The First Bright Thing by J.R. Dawson

 Pages: 352 

Publisher: Tor 

Released: 22nd of June 2023 

If you knew how dark tomorrow would be, what would you do with today?

The First Bright Thing by J. R. Dawson is a spellbinding debut for fans of The Night Circus and The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue.

Welcome to the Circus of the Fantasticals.

Ringmaster – Rin, to those who know her best – can jump to different moments in time as easily as her wife, Odette, soars from bar to bar on the trapeze. With the scars of World War I feeling more distant as the years pass, Rin is focusing on the brighter things in life. Like the circus she’s built and the magical misfits and outcasts – known as Sparks – who’ve made it their home. Every night, Rin and the Fantasticals enchant a Big Top packed full with audiences who need to see the impossible.

But while the present is bright, threats come at Rin from the past and the future. The future holds an impending war that the Sparks can see barrelling toward their Big Top and everyone in it. And Rin's past creeps closer every day, a malevolent shadow Rin can’t fully escape. It takes the form of another Spark circus, with tents as black as midnight and a ringmaster who rules over his troupe with a dangerous power. Rin’s circus has something he wants, and he won't stop until it’s his.

What I Have to Say 

This book was dark! Really dark. It went deep into control and abusive relationships but it also went into the inevitability of World War Two. It did have some brightness in it as well though. It had a really good message about how tiny things can influence and change the world for the better. 

This book killed with emotion though. Seeing the things Rin went through in the climax of the novel was so emotional and heart-breaking. It really kept me on the edge of my seat to find out what happened. I was happy with the way it ended. I think it was the right ending for the book to give hope and catharsis to the reader. 

I don't have much more to say really. I think this was a truly great book, though maybe not one for the faint of heart. 

4 stars 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Tor for providing me with this copy for review.