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A review by laelyn
The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk
3.0
The premise of this book is such an intriguing one: A world in which magic exists but women are barred from using it once they get married as a starting point for a feminist tale of self fulfillment and courage - sounds amazing. It's definitely an enjoyable read, too, and I finished it in one sitting. But in the end, it just left me feeling kind of meh.
The beginning was great and Beatrice is a loveable and relatable protagonist, and I did like the introduction of the Lavan siblings and the general world building. Beatrice's struggles resemble those of women in Austen-esque novels but with a dash of magic, and I enjoyed the magic system as well. Nadi, the spirit Beatrice hosts for most of the novel, is probably my favorite character in the whole thing.
There are a few things that did, sadly, dampen my enjoyment of this novel.. One issue is the sometimes inconsistent character writing for Beatrice, mostly in the context of her romance with Ianthe. There is a severe case of instalove between them that leads to Beatrice, who yearns to have her freedom and tells us that she doesn't want to marry all throughout the first chapters, wondering in chapter 3 (!!!), basically moments (!!!) after meeting Ianthe, whether she could give up this freedom for someone like him. It just... does not make sense so early in the book with what we know about her and made me, quite frankly, roll my eyes hard. The romance in general is rather lackluster because there is no real excitement, no real development and the obstacles in their way are, in the end, easily overcome with some Plot Magic. The romance suffers also from the lacking characterisation of Ianthe who seems to be reduced to the sweet heroic love interest. The stars of the show are definitely the two ladies, Beatrice and Ysbeta, and best spirit in all the realms Nadi.
The plot is a little meandering in places but I genuinely enjoyed it anyway - until the ending. A lot of stuff happens in the last few chapters and I was actually excited about it all, but the last scene is basically a Big Giant Dialogue between every character that was ever involved in the plot in any way, and every problem and obstacle our main trio faced along the way is suddenly just. solved immediately. Everything is fine, everyone agrees on everything, everyone's happy and forgiving, it's honestly really jarring and renders the journey we went on with all these characters kind of pointless. I am absolutely not averse to happy endings, but happy endings that kind of just happen within one dialogue scene that solves each and every single problem just feel a little tacked on. The same goes for the biggest magical obstacle in Beatrice's and Ianthe's way as a couple, the very reason Beatrice doesn't want to marry and women aren't allowed to have their magic once they get married. The solution to this problem is, in the end, an easy one just given to them instead of something they actively work towards and it simply doesn't feel satisfying at all.
So while this is an enjoyable novel with interesting world building, a cool magic system and characters with a lot of potential, it is also, in the end, disappointing in its execution. I would have loved to like this novel more because the world is SO interesting and such a good mix of historical fiction and fantasy, and the writing is very good too, but sadly it's just not for me. It's a solid 2.5 stars read for me, rounded up to 3 stars because I did enjoy my reading experience and also, Nadi is the best and I would definitely let him possess me.
Many thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for the arc!
The beginning was great and Beatrice is a loveable and relatable protagonist, and I did like the introduction of the Lavan siblings and the general world building. Beatrice's struggles resemble those of women in Austen-esque novels but with a dash of magic, and I enjoyed the magic system as well. Nadi, the spirit Beatrice hosts for most of the novel, is probably my favorite character in the whole thing.
There are a few things that did, sadly, dampen my enjoyment of this novel.. One issue is the sometimes inconsistent character writing for Beatrice, mostly in the context of her romance with Ianthe. There is a severe case of instalove between them that leads to Beatrice, who yearns to have her freedom and tells us that she doesn't want to marry all throughout the first chapters, wondering in chapter 3 (!!!), basically moments (!!!) after meeting Ianthe, whether she could give up this freedom for someone like him. It just... does not make sense so early in the book with what we know about her and made me, quite frankly, roll my eyes hard. The romance in general is rather lackluster because there is no real excitement, no real development and the obstacles in their way are, in the end, easily overcome with some Plot Magic. The romance suffers also from the lacking characterisation of Ianthe who seems to be reduced to the sweet heroic love interest. The stars of the show are definitely the two ladies, Beatrice and Ysbeta, and best spirit in all the realms Nadi.
The plot is a little meandering in places but I genuinely enjoyed it anyway - until the ending.
So while this is an enjoyable novel with interesting world building, a cool magic system and characters with a lot of potential, it is also, in the end, disappointing in its execution. I would have loved to like this novel more because the world is SO interesting and such a good mix of historical fiction and fantasy, and the writing is very good too, but sadly it's just not for me. It's a solid 2.5 stars read for me, rounded up to 3 stars because I did enjoy my reading experience and also, Nadi is the best and I would definitely let him possess me.
Many thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for the arc!