A beautiful found family story that is a good balance between dark and hopeful moments. I don't usually enjoy historical fiction, especially set during WWII, but the fantasy elements gave it enough uniqueness to keep me invested. I loved the characters, and I loved imagining the circus performances.

The first sentence made me think it was going to be a complete knock off of The Night Circus and I was pleased to discover that it is not. I liked almost everything about this book- there was one plot point that felt odd- but still recommend it. I love the dual perspectives and the relationships throughout the book. Definitely worth the read.

What a creative premise and lovely characters. This is like The Greatest Showman meets Legends of Tomorrow with a terrifying antagonist that still haunts me.

Format: Audio
Genre: Fantasy/Historical Fiction
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have a soft spot for stories about a magical circus. What I really enjoyed about "The First Bright Thing" was the blend of realistic historical fiction with fantasy and magical realism. The emphasis on found family and the love that blooms were realistic and raw, even dark at times. Not only romantic love but love between a parent and child and love between siblings were emphasized in this story. It's also super queer, which is a plus. I do think the middle of the story dragged on and the ending was rushed, but the audiobook narrators did such a great job of immersing me into the story that it hardly mattered.

Read if you like:
-Found Families
-Magical Circuses
-LGBTQIA+ Rep
-Time Travel

Thank you, NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. The book is set to publish on June 13th, 2023.

The First Bright thing is a journey.

I went into this book thinking that it was going to be another Night Circus, which felt more like an adult fairy tale to me. The First Bright thing is no Night Circus, and that is not a bad thing. Where The Night Circus feels ethereal, like you are stepping into another world for a time and leaving with that dazed, otherworldly feeling you do after seeing a really engaging movie, The First Bright thing is visceral and grounded in an all too familiar reality for a lot of people.

There is always a knee-jerk response, for me, to minimize the things that have happened to me in the past as “not that bad.” My mother was always fond of saying “yes, but at least…” to every problem or worry or dark thing I brought to her. So, while my brain immediately likes to jump to all of the “at leasts,” I have to say that it was difficult reading some of this book. I know trigger warnings for various media are something that can at times be divisive: “Oh they give away all of the mystery and shock value from the stories,” and whatnot. That being said, I believe it is important to say that this book deals with things that could dredge up old hurts for some people. It does not shy away from those moments and it lets you sit in them and feel them. To some, this might be cathartic, but to some who may be close to these issues, it is important to prepare yourself. I know this all sounds dramatic, and I will not give away anything specific or any spoilers. Just make sure when you go into this book, you read the description, really read it. See the events that this book deals with and take a moment to consider the topics that will be brought up, and beyond the historical events, it’s important to know that there is abuse, specifically of the mental and verbal sort (gaslighting and the like). Some of which hit close to home for me.

All of that being said, this book is a beautiful story of a found family that is struggling to use the gifts given to them to make the world a better place one person at a time. The story celebrates the small things that can change the course of a person’s life. While there definitely are strong fantasy elements in this book, the emotions are painfully real. The characters feel like real people just trying to do the best they can to help others. I thoroughly loved all of the characters– well, with the exception of the antagonist. I think the scariest thing about the antagonist is that they truly believe that they have no control over the way their life has gone and that they were just trying to do the best they could for the person they loved. There is an overarching theme of choice in this book. How the choices that we make with the circumstances we are given can help or hurt, how we can use what we have to bring light or darkness to the world. I also like that there are no easy answers in the story. Characters both “bad” and “good” do questionable things and hurt people for what they believe to be noble causes.

The story handles the difficult topics with grace and respect, but it does not allow you to look away from the difficult issues that are addressed. They are not brushed under the rug or undercut by an immediate mood boosting scene after. You will have to face the tragedies within, but you will not be facing them alone. The one thing I loved the most about the main cast of characters is their firm willingness to stay with one another through the good and the bad, and the willingness to push through the bad for the promise of something good waiting on the horizon.

This book is a Pandora’s Box. It lets out all the bad things, but what you are left with is hope. Yes, there is darkness in the world, but there is light, even if it is just a single candle flame between two people who care about one another. I love this book, and I am glad to have been on this journey with these people. They have become as much a part of my fictional family as the characters of the Night Circus did.

I loved the book so, so much, and I know it will stick with me for a long time. I would like to add that I read the audiobook version, and the narrators were both top notch. They really did a great job of bringing the characters to life, and I always love when there is more than one narrator for audiobooks. It always helps me get that much more immersed in the world.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an audiobook ARC for this title!! All of my opinions are my own.

BONUS:
Some songs I would include on a playlist for this book.
Mama - My Chemical Romance
Ladies and Gentlemen - Saliva
What a Wonderful World - 2WEI, Ali Christenhusz, Edda Hayes

The First Bright Thing by J. R. Dawson combines elements of fantasy, historical fiction, mystery, and LGBTQ+ themes to create a unique and intriguing narrative. This book was a lot darker than I had anticipated, but I really enjoyed it. The circus serves as a home for magical misfits and outcasts, highlighting the theme of finding acceptance and belonging in a world that often rejects those who are different. The presence of magic and the enchantment of the circus create awe, wonder, and examines the extraordinary within the ordinary.

This book dives into confronting and escaping one's past, as well as the repercussions of actions and choices made. This along with the ability to jump through time raises questions about the nature of time itself and the choices one can make with the limited time they have. By the circus only offering a single night of enchantment and respite, you are forced to examine the fleeting nature of happiness and the importance of cherishing the present moment.

This book was beautifully written and the narrators really brought this story to life.

Magical Circuses! Love! Found Family! Time Travel! This book has all the things. It's beautifully written and the emotional undercurrent will pull you under.

Rin is the Ringmaster of a magical circus in the 1920s. They travel the country, staging their performances in small towns for a single person who might be healed by what they perform. She also has a "spark" or a special ability that lets her travel through space and time. Her wife can heal people with a touch, and their best friend Mauve can see the future. Under their leadership, the circus heals people and changes the course of the future in subtle ways. But Rin is also on the run from her former abuser, the "Circus King", and World War II is coming - even with their powers, can they avert that much death and destruction?

The writing is gorgeous without being ornate; the story is loving and warm without being saccharine. It certainly doesn't shy away from ugly things, whether it's war or abuse. It's well-plotted and paced as it moves back and forth between POV and time without the reader ever losing the thread. And its fantastic cast of characters will keep you leaping back into the pages. What a book! Amazing debut.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for sending me an early copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!

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.

If you're looking for sapphic romance in fantasy, this will give you a sweet romance with found family!

The First Bright Thing is a beautiful story of found family and a magical circus. What starts as a fantastical world full of magic and an evil force becomes a very real story of trauma and healing.

We are transported to a world just after WWI and during the war “Sparks” were created, granting certain people magical powers. Ringmaster Rin has created a safe haven for these people in her circus and When the circus is threatened by the Circus King, Rin and her family have to decide what fights are most important to them.

There’s time travel, shapeshifting and magical healing… just to name a few powers at play. Truly a whimsical, but heartbreaking story.

I really enjoyed the dual narrators in this audiobook, it really brought the story to life!

Thank you netgalley and Macmilla Audio for the complimentary ALC.

I wanted to love this, and genuinely thought I would given the high praise on Goodreads. Unfortunately, after the first few chapters I was bored and only kept going because of the reviews I read, I thought things would turn around. I figured out almost exactly how it would end early on and I did not connect to or really care about any of the characters.

I love a good found family story and this alternative history fantasy novel does it really well! There's a diverse cast of characters and I enjoyed seeing them use their magic in such interesting ways. The world-building was captivating and the setting (a circus in the aftermath of World War I) makes for a fascinating viewpoint on the magic systems in this story. The dual perspective was done really well. I especially recommend the audiobook because I really enjoyed the narration. If you love magical realism, read this!

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

J. R. Dawson’s debut novel, The First Bright Thing, may be my favourite read of 2023 so far.

Dawson’s prose is simply beautiful. It’s melodic and captivating. She has such a way with words, and I can’t wait to read what she comes up with next. I was able to listen to the ARC audiobook, and the narrators blew me away with how they brought Dawson’s words to light.

While it may seem like a story of good vs evil, it’s so much more than that. It’s what we choose to do when given something special, such as the Spark in the novel. Every person is capable of both good and evil, and Dawson really captured the internal struggles of the 2 main characters, and how they chose to use the extraordinary gifts that were bestowed upon them. It truly reflects how all of us have the capacity to do beautiful things, if we simply choose to.

The character growth of the characters was a beautiful journey as well, as was the found family in this story. I rooted for every character through their ups and downs. There were some moments for these characters that were very difficult to read. But Dawson’s writing gripped me, and made me hold on until I got to the other side.

I also loved how Rin’s (our MC) Jewish heritage was as much a part of her as her Spark was. It guided her and uplifted her much of the time. As a Jewish person myself, it gave me a lot to reflect on.

Most of all, what I loved was that The First Bright Thing was saturated with hope and love. And while some of the characters’ endeavors may have not been completed like we hoped as readers, we are still left with a feeling of love and hope at the end.

Fabulous book. I highly recommend.

Thank you, NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Night Circus meets The Last Magician meets The Diviners

High praise because these are my favorite books. I think it’s just that much more consumable than the above titles and easier to follow. The setting is cozy without the plot being predictable. The characters are lovable, and unfortunately I really do understand the antagonist.

Great summer read!

Thank you Tor and Macmillan for a galley of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I really didn’t think I’d love this as much as I did.

TW: eating disorder, PTSD, emotional abuse, physical abuse, homophobia, institutionalization, loss of a parent

3.5

I think this book is going to be very hit or miss for people. It’s a historical fantasy with a softer magic system that verges on magical realism, and there’s time travel, and a queer found family at the circus.

I liked the split timeline seeing Rin in the interwar years and Edward in World War I, and I liked the time travel elements and the way Dawson described major points in history without naming those events. The history nerd in me, was really liking the historical aspects of this book. I also really liked the way Dawson incorporated Rin’s Jewish identity, and how casually diverse this book is especially for being historical fiction, which has traditionally been very white-washed.

That being said, I didn’t love the way this book ended, and I think that’s what’s preventing me from loving it. I liked the thematic discussions of toxic relationships and gaslighting, and recovering from trauma, and I can see how parts of the ending might be cathartic to someone who has experienced some of those things, but for me, it didn’t work. There were other parts of the ending just made it seem like the characters gave up or like a plot thread that I thought was going to be more relevant just got ignored. It’s hard to explain my thoughts without spoilers, but in short a lot of the ending fell flat for me.

I really enjoyed the narration done by Petrea Burchard and Tim Campbell. I liked the dual narration and really thought they did a great job of setting the tone of the novel.

Maybe I'm not seeing what other reviewers saw in this, but I thought that this was just okay. There wasn't really anything too remarkable about this novel imo. It started out pretty solid, but sort of petered out by the end.

I'll start out with one of the positives. The novel did a great job with portraying an abusive romantic relationship. It was really frustrating to listen to Edward using his powers to manipulate Rin into doing whatever he wanted, and outright denying her any agency while straight up lying to her and telling her that *she* was the one who wanted the relationship in the first place. It was very triggering and realistic.

The time traveling power was really cool. The fact that Rin, Odette, and Mauve experienced the future with WWII (and literally being in a battlefield, or seeing the people they knew become older and hopeless due to the war, or watching the book burning) was very X-Men. The author really excelled with using the right words to set the bleak mood and tone.

I really liked the narrators, especially Tim Campbell. He really made Edward sound like the villain so it wasn't hard to hate the character.

And now on to the bad...

There were too many characters to keep track of, and it was hard to care enough about any of the characters. If the MC trio was cut down to only two, then it would've been easier to care for each of them individually.

I was also very confused with Jo and Charles' characterizations. Rin described them as kids, but she made it sound like they were younger children (maybe middle school age?), but it turned out that they were seventeen. This seems minor, but it was hard to picture them in my head, and I'm a very visual person who imagines novels as movies.

I also didn't understand the subplot where the three MCs tried to stop WWII. (Or was it WWI? Idk, I got lost.) It sounded ridiculous in the first place (sorry, Jo), but then nothing happened with it? Maybe I wasn't listening closely, but the subplot just never went anywhere.

I think the book would've fared better if it was focused more on the three MCs and their backstory. It tried to do too much at once and it was so easy to lose track of who's who and what's what. It was also trying too hard to be a feel-good novel. I wish it would've embraced itself for what it was instead of throwing in all these subplots and going in so many different directions.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced listeners copy of The First Bright Thing.
This was a beautiful story. Dawson does a wonderful job using the characters to paint the setting. The circus is magical and filled with “Sparks”. The circus is a wonder in the family that is found, the comfort that is given, and the worth in finding out who you really are. The Ringmaster has built a home and safe haven for others like her while trying to stay one step ahead from the dark Circus King that is trailing to find her. Where Rin’s circus is light and wonder, the Circus King has one that is dark and terrible.
I think this book will speak to every reader that questions themselves and their worth at times. It deals a lot with psychological aspects and how we define a better life. But it also speaks to the simple things that everyone needs, trust and relationships. I will definitely be purchasing this one for my shelves.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

This took me a few days to get through, not because of the nature or quality of the book, but due to unforeseen family issues. I really enjoyed both of that narrators and really wanted to give this book 5 stars but the voices didn’t match each other well and it bothered me at times. The male character spoke with an accent during his parts and when the female character was speaking about him there was no accent and I believe he was supposed to be from the US so it was confusing at the beginning. Other than that I found the writing and the story itself pure magic and fantasy, very easy to lose yourself in! I’ve always enjoyed stories about the circus and this takes it to a whole new level! If you’re into fantasy and love books set in the early 1900’s, be sure to check this out!

The First Bright Thing was such a unique, beautiful read! Ringmaster—Rin—can jump through time and with her wife Odette and her friends, she is determined to make the world a more beautiful place with her Circus of the Fantasticals. But there are threats coming from the future and the past that could change the world forever. There is a lot happening in this atmospheric, emotional read and it is powerful and hopeful, and haunting and magical . It was different—whimsical, throwing you right into the circus, and dark, as you travel through the threats of war and the threats of the Circus King who has been hunting Rin. The writing is lyrical and the found family elements were stunning. I loved these characters as they push and love each other and search how to build a better world. The magic too was fascinating and engaging. The two timelines worked so well together. It handled grief, gaslighting, and depression, while also shining a light on finding a family to call your own and the power that can bring. It’s striking and original and imaginative and I couldn’t put it down,

The First Bright Thing is a unique story and I was impressed by the premise as well as the imagination behind it. I particularly enjoyed how different this book felt from others I have read and the representation of the characters.

Readers who enjoy historical fiction, magical realism, and found family will definitely want to pick this book up.

This book has an audience, I'm just not sure if that audience includes me. For me personally, it began to feel repetitive, and the progress/pacing and some of the plot points lacked cohesiveness. The 1916/1917 chapters were phenomenal and I wish that strength of writing carried through the whole book.

The narrators of the audiobook did a fantastic job bringing Rin, the protagonist, and Edward, the antagonist to life.

My thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced download of this audiobook.

Okay I feel like I got bait and switched... The blurb talks about a magical circus, and an epic battle between good and evil. I wanted to read about a magical circus and epic battle between good and evil. I didn't want to read about trying to prevent World War II and the end of the world... I tend to avoid war books like the plague, and had no idea that was going to be the central focus of so much of this.

I also struggled with the writing. I must confess, I found it somewhat stilted and forced and I definitely did not engage with the language or the characters anywhere near as much as I expected to or hoped to. I like the way it started, but it felt like it never picked up in action or pacing, and for a story about an epic battle between good and evil and a magic circus - even if that wasn't the primary focus - I expected both of those things to increase in intensity as the story developed, but for me they never did.

The dual narration and timelines didn't help... I am not often a fan of multiple narrators in an audiobook. Although I've seen a couple of instances in which it's done really well and accentuated the storytelling, I often find it distracting for some reason.

All in all this just wasn't a good fit for me.