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apollinares 's review for:
Even Though I Knew the End
by C.L. Polk
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
OH MY GOD, IF ONLY THIS BOOK WAS LONGER.
What I would give for another gritty film noir PI, with all of the smoking and self deprecation and murder mystery solving, but also a lesbian! Or, more time with this one. Give me a queer protag and I'll get into any genre!
This book made me feel smart. It gave away just enough info where all of the solutions to this murder puzzle clicked for me at the same time as they did for the protagonist, neither hand-hold-y, nor confusing, and extremely satisfying throughout.
I love the world building, how fleshed-out it felt despite the length of the book. I've said it before when reviewing Sarah Gailey's "River of Teeth": give a nonbinary author cliches to write, and I'll happily fall for them every time. I guess we're just that good. First person narration, which I normally don't like as much, immersed me wholely in the setting; the "I can be your angle or yuor devil" (I'm referencing the meme, yes) plot didn't feel contrived or overdone; and while the pacing rushed ahead at speeds I often had to rewind the audiobook to keep up with, I still got the gist in the end.
Wlw who are 28+ (no YA lit for me, thank you) feel like a rare find in fantasy/magical realism fiction, and well-written, established wlw are even rarer. What Helen and Edith had was wonderful, and the ending did make me predictably, embarrassingly emotional.
What I would give for another gritty film noir PI, with all of the smoking and self deprecation and murder mystery solving, but also a lesbian! Or, more time with this one. Give me a queer protag and I'll get into any genre!
This book made me feel smart. It gave away just enough info where all of the solutions to this murder puzzle clicked for me at the same time as they did for the protagonist, neither hand-hold-y, nor confusing, and extremely satisfying throughout.
I love the world building, how fleshed-out it felt despite the length of the book. I've said it before when reviewing Sarah Gailey's "River of Teeth": give a nonbinary author cliches to write, and I'll happily fall for them every time. I guess we're just that good. First person narration, which I normally don't like as much, immersed me wholely in the setting; the "I can be your angle or yuor devil" (I'm referencing the meme, yes) plot didn't feel contrived or overdone; and while the pacing rushed ahead at speeds I often had to rewind the audiobook to keep up with, I still got the gist in the end.
Wlw who are 28+ (no YA lit for me, thank you) feel like a rare find in fantasy/magical realism fiction, and well-written, established wlw are even rarer. What Helen and Edith had was wonderful, and the ending did make me predictably, embarrassingly emotional.