The Midnight Bargain

** spoiler alert ** This book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for my honest opinion. Overall this was an enjoyable read. I do wish that there was more to the story once Ysbeta had gotten her parents to understand her reasoning. There were a few places where the story felt rushed. I did appreciate that Beatrice and Ianthe found a way to be together as equals.

The narration was good and the exploration of gender roles and feminism/equality are interesting, but I had a hard time connecting to the setting otherwise. Whereas the series I read before from this author is grounded in a lot of historical details and description, this felt a lot more nebulous and a lot more courtly intrigue and romance, which I just wasn’t as invested in. Still enjoyable, but probably expected it to be too much like the Witchmark series.

** spoiler alert ** 3.5 rounded up. I am conflicted about this book. I was seriously considering DNFing at 12% but I saw potential and decided to push through, mostly because I was feeling like I was in a slump. First I had to get passed my preconceived notions of what this book was going to be. I saw this book on lists of LGBTQ books and since I like to go in with as little knowledge as possible, I assumed it was Sapphic. It was not. There are two main female characters in this book. Beatrice Clayborn and Ysbeta Lavan. Both women are looking for the same thing. Freedom from the Patriarchy. A society that uses a collar to block a sorceress from her magic so that she can have as many babies as possible without risk of the baby being taken as host for a spirit. The men get to learn magic freely. Both women want to avoid marrying at the end of bargaining season but making bonding themselves to a higher spirit, making them a mage and because they are a mage they can't be collared so they can't have babies and are therefore useless. Ysbeta want to be a scholar, Beatrice wants to help her father with the business. However. I was promised a romance and you get one. I loved Ianthe Lavan. I Loved him and Beatrice together. Ianthe while he didn't always agree with the danger he was willing to let his sister and his future spouse have their freedom. I admit, when they didn't get engaged I teared up a bit. Ysbeta is Asexual, while she never uses those words she talks finding joy in her work and recognizing attractive people but they don't stir anything in her. Nadi was adorable. The beginning was slow and I thought the family reunion at the end went a little to well like, Beatrice's father does some things that I wouldn't have been so forgiving of but all in all I am satisfied. I recommend you give this one a read!

I should have something clever to say to you," "But for all my love of beauty, I have no gift that transmutes the depth of my heart into perfect words." "That protestation had beauty in it." Beatrice said. "But not enough." Beatrice Clayborn is a sorceress who practices magic in secret, terrified of the day she will be locked into a marital collar that will cut off her powers to protect her and her unborn children for spirits. She dreams of becoming a Magus and pursuing magic, but in this world only men hold that ability, and her family has given up everything to for her for first Bargaining Season, when young men and women of means negotiate the best marriages. The Clayborns are in severe debt, and only Beatrice can save them by securing a wealthy union. Beatrice is on the hunt for a grimoire that she can decode and find a way to become a Magus, when she meets the Lavan siblings. Ysbeta longs for the exact thing Beatrice does... to be free and a sorceress, and Ysy bargains with Beatrice to learn how to house a greater spirit and be free of the martial restrains, and Ysbeta will find that her brother Ianthe will be betrothed to Beatric. Beatrice’s makes a deal with the spirit of luck that inhabits her. A night of dancing, cake, punch, the stars and a kiss....her first kiss that is given to none other than Ianthe, the handsome, compassionate, man who desires nothing more than her heart and happiness. As Beatrice's feelings grow for Ianthe the decision to let go of her martial obligation and be a free Magus becomes more difficult. Maybe she can put on the collar and be a wife. Maybe she can give up her dream for love.... What I loved: -I loved the time frame. It gave me Jane Austen vibes and a great regency Inspo romance with a twist of magic -Nadi- the spirit who bonded with Beatrice was by far my favorite. There were moments I cried when Nadi was pushed out, hurt or fighting for Bea. -Ianthe and Beatrice- again a beautiful regency style love story, clean, innocent, and oh so sweet. -The courting- I loved the drama of the bargaining season, with Danton and many others. I found it the most interesting part. What I struggled with: -The magic sometimes was confusing or hard to picture, but in the end I feel like I understood it well enough -The romance- yes I know I said it was sweet and enjoyable but I always struggle with "small stolen moments" and a big "I love you HEA" HOWEVER! I wrote regency romance for a reason. I think the romance was fitting to that time and enough for the story, I just craved more as a romantic. - I wish I could have seen the magic practiced more instead of just described. Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it! thank you Netgalley and publishers for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5 🔥/5 (sweet and clean)

Definitely a 3.5 but I can’t make myself round up to 4. I haven’t read any of the author’s previous books even though Witchmark has been on my tbr for a while now and I really wanna get to that trilogy. But when I saw the gorgeous cover of this book, I couldn’t resist and I was so happy when I got the ARC. And while I did find it entertaining, it also let me down a bit. The writing is easy to breeze through, and the descriptions are quite beautiful, and once I put my mind to reading it, I could finish it in just a few hours. This maybe a fantasy world but it’s very similar to the Victorian England setting we are so used to reading in historical romance, with traditions like debuts, seasons, courting, attending balls, women’s fortunes and most of their rights being tied to either the father or the husband - all with different names and a slightly magical twist that women here are prohibited from becoming Mages and are collared as soon as they get married so that they can’t practice magic. And this is exactly where I felt let down. While the similarity of the setting was a comfort, the magic system itself felt like a plot device. We get to know some of the procedures and rituals involved in how to summon spirits and how people become Mages, but there’s absolutely nothing about how this magic is used in this world, what roles do Mages perform and what roles do the spirits play once they become companions - it all feels like an afterthought. The characters are okay to follow along. I kept liking and disliking most of them at different parts of the story, but I mostly did enjoy getting to know them. Beatrice’s struggle in wanting to be both a sorceress and with the love of her life, Ysbeta’s yearning for freedom and knowledge, and Ianthe’s sparkling love for both the women, were all quite lovely to read about and also pretty relatable. But Ianthe was definitely my favorite of the lot because he was open minded and did what he could to protect both the women. I also loved the dynamic between Beatrice and Ysbeta because they started off on an antagonistic note but it transformed into such a wonderful friendship. But I definitely had problems with Beatrice and Ianthe’s instalove - I usually don’t have a problem with the trope but it came on too quick in this one and I couldn’t believe she was thinking about giving up her ambitions after meeting him only a couple of times. The side characters didn’t really leave much of an impression, probably because I hated most of them. Except Nadi who was the best part of the whole book and I would love a delightful spirit companion like him too please, who would threaten to hex anyone who made me sad. Overall, I did have a good time reading this book but I know it’s not gonna be a very memorable one. Maybe if it had a slow burn romance or if it had expanded on its magic system, I could have loved it more. But currently, it feels like a historical romance with feminist themes which also has some magic as an aside - and if that feels like something you’ll enjoy, do pick it up and have fun.

Full review: (updated on August 15th 2021) The Midnight Bargain is an impressive and highly enjoyable standalone fantasy read with an excellent social commentary. I personally had high expectations for this novel - it's blurbed by some of my favourite authors, it has rave critical reviews, and it has the intriguing premise that's drawn me to so many magic realism / fantasy novels in the first place. Long story short, not only it didn't disappoint I also get to discover a potential go-to author from this enchanting read! "Terrible things happen when women mix with magic. You know that. If you get caught playing with higher magic, you'll bring disgrace to all of us." To start things off, The Midnight Bargain is an impressive social commentary about privilege: particularly about gender and social backgrounds. Written from the sorceress Beatrice Clayborn's narrative, the notion of societal roles of females in the worldbuilding is well thought out. I enjoyed Beatrice's independent streak on how she stands for what she truly wants to do despite the pressures her family had put onto her & how she fearlessly navigated through her treacherous decisions. I find that Beatrice's character arc goes hand in hand with the development of these central themes. "The stars spread over the dusk-stained sky, twinkling and shining, every light a wish - or a world, if the stellarists were correct. Then a golden fire-flower bloomed in the sky, raising a gasp from the guests." Can also say that I'm totally in love with the writing style? The fantasy elements are beautifully done through C.L. Polk's prose: it's atmospheric, magical, and stellar. The description of the venues and the magic felt very immersive to me. It's like I could visualise the glamour and the enchantment of the Bargain Season as a spectator!! "Ten thousand wishes. Ten thousand worlds - more, as the sky darkened and more lights appeared. Worlds like this one. Worlds unlike anything she'd ever dreamed." While I usually don't pay a lot of attention to romance in the novels, I believe that the prose enhances the emotional impact of the romantic subplot. I think it did a decent job conveying the emotions that Beatrice was experiencing when she's in the romantic relationship depicted in the novel. If there's a drawback, I would say that I personally wasn't super invested in the romance. While the prose helped a bit & the relationship seemed believable, I didn't think the actual romance really sticked in my mind. But other than that, the writing and the messaging are pretty impressive. To sum it up, The Mignight Bargain is both a spellbinding social commentary and a gorgeously written love story. While I was less invested in the latter part, I applaud C.L. Polk's magical prose: I certainly have discovered one new author to look out for in the future! If you love a fantasy read that has a healthy dose of social commentary, this book is certainly something to look out for :D N.B. This book contains following content warnings: physical violence, alcohol, sharp objects, and emotional blackmailing

In a regency society where women's access to magic is controlled by men Beatrice Clayborn is determined to become a mage... In Chasland women are permitted to use only small magics and cantrips while they are children. Once they are of marriageable age the better-off entry the Bargaining Season where influential men choose wives for their social standing or their magical gifts. Once married women must wear a binding collar, making them incapable of doing marriage to perfect any potential children being infected by spirits in the womb. Beatrice is in her first bargaining season but also hunting secret grimoires that may allow her to eschew marriage and practise magic as a single woman, willing to ensure society's scorn for the thrill of her gift. But her family is in reduced circumstances and when she catches the eye of the most eligible bachelor she must decide whether to serve her family or achieve her dreams. I loved the world Polk created and the gender politics of this magical regency society was fascinating. The story is full of adventure but tackles important issues about women's agency. The characters are captivating in their struggles for the lives they want and the plot is fun, using classic romance tropes with a magical twist to great effect. My only major grille is the epilogue. The time shift made me feel cheated of the stories untold and I would rather a second book or no epilogue at all! For fans of Naomi Novik, Catherine Arden and Zen Cho

Women cannot be sorceresses. They might have magic, but is not acceptable in society for a woman to be a mage. Their duty is to get married and provide their husbands with children. As soon as they get married, a collar is placed on them that takes their magic away. When they are past child bearing years, the collar can be removed. Beatrice does not accept this. She plans to learn as much magic as she can in order to escape the collar. She has no desire to be married. She wants to be a mage. I enjoyed this book, it just didn't blow me away. I loved the characters, especially Beatrice, Ianthe, and Ysbeta. I liked it enough that I would read more in this world. I received a copy from Edelweiss.

4.5!!

C.L. Polk's fantasy novel The Midnight Bargain is a prescient take on women's autonomy and strength. In this Regency-esque alternate world, our heroine Beatrice is expected to fall in line and marry an eligible bachelor to secure a fortune that will salvage her father's failed business ventures. However, she is a skilled sorceress (a quality many women in her world possess), but all married women are forced to surrender their magic upon marriage to prevent the magic from corrupting a pregnancy. She is resolved never to marry until she meets the handsome Ianthe Lavan and his passionate sister Ysbeta. It turns out that the similarly-gifted Ysbeta shares Beatrice's fear of losing her magic to matrimony, and the two strike a deal to secretly improve their skills and become Mages in defiance of their patriarchal society. Yet Beatrice can't help but fall for Ianthe, who respects her talents and listens to her fiery opinions, leading her to question what choice she should make. This is a feminist tale that fantasy readers will enjoy, along with those looking for all the dreaminess of a Regency-era love story but with more resistance to the stereotypical societal pressures. I was not captivated by the novel, but I appreciated it and its firm stance on female agency. The magic systems were sometimes confusing (along with my personal pet peeve of lots of fantastical names that I don't know how to pronounce). [3/5: A fun fantasy where a lead gets the man and to follow her dreams. Felt more YA than adult lit, so would likely appeal to both.] Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.75

I liked how the magic system was based on bargaining, but everything else about this never even remotely kept my attention.

The Midnight Bargain talks about a world where the women upon getting married are given a collar that forbids them from practising magic and makes their whole world seem dull. Beatrice has practised magic for years in secret, but now the time came for her to marry because of her family’s debt. The whole book is basically the question of whether Beatrice will choose magic or she will marry a man who stole her heart. I really enjoyed the world-building and the magic system. It was interesting to see how magic is based basically on spirits. When it comes to spirits, I really enjoyed the appearance of Nadi. She was a fun addition to the book and made some scenes seem lighter than they really were. I also liked the language the author used because everything sounded a bit medieval, and it made it easier for me to get into the book. When it comes to the characters, they seemed a little flat to me. We don’t really get to know them, their interests or emotions. We are only let into the dilemmas different characters face. I expected to find out more about Beatrice since she was the main character. I didn’t like Ysbeta at all – she was selfish, and she considered herself the most important person in the world (even though other girls faced the same problems), also she was rude to Beatrice for no reason. I quite liked Ianthe, though again his character was quite flat. The romance between Beatrice and Ianthe was instant, and I didn’t really get it their love because they spent so little time together, and they only ever discussed the magic and the role of women in the society. I’m kind of mad at the ending for no reason – it was a perfectly reasonable ending, however, I like bittersweet endings instead of happy ones.

This book was literally everything imagine Bridgeton meets sorcery of thorns. I was super intrigued with the magic system & how one became mage. I loved all the characters in this book & how the lead character didn’t let go of morals I admire her so much

Thank you Netgalley for an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review. I have enjoyed this book very much. This is a fantasy book about a patriarchal world where women, despite being powerful sorceresses, are only useful for their reproductive ability and their role as mothers and wives. The main character, Beatrice, does not agree with the set order and she rebels. She does not want to marry, and lose her powers. She dreams with being a powerful mage bound to a higher spirit, same as the men in her world. The story takes place during Bargaining season – a short period of time when eligible young men look for wives. Beatrice attends this as her family is struggling financially and her marriage to a rich and powerful men would ensure stability and prestige to for her family, but most of all for her younger sister, Harrier. While tracking down a powerful grimoire she meets Ysbeta and Iante Lavan – rich and powerful siblings. From this moment one their history is strongly interlinked. I have enjoyed the world building, the magic system, most of the characters and the plot. I did find the love interests in this book appeared too quickly, almost always love at first sight, and some of the characters seemed to lack depth and appear quite childish and petulant at times.