I went into this book blind and I loved the cover and wanted to like this so much more. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me. Someone else may really enjoy this, but for me personally it didn’t hit right. One of the main characters was whining so much throughout the whole book and acted so spoiled it was hard to get through to be honest. I did like the fairy elements but a lot seemed unexplained? There are a lot of heavy topics in this book, so I would read the trigger warnings if that is something you are worried about. To me personally Ksena didn’t feel fully fleshed out? If that makes sense. I kept feeling like there was a back and forth in her character and the way she presented herself.

“The night started to feel like the continuation of a story I’d begun and then lost track of somehow.”

“What Is a Grave, If Not a Doorway?”

Ksenia and her brother Josh were thrust together by the foster care system, which might have been the only blessing in either of their lives. The bond the two share is unbreakable and unyielding. They have vowed to protect and love each other until the end of their days, but their separation looms closer and closer as Ksenia turns 18. Their foster parents want Ksenia and Josh to experience time without each other, because the intensity of what they share scares them. But desperation can be a dangerous feeling, especially when you’d give up anything for someone you love.

After a strange party at the gorge when Josh is lead away by strangers, and doesn’t turn up until days later, Ksenia begins to see how desperation can manifest into something dark and unforgiving.

“So we kept wandering , and the night colored blue all over us like it wanted to steal our shapes and paint us into being part of it forever.”

“‘This frenzied dependency that you and Josh feel for each other— that doesn’t look like love to me, Kezz.’ Mitch had said that to me just two weeks ago, when Josh was out of earshot, naturally.

‘Real love isn’t based on mutual desperation.’

‘That’s easy to say when you’ve never been desperate.'”

This book was a wild ride of a read, and one that made me feel a lot of different things. Confused and uncomfortable seem to be the top two words that continued to come to mind during and after finishing this book, and I am still so unsure if I hate it or love it.

This book felt like a dark fae, unseelie court story with a smattering of Peter Pan elements. It’s heavily focused on grief and trauma, consent, the true meaning of love and what it can drive a person to do. It’s a fever dream if I’ve ever seen one (read one?). It’s a less adorable Tim Burton nightmare, and a good ol’ fashioned “what the f**k did I just read” to envelop your winter days in.

Josh is sixteen, and Ksenia is eighteen. They are both products of the foster system and put into a home as kids with a couple who adores Josh and tolerates Ksenia. Josh and Ksenia, who also is called Kezzer, instantly form a bond and kinship that others find strange. And you probably should too, because they love each other A LOT. But Ksenia doesn’t show her love and affection nearly as forcefully as Josh. Josh, who is vivacious, colorful, animated and fairly naive is the complete opposite of the withdrawn, sometimes cold and stoic Ksenia. Their foster parents are pushing Ksenia to leave for college and to get away from Josh, because they are worried they will disappear together.

But after a strange party one night, Josh disappears and Ksenia wakes up alone in the woods. Which is where things start to get…odd. People in the town act strangely, and it almost feels like the reader is trapped in a blend of psychosis battling reality with Ksenia as she tries to find Josh. But once she does find Josh, days later, their world is forever changed.

Josh has made a deal while he was away, one that ensured that he and Ksenia could be together. But the cost of his deal changes them both drastically, and the story then turns into an acid trip of a doozy. It begins to switch POVs between a few main characters, which perfectly adds to the story and propels it forward.

“Her lips are tinting azure, and she asphyxiates in the midst of endless air, all of it hers for the taking, if only she could remember to inhale.”

Ksenia

She’s very different from the usual suspects of female MCs in fantasies. She is coated in trauma, and very withdrawn. She holds EVERYTHING tightly and barely lets anyone in. She is not physically strong, she does not have some magical ability lurking under her skin, and she is not being whisked away to be a queen and save the world. Through the story she comes face to face with her childhood, and the despair that she’s forced herself to ignore and push away. She’s a beautiful mystery, a wraith-like angel. I found her character beautiful and so easy to love. She’s imperfect and flawed, but a fierce and loyal friend.

“The feeling of his lips stayed with me. A cool, dry hush, hush on skin that shrieked and burned.”

Josh

I have to say it, I don’t like Josh one bit. And it wasn’t purely because of the horrific things he does in this story. His character rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning, and maybe he was supposed to. He’s so overly excited and pushes himself onto people, invading their space and exuding a positivity and fervor that feels disingenuous. The feelings he has for Ksenia are suffocating and manic, and he definitely views her as a treasured possession of his. The strangest part is that he’s only sixteen, and the author does a fantastic job of ensuring his dialogue and thoughts mirror that naivety and youth. I don’t feel like I have enough closure with Josh though. His story just feels like it was left in limbo and it makes me wonder if there will be something more to come of him.

“I’m the only one who ever understood any of this, and that proves I’m the only person who could ever deserve you.”

Lexi

The real stand-out character here. Lexi is a gem of a girl! She is so wise beyond her years, pure and has a fantastic head on her shoulders. She loves fiercely without restraint, and she cares so deeply for everyone around her. She’s an advocate for everyone, and is probably the only truly mature and stable character we see. She is the sun peeking through the thick, dense black clouds of this bizarre tale. Without Lexi, I think this story would have really suffered. She pushes this tale forward and gives it a mission and completion. I think her purpose was to be a supporting role, but she completely steals the show.

“I know he’s trying to be kind, but when he tells me not to feel guilty, he’s really telling me to forget my own heart and bury it along with my friend.”

“Only shadows are tender enough that I can bear their touch against my skin, against my raw and throbbing heart.”

Though a story with great themes and countless beautiful messages, the heavy “acid trip” feel made it hard for me to get through this. I understand the author is trying to paint a twisted and dark picture for the reader, but I just kept feeling lost in it and my eyes would glaze over. Trust me, I love the gritty and f**ked up tales, but this one was just not hitting the mark for me.

For those of you who are unsure if this is a book for you – this is not heavy on the fae, it’s a story about teens who are put into a fae realm. This is a dark fantasy. No, not Holly Black dark. It’s DARK. It’s the kind of dark that makes bile crawl up your throat if you’re not into horror and grotesque stories. To get through this, you’re going to have to keep an open mind and just let it take you where it wants. Though I’m still on the fence with my final opinion of it, I appreciate it for what it is.

It’s different, and I like different.

I’m putting this on my list of books to revisit again in a year or two.

I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis held so much promise, but the book failed to deliver as much as I hoped for from it. I enjoyed it well enough, but with a few tweaks it could have been an even more enjoyable read.

It pains me to say this but I couldn't connect with the story here. I tried so hard but I ultimately realized that this story just wasn't for me.

It’s with a heavy heart I’m finally loading up my review for this one.
It’s been literally years since I’d requested,
I typically keep my notes/partial reviews/ full reviews in a little reader notebook specifically for reviews or notes in my phone.
This is one I had pretty thoroughly attempted what looks to be 4 times…
I’m going to throw in the towel so I can get this one off the dash. I typically do NOT like to dnf if reviewing. However special occasions call for special measures.
The writing style wasn’t meshing with me, the characters grin and gloom was overly done, and the plot had holes like Swiss cheese (going off my notes as I do not want to reattempt).
Not marking as read/dnf or publishing to goodreads.
I do hope if there is an audience for this? That they clearly enjoyed it better than I.
Apologizing for taking so long to post this and keep updated.

I wasn’t able to finish this book. Because of this, it is my policy not to review the book on my site or on Goodreads/Amazon. I also didn’t mark it DNF.

Unfortunately, this one wasn't for me. The writing was okay, but I never did connect with the characters. I ended up attempting this in audio format after the book released and it still didn't really work for me.

Nope, this so did not do it for me. It was like one of my terrible nightmares translated onto paper. I had such high hopes for this too.

DNF at 25%. It's been over three years since I received this ARC. I gave it a go and have decided it is not for me. It interested me then and no longer does now.

The world of the fey has never been more tempting, or dangerous, as two foster siblings try to stay together.

ARC copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Based on the synopsis I thought I would enjoy reading this book. Never-Contented Things is dark contemporary fantasy title. I think this would be better for older teens.

I had difficult time with this title. The story doesn't have flow to it and make it very hard to follow or find it engaging. Unfortunately, I did not finish this title.

I loved the way this was written but I was also confused in some places. The main characters who grew up as foster siblings were interesting to read about and the issues they faced was handled well.

This book was a weird mind trip, reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. Fae are extremely dark in throughout this book. I appreciate the chance to read this before public release but an sad to say I did not enjoy it- I'm really sorry. I am not everyone though I am sure there is a fanbase for this novel. Thank you.

This is a gloomy, unsettling read. It's not horror, but it's on the verge of being so. Despite the fact that it is written in a YA/Teen voice, the sex scenes and gore make it only suitable for readers aged 15 and up. Sarah Porter introduces us to the world of the Fae, which is anything but happy and delightful (despite the title referring to fairies). It's simple to get food, clothes, and other necessities when you don't need to worry about money. It's much more difficult to deal with the absence of real people, frightfully cute fairies, miniature versions of yourself, and shattered infrastructure.

This concept isn't brand new. Fairy tales have long included fae realms and the ability of the fae to capture humans. What makes this story special is what motivates our characters to behave in the way they do. Our two main foster kids' relationship is one of those unique pieces. The back story on their origins and how they arrived at the foster home where they met would have helped to understand their co-dependent relationship. There was also a lack of attention paid to the foster parents, who undoubtedly have an impact on the teens by setting rules and providing guidance. It would have been great to see more character development for all of our characters prior to the appearance of the fairies. Probably my favorite part is the nod to classic fairy tales by calling the villain 'Unseelie.' This is a term used to describe the Fae court's lower or underground level. It was just right, and it gave us a hint as to just how far these irrational fairies would go.

I was so excited to finally read this book, but I had to DNF it. I don’t care about these characters, especially Josh. I haven’t even met any faeries yet, but I can’t find it in me to continue.

I love a good fae novel, especially when it has such a gorgeous cover. This book just wasn't hitting the mark for me, sadly. I did enjoy some aspects of the story but others just felt dull.

This book is disturbingly twisted. I was tempted to DNF it multiple times, but I was also incredibly fascinated by the story.

Rather, the reason I wanted to DNF it at times is because of the way it made me feel. Parts of this book are downright messed up, and I would argue this book is only appropriate for older YA audiences, if it’s going to be marketed toward that age group at all.

I tried liking this book, I really did. Especially since I absolutely adored the writing style. If I were to go by writing style alone, I would 10-star this book. Unfortunately I just couldn't connect with any of the characters. And then there's some incest mention and I just couldn't... that is not something I want to read about , so I ended up DNFing.

This book is disturbingly twisted. I was tempted to DNF it multiple time, but I was also incredibly fascinated by the story.

Rather, the reason I wanted to DNF it at times is because of the way it made me feel. Parts of this book are downright messed up, and I would argue this book is only appropriate for older YA audiences, if it’s going to be marketed toward that age group at all.

First of all, I want to give a content warning for sexual assault, graphic violence, drug and alcohol use, suicide, non-consensual elements, and early on it’s clear the two foster siblings at the heart of this story are harboring romantic feelings for each other. I have a pretty open mind when it comes to taboo topics in books, and I’ll tell you, the relationship between Josh and Ksenia wasn’t even what made me feel uncomfortable in the first place.

If you saw mention of faeries in the summary and have noted that it’s been compared to The Cruel Prince, I want to preface that the elements of faerie are NOT the crux of this story. Take The Cruel Prince and make the faeries even fiercer, without remorse and only seeking entertainment and you *might* come close to characterizing the faerie elements of this story. Now, take two broken and lost teenagers, who aren’t sure how to survive without each other and put their lives under the thumb of those faeries. Much of this book takes place IN Faerie, though it is never referenced as such and takes some understanding of faerie folklore to realize that is what’s going on.

Furthermore, one of the main characters, Ksenia is vaguely referenced to as genderfluid multiple times, and I really loved her character. But, I felt as though she was continually treated more as thing and a plot device in this story than anything else, and certainly her identifying as non-binary felt as though it wasn’t meant for representation but so that the pieces of this story would fit together better (like I said, it’s only vaguely referenced, as though the author didn’t want to actually say it out loud). 🤔

The idea behind this story is fascinating, though I am disappointed that there weren’t enough consequences for the perpetrators. There is some utterly wrong, unforgivable things that happen in this book. There is one particular character whose obsession with another character takes them across some lines that should never be crossed and I feel as though they only received a slap on the wrist in the end.

This book is well written, with a solid plot, but I am not really sure who I would recommend it to. That’s compounded by this book’s tone putting me into a similarly uncomfortable and weird mood while reading it. I’ll just say this – if you give it a shot, keep an open mind and try to read through to the end if you can! It’s about 2.5 stars for me, but I am rounding it up because it is well written and interesting, if anything else.