The First Bright Thing
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Narrated by:
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Petrea Burchard
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Tim Campbell
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By:
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J.R. Dawson
About this listen
Short-listed, Golden Crown Literary Awards, 2024
If you knew how dark tomorrow would be, what would you do with today?
"This is the magic circus book that I have been looking for all my life."―Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of Every Heart A Doorway
"With earnestness that matches the author's poignant story, narrator Petrea Burchard introduces listeners to the Circus of the Fantasticals."—AudioFile
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.
A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Books.
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Critic reviews
"This is the magic circus book that I have been looking for all my life. It's compelling and brilliant, and made me cry on a public street. I cannot recommend picking up a ticket for Windy Van Hooten's Circus of the Fantasticals highly enough."—Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of Every Heart A Doorway
"J.R. Dawson welcomes us to a time-traveling circus of magical outcasts, forged by love into family. A celebration of artistry and wonder as essential talismans we wield against despair—and with which we triumph against it. Spanning ages and continents, where history repeats its cycles of darkness, Windy Van Hooten’s Circus brings with it hard-won light. I, for one, am here for the show."—Travis Baldree, New York Times bestselling author of Legends & Lattes
"Trains leap across continents, trapeze artists fly through the air, and three women desperately hurl themselves through time and against the dark tides of history. This book takes the reader on an audacious, bittersweet journey, underpinned by the magic of theatre and the alchemies of grief and love. A masterpiece of the fantastical and the human."—Freya Marske, author of A Marvellous Light
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- By: Freda Warrington
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 22 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Elfland is an intimate, sensual novel of people—both human and Aetherial—caught between duty and desire. It is a story of families, and of Rose Fox, a woman born to magic but tormented by her place in her adopted world.Led by Auberon Fox, a group of Aetherials—call them the Fair Folk, if you will—live among us, indistinguishable from humans. Every seven years, on the Night of the Summer Stars, Lawrence Wilder, the Gatekeeper, throws open all gates to the Other World. But this time, something has gone wrong.
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Miscommunication is an obnoxious plot device
- By Robin on 05-26-16
By: Freda Warrington
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Chain of Gold
- The Last Hours
- By: Cassandra Clare
- Narrated by: Finty Williams
- Length: 21 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Cordelia Carstairs is a Shadowhunter, a warrior trained since childhood to battle demons. When her father is accused of a terrible crime, she and her brother travel to London in hopes of preventing the family’s ruin. Cordelia’s mother wants to marry her off, but Cordelia is determined to be a hero rather than a bride. Soon Cordelia encounters childhood friends James and Lucie Herondale and is drawn into their world of glittering ballrooms, secret assignations, and supernatural salons, where vampires and warlocks mingle with mermaids and magicians.
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New Narrator Please!
- By ddavis.97 on 03-04-20
By: Cassandra Clare
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The Good Luck Girls
- By: Charlotte Nicole Davis
- Narrated by: Jeanette Illidge
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The country of Arketta calls them Good Luck Girls - they know their luck is anything but. Sold to a "welcome house" as children and branded with cursed markings. Trapped in a life they would never have chosen. When Clementine accidentally murders a man, the girls risk a dangerous escape and harrowing journey to find freedom, justice, and revenge in a country that wants them to have none of those things.
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This Was Pretty Good!
- By Millie Mi on 03-18-21
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Before We Disappear
- By: Shaun David Hutchinson
- Narrated by: André Santana, Mark Sanderlin
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Jack Nevin’s clever trickery and moral flexibility make him the perfect assistant to the Enchantress, one of the most well-known stage magicians in turn-of-the-19th-century Europe. Without Jack’s steady supply of stolen tricks, the Enchantress’ fame would have burned out long ago. But when Jack’s thievery catches up to them, they’re forced to flee to America to find their fortune. Luckily, the Enchantress is able to arrange a set of sold-out shows at Seattle’s Alaska - Yukon - Pacific World’s Fair Exposition.
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Boring and racial weirdness
- By Jackson on 11-20-21
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Vampires Never Get Old
- Tales with Fresh Bite
- By: Zoraida Cordova - editor, Natalie C. Parker - editor
- Narrated by: Almarie Guerra, Frankie Corzo, MW Cartozian Wilson, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Thirsty for fresh blood? Sink your teeth into vampire stories from young adult fiction's leading voices. In this delicious new collection edited by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker, you’ll find stories about the lurking vampires of social media, the rebellious vampires hungry for more than just blood, the eager vampires coming out - and going out for their first kill - and other bold, breathtaking, dangerous, dreamy, eerie, iconic, powerful creatures of the night.
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Breezy vamp fun
- By jc on 01-26-23
By: Zoraida Cordova - editor, and others
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Hellboy: Oddest Jobs
- By: Author Various
- Narrated by: Seth Podowitz
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
Longtime contributor to the Hellboy mythos Christopher Golden brings together a crew of luminaries including Joe R. Lansdale and China Miéville, cross-genre sensation Barbara Hambly, celebrated mystery writer Ken Bruen, best-selling science-fiction and fantasy novelist Tad Williams, and a bevy of other skilled storytellers eager to spin a tale or two about the world's greatest paranormal detective. Some of the biggest names in horror, mystery, and fantasy come together to pay homage to Mike Mignola's Hellboy!
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could go with more authors that know Source materi
- By bEnemy on 07-25-23
By: Author Various
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The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
- By: V. E. Schwab
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan
- Length: 17 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
France, 1714: In a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever - and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.
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Prose style not to my liking
- By C.V. Cox on 10-18-20
By: V. E. Schwab
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Hellboy: Odd Jobs
- By: Christopher Golden
- Narrated by: Seth Podowitz
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In 1994, Mike Mignola created one of the most unique and visually arresting comics series to ever see print: Hellboy. Tens of thousands have followed the exploits of the World's Greatest Paranormal Investigator in comics form and in prose. Now, fans of the comic can enjoy the world of Hellboy as seen through the eyes of some of the brightest creative lights in horror and mystery fiction.
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Extra stories for true fans
- By Daniel Wiffen on 07-24-21
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The Last Magician
- By: Lisa Maxwell
- Narrated by: Candace Thaxton
- Length: 16 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In modern-day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic - the Mageus - live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power - and often their lives. Esta is a talented thief, and she's been raised to steal magical artifacts from the sinister Order that created the Brink.
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Couldn't Finish
- By Anne on 08-06-17
By: Lisa Maxwell
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Hellboy: An Assortment of Horrors
- By: Various
- Narrated by: Seth Podowitz
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Fifteen of the biggest names in weird literature come together to pay tribute to Hellboy and the characters of Mike Mignola’s award-winning line of books! Assembled by Joe Golem and Baltimore co-writer Christopher Golden, this anthology boasts 15 original stories by the best in horror, fantasy, and science fiction, including Seanan McGuire (October Daye series), Chelsea Cain (Heartsick), Jonathan Maberry (Joe Ledger series), and more! The new writer of Hellboy and the BPRD, iZombie co-creator Chris Roberson, pitches in as well!
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An assortment of good times.
- By Chris E. on 02-28-20
By: Various
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An Ordinary Wonder
- By: Buki Papillon
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Oto leaves for boarding school with one plan: Excel and escape his cruel home. Falling in love with his roommate was certainly not on the agenda, but fear and shame force him to hide his love and true self. Back home, weighed down by the expectations of their wealthy and powerful family, the love of Oto's twin sister wavers, and, as their world begins to crumble around them, Oto must make drastic choices that will alter the family's lives for ever.
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Intriguing
- By Mary P Browne on 09-20-21
By: Buki Papillon
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Marked
- House of Night, Book 1
- By: P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast
- Narrated by: Caitlin Davies
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
One minute, sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird is a normal teenager dealing with everyday high school stress: her cute boyfriend Heath, the school's star quarterback who suddenly seems more interested in partying than playing ball; her nosy frenemy Kayla, who's way too concerned with how things are going with Heath; her uber-tough geometry test tomorrow. The next, she's Marked as a fledgling vampyre, forcing her to leave her ordinary life behind and join the House of Night, a boarding school where she will train to become an adult vampyre.
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Good content..horrible narration
- By Laura on 08-17-17
By: P. C. Cast, and others
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Of Light and Darkness
- By: Shayne Leighton
- Narrated by: Joel Froomkin
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Raised by a vampire in a secret society of witches, shifters, and elves, Charlotte finds that she is the freak in her world of magic and wonder. When she stands before an army of impossible obstacles, the likelihood of survival in this coming-of-age modern fairy tale is slim, resulting in a war between light and darkness. Charlotte knows no other home than the one nestled deep in the woods of Eastern Europe, where witches draw spells of enchantment, shifters throw tea parties, and elves are the closest in kin.
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Beyond amazing with such depth and emotion
- By Rachel on 07-05-16
By: Shayne Leighton
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Flora Segunda
- By: Ysabeau S. Wilce
- Narrated by: Danielle Ferland
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Ysabeau S. Wilce's exciting debut novel, Flora's mom is away, leaving Flora and her father home alone at Crackpot Hall with its 11,000 constantly shifting rooms. Late for school one day, Flora decides to take the elevator down to the first floor. But without her mother around, the elevator has ideas of its own and drops Flora in an unfamiliar room. Lost in her own house, Flora embarks on a harrowing quest to find her way back to where she started.
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Surprising and fun
- By Charlene on 10-13-07
By: Ysabeau S. Wilce
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Unfettered
- Tales By Masters of Fantasy
- By: Terry Brooks, Patrick Rothfuss, Robert Jordan, and others
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim, Marc Vietor, Bronson Pinchot, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
You define life or it defines you. In Shawn Speakman’s case, it was both. Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011, Shawn quickly accrued a massive medical debt that he did not have the ability to pay. That’s when New York Times best-selling author Terry Brooks offered to donate a short story that Shawn could sell to help alleviate those bills—and suggested he ask the same of his other writer friends. Unfettered is the result: An anthology built in order to relieve that debt, featuring short stories by some of the best fantasy writers in the genre.
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A TRULY BAD COLLECTION OF DOGS
- By Randall on 12-21-18
By: Terry Brooks, and others
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A Very Unique and Powerful Collection
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Twenty years after the witch in the gingerbread house, Greta and Hans are struggling to get by. Their mother and stepmother are long dead, Hans is deeply in debt from gambling, and the countryside lies in ruin, its people starving in the aftermath of a brutal war. Greta has a secret, though: the witch's grimoire, secreted away and whispering in Greta's ear for the past two decades, and the recipe inside that makes the best gingerbread you've ever tasted. As long as she can bake, Greta can keep her small family afloat.
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Fantastic!
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Light and dark—this is the cursed birthright placed upon Clara and Natasha by their godfather, Drosselmeyer, whose power and greed hold an entire city in his sway. Charming Clara, the favorite, grows into a life of beauty and ease, while ignored and unloved Natasha is relegated to her sister’s shadow. But the opportunity for revenge announces itself one Christmas Eve, when Drosselmeyer arrives at their family gala with the Nutcracker, an enchanted gift that offers entry into an alternate world: the Kingdom of Sweets.
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that was crazy
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Tirne is one of four humans rigorously selected to usher the turn of the seasons into the mortal world. Every year, she escorts the taciturn god Autumn between the godly and human realms. Autumn’s seasonal stay among mortals brings cooler weather, changing leaves, and the harvest of apples and gourds until Winter takes his place. This year, the enchanted Mirror that separates their worlds shatters after Tirne and Autumn pass through, trapping both of them in the human realm.
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neat little package
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Not gripping or intriguing
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Fantastic!
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that was crazy
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By: Erika Johansen
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The Longest Autumn
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- By: Amy Avery
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Tirne is one of four humans rigorously selected to usher the turn of the seasons into the mortal world. Every year, she escorts the taciturn god Autumn between the godly and human realms. Autumn’s seasonal stay among mortals brings cooler weather, changing leaves, and the harvest of apples and gourds until Winter takes his place. This year, the enchanted Mirror that separates their worlds shatters after Tirne and Autumn pass through, trapping both of them in the human realm.
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neat little package
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Not gripping or intriguing
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The Deep Sky
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It is the eve of Earth’s environmental collapse. A single ship carries humanity’s last hope: eighty elite graduates of a competitive program, who will give birth to a generation of children in deep space. But halfway to a distant but livable planet, a lethal bomb kills three of the crew and knocks The Phoenix off course. Asuka, the only surviving witness, is an immediate suspect.
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The synopsis was better than the story
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Exordia
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Anna Sinjari—refugee, survivor of genocide, disaffected office worker—has a close encounter that reveals universe-threatening stakes. While humanity reels from disaster, she must join a small team of civilians, soldiers, and scientists to investigate a mysterious broadcast and unknowable horror. If they can manage to face their own demons, they just might save the world.
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Incredible
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In twelfth century, Persia, clever and dreamy Shaherazade stumbles on the Malik’s beloved wife entwined with a lover in a sun-dappled courtyard. When Shaherazade recounts her first tale, the story of this infidelity, to the Malik, she sets the Seljuk Empire on fire. Enraged at his wife’s betrayal, the once-gentle Malik beheads her. But when that killing does not quench his anger, the Malik begins to marry and behead a new bride each night. Furious at the murders, his province seethes on rebellion’s edge.
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Stunning imagery
- By Amazon Customer on 06-18-24
By: Jamila Ahmed
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Ebony Gate
- The Phoenix Hoard
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Emiko Soong belongs to one of the eight premier magical families of the world. But Emiko never needed any magic. Because she is the Blade of the Soong Clan. Or was. Until she’s drenched in blood in the middle of a market in China, surrounded by bodies and the scent of blood and human waste as a lethal perfume. The Butcher of Beijing now lives a quiet life in San Francisco, importing antiques. But when a shinigami, a god of death itself, calls in a family blood debt, Emiko must recover the Ebony Gate that holds back the hungry ghosts of the Yomi underworld.
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A delightful Asian Urban Fantasy
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By: Julia Vee, and others
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The Sight
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
As a child, Faith acquired the ability to see when and how people would die—a “gift” she neither wanted nor could get rid of. After foreseeing a family tragedy and being ostracized, Faith learns to control her visions and returns to perform in her family’s traveling carnival. But when an unruly customer attacks her, she has a vision in full view of a crowd. She is banned from the carnival she loves—and loses her only source of income to support her dying mother. Desperate to support her mother and with only one friend standing by her, she sees no reason to continue hiding her ability.
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3rd time and she's still a charm
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By: Melanie Golding
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The Bad Ones
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- By: Melissa Albert
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In the course of a single winter’s night, four people vanish without a trace across a small town. Nora’s estranged best friend, Becca, is one of the lost. As Nora tries to untangle the truth of Becca’s disappearance, she discovers a darkness in her town’s past, as well as a string of coded messages Becca left for her to unravel. These clues lead Nora to a piece of local lore: a legendary goddess of forgotten origins who played a role in Nora and Becca’s own childhood games.
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Not great, expected better from this author
- By MyBeehive on 03-14-24
By: Melissa Albert
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Maddalena and the Dark
- A Novel
- By: Julia Fine
- Narrated by: Sophie Roberts
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Venice, 1717. Fifteen-year-old Luisa has only wanted one thing: to be the best at violin. As a student at the Ospedale della Pietà, she hopes to join the highest ranks of its illustrious girls’ orchestra and become a protégé of the great Antonio Vivaldi. Luisa is good at violin, but she is not the best. She has peers, but she does not have friends. Until Maddalena. After a scandal threatens her noble family’s reputation, Maddalena is sent to the Pietà to preserve her marriage prospects. When she meets Luisa, Maddalena feels the stirrings of a friendship unlike anything she has known.
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meh.
- By Raul A on 08-07-23
By: Julia Fine
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The Sea Elephants
- A Novel
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Shagun knows he will never be the kind of son his father demands. After the sudden deaths of his beloved twin sisters, Shagun flees his own guilt, his mother’s grief, and his father’s violent disapproval by enrolling at an all-boys boarding school. But he doesn’t find true belonging until he encounters a traveling theater troupe performing the Hindu myths of his childhood. Welcomed by the other storytellers, Shagun thrives, easily embodying mortals and gods, men and women, and living on the road, where his father can’t catch him.
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An amazing case study on gender and religion
- By Btbush2006 on 03-09-24
By: Shastri Akella
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The Saint of Bright Doors
- By: Vajra Chandrasekera
- Narrated by: Sid Sagar
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- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Fetter was raised to kill, honed as a knife to cut down his sainted father. This gave him plenty to talk about in therapy. He walked among invisible powers: devils and anti-gods that mock the mortal form. He learned a lethal catechism, lost his shadow, and gained a habit for secrecy. After a blood-soaked childhood, Fetter escaped his rural hometown for the big city, and fell into a broader world where divine destinies are a dime a dozen.
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Interesting but hard to follow on audio
- By S. Browne on 07-09-24
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A History of What Comes Next
- A Take Them to the Stars Novel
- By: Sylvain Neuvel
- Narrated by: Andrew Byron, Dugald Bruce Lockhart, Imogen Wilde, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Over 99 identical generations, Mia’s family has shaped human history to push them to the stars, making brutal, wrenching choices and sacrificing countless lives. Her turn comes at the dawn of the age of rocketry. Her mission: to lure Wernher Von Braun away from the Nazi party and into the American rocket program, and secure the future of the space race.
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Read (Listen to) the Notes at the end first
- By i8thesandbox on 04-12-21
By: Sylvain Neuvel
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The Redemption of Morgan Bright
- By: Chris Panatier
- Narrated by: Erin Ruth Walker
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
What would guilt make you do? Hadleigh Keene died on the road leading away from Hollyhock Asylum. The reasons are unknown. Her sister Morgan blames herself. A year later with the case still unsolved, Morgan creates a false identity, that of a troubled housewife named Charlotte Turner, and goes inside. Morgan quickly discovers that Hollyhock is… not right. She is shaken by the hospital’s peculiar routines and is soon beset by strange episodes.
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Disturbing and poignant
- By JLM on 06-19-24
By: Chris Panatier
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The Devil’s Daughter
- By: Gordon Greisman
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Most nights PI Jack Coffey can be found hanging out in smoky Greenwich Village jazz clubs with well-known mobsters, jazzmen, and hoods. So, when an uptown financier calls him in for a job, it seems like he’s headed for tonier climes. But it turns out the view from Louis Garrett’s lavish penthouse overlooks the same vice-ridden Manhattan streets, which explains why he’s so desperate to find his missing teenage daughter, Lucy.
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A fun and fascinating read
- By Janni Dee on 05-03-24
By: Gordon Greisman
What listeners say about The First Bright Thing
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- TuxedoedCorgi95
- 06-15-23
I can't say enough good things about this book!
I can't say enough good things about The First Bright Thing by J.R. Dawson! It's a fantastic (and fantastical) story and the perfect release for Pride Month.
Near the end of World War I, The Spark released something supernatural into a small part of the population. We don't know what caused The Spark or how people were chosen, only that suddenly some people could teleport or change appearance or create illusions from thin air. Now, several years later, the war has ended and the Sparks have a traveling circus where they show off their magical abilities while using them to help people. But, through her own powers, the Ringmaster learns that the Great War wasn't the last war, and something terrible is on the horizon. Meanwhile, the competing Spark circus, helmed and used for evil by the Circus King, is getting closer and poses an even more present danger.
The story is just out-of-this-world, and the queer representation is a beautiful way to celebrate people being who they are and loving who they love. This book is one of my favorite releases of the year (and heck, right now, it's the frontrunner for best book of the year, period). I hope there will be a sequel so we can spend more time with all the Sparks I came to love ❤️
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- Lydia P
- 11-17-23
Great book- highly recommend
Love this book, the story, the wrap up at the end. Refreshing because so different than what I’ve read before. The 5min sample was weird and I almost didn’t purchase because of it, but I’m so glad I did. The narrators were very good.
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- Cherie Tringali
- 11-08-23
It was ok
The story itself was good & the narrators definitely made it come to life! I just found it hrs to get into. A bit too much inner dialogue. Pretty slow for me.
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- Josh Curfman
- 07-22-23
Like a balm to your soul
This book reminds us that humanity has faced darkness time and time again, but that hope is always a choice. I needed this book. You need this book.
The First Bright Thing is like the embodiment of “history repeats itself,” but Dawson shows how it doesn’t just have to be the bad that is carried forward. The characters wrestle with their pasts, with an unfair and scary world, with discrimination, and with their own futures. They are forced to face the many evils of this world including war, abuse, genocide, and our own mistakes.
But what makes this story special, more than any I’ve read in the last few years, is that at the end of the day Dawson concludes with the idea that, in a world of darkness, we can choose to light the way. That the darkness of this world cannot erase who we are. Our queerness, our faith, our culture, our values, our love, all the things that make up our souls, those things are so much more than the hate and darkness that try to snuff them out.
I can’t recommend this book enough.
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1 person found this helpful