The Midnight Bargain | 
pickThis fantasy standalone novel feels heavily inspired by historic traditions in the treatment of women… with the added fun of magic. Beatrice has been learning magic in secret but as The Bargaining Season begins where eligible brides are bartered into profitable marriages by the wealthy families, but marriage means a restrictive collar that will prevent her from working any more magic. A little slow at the start, but quickly completely absorbing!
pickI enjoyed this fantasy book in which women with magical abilities once they marry have to wear a marital collar that stops their powers whilst pregnant. A great storyline and good characters.
pickI was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved this book! Beatrice and her spirit Nadi are both adorable. I love when fantasy feels like historical fiction, and strong female characters aren't afraid to defy societal expectations.
Full of if Jane Austen wrote feminist fantasy vibes, I am excessively diverted.
pickI liked it! I dunno, it was kinda trope-y YA girl power stuff, but I enjoyed reading it. The spirit based magic was cool and I liked all the main characters. Some things were silly but whatever, I had a good time.
And that's my #doublespin 😁 @TheAromaofBooks
so-soI was torn between so-so and pick on this one. Beatrice is a young magician trying to escape marriage because she wants higher education, and married women in her society can't practice magic and have zero rights to autonomy or property. She then meets a guy who seems better than others and so is torn. I like the depictions of gender- and class-related oppression and quietly rooted for a womens revolution that resulted in the murder of many men,👇
Oh gosh, a historical romance, but with magic. Really enjoyed this story of a woman trying to make it through her season without getting married, because marriage means stopping magic, but then meeting a really hot dude, whose sister is also determined to not marry and how they try to get all that they want.
Thank you Becca @LoverOfLearning for the #BWS package goodies! The Isabel Sterling book is a sequel to the one I just read and the C.L. Polk is a new one that sounds really good! Regency England witches?! I love the bright green candle and can‘t wait to try the tea with the little teapot mesh ball tonight. Thank you!! 💕Happy Halloween!! 🎃👻🧙🏻♀️💕
so-soThis was good. Fantasy can be hit or miss for me, depending on the type of fantasy. This was urban fantasy, so more my “thing”. There is also a romance mixed in, but not too much romance for my liking, either. Overall, I liked it.
pickVery cool concept and world building, loved the feminist take on magic! All relationships very well built, great characters.
Favourite page so far! Love these quotes ?❤️. Also "I forgot myself", "I hope that you will forget yourself again"...
pickWhat a beautiful book! Take a sidestep into a world where magic is real, and the trials and tribulations of a Regency romance tale on a whole new dimension. The depth of characters was outstanding — the lead male, Ianthe, was particularly interesting to watch grow and change and mature. The MC, Beatrice was conflicted in authentic & important ways, & there were some real moments on the way to an absolutely satisfying conclusion. Highly recommend!
Okay, I didn‘t *mean* to read two smash-the-patriarchy books in a row, but I‘m not mad about it either…😂
so-soWell....this book was not what I expected 😂 I had no idea it was set in a fantasy-Regency era.
I will mail this to you on Thursday @Erinreadsthebooks !
#LMPBC @TheBookKeepers @ads0123
This came maybe Friday or yesterday (professional mail-checking slacker over here). When I get done with one book I'm reading, this will be next! 💚💛 #LMPBC
@TheBookKeepers @ads0123 @Erinreadsthebooks
pickWhen this was in the Canada Reads competition, the description seemed too romance-y but I‘m glad I tried it. While the arranged/forced marriage premise is overused in fantasy novels, I appreciate how it‘s used here to address the issue of women‘s rights to self-determination. The cast includes light & dark skin colours & the characters are well-developed. I stayed up late to finish listening to the #audiobook read by Moira Quirk. #CanadianAuthor
“What will people say?”
“Whatever they please,” Beatrice said. “Are their opinions more powerful than a father‘s love for his daughter?”
Father bowed his head.
so-soLove the world and the premise but the execution was a bit clunky.
pickGet ready for an utterly delightful romp through a Regency-era world full of romance, feminism, and infernal magic! The fortunes of her family rest on Beatrice forsaking magic and making a match this Bargaining Season, but she plans to make The Great Bargain between sorcerer and spirit instead. Then the Lavans arrive—feminist Ysbeta and her handsome, wealthy, compassionate brother Ianthe...Will Beatrice choose marriage or magic, family or freedom?
@ads0123 @Erinreadsthebooks @kellyann28 This arrived today! #lmpbc Also this photo doesn‘t do it justice, I love the cover art & how it shimmers!!
We‘re halfway through Canada Reads! While I‘m bummed my fave got voted off yesterday, I‘m not too surprised. Aside from last year, the book I loved the most has left either first or second ever since I started following the event.
The arguments have actually swayed me this time around, too. Even though I loved BUTTER HONEY PIG BREAD a bit more, I‘m now rooting for HENCH to win. #CanadaReads2021
Happy I Read Canadian Day!!!
What was the last CanLit title you read?
so-soThis is a low pick/high so-so. There was just something missing from this book that stopped me from loving it. It‘s a book that‘s definitely in my wheelhouse: fantasy, magical, historical romance.. but I didn‘t love it. I also thought it was really long, even though the audio was less than 12 hours.
I‘ll read other C.L. Polk books, because I loved Witchmark. I just didn‘t care for this one. 🤷🏻♀️
pick"Pokemon, but make it Jane Austen"
My second read from the #CanadaReads selections (at this rate I might actually get to them all before the debates start!).
This was a fast, fun, feminist tale of magic, spirits, friendship, and choice. One I likely wouldn't have read without the push from CanadaReads, but I'm glad I did. I don't know if I'd say that every Canadian should read it, but it's still a solid read!
1. Tagged on audio and Kingdom of Copper
2. HP and the Sorcerers Stone
3. Murdoch Mysteries series - Detective Murdoch series, Except the Dying and the whole series. The TV show is so much better!
#WeekendReads
pickI was on hold for this through Libby and it came through just as I had finished watching Bridgerton (for the second time). Like in the that series, the young female characters in this book find themselves at the mercy of their scheming parents trying to secure them marriages. Beatrice has the weight of her family's future on her shoulders, their fortune is gone, everything depends upon her marrying well. Continued below in the comments:
So far this book is like if Bridgerton was feminist and had magic.
pickNormally I‘m not a fan of anything labeled feminist. Not because I don‘t believe in equal rights for women, but because they are usually filled with hate for men. I also have a great distaste for romance novels. But this didn‘t have the man hate. And the love was beautiful. And there were sorcerers and mages and spirits and magic. I don‘t know that it will be my top pick. It was a little long and a lot predictable. #CanadaReads2021
I love this cover. I hope the writing is as good. I‘m going in. #CanadaReads2021
#bookmail is the best part of these stuck at home, pandemic days. I can‘t wait to get started on these. I‘m trying to finish my library book fist though. So many books, so little time.
#CanadaReads2021
The final Canada Reads list is out! I‘m thrilled THE MIDNIGHT BARGAIN made it in, and I‘m excited to read all the others.
The only one I might have trouble getting in time is TWO TREES MAKE A FOREST. Hopefully the library‘ll buy a bunch more copies and maybe make it a digital Express title. It was popular before this and I figure the holds list is set to explode.
The Canada Reads Longlist is out! The only two I‘ve read are THE MIDNIGHT BARGAIN and THUNDER THROUGH MY VEINS (both of which are amazeballs), so I burned a bunch of battery life requesting everything else. There are a couple things my library doesn‘t own yet and a couple more a million other people want to read ahead of me, but I hope I‘ll manage to read whatever makes it onto the shortlist.
so-soMaybe 2.5⭐️ This was rather cliche and often slow at times. The author created some interesting characters but didn‘t give them enough interesting things to do. It is a basic romance story at heart. #hoopla
pickThis morning, I reached a point where I absolutely could not put THE MIDNIGHT BARGAIN down. I had other stuff to do, but my heart didn‘t care. I NEEDED to know how it ended.
It‘s an intense, layered look at how women navigate a society where none of their choices are great. It‘s a story about friendship, and support, and how outside pressures impact relationships. And it‘s frickin‘ magical, all the way through. 4.5 stars
Breakfast involved strawberry yogurt, C.L. Polk, and what started life as a properly foamy cappuccino.
I‘m about halfway through THE MIDNIGHT BARGAIN now, and while it hasn‘t hit me as hard as Polk‘s Kingston books, I‘m loving it. It‘s full of great worldbuilding and interesting gender dynamics.
Tonight‘s plan: read as much of C.L. Polk‘s latest as I can cram into my eyeballs. It‘s off to a durned good start.
pickPart regency romance, part Harry Potter (if Hermione wasn‘t allowed to go because she‘s a woman). This book was awesome. At first I found it hard to get into the complex world building but pretty shortly fell into it. I hope there‘s a sequel as there‘s definitely still some stories to be told.
The carriage drew closer to Booksellers‘ Row, and Beatrice Clayborn drew in a hopeful breath before she cast her spell. 🧙♀️📖
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl
Yes! Look at what just came in from the library. Very excited to get into this one.
My TBR list just keeps growing and growing.
https://whatever.scalzi.com/2020/10/14/the-big-idea-c-l-polk-2
pickHappy book birthday 🎉 to THE MIDNIGHT BARGAIN by @clpolk
A delightful regency era fantasy.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#bookreview #reading #NetGalley #fantasybooks .
Full review at:
https://lostnagoodbook.wordpress.com/2020/10/13/the-midnight-bargain-c-l-polk/
🎉IT‘S NEW BOOK DAY!🎉 I‘ve been reading e-galleys almost entirely during the pandemic, so my reserves of physical ARCs are dwindling but there are indeed many more amazing books out today! Several that I am excited about or looking forward to reading include Ring Shout, Black Sun, In the Study with the Wrench, How to Write One Song, This is All Your Fault, The Heartbeat of Iran, Cat Ninja, and The Magic Fish. What are you excited to read? 📚❤️📚
pickI'll be honest: Sometimes I judge a book by its cover. Whaat? And this was one of them. I know I had to read it as soon as I saw it and the blurb solidified it. Since then, I have heard so many good things about it. I finally picked it up on a whim one morning and was not able to put it down until I finished it completely that same day!
Full review:
https://theshaggyshepherd.wordpress.com/2020/10/12/book-review-the-midnight-barg...
pickThis magical period piece was incredibly charming! With loads of women fighting misogynistic societal views regarding what type of person they were expected to be, who they were allowed to associate with and whether or not they should be permitted to perform Magic plus the age old dilema of whether to fulfill family obligations vs doing what your heart desires. I'd gladly buy this book for a friend, myself or even my tween daughter!
