The Midnight Bargain is a fun fantasy, historical romance novel that follows the struggle of our main character Beatrice Clayborn trying to avoid a marriage that will force her to give up her magic for a large chunk of her life. The world building and magic here was really enjoyable and I loved the idea of the plot, though I do think the first couple of chapters really try to hit you over the head with just how unfair this world is, while that’s true it did seem a little hamfisted for me.

I enjoyed the dynamic between Ysbeta and Beatrice and definitely found myself rooting for them. The romance was the bigger miss for me in this book, it felt a little too insta love for my personal tastes and I think I would have enjoyed the book more if there was no romance.

Overall, this was a fun book to read and the writing style was really nice. I just wish it had gone a little deeper into the world.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC! All opinions are my own.

Thankyou to Netgalley, the author and publisher for providing an ARC in return for an honest opinion.


An epic historical fantasy fiction for lovers of witches, magic and women's rights/feminism. Unpredictable and unputdownable.

It's Jane Austen plus magic, with a side of institutionalized misogyny. Despte the heaviness of that last one, the book is witty and charming. Two women are looking for a way to escape their lives as dictated by society. There are bookstores, witches, codes, spells, colonialism, parties, and visits to to the tailors.

I would read other stories in this universe, even though the novel has a very satisfactory ending that does not seed an obvious sequel or series.

I was intrigued when I read the synopsis, but I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did.  This was certainly a fantasy book, but it was much more than that.

This book takes place in an alternate world, but it has a historical slant to it.  Women are “sold” into marriage and must give up their magic to bear children.  The story centers on two women who won’t accept that life for themselves.  I was immediately drawn to Beatrice; she is extremely likable and has a good heart.  The author did a great job of making Beatrice understandable.  It was so easy to empathize with her, especially as a woman.  I also enjoyed Ysbeta; she was just the friend that Beatrice needed.  And Ianthe, he is the partner every woman needs, understanding and selfless.  

This book has a great story, but at its heart, it is about women’s rights.  About the idea that women should be able to make their own choices and have control of their own bodies.  I like that this book was able to make a point without being too “preachy” about it.  

I really enjoyed this book and want to read more by this author.

I wanted to like this book. From the outset, it had all the hallmarks of my kind of read. Unfortunately, though, it fell far short of my expectations. The main character lacked depth or really any characteristics that would make her anything other than a vehicle for hitting readers over the head with her unsubtle feminism. Don’t get me wrong—I’m a feminist! And the feminism angle that was made clear in the blurb of this book was one of the main draws for me. But the execution was so heavy-handed that I found I couldn’t take the main character seriously.

This book also fell into one of the pitfalls that I so often see in fantasy settings based on real-world places/eras. There were things that were very recognizable, and the author seemed to rely on those aspects to tell us everything we needed to know about the world. In other words, not enough attention was paid to expunging the world in which the story is set—particularly the cultures represented, their languages, customs, and dress. In many ways this book was attempting to be a Regency romance, but the story would have been better served by either divorcing it further from a recognizable time/place, or by setting it simply in an alternate universe version of England. That way most of the world building is done for you, right out of the gate, and readers are not left as much in the dark.

Thanks to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was super intrigued by the premise, but the execution of the book was underwhelming.

The world where only men are allowed to pursue learning magic, while women are left to worry about finding a husband and passing their own magic on to an heir, is a fantasy setting which at the same time highlights a lot of the current problems that we still have in the real world. I think it would have been way more interesting to see a deeper exploration of the problematics of the customs of this fantasy world instead of just reducing it to being a background for a romance plotline.

I'm generally not a fan of romance books, but there has been exceptions where I love the romance in books because it's done so well. That said, this book was a case of insta-love, which I'm not a fan of. Later on in the story the romance did get better and more justified as the characters got to know each other a bit more, but I still wasn't really invested in it.

The magic system seemed interesting, but we didn't get to see much of it and it was never really explained how it worked. I think because the romance plotline took such a forefront in the story, it took away from the worldbuilding, which is something that I'm most interested in when I read fantasy books.

So this book wasn't for me, but in my opinion, if you enjoyed books like The Winner's Curse, you might really like this.

(10/03/2020) 4.25 stars Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book ahead of time!

The Midnight Bargain is a delightfully frustrating feminist story about a young woman fighting for independence, not just for herself but her gender. The protagonist, Beatrice Clayborn wants to be a Mage, a position meant only for males. Her ambition goes head to head with her love for her family. Abandoning the typical route of marriage and losing her magic to bear children means abandoning her family and tarnishing their name. Already in a precarious financial situation, Beatrice’s family can’t afford her not marrying. Beatrice is determined to learn her craft in secret and has no desire to marry... Until a chance meeting a bookshop. The events that occur in the store lead Beatrice on a journey that involves rollercoaster of emotions and questioning what she always believed.

The romance of the story is so sweet. Although the main love interest had some lingering thought patterns of the patriarchy, he learns over time Beatrice’s philosophies are the right ones. He stumbles because of his desire to protect and help Beatrice but comes to fully respect her decisions (leading to some great angst).

The female friendship in this story is also great. Beatrice meets a like minded young woman who doesn’t want to be shackled down by the restraints of society. Together they try to figure out how they can save not only themselves but other sorceresses.

There were many incredibly frustrating male characters in this novel and they made me SO angry. I wanted to beat the crap out of so many men in this story but the main love interest and his friend were a breath of fresh air, restoring my faith in humanity.

The pacing was somewhat slow at parts but the writing was lovely overall and it felt like a great fantasy historical romance (set in a fictional place though). Polk created a wonderful story about the struggle so many young women experience and it made me so emotional. The determination of the story’s main character was admirable. You can’t help but cheer her on through everything (and getting incredibly furious at anyone that dared deny her her way!). I hope there are more stories in this universe because there is so much potential for more!

4.75/5

I received this as an eARC on Netgalley but before I was even 10% of the way through this book, I knew I'd be buying a physical copy for myself.

Beatrice Clayborn is a sorceress in a world where women aren't allowed access to their powers, forcibly being cut off from magic by a warding collar on their wedding day. Eighteen, at her first bargaining season, and knowing her family's status depends on her making a fortuitous marriage, she's dangerously close to losing her access to the vibrant world of magic. In her attempts to pursue more magical knowledge and save herself from being married off, she comes across a grimoire that could help her, only to have it snatched away by another sorceress. In her attempt to get the grimoire back, she makes a bargain with a spirit that leads to the beginning of a friendship with Ysbeta, the other sorceress, and a courtship with Ianthe, Ysbeta's brother. And it throws all three of them onto a journey of love, heartbreak, and toward the potential to change their world for the better.

The sexism and misogyny we witness in this story is, at times, brutal. When the largest conflict in this story came to a head, it was so painful that I was crying.

CL Polk has become one of my favorite authors. I recommend this book if you're into fantasy, romance that's compelling and sweet but also full of real obstacles to work through, women working together to fight against injustice, happy endings, and Regency-esque settings.

Thank you to NetGalley and Erehwon Books for the opportunity to read this as an eARC!

Beatrice is a young girl with an affinity for sorcery who longs to be free and to be able to become a sorceress. Alas, in Chasland (a land that reminded me a lot of the England seen in Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility), the only purpose of a girl is to make an advantageous marriage and to bear children. Even worse, to prevent any malevolent spirit from inhabiting a baby before it is born, married women need to wear a collar that cancel their powers until they stop being able to produce heirs.

This story is about Beatrice’s quest to find a different path, to get a hold of a special grimoire that will tell her how to bind herself to a greater spirit. Once it’s done, she thinks her father will let her help him with the family business instead of getting married.

But of course, things are never that easy. Beatrice meets Ianthe and his sister Ysbeta while searching for the grimoire. She connects instantly with the kind and gorgeous Ianthe and as the story moves on, she is faced with a tough choice: keep her magic or choose love.

The world-building was simple and elegant. As I said, it reminds me of Pride and Prejudice. The setting, the social events, the dialogues even. There is not a lot of action in this book. It is more about developing relationships and searching for the path that will lead to happiness. One thing that I liked less was the insta-love. There is (almost) no build up, the attraction is fast and almost seemed suspicious at first.

The characters are fine. Nothing extra-ordinary, but I liked them enough to care about Beatrice’s choice and to root for Ianthe. He seems really sophisticated and understanding of Beatrice’s internal struggle, still he was not a character that I fell in love with. Ysbeta is a strong character and I liked her; it was nice to see her relationship with Beatrice go from a mutual need to a mutual friendship.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read, and the epilogue was very satisfying, but the story was predicable and sometimes a little too slow-paced. I would also have enjoyed knowing more about their magic system... It seemed interesting. But we know next to nothing about it. It is a good choice though if you enjoy romance and historical fiction.

When I first came across this book on Netgallery, what caught my interest was the sorcery concept included.

This book explores the issue of sexism revolving around sorcery and the misogynist behaviour exhibited. However, it was too the extent where I started disliking the society and prejudices of this world (which I believe was the aim) what I liked was how the females in this book constantly tried to fight the sexism but it was also frustrating to see their problems neglected and cast aside.

I enjoyed reading about the women fight for their justice and what they love most whether it was magic or love, reading about fighting injustice is always satisfactory, if done write and I feel like this book is on the verge of doing so.

Personally I feel like there wasn’t enough romance in this book despite being part of the romance category and heavily promoted and character building was quite limited as I feel no true connection with any of the characters and would hold no grief if any were too die.

Also, the time length between the ending of the book and the epilogue was too long in my opinion, there was various concepts they could’ve covered and made into a storyline that would’ve grasped my attention and I believe there are still holes left in this story.

Overall, this was a pleasant book to read, I look forward to the next but not with dying agony and I also would recommend this to readers who enjoy watching females fight patriarchal societies and misogynists.

This book has leapt to the top of my list as favorite book of 2020. It was a magnificent read, evoking the Regency period and the societal strictures whilst in a world apart from that era.
The story follows Beatrice during her Bargaining season where Ingénues (read Debutants) young women who have magical talent are sought out by the upper echelons of this society with the aim to make the most advantageous marriage possible. The catch being that only men are taught sorcery/magic and once wed women stripped of their magical abilities using enchanted metal in the form of a collar.
Beatrice does not want to follow that path and has discovered magically hidden books written by unfettered women sorcerers so that she can progress and develop her magic. Whilst searching for such a book Beatrice comes into contact with Ysbeta and Ianthe Lavan, wealthy, entitled and a contact not to be dismissed. Ysbeta manages to win the book from Beatrice, however an unpromising inital meeting leads to a closer relationship with both siblings.
This is a book I will re-read, there was no element of it I did not love and my thanks to Netgalley and Tor publishers for access to this ARC. Sent me back to my teen years when I spent many happy hours reading Georgette Heyer.

DNF @ 10% I tried very hard to push through this book but the writing style is definitely not for me. There were too many run-on sentences and because of that, I had to read the sentences a few times to understand what the author is trying to say. Another problem was, I was very confused about the world because there was no map and glossary so when the author is naming places and people I have no idea who they are and where they are. Although I was very intrigued by the magic system because I thought it was a unique concept I just could not get through the writing.

From the beloved World Fantasy Award-winning author of Witchmark comes a sweeping, romantic new fantasy set in a world reminiscent of Regency England, where women’s magic is taken from them when they marry. A sorceress must balance her desire to become the first great female magician against her duty to her family.

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 unborn children. She dreams of becoming a full-fledged Magus and pursuing magic as her calling as men do, but her family has staked everything to equip her for Bargaining Season, when young men and women of means descend upon the city to negotiate the best marriages. The Clayborns are in severe debt, and only she can save them, by securing an advantageous match before their creditors come calling.

In a stroke of luck, Beatrice finds a grimoire that contains the key to becoming a Magus, but before she can purchase it, a rival sorceress swindles the book right out of her hands. Beatrice summons a spirit to help her get it back, but her new ally exacts a price: Beatrice’s first kiss . . . with her adversary’s brother, the handsome, compassionate, and fabulously wealthy Ianthe Lavan.

The more Beatrice is entangled with the Lavan siblings, the harder her decision becomes: If she casts the spell to become a Magus, she will devastate her family and lose the only man to ever see her for who she is; but if she marries—even for love—she will sacrifice her magic, her identity, and her dreams. But how can she choose just one, knowing she will forever regret the path not taken?

This book was so much more than I bargained for (pun intended)

The Midnight Bargain could be read as a deceptively Jane Austen-esque story. Young ingenue from a family with financial difficulties has to successfully navigate her season (called bargaining season here) in order to attract the wealthy husband that will save her family... but secretly she has other plans. She meets charming man — but refuses to dim her personality for him. He loves her anyway.

No offence to Jane Austen, but C. L. Polk has weaved a much more complicated story than that. Set in a world where women are born with magic but are shunned from studying it and they have to be collared when they get married (so that their magic doesn't attract any spirits who could hitch a ride with their unborn children), The Midnight Bargain a book about gender equality, of course, but more than that it's a book about about power, freedom and the importance of being able to carve your own path.

What did I particularly like about the book? The magic system described is fascinating — both in terms of it restrictions and in terms of the use of spirits. (I loved Nadi. I would invite Nadi in and let them eat cake.) The characters have a depth that's both heartbreaking and heartwarming — particularly Ianthe's journey from a kind-but-condescending imposer of patriarchy to a, well, no spoilers. The language; the tone of voice; the descriptions... yeah, I was basically blown away by all of it. I stayed up all night reading and had goosebumps throughout the last few chapters. I haven't read anything by C. L. Polk before, but I'll be rectifying this ASAP.

Go read this book, people.

A wonderful fantasy book about young women sorceresses who have no say about their future. If they marry they have to give up their magic and the control of their bodies, and their families are the ones who marry them off. A really well-constructed social commentary loosely bound in a fantasy fiction.

The Midnight Bargain is devastating and witty, full of carefully considered deals, social wrangling, friendship, sorcery, and romance. It's also acquainted with dread, with impending doom of a deeply personal kind, knowing that loved ones are shadows of all they could be.

I really like the dynamic between the MC and the non-POV major characters. She has different relationships with each of them, and in a book which is driver by conversation and socialization, that's really important. I love witty banter, tense interpersonal relationships, navigating social politics for material (and marital) stakes, it's done so well here. There's an absolutely devastating scene which revolves around flower arrangements... I'm in awe. This was a really fun book to read, I loved having strong characters with clashing motivations and often incompatible goals, all trying to get what they want, sometimes assisting and sometimes impeding each other. It's a kind of thrilling story which is gripping despite not having a ton of action (but not quite none).

This book does for discussions of sexism in a magical aristocratic setting what the The Kingston Cycle does for classism in the same. The sexism isn't anything really unusual, it just has a very specific and horrific shape that makes sense to have come out of this particular fictional world. The worldbuilding is great, and the characters (even the somewhat loathsome ones) have room to grow from where they were when the story began. I especially liked the dynamic between the MC and her younger sister, the way she thinks of her changes throughout the story in a way that (speaking as someone with both older and younger siblings) felt natural and made sense based on their relationship at the start of the story. Thinking back on it, that's definitely something that was done really well here, characters grow within the story and their relationships with each other change either as a driver of that growth or in reaction to it, depending on the character.

I like this one a lot. I feel content with it as a stand-alone novel, I think any potential sequel would need to follow different protagonists. The ending was really satisfying and I feel good about how everything wrapped up.

CW for pregnancy, death (not depicted), sexism, violence.

Beatrice Clayborne lives in a man’s world. Men control pretty much everything: magic, government, women’s lives, everything. In a world similar to 18th century England, in the nation of Chasland, women have little to no rights. Women capable of wielding magic are really only valued for their, uh, ability to pass magical skills down to their offspring and not much else. Women aren’t allowed to study magic the way men are - women are supposed to get married and have children because that is the natural order of things and anyone who deviates from that natural order shall be ostracized by society forevermore.

Yes, I realize I’m not making this book sound very comforting at the moment, but trust me, it is. Perhaps it is spoilerish for me to say, but rest assured, this book has a happy ending in which the Patriarchy is given a solid kick in the balls.

Anyway!

Beatrice, our heroine, wants to study magic. She wants to tap into her magical ability to help her family’s situation, rather than using them to make a good marriage. Only, Beatrice’s family is kind of absolutely relying on her making a brilliant match during the so-called Bargaining Season, similar to, you know, The Season that rich people in 19th century novels talk about. The Bargaining Season is a time in which the families of wealthy society women with magical abilities broker marriages. If you go through more than two Bargaining Seasons without getting a husband, then, well, you’ve failed and no one will ever want you. Plus, these seasons are expensive AF. Beatrice’s family has gone into significant debt just to pay for her first Bargaining Season, and they’re counting on her making a brilliant match to quite literally save her family from poverty.

Oh, I should mention the additional catch. The one thing Beatrice wishes to avoid: being collared.

See, magical spirits want nothing more than a body to possess. They’d gladly possess an unborn child, so, once they’re born, they could exist in a physical form and wreak magical havoc. In order to protect women’s unborn children (please excuse me while I vomit everything I’ve ever eaten ever), upon marriage, women must be locked into a warding collar, cutting off their access to magic.

Or, if you’re a woman and you’re mouthy, have opinions, and can do magic, you might just get locked into that collar anyway.

The prospect of being locked into a warding collar is absolutely terrifying and Beatrice would do anything to avoid it. But she must somehow prove her mettle with magic and show her family that she can help raise their fortunes through magic, not marriage. Fortunately, Beatrice finds a grimoire that can help her become a fully-fledged Magus. Unfortunately, that grimoire is snatched out of her hands by Ysbeta Lavan, a woman of fabulous wealth who just so happens to have a few of the same goals as Beatrice.

Those goals, however, don’t (at that moment) include sharing the grimoire with Beatrice.

Desperate to get the grimoire back, Beatrice summons a minor luck spirit, Nadi, and strikes a bargain: she wants to share Beatrice’s body for an evening at a ball, and she wants Beatrice to dance, eat cake, and kiss a handsome man. Namely, Ysbeta’s gorgeous, liberal-minded brother, Ianthe Lavan.

As Beatrice becomes closer to the Lavan siblings, things get more and more complicated: can she practice magic and still be married? Can she have her own family without a warding collar? Can she save her family and still find her own happiness? Can she really have all that and her teamster sub??

<i>The Midnight Bargain</i> is one of those rare books that I literally could not stop reading. I have to be up stupidly early for work (did you know there’s a 4 in the AM?) so I’m pretty strict about my bedtime because I’m an adult and I need my job in order to make money so I can repay my student loans and buy books. Normally, there is no book, movie or TV show that will get me to stay up past my self-imposed bedtime because falling asleep at work would mean goodbye job and money I need to repay my student loans and buy books.

I stayed up for two and a half hours past my bedtime just to finish The Midnight Bargain. This is the second time a book by C. L. Polk has done this to me - the first was with her debut, Witchmark. With three books, she’s managed to knock the ball out of the park three times in a row. How does she do this? How?!?

Anyway. I wish I had more eloquent things to say about how much I loved this book, but I don’t. 2020 has been a hell of a year, you guys, but we still have books to escape into whenever things get bleak. So do yourself a favor, read The Midnight Bargain and escape into a magical world filled with romance, men who are kind, sweet baby angels, and the patriarchy gets the punch to the dick it so richly deserves.

“Something to show that she was a person, anything to show that she was something more than what people expected of. A woman: ornament, and trained silence.”
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I don’t even remember the last time I cried that much over a book. And I haven’t cried because the story is sad, but because I could feel the unfairness the protagonist had to endure and I completely lost myself in her emotions. In a world that too often silences talented women, this book stands out to remind that no one should be forced to give up his/her desires and dreams because society says you have to. Beatrice is stubborn, she wants to be a mage but she also wants love.. and in her world the two things are incompatible. In order to have children she needs to give up her magic and no man will have her this way, no man will accept this. Men don’t even see how unfair this bargain is, they need not to give up anything, to them the world as it is it’s perfect.. because it is very difficult to have the courage to recognize something is unfair when it doesn’t concern you. I really really recommend this book to all the women who has been told to shut up and do their duty, life is far more than that and sometimes you just need to take the courage to follow your dreams.

I requested the ARC because I loved the cover, but unfortunately this didn't work for me. The author's writing style is very similar to Renée Ahdieh's and Naomi Novik's, so if you enjoy those two, you might like The Midnight Bargain better than I did.

The story follows a seemingly historical world, in which women have way lesser rights than men. The magic consists in summoning spirits and only men can be mages. The protagonist, Beatrice, wants to study magic and stay away from the society patterns for women.

This is a classic Young Adult book, but it failed in a lot of aspects. I was confused by the magic and it wasn't the actual focus here. To me, it read more like a historical romance, because it starts with instalove and the main complication is socioeconomic differences. I couldn't really understand what the main point of the story was, but at least it was a fast read.

The Midnight Bargain has a great elevator pitch for both fantasy and historical romance readers. Unfortunately, while it has moments of greatness in world-building and swoonworthy-ness, both aspects are ultimately underwritten and uneven. A+ for concept, B- for execution.