“Her quill was her sword. If she worked with all her effort, surely she could wield it for the woman who had trained her; for the woman who had plucked her from a narrow world and immersed her in a realm of leather-bound books, debates about epic poetry, trips in the carriage to the Axium…

The talent for sorcery in women is a curse when it ought to be a blessing. -The Midnight Bargain As someone who really enjoyed C.L. Polk’s World Fantasy Award-winning novel Witchmark, I was eager to read their novel, The Midnight Bargain. Much like Witchmark, it has everything I enjoy most in this genre – A…

When I heard C.L. Polk’s World Fantasy Award Winning novel Witchmark being described as “Downton Abbey with magic,” I knew I had to pick it up. It’s true that Witchmark has many things that Downton fans will love – most notably Edwardian England inspired worldbuilding. But, there’s other surprises in store for readers as well…