The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk

Championed by Rosey Edeh

Image | Canada Reads 2021: Rosey Edeh

Caption: Rosey Edeh is championing The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk. (Submitted by Rosey Edeh)

Beatrice is a sorceress who practices her magic in secret, terrified of the day she will marry and be locked into a collar that will cut off her magic to protect her unborn children. She dreams of becoming a full-fledged Magus, permitted to pursue magic as her calling just as men do. But her family has traveled to the city for Bargaining Season, when young men and women of means socialize and negotiate to secure the best marriages. Beatrice's family is in severe debt and she is expected to make an advantageous match.
In a stroke of luck, Beatrice finds a grimoire that contains the key to becoming a Magus — but before she can purchase it, a rival sorceress swindles the book right out of her hands. When Beatrice summons a minor spirit to help her get it back, the spirit exacts a price: Beatrice's first kiss — with the rival sorceress's brother, the handsome and compassionate Ianthe Lavan.
As Beatrice becomes more entangled with the Lavan siblings, the choices that once seemed clear become harder: if she casts the spell to become a Magus, she will devastate her family and destroy her chance to be with the man she loves; but if she marries — even for love — she will lose her magic, her dreams and everything that makes her who she is. Beatrice must choose one — and regret the other forever. (From Erewhon Books)

From the book

This was everything Beatrice needed. No man would have a woman with such an alliance. Her father would see the benefit of keeping her secret, to use her greater spirit to aid him in his business speculations. She would be free. A Mage. This was her miracle.
She'd never leave her family home, but that didn't matter. She could be the son Father never had, while her younger sister Harriet could have the bargaining season Beatrice didn't want. Harriet would have the husband she daydreamed about, while Beatrice would continue her studies uninterrupted by marriage.

Excerpted from The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk. Copyright © 2020 C.L. Polk. Published by Erewhon Books. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

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