I have always had a complex relationship with books about romance that play with Regency period, or engage in Jane Austen-homages, because whatever the cover blurb may say about strong female characters, marriage always seems to be the end goal. As someone who has never been particularly interested in marriage, this has never been entirely compelling to me as a reader. Polk's premise and worldbuilding in The Midnight Bargain feel like an entirely new entry into the genre.

Beatrice Claybourn is approaching the start of the Bargaining Season, where young women like her are expected to find acceptable husbands. But Beatrice, though she feels pressure to find a wealthy match, who can absorb her family's debts, also knows that marrying will require her to accept a warding collar, which will prevent her from using and developing her own magic, or becoming a Mage (a role restricted to men). Beatrice identifies a book that has spells that may help her -- unfortunately, another eligible young woman, Ysbeta Lavan, manages to buy it first. To get access, Beatrice has to work with Ysbeta, and potentially with her older brother, Ianthe Lavan -- who is also searching for a wife.

I don't think I've ever seen a novel focused on a Regency-style season where the female protagonist is so focused on finding a way to avoid marriage, rather than discovering that the right match does in fact exist. As a result, Midnight Bargain is really a novel about political revolution, as much as it is about relationships -- and Beatrice's relationship with Ysbeta is as central to the book as any of the more romantic relationships that are featured. Polk is adept at entangling the stories of characters who want very different things -- and right up until the last 30 pages, I wasn't sure where the novel would go. I was utterly delighted, and I hope that we see more in this world.

A beautiful fantasy romance! I loved the slightly different twist on Regency England here with magical elements — and the struggle the heroine faced between the possibility of marriage and a family and being a subjugated wife and mother, giving up the power she was desperate to hold onto and learn more of. Some of my favorite parts involved Beatrice’s conjuration of a lesser spirit and said spirit sort of becoming like her inner child, emboldening her to do new and daring things for once in her life. This is my first book from CL Polk and I don’t believe it’ll be the last, although fingers crossed we get a sequel for this... maybe Harriet’s book or Ysbeta’s?

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

While the premise is utterly promising and the author does a good job of representing the central conflict, I wish so fervently that the romance was not of the "insta love" kind. I was expecting something slow burn and angsty, with powerful payoff, but that was simply missing. I did however immensely enjoy the author's writing style and I do look forward to whatever work comes next.

***I received an uncorrected proof of this ebook from netgalley in exchange for an honest review***

"The talent for sorcery in women is a curse when it ought to be a blessing."†

Beatrice Clayborn lives in a patriarchal fantasy world where magic is a boys club. Married women are forced to wear a collar that blocks their magic, and also dulls their senses. Uncollared women risk becoming pregnant with spirit-possessed ~demon spawn~. Beatrice doesn’t want to wed, but wants to become a powerful, independent sorceress. Unfortunately, her family is counting on her to save them from the brink of financial devastation via a profitable marriage.

Beatrice self-learns magic in the attic with her secret collection of grimoires and the help of her summoned luck spirit, Nadi. Nadi is my absolute favorite. Where’s my lesser luck spirit, huh? Beatrice meets Ysbeta, daughter of an influential shipping magnate with similar sorceress aspirations, and Ysbeta’s handsome brother, Ianthe. For a while I was worried, because Beatrice had far more chemistry with Ysbeta than with Ianthe. Luckily, partway through the book, Ianthe began to develop a personality. (In all fairness, he wasn’t on page enough early in the book).

Beatrice must ultimately choose between love and power, and she really comes into her own along her journey. When I tell you I SCREAMED when Beatrice punched [Danton (hide spoiler)] so hard that he lost a tooth….
She stepped back to give him room, her fists still raised. “Get up,” she said. “Get up and face me. [...] I demand satisfaction. Will you fetch your pistols?”✝ What a bad b*tch.

The development of the romance left something to be desired, but I tried to cut it some slack because the romance in this time period does seem to be generally superficial. While I wish the magic system had been explained more, the canon we were given was extremely intriguing. Nadi gave us some great insight into the way of things, but she was just one spirit.

This book was sailing straight towards a four-star rating until that ending. I cannot imagine a more perfect ending for this story, set in this world. Is this book a true five stars? Unsure. But I could not put it down and I enjoyed the hell out of reading it (even if I wanted to strangle Beatrice at least five times). I would honestly love a follow-up in this world now that Beatrice, Ysbeta, and Ianthe have upset the balance.


✝check against final text

I really wanted to love this book but found I couldn’t get into it at all.
I wish the main character had not found the ‘instant love’ as I feel that trope has been done to death.
Loved the concept of women not being allowed to practise magic

Beatrice Clayborn wants nothing more in life than to be allowed to practice her magic. However, as a woman, she is required to keep her ability secret living in fear of the day she is required to marry when she will be locked into a binding collar and her magic will be cut off. When she meets Ysbete and Ianthe Lavan, her future begins to look differently than she could have ever imagined, until she learns the truth about her bargaining season (like...her debut as a young woman of of age to marry) and how desperately her family need her to make a good match in order to ensure their future.

If Beatrice marries, she loses her magic. If she doesn't, she could lose everything else.

I wanted to like this book. It checked so many boxes for me, but it took me FOREVER to read and finish this title. I struggled to find anything that I really liked about the characters (especially Harriet-she was insufferable). The world-building at times was confusing and I wasn't always sure what was going on in the world or why people were allowed to get away with some of the things that they did.

This book just wasn't really for me.

I liked the writing but I hated the romance and, considering that's the entire plot, I didn't like the story. I'm just not a fan if Insta-love. If that doesn't bother you and you're looking for a historical romance with some fantasy, then you might like this.

I absolutely fell in love with the characters and world woven into life by C.L. Polk! We follow Beatrice as she fights for her right to wield magic instead of being forced into gray oblivion all women are upon the act of marriage and the silver binding collars placed by their husbands.

A fine and fun book, with an interesting world, although the most compelling relationship was between the two female leads, and I was disappointed in the choice of romantic partner for the main character.

In a world where women must put on a dampening collar to reduce their magic when they get married, two girls dare to wish for freedom. Beatrice Clayborn must make a good match in order to restore her father's coffers during the annual bargaining season. Another young woman, Yselta Lavan, also wishes to pursue her own magic path, but she is rich and has no need of a fortuitous match. Alas, her brother, Ianthe, has fallen head over heels in love with Beatrice. Ianthe swears he will protect Beatrice and permit her to use her magic as long as she agrees to wear the collar while pregnant to protect a child from being spirit-possessed. The world building is quite well done, I especially appreciated that there were people of color involved. I will have to wait to see how the series develops; it was an intriguing start, but I do not see how it will proceed.

Beatrice wants to learn and practice magic. But in her patriarchal world only boys can learn magic and women need to wear a collar that prevents them from practicing.
There's something about this concept that intrigues and repulses. Perhaps it is just due to 2020, but I really struggled with the sexism in this book despite these concepts being based off societies from not that long ago with young girls needing to marry for certain family status and power.

The characters and world building were good, but not great, and could have been explored a little more. In summary, I recommend this for teens or those who enjoy a bit of YA fantasy.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another book set in the past were women has little to no rights. Sprinkle in some Naomi Novak writing and you have The Midnight Bargain. Didn't love this one but I could see how some would. I sped read this cause I just didn't care for the character much. Not for me. 2/5 stars.

Young sorceresses in Chasland are highly sought after; however, it isn't their magical talent that entices potential marriage partners. It is their ability to pass down magical genes to their future offspring. In order for a sorceress to safely bear a child, she must wear a warding collar which cuts off all access to her magical talents from the day of her wedding until the day she can no longer bear children. Beatrice Clayborn is a talented sorceress who is desperate to escape the warding collar that comes with marriage and continue to access her magical abilities. Beatrice wants nothing more than to be absolutely free until she meets Ianthe Lavan, son of a very wealthy family, during bargaining season. How will Beatrice choose between her magic and the man who she loves?

This is a regency romance with some magic thrown in. Expect lots of manners, social customs, descriptions of outfits, and incredibly boring parties. Ultimately, readers of regency romances might enjoy this, but I did not.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the characters, especially sassy Nadi! I know the insta love has bothered some people but this book is obviously based in time with the weird society debutante and being courted immediately etc... so I kind of expected it. And loved it! I loved the world building and prose. My complaint is that there should have been more magic (the spells) and her father shouldn’t have the insta change he had at the very end- it was too drastic. Definitely recommend especially since I read this in one day!

Really enjoyed this with one. In a world analogous to our 19th C, women have fewer rights than men and are not normally permitted to practice sorcery, although a sorcerous wife is preferred since she will pass the talent on to her children. From there it follows the standard beats of an MC who goes against tide and practices in secret despite all the odds against her. I personally though Polk did the exploration of minimising women and organising a society that was inaccessible to them very well. I think I preferred the authors novella series but this was a strong fantasy.

Hmmm stuck in my inner evaluation purgatory: Another book gave me mixed feelings and I couldn’t decide if I hated it or loved it.

There are so many things I truly enjoyed: having equal rights between men and power to hold and use magic, to have rights to be Magus parts are thought provokingly well established.If you are a woman, you have to sacrifice your potential to have and hold the magic because when you get marry, you may put your unborn children’s lives into danger( they may be corrupted by vicious spirits)

Overall: The world building, bargaining system to choose yourself a wealthy, charming husband, rules of magic were the original, well developed and most interesting parts of the book.
But... yes... here comes the parts which bothered me a lot:

Firstly let’s talk about characters:

I found the characterization a little flat, superficial. MC Beatrice carries feminism vibes to fight for her rights to use her magic and become a Magus as like the other men do. But she was mostly too annoying, irritating, acting selfishly. Those facts made her unlikable. Her character suffers from lack of emotional depth. Poor, charming Ianthe shows his feelings from the beginning and I wanted to scream at her face and tell her “ get marry with this guy, what are you waiting for!”

Thankfully even though we suffer from heroine’s obnoxiousness, Nadi, lovely spirit she summoned to help her get back the grimoire, was my favorite character.

Romance parts are haphazard, instantaneous, too. I couldn’t get the part how they suddenly fell for each other. I really thought maybe I missed some pages and returned back to find them. Oh, no. I didn’t skip or miss any pages!

And the pace was a little bumpy. It gets slower and something happens to captivate your attention back. But a few chapters later the boredom comes back!

Fantasy parts and creative world building were truly amazing. I wish there would be less romance and more magic in this book with more tolerable characters. I’m so sure with this formulation: I would give it five stars.
So I stayed in Switzerland territory: it was not great but it was okay read so let’s meet in the middle by giving it three stars.

Similar to C.L. Polk’s debut Witchmark, The Midnight Bargin is a secondary world fantasy of manners with a strong romance. The worldbuilding is excellent. I love reading fantasy of manners that are set in secondary worlds, rather than alternate versions of Europe. Polk has done an amazing job fleshing out the world and the characters that inhabit it, from the details of their clothing to complicated social norms. These small details are everywhere throughout the book and really help to bring the story to life.

I particularly liked the magic system regarding spirits and their connection to a Magus. Sometimes magic in fantasy novels is rigid, that it is already defined and has rules. Beatrice is self-taught with all her knowledge coming from grimoires and her own experiments. But as she furthers her knowledge, she realizes that there’s knowledge about magic and spirits that even the Magus don’t have.

For all the glitter and glamour of the Barganing Season and magic, The Midnight Bargin is an angry book. Polk takes the reader through a gambit of sexism that at many points feels hopeless. But this is also a romance, and although things are never perfect, eventually you get a happy ending. I cried at end of the book and there’s scenes I’m still thinking of long after having read them.

My one issue with The Midnight Bargin is that Ianthe’s character felt a bit flat. A large part of his and Beatrice’s relationship was of him learning of the sexism Beatrice faces and the restrictions that face her at the prospect of having to lock her magic away. But in the end, Ianthe loves Beatrice enough to let her go when being married to him would still remove her from a central part of herself, her magic, and he loves her even more that he throws convention aside to help her. They’re still an adorable couple though and Polk made me squee over them several times.

The Midnight Bargin is an emotional, but wonderful read. Fans of the Lady Trent series by Marie Brennan will enjoy it. If you’re looking for a story to get angry about, but also a story to give you hope, pick this one up. Also the hardcover edition is freaking gorgeous and deserves to be on everyone’s shelves.

Yes!! I was so excited for this book because the synopsis was right up my alley. Alt history with magic? Sign me up! And this did not disappoint. I loved every single minute of this book. There was a great romantic subplot, the descriptions were amazing, and I did not want to put it down. More of this please! I'd love to see more books in this world.

A bargain made in haste has consequences for beyond its measure. A first kiss that sacred and magical moment has been promised to someone else and the bargain carries a toll so deep and rich it permeates Beatrices decisions and thrusts her into a constant battle between love and duty. I loved this enticing story , born of a fear that who you are can trap desire and make you surrender who you truly are. A great writer of the mystics has emerged.

Where should I even begin? I was given a free early copy by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was hesitant at first, to be honest, when I read the description. Would this just be another "blah" book? I have been going through a slump lately where the books I have read have been average, nothing special, but something to read at the very least. This book, however, blew me away. I loved the strong female main characters. I adored the love interest and his views on life and how women in their culture should be treated. I appreciated that the three main characters had so much actual growth and depth. There are so many struggles that you can easily see happening for real in that type of culture where women are seen as inferior. Women also have magical abilities, but they must sacrifice everything as soon as they are married. Their powers are cut off until their childbearing years are over. Beatrice's chance encounter with siblings in a bookstore is about to change her life and her world forever. You will not want to put this book down, and when you think the end is near and no happiness is to be found, something comes along and gives you hope once more, even if it is not the ending you expect. This book is definitely worth picking up and giving it a try!