The Bright and Breaking Sea

June 1, 2020

Kit Brightling boasts a near-magical connection to water that helped her become that rare female captain in Queen Charlotte's fleet. Now she's been sent on a special mission to rescue a spy, but she's stuck with an unwelcome partner--Rian Grant, Viscount Queenscliffe, whose motives are murky. New York Times best-selling author Neill diverges from her past work (e.g., "Chicagoland Vampires") to embrace historical fantasy.

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August 24, 2020
Neill (the Chicagoland Vampires series) introduces readers to the capable and courageous Captain Kit Brightling in this romantic, rambunctious high-seas adventure and series launch. In 1815, only one year after the end of the Continental Wars, Queen Charlotte’s spies bring word to the Saxon Isles that vanquished emperor Gerard Rousseau plans to harness the magic of sea and land to return from exile. When one of these spies is kidnapped, the Queen orders Captain Kit Brightling, an often overlooked member of the elite Crown Command due to her gender and relative youth, to lead the search and rescue along with veteran Colonel Rian Grant. Kit, who started life as a foundling, disdains the elite beau monde from which Grant hails, but, as the two work together to uncover a network of traitors in the Queen’s inner circle, they realize that trusting each other may be their only hope of survival. Neill’s creative reinterpretation of the Napoleonic Wars is diverse and gripping, and the growing bond between the well-matched Kit and Grant is sure to conquer readers’ hearts. Readers will be eager to see where Kit’s next adventure will lead. Agent: Lucienne Diver, the Knight Agency.

November 1, 2020
Taking a break from her Heirs of Chicagoland series (which began with Wild Hunger, 2018), Neill launches a new, magical reimagining of the Napoleonic Wars. Some believe twenty-four year-old Captain Kit Brightling is too young and too female for naval command, but the Queen has faith in her abilities and has assigned Kit and her crew a dangerous covert mission. They are to rescue an agent with intelligence regarding the identity of a traitor working with the exiled Gallic Emperor. Kit can sense the ocean's currents and, by gently tapping into that power, speed her ship to any destination. She has been ordered to share authority with Rian Grant, Viscount Queenscliff, a former soldier who served with the operative but feels he may be more hindrance than help. Kit soon discovers that Grant is much more than a privileged Aristocratic fop. The diverse crew, sea battles, intrigue, treason, class and gender infighting, and the attraction between Kit and Grant will appeal to fans of historical military fantasies like Naomi Novik's Temeraire series. Readers will eagerly anticipate the next exciting adventure.

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