Absolutely brillaiant. I am a sucker for any book with fairies in them, good or bad. 😏

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for an E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’m going to start off by saying this beautiful book is NOTHING like The cruel prince, as some are highly thinking it is but with that being said if you enjoy the faerie aspect and world building in TCP then you will enjoy This book!

We meet Ksenia, a foster kid that has never felt true love; one who has never thought she deserves a place in the world.
Joshua, Ksenias newly foster sibling who has a heart of gold and loved by everyone he meets. The bond they have with one another is so tremendously huge that some people in there lives don’t know how to accept it.

One day, when their lives are struggling to get them apart, Josh takes it upon himself to fix it so they can be together forever. One event causes such a domino affect that Ksenia isn’t to sure what to think or feel anymore. Josh makes a deal with a faerie in exchange for him and Ksenia to stay together forever, away from anyone would doesn’t agree with what they feel.

Lexi, Lexi is such a beautiful character; one that has had a generous life but also one that knows you have to earn what you have. After some events, Lexi and Ksenia become closer then ever and I LOVE IT. My heart is so deeply happy with how this novel ended.

Book Review: Never-Contented Things

Title: Never-Contented Things
Author: Sarah Porter
Pub. Date: March 19, 2019
Rating – DNF’d at 31%

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This isn’t going to be a long review, and it’s going to be spoiler free. I wanted to like this book. Truly I did, but I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t the right book for me. I struggled with the idea of not finishing this book and writing a review for it. I’ve never DNF’d a book that I’ve been approved for. But I want to be honest.

Based off the synopsis I was excited, dark faerie with maybe some intrigue and an escape plot – that’s what I took away from reading it. This book is vastly different from what I was led to believe and that’s partially on me. I should’ve read some reviews before requesting this title.

Based on what I’ve read, I don’t think Never-Contented Things is a bad book. The writing is quite good, flowery and the use of color is heavy. The pacing is a little fast, and the format of how the story is told – to me – feels like reading through a haze.
It’s kind of hard to explain. I get that the author was trying to put us (the reader) in the mind of the main character Ksenia – she doesn’t fully understand what’s going on, so we (the reader) don’t either. Though, for me, it just made me frustrated that I had no idea what was going on with these characters.

My frustration is also due to the fact that I thought this book was going to be akin to The Cruel Prince with the court drama and intrigue and maybe some hate-to-love romance or infatuation, with a daring fantastical escape back to the human realm. I’m frustrated to say, it’s not.

As for the characters, I felt zero connection with any of them. I was also a little disturbed by John and Ksenia’s relationship that (I want to say “could be” deemed incestuous – depending on how you personally might define it, as they aren’t actually related) but it was awkward and controlling nonetheless. I would define it as borderline incestuous, but to be honest, I don’t spend a lot of time defining that word in my head, because it’s not something I would even entertain.

Ksenia is arguably the main character, she’s had a rough life, it hasn’t been easy, but she’s found companionship in her younger foster brother, John. Ksenia is quiet and can come across cold and unfeeling, but really, she’s terrified. So much of her life is out of her control, and John doesn’t help matters.

John is a dominant personality, with his own baggage, and (whether or not) he means well, he is constantly making choices for Ksenia. He pressures her into a lot of situations that she’s not comfortable with, but because they are so co-dependent on each other, she lets a lot of the instances slide. It actually bothers me how John talks, very dismissive and peppy. He’s in your face and in your business.

Then there’s Lexie. As I DNF’d this book, I only got to a small section of her story, so maybe her part is much more significant later on, but she’s a friend to both Ksenia and John. From what I read, she’s the “normal” (meaning she doesn’t have the same kind of histories as her friends – i.e. foster kids) one. I don’t feel comfortable talking about her more than that, as I didn’t read the book in full.

If you’re looking for a book about changing one’s mindset from dark to hopeful, coming to terms with one’s relationship and whether or not it’s healthy, then maybe you should check this one out. But don’t read this book expecting fairies. They’re there, but they only act as a catalyst to make bad situations worse.

I wish I had been more interested in this book and had been able to finish it. Maybe one day I will, but as for right now, I don’t want to spend time reading a book that isn’t holding my interest. It read as a heavy contemporary novel with some fairies thrown in, and I like my contemporary novels to be a little more on the light and fluffy side, as I use them as escapes. This just wasn’t the book for me, but I know some people will read it and enjoy it (well, that might not be the right phrase, but they’ll like it more than I do).

My advice to you, is that you read some other reviews – there are quite a few on Goodreads, from people who finished the whole book – who have more to say about the book and its contents.

A dark and unique labyrinthian YA novel that can’t be compared to anything else. Never Contented Things may not be like The Cruel Prince, but it does contain “substance,” like the importance of consent and helping others in need when you can.

So the two things I got out of this book:
- You can't help people who can't be help.
- Help people as much as you can. It's better to do something than nothing.

This is me as an adult trying to make sense of the oddness and creepiness this book offers.

Sarah Porter took a unique spin on the “changeling” story in her own fashion by describing little versions of some characters and how they seemingly come out of nowhere and everywhere all at once. The more I read this book, The weirder it gets. The author did an amazing job in describing the “otherworldliness” of the faeries and comparing it to the real characters in their world. Hence, Never-Contented Things was a compelling read despite leaving me unsettled.

Sometimes I felt as though the faeries can be metaphorical. Something negative that can lure people in and can be difficult to get rid off. Something dark that challenges character’s psyche. “Was it real or was it all in their head?” kind of situation and how will the character overcome it? Anyway, I digress and I’m probably thinking “too deep.”

Additionally, the author didn’t shy away from the descriptions of the faeries. There had been an abundance of descriptive language, from the peacock leather a character was wearing to another faerie with three pairs of cheekbones. They were all horrible and grotesque. Needless to say, there were some descriptions and events that happened in the novel that made me uncomfortable.

Then there’s the unusual relationship between our two main characters, Josh and Ksenia. It had been a codependent relationship but the author handled the topic well. It actually made me think, “will the author go for the forgiveness route or will the character ever redeem themself?” I guess the reader has to find out by reading this book.

I think my favorite character is Lexi and I would’ve loved this book more if I were only reading from her POV. However, I do understand that it was necessary for the author to include multiple POVs. I didn’t like Lexi because she was the heroine in this novel, I liked her because she was imperfect. And once I got to her POV, I was able to understand her character more and her role in the story.

Also, I liked how this book had LQBTQIA+ representation and it just felt organic. It was as if it were a part of the characters themselves and it wasn’t so surprising. The development of a certain character in this book didn’t feel “forced.” I’m actually hoping for the author to write “realistic” contemporary books with more of these characters (without any fantasy/paranormal element) just because I think the author can do a phenomenal job at it.

Although this book was on the slow side, I actually appreciated this book in its own way. Like Sarah Porter’s previous novels, this book isn’t going to be for everybody. It’s definitely going to be polarizing: You’ll either like or dislike it. I do think it’s going to be difficult to describe this book without giving too much away. The summary (or blurb) of this book can be misleading because there really is more to the story than what was presented/marketed to the readers. This isn’t about beautiful faeries, faerie court intrigue, and magic, that’s for sure! I’m not sure how the general public is going to feel about this one, but this book is definitely for those who wants to read something creepy, sinister, and strange.


***This book review will be posted in my book blog (http://bookscoffeeandrepeat.wordpress.com) on March 14, 2019.

<blockquote><b><i>"But what would we be, my darling Ksenia, if we could not spin love into webs far stronger than spider silk?"</i></b></blockquote>

<i>Never-Contented Things</i> is a dark tale about different kinds of love, infatuation, and the lengths a person would go to realize their obsession. And it's told from three different perspectives, all queer:

➽ <b><u> Ksenia Adderley,</u></b> who is just days away from turning 18 and being turned out of her foster home that's she been living in for the last 6 years.
➽ <b><u>Josh,</u></b> age 16. He had lost so much that he was "a little compulsive about pulling people in."
➽ <b><u> Lexi</u></b> is Josh's best friend and blames herself when things start to go wrong.

The synopsis of this story honestly makes it sound like it's similar to <i>The Cruel Prince</i>, and I really think that does the book a disservice and leaves people disappointed when they come expecting one thing but get another. However, for those who do like darker tales, I think they would really enjoy this one. It makes you wonder what price you'd sell your soul for. What lengths would you go to so that you could be with the one you loved? Combine that with the author's lyrical writing, and you really do have a good story.

<blockquote><b><i>"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."</i></b></blockquote>

But I will say that it is a story that involves a relationship between two foster siblings. It's not shown as something healthy, but the infatuation is still there: "You are not anything that ever existed before you, because when you were born it created a totally new phenomenon. The past snapped off and fell away in crumbs. I knew it the first time I saw you, like you were a fundamental shift in what was even possible, and with you I'd be able to walk straight up the walls, and my footprints would scorch the paint."

A lot of messed up things happen throughout the book, but it is also healing in its own way.

<blockquote><b><i>"If you let yourself feel how empty the sky is, you know you're always falling into an enormous hole. An oubliette, I think is the right word: a place for things meant to be forgotten. Even starlight forgets the brutal fusion it came from by the time it reaches the Earth, because the sky is just that fathomless."</i></b></blockquote>

Overall, if you're looking for a book about unhealthy relationships and learning how to forgive someone who wronged you, then pick up this book when it comes out in March!

<i>All quotes have been taken from an advanced copy of this book and are subject to change upon publication. Thank you to the publisher for providing me a copy of this to review via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

https://lynns-books.com/2019/02/25/never-contented-things-by-sarah-porter/
3.5 of 5 stars
Never Contented Things is an unusual book to review in that it is something of a deceptive read. I think from the beautiful eye catching cover and synopsis I was expecting this to be a book of fae courtly intrigue. Something deliciously dark and packed with forbidden fruit. Don’t get me wrong, this is dark, on many levels, but in fact this is more like a coming of age story, a tale of redemption even. It’s a combination of emotional complexity and disturbing reality wrapped up in fae deception and cruelty and the whole thing is itself a metaphor for a young girl coming to terms with who she really is.

This book was nothing at all like I expected. The mesmerising fae play more of a supporting role, they ooze deceit and create horror but their role here is not to provide characters to fall in love with and they remain for the most part on the periphery. The main characters are difficult to read about. They share a somewhat toxic and unhealthy relationship and it genuinely makes reading parts of the story uncomfortable and I definitely experienced a moment or two of thinking I would have to put the book down. I’m glad that I didn’t. This isn’t a fun book or one that makes it easy to wax lyrical about but I think it is a story that will definitely resonate with some readers and it’s also a story with a hopeful message at its core.

So, let’s firstly address what makes this book uncomfortable in parts. Ksenia and Josh are a pair of foster children who have become so emotionally dependent on each other that their relationship has developed in a way that is difficult to read about. Josh, the younger of the two, believes himself in love with Ksenia and Ksenia, although she tries to keep him at arms length, is willing to forgive Josh for anything and to take the blame for any of his faults. To be clear, the two are not blood relatives but there’s still an uncomfortable incestuous feel to their love, more from Josh who also has a manipulative and pushy feel to the way he boxes Ksenia in, pushing his feelings on her when they’re not exactly welcome and she doesn’t know how to rebuff him without losing his love.

Both of them have done the rounds of care before finding themselves together in a family situation. Josh has a more affable nature, he naturally wins hearts and friends. Ksenia is more a closed book. She keeps people out and given her past experiences it’s easy to see why. Josh is the only one who has slipped through her armour and she finds herself in the unfamiliar territory of wanting to protect him. Unfortunately, the foster parents haven’t really taken to Ksenia, they think she’s a bad influence and although they’re going through the adoption of Josh, Ksenia is about to be sent to college – as far away from Josh as possible and this is in fact the catalyst for the whole story. The two are desperate about their future and afraid to be separated and this desperation allows something dark into their lives.

I would say that for the first 20%, maybe even more, of this book I was tempted to stop reading. I found the strangeness that circulates these two characters off putting and I wasn’t really enjoying myself tbh, the writing was very good though and it persuaded me that I needed to find out more. Josh and eventually Ksenia disappear from the ‘real’ world and inhabit a strangely parallel version where it feels like Josh is really losing himself and Ksenia has become numb to the situation, she’s like a puppet just going through the motions. Everything they do in fact is a spectacle for the fae, their life has become a showbox, Trueman-style, to entertain the Prince and his courtiers and of course the fae are never content, they want to draw others into their macabre world.

Now we flip back to the ‘real’ town and the people left behind in the wake of Josh and Ksenia’s tragic disappearance. We make the acquaintance of Lexi and she’s something of a blast of fresh air. She was Josh’s best friend and was always trying to crack Ksenia’s tough-nut exterior to be allowed in to her heart. She never quite succeeded but she also never gave up. Her tenacity eventually leads her to uncover some difficult truths, she finds herself, her family and friends in danger and she responds with strength and intelligence.

On the one side this is a story of changelings and abductions. Of enchantment and strange worlds. Scratch a little deeper and this is more a story of two young people coming to terms with who they are, forgiving themselves and each other for past mistakes and realising that they need to move forward, maybe in ways that they don’t want to accept but ultimately must do so in order to grow up and find a way to stop hurting others.

What I liked about this is the emotional impact, strength of writing and character arc of the main character Ksenia. I think that her story will really resonate with some readers but I think it’s important that people have a real understanding of the nature of this book before picking it up. This is not a fae romance. It doesn’t have fae that you will fall in love with in fact they’re all wickedly cruel and really quite hateful and they’re the perfect embodiment of powerful creatures playing with the lives of humans for entertainment purposes. The fae lend the story it’s horror value showing the true nature of changelings and completely taking any romantic notions that we might hold of them as readers and completely blowing them out of the water.

In terms of criticisms. There is plenty of weirdness going on here. Oddness that I won’t really elaborate on because of spoilers but the sort of thing that could drive readers away. Personally I think this is incredibly creative, mixing elements of fae magic and splintered emotions into something fantastical. I can’t say that I liked Josh, although I think that’s deliberate on the part of the author, but this dislike made me frustrated, I wanted to slap Ksenia for not being more assertive and I wanted to punch him to wake him up! I’m not aggressive, truly I’m not – this book just brought those emotions out in me. I would also say that the description for this book is a bit misleading. In fairness I think I would struggle to come up with a fitting synopsis but I do think the one provided will lead readers down the wrong path a little. I think you could read this on one level, as a strange tale of the fae, doing what they do best, but on another it’s a story of a young girl with a tough past allowing herself to feel love, for herself and for others.

Ultimately this is not the sort of book that you’re probably going to say you loved. It’s not a gushy-romantic-feel good type of read but, mixed in with all the darkness is a story of redemption. I thought it was a good read and in spite of my initial misgivings I have to say I”m glad I read it. I would certainly read more books by this author on the strength of her writing here.

I would also mention TWs in terms of abuse, mentioned rape, abduction.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publishers, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I would definitely recommend for anyone that's into darker faerie realm stories.

I am not to sure about this book, but I was a bit dissapointed that we didn't get more information about the Fae. Other than that it was pretty good.

I received an ARC of this book for an honest review.

DNF at 50%

This just isn't my cup of tea. I tried to get over the problems I had with the book but ultimately, it was just too much for me to want to continue reading.

First off, I just couldn't read about the relationship between Ksneia and Josh. It was codependent, sure, but also...disturbing and incest-y. I get that they're foster siblings and that's sort of a The Fosters kind of vibe, but it just wasn't something that I, personally, could keep reading. The relationship was just really odd and I know it's not supposed to be a healthy relationship and whatnot, but regardless, I just couldn't do it.

The story, too, just wasn't something I was into. I found myself yawning and not at all curious as to what was going to happen next. In fact, I kept waiting for something to happen and nothing really did, and so I ended up not really caring about what was going to happen.

Between the characters and the plot, it wasn't a book I found myself that interested in

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39863312-never-contented-things

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge Tor Teen for an eARC of this book. It did not affect my opinions of this book, which are completely my own.

I unfortunately had to DNF this book at the 50% mark. I honestly was thinking that this would be a book reminiscent of Holly Black's The Cruel Prince, but what I got was something far more sinister and not for me. The plot did not capture my attention, and I was incredibly uncomfortable with Josh and Ksenia's relationship.

I feel like I was sold on a story about the Seelie or Unseelie Court, but this story barely mentions the fae.

2.5☆
ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for a review. All of my opinions are my own, and are in no way affected by the exchange.

Let me start by saying that I am a sucker for reading about taboo relationships. One of my favorite books of all time is All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Brynn Greenwood which features a romantic relationship between a grown man and a child. It was a very polarizing book but i loved it because it wasnt trying to push you into thinking this is right, it just sort of showed you a well rounded picture. When I read the synopsis for this book and i saw the bit about the undying love for each other, I knew I was going to be getting some psuedo-incest. The two main characters are not blood related but because they refer to each other are brother and sister, I knew it was going to be a polarizing book.

I actually liked the relationship aspect between Josh and Ksenia for the first like 100ish pages but then I couldn't fucking STAND Josh anymore. Initially, he was an outgoing and flamboyant good kid who was hopelessly and unhealthily in love with his foster sister Ksenia. Josh was kind and thoughtful and a pretty decent guy. He ends up doing things that RIP his goodness away from him and turns him into an obsessive, controlling abusive douchebag. (It was kind of around the 120 page mark.) Josh makes choices for Ksenia without discussing them with her and it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. He makes some very bad decisions and while he was not totally in control, he still did things that were unforgivable.

Ksenia, on the other hand, was absolutely wonderful. She is very androgynous and on page is at least bisexual which was neat. I would even go so far to say that she lands somewhere on the ace spectrum. She was a very complex character who is fiercely loyal, to a fault. She continued to coddle and protect Josh WAYYYYYYYYYYY more than she should have. She had some agency issues as well. She would do things for others but never for herself but this was addressed several times throughout the story and there was some real growth between who she was at the start and end of the book.

Lexi was by far my favorite character in this story. She was a Woke Queen and was always well put together and articulate. She stood up for what she believed in and was as extremely good friend to both Josh and Ksenia. She was the main force driving the personal growth in Ksenia however which was a little bit of a bummer but was understandable. Ksenia would not do things for herself but Lexi was there to try to push her to change and think outside of the unhealthy relationship she had with Josh.

My biggest issues with this book was the lack of consent and the marketing. Its listed as a Fae book and technically it is but that term is never used to describe the creatures so theres that. This is definitely going to be a love it or hate it kind of book.

I received this arc in exchange of a honest review from netgalley.

Okay so this is so tough to review solely because I had to DNF this book, why you might ask?
This book is dark which the description and cover art you totally get that and I was really excited for a dark fae story. Now does this have dark faes...yes, but this book is heavy guys. Like kidnapping, sibling (foster so idk not techincally sibling) love interests and just was so hard for me to get into. I think in a different mind set I would really like this book and I'm hoping later on I can come back and reread and update my review. As it stands I'd just be hating the book if I forced myself to finish and that's not what the author wants I'm sure.

So do I recommend this book? Yes if you want a dark fae filled heavy life book otherwise I'd be wary

This is not a book about faeries. Yes, it contains some serious creepy and disturbing faeries, but they feel like more of an extended metaphor. So if you’re jonesing for another fae book after The Wicked King, this is not the book for you. Instead this is a book about being a messed up teen, doing all the wrong things and then finding a way out. I think that’s a really important message. You are supposed to screw up as a teenager, if you never break anything, then you nevber mend – and you become a maladjusted adult. That said, this is a difficult read in places featuring sexual assault, codependancy, incest (is it though? They’re not genetically related)and suicidal ideation. I think those who enjoyed K. Ancrum’s The Wicker King will enjoy this because it also features a cast of queer characters and explores power imbalances and unhealthy teen relationships. And more importantly, coming out on the other side. I was surprised how much I enjoyed this one. Manage your expectations re supernatural forces and dive in.

I wish I liked this book more than I did, but it was extremely hard to get in to and I had to force myself to keep reading even after the halfway mark. I felt that Josh was crudely developed and truthfully, he really just annoyed and frustrated me because of his lack of development in my opinion. In the end, the book did get better, which is why I am giving it 2 stars. Once I hit the 60% mark, it was easier to read and the plot became more interesting and more developed.

I have to begin by stating that Sarah Porter is one of the few writers whose stories will stay with me always. When I noticed that Never-Contented Things, one of my most anticipated 2019 releases, was on NetGalley, I had to request it. I heard about Never-Contented Things sometime last October, and I could not wait to read it. I rated it a 5/5.

A few things that I loved about the story:

The characters. Porter gives multiple POVs throughout the story and it was absolutely engaging. There was one character in particular, who I loved to hate, that I was surprised to get a POV from. And let me tell you, it was great! Each character was so complex and full of life. It felt as if each one of the characters, even the creepy ones, could walk right off the page.

The fairies. Although I mentioned the characters above, I feel like I need to touch base with the fairies in this story. To say the least…they are brutal. They are unlike any fairies that I have ever read about, and I LOVED THEM! Yes, they are creepy, and I felt like they were always lurking around, but they were just the sort of fairies that I have been looking for in a book. YES!

The atmosphere. This is something that I love about Porter’s stories. She creates atmospheres where I’m left in some sort of dream-land/ nightmare and I cannot get enough of it. In this particular story, I was surprised where I was taken. It was beautiful and haunting all at once. I’m not going to lie, reading this story at night left me unsettled.

The ending. The ending was completely unpredictable to me. There are a few things that happen that left me heart-hurt and teary-eyed. Although things went down the way they did, there is a particular character who I ended up feeling sad for. Apart from that, I was happy for a couple of the other characters, but again, underneath it all, things are unsettling.

There is so much that I loved about Never-Contended Things that I would be able to write a story about the story. All in all, Porter wrote another incredible story that is already one of my favorites.

I want a huge fan of this book. The writing was choppy and didn't flow well. If I had paid money for this, I would have asked for a refund. It honestly bored me to tears.

Review can be found on *Milky Way of Books*

So...this was one of the hardest books I have read so far in 2019. At first, I couldn't understand what was happening but quickly everything went down in an epic fashion that left me reeling from fear and also checking under my bed if there is anything staring back at me.

Ksenia (which is a Greek name by the way) and Josh are two orphans fostered in a group home. They love each other with Josh loving his Kezzer more, despite the curious glances, the bullying, and the shit people give them. And when the mysterious Prince and his entourage appear?

Let's just say that everyone gets weirder and weirder.

Parallel worlds, changelings and a murderous Fae that makes Cardan looks like a sweet little kitten. There are POVs which are separated in parts and the emotional turmoil everyone has in here will make you cringe but also roots for them.

And yet despite the eye in the hat, the house and Josh's wrong choices the story is one huge symbolism about finding the power to move on even after tragedy hits. How to learn to lean on your friends and the family you didn't know how easily you could lose.

Sarah Porter's writing is gritty, terrifying and absolutely captures the scope of being human in a monstrous world.

I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
The first thing that attracted me to this book was the cover and the synopsis.
The book was interesting and intriguing and kept my attention. There were some parts of the book that I didn't care for and had a hard time reading, but overall is was a good book.

I received a copy through NetGalley for review.

Honestly I don't really know where to start with this book.
Its more Alice fell down the rabbit hole into wonderland, than the typical courtly faeries most of us want to read.
Josh and Ksenia and foster siblings (not bio related) who have an unhealthy , borderline obsessive relationship with each other. They're the only ones holding each-other up.
Consumed by the looming threat of being torn apart, Joshua makes an unwitting bargain with the fae so he and "Kezzer"(his annoying childish nickname for his sister) can stay together forever. His love for her is selfish and all consuming, and he drags them into faerie without telling her, essentially so they can play house alone for the rest of time. Except to do so he loses his humanity and love, empathy.

I'm surprised no one else has brought up the fact that Ksenia and Josh essentially have an abusive, controlling relationship. It's completely unhealthy. Josh is shellfish, manipulative. Believing that he's the only one who can understand Ksenia, the only one who can love her properly. He doesn't listen to her wishes to not be intimate together, he isolates her in faery with only himself, and hurts her emotionally if she doesn't play along, he never once givers her a choice.
While Prince and the other fae, screw with his mind and emotions causing him to believe he she desires another. Causing him to take it out on her.
Ksenia at this point is already been a previous victim of abuse by her mother and a survivor of repeated rapes at a former foster home.

Abuse is all she knows and the cycle even with Josh continues.
I'm about 80% finished and I don't think I can continue this, it does appear she gains some insight finally about her situation with Josh, and with herself, finally confronting the parts of herself she shut away. But then throws herself at the next person who shows her kindness. (I'm skimming through)

The writing style is interesting, a bit hard to get through.
Overall it's been a disappointing read, cringey and uncomfortable to get through, and feels not all the way quite thought out.
I loved Vassa in the Night. I was really hoping for more.

[This review will be posted on my blog, acquadimore.wordpress.com on March 8, 2019]

Never-Contented Things is a dark contemporary fantasy story about a codependent relationship between two foster siblings. It’s ugly, messy, disturbing and hard to read, and if you’re the kind of person who likes to read about teenagers doing the right thing, I really don’t recommend this book. The main characters in this story are in no way role models, and they aren’t meant to be. However, I think that stories about messed up teenagers finding a way out are very important.

This is a very uncomfortable read with a beautiful message. A story that says that no matter what you went through, there’s hope. You can heal. And maybe you will always be haunted by those memories, but you can get better.
I think we need this kind of stories too, because teens go through similar things – well, not the part were they’re trapped by creepy fairies, but you can see that as a metaphor – and this deserves to be recognized. And we need messed up stories from the point of view of marginalized characters (all main characters here are queer) as well. It may not be the most positive representation ever, but it can help. Not everyone sees themselves in stories about unproblematic people.

This book follows three characters:

Ksenia Adderley, arguably the main character. She’s currently living with her foster brother Josh and her foster parents, Mitch and Emma, who accuse her of having a bad influence on her brother. She’s white, presents as masculine and is described as “not a girl” in some parts of this book, which makes me think she is nonbinary/genderqueer, but she never says anything about it (or, at least, if she did I missed it). She is attracted to multiple genders but doesn’t label herself. She has been in multiple traumatic situations before, including sexual assault, and she’s perceived as cold by many because she’s very closed off. She says and thinks a lot of messed up things, but I understood her and she grew on me.
Joshua “Josh” Korensky, white, chubby, pansexual and gender-non-conforming. He’s perceived as the “good” sibling by his parents. While I understood his motivations and liked his character arc (and he is, after all, a victim too), it was very hard not to despise him.
Alexandra “Lexi” Holden, black, mostly into men but not only, grew up in a supportive family and is a good student. She’s Josh and Ksenia’s friend, she sees how the situation spirals out of control, and she has a major role in Ksenia’s recovery. I really liked her PoV.

The relationship Josh and Ksenia have is unhealthy, codependent and becomes abusive throughout the story. Ksenia is over-protective because she feels like Josh is the only one who understands her and loves her. She is really afraid to lose him, as she has lost many people before. She takes all the responsibility for every time he messes up, and she is seen as the one who has a bad influence on Josh, even if she’s actually the one who sees him as a brother. Josh, however, doesn’t really see Ksenia as a sister, disregards her consent because he believes he knows what she actually wants, and pressures her in romantic/sexual situations.
They’re doing all the wrong things to remain together, and it’s difficult to read.

But Never-Contented Things isn’t just about unhealthy relationships. The friendship between Ksenia and Lexi was healthier, and even the romance (f/f? f/genderqueer?) that develops from it seemed to be. I really liked Ksenia and Lexi together.
One could argue this is a story about a romance helping a person get out of an abusive relationship, but I don’t really agree. Ksenia isn’t saved by Lexi, or by Lexi’s love. Lexi helps her realize she has a problem, but the decision to confront the truth about herself and her relationship with Josh was, ultimately, Ksenia’s. Ksenia doesn’t just get out of a relationship, she gets out of the mindset that got her there, and that’s why I didn’t mind that this book ended with a romance.

I won’t lie, I didn’t enjoy reading most of this. While it does have its fun moments (…the scene about Prince on the burning chair made me laugh out loud), I almost DNFed it multiple times. It made me feel sick. I also highlighted entire pages of it, especially near the ending, because the character development was wonderful.

What I liked the most about Never-Contented Things was Ksenia’s character arc. It’s one of the most well-written arcs I’ve read in a while.
This is a story about denial and self-hate. Ksenia believes she can’t be loved or understood, and that’s why she gets too close to the only person she believes loves her; she also believes she is a bad person, that she doesn’t really deserve to be happy. That part in which she says that she struggles to appreciate the good things about herself, that she gets she should in the abstract but doesn’t really feel it? I understand this kind of double standard more than I’d like to.

You might have noticed that so far I’ve barely mentioned the fairies. That’s because this is not really a “fae book”, the fairies here are… kind of incidental. They make the situation worse, and they add a lot of creepiness – pool party with dying ghost horses? Door graveyards? Eyes growing on your hat? There’s a lot here – but they’re not the focus.
That doesn’t mean they weren’t awesomely disgusting. Especially Unselle. She’s the girl on the cover of this book, and everything she says and does is very creepy and wrong on so many levels. I loved reading about her.

So to start with I was ridiculously confused as to what was happening. It seemed like Porter had jumped in mid-narrative and I couldn't quite wrap my head around the unfolding events. Following a disappearance, a reappearance, an accusation of murder, some sprites building a second storey on a single level house and a change of POV, things finally got back on track.

While Prince would seem from the blurb to be the main baddie in everything, I instead feel the title of 'villain' should really go to Unselle, the beautiful abomination with the bitey cloak and immaculate bone structure. She is badarse while manipulating all the people around her because as is the standard, the Fae can't directly harm a human.

There's the usual trick of changelings (but these ones have a twist) and food that makes you stuck but had I purchased this as a cover buy and not read the blurb, I may have been confused as I can't remember them the fact that they are Fae being mentioned anywhere within the novel itself.

While there is changing POV's throughout, they do not take on the usual form of alternating chapters. Instead there are large portions dedicated to the viewpoint of a single character then a change, followed by another large portion seen through the eyes of another narrator. At first I wondered why but after the second narrator was done, I understood that each was given their proper time to encourage the reader to connect.

Porter weaved her story in her usual way so as to incite both a 'oooh I love it reaction' simultaneously with a 'what just happened *frantically flips pages*' coming to a crescendo which was a little predictable but also plucked this readers heartstrings.