[The Steamship Chronicles 01] • Secrets

Nathaniel Bowden is a nobleman's son turned cabin boy with dreams of achieving his own steamship someday. He has to win over the crew with hard work and eager charm to prove he belongs among them rather than in a fine dining room. Only the grouchy engineer holds fast against his wish to know every aspect of the ship, making the engine room a mystery Nat has to solve.

Samantha Crill has the gift — or curse — to hear complex machinery and transform it based on aether-driven desires. Called Natural or monster by normal people, she's a fugitive in England and hopes to find a place on the Continent that is safe for ones like her. The journey to port quickly becomes a disaster, though, and each setback further undermines her control until the mechanical-ridden port city of Dover triggers a bout and sends an angry mob after her. Sam’s only half aware of the siren call of a damaged engine as she’s drawn to hide aboard an older vessel.

Which will pose the greater risk to Nat's ambitions: his curiosity or the Natural struggling for control beneath the deck planks? He must weigh friendship and honor against his future while Sam has to control her nature or risk the lives of everyone on board, and the engine is determined to find an opening.