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peculiarb 's review for:
The Midnight Bargain
by C.L. Polk
The Midnight Bargain is set in a country where women are prized for their magic ability, yet that very magic is kept from them.
Beatrice has wanted to do proper magic her entire life, but as she turns 18, her family's financial fate rests entirely on her ability to find a husband. Desperate to find a way out, she teams up with Ysbeta Lavan, Bargaining Season's most eligible woman, in order to get both of them out of their predicament.
What starts out as a grudging friendship, turns into a deep bond between the two women. The progress of their friendship was lovely to read. They're both head strong so there's a lot of give and take, but it just makes them stronger, especially once they come together.
Ysbeta is especially headstrong, having come from a family with a powerful matriarch, and a country that allows women more freedom, which makes her especially desperate to get out of being married and collared. This makes her character rather unlikable in the first half of the book, a welcome surprise in a YA novel.
Beatrice, on the other hand, starts out with a singular quest in her mind but slowly becomes more and more torn as she falls in love. Even in a freer country and more allowing husband, she would still be subject to his whims.
That brings us to the main theme of the books: its gender politics. The Midnight Bargain delves into what it means to be beholden to a partner, and how that feels. Beatrice doesn't start out with a desire to free all women from their collars, just herself, but she grows into the idea the more she learns about the effects of the marital collar.
The romance is beautiful. I loved how it developed, and I particularly loved how messy it was on an emotional level. Unlike many other YA stories, the outside forces at work to stop this union pale in comparison to the main characters' own convictions. I won't say any more on that to avoid spoilers.
The Midnight Bargain is a fantastic book. It pulled me in with the magic and kept me there by entwining that with gender politics that resonate even in our world. Its engaging plot and wonderful characters only serve to elevate the book further. I would recommend this without reservation.
Beatrice has wanted to do proper magic her entire life, but as she turns 18, her family's financial fate rests entirely on her ability to find a husband. Desperate to find a way out, she teams up with Ysbeta Lavan, Bargaining Season's most eligible woman, in order to get both of them out of their predicament.
What starts out as a grudging friendship, turns into a deep bond between the two women. The progress of their friendship was lovely to read. They're both head strong so there's a lot of give and take, but it just makes them stronger, especially once they come together.
Ysbeta is especially headstrong, having come from a family with a powerful matriarch, and a country that allows women more freedom, which makes her especially desperate to get out of being married and collared. This makes her character rather unlikable in the first half of the book, a welcome surprise in a YA novel.
Beatrice, on the other hand, starts out with a singular quest in her mind but slowly becomes more and more torn as she falls in love. Even in a freer country and more allowing husband, she would still be subject to his whims.
That brings us to the main theme of the books: its gender politics. The Midnight Bargain delves into what it means to be beholden to a partner, and how that feels. Beatrice doesn't start out with a desire to free all women from their collars, just herself, but she grows into the idea the more she learns about the effects of the marital collar.
The romance is beautiful. I loved how it developed, and I particularly loved how messy it was on an emotional level. Unlike many other YA stories, the outside forces at work to stop this union pale in comparison to the main characters' own convictions. I won't say any more on that to avoid spoilers.
The Midnight Bargain is a fantastic book. It pulled me in with the magic and kept me there by entwining that with gender politics that resonate even in our world. Its engaging plot and wonderful characters only serve to elevate the book further. I would recommend this without reservation.