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booksthatburn's review
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
5.0
I loved this whole thing. It's paced excellently, tells a great story, and is in a world conveyed succinctly. If you like queer fantasy/mystery novellas with life and death stakes, try this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Drug use, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Car accident, and Alcohol
oldladysadie's review against another edition
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? No
5.0
What a perfect, beautiful novella. Everything about it, from the setting, to the mythology, to the prose and heart-wrenching character moments… pure chef’s kiss. I’m adding Angel mythology to my wheelhouse, and will be combing through C.L. Polk’s backlist for my TBR.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Homophobia, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, and Outing
ehmannky's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I am not the biggest fan of detective/mystery books, but if I was this would have probably been a five star book. The first half leans hard on the noir aspect, but the latter half's plot twists and story is so good that I was hooked. The last chapter? So beautifully bittersweet. Just like, deciding on love when you know your days are numbered? Choosing being with your beloved over heaven? So queer, so well-done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
crownoflaurel's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Lesbophobia
Minor: Blood, Dementia, and Car accident
carriepond's review
adventurous
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? Yes
4.75
Even Though I Knew the End is a fast-paced, sapphic fantasy noir novella set in the late 30s/early 1940s that is gritty and violent, yes, but also a hopeful meditation on love and what makes a life.
Helen is an augur (magic-user) and a detective who, after being thrown out of her magic fraternity for selling her soul, is taking contract jobs to make enough money to make sure her love, Edith, is taken care of after the devil comes to claim her. Not long before her time is up, Helen is offered a job tracking down the White City Vampire, whose gruesome murders seem part of a brutal ritual. Despite its danger, Helen is offered terms that she can't refuse-- a boatload of money and her soul.
I knew this book would be super fun-- I was all in for a noir with a queer, female detective and a dark magic twist-- but I didn't know how tender and hopeful it would be. Also, I am in awe of how much Polk was able to weave into this story in so few pages. We're thinking about patriarchy and bullshit gender roles, we're thinking about homophobia, we're thinking about forced institutionalization, we're wondering how everything is going to turn out for our dear Helen, we're loving her love with Edith, we wondering how baby brother is doing, we want to know how this mystery ends, and then we sigh, teary, and shut the book.
I loved this, and if anything about the premise of this book interests you in the slightest, I just know you will too.
Helen is an augur (magic-user) and a detective who, after being thrown out of her magic fraternity for selling her soul, is taking contract jobs to make enough money to make sure her love, Edith, is taken care of after the devil comes to claim her. Not long before her time is up, Helen is offered a job tracking down the White City Vampire, whose gruesome murders seem part of a brutal ritual. Despite its danger, Helen is offered terms that she can't refuse-- a boatload of money and her soul.
I knew this book would be super fun-- I was all in for a noir with a queer, female detective and a dark magic twist-- but I didn't know how tender and hopeful it would be. Also, I am in awe of how much Polk was able to weave into this story in so few pages. We're thinking about patriarchy and bullshit gender roles, we're thinking about homophobia, we're thinking about forced institutionalization, we're wondering how everything is going to turn out for our dear Helen, we're loving her love with Edith, we wondering how baby brother is doing, we want to know how this mystery ends, and then we sigh, teary, and shut the book.
I loved this, and if anything about the premise of this book interests you in the slightest, I just know you will too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Blood
Moderate: Homophobia and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Car accident and Death of parent
blainereads's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
The tone felt forced, especially towards the beginning, and the length really undercut the potential of the story—there wasn’t enough time for proper build up, character development, and especially not world building. Maybe it relies a lot on the reader already having knowledge of mythology, religion etc, but it could have been much more satisfying if there was time to not only grow attachments to characters but also set the parameters and stakes of the fantastical elements of the world they live in. It also would have made the therapy etc not feel so contrived.
Anyway, maybe short stories just aren’t for me!
Anyway, maybe short stories just aren’t for me!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Homophobia, Violence, and Blood
clarabooksit's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
4.25
For such a short book, this packs in a lot. There are angels, demons, murder, magic and a swoon-worthy love story.
The stakes are high, and the way the story developed and unravelled made it very hard to put down. While I would’ve loved more information about the magic and how it works, this story is well contained and moves the reader right along. The murders are gruesome, religion is a fascinating element, and the motivations are compelling. I was invested.
My favorite parts were the relationship between Helen and Edith and the way Polk wove in history, especially the high price of being a queer at the time. The hidden lesbian club and the brief visit to the asylum were great touches.
For all you historical fantasy fans out there, definitely check this one out. It’s a tense, quick read that builds very nicely and has a swoony romance at its heart. Also, how gorgeous is that cover?
The stakes are high, and the way the story developed and unravelled made it very hard to put down. While I would’ve loved more information about the magic and how it works, this story is well contained and moves the reader right along. The murders are gruesome, religion is a fascinating element, and the motivations are compelling. I was invested.
My favorite parts were the relationship between Helen and Edith and the way Polk wove in history, especially the high price of being a queer at the time. The hidden lesbian club and the brief visit to the asylum were great touches.
For all you historical fantasy fans out there, definitely check this one out. It’s a tense, quick read that builds very nicely and has a swoony romance at its heart. Also, how gorgeous is that cover?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Vomit
schnaucl's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
I really liked this novella. The world was an interesting one, and I'd like to spend more time there. The world was well developed in some ways but there was no real discussion of what heaven and hell were actually like except for a general sense that heaven is good and hell is bad. But different religious traditions have different ideas about each of those places (in those traditions that have a notion of heaven and hell to begin with) and for someone who has sold her soul and know for a fact hell exists and she's going to arrive there shortly there's a curious lack of detail about what that will actually mean.
There's a similar lack of discussion regarding how one gets into heaven or even how one gets into hell aside from selling one's soul. I think there's a discussion of what the it would take for the secret society to kick a person out but I don't think that was supposed to necessarily equate to the admission requirements for heaven and hell. It's a little confusing.And I guess God is more Old Testament than New? If her brother is in fact condemned to hell for what amounts to if not self defense then defense of another. I guess you avoid hell by...standing by and letting angels murder people? Don't get me wrong, Old Testament God absolutely sent angels to murder people, but there's no suggestion here that this is an order from God, if anything it's going against God's desire to keep fallen angels out of heaven. But Old Testament God has always struck me as more of an absolutist where rules are concerned so if the rule is you kill an angel, you lose your soul, then yeah, I guess you just stand by while the angel tortures and tries to murder you and/or other people.
I was also strongly reminded of Buffy the Vampire Slayer by the ending in that she had been in heaven and was pulled back by her friends. Though in that case it was to more fighting and death, which isn't the case here. Nevertheless, selling her soul to bring Edith back from heaven is an incredibly selfish thing to do, which is touched on, but there isn't really time to explore it given that it's a novella. It ends in a happy place, but I could see how that act would actually poison the relationship over time, especially depending on what heaven is. If they could have spent eternity together instead of a decade, I would think there might be some resentment about that, even aside from pulling Edith out of heaven to accomplish it.
Anyway, Helen seems more afraid of death and not particularly afraid of hell (or even curious about hell, which is a little bit odd given that she's supposed to be there in a few days).
As far as I know, this is a standalone novella but I'd definitely read more about this world and these characters.
There's a similar lack of discussion regarding how one gets into heaven or even how one gets into hell aside from selling one's soul. I think there's a discussion of what the it would take for the secret society to kick a person out but I don't think that was supposed to necessarily equate to the admission requirements for heaven and hell. It's a little confusing.
I was also strongly reminded of Buffy the Vampire Slayer by the ending in that she had been in heaven and was pulled back by her friends. Though in that case it was to more fighting and death, which isn't the case here. Nevertheless, selling her soul to bring Edith back from heaven is an incredibly selfish thing to do, which is touched on, but there isn't really time to explore it given that it's a novella. It ends in a happy place, but I could see how that act would actually poison the relationship over time, especially depending on what heaven is. If they could have spent eternity together instead of a decade, I would think there might be some resentment about that, even aside from pulling Edith out of heaven to accomplish it.
Anyway, Helen seems more afraid of death and not particularly afraid of hell (or even curious about hell, which is a little bit odd given that she's supposed to be there in a few days).
As far as I know, this is a standalone novella but I'd definitely read more about this world and these characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, and Lesbophobia
mantarays's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
3.75
i’m not generally a fan of novellas but this one was a solid story! the romance was very cute and i liked the complicated sibling relationship. i thought some of the writing choices were a little clunky and a few sentences had typos or missing words so those are mostly what knocks down my rating. also the whole angel/demon nephilim business had me thinking about supernatural and shadowhunters the whole time lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Blood
Minor: Death of parent
cascannotread's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I’m always a little wary of novellas because they tend to feel like just snippets of a story or worse, an incomplete piece. I am pleased to say Even Though I Knew the End by C. L. Polk does not suffer this fate.
I did not have much expectations for this book nor was I really sure what it was even about. I do, however, trust C. L. Polk as an author to write something worthwhile so I read this book on a whim during a long flight and it proved to be the perfect choice. I could hardly put it down and I managed to finish it in one sitting. The story and pacing were well done, especially considering the short length. The novella throws you into the story headfirst but holds off on long info dumps and expositions, instead peppering the story with little bits of info here and there. This works well to drive the story along and only presents the reader with information that is relevant in that moment.
*Side note: I am a big fan of books that use their title within the actual book and this was perhaps the most delightfully heart wrenching use of it. It was so satisfying but with the context made me want to burst into to tears in the middle of my flight. 10/10
I do feel like most of novellas are best read knowing as little as possible. I also don’t feel like confident in my ability to accurately describe the plot in a way that would not be a disservice to the novella, so I highly recommend you just read it; I promise you won’t regret it.
Big thanks to Netgalley and Tor for granting me an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
I did not have much expectations for this book nor was I really sure what it was even about. I do, however, trust C. L. Polk as an author to write something worthwhile so I read this book on a whim during a long flight and it proved to be the perfect choice. I could hardly put it down and I managed to finish it in one sitting. The story and pacing were well done, especially considering the short length. The novella throws you into the story headfirst but holds off on long info dumps and expositions, instead peppering the story with little bits of info here and there. This works well to drive the story along and only presents the reader with information that is relevant in that moment.
*Side note: I am a big fan of books that use their title within the actual book and this was perhaps the most delightfully heart wrenching use of it. It was so satisfying but with the context made me want to burst into to tears in the middle of my flight. 10/10
I do feel like most of novellas are best read knowing as little as possible. I also don’t feel like confident in my ability to accurately describe the plot in a way that would not be a disservice to the novella, so I highly recommend you just read it; I promise you won’t regret it.
Big thanks to Netgalley and Tor for granting me an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, and Grief
Minor: Gun violence and Death of parent