A USA Today Bestseller! Winner of the Nebula Award! A World Fantasy Award Finalist! A Locus Award Finalist! An Ignyte Award Finalist! A New York Times Best Romance! An NPR Best Speculative Fiction Book! "Eerie, sharp, and fiercely bittersweet." -- The New York Times "Noir and fantasy often seem to go together, but those two elements seldom uplift each other quite as well as they do in Even Though I Knew the End" -- The Washington Post "Bracing as a slug of bourbon, with a twist of pain on the drop--or is that hope? Polk's back with a cold-eyed winner." --Max Gladstone, New York Times bestselling co-author of This Is How You Lose the Time War "Stylish supernatural noir with a heart and a thrumming pulse. I devoured it." --Laini Taylor, New York Times bestselling author "This is a must-read for those who like their queer fantasy with a little grit and a lot of soul (pun intended)." -- Booklist , starred review " Even Though I Knew the End rockets along from the very first page, with the details of author C.L. Polk's alternate Chicago revealing themselves exactly when required.

" -- BookPage , starred review "Powerful, emotional, stylish and smart, Polk proves themself yet again to be a talent not to be ignored." -- Locus " Even Though I Knew the End is Polk at the height of their considerable powers: romance, enchantment, tragedy, and courage to the bitter end." --Elizabeth Bear "Readers who fell into recent Jazz Age urban fantasies.will love Polk's latest." -- Library Journal , starred review "C.L. Polk twists the hardboiled detective subgenre into something new and fresh and enticingly queer.[ Even Though I Knew the End is] a thrilling, charming novella.

" -- Reactor "Vivid and charming with a touch of noir edge, but way more heart." --Rebecca Roanhorse "A layered exploration of love and power with genuine emotional stakes and a soaring, perfectly bittersweet payoff. It's another winner." -- Publishers Weekly.