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The Bright and Breaking Sea: A Captain Kit Brightling Novel - Book 1
Publisher: Berkley Books

The Bright and Breaking Sea: A Captain Kit Brightling Novel - Book 1 tells the tale of Kit Brightling, once a foundling left of the steps of Hetta Brightling's home, but now a successful young ship captain working for Queen Charlotte of The Isles. In this world of magic, some people are Aligned to either water, air or earth, and Kit is Aligned to water, which makes her an excellent captain, able to get a speed boost when needed or to navigate tricky and dangerous rocky outcroppings.

She is tasked by Queen Charlotte to join forces with Colonel Rian Grant to rescue a spy named Marcus Dunwood who has fallen into the hands of the enemy, led by former now exiled Gallic leader, Gerard Rousseau. Needless to say, Kit isn't too happy about being paired with this gentry snob who doesn't understand the sea, but nonetheless she serves her Queen.

While the pair is successful in the dangerous rescue, they learn disturbing information about Gerard's people creating a magic-driven warship that is literally sucking the magic wholesale from certain areas, which could spell big trouble for Kit and her crew on the water. Worse yet, they come to realize that there is a traitor in Queen Charlotte's midst, someone high-ranking in the Crown Command. Kit and Grant are tasked with not only tracking down the mysterious and deadly warship, before it is able to do any major damage, but the tempestuous pair is also once more thrown together, this time to infiltrate a fancy party in the hopes of catching the traitor red-handed.

Needless to say, there is plenty of sexual tension between Kit and Grant, along with interesting background family situations, whether it be Kit's many unique "sisters" in Hetta's foundling house, or Grant's wayward younger brother and his gambling debts lending to the falling apart of the family homestead.

Overall, I loved this introduction to Chloe Neill's latest group of characters and I can't wait to see where life takes these folks. Kit's colorful crew includes Tamlin, a wind-Aligned scout who sits atop the high mast, Jin Takamura, her second-in-command with nerves of steel, the ever-cranky Cook, and new addition, Louisa, an orphan stowaway who is now learning to be a sailor under the wing of Tamlin.

If you are a fan of Chloe Neill, don't hesitate to jump into this new series, even if maritime stories aren't your thing. I loved it.



-Psibabe, GameVortex Communications
AKA Ashley Perkins
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