I was lucky enough to get an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) for this novel by debut author, J.R. Dawson. With most ARCs, I’m usually required to do a public review on Amazon or Barnes & Noble or Goodreads (or all of them). For The First Bright Thing, though, I loved it so much that I felt the need to also do a full book review on my website.

Synopsis (from Barnes & Noble)

The First Bright Thing by J.R. Dawson

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

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. And the circus they lead is a rare home and safe haven for magical misfits and outcasts, known as Sparks. With the world still reeling from World War I, Rin and her troupe — the Circus of the Fantasticals — travel the midwest, offering a single night of enchantment and respite to all who step into their Big Top.

But threats come at Rin from all sides. The future holds an impending war that the Sparks can see barrelling toward their show and everyone in it. And Rin’s past creeps closer every day, a malevolent shadow she can’t fully escape. It takes the form of another 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.

My Review

This is the magic circus I have been waiting for. I’ve read the Stephanie Garber’s Caraval series and fell in love with Scarlett and Donatella and their budding romances with Julian and Legend. I’ve read The Night Circus, which was better than the Caraval series but somehow was missing something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. And then I’ve even watched The Greatest Showman a bazillion times thanks to my son loving the music (and let’s face it, I do too). But I have finally found THE magic circus I’ve been craving for all these years.

“Without dark, nothing could really shine.”

I’ll admit that the story took a little while to get into – in my opinion, the author could’ve gotten rid of the first fifth of the book. But once the plot ramps up and real threats are introduced, the book is hard to put down. The book starts near the end of World War I when magic is randomly introduced into the world – people call it their “Spark”. Not everyone receives a Spark and no one knows why it came. Sparks vary from multiplying themselves to not being able to be burned to creating illusions.

The Perspectives

The First Bright Thing is written from two perspectives: Rin (aka the Ringmaster) and Edward (aka The Circus King) in several different timelines. Rin saves Edward from the trenches of the first World War by traveling (think of winnowing in Sarah J. Maas’s ACOTAR series) to where Edward is a soldier and bringing him back to America where she lives. It’s there that we learn Edward’s Spark: whatever he says, people do. If he says “go jump off a cliff”, the person would do it. If he says “create a charity that services World War I veterans,” the person would have to do that.

As the book progresses and we jump from present day back to the end of World War I, we watch our characters develop into their Sparks. Edward gradually leans in to the darker side of his magic and power over people. Rin, however, looks for the good and gets stronger with her power to travel not just through space, but time. Without getting too spoilery, Rin and Edward fall in love (or do they? Does Edward just manipulate her into thinking she’s in love with him) but then get torn apart. They both run two different circuses: one of light and one of dark. The dark is always chasing after the light.

Found family

Rin runs with a group of misfit Sparks who create nights of wonderment and joy while Edward and his Sparks create ones of fear and terror. There are many themes around good vs. evil throughout the book. The First Bright Thing navigates homophobia as well as religious persecution and the second World War. 

I loved the character development of Rin and her love for her friends. Odette (Rin’s wife) and Mauve keep Rin grounded and allow her to be completely herself. The love that they express between one another is truly beautiful especially as we learn more about Rin’s past life with Edward.

Do Not Read if You Don’t Want Spoilers

I was most impressed with how Rin developed throughout the story. How she was this sweet teenager who wanted to give a soldier a second chance to an older woman (time travel aged her) finally feeling like herself in this band of misfits. I also loved the villainy of Edward and how he slowly crept towards the darkness of his Spark.

However, the only thing I couldn’t get over was the ending and how Rin killed Edward. I knew that Rin had to be the one to kill him, but I thought bringing him back to the same place where she first grabbed/saved him, was cruel and not something her character would’ve done. Edward clearly had PTSD and was scared out of his mind of going back to any war, let alone the one he escaped from. It was cruel that he met his end through mustard gas as Rin just watched him waste away. It made me not like Rin and not want her to have a happy ending.

I’m not sure if my reaction (above) was the author’s intention but I suspect it wasn’t. I’m still giving this read a 5 out 5 but was pretty disappointed in the ending. For more reviews, check them out here or subscribe to my Substack.