When Mist and Brine Touch

by Isabel Tutaine

In 1894, a brutal pirate attack leaves Captain Littledove gravely wounded and his ship adrift with only one survivor - Eliza, a high-society passenger who has never worked a day in her life. Now this unlikely pair must overcome their vast social differences to survive. While Eliza battles rats, hacks apart furniture for firewood, and struggles to keep the cantankerous captain alive, she discovers strengths she never knew she possessed. And as Littledove guides her in keeping their abandoned vessel afloat, he begins to see past her refined manners to recognize a courage that matches his own.



From Isabel Tutaine, acclaimed author of Song of the Wooden Sparrow, comes a sweeping tale of survival and transformation on the high seas. As attraction blooms between a captain who believes he could never be worthy of a lady and a socialite who thinks herself useless to a seafaring man, both must challenge the assumptions that have defined their lives. When Mist and Brine Touch is a masterful exploration of how crisis can shatter social barriers and unlock the potential that lies dormant within us all.

311 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 21, 2025

About the author

Isabel Tutaine writes about ordinary people who summon the courage to take control of their lives. She is Cuban by birth, American by citizenship, Cuban-New Englander by culture. She lives in midcoast Maine where she listens to what the ocean has to say, then runs home to write it down.

Reviews

[luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Literally passed by it on a table in a local bookstore and decided to give it a chance

This was cute! V easy read, the main couple super adorable, superficial in plot and pacing imo but honestly the breather I needed- love a quick lil historical rom💛

[Luanne Oleas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novel set in a time when men were men (or pirates) and women rebelled to survive.

When Mist and Brine Touch by Isabel Tutaine hits all the feels. Like her previous novel, Song of the Wooden Sparrow, she depicts the social conventions of 1894 with commanding elegance and historical accuracy. However, the swashbuckling adventure in this novel highlights those restricting behaviors even more starkly. Elizabeth (Eliza) Strauss (daughter of the Strauss Investment tyrant) and William Littledove, a lowly captain of the cargo ship Bessie, both exist in social circles so distant, they never intersect. However, pirate attacks demand life-saving connections.

The impossible constraints on both men and women of the Victorian era only complicate matters on a sea voyage from Holland to Maine. The way characters must address one another and how they dress presents situations so stifling, readers will want to loosen their collars. While characters maintain a distance from their emotions externally, their inner life reveals the truth.

“The thought of his body floating lifeless in his quarters like a dead goldfish in a bowl almost made her scream, but she knew if she screamed, her mind would fly out of her mouth and be gone forever.”

One excellent scene has a pirate attack occurring only inches from Eliza, who can only see slivers of it through the tiny splits in the wood encasing of her hiding spot. Violence becomes all the more breathtaking when it occurs via shifting shadows, knife flashes, and deathly moans.

Post attack, Eliza finds the demands for survival include everything outside her wheelhouse. Tending the dying Captain Littledove, keeping a ship afloat, and even cooking—the last one a task only performed by servants in her father’s mansion. Doing it all in a frock with petticoats while maintaining some decorum seems vital for Eliza to maintain her sanity should their rescue ever come.

Of course, a future seems unlikely for Littledove or Eliza, even if they manage to see dry land again. There’s only a return to a stifling pre-arranged marriage for Eliza and societal disdain for a captain who didn’t go down with his ship and crew. The adventure just keeps coming in this attention-grabbing novel of love, class, and unflagging hope.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Isabel’s first book which I enjoyed. I got this for Christmas, it was a quick enjoyable read with interesting characters and pirates!