Reviews with content warning for Sexism - The Midnight Bargain

I enjoyed this more than I expected I would! After reading ACOTAR, I found it a bit difficult to get past the hero's name, but they're ideologies are completely different - I promise. The action really picks up for the last 100 or so pages. I would have liked more explanation for some of the magic things since the system wasn't always explained well, which becomes more of an issue later in the novel as the magic becomes more complex. It's a cute fantasy world that seems reminiscent of Regency England although the world is definitely in an entirely fictional space.

I'm really shocked that Beatrice seemed to completely forgive her father at the end. Given his behaviour and his willingness to marry her off to someone who was LITERALLY WILLING TO KILL HER just a few days before, I don't think I'd have been able to forgive him, especially as quickly as she seems to. Ditto for Ysbeta and her parents. I also wish the epilogue addressed women like Beatrice's mom who are sorceresses but are married to non-sorcerers. How do they protect their children without the collar? The epilogue acknowledges that there's more to learn and more secrets to discover, but I wish there was an answer for people like Mrs Clayborn since so many of the marriages are between non-sorcerer men who want to add magic to their bloodlines.

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linneak's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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grey_jayne's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I have now read all of C.L. Polk's books to date. The Midnight Bargain was a bit too slow for my own taste, but I'm sure that won't be a problem for others.

This is a blistering feminist tale, dark and dangerous when you stop to think about the society this is occurring in. The magic is really cool too, although much of its discussion and use is clandestine so you really feel the craft being held away from women by men.

Not my favorite Polk novel while still being better than most books. I jumped into the audiobook 2/3 of the way and that was well done.

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anjasshelf's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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foxwish's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I kept reading this book because I was interested in the development of Beatrice's relationship with Ysbeta and Ianthe Lavan, however the intrigue of the romance fell apart for me once the book started wrapping up. Yet I still enjoyed the friendship between Beatrice and Ysbeta. I found Harriet to be an incredibly annoying and inconsistent character, which was a shame as she is a prevalent character in this story.

A great deal of the male characters were reprehensible and it made the book very hard to read, and the minor characters such as Clara simply have no personality and are merely there to do whatever the plot requires of them.

The book at first glance appears to have negative consequences for the characters, but they are very shallow consequences that are solved within a couple chapters. It never felt to me that there were any stakes and the pacing toward the end of the book was breakneck, I felt very unsatisfied by the way loose ends were tied up.

The events that happened at the end of the book felt like they were happening because the plot said they had to, plot developments to tie everything up felt extremely forced and I was disappointed by the very sudden changes in personality of certain characters at the end.

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