I really loved this book and I really can't wait to read more books from the author in the future. The writing was fantastic by the way.

I read lots of spooky books in October and that's why I requested this title. Unfortunately this one didn't grab my attention and I ended up not finishing it; more of a "me" problem than an issue with the book itself.

This one was so immersive.  

Beatrice Clayborn is a strong female protagonist who is unwilling to give up her access to magic to satisfy the family position and enter the Bargaining Season, where women are pursued by men to negotiate advantageous marriages.  On a successful match (marriage), the women are “collared” (blocking their access to magic) to protect the unborn children from the mother’s magic.

I enjoyed the push and pull of Beatrice’s mind when considering whether love is enough to satisfy her and despite this being a YA fantasy, which does read like a historical romance, the issues still rang true to me.
If you are looking for a book full of magic badassery then this one may not be for you.  The inclusion of magic and Beatrice’s spirit is subtle and I enjoyed that.

The supporting characters are enjoyable, the annoying little sister, the parents in debt who are writing for the creditors pushing for a successful match/marriage and most of all Ianthe Lavan was a bold male lead.

I loved C.L. Polk's Witchmark, and this was no exception! It's really interesting the ways that femininity and feminism are at hand in this novel. Another magical world to lose yourself into!

<b> I should have something clever to say to you," "But for all my love of beauty, I have no gift that transmutes the depth of my heart into perfect words." 
"That protestation had beauty in it." Beatrice said.
"But not enough." </b>
Beatrice Clayborn is a sorceress who practices magic in secret, terrified of the day she will be locked into a marital collar that will cut off her powers to protect her and her unborn children for spirits. She dreams of becoming a Magus and pursuing magic, but in this world only men hold that ability, and her family has given up everything to for her for first Bargaining Season, when young men and women of means negotiate the best marriages. The Clayborns are in severe debt, and only Beatrice can save them by securing a wealthy union. 
Beatrice is on the hunt for a grimoire that she can decode and find a way to become a Magus, when she meets the Lavan siblings.
Ysbeta longs for the exact thing Beatrice does... to be free and a sorceress, and Ysy bargains with Beatrice to learn how to house a greater spirit and be free of the martial restrains, and Ysbeta will find that her brother Ianthe will be betrothed to Beatric.
 Beatrice’s makes a deal with the spirit of luck that inhabits her. A night of dancing, cake, punch, the stars and a kiss....her first kiss that is given to none other than Ianthe, the handsome, compassionate, man who desires nothing more than her heart and happiness. 
 As Beatrice's feelings grow for Ianthe the decision to let go of her martial obligation and be a free Magus becomes more difficult. Maybe she can put on the collar and be a wife. Maybe she can give up her dream for love....

What I loved:
-I loved the time frame. It gave me Jane Austen vibes and a great regency Inspo romance with a twist of magic
-Nadi- the spirit who bonded with Beatrice was by far my favorite. There were moments I cried when Nadi was pushed out, hurt or fighting for Bea. 
-Ianthe and Beatrice- again a beautiful regency style love story, clean, innocent, and oh so sweet.
-The courting- I loved the drama of the bargaining season, with Danton and many others. I found it the most interesting part.

What I struggled with:
-The magic sometimes was confusing or hard to picture, but in the end I feel like I understood it well enough
-The romance- yes I know I said it was sweet and enjoyable but I always struggle with "small stolen moments" and a big "I love you HEA"  HOWEVER! I wrote regency romance for a reason. I think the romance was fitting to that time and enough for the story, I just craved more as a romantic.
- I wish I could have seen the magic practiced more instead of just described.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it!
thank you Netgalley and publishers for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
🔥/5 (sweet and clean)

A fabulous fantasy in thoughtful conversation with the Regency Romance. Before I go into why it is so great, yes it has a happy ending! The diverse world has magic, but for the most part only men are allowed to use it because evil spirits can take over humans in the womb if the mother is a practitioner, leading to terrible consequences. There are social class barriers in place as well. In the setting of Chasland, women give up their magic at marriage through wearing a magical collar they don't take off until menopause, when some take up magic again. By then, it seems it's too late for them to achieve high levels of mastery, and of course in Chasland they are not admitted to magical training or teaching and thus shut out of networks. The magic system at higher levels relies on joining with a powerful spirit, a dangerous rite of passage that sometimes leads to the aspirant being killed by his mentor (I use "his" on purpose.) The excellent part is there is an underground network of women who study magic; however, even that is not accessible to everyone for a whole host of reasons that are just as true and frustrating as real-life barriers that keep women downtrodden. The allure of scholarship and mastery is portrayed like a lover, and I felt that.

Of course our heroine is talented in magic, and does not want to marry, but her family's survival (in society, at least) relies upon it. She has a plan to avoid marriage and still save her family. Her plan has to change multiple times, and that is why this book is great. Nothing is simple, nothing has only two sides, nothing can be done independently of the relationships she has and those she develops in the course of the story. There are so many complex female characters! So many! The male characters are also complex, even those in minor roles! So, I recommend it. Very very much.

The premise of this book was very appealing, but I felt that the book left me wanting in several areas. The Midnight Bargain is a fast read; although no necessarily a fast-paced book; I felt some parts regarding the character development were redundant, which did not allow for getting the know intricacies of the protagonists. Overall, the book was not bad, but at times it felt like a heavy-handed version of Cinderella.

Thank you to NetGalley and Erewhon Books for my digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. 

I tried really hard to get into this book, because I really thought I would enjoy it based on the synopsis. Unfortunately I got about 70 pages in and the writing style was just not for me. I'm sure it's a great book but I can't give a rating to a book I couldn't finish....but NetGalley won't let me post a review without one.

First of all....that cover is absolutely stunning and a real eye catcher- If i owned the actual copy it would be beautiful on my shelf.

This book has amazing female characters who I loved, then fighting misogyny together was very pleasing to me.

Beatrice live in a world where woman can use charms and a simple magic but not more than that. Once they got married they need to put on a collar like a dog to avoid them from using magic and protecting their child from evil spirit like wth is this goshhh I don't understand few things from this story and this story need more details to make it as an interesting story. 
Beatrice relationship with Ianthe is a bit flat. I don't even know when he start liking her lol

Thank you Netgalley, publisher and author for this ARC!

The Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk

4 STARS 

A fantastic historical magical read! This was a very interesting premise and with a focus on female characters is a refreshing change. Definitely worth the read!

had a hard time getting into this book at first, but after that initial bump, I found myself interested in the main characters and wanting to know what was going to happen to them. I enjoyed the world building, as well as the feminist and girl power aspects of the story.
I am not a big fan of insta love and would have liked to see it build up, and I also would have liked to see more magic, since it was such a big element of the story.
All in all, it is a quick, entertaining read if you don't get hung up on the details.
Thank you NetGalley and Erewhon Books for giving me the opportunity to review this ARC.

This is one of my favorite books of 2020. Characters, theme, pacing and plot, everything in this standalone worked extremely well together to turn this historical fantasy into a really entertaining, impossible to put down story. I'll be reading more by this author for sure!

I received this book as an eARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Midnight Bargain is a fantasy romance novel set in what looks like early 1800s London, but is decidedly not.  Similar to this time period, society is highly patriarchal with a noble woman’s worth being measured more on bloodlines and wealth then on anything else.  Both men and women possess magic but women are actively discouraged from learning the arts as they must completely forgo magic during their child bearing years.  We meet our protagonist, Beatrice Clayborn, as she prepares for her bargaining season, the yearly months long extravaganza where young women and men compete for marriage partners.  Due to her family’s financial situation, if Beatrice fails to get engaged to an eligible young bachelors with some bucks, her entire family will fall from the upper echelons of society.  To make matters worse, Beatrice, of course, does not want to be married.  She would much rather become a spinster and practice magic until the end of her days.

If you feel like you’ve read this book before, you probably have.  This novel is written on cliché after cliché after cliché.  Female protagonist who is “not like other girls”?  Check.  Falls in love with the near perfect man?  Check.  Various forces allied against the lovers for no real reason other then “because”?  Check.  Beatrice herself was insufferable with her indecision.  Will she pursue magic or will she get married?  Is there a third option anyway, I just don’t know!  Beatrice was so difficult for me to get behind as a character because she lacked conviction.  It just felt like everything fell into her lap.  I will give her credit for the decision she made about Ianthe on the boat.  This type of strong action was needed so much earlier in the book.  And Ianthe…. The perfect man in almost every way.  He was just too perfect for my tastes.  Nice guy, with lots of money, a progressive worldview and loves our protagonist, despite her stringing him along?  Yeah, hard pass from me.  

While I was overall disappointed with this book, I would like to point out that this novel is perfectly serviceable if you are looking for a Jane Austin itch to be scratched.  This book doesn’t set out to make any bold statements, other then patriarchy bad.  It was a quick and entertaining read.  The world was also very interesting to me, as it gives a strong reason for why women must give up magic in their child bearing years.  I would not be opposed to seeing this world again, but please leave Beatrice and her indecisiveness behind.

The Midnight Bargain was just okay for me.  I know Goodreads rates "ok" books as two stars but I felt that the book was still good enough to get at least three.  The main character Beatrice was difficult to like.  She has some very feminist vibes coming from her in wanting to purse magic and not give up her gifts just because she's married and of child bearing age.  I initially really enjoyed this part of her and could understand why she felt this way, and what she was willing to risk to be able to keep her talents.  My huge issue though was the insta-love she felt for Ianthe after a short time spent with him.  Here is a young woman who doesn't want to be forced into the marriage collar that will take away her powers, but after a few hours with a man she's debating if he's worth putting the collar on for?  It really turned me off from her, and I felt the rest of the story she was just incessantly whiney and back and forth about what she wanted to do.  

Ianthe was an okay character although I felt he lacked more depth.  It was great that he somewhat understood Beatrice's desire to not be enslaved to the marriage collar but other times he fell completely flat and clueless to what was going on around him.  Some of his actions made no sense and just seemed to be done in order to keep the story moving along.  

One of my favorite characters was Ysbeta.  Unlike Beatrice she knows exactly what she wants from her life and doesn't go flipping back and forth like Beatrice does.  Although she can come off as a little stubborn at times, when you look at what her end goal is and the fact that Beatrice is somewhat standing in her way of it, I can understand her actions.  She was very likeable and honestly put up with Beatrice's antics more then I would have.  

My other favorite character was the spirit Nadi that Beatrice summoned.  Nadi was great to read and I really loved her.  If C.L. Polk ever does another story in this world it would be amazing to learn more about Nadi and how she became the spirit of fortune.

My absolute least favorite character, and one I tended to skim when she was involved, was Beatrice's younger sister Harriet.  She was beyond annoying, spoiled and self entitled.  I don't understand how when she betrays Beatrice in a big way that Beatrice is so forgiving of her.  I have a younger sister as well and if she had done what Harriet did I would have been upset with her for a lot longer then Beatrice was.  For all her claiming that Beatrice is selfish, Harriet was the most selfish wanting her sister to do whatever she wanted her to do just to advance her own future the next year.  I found her very tiring and just wanted to skip any sections that had her in them.

All in all this was a very well written story with an interesting concept, and I did love how the ending and epilogue resolved things.

I received a review copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a beautiful fun read, full of magic, romance and feminism. I found the world building and magic well developed and intriguing, i loved the bargaining season and series of balls. The characters were well developed and complex I especially love Nadi - a spirit of luck - who is such a joy whenever on page. I thought the end was a little rushed and convenient, and some of the feminism was a little too on the nose. But overall this was thoroughly enjoyable.

Thank you @netgalley and @erewhonbooks for the arc! This title was released October 13, 2020.

This novel completely enchanted me! I really felt for Beatrice and was so invested in her storyline. I struggled deciding what she should do as much as she did! This story tackled women’s rights in a fantasy setting seamlessly. I loved how political it was and how Polk was able to make you fall in love with Ianthe but root for Beatrice’s freedom. I wasn’t sure how it was going to end! I was stressing and devoured the book in one day. The pacing was perfect and the end had me satisfied. I highly recommend!

I wasn't able to download the book before it was archived, but I will by a copy of it (because I really wanted to read it!) and will post my review of it on my Goodreads!

Another book that I just feel very in the middle about. It wasn't the worst, but it wasn't the best either. I was initially drawn in by the beautiful cover and intrigued by the synopsis. Magic, far off worlds, fun with demons, and a little bit of romance—what's not to love?

Unfortunately, too much. But I'll get to that in a second. First, some things I did enjoy:

- Nadi was by far the best part of this book. They are perfectly snarky and mischievous.
- An interesting, expansive world with a lot to explore and a unique magic system
- A take on feminism and standing up for the rights women deserve

Now, onto everything else.

The characters for me were kind of flat. I didn't really feel attached to Beatrice in any sound way. She was at times a little too whiny and selfish. Other than that, I can't say she had much personality. Her relationship with Ianthe, too, was confusing, because it was rather difficult to figure out why they were falling in love in the first place. Really, I think I enjoyed her friendship with Ianthe's sister Ysbeta more.

The world, while expansive and for the most part enjoyable, was also confusing at times. It was hard to get the hang of. There was sometimes too much world-building and it could feel a little info-dumpy. The magic system seemed pretty interesting, though, and I wish I could have gotten a better understanding for it.

The plot also fell flat for me. There were times that were fun and exciting, but then it would be followed by slow and boring parts. I kind of wish the stakes had been higher throughout. I didn't really feel the urgency or the necessity of everything Beatrice did.

All in all, this book held my attention for the most part, but I can't say it was my favorite read. I would 100% read more about Nadi, though.

ARC Review: Received for free via Netgalley for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Thank you for letting me review this title.

I liked this book, it was quite interesting and had a good time reading it, even though the end was a bit rushed for me.