Wasn't for me.

I was super excited about this novel! There are so many good reviews and people have stated that this was similar to X-Men and the Night Circus. It was kind of similar to X-Men: Days of Future Past. Where we have people with powers/sparks traveling to different timelines trying to save lives without causing too much of a ripple effect. I love the circus setting and the whole concept. However, the writing wasn't as coherent or immersive as I would have liked. I was expecting epic battles or something catastrophic to happen. Unfortunately, I found everything to be a bit underwhelming.

***Thank you to NetGalley, J.R. Dawson, and Macmillan Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

Great story with a well introduced and easy to understand magic system!! This concept could have gotten convoluted quickly but Dawson keeps the story clear and concise. The narration was fantastic!

The pieces of this speculative thriller fall together like a choreographed acrobat routine. I appreciate the Jewish, queer, and IPV survivor representation.

I’m always interested in books with blended genres or unique plots and this was both of those! Historical Fiction and Magical Realism with a touch of Romance too. There are a lot of characters to track, but only a few that impact the main story so it wasn’t hard to keep track of them.

For me, the strongest part of the story is the found family element which I loved and wanted more of it. There is a second aspect of the plot around WWII and for me that didn’t work as well. I wish the book had focused only on the Circus King and Rin, Odette and all of the other Sparks (people with magical abilities). I found the story dragged in places and felt disjointed trying to mesh the two very different plots together. The writing style is beautiful, but a bit overly wordy and descriptive for me. I still enjoyed it and think this will work better for literary historical fiction fans more so than fantasy readers.

I split time between audio and physical and this is one that the audiobook worked much better for me. The two narrators do an excellent job of bringing the story to life and kept me interested in the story.

Thanks to Tor Books and MacMillan Audio for the gifted ARC/ALC.

Oh boy.
The First Bright Thing by JR Dawson was quite the read. The ideas behind this book are absolutely outstanding and the representation (LGBTQ+) and moral themes in this book are far beyond any book I've read before. There was a VERY strong hidden theme of consent vs non-consent that played a huge role in the story and was very interesting to experience.
I will say that I really struggled with this book. I have a very hard time with chapters that alternate characters, and an especially hard time with books that jump between time in different chapters, and this book has both. I found myself quite confused at some points and had to backtrack to figure out where I was at times. If it weren't for these things I would have rated this book so much higher. This is just a personal preference and I'm sure others would be just fine following along ( AHDH brain).
In this story, you follow the Ringmaster Rin, in her circus of wondrous people that developed a ✨spark✨ or magical ability, after the war. Each magical ability corresponds to what each character needed at the time of the sparks development. Rin is able to jump time.
We also follow the story of Edward, a spark who is able to command anyone to do anything with just the sound of his voice, and his struggle to use it for good or evil.
For a spoiler free review, how will these stories intertwine??
This book has children with magical powers, time traveling, queer relationships that focus on found family, unforgettable journeys across time and space and the epic battle between two rival circus'.
You'll have to read it next week when it releases to find out how it ends!!

⭐⭐⭐/5

I'm a sucker for circus books, and while The First Bright Thing has some significant flaws, it was still pretty good.

I'll begin by saying that I "read" this as an audiobook, and the narrators did a great job.

The First Bright Thing is a story of found family, chasing your dreams, helping others, and spreading magic. It's also a story of war, persecution, fear, control, betrayal, and sadness. It will make you smile, it will make you want to cry; it will make you laugh, roll your eyes, gasp, and cheer. Rin's magical circus would be another place I'd love to visit if only I could jump into books.

So what really stood out?

The Sparks. I love a story featuring characters with magical abilities, and the abilities featured here were some that I'd never read about or that were presented in entirely unique ways. The tension between Sparks and "normal" people reminded me a lot of X-Men, but Sparks weren't a secret in the way X-Men were. And I loved the fact that people were granted their gifts randomly one day from some mystical thing and the world suddenly had to deal with all these different abilities. It would be chaos, but it was a really fun idea.

The found family aspect. Rin and her circus were a beautiful family of their own making, and the relationships between the different circus folk were wonderfully written and developed.

The show itself. Dawson did a great job of describing the circus show without slowing down the story or getting too bogged down in the details. I could read an entire story simply describing a magical circus, but I'm fairly sure most readers would prefer something more along the lines of what Dawson does here.

Rin, Odette, and Mauve. The relationships between these three women were really special, and the girl power was totally awesome. It was neat to see how they worked together to see how best to change someone's future for the better and, overall, just try to make the world a better place.

The portrayal of trauma and abusive relationships. These sections were hard to listen to, but they were realistic and dark and totally believable.

The dual timeline/dual narrator. I really enjoyed hearing the past from Edward's POV and watching the slow train-wreck of his relationship with Ruth. And then getting the "present-day" story from Rin's POV with some reflection on the past really brought the story together.

And what kept this from being my favorite circus book?

The WWII storyline. I felt like Dawson set things up to have Rin and her company have some big impact on WWII, and then it just sort of...fizzled out to nothing. I think the story would've been better focusing solely on the Ringmaster as the big bad and maybe giving some hints about WWII (since Mauve would obviously see it) without really making it a focus.

The ending felt rushed. There's an entire story leading up to the confrontation between Rin and the Ringmaster, and then she just...takes him back in time and leaves him? It was more than a bit anticlimactic, and it was over so quickly before jumping back to worries about WWII. It was almost as if Dawson couldn't decide which she wanted to be the main "villain" and so ended up not doing justice to either.

The origin of the Sparks. Some "thing" flew out of a battlefield in Europe and suddenly people had superpowers? I didn't need a ten-page explanation with scientific data or anything, but some basic theories on how the Sparks got their powers would've been nice.

The First Bright Thing is a great debut novel, and while there are things I wish would've been done differently, the magic and the found family aspects of this novel are still enough to make it an enjoyable read. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Utterly delightful! Ringmaster, Rin to her friends, runs the Circus of the Fantasticals. The performers are known as Sparks, people with magical abilities that seemed to appear during WWI. Rin's can jump through space and time and this is her gift. As people are still reeling from WWI (although it's never named as such), Rin can feel impending doom coming at her from the past, namely The Circus King. She has also seen the coming of WWII, (again, not named), and along with her wife, Odette and her friend, Mauve, and is trying to stop it any way she can. It seems Sparks will be drafted and made to fight and Rin wants to stop this at all costs. But The Circus King comes ever closer, and with a dangerous power, threatens Rin and those closest to her. I loved the magical realism of this wonderful book. A fantastic story. I love the two narrators that give you Rin's past and The Circus King's as well.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio e-arc.*

Dual narrators will always be superior. Both choices were amazing and were out of this world.
Magical realism done beautifully. It was an X-Men circus, and I was obsessed every second. I saw another review that mentioned this is a fantastic Yom Kippur novel and I couldn't agree more. Can't wait for this to come out so I can tell every patron to read it.

I enjoyed the First Bright Thing. I liked the historical fiction aspect and it reminded me of the Night Circus. I also liked the dual timelines and multiple narrators. Enjoyable and absorbing.

My first thought about this book was that the opening line was basically taken from the Night Circus, which really put me off for a while. I did end up loving the world that was created and the way that magic is woven into it. The way that the time jumps are shown is done really well, and I loved the way the story was given to you in bits and pieces because of it.

I do love the romance in this book and the way that family is portrayed. Every kind of love is given such importance and respect, and I enjoyed the way that the family was built and protected one another.

I do think that the book dragged quite a bit toward the middle and then the ending felt more rushed. I wish I'd gotten more time at the end for things to unravel.

I got to 63% and then decided that I just don't care. I wasn't connecting to the plot or any of the characters so I decide to DNF it. The book isn't bad and I know there will be a lot of people that really like it but it just didn't hold my interest at all.

People are saying this is "Night Circus meets X-Men" and I would agree with that (although the circus in the Night Circus is so much better). Like the Night Circus, this book follows a traveling circus filled with people that have various powers (it even has it's own set of fraternal teenage twins). Also like the Night Circus, this book travels back and forth in two timelines (these being set between WWI and WWII). And like the Night Circus, this book focuses on trying to protect their own circus family from the outside dangers. Other than idea of the Sparks (people that have abilities) and the beautiful cover, there wasn't much that really grabbed me and made me want to keep reading. Overall, it was just fine and I can easily see how this would appeal to many readers but it didn't really work for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Amazing story about a woman who run away from a despotic husband and found a new family in a circus. Add to it a time between World Wars and magical abilities of those she invited to her show. And saphic motives. And mental health motives. And friendship, and sacrifice motives, and identity motives. I feel like Dawson combined all those themes into a perfect story that will keep you up at night. What is the most interesting here is the second point of view. Of the abuser, who in any was not even tries to explain himself from his narcissistic tendencies. I was uneasy every time I've read his chapter. There are a couple plots that intertwine with each other: the main character constantly being on the run, her ability to travel time and recognizing that there will be a second war and what she can do to prevent this. In the same time she fights her own demons and trauma from the mental abuse.

The only thing I would complain about would be the shallowness of the women closest to the protagonists. They were there to serve her more than actually having their own agency. But this is definitely something that sticks out so much it'll poke you in the eye or ear. It is there, but with fast pace action and constant movement of the scene that seems secondary.

The audiobook was a decent production and I enjoy it very much, although I must admit that the difference between male and female lector was noticeable in terms of pacing. When you read on x2 speed it's definitely uneven. Other than that, I enjoy it big time!

3.5 stars

Those looking for books with queer characters and themes to boost their June reading schedule (or their reading schedule in general) will find this one an apt and unique addition to their lists.

Rin - the ringmaster - has a number of cool powers including but not limited to building a protected community for her chosen family, putting on a memorable show, and even visiting different moments in time. Folks who dig a "what if?!" motif in their narratives will love that Rin explores many answers to that question. The creation and maintenance of this chosen family is - for me - the highlight of this book. Folks come together, care for each other, and understand and respect each other despite the various aspects of their identities that often challenge their acceptance by the masses.

Fantasy is not my top genre, but this book was too buzzy for me to pass up, and I'm glad I read it. While I couldn't get as invested in the historical setting and events as I wanted to, I think folks who are more inclined to love this genre in general will be less distracted by the fantasy/historical fiction mashup. For me, that was a little too much. This noted, as a skeptic and not ideal reader at all, I still really enjoyed this one and recommend it to folks who find the description intriguing.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ARC of The First Bright Thing.

The First Bright Thing is a dual narrator, dual timeline story. After the start of WWI, random people are inexplicably given magical gifts. The story shows Ruth, who has the ability to jump through space, saving Edward from the trenches. At first Edward does not appear to have a magical gift but he slowly realizes that his gift is to make people do what he wants. The story also follows Rin in 1926. Rin leads a magical circus along with her wife, Odette, and friend, Maude. Maude can see the future and Rin can move through time and space. Together, they jump the circus around the Midwest. There is a growing threat to Rin from the Circus King's dark circus, another circus of "Sparks," what the magical people are called, only this circus is far more sinister.

I loved the magical elements of this book. The writing was incredibly beautiful and detailed to make the magic easy to follow.

While I loved the writing of the book, I consistently felt like it needed a stronger editor. The Circus King was enough of a bad guy that I felt that the trying to change WW2 storyline was unnecessary. That being said, I don't particularly enjoy when time travel books attempt to change actual historical events since we know that it will not be successful from the outset. I also felt like the book dragged.

The narration was ok. I preferred the male narrator to the female. It wasn't that she didn't do a good job, I just didn't particularly care for her voice. I think I may have enjoyed the book more if I had read it rather than listened to it.

The way that Edward manipulated and abused Ruth was difficult to listen to. Not that the writing or narration on these parts were bad, just that emotionally it was painful. It could certainly be triggering for some. This made the book a lot darker than I was expecting.

I know this is a highly anticipated book but overall I was a little disappointed.

This book had a lot of important things to say and compare. I am always a fan of a circus setting. I wish we got to see more from the POV outside of the circus experiencing. My favorite parts were the time line from the past that got us to this point. I wish more was explored to really understand the sparks and their place in the world. It never fully gave me all I wanted.

Off the bat, I will say that there is something intangible about The Night Circus for me personally (likely due to nostalgia), so I think the marketing fell short with the comparison. The Night Circus meets Vicious might be more accurate.

My only issue with reviewing audiobook ARCs is that I can't physically digest the book and take notes and highlight to delve into specific lines that resonate with me easily. However, I will say that this is a book I see myself re-visiting when it comes out. I'm a sucker for a found family trope, and this delightfully delivered on that. It's a perfect blend of historical fiction that isn't over the top, good vs evil, and magical realism. The themes of love in this book are tender and reach beyond the queer romance at its center- which I profoundly enjoyed. The positive relationships balanced the manipulation and cycle of abuse with the antagonist's storyline into a power dynamic that lets you see the darkness in this world while also highlighting the hope that is born out of the pain.

The start of the book was a bit slow, and I found inconsistencies in the time travel narrative but that's just me nitpicking. Approaching time travel in any media is going to have faults depending on how deeply you look at it, but it was used in a way that supported the overall theme of finding your place and acceptance in a world that rejects misfits.

The Night Circus meets Vicious in the best possible way. Romantic, heartbreaking and beautiful writing. Really hoping that there will be a sequel to this beautiful novel.

If you could see the bleak future how would you find joy in today? What would you do to save the ones you love?

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of the audio book, all thoughts are my own.

A beautiful story about humanity and the importance of hope and goodness in our each and every interaction.

Following WW1, in this universe, a 'spark' was given to some individuals, giving them a power... something otherworldly that relates to what they would need to cope in that moment. But how do you use the spark? To make the world a better place, or bend it to suit your will?

What a fantastic depiction of the good vs. Evil power struggle... set in the world of dwelling circuses. With masterful worldbuilding, creative characterizations, and not only the use but the embodiment of catharsis, I truly loved every minute of this story!

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is beautiful. The narrators were perfect. Don't zone out though or you will get lost and have to go back a bit. There is a lot of interesting things happening here. I love the setting of the old timey circus. It was just lovely.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC!

3.5/5 stars

For a time travel book, I loved it - I usually hate them for the wacky “logic” and required plot holes. For a general historical fantasy, it was good but not great, though still thoroughly enjoyable. The audiobook quality was fantastic, however - both narrators did a top notch job.

While the beginning of the story had me absolutely hooked, I became a bit bored and annoyed with the constant “am I a bad person because a bad person made me do bad things”, and “I can be a good person by doing bad things for a good reason” narratives. The cycle of abuse and manipulation represented was done well, but perhaps a bit overdone. As for the historical elements, I thought it handled the time travel and possible butterfly effects very well, but admittedly I did feel a bit disheartened by their inability to change some things but not others.

Overall, it was a unique take on time travel and historical fantasy and I really did enjoy the story - I will recommend it to other fans of fantasy and historical fiction, though I do think it could have been shorter and kept the same quality and impact.