The Midnight Bargain

 The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk, 384 pages.

Kara got to this review first here and I entirely agree with her. I was really pleasantly surprised by just how much I liked this book. It had enough formal elements and problems to feel like it really inhabited it's pseudo-Victorian setting, but it also wasn't too stuffy. I was also pleasantly surprised that the setting took the time to do some actual world building when I was only expecting a slightly reskinned England. The stakes felt real and the problems difficult. I completely agree with Kara that the plot wrapped up too perfectly in a way that was pretty unbelievable (and had some unaddressed issues), but I'm willing to set aside my disbelief for a happy ending from time-to-time. I definitely feel like there's a lot to talk about here, and I'm really excited to discuss this book with Orcs and Aliens tonight.