Even Though I Knew The End

This picked up on a couple of genres that have been fairly well-trod, but was so well written they seemed fresh and propulsive. Helen and Edith were likeable and relatable, and the prose was direct but enjoyable and descriptive. The use of magic was well thought out. I thought the short length benefited the book, it made its points and got in and out.

One nitpick is that a lot of the characters' ages seemed off. Chronologically they were mid-20s, but it feels like Helen was written as older.

The thing that stands out most to be is that it's written so well it leaves you wanting more, but also explains to you why the story's a closed loop, and shouldn't continue beyond what was written.

Even though Helen knew the end, it's not going to stop me from speculating that their story after the book plays out differently. Hey, it's happened before.

As far as books that I bought simply because I liked the cover/title/quick blurb when I saw it in the store, I've certainly done worse before. Maybe I should've spent a little longer researching it though because this book wasn't at all what I was expecting to be, and that's entirely on me.

I was very into the first third or so of the book: a woman detective in noir Chicago scopes out crime scenes and dips into secret lesbian speakeasies with some loose magical elements floating around the fringes. But then the magic started getting impossible to ignore and went full-blown Constantine with angels vs. demons and Deus ex Machina scenes. Kinda wished the supernatural elements stayed subtle, but that's a personal preference. I also got the sense that the protagonist was just kind of swept along by events happening around her and only made a significant decision at the climax. A little more agency on her end would've been appreciated.

Still, at 130-ish pages, this was the correct length for this kind of story. If Goodreads allowed half-star increments, I'd probably put it at 2.5, but I'll round up because lesbians.

A delightful and romantic sapphic noir


A supernatural noir whodunit, with a queer female protagonist — a magical detective — working for “Marlowe”, a rich, queer female client, in 1940s Chicago. We see a glimpse of the underground queer club scene and of involuntary confinement in an asylum of another queer woman (CN), as well as of a loving fulfilled relationship between the protagonist and her religiously-devoted girlfriend that is key to the protagonist and her motivations, while the characters navigate both the societal expectations of women in the real-world as well as those of the magical society of Polk’s worldbuilding.

Despite its short length, this novella took me by surprise so many times. The noir plot and theme blended with the Supernatural urban fantasy seamlessly and the pre-Stonewall queerness reminded me pleasingly of both [b:Last Night at the Telegraph Club|35224992|Last Night at the Telegraph Club|Malinda Lo|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593457992l/35224992.SY75.jpg|56568979] and [b:Out of Time, Into You|59427925|Out of Time, Into You|Jay Bell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1634855266l/59427925.SY75.jpg|93606013].

Clearly I need to read a lot more of Mx Polk.