way I find really appealing.

Januaries, stories of love magic in betrayal by Olivie Blake. This is a great book for anyone who loves short stories fairytales fantasy and fiction stories with just a bit of the whimsical.
These stories Although short or multifaceted and have plot and subplots that were well written which totally blew my mind. Usually in an anthology you really don’t get stories with such well developed characters but you certainly do with this book. I listen to the audiobook that has a multicast narration Who in my opinion all did a fabulous job. I don’t know his name but I especially liked the narrator who did the story about the guy who gets his potential life earnings while he’s still young and doesn’t know what to do with it and at the same time falls in love with the agoraphobic Who lives downstairs he also did other stories in the book and there’s a lot of stories. I love books like this and wish I could do a better job at giving brief summaries for the stories but their just so versatile and multifaceted it’s hard to do The stories justice, just know if you love different type magical stories and love to see where one authors imagination can take them you would definitely enjoy this book I absolutely did. #NetGalley,#McMillan audio, #OlivieBlake, #Januaries

Dnf at 57%

There were so many great stories related to love, how love shows up, and maybe even toxic love.

I particularly enjoyed:

- the wish bridge
- the audit
- the house
- monsterlove

The narrator in monsterlove did so great! Alex Palting read it with such emotions that I could feel the tension that the mother was feeling.

I dnf this not because it wasn’t good, but because there were just too many short stories.

This felt too long and I started losing interest.
I wish it was two books instead.

The vibes: Fables, Black Mirror, life lessons, mental health, complicated love
TW: PPD, su!cide, emotional abuse and imprisonment

What a range! In this collection you’ll find witches, fairytales, multiverses, and life lessons. I found many of the them captivating, super weird, moving, or charming.

It opens with The Wish Bridge, which was a sweet fairy-tale like story- with commentary on what people’s disregard for others’ wishes. The Audit was a fun one as well, and gave me some light-hearted Black Mirror vibes. Some of the other stories go from weird to very dark. Monsterlove really stood out to me- it read like a spoken word performance on mental health, and the ugly side of parenthood that many people hide from the world (TW: implied PPD). But this story, and many of the others may appeal only to a specific audience. So I think this will be a hit for the right people.

It’s hard to rate when it’s a compilation, but in general I enjoyed this. It’s weird, it’s at times poetic, and captivating. Won’t be for everyone though. I think audio is definitely the way to go- the short form really shines with multiple narrators’ performances.

Olivie Blake returns with a fantastic short story collection that ranges from fantasy to fairytales, and even a set of wedding vows. The audio is exceptionally done and I was thrilled to hear Olivie also record a story. If you're looking for Blake's classical witty writing and humor, then you'll find them in here for sure. Well done and incredible story-craft, Olivie really shines in the short-form.

Thank you for the audio to net galley and publishers!

Oh my gosh I literally LOVED this audiobook! It was absolutely perfect for fall/spooky season. It was full of captivating whimsy, and it’ll have you hooked!

Normally I’m not a huge fan of short story collections/anthologies but this one was amazing. I adore Olivie Blake and her writing and this short story collection was no exception. There were obviously stories I felt kind of meh about, but I still enjoyed every single one. The settings and vibes are all so well done in each story and helps truly set them apart from each other. I had the audiobook for this and the full cast narration was definitely one of my favorite parts of this reading experience. It really helped separate each story and truly make them feel like they’re their own. I’m rating this a 5 because again, I truly enjoyed every single story just some more so than others.

I went into this book knowing that I loved the author and expected it to be another story. I went in almost blind, except for my knowledge of her writing and exceptional prose. My feet were knocked out from under me and I was left reeling.

When I started reading this book, I was immediately pulled in and tossed around, then thrown out and back in again, as I wasn't expecting a collection of short stories (I trust, after reading so many books by her, thank Ms "Blake" will deliver an experience worth having) I was confused in the best and most satisfying way. I hung on, like a roller coaster the repeated ups and downs left me smiling and eager for more.

The narrators are all familiar to me too, and they were all excellent choices for their stories, some repeated and with each one it made sense why they were chosen. If you couldn't tell, I listened to this as an audiobook and would highly recommend you do the same if you are partial to them.

ARC Review
If you love a good, quick, fantastical book, these are so fun! Some I enjoyed more than others, but the beauty of it is that there are so many that there's bound to be something for everyone. Each story was unique, yet they fit together perfectly in this collection. Definitely recommend! I listened to 1 a day while driving/doing dishes/etc and it was nice to escape for a short period of time into a new story every day.

This was my first Olivie Blake book and I am in awe of her range. This was a diverse and increasingly complex set of short stories, and I loved each one more than the last!

A collection of short anthologies by Olivie Blake. This is my first published read by this author, I originally started reading her fanfiction work on ao3, and this did not disappoint. No short story is like the others, each unique in their themes and plot. My favorite was Lyla and Nile’s bridge story, it set the pace for the rest of the book, opening with a feeling of wonder and magic. I also really enjoyed the fairy that answers a Craigslist ad, this one was quirky. And then Sucker For Pain, about the familiar turning vampire, of love and sorrow. Overall, a great collection of variety with a little something for everyone. If you haven’t read anything from this author this would also be a great introduction to her writing style.

I really enjoyed this audiobook! I have been a fan of this author for a while, so I was excited to see this short story collection when it was announced. My only dissapointment with this book is that some of the stories felt too short-- I would have enjoyed hearing some of these stories further fleshed out into their own novels, as some had the possiblity of being much more detailed and nuanced in a longer length. A few of the stories made me feel as if I was just getting into the pacing and world of the characters right before they would end, leaving me wanting more but having no means to get it. I could say that this is just the skill of a great writer-- leaving their audience wanting more-- but I believe in a few instances it really was that the story needed more detail and words behind it to really bring it to the conclusion that it deserved.

I thought that the use of multiple narrators for each of the stories was a nice touch, and it helped to differentiate the stories within the book. I would have liked to have had a distinct seperation between the stories (such as "Story number 1" or something similar) instead of just the title, as sometimes I was unsure if a new story had begun or not if the narrators had similar voices.

I would highly recommend this collection, and I would love to see more similar collections of stories from this author, or even a fully realized novel version of many of the stories included in this collection.

This was a delightful collection of short stories. I loved how not all the stories had happy endings, and that there was a wide range of people, mythology, and depth explored.

I’m not always a fan of short stories, but that is not the case with this collection. Blake gives us a wide array of themes, characters, and morals, and none of them disappoint. It’s a fantastic collection.