Thank you Erewhon Books and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. My review is my own and not influenced by others.

I just finished reading The Midnight bargain. The cover and the description drew my attention when I saw it on Netgalley so I requested it and was glad I got the opportunity to read this e-arc.

The topic of this book is not something very original; there are more writers who write books with the same topic. It is however a topic I find very interesting. I think because girls and woman can relate to it in today’s society where there is still a lot of discrimination by gender.

This book however didn’t hold my attention through the story. I found the characters flat and I couldn’t relate to them. Beside that the story was for me uninteresting and I was bored while reading this book.

I saw many good reviews giving to this book so this book works definitely for other people.

Entering her first bargaining season, Beatrice Clayborn must find a wealthy husband in order to save her family from destitution. Beatrice wants to help her family, but she longs to pursue magic and become a full-fledged Magus instead. If she marries, she's be locked in a collar that cuts off magical powers to protect her unborn children. Beatrice summons a spirit to aid her, but the price is her first kiss, which entangles her with the wealthy handsome Ianthe Lavan and his sister Ysbeta, who has secret passions of her own.

The Midnight Bargain is a delightfully fun fantasy romance in an alternate regency-era England. The more Beatrice spends time with the Lavan siblings, the more her plans go awry. She finds an ally in magic, but she's also falling in love, and her decision only becomes harder and harder. She must save her family, but if she marries, she'll sacrifice her magic and her dreams. Beatrice is tenacious and spunky, and outspoken on the ways women lack the advantages as men. And paired with the luck spirit Nadi she summons, Beatrice also becomes spontaneous and strong.

Beatrice's relationship with Ysbeta is more nuanced than her immediate romantic connection with Ianthe, who makes her feel wobbly in the knees when she's not on her feminist soapbox. But at least Ianthe is considerate and caring and empathetic to Beatrice's cause without being a pushover. But Ysbeta is a force of nature, and their partnership eventually blossoms into a very deep friendship.

With attendants, maids, and cooks following at our heroes footsteps, the equality issue does seem to fall a bit flat, but if you make allowances for the unmentioned classism, this light-hearted fantasy is nicely satisfying.

Highly recommended as a magical romantic escape!

I have mixed feelings about this book. I loved the storyline, writing style. It has some amazing lines. I didn't like MC Beatrice's character much, she lacked emotional depth. But I loved Ysbeta and Ianthe. However, my favourite character was Nadi, who's a lesser spirit, who was fun and witty.
I felt the story was a bit rushed, everything happened too fast. But in the story ,Beatrice and her family has some urgency to get what they want, so the pace can be justified. The world building was excellent, and the book has a strong feminist aspect.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. It is a beautiful book, and I definitely recommend it. I may not get back to the book any time soon, but I'll remember the story.

I loved the way the author shows the struggle of women to assert ourselves in this world where men are given more freedom.

In a fantastic way, it reveals some of the injustices we go through, such as that of many times not being the owners of our bodies and our destinies.
The Midnight Bargain was a reading that made me feel like I can be whatever I want and fight for it.

----
Me encanto la manera en que la autora de muestra la lucha de las mujeres para hacernos valer en este mundo donde al hombre se le dan mas libertades.

De una manera fantastica da a conocer algunas de las injusticias por las que pasamos, como la de muchas veces no ser dueñas de nustros cuerpos y de nuestros destinos.
The Midnight Bargain fue una lectura que me hizo sentir que puedo ser lo que yo quiera y luchar por ello.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me with an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre,  however I wanted to take the opportunity to read something from outside my norm. And I am glad I did!! Thank you for  opening up my mind to something totally different. Characters were so well developed that I felt as though I knew them. I love when a book draws you into the story and it feels like you are living it with them.

Pleasantly surprised by the ending of this book. The story follows young Beatrice who wants to pursue her ambitions but finds love, Beatrice comes from an impoverished family and need to marry into money. But the twist is that women can’t practice magic once pregnant, therefore being forced at their wedding to wear a collar which prevents their magical abilities. Rules that are of course established by men. This story is like Cinderella with feminism and magic.

It was also interesting for the author to include interracial relationship in a society that values money over the colour of their skin. However, the plot missed some logic at some point but overall, an easy and enjoyable read.

This book was well written and had some interesting world building. The book is set in a world that has small magic abilities for most people but to become a Mage and operate higher magics you have to bind a spirit to your soul. Women are not allowed this higher binding. To ensure this, they are married off young and then bound by a metal collar that takes magic away from the bearer. They wear this collar until they are no longer of child bearing age.


There was something that held me slightly back from really enjoying the book. I don’t know if I have just heard this story before (similar to Sorcery of Thorns) or if I’m just kind of done reading books set in obscenely misogynistic societies. I also didn’t love the focus on child bearing - it kind of reminded me of one of my big fantasy pet peeves presenting women as vessels for the future not as individuals with autonomy. That being said, at least the two main female protagonists (Beatrice and Ysbeta) are somewhat aware that these archaic practices should be obsolete. I also didn’t fully engage the romance, it felt very instantaneous without a ton of context. I almost felt there was more of a romantic connection between the Beatrice and Ysbeta than between Beatrice and the person she “loves”. The pace of this book was also a little slower than I typically like.

All that being said, I did still enjoy this book. I liked entering this world for a little bit of time. And I would recommend this book to others.

Thanks so much to the publisher and the netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Erewhon books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so fresh and original and a joy to read, I had trouble putting it down.

I would recommend if you're looking for:

-amazing world building
-old-fashioned dating, almost competing that reminded me of The Selection in the best way
-fiesty spirits
-ballroom flirting
-a meddling little sister


In The Midnight Bargain women are forced to choose: a future of independence with magic, or a future married with a child smothering that side of yourself. Except most women are not even given the choice. This book just made you think, about your choices in your life, and a woman's agency in the best way. The romance was light in this book, it was there, but I'll be honest it was not what I connected with. It was Beatrice's story as she fought for what she wanted most. Ianthe was a sweet love interest but I didn't feel the spark there. There is no steam in this one.

This book is not perfect, it portrays a very heteronormative world, but it sparks a debate. The world was fresh, and clearly well thought out. I enjoyed the magic and the analogy to different aspects of the real world. If you're looking for your next sci-fi read with a little romance mixed in I would definitely recommend this one.

Rating: 4 stars

I expected a lot from this book after reading the synopsis, and I got more than I could have hoped for. Magic, thrills, romance, espionage, all in a beautiful historical setting. Excellent

I wanted to like this book. The magic was interesting, The world building was very good. I got tired of the under-theme about equal rights. It is an interesting way to direct the conversation about sexism but when character personalities so one toned and focused on the issue the author is trying to address, the message can get lost. Beatrice wants to keep her powers and find love. She is well within her rights to demand equal treatment. I think I just wanted one time where Beatrice was happy to be a woman. Feminism is not all about fighting to get on the same level as men but loving and appreciating what a woman is. "Midnight Bargain" missed that aspect. By the end of it I did not care if Beatrice got every she wanted I just wanted her to stop whining and say something positive.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Midnight Bargain. Following Beatrice, a young woman on the verge of great magic, C.L. Polk takes the reader on a journey as Beatrice discovers what she really wants from her life, whether love or freedom is more important, and whether she can have both.

I was swept away by this story. Beatrice was a strong character, caught between duty to her family and to her dreams. Along the way, Beatrice found friendship, family, and love in Ysbeta and her brother Ianthe. In a world where women have to give up their natural gifts as they concede control of who they are, Beatrice is a wonderful example of female strength and how it's not a weakness to follow new dreams. Ianthe made for a fantastic example of a supportive, feminist love interest who acknowledges that the ways of the past are flawed and fights to help change how women like Beatrice and Ysbeta are treated.

I highly recommend this book for fans of magic and fantasy, as well as fans of strong women who believe in their convictions and prove they have the power to change the world.

This is the sort of story that often makes my blood boil, but they are important to read. Women are looked down upon. They are stripped of their magic powers when married and are just expected to breed, and the men take all the magic power. Beatrice wants more but her family is seriously in debt and she could save them by making a good marriage match. I would have liked more about the magic itself.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved the whole plotline. I am someone who likes to devour good Fantasy books and needless to say this one has gotten on the list of books that I devoured!

Magic, feminism, and historical fiction? Who could ask for more?

The author created a world that was easy to step into immediately and understand. The world of magic and spirits was a creative spin on the typical fantasy novel and I found that while not everything was as thoroughly explained and explored as I would’ve liked, the gist of the magic and hierarchy of the fictional world was laid out well.

The character development of outlying characters could have had a bit more help as we only them as they served the main plot but overall the characters were flawed and still likeable, and the dialogue moved the plot along quickly.

This book was a fun read about magic and mages, courtship and love, duty and pursuing passion, with a heavy dousing of feminism and a woman’s right to choose her own path in a patriarchal oppressive alternate society. The use of shielding collars on married women, although perhaps a bit heavy handed symbolism, allowed the story to explore darker themes of power and control, equality, and freedom.

Overall, it was a fun quick read with a feminist spin on magic in a historical fiction type setting and I really enjoyed it.

Magical, Enthralling, Heartbreaking and Perfect Thorough Happiness!

Well, that was fan-freaking-tastic! To say I loved this is an understatement. It was so magical but felt so vividly real. C L Polk has created a wonderful, magical world where sorcerers live amongst normal people and I was so enthralled, I couldn't put it down.

Polk's world of sorcerers amongst us was breathtaking. I loved that the power was in men but also really flowed through women. The characters were spectacular. Beatrice's strong will, Ysbeta who isn't what you initially think she is but actually is so incredibly selfless, Nadi who reminds us of the child we used to be, and Ianthe - an absolute gem of a sorcerer who was passionate and so incredibly open-minded. I loved this group of problem solvers. Each had their reasons but found harmony with each other.

If you love a bit of magical fantasy feminism, look no further. The women in this story are fierce and loyal to their causes and loyal to each other. And Ianthe is such a perfect ally.

I LOVED this. I want to read it again and again.

Well, hello feminist historical fantasy novel. I absolutely loved this book!

First, I think the cover is stunning. It immediately drew me in. I love a good cover. Second, I adore Polk’s style of writing. The story is very dialogue driven, which is my favorite way to read! The pacing was on the slower side, but not enough to make me lose interest.

I really liked the characters as well. One thing I liked was that the author didn’t make them all super likeable. They all had little frustrating things about them, which made them seem more real. I also loved the chemistry between the characters. I think the romance aspect of this book played off really well. Also, the world building in this book was very interesting! It’s created in a way that is very similar to issues women face in our non-magical world. I loved it!

My only complaint is that the ending was tied up in a neat little bow. Happy endings are nice! But, considering how some people reacted (no spoilers!), I think the bow was way too nice. Too many sparkles. Not enough jagged edges. I did LOVE the epilogue though.

Overall, such a great book with witty dialogue, an intriguing world, and dynamic characters!

The Midnight Bargain is like if Pride and Prejudice met The Bartimaeus trilogy. In Chasland, a fantasy country reminiscent of regency England. Beatrice has to choose between becoming a mage or marriage. The choice becomes a lot more difficult when she develops feelings for eligible bachelor Ianthe Lavan. Ianthe is considerate, attentive, and charming. There are unlikely friendships, social maneuvering. fist fights, pining, and mischievous spirits. Nadi the lesser spirit of Fortune and Ysbeta Lavan are side characters who I grew to love. Spirits crave the experience of being coroporal, so to call on their services, mages offer them certain experiences inhabiting their bodies, which easily segued into meet-cutes with Nadi acting as an impulsive influence on Beatrice. The Lavans are from Llanandari, where people are dark-skinned and coily-haired, and women have more leeway in their roles. Ysbeta is Ianthe's assertive younger sister, and she's dealing with a betrothal of her own. This was a fun read that uses a fantastical setting to explore familiar themes of misogyny.

The Midnight Bargain is the story of the young Beatrice who's family has risked what little remains of the their fortune to make her an eligible candidate for the "Bargain season" (matchmaking season) in the hopes of her being able to obtain a wealthy husband and save the family from poverty. This world has magic, but if women use magic they risk a spirit possessing their child during pregnancy. To prevent this possession it is unseemly for young women to take an interest in magic and once married they are placed in a collar that ceases their magical abilities.

Beatrice does not wish to marry because she wants to be a sorceress and due to the baby possession issue it is impossible to do both. Thus we have our conflict.

Beatrice's family, and most of all her sister, are completely reliant on Beatrice's success during Bargaining season. If Beatrice fails, her younger sister Harriet will never be able to have her own bargaining season and all chance at Harriets happiness will be lost. While there is a lot of effort by way of multiple info dumps into trying to convince the audience why marriage is such an unappealing option, I failed to ever grasp how becoming a sorceress was anything other than a selfish alternatively that would have dire affects for her sister. Her sister, who is by far the wiser, more knowledgable and mature one in the family. Beatrice seeing magic as a reasonable alternative came across as the wistful fantasy of a child: "If I have magic, I can quietly exit society life without damaging my families reputation, dad will suddenly respect my opinion and I will help the family to become wealthy" when undoubtably her exit from society would negatively affect her sisters reputation.

The story moved very slowly throughout the 6 weeks of bargaining season, and at no time was I ever rooting for Beatrice. Overall I found her to be an unlikable character, the fantasy story I was expecting was largely overshadowed by society interactions and match making, and this worlds magical system just did not work for me.

I really enjoyed The Midnight Bargain! I loved the magic and the use of spirits. The book mainly focuses on women's rights and how women have to give up their magic in order to get married and have children.

Beatrice was a strong character as she was tough, loyal and stood up for what she believed in, even though she was being forced to find a husband and give up the one thing she loved. I wish there had been more interaction between her and Ianthe, I loved them together, as he was super sweet and supported Beatrice, but it was just a bit of a whirlwind romance.

I loved the relationship between Beatrice and Nadi! Nadi was by far my favourite character even if it was a spirit, as it just basically wanted to enjoy life through Beatrice and hex everyone, it brought a lot more comedy to the book.

I would definitely recommend this book, it did take me a few chapters to really get into it but I'm glad I pushed through and got to see how it ended, as I thought the ending was really sweet and just proves that women aren't inferior to men.

Beatrice Clayborn holds the potential to wield magic, but as society bans women from learning the more intricate practices of spirit summoning, she is expected to relieve her family from financial strain by striking a prosperous match during bargaining season. As an ingenue debuting in fine society, she must navigate costly balls, tearoom chats, and pompous parties frequented by affluent bachelors, who seek a Skyborn-blessed bride in order to pass magical talent on to heirs - when all Beatrice wants is to bind herself to a powerful spirit who can fill her father's coffers. In order to avoid a future match, she bargains with a lesser spirit of fortune to share her body in exchange for some luck as well as a grimoire that might teach her how to escape her approaching nuptials... if she can get it back from another sorceress as desperate for freedom as she.

Beatrice needs all the luck she can get to tiptoe around every possible faux pas that might bring disgrace to her family name during bargaining season, aware that her family is on the brink of bankruptcy. Polk composes a delicate code of conduct for high society that is not only entertaining to read, but also illuminates that the gender inequality of fictional Chasland might be even closer to current social injustices than those of 18th century England, which her setting seems to be based on. Bargaining with aetherial spirits is only allowed for women either widowed or past their childbearing age, as a strong enough spirit might not only inhabit a sorceress, but seek to possess an unborn child. The only known method to prevent this is a warding collar permanently put on a newly-married woman's neck, barring her from using sorcery. And a spinster, choosing to pursue scholarship and summonings instead of procreation, is thought of as unnatural.

This novel really made me think. I definitely did not expect this fantasy of manners to delve into contemporary problems like the pressure on women to either pursue a career and be called egoistical and frigid OR get pregnant and be laughed at for choosing a traditionally female role. One can only lose in this game of misogyny, and The Midnight Bargain came along just as I realized that. But as bleak as this message sounds, and despite a touch of darker themes here and there, this story is not too heavy in its premise, and I relished the writing from start to finish. It's really sweet, I swear! Not to mention the effortless aromantic representation, healthy yet complicated female-female friendship, the wholesome romance, and the inclusion of black people in positions of wealth and power, and not as "exotic" foreign side characters.

Above all, I loved loved loved the magic system for bringing something fresh to the table. Nadi, the lesser spirit Beatrice first encounters, lacks a material form, and without it the ability to touch, see, smell, taste, and hear. As any aetherial creature, it hungers for the corporeal, and bonding with a human is the only way to experience the simple joys of humanity, like eating cake or watching fireworks. Like any of the lesser spirits, Nadi has a personality close to that of a young child, often sulky when denied a treat, sometimes overeager to move the host's body towards a goal, and all in all simply hard to control. But also, yes, cute!

If you appreciate Georgette Heyer as much as a solid fantasy standalone, choose The Midnight Bargain to ease you into this year's (mildly) spooky fall reading season!