Reviews with content warning for Gore - Even Though I Knew the End

Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk

27 reviews

dark_marble_eyes's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It certainly went in a direction I was not expecting, and I think fans of noir or neo-noir would very much enjoy it. My only real complaint is that the book wasn’t longer. It feels a bit like it could have been fleshed out more, but also, I would have loved to just read more about the characters, backstory, and lore.
It took a bit of a long time for me to read because I knew it would be over too quickly. I’m definitely hoping to read more from this author in the future.

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kneec's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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seyfert's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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emfass's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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readingthroughinfinity's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Thanks to Libro FM for sending me a copy.

I honestly can't emphasise how much I loved this. It's well-written, clever, and completely compelling. The author manages to pack so much action, drama, and brilliant world-building into the book that I was enrapt from beginning to end. It's a skill to make readers connect with characters so deeply in such a short space of time, but it's a skill that C.L. Polk has most definitely mastered. We feel all of Helen's anguish, yearning, and desperate determination and we get to see how far she'll go for Edith. I loved Helen as a character and adored the sapphic romance in this.

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just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

This little novella is one that was an ALC (thanks Libro.fm) that I got a few months ago, and I put myself on hold for the physical book at the library (I am really getting into having access to both reading options these days) after seeing a glowing review from @booksnblazers.

Helen is a (magical) private investigator in 1940s Chicago, working within the darker side of the city. Almost exactly 10 years ago, she made a deal with a demon, trading her soul to save her brother's (Teddy) life. The end date on her deal, when her life is forfeit, is looming...and Helen is dreading leaving behind the women she's fallen in love with, Edith, and their dreams of a future together in San Francisco. When she is offered one final job, to find the White City Vampire (a notorious serial killer), with the payout of winning her soul back if she succeeds, she takes it. But things are more than what they seem, including Edith, and a number of divine powers have a vested interest in the outcome of her investigation.

My goodness, the noir vibes in this book were great. Between the time period and writing, it was like reading in sepia toned melancholy. The seedy, underbelly descriptions of the settings (including the underground gay bar, since that was the only option for them), and the grisly aspects of the murders, and the short time we spent in a women's asylum institution (for mental health "treatment," but with a horrifying glimpse at conversion therapy realities of the time as well), contributed to this vibe as well. Otherwise, do find reading this time period hard, and so I do it sparingly, because the misogyny and patronization of women is something I find infuriating and difficult to read too much of. Anyways, I am always a fan of a "sell your soul" and "deal with the devil" storyline, it's a favorite supernatural trope of mine. And while I do not always love the personification of angels and demons in paranormal stories, I thought it was well done here. I actually specifically thought the importance, in faith, of continuing to believe without evidence (and how hard that actually is) was explored in a way that I don't see often and I commend the author for.

The theme of not accepting fate is also always a classic, and is explored with deep personal emotion here. Polk explores what people will sacrifice/exchange in order to change fate, to save someone they love. But they also do a nice job introducing the complicating factor of, even if it hurts you (cause love does hurt), is it not worth considering that a person may not want or make the same choice as you about their fate? And what is selfish, or not, and how do you know, and is that just part of the weakness of humanity? However, in the end, I LOVED the message that love is love, it’s about a generous and open heart, and anything past that is irrelevant.

Speaking of love, let me talk about the relationships between Helen and Edith. For such a short novella, and being introduced to them already comfortably together, I was quickly deeply emotionally invested in them; they really warmed by soul and I was cheering hard for their *happy* ending right from the start. And as I read, their relationship got better and better. The understanding of secrets and separate lives and communicating through and accepting that is a level of emotional maturity that is usually skipped in favor of drama-by-miscommunication in romance situations, and I’m thrilled by the way it’s done here; so refreshing. On the other hand, the other major relationship (between Helen and Teddy), felt nowhere near as well done to me. It seemed shallow and the choices that each made, as well as their emotional reactions and connections, just felt too easy and just plot-device-y, after so many years apart.

I love the way the title works, the recognizable feeling of the building of hope for the ending every time you hear/see/read a familiar story, even though you already know what it will be. And the ending, oh it hit the heartstrings, that choice for at least some time, because some time is better than no time. It's a knowledge we all have, in choosing love, that there will be an ending, and it will hurt, but we choose love in the time we have anyways, because that pain is worth it.

This was a great, quick read. Emotional and entertaining and full of time period, magical, noir-ish vibes. Anyone who enjoyed Addie LaRue and/or fans of Supernatural, would like this book a lot.

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rorikae's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

4.5

'Even Though I Knew the End' by C.L. Polk is a heartfilled novella about one woman trying to save her soul so that she can share more time with her beloved.
Helen is coming up on the 10 year deadline of the deal that brought her brother back to life. But before a devil comes to reclaim her, she has one final case to solve, the White City Vampire. The payout will be significant, even more that she can squirrel away for her love, Edith, to use after she is gone. But when her client floats the possibility of returning her soul as part of the payment for solving the case, Helen will do anything to see the murderer brought to justice.
Polk knows exactly how to set up characters that make you care for them even with the limited length of a novella. Helen's predicament appears straightforward toward the beginning but as the story progresses, the case turns out to be far different than what it originally seemed. Polk builds off of relatively well known Christian mythology to build out the world and the supernatural elements, which does a lot to make the world feel lived in. Polk is one of my favorite authors for a reason and I think this book demonstrates why. I do think this story had the potential for a longer work but I think Polk does a good job of fitting it to the novella length.

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quirkykayleetam's review against another edition

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dark emotional

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I have such mixed feelings about this book.

The writing was gorgeously atmospheric, the relationship at the heart of this lesbian noir literally to die for.

And I loved the first half! It felt like the best of the speakeasy scene from Master of Djinn mixed with all the lost possibilities of Supernatural the TV show told by a voice I longed to hear on audio. But when things became more blatantly about patriarchal control, I longed for more nuance in its perspective on religion.

The end hit hard, right where it was supposed to, but never felt exactly the way it should.

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micheala's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was an interesting alternative history paranormal mystery.

It's very short (only 135 pages) so I can't really say much without spoiling things. I will say that overall the mystery was interesting, however there was one key piece that Helen should have noticed much sooner, and her not realizing it felt like a blatant plot convenience.

Content warnings for time period (1940s-ish) homophobia, misogyny, mental institution (characters commited against their will), electroshock therapy, adversion therapy, death, possession,blood and gore - most of these are not described in great detail, but they are present and discussed on page

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stardustandrockets's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This novella reads like a sapphic Supernatural fanfic and I'm here for it! Not going to spoil anything, but if you're at all a fan of SPN before things took a turn, this is the novella for you!

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