Chloe Neill

"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"--

The Bright and Breaking Sea

Colleen

5 Stars
 
*An exciting swashbuckling adventure full of badass women fighting in an alternate, magical version of the Napoleonic Wars*


I was left with a massive book hangover after finishing The Risen Kingdoms series (which is an absolutely amazing swashbuckling adventure with fantasy and steampunk elements and one of my new favorite series!!) and really wanted more swashbuckling adventure. The Bright and Breaking Sea caught my eye right away. “Sassy heroines with swords” is pretty much all it takes to have me grabbing a book. Take my money already, and give me more! I’d never read anything by this author before. And honestly glance at her other body of work made me a little hesitant because it looks like the type of vampire romance that I find way too corny. But I was intrigued enough by the synopsis that I gave it a go. And this book gave me exactly what I was looking for.

The story is set in an alternate world that closely resembles Europe during the Napoleanic Wars – except with elemental magic. Those with magical abilities are not too common and deal with some stigma because the magic can be disastrous. But of course, the bad guy has no qualms about abusing magic to gain an advantage in the war.

The main character is a young naval captain named Kit Brightling who is hiding two big secrets. The first is that she has a magical affinity with the sea. The second is that she is actually a secret agent for the crown. The queen sends her on a mission to retrieve another agent who was kidnapped, and Kit ends up stuck with a brooding partner she never asked for and far more political intrigue than she was expecting. And all the while, the devastation of the war looms closer to home.

This isn’t actually the first magical Napoleonic War story I’ve read. This one does have a lot of basic things in common with Guns of the Dawn. However, that book focused on the bleak realities of a war of attrition. Whereas The Bright and Breaking Sea is a little lighter and more adventure-focused.

The Bright and Breaking Sea was such a blast to read. I loved the characters. There was never a dull moment in the plot. I was intrigued by the world. And there was plenty of snark – which makes my sarcastic soul warm to an almost human level. Ultimately, it may not be the deepest of stories, but it had heart and gumption. And of course, that wonderful sense of adventure. It was interesting that in this world women had more freedom that in 1800’s Europe, but Kit still dealt with plenty of sexism in the story. Not that she let that stop her.

There is a love interest, but this definitely is not a romance-central story. Action with a hint of love rather than the other way around. I thought it was just the right amount. Between all the action and Kit’s various relationships with her family, friends, and crew, there was plenty more than just romance. Although admittedly, I am totally invested in seeing what happens to the potential lovebirds.

The story had very fast pacing. Almost too fast at times, but I was enjoying the ride so much that I couldn’t stop turning the pages. I easily devoured this in less than twenty-four hours. There were definitely aspects of the world and history that I wanted to know more about. And I absolutely need more about Kit’s family and The Brightling Home for Foundlings. They were my favorite part of the book. Hopefully the sequel will feature them more as well as expand on some of the other threads in the story.

As a side note though, I don’t know why so many people are labeling this as a pirate story. There are pirates in maybe one scene? You guys know that not all nautical stuff is pirate, right? As much as I like pirate stories, I think advertising The Bright and Breaking Sea as a pirate story is going to give people inaccurate expectations.

Now I’m desperate for the sequel to come out! It’s definitely one of my most anticipated releases of the year! I highly recommend this to anyone who likes strong female characters and frolicking adventure.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 5 Stars
Writing Style: 5 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 5 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 5 Stars
Level of Captivation: 5 Stars
Originality: 4 Stars

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....

Annabella

This was equally thrlling and changelling due to sadly passé naval jargon that had me on wordreference for hours, but SO FUN

The regency/pride and prejudice parallels made this a fun read! The main characters had a ton of chemistry (probably due to being based on Darcy and Elizabeth) and I liked Kit’s Captaincy being a large part of her character rather than window dressing as it sometimes is. The magic system seems interesting if underdeveloped a bit. My one complaint was that the book did have a stuttering pace and more than a couple coincidences as plot points. Each event didn’t so much flow from one to the next but stopped and started that by the time the book ended (with what will for sure be a series) it felt like not enough space. 

Emma Miller

Heather Harrington

I went into this only having a vague notion of what it was about, but I ended up loving it! It was such a fun time. Kit had such a carefree and confident demeanor and always had a witty remark ready for any man who questioned her authority. I loved her dynamic with her crew; they all felt like a family, and the way they interacted and joked with one another was entertaining. She and Rian started a little rocky, both not trusting the other, but they quickly became such a tight pair. Watching them volley off one another was hilarious, and you could cut the tension between them with a knife. I'm looking forward to seeing how that progresses in the next book. I thought the plot was solid, but there were moments, especially towards the end, where I thought things wrapped up a little too conveniently, but overall I liked it a lot. If you enjoy books that are a little bit fantasy, a little bit historical fiction, and a whole lot of adventure, this is the one to pick up.

Nickie Mohler

I really liked this one. I love fantasies set at sea, political intrigue, and minimal romance. This checked all three of those boxes. I loved the characters. Kit is fantastic. I loved the fact that she is the Captain of her own ship which is impressive for a female in this time period. It made me happy every time she stood her ground with the men that looked down on her for being a woman or because she is not from a titled line. She has no desire to get married and do needlepoint, she just wants to sail her ship.
I also loved Grant. 
I can't wait to see where this series goes next.
The narrator is great. She made the story even more enjoyable. 

I received a copy from Net Galley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Amanda J 

Enjoyable story. Not much depth but will continue the story. I like the magic system

Kaylee Z

I am always on the hunt for a great sea-faring adventure and this one certainly hit the mark! It has great politics, magic that comes with a price, amazing high seas adventure, a slow burn haters to lovers romance… honestly, this was exactly what I wanted and more! 

This is one of those books that gives you a heroine who is smart, capable and strong who just… makes sense. It is easy to make this type of character a stereotypical one-note ‘not like other girls’ but Kit feels like a character who is lived in. She has a history, she has a story, she has thoughts and opinions, and she is so real! Reading about her adventure in this book was an absolute treat. Chloe Niell did an amazing jobs bringing Kit Brightling to life. 

In addition to the motley list of characters, Neill also gives us a wonderful introduction to the world of The Saxon Isles and the Gallic Coast. It is clear that there has been dark and difficult times in this world and many opinions of the characters have been shaped by past events in a way that felt informing but not at all info-dumpy. I love that there are obvious nods to real-world prejudices against women in power but ultimately finds respect. 

The magic system is intriguing and there is so much potential with it. I’m glad that while many people have negative opinions about magic-use, it was all very natural in its use. I still feel like there is a lot to unpack with how this magic works and am certain it will come into play more as the series progresses. It isn’t often that I find a book that utilizes a magic system that comes with a price and I am interested to learn more about how/why Kit’s particular strand of magic works since she seems to be one of the few that it can truly take a toll on. 

I would also be remiss if I did not mention Rian Grant in this as well. I absolutely loved his character as well as his growth. There is a lot simmering under the surface with him and being able to see how he handles being uprooted for the sake of saving his friend was a treat. Not to mention the banter between him and Kit was just… *chefs kiss*. 

It has been almost 2 months since I read this (this is a very late review) but I already want to re-read it! Chloe Neill has a wonderful way of writing and describing sailing that keeps you interested and never really felt stagnant. It is not often that I find this kind of story and I wish book 2 was out already but alas it is not even announced yet! I have a feeling that this will quickly become a favourite series of mine.

The Bright and Breaking Sea

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