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.