I really like the concept of the stories and was looking forwards to listening but the audio file has an echoey quality like listening back to an answerphone message from years back and I couldn't get on with it.

I gave it another try though and I'm glad I did because some of the stories I really enjoyed. I'm not really a fan of short stories because there's no time for anything very interesting to happen in them - the plots by necessity are very simple. Really these are adult fairy tales. Some of them were a bit repetitive but mostly it was enjoyable and I'll be reading more from this author. Probably not short stories though.

Olivia Blake can surely writes excellent story, she's a great storyteller. These short stories are well written and full of emotions. An excellent, entertaining and moving work.
The narrator added layer and emotions.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

First of all, if you like weird, magical, creative short stories that will leave you with wow-what-did-i-just-read and I-want-more feelings, then don't wait , just pick this up!!
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This is my second book by Olivie Blake, I love this one as much as the first one Twelfth knight. This one has a very different writing style while also splashes of romance, humor as in the other one.
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Januaries is a collection of short stories, which made me feel emotional and seen at times. It has stories of desire, betrayal and magic. It was so entertaining and a perfect read when you need something so weird and the need to be seen. It has stories that deals with mental health, depression, motherhood, queerness, loneliness.
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Some of my personal favourites are wish bridge, Animation games, chaos theory and How to Dispel Friends and Curse People. Not to mention the artworks, it is so beautiful, but also creepy. I am definitely going to reread some of these stories over and over.
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Also loved the cast of narrators, brilliant

Well written and interesting short stories.

It's not my favourite of this author but a fun collection.

The audio quality was quite bad though.

Thank you to the author and publisher for giving me access to this book

3.5 stars. The stories themselves, like all anthologies, vary greatly in quality - some of these are fantastic and some of them ahave a little less substance but they all have Olivie's usual wit and mystery.

The audiobook narrators were great. Very engaging and I enjoyed how they switched in order to use the best voice for the story.

Thanks so much to Macmillan Uk Audio for this audiobook!

These enchanting tales are infused with magic, love, mystery, betrayal, fates, destiny and consequences. I loved the story of a Wish bridge. I genuinely felt all the emotions in that story. Monsterlove portrayed the emotions of being a mother. Loved Sous Vide, A Year in January, Sucker for Pain, Fates and Consequences, The Animation Games and How to dispel friends and curse people. If you like bargain, love, mystery, revenge, vampires, monsters and witches tales, read this book.

All the narrators did a good job.

Thanks to the Author, Narrators and Publisher.

𝟑 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 .𐦍༘⋆
a solid 3 star read.
i’m going to be honest and say that the stories were just okay, i don’t think i was truly blown away or super invested with any of the stories but i was entertained with the different worlds that the book took us to.

i received the audiobook version of the arc and although the idea of the voice recording effect was cool it was also hard to understand what was being said at sometimes but it was definitely a lot better with headphones on.

Vampires, ghosts, witches, multiverse...those short stories have it all!
Always love stories one way or another.
This was my first Olive Blake and I must say it made me want to check her other works.

The audiobook is made by several narrators and give life nicely to the different stories.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan UK Audio for access to the audiobook against an honest review.*

4 stars

If you are already a fan of Olivie Blake's writing style, then you are going to love this anthology of short stories. Olivie Blake's style of writing is addictive and poetic at times. Each story or fairytale is unique, interesting and character driven. The characters are complex and interesting. As it says on the front of the book each story is filled with love, magic and betrayal. My personal favourite in the collection was the Animation Games.

I also listened to the audiobook, and it was fantastic. Each voice actor added to the stories and the emotion and talent really came through adding to the whole experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A really fab collection of short stories and the line up is truly great. Olivie Blake is a really great author and this one will be a beloved hit for many!

The audiobook quality made this rather difficult for me to listen to and it somewhat took me out of the book. I struggled to engage with the stories and I find short stories need more of my interest and concentration which I struggled to achieve with the quality.

It’ll be sorted for the final publication I’m sure but it was a reason I had to dnf because I’m hard to hearing anyway so my brain struggled to get to the juicy tales within!

I’ll definitely give it another go in the future though maybe with the book version!

I read this as an audiobook arc from netgalley.

4.5 stars

I really really enjoyed this. Some stories as you can imagine, I was more invested in then others but overall, every single story was well written, perfectly paced and packed a punch.

It was beautiful, inspiring, gut wrenching, heartwarming and at times overwhelming human.

I couldn’t stop listening at all and now I need a copy of this beautiful book.

The one thing about me is, if Olivie Blake writes it I will read it.

The Januaries is a collection of stories written like never before. I would say it's a bite sized introduction to Blake’s writing and I think every story shows how amazing she is in what she does.

I can't pick favourites but I loved:
- Monsterlove
- Fates and Consequences
- Sensual Tales for Carnal Pleasures

I LOVED the audiobook as it was just as if someone was telling me stories and I could just get away for a bit while listening to one of the stories. So nice!

Go read it, its so much fun and when you get the physical copy, the illustrations are just OUT OF THIS WORLD BEAUTIFUL!

This collection is by an author I've never read before, but the stories are narrated by some really excellent narrators. I will say the audio quality is pretty poor; I would hope this is fixed for the final release.

The writing is pretty good, maybe a bit YA, but this isn't a problem for me. I liked the fairytale elements and the variety of stories on offer here.

Overall, I'd definitely recommend if you're a fan of fairytales and short stories.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC

Why the quality of the audio is that bad ? I thought it was because ARC was modify a bit . I don't know maybe this publisher change their audio .

I don't have much to say unfortunately . I DNFed it.
The quality + the lack of interest I have did not help that book .

Thanks again to the publisher and obviously Netgalley !

I think the stories themselves are quite good but I couldn't bear myself to go through the whole audiobook. The quality was unfortunately very bad and it feels like talking to someone on the phone with bad service.

Normally I am quite fond of short stories, however the two I managed to listen to ended up lacking depth and structure.

I am not able to finish this audiobook since the quality is horrible. It sounds like an ancient voicemail from a mile away. Even with the volume turned up all the way it is barely audible. Which is weird since the sample does sound normal.

The first story; there was a nice buildup despite some ‘he said/she said’. However, the ending did not so justice to the plot. The idea was nice though.

The second story; the ending was so abrupt I reversed twice to see if it really was the end or just my phone acting weird. To me, the ending did not really make any sense. Once again, the idea could’ve been very interesting.

If not for the quality of the audiobook I would probably have finished all the stories to give them a chance.

Thank you NetGalley for the ALC ✨

This book is a collection of short stories and it has beautiful illustrations as usual. I absolutely love her books for the brilliant writing , the mesmerizing plotline, charming characters and the beautiful illustrations 🤌✨💫

The theme of the stories are love, magic and betrayal. Each story was unique and brilliantly penned down by the author. Her writing is different and refreshing, well the same vibe is kept in this one too.

Again, she left me feeling wholesome and happy after finishing the book.

These short stories felt like they were missing depth and it felt quite jumbled. I really struggled to get into them.

Narrator was great though.

Januaries is an absurdist and fantastical collection of short stories and novellas from the outstanding Olivie Blake. The collection is divided thematically by season and captures the human experience in the form of tales of love, magic and betrayal. Love, loss, motherhood, and mental health are just a few of the things touched upon, and are explored through a variety of genres, ranging from fantastical to mythological to paranormal, featuring witches, goddesses, and the multiverse. I am not usually a fan of short stories but was blown away by this collection. Each story emits a sense of wonder and are unique in their content and form, providing something for everyone. In this audiobook format I thoroughly enjoyed the narrators, particularly the short story read by the author themselves. It is difficult to choose a favourite, but Chaos Theory is a standout gem. Olivie Blake has yet again delivered a showstopping 5 star read.

I hope to add a positive review later on so I’m leaving this placeholder as I wrote the publisher note in the previous feedback box and to submit I have to publish the review.
Unfortunately the audiobook recording quality is very poor so I was not able to listen to it.