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.

Was I the only one who felt like some of these short stories weren’t quite complete……perhaps it was because I listened to the audiobook but several times I felt like the story abruptly ended and I was left thinking wait what???? I will probably revisit the print version and see if that helps my brain compute it all in case I had space brain while listening.
Overall if you like Olivie Blake you will probably enjoy this collection of short stories.
I received a ALC of this title, all opinions are my own.

A captivating collection of short stories that blend fantasy, romance, and intrigue. With its diverse range of characters and settings, from magical bridges to multiverse assassins, this book offers a unique and enchanting reading experience. Blake's masterful storytelling and rich, imaginative worlds make "Januaries" a must-read for fans of fantasy and short fiction, promising new discoveries with each reread.

This was such a great collection of stories! I really enjoy Olivie Blake's writing, and the stories that she comes up with are so very interesting and strange, and having a whole collection of stories was so much fun to read!

This collection is divided into the seasons. First up was Spring, and I my favourite story from that was Sucker for Pain, which was a vampire/witch story, and I loved where the story went. For summer, my I had 2 favourites, The Animation Games, where this couple keep killing each other, it was morbid and fantastic! And To Make a Man, because I wanted to know what was going on and the timeline was all over the place.

For autumn, Sous Vide, which was creepy, and oh, that ending was the best! For winter, it has to be Chaos Theory, or The Free Agent's Guide to Transitive Thermodynamics, which was confusing at first since I had this book as an audiobook, so it took a minute, but once I got that it was the multiverse story, then it made much more sense!

These worlds were so creative and interesting, that I couldn't help but be entranced by and sucked into the story by the writing. I had such a great time reading all of these stories, even if they confused be and were so wild and weird, they were just that good and well written!

Loved reading this collection and I can't wait to read more by Olivie Blake!

I've been trying to decide if she will be an automatic buy for me, and this collection solidified it for me. Such an awesome collection of short stories.

Thank you to MacMillian Audio, Olivie Blake, and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of the audiobook for Januaries in exchange for my honest review.

Januaries is a collection of short stories and novellas written by Olivie Blake. Given the nature of this book. I am not going to summarize each individual short story because that would provide spoilers and likely cause this review to be way too long. What I will say is that I would recommend this audiobook to all fans of Blake's other works. I really appreciated how the narrators were different for each of the stories, allowing you to recognize the mark of a new story, without feeling like you are hearing the same person read a new story utilizing the same character voices. Similarly, with this being an audiobook of short stories and novellas, it made it easy to pick up and listen to if I had a task I wanted to get done, without wanting to dive into a full-length audiobook. It allowed me to achieve that desire of listening to an audiobook without being drawn into a story that would take 10+ hours to finish. While not every story was my absolute favorite, that is to be expected when you are reading a collection of different stories that contain different themes and plots. At the end of the day, I had fun listening to this book and will definitely be either reading it or listening to it (depending on my mood) again in the future.

This book is certainly for someone, however that someone is not me. I took a chance on this and truthfully that was my bad. some stories were great, others I could hardly care enough to finish. I probably wont be picking up another O.B. book in the future after reading this and AWYITE.

“Januaries” was an enchanting read that completely swept me away. The stories were whimsical, emotionally rich, and beautifully crafted. Blake’s writing style was flawless, weaving together fantasy and reality in a way that felt magical yet deeply human.

Each tale captured the true beauty of the fantasy elements, while also offering moments that resonated emotionally. The characters were captivating, and their journeys were full of heart and depth. Overall, “Januaries” left a lasting impression, and I found myself thinking about these stories long after reading.

Extra kudos to the narrator of this story as well. The enunciation, emotion, and cadence was absolutely perfect!

Thank you #NetGalley and #MacmillanAudio!

These stories are all so so good. I would say they range from good to exceptional—this is the first collection of stories I’ve read that I can say that about.

Each story is unique, magical in its own right, and each one tears your heart just a little bit further.

The immense amount of creativity that went into this collection is evident and incredibly impressive.

Each story left me slightly unsettled, but that was the most effective part of the whole collection, in my opinion.

This is truly a collection imbued with love, magic, and betrayal. And I loved it.

Audiobook note: Each of the narrators is outstanding and individual enough to keep the entire collection moving forward. Highly recommend this for audiobook lovers.

Thank you, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley, for this ALC/ARC!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️/5

I love Olivie Blake so naturally I ran to this title. And let me tell you, it did NOT disappoint! Every single story in this collection was absolutely delicious and dark.

Januaries by Olivie Blake is a stunning collection of short stories that beautifully blends fantasy and real-world emotions. Each story feels like its own universe, filled with magical elements that enhance the deeply human experiences at their core.

One standout story for me was A Year in January. the subtle but profound transformations, both for January and the story’s narrator. The way Blake navigates themes of love, loneliness, and healing is incredibly moving. The narrator's quiet struggles with what feels like depression are depicted with such authenticity that it resonated deeply with me. Meanwhile, January’s wisdom brings warmth and a sense of hope, as they both learn from each other in unexpected ways. The story’s exploration of connection and understanding between two lost souls is heartwarming and filled with tender moments.

Overall, Januaries is a must-read for fans of fantasy who also appreciate stories rooted in emotional depth. Olivie Blake has crafted a collection that feels both otherworldly and deeply relatable, and I can’t recommend it enough.

Man, I love Olivie Blake's writing, and her collection of short stories is no exception! These stories were whimsical, magical, emotional, twisted, and fun.

My favorites were:

🩸 Sucker for Pain - A young girl becomes ward to a mother and son Witch duo. As an adult, she's not sure if she's in love with the son, or if she's just been manipulated her whole life into thinking she should be. I WISH THIS WERE A FULL BOOK it was so good.

👩‍🍳 Sous Vide - A young woman gets a job cooking for a demon. Even though she's not supposed to interact with the demon, she ends up relying on them to work through her romantic relationship with her older professor.

🌌 Chaos Theory - Five women caught in different relationships, living in different times and spaces, find out they are interconnected in a way that will change them forever. This is another one that absolutely could have been its own book, but it was the most substantive and longest of the stories in this collection.

⏳ A Year in January - A young woman finds a roommate off Craigslist who may or may not be from this world. It was a moving account of navigating being bipolar and the effect that has on friendships.

Most stories really worked for me, but a couple didn't. For instance, I should have connected with Monsterlove, a stream-of-consciousness story about motherhood and maintaining one's identity without falling victim to the pressure of perfection. But it was just too chaotic and cerebral for me to find its rhythm.

This collection fits right into and compliments Blake's body of work. I think it would be great for established fans of hers, as well as people just trying her out. I can't wait for her next book!

I've been hearing a lot about Olivia Blake for a while and meaning to read something, and it seemed like a good idea to start with a short story collection. I was really blown away from the beginning, and I'm going to be reliving the feelings I got from the stories for a while. I knew it was going to be great when I fell in love with the characters in the first story, and didn't want to leave that world.
Thanks to NetGalley, I got to listen to the audiobook, which is fantastic. If you enjoy audiobooks, this one is excellent and very well done.

Anthologies are always a crapshoot, since there are some high points and low points in every collection. This one was surprising in that there were very few I didn't particularly enjoy ("Monster Love" was just a bit TOO out there for me), and a number that I genuinely would have read whole books about rather than the short stories we got, with "The Wish Bridge" being my personal favorite.

The audiobook was a lovely way to experience this book - including getting to hear Olivie Blake read a story!

"The Wish Bridge" 5 stars! i love it!
"The Audit" 2 stars... weirdddd.
"Sucker for Pain" 5 stars! LOVE!
"The Animation Games" 3 stars
"The House" Im lost.
"To Make a Man" 4 stars, interesting!
"Preexisting Condition" 2.
"Monsterlove" idk what is going on,
"How to Dispel Friends and Curse People" stalker poetry?
"Fates and Consequences" i don't remember this at all.
"Sous Vide" Skipped.
"Sensual Tales for Carnal Pleasures"
"Chaos Theory" I loved this one! 5 stars!
"A Year in January" Why is a man narrating this one?

Thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the ALC of this book!

Januaries
Stories of Love, Magic & Betrayal
By: Olivie Blake
Narrated by: Alexandra Palting, Daniel Henning, David Monteith, Ferdelle Capistrano, Olivie Blake, Stephanie Németh-Parker, Steve West
Length: 15 hrs and 4 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 10-15-24
Language: English
Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Give me alllll the Olivie Blake short fiction!

I’ve had a bit of an unusual reader experience with this author because I really did not like Atlas Six (which surprised me, as I’m a huge Dark Academia fan), so I had kind of figured her work was just not for me.

And then I ran into a short story she wrote for the In These Hallowed Halls collection, which I thought was absolutely wonderful and both the best of the whole collection (all of which was quite good) and also an all-timer short story in general.

So I was excited to try Januaries, Blake’s new short story collection, and I wasn’t disappointed.

There are a few duds in the collection and a few stories that were just okay, but I got eight that I thought were terrific, which is more than half the stories in the collection.

The best of the lot was Cahaos Theory (unclear why the alternative spelling was used, but no matter), which was another all-timer short story that I’ll remember well beyond the confines of this book.

Also excellent: The Wish Bridge, The Audit, Sucker for Pain, Animation Games, How to Dispel Friends and Amuse People, Sensual Tales for Carnal Pleasures, and A Year in January.

The stories are organized by season, though I found no connection between the contents of most stories and the season they were attached to. This has no impact on the reader experience, but I did waste a fair amount of time trying to make a connection that clearly wasn’t there.

If you’re able to read on audio I highly recommend this collection in that format. It’s a delightful listen and the narrators really enhance the reader experience.

Olivie Blake and the narrators did the dang thing with this one. This was FANTASTIC. Do NOT skip out on the audiobook because it is EVERYTHING I wanted and MORE. If Olivie Blake writes it, I'm buying it.