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A review by bookish_selkie
Januaries: Stories of Love, Magic & Betrayal by Olivie Blake
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
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.
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.