The Midnight Bargain

by C. L. Polk

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Romance, magic and one impossible choice sum up this regency-inspired romantic fantasy. The “bargaining season” is upon us, and young women are forced to give up their magical abilities to secure an advantageous match. But one sorceress yearns for something more, forcing her to go against her duty to her family, and turning away from a love she wasn’t expecting. With strong female protagonists unapologetically fighting for freedoms in a stifling patriarchal society, The Midnight Bargain is a riveting tale of sorcery and perseverance wrapped in a fierce feminist coming-of-age story.

From the bestselling, 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?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781645660293
Publisher:	Kensington
Publication date:	12/07/2021
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	129,518
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

C.L. Polk is the bestselling, World Fantasy Award-winning author of the critically acclaimed novels The Midnight Bargain and Witchmark, which was also nominated for the Nebula, Locus, Aurora, and Lambda Literary Awards. It was named one of the best books of 2018 according to NPR, Publishers Weekly, BuzzFeed, the Chicago Review, BookPage, and the B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog. They live in Alberta, Canada.

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/24/2020

World Fantasy Award winner Polk (Witchmark) delivers sharp social commentary in this excellent Regency-flavored fantasy. Sorceress Beatrice Clayborn must marry well or her family will plunge into poverty. But marriage means submitting to a collar that blocks women from access to magic, so Beatrice plans to prove herself as a Mage before anyone can propose, hoping her magical skills will enable her to earn money of her own, making marriage unnecessary. When the Lavan siblings, the equally marriage-averse Ysbeta and her handsome brother, Ianthe, steal Beatrice’s spell book, Beatrice summons Nadi, a luck spirit, to help her get the grimoire back. In exchange, Nadi demands the chance to live vicariously through Beatrice, hoping to experience cake, dancing, and kissing. With Nadi’s help, Beatrice befriends the Lavans and is soon leading a double life: practicing secret magic with Ysbeta, while falling in love with Ianthe over a series of heated debates about structural injustice. To survive the social tightrope, Beatrice summons Nadi more and more frequently, and it becomes her most trustworthy friend, even as its presence in her life puts all her plans at risk. Polk expertly balances propulsive pacing, a rich multicultural world, and a vivid and subversive cast of characters. Readers will be swept away by this powerful and passionate fantasy. Agent: Caitlin McDonald, Donald Maass Literary. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

★“The author’s penetrating social critique and deeply felt depiction of one woman’s struggle for self-determination are balanced by her charming take on classic Regency romance. . . . An expertly concocted mélange of sweet romance and sharp social commentary.” —Kirkus, starred review

★“Polk’s foray into a society of magic and politics places the woman in the secondary role, but neither Beatrice nor Ysbeta will stay in place. Fans of romantic fantasy set in a multicultural world will find this a fascinating read.” —Library Journal, starred review

★“Polk expertly balances propulsive pacing, a rich multicultural world, and a vivid and subversive cast of characters. Readers will be swept away by this powerful and passionate fantasy.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A sleek, beautiful book with a quietly serious heart.” —Amal El-Mohtar in The New York Times

“The Midnight Bargain is a marvel of fantasy world-building, full of fascinating details and complex rules that govern the rituals of sorcery and marriage.”—Apple Books Review, “Best Books of October 2020”

“This novel is a fast-paced, delightful read full of plot twists, romantic angst, and social justice themes.” —BuzzFeed News

“Smart, sexy, and sincere, The Midnight Bargain is an alter-Regency romance with fantastical magic and very real teeth.” —Alix E. Harrow, best-selling author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January

“From page one, C. L. Polk displays an elegant mastery of form. The Midnight Bargain is by turns charming and wrenching.” —Mary Robinette Kowal­, Hugo Award-winning author of The Calculating Stars

“A rich banquet of a novel with vivid details, smart dialogue, and a cleverly unfolding examination of what it means to be denied the destiny you know you are meant for—and how to fight for change.” —Kate Elliott, author of Unconquerable Sun

“The Midnight Bargain is a delicious mix of forbidden magic and social ritual, with dangerous secrets, impossible choices, coded grimoires, and stolen kisses dressed up in a sensory feast of fancy carriages and corset stays.” —Melissa Caruso, author of The Tethered Mage

“A lush, intensely romantic and intensely political book about love, friendship, freedom and magic.” —Aliette de Bodard, author of Fireheart Tiger

“An absolute dream—at once sparkling and romantic, delightfully magical, and deeply thought-provoking.” —H. G. Parry, author of The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep

“I was utterly charmed. . . . It's the perfect blend of fantasy and romance.” —Kat Howard, award-winning author of An Unkindness of Magicians

“A sparkling, incisive, and razor-sharp fantasy of manners. A must read for anyone who loves stories where romance and fantasy meet.” —Tasha Suri, award-winning author of The Jasmine Throne

“A subversive tale of magic and manners. I stayed up all night to finish this one.” —Ellen Klages, author of The Green Glass Sea

From the Publisher

★ 10/01/2020

Being cut off from her sorcerous powers is everything that Beatrice Clayborn fears, since being a true Magus is her calling. Yet Beatrice's family is putting the last of their funds into her place in the Bargaining Season, a time when families gather to strike advantageous marriages. Worse, once married, Beatrice must wear a collar during pregnancy to protect her unborn children by cutting off her power. The key to her becoming a Magus lies in a grimoire she has discovered, but another sorceress, Ysbeta Lavan, finds a way to acquire it for the same reason. Using a spirit to get the book back means paying a price: Beatrice's first kiss — with Ianthe Lavan, Ysbeta's brother and a man that Beatrice wonders if she could have a future with. Except making the choice between love and dreams could mean the greatest loss of her life. VERDICT Polk's (Witchmark) foray into a society of magic and politics places the woman in the secondary role, but neither Beatrice nor Ysbeta will stay in place. Fans of romantic fantasy set in a multicultural world will find this a fascinating read.—Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

Library Journal

★ 2020-09-16
An intelligent and gifted young woman seeks to forge her own path despite considerable social and financial pressures in this feminist fantasy–meets–Regency romance.

Beatrice Clayborn’s father has gone deeply into debt to allow her to present herself properly at Bendleton’s bargaining season, when eligible unmarried gentlemen select their brides. But Beatrice doesn’t want to get married; she wants to make a bargain with a greater spirit and become a mage, supporting her family’s fortunes through her considerable magic powers. Unfortunately, only men are allowed to practice the higher magics; to prevent spirits from invading pregnant women’s wombs and possessing their babies, women are denied magical lore and are locked into collars that suppress their magical potential from their weddings until menopause. When Beatrice locates a grimoire that might offer the knowledge she seeks, it brings her into the orbit of the most eligible pair of siblings on the market, the wealthy and well-connected Ysbeta and Ianthe Lavan. Ysbeta wants Beatrice to teach her how to conjure and bargain with spirits, that she might also remain unmarried and pursue magic. Ianthe’s interest in Beatrice is more romantic in nature, and Beatrice fears those feelings might be mutual. Beatrice is faced with an impossible choice: Marry Ianthe and give up the magic she loves or pursue the dangerous and forbidden path to magery; meanwhile, various parties seek to prevent Beatrice from taking either option. As in Polk’s ongoing series The Kingston Cycle, magic represents a source of political and physical power that only a select group is permitted to wield. It’s a talent that can spring up in anyone but requires opportunities and training to flourish—and whether those are available depends heavily on gender, class, and finances. Obviously, such a concept has many parallels in our own world. The author’s penetrating social critique and deeply felt depiction of one woman’s struggle for self-determination are balanced by her charming take on classic Regency romance. The tropes of the story are such that we have a reasonable expectation that Beatrice will somehow find a way to realize her dreams, however paradoxical they seem in her milieu, but the author does a nice job of ratcheting up the tension and places enough obstacles in her protagonist’s way that the reader might almost believe that failure is possible. The resolution therefore feels well earned and is pleasingly served with a righteous blow at the smugly complacent preservers of the status quo.

An expertly concocted mélange of sweet romance and sharp social commentary.

Kirkus Reviews