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. 

Ocean's Echo

Pages: 464 

Publisher: Orbit 

Released: 3rd of November 2022 

When Tennal - a rich socialite, inveterate flirt, and walking disaster - is caught using his telepathic powers for illegal activities, the military decides to bind his mind to someone whose coercive powers are strong enough to control him.

Enter Lieutenant Surit, the child of a disgraced general. Out of a desperate need to restore a pension to his other parent, Lieutenant Surit agrees to be bound to Tennal and keep him conscripted in the army, a task that seems impossible even for someone with Surit's ability to control minds.

Tennal just wants to escape, but Surit isn't all that he seems. And their bond may just be the key to their freedom.

What I Have to Say 

This book caught my attention at the start, but I got bored of it. It started out with very fanfic tropes and if it had continued in that vein, I think I would have really liked it, but for me there wasn't enough about the relationship between the two guys. It didn't have much romance in it. They were just getting to know each other and then suddenly they were in love? It just didn't hit for me. 

I was really interested in the syncing and the way it would work for two minds to sync as well, so the fact that they put that off for so long disappointed me. It raised interesting issues about conscription and consent though and that was good to see. 

In all, I just wasn't that into the book. I guess I was reading it for a romance when it was more political than that. But some bits were interesting. 

 

3 stars 

My thanks goes to Netgalley and Orbit for providing me with this copy for review.