Lush, lyrical, and spellbinding, Januaries is Olivie Blake at her most enchanting. This collection weaves love, betrayal, and magic into hauntingly beautiful stories that linger like a dream half-remembered. Every tale pulses with emotion and quiet power, showcasing Blake’s signature wit and heart. A stunning blend of the surreal and the deeply human.

This was very interesting.

I don't think I have ever read a short story collection, and if I have, it has been a long time and clesrly did not leave an impression on me. This however did leave an impression.

I do find it hard to rate this book as a whole because some of the stories were so wonderful and could border on 5 stars, but then there are others that I almost wanted to skip completely (looking at you Monster Love). The writing was phenomenal of course. Even if I don't like Blake's plots, I can never fault her writing it is impeccable and so well thought-out lyrically without being too purple.

These stories were all so different from one another, but it was still clear that they all had.a thread going through them that connected them all in one way or another.

I have to say her mind is absolutely wild to come up with some of the stories in this book and I would be quite interested to see longer versions, or even full novels, of some of these stories.

I could have read many many more in this collection, I didn't really want it to end.

Overall, i'll have to give it a 3.5 though because some of the stories did bring down the overall rating. But, this was really really good.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group for the ARC.

As with many story collections, not every piece in Januaries resonated equally, but the high points were striking enough to make the overall experience worth the read. The ones that did were exceptional—especially in Part IV: Winter.

There’s something about the tonal shift in these later stories—perhaps the melancholy of winter itself—that allows Blake’s voice to become more introspective, layered, and emotionally raw.

Chaos Theory was a standout, blending multiverse espionage with heartbreak. The story centers around a secret agent whose mission is to kill her lover across multiple realities. The metaphorical depth in this piece is particularly resonant, turning what could have been just a high-concept sci-fi premise into something more human.

Interestingly, this is a recurring theme throughout Januaries, in which lovers are caught in situations where entanglement becomes an existential threat. While this might sound grim, it’s approached with nuance and often used as a lens to explore obsession, betrayal, longing, and the messiness of human relationships. Blake doesn’t shy away from portraying the shadow sides of intimacy.

The final story, featuring a philosophical bedroom conversation with a roommate named January, wrapped up the collection on a thoughtful, intimate note. Overall, a creative and emotionally rich read with a few gems.

Januaries was a collection of short stories with various themes of magical realism. The plots were creative and the narration was well done. Greek mythology was tied in across several stories as well as themes of revenge and competition.

Overall, this was a great collection of stories. There were only a couple that were not my favorites. The story entitled “Monster” was such a great depiction of postpartum and the range of overwhelming emotions that can accompany that time. It was dark, heartbreaking, and spoke to my own experience with postpartum depression.

Thank you to @netgalley @macmillan.audio @torbooks for a free advanced copy of this audiobook.

This book was great and I highly recommend it for anyone in a reading slump or anyone who is trying to pick their next read and nothing is jumping out at them. This is the one!

A beautiful collection of short stories written by one of my favorite authors.

As someone who doesn’t read a lot of short stories, I found myself unexpectedly enchanted by this collection and realized that reading short stories is a great way to get out of a reading slump.

The first story was my favorite out of all of them.

Olivie Blake’s short stories take her half-brilliant and half-bizarre ideas and make them more digestible overall. Her novels usually leave me confused and dizzy, unsure of what I just read, or if I just hallucinated a whole plot. Her stories in bite-sized formats worked incredibly well for me. If you, like me, want to love Blake’s works but struggle to enjoy her full-length works, try this anthology out. While not every story was a homerun, you are bound to find one you enjoy due to their diverse subjects, setting, and plots.

My favorite stories were, “The Wish Bridge,” “The Animation Games,” and “Monster Love.”

“The Wish Bridge” ★★★★★
“The Audit” ★★★☆☆
“Sucker for Pain” ★★★☆☆
“The Animation Games” ★★★★★
“To Make a Man” ★★☆☆☆
“Pre Existing Condition” ★★☆☆☆
“Monsterlove” ★★★★★
“How to Dispel Friends and Curse People” ★★★☆☆
“Fates and Consequences” ★★★☆☆
“Sous Vide” ★★☆☆☆
“Sensual Tales for Carnal Pleasure” ★★★★☆
“Chaos Theory” ★☆☆☆☆
“A Year in January” ★★★☆☆

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, for the advanced audiobook copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Thanks, Macmillan Audio, for the ALC!

Olivie Blake is one of my auto-read authors, and she did not let me down with Januaries. It felt like I was reading a compilation of her indie work, with it being a book of her short stories. Each narrator was perfectly chosen for their short story, and I had a fantastic time listening to them bring Blake’s creative mind to life!

I would like to read any of these short stories as full-length novels - I was that intrigued by all of them. But absolute standouts for me were: The WIsh Bridge, Sucker for Pain, The Animation Games, To Make a Man, How to Dispel Friends and Curse People, and Sensual Tales for Carnal Pleasure.

They are stories you wish you could read again for the first time, but the fantastic thing about Olivie Blake is that every reread is like reading her work for the first time!

Thank you to Olivie Blake (author), the narrators (Alexandra Palting; Daniel Henning; David Monteith; Ferdelle Capistrano; Olivie Blake; Stephanie Németh-Parker; Steve West), Macmillian Audio, and Netgalley for this advanced listener copy of "Januaries: Stories of Love, Magic & Betrayal" for an honest review.

This anthology was a mixed bag for me, but all the stories are magical and twisted in a different way, keeping you listening/reading further. Some were longer, given them far more depth & detail, while others were very short and thus tight, but holding less information and ability to dive much deeper than the image they presented. My favorites were "The Wish Bridge," "Chaos Theory," and "A Year in January/"

This is a collection of short stories. Some are very short (TG Monster Love was one of them) and some are a bit more in depth. Some were longer and more complex, which I enjoyed more, leading me to believe I am not really a fan of short story collections in general. Overall, there were more good than bad ones, and I would recommend this book to people who like sipping their fiction. I appreciate the ARC, and enjoyed the narration for all except Monster Love. These were my favorite three:

"The Wish Bridge" read by Stephanie Nemeth Parker -
"The Audit" read by David Monteith -
"Chaos Theory" read by Alex Palting

I loved all of these stories. Which isn’t surprising since I love most of what Olivie Blake does. Almost every story made me wish she would take that little snippet and write a full novel which to me is the sign of a well done short story.

This group of stories explore love, magic, and betrayal, with a mix of mystery and mayhem. It creates an atmosphere of chaos that lingers long after you finish reading. This Author does a good job of showcasing intricate emotions and strained relationships throughout the collection.

Some stories felt a bit uneven, some hit more than others and everything felt intense and passionate, which could be overwhelming when listening to the Audiobook at 2x speed. There were moments when I felt how the narrator sounded and it was unnerving, definitely some unhinged energy which is not always a bad thing, but for this one it sent my nervous system into fight or flight, which is probably just a me thing lol.

Overall, “Januaries” is an intriguing collection with some great moments. 3.5 ‘s

Thank you to the Author Olivie Blake for writing this story as well to the narrators who brought the story to life.

Thank you as well to MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for my no cost audiobook copy of this book.

The Januaries by Olivie Blake is a beautifully written, whimsical story with an emotional punch. The characters are complex and relatable, and the plot is full of magic and heartache. While the pacing is slow in places, the gorgeous prose and clever twists make it a memorable read. Perfect for dreamers!

2.5 ⭐️ a collection of short stories, aside from the first story which was a 5 star, the rest were pointlessly horny and confusing. sooo dnf at 70%.
i really loved the first story though so at least there’s that 😅🥴 also didn’t love some of the narraters so if you want to read this (despite this review) i’d suggest it be read physically.
thank you Netgalley for this audio ARC in exchange for review.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This is a collection of short stories, and that's not something I normally read. There were some I liked better than others but overall this was very good. There were multiple narrators throughout the audiobook, and they all did a very nice job. I liked how having different narrators made each tale uniquely its own.

Januaries is filled with magical worlds and charming characters. Each story is well crafted and draws you in. I really enjoyed this. It was very different than what I'm used to reading, and I would love reading more like this.

Thank you, Macmillan Audio, for this complimentary copy. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Overall, Januaries is a beautifully written and emotionally resonant novel that will stay with readers long after they turn the final page. It is a testament to the power of storytelling to capture the human experience and offer solace in times of loss.
Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced listening copy!

Wow, I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would! Some of the stories felt like a Grimm's Fairytale and others like a Black Mirror episode! While I didn't love every story there were several that I never wanted to end!

I enjoyed the multiple narrators throughout the book and that helped make a distinction between stories.

This could be my favorite book of 2024. I love a collection of bizarre and thought provoking stories. I was hooked from the first story to the last. You know it's a good one when you call your husband just to talk about the plot and premise. The first one was probably my favorite with the bridge and the romance. I did like the second one too because it made me think. A few of the stories were strange and I don't know if I understood them as well as I could have. Overall, I highly recommend this collection as one that will make you think!

Love, assassinations, revenge, motherhood, weird roommates, monsters, gods, humans - everything you could want in a novel is found in at least one of the gems in this collection. The range of genres is truly astounding!

Most of these stories I would read as full on novels!

I want to crawl inside this book. I dont understand how Blake creates different voices and writing styles for all these different stories, but its truly magical. I want to gift this to everyone I know.