I received this book from the publisher via Netgalley but all opinions are my own.

This book was a quick read. It captured my attention right away. I always enjoy fantasy fiction and this one had a unique story line however I think the world that was created needed some more fleshing out or to be a series so it could have gone a little more in-depth to Beatrice’s plight. Some aspects of the grimoires and the collar were confusing til much later in the book. The romance was cute and heartbreaking at times. The men in power aspect was a good representation of the power struggle in our world and the “ not so well intentioned “ parents and men in charge made me feel her frustration. Feeling for a character and the injustices they face is a good sign of a book that connects you to the character. I’d read more of what CL Polk writes in the future .

Beatrice is eighteen and a sorceress. In her country, after a woman marries, a collar to strip her of her magical power is put on her neck with an excuse that it's to keep the future children safe while she carries them. And okay, sure, in a way it is, but with no way to tell if a child is coming or not the woman is locked up for a long time until her birthing years are behind her and only then may she pursue magic again. If she chooses to do so, she's very limited in what she can do.

Secret grimoires exist to allow women to learn the magic that no one wants to teach them and that's how Beatrice knows a decent amount of it.

While hunting for more grimoires, she encounters a girl on the same task, Ysbeta and her brother Ianthe. Ianthe falls for her and she falls for him but all that is put on hold when Ysbeta steals the grimoire from under Beatrice's nose.

Eventually the girls befriend each other and decide to work together to be free, as neither of them is content with giving up their magic for a man.

I really enjoyed this book, even though I hated all the characters apart from Beatrice and Nadi at one point or another.

The book is longer than average but it didn't feel that way. There were no "slow" parts for me, just endless frustration at everyone who refused to let Beatrice be a mage and stay unmarried.

The world building is excellent and I like the spirit bonding. Enter Nadi - the best character hands down. If this had been a book about it and Beatrice running amok, tasting all the food, dancing all the dances, experiencing all four seasons, I wouldn't mind one bit. They're perfect together.

I think that perhaps, the other suitors who swarmed Beatrice at the birthday party (I believe it was the birthday party) should've appeared more than once.

There's no specific villain in the book, every character has a chance to be one though. I don't mind it.

Harriet is one of the "good" characters that I instantly disliked and kept disliking until the very end. I don't want to call her a brat but...she's a brat. And if I was Beatrice I would've spent months if not years being mad at her for what she did.

Ianthe is...a little daft. But he makes up for it in charm. I'm not exactly sure I like the pairing even though he was her best option.

Beatrice had so many opportunities to run away but didn't take them and I'm still mad at her for that. JUST GO. BE FREE. And I feel like her mother also could've helped more, or at least earlier, then there wouldn't have been such a mess.

Despite all of that I like the epilogue.

Nadi gets 5 stars.

*Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

This book was pretty good, especially for a standalone fantasy. I thought the worldbuilding and magic system were well planned out, but where the book fell flat for me was in the characters and the establishment of the friendship and romantic relationship. I was not a fan of the love interest in this book and I would have liked this book more if there was a different love interest, especially since I felt no chemistry between Beatrice and Ianthe. I enjoyed the writing and worldbuilding in this book, yet the characters in this book are not going to stick with me over time

3.25/5

I am thankful to NetGalley and the publisher of this book for sending me the eARC to read in exchange of honest review. Oh my oh my, where do I start? This is Victorian - esque meet The Bachelor full of twists and turns of drama. From a wicked mother in law that reminds me of Cinderella's wicked step mother to a young brave woman who fought for equality that is so timely and relevant as we speak. The tone of this novel is neither formal nor informal. It has the level of enjoyment on every page, character, scenes and dialogues that brings you to a new different world. I must say, I even dreamt of being part of the novel and would like to partake the adventure with all these characters. I hope that this won't be a standalone novel as I want more of the story to reveal and expand other ideas whether it's social justice, inequality, or political reason. I am so thirsty for more story from each and every characters, nonetheless, it was a great ride knowing and reading the book and the characters in it. Thank you again NetGalley and the publisher and great job C.L.Polk.

I was so excited to read this book. I am a big fan of Witchmark and of CL Polk in general. The premise is that Beatrice Clayborn is a sorceress practicing magic in secret while reluctant participating in her first Bargaining Season (the time when marriages are negotiated). Magic for eligible ladies is discouraged because a woman is expected to be collared during her child bearing years. Upon their wedding day they will don a warded, silver collar that will suppress their powers. But Beatrice knows she has value beyond breeding children and one day she, by chance, meets Ysbeta in a bookstore. Ysbeta is the most popular of the ingenues for Bargaining Season, but also knows she is destined for more.

A lot of things really worked for me in this book. While this book is a fantasy, CL Polk draws on a lot of historical expectations placed on women and mirrors the struggles that are still being fought today in the interactions Ysbeta and Beatrice have with the women and men in their lives. The romance between Beatrice and Ysbeta’s brother Ianthe fell a little flat for me. There was an effervescence to their first scene that held so much promise, but I found their relationship to be a foregone conclusion as the book progressed, rather than providing any tension. Whereas the relationship between Ysbeta and Beatrice felt alive and vibrant with a mostly constant push-pull.

I think I would still recommend this book to readers who don’t often read fantasy. I think it’s a book that could easily bridge the gap between fantasy readers and literary fiction readers.

This is my first C.L. Polk book and it will not be my last. I was intrigued by the world of politeness and politics from the moment Beatrice met the Lavan siblings. The imbalance of power and inherently sexist society hooked me as soon as readers learned that women must give up their magic for the use of the Magas husbands. The romance was swoony. Beatrice and Ianthe's chemistry leaped off the page from the first opening ball of the bargaining season.

The magic of the world and relationships with the minor and major spirits felt very unique to me. Polk's worldbuilding, pacing, and plot are just excellent. I couldn't put this book down.

Thank you so much to Erewhon and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book (apart from the moments where I was so irrevocably angry on Beatrice's behalf that I didn't).

The premise of this book is that sorceresses have their magic suppressed when they get married, to prevent the risk of their future unborn children being possessed by spirits during pregnancy and turned into dangerous monsters. Which sounds horribly dystopia-esque, but this book actually reads more like a secondary world regency fantasy, where the focus is on a few individual women trying to find a way out of such a fate in order to pursue their interests as Mages (a mission complicated by society's obsession with marriage as a way to bolster a family's fortunes, just like in the actual regency era). It's not the tone I was expecting, but it really worked for this book by showing how the subjugation of women becomes so ingrained in a society in part by robbing individual women of their agency before they can even form a coalition to fight back.

Other highlights: I found the magic system fascinating - a sorcerer must bind themselves to a spirit who helps them wield magic, but they must offer something as part of a bargain in return. Nadi, Beatrice's chosen spirit, is a fun addition to the cast with her witty commentary on everyone they meet. I also found the friendship between Beatrice and Ysbeta refreshing. The synopsis paints them as rivals, but they quickly realise that they have a mutual interest best achieved through cooperation and collaboration, which is a much more interesting story imo.

There is an insta-love romance which took a long time to click for me (though in this case the insta-love is at least relevant for the plot to unfold) and a few small side plots where I wish we'd gotten more closure. Overall, however, I thought this was a great addition to the feminist fantasy genre.

This one was difficult to rate cause while I liked it some of the time, others it just fell flat. The romance angle I think shouldn’t be advertised as much just cause it seems underdeveloped and Insta-love ish.


The magic system was a little confusing at first but ended up working itself out more as time went on. I enjoyed that part and women fighting for their Independence hit home hard for me.

I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this world with the way it does magic mostly with spirits. Beatrice is an ingenue doing her first season. However she would rather be a sorceress instead of a wife. That is until she meets Ianthe while looking for a special grimoire in a bookshop. Beatrice is torn between the two paths and moust make a hard choice since she can only chose one. Chasland has this barbaric method of collaring sorceress woman when they get married because there is a danger of spirits possessing their unborn children if they practice magic while pregnant.

This book takes a very strong stance on giving women the power to control their own lives. I did get a little tired of that coming up all the time (Beatrice was irritating in the regard) but it is a good story and I really like the relationship of Beatrice and Nadi (Nadi was my favorite by far). Ianthe was a little too perfect but I liked him too. Ysbeta was good too. And I liked how it ended. That was satisfying.

I enjoyed most of this book and would recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc of this book! My opinions are my own.

I very much enjoyed reading this YA fantasy book! It reminds me a bit of the Selection series, mixed with magic and spirits!

We meet Beatrice Clayborn, and she has to find a husband through Bargaining Season. She doesn't want to marry, but she needs to, to save her family from bankruptcy. But maybe, there's another way... Beatrice has magic and if she is able to bind a Greater spirit to her, she could become a Mage and help her father rebuild his business. The only problem is that women are not actually allowed to do this in her country. She is supposed to marry and wear a collar that will take her magic away. Beatrice would do anything to keep her magic and her path is clear, until she falls in love...

Would it have been nice to read some more background story? Yes. Could the characters have been more rounded out? Also yes. But all of this did not stand in the way of me enjoying this book immensely! I loved how the focus of this story was on women creating their own paths and following their hearts. I also loved the interaction with the spirits!

If you're looking for a nice easy read that lets you escape into a different world for a while, this is it!

I wasn't too invested in this story. I often found myself bored and easily distracted while I was reading. The pacing was kind of all over the place as well which wasn't helping. I think I went into it with very high expectations which weren't met. Overall, not for me.

Overall this was a good read for me! As a huge fan of fantasy, historical fiction, AND romance it seemed like it would be the perfect storm for me. However, it fell a ~little~ flat for me.

It took me a little bit to get into it but once I did I really liked the setting and magic system. It’s hard to find a magic system that’s interesting when it seems like they’re all covered from previous fantasy books so seeing something unique like the imbalance between men and women was awesome!

I didn’t ~love~ the main character and not in a “they’re supposed to be unlikeable” kind of way and more in a “they are a little annoying for me” kind of way. I’m not a huge fan of “instalove” and I felt like this book had a big focus on that.

Overall I did enjoy it and give it 3/5 stars.

I had a really hard time with this book. Just couldn’t get into it. Maybe the characters need to be drawn out more. Or the beginning explained better- it seems like it jumps into everything too fast and with my quarantine brain it was difficult. Beatrice’s story deserves a more gripping beginning.

WOW. That's what comes to mind when thinking about this book. What an incredible journey I just took with some amazingly written characters. There was so much detail in this book and it was absolutely necessary to understand the workings of magic that were within the world we were reading about. I loved the protagonist and how she fought for her right in love and magic. I enjoyed her love interest and the support that was given. This is how a historical/fantasy/romance should be written. I was sucked in from the beginning!
I think that the writing of Nadi should be italicized or something instead of using the colons but it was incredibly written.

Fans of Zen Cho’s Sorcerer Royal series, and C.L. Polk’s Kingston Cycle will be thrilled by the latest work by Polk herself: The Midnight Bargain.

The Midnight Bargain tells the story of Beatrice, a young woman of prodigious magical skill who is trapped in a society that suspends a woman’s magical abilities for the sake of protecting her potential unborn children, whether the woman is willing or not.

This story is rich and exciting, full of magic and spirits, and luxurious descriptions of clothing, food, and spell casting. As is her style, Polk drops the reader headlong into the action without bothering to explain every piece of information first, to great effect. The world feels lived in, rather than fabricated, with richness to the various cultures that populate the world Beatrice inhabits.

The characters are charming and flawed, with sympathetic villains, as well as truly despicable ones, and heroes who make mistakes and behave selfishly at times, alongside their more remarkable, selfless moments.

This deeply feminist story is not one of particular subtlety. Yet it does not suffer for this. Seeing pro-choice arguments so deliciously laid out on the page in the midst of this textured, magical land is satisfying and inspiring. The writing is sharp and clever, and the love story is romantic and lovely. Another excellent addition to the works of the brilliant C.L. Polk.

Thank you to Erewhon Books and NetGaey for the ARC.

This book covered a few different genres: fantasy, historical fiction and romance to name three. It's quite an interesting story where our protagonist Beatrice is being depended on to make a marriage match during the marriage bargaining season that takes place in this one town. Her family is in some dire financial situation and what money they have has been invested in her hopeful marriage. Except Beatrice doesn't want to marry because she wants to be a mage and do great things with her magic. In this universe, women must wear a collar when they marry to stamp out the magic for fear of terrible things happening with pregnancy. So women are pretty much controlled by their husbands from the time they are married using this fear and they aren't allowed to learn and practice magic in the way men are. Which really brings in a bit of dystopian feminist fiction.

It's quite an enjoyable story overall. There is romance involved but honestly it's fairly secondary to the rest of the story. I did find the pacing at the end was a bit faster than necessary although it didn't detract too much from the overall story. Just that it seemed to be trying to get finished all of a sudden.

Overall I give this 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Erewhon books for sharing an advanced reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

CL Polk's newest work is a fantasy romance that turns a Cinderella story on its head. Beatrice is an aspiring magician that wants nothing more than to bind herself to a greater spirit and become a mage. For now, she has a lesser spirit, Nadi, who will help her until midnight for the cost of some food, dancing, and a kiss. Enter one Ianthe, mage-in-training and eligible bachelor, along with his sister, Ysbeta.

This work had quite a lot of social commentary centered around feminism and the role of women in society. I do feel the need to include a content warning for readers regarding a lot of discussion of pregnancy and women as primarily child-bearers. This is central to the plot of the book.

That being said, I enjoyed the magic system as presented and enjoyed the interactions of spirits with their hosts. I might have enjoyed to hear more of Ianthe's perspective, but understand that the message of the book could be seen as more powerful without it.

I look forward to reading Polk's backlist and to any future works.

Thank you to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Midnight Bargain follows Beatrice Clayborn, a young woman whose sole desire in the world is to become a powerful sorceress and help save her family from her father's financial mistakes/bad decisions. This could be easy enough if she can become a magus, but unfortunately only the men of her land are allowed to bind to a greater spirit. Women are expected to marry, then immediately submit to wearing a collar that dampens their magic and emotions so that their future children will never be at risk of being possessed by said spirits. Can Beatrice find a way to save her magic before she is forced to marry?

This book flips upside down the stereotypes of the Disney-esque fairytales we grew up on and have learned to accept without question. A girl with a tragic backstory falls in love with a handsome prince and they marry and live happily ever after. What if the princes weren't the heroes, but the villains? What about the women who want to achieve their dreams first? Or the ones who don't want to marry at all?

I enjoyed the fresh take on a typical fairytale trope. I loved that there was asexual/aromantic representation, which may be one of the first times I've ever seen it in YA, much less historical fiction. I also liked that, in general, magic is seen as prestigious and not something to be hidden. That was an interesting switch from the usual plot of mages/witches/sorcerers always practicing in secret.

What bothered me most about the book was the punctuation for the internal dialogue/thoughts. Instead of using italics, or even apostrophes, they were marked with colons like: " :Put that back!: All I could read were the ":P" emoticons and would have to re-read most of the sentences. It was jarring and pulled my attention from the story.

The characters all had a strong personal motive, which I enjoyed! Unfortunately, it felt like even by the ending there isn't much more to connect with the characters. Beatrice had red hair and was determined to learn magic and re-establish a fortune for her family at all costs. I don't feel I gleaned anything else other than that she owns a violon and has red hair. I would have like to learned more about them.

In the end, this was a fun read and there were a few little plot twists at the end that I found interesting as well! I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction mixed with magic and a dose of adventure.

I loved this book and I can't stop recommending it! It has the social commentary, romance and atmosphere of Jane Austen meets the feminist horror of Handmaid's Tale. I am typically a slow reader, but I devoured almost the whole book in a weekend. The characters of Beatrice, Ysbeta, Ianthe, Harriet and in particular Nadi really lept off the page. This book was quite a read and it empowered me to have my own 'smash the patriarchy' moment. Five stars!

Regency romance, feminism, and some old school occult-style magic? I’m in! I was so excited to get a chance to read The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk and it did not disappoint!

As a fan of Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, I love to see when authors take the regency romance and twist it with new ideas. Polk did that and more. There is so much to love about this book – especially for witchy types like myself. Despite being in a fantasy world, I could see not only Austenian references but also the influence of occult secret societies like the Golden Dawn in this book’s commentary about the role of women in high society. There is also the realistic back and forth about lower class women and upper class women that calls to the early suffragist and women’s work movements. All that added with Beatrice’s knowledge of trade gave the book’s fantasy so much realism, I never questioned the way magic works in this world.

The romance creates a lot of warm and fuzzy moments but also hypes up my anxiety for the characters. While some books that try and make the main character feel stuck between a rock and a hard place feel contrived, I genuinely never saw a good way out for Beatrice until the end. I was CONCERNED, y’all. It kept me reading until low and behold I’d binged the whole book in a day. I’m already planning to re-read so I can better grasp the drama that I just experienced.

The ending of the book did have a couple of things that felt contrived.
*Spoiler Warning*
While I am always a fan of the happily ever after, the parents fighting with Ysbeta, Ianthe, and Beatrice then deciding to support their kids…it felt contrived. Perhaps my own experiences and seeing the lives of other people who have issues getting along with parents…but I just can’t grasp it. Personally, Mr. Clayborn can come on the boat to be thrown off and take a big drink. Its the only part of the book that made my eyes roll.

While we’re in spoiler territory, I did like that Polk didn’t stick to too many stereotypes of Regency romance that I’ve seen – specifically the misunderstandings carrying on or the heroine holding a secret that could destroy her reputation for half a book. When Beatrice is threatened by Danton so that he can try and secure his sister’s interest, she tells Ianthe and I applaud the scene.
*End Spoilers*

From world development to characters I adored to a plot that urged me to turn the next page – The Midnight Bargain was an excellent journey.

Fans of Galen Beckett’s The Magician and Mrs. Quent as well as fantasy readers who also enjoy Austen and Bronte will LOVE The Midnight Bargain.