C. L. Polk

This intriguing fantasy is set in a world powered by magic. Dr. Miles Singer is a psychiatrist who is dealing with the many soldiers who have returned from the war with Laneer with significant mental issues. They are claiming that something in their mind is commanding them to kill. Miles has a magic for healing that he has been successful in hiding. He can see this cloud in the mens's mind but he doesn't know what it is or what can be done about it.

One night, when he is outside for a smoke show more break, a man - Sir Tristan Hunter - comes up to him carrying a dying man. Nick Elliot is dying and claiming that he has been poisoned. To ease his mind, Miles promises to find his murderer and, in return, Nick gives Miles all of his magic when he dies. Tristan sees the secrets that Miles is hiding about his magic and begins by threatening him to expose it if Miles doesn't keep his promise to Nick. Tristan has quite a few secrets of his own and a task to complete in the eight days he has remaining before he must return home.

Investigating exposes Miles to the family he ran away from to become a doctor and dumps him right in the middle of the politics of the most powerful Mages in Aeland including his father and his sister Grace. Storm-Singers are the powerful mages who control the weather that keeps Aeland a perfect place to live. Only Storm-singer magic is valued. Miles with his healing ability was slated to be nothing more than a Secondary and act as a magical battery for his powerful sister.

I loved the world building in this story. I also loved the relationship that grew between Tristan and Miles. The characters were well-rounded and interesting people with all sorts of problems that they had to solve. The book was fast-paced and filled with mystery and intrigue. show less

I honestly did not know what to expect with this except that a ton of people I know swore by it. So sure, I barely looked at the blurb and dove right in, basically clueless.

What I found was a mystery soon after a world war, featuring a hounded mage serving as a doctor in England. Cool. And yet, for me, the charm was in the strong voice, the genuine sympathy, and the wonderful details of the time and place.

Of course, there's a lot of really horrible situations going on here, like being bound show more magically to a Mage's will, becoming a battery to someone else's magic. The Doctor went to war to escape that fate and became a doctor... but the world pulled him back into the old horrible intrigue.

And then the love story happens. And let me say this... I was charmed to death. :) Yes, it's LGBT, but I have to admit it's just charming as hell. :) The meet-cute fit perfectly with love at first sight but in this case, it's hard to tell whether the Fae is charming the magician or vice-versa. :)

The rest of the novel had a freaking awesome plot, too.

I think I'm going to be following this author for everything she does. I am totally trusting her. I did not expect to like this or any of the subject half as much as I actually did.

It just goes to prove: Good is Good. No matter what. :) show less

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.

Actual rating 3.5/5

The Midnight Bargain is a charming, easy read, tackling themes of gender equality and power through a Regency-esque fantasy. Beatrice Clayborn is a powerful sorceress in a world where women are not allowed to practise magic and are locked into a marital collar that cuts off their powers. But Beatrice is determined to not let this become her fate, even as her family pushes her to marry to lift them out of the severe debt they have fallen into.

I really liked following show more Beatrice as the main character. She is powerful and knows it, and she is ready to challenge the whole of society for her right to become a mage - even if she has to do so in secret, risking everything. I wasn't too keen on the magic system itself, which seems to be strongly based in the mage being possessed by a spirit. Women learn magic from coded grimoires hidden in plain sight, and we get a fair bit of insight into how the magic works by following Beatrice as she conjures a luck spirit, Nadi.

Nadi was by far my favourite part of the book. I absolutely adored her and would totally take her with me everywhere and give her lots of cake. Nadi was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise quite predictable plot and character development. The rest of the cast is frankly quite forgettable, and the love interest, Ianthe, was quite bland for my taste. I also couldn't forgive the instalove and, even though I tried to look past it to enjoy the rest of the book, it bothered me to no end that Beatrice and Ianthe would be madly in love after briefly speaking ONCE. Ianthe's sister (and aspiring sorceress) Ysbeta was honestly a much more interesting character and I felt more chemistry between her and Beatrice, to the extent that I would have greatly preferred seeing them as a couple rather than the usual, predictable romance.

Crossing magic with a period drama is a great idea, especially for someone like me who loves both those elements, so I did overall enjoy reading this book. However, it was not without its faults. The plot was quite thin, the magic system problematic and the romance disappointing - in many ways, it reminded me of my experience watching Bridgerton, which I also found entertaining but deeply problematic. And yes, I did imagine Beatrice and Ianthe like this every time a dance was mentioned:

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I appreciated the effort to include a gender equality theme in the book, even though at times it felt more like reading a Feminism 101 guide disguised as a fantasy rather than a story seamlessly incorporating these themes.

Overall, The Midnight Bargain was a pleasant enough read, in no small part thanks to the author's excellent writing style. It had some serious issues for me (mostly the thin plot and overreliance on the instalove), but some charismatic characters and the never-ending charm of the Regency-like setting somewhat made up for those, leaving me mostly satisfied and only partly wishing that this book had dared go further to reach its full potential.


I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way. show less