Even Though I Knew The End

QuinoaQueen reviewed Even Though I Knew The End by C. L. Polk

Aww this is really cute....

3 stars

Short, fast, intense, and overall a really fun read.

I read this whole book in about two hours. While the beginning didn't really grab me, the clues that led to the twist were there from the start, and I had a really fun time picking them out during the finale. The particular phrases the narrator used were annoying before they became charming, but I feel they lent to strong characterization more than hurt my opinion of the story.

The worldbuilding in this book was really cool. The more I think about the setup of the world and the way the magic system works, the more I want to learn! I especially liked how the author portrayed angels and the idea of heaven, as well as magic practicioners' connections to the morals of the bible.

3.4/5 stars rounded down, might change once I've digested the book a bit more. I recommend …

Short, fast, intense, and overall a really fun read.

I read this whole book in about two hours. While the beginning didn't really grab me, the clues that led to the twist were there from the start, and I had a really fun time picking them out during the finale. The particular phrases the narrator used were annoying before they became charming, but I feel they lent to strong characterization more than hurt my opinion of the story.

The worldbuilding in this book was really cool. The more I think about the setup of the world and the way the magic system works, the more I want to learn! I especially liked how the author portrayed angels and the idea of heaven, as well as magic practicioners' connections to the morals of the bible.

3.4/5 stars rounded down, might change once I've digested the book a bit more. I recommend it for readers that want a quick, light read to easily finish in a few days, or two and a half hours if they really have the time (like I did lol). Good for lovers of noir romances, murder mysteries, and magic. Happy reading y'all. :)

Alex Cabe reviewed Even Though I Knew The End by C. L. Polk

Short and Sweet Hard Boiled Magic

5 stars

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, …

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.

B. Zelkovich reviewed Even Though I Knew The End by C. L. Polk

Review of 'Even Though I Knew the End' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I had very high expectations for this and they were absolutely blown out of the water. The narration was fantastic, the world building and character development is so sharp. I absolutely would love more of these characters and world, but also, they deserve some damn peace.

enne📚 reviewed Even Though I Knew The End by C. L. Polk

Even Though I Knew the End

4 stars

This is a very sapphic queer 1940's noir detective novella set in Chicago; it follows Helen Brandt who is sucked into one last case with a payment she can't resist. I love all of the era-appropriate diction and dialogue; the whole story felt like the gritty internal monologue of a detective radio play. I just enjoyed this all quite a bit: the characters, the writing, the tone, the backstory and worldbuilding reveals, and the final action (even though I knew the end).

This story also gave me a lot of similar vibes to The Chosen and the Beautiful. Even though they're both from different eras, they're both stories in specific American time periods with magic and soul selling.

mikerickson reviewed Even Though I Knew The End by C. L. Polk

Review of 'Even Though I Knew the End' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

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 …

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.

pdotb@wyrms.de reviewed Even Though I Knew the End by C. L. Polk

Queer noir, but with demons!

4 stars

Hard to say very much about this novella, without spoiling it, but I found it a thrilling page-turner, full of twists, but much more emotionally involving than I'd normally associate with noir.

Owen Blacker reviewed Even Though I Knew The End by C. L. Polk

Review of 'Even Though I Knew the End' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

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 …

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.