The Bright and Breaking Sea by Chloe Neill

The Bright and Breaking Sea (Kit Brightling, #1)

by Chloe Neill

Chloe Neill brings her trademark wit and wild sense of adventure to a stunning seafaring fantasy starring a dauntless heroine in a world of magic and treachery.
 
Kit Brightling, rescued as a foundling and raised in a home for talented girls, has worked hard to rise through the ranks of the Isles’ Crown Command and become one of the few female captains in Queen Charlotte's fleet. Her ship is small, but she's fast—in part because of Kit’s magical affinity to the sea. But the waters become perilous when the queen sends Kit on a special mission with a partner she never asked for.
 
Rian Grant, Viscount Queenscliffe, may be a veteran of the Continental war, but Kit doesn’t know him or his motives—and she’s dealt with one too many members of the Beau Monde. But Kit has her orders, and the queen has commanded they journey to a dangerous pirate quay and rescue a spy who's been gathering intelligence on the exiled emperor of Gallia.
 
Kit can lead her ship and clever crew on her own, but with the fate of queen and country at stake, Kit and Rian must learn to trust each other, or else the Isles will fall....

Reviewed by Angie on

2.5 of 5 stars

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I was super excited for The Bright and Breaking Sea because there just aren't enough swashbuckling adventure books with lady captains. Captain Kit Brightling is an orphan turned captain in the Queen's Navy, and when we meet her she's tasked with rescuing a man from pirates! Sounds exciting! Sadly, it wasn't. Kit's next mission is to locate the traitor who's been leaking secrets to the enemy. Also sounds exciting! Sadly, I didn't care. Which is what it all comes down to. I had no reason to care about Kit or her mission. I was just reading to be reading, not because I particularly cared what happened.

The Bright and Breaking Sea has magic which actually was pretty interesting. It's set in 1812, in an alternate version of our world (Europe, of course) where magical is openly practiced, if not wholly accepted. Kit is Aligned to the ocean, which makes perfect sense since she's a ship captain. Basically she can use the magic of the water to make her ship go extra fast, among other things. There's also a minor romance of the blink-and-you'll-miss-it variety. I didn't sense any chemistry between Kit and Grant. They're suppose to be an annoyed-to-love romance, but...whatever.

Everything was just blah. I am disappointed.

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Reading updates

  • 18 March, 2021: Started reading
  • 18 March, 2021: on page 0 out of 384 0%
  • 19 March, 2021: Finished reading
  • 10 April, 2021: Reviewed