The Midnight Bargain is about Beatrice, a young woman with strong magical powers who is an ingenue at Bargaining Season -- a series of weeks where eligible women with magical powers are wooed by men who wish to make advantageous marriages to increase the chance of magical children. However, upon getting married, women are blocked from their magical powers, until they are menopausal and unable to bear children. Beatrice doesn’t want this future: she wants to follow the path of magicians blocked to women, but also must marry to save her family from poverty. Maybe this is dating me, but the magic system feels very much like the Bartimaeus Trilogy, and the rest of the story gave me strong flashbacks to the Great and Terrible Beauty books.

The discussion about women being forced to stop practicing magic to bear children is addressed as an issue of bodily autonomy and a right to family planning. Masculinity in both its toxic and healthy forms also is featured prominently. But none of this comes across heavy-handedly. Beatrice, her friends, and gentleman-callers have different reasons for pursuing their various goals, and it all feels very natural throughout the story. 

The Midnight Bargain is a young adult book, and reads like one, so if you’re looking for in-depth discussions and steamy romance, you will be disappointed, but I LOVED it. If you suffer from second-hand panic/embarrassment, you may struggle through parts (I did), but the book kept me hooked throughout and the conclusion was satisfying, even if I didn’t want it to end.

How does it transport me? As a fantasy, it is simple enough of just transporting me out of earth, out of Canada, into Chasland, where men carry political and magical power while women carry their children, except for those who fight the system. It was a very enjoyable place to be transported to.

I’ll be recommending this book to lots of people. The romance is very PG, with just some kissing, so it is appropriate for most teens.