Before I say anything else, I feel there are a couple of points that readers should know about NEVER-CONTENTED THINGS:

1. Yes, there is a toxic pseudo-incestuous relationship between Ksenia and Josh. Yes, it is called out for being unhealthy
2. This is a surreal, horror-type story. It is not supposed to be swoony or 'beautiful' or anything you might expect from Holly Black. So yes. It's weird as hell.

The reason why I want to start by pointing this out, is these seem to be people's main reasons for DNF'ing or giving low ratings. Of course, it's far from everyone's cup of tea, but I think it's unfair to judge this book through false standards---the blurb really doesn't give much away.

To cut a long story short, the book follows three POVS (Ksenia, Josh, and Lexi) as they struggle against the cruel games of 'fairies' (though they're never referred to as fairies) after Josh bargains his way into their twisted magical world. And by 'magical world,' I mean a parallel version of their suburbs where everything is, to use the technical term, Very Fucked Up. There are heartless cadavers, blood-thirsty weasel brooches, sentient stairs, and the most vicious fairies I've ever come across. And the relationships were similarly messy, so fair warning, this book deals with all kinds of abuse (including rape). There's also wonderful diversity here, especially in regards to gender nonconformity.

My own issues with the book were mainly to do with confusion and erratic pacing, but it's difficult to address those specifically without spoiling. I appreciated the imagination and lyricism of the writing, especially the weird way the fairies spoke. So my overall review is sort of ambivalent. But if you read this book, make sure you know what you're getting into---and if you love surrealism and nasty fairies and complex relationships, I'd encourage you to give it a go.

I really wanted to like this idea. I've loved fairy type books ever since Melissa Marr and Holly Black entered my world. I knew this wouldn't be the Cruel Prince and that there are other fairy type stories out there, unfortunately the timing of this one in the midst of the success of Holly Black's newest series, I think does it a disservice.

Separating it from the expectations was hard for me. It's just not on the same level as some of the better fairy books I've read and it just didn't have anything that made it click as something special. The characters didn't draw me in. They didn't make me care and mostly I just wanted to get through it.

I hate to say that about any book, but this one was just not for me and if someone asked me for a recommendation I can think of better fairy-type books for them than this one.

Never-Contented Things left me wanting something more. While the writing and descriptions were detailed and interesting the book felt slow for the first half and I was having a hard time connecting with Ksenia. She has had a tough life and it’s left some major scars that she’s trying to cope with the best she can. Ksenia and her adoptive brother, Josh, have a dysfunctional relationship from the start which leads them into this disturbing fairy world.

Throughout the book I kept wanting to learn more about the fairies and their goals but they turned out not to be as much of a focus of the story as the relationship between Ksenia, Josh and their friend Lexi. It was a bit disappointing because beyond those three characters everyone else felt like a part of the background and almost unnecessary.

I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately found myself struggling to get pulled into the world and connecting with the characters.

I just can't seem to get into this book. I really enjoyed Vassa in the Night, but this one is just not connecting with me at all.

Having just finished the copy I received to review from Netgalley, I can say that this book definitely scratched fairy-themed itches and left me a bit dazzled myself by the subtle depth of the story.

I loved the characters, the switching perspectives (in larger chunks of story, not per chapter, which I liked) really made me feel wrapped up in their narratives and voices. I loved that Ksenia was so complex and real - I loved the... well... chaos and mess that was her path through basically any relationship. Focusing on two foster kids added a much-needed grittiness to this genre that's been overrun by 'hot fae kings with brooding brows and messy, sexy hair'.

I'm not sure this book fits easily into a 'fantasy' novel description. It felt a little more like a gothic horror that cast a band of fae as their monsters (and rightfully so!) That's sort of the thing that's stuck with me after the book - how deliciously horrible and thorny these fae were. How inhuman and discordant they were written. With how realistic and refreshingly accurate I felt the human characters were, seeing this darker, messy, brittle sort of fae made them seem realistic too! Like other books were the Disneyfied version of faerie but this is how it'd truly 'go down' should they catch one of us.

All of this said, the book sort of had this strange ramble to it. I never felt like it'd be a DNF sort of story, but I found it sort of swirling and almost fixating a bit on moments that left me a little impatient. It lulled a little around the middle, as many books can do. I did feel like things picked up quickly at the end but were satisfyingly finished (in a not-too-perfect way, as the story requires). A lot of the action is interspersed with moments of deep reflection and memories, which can occasionally stall things out, but honestly, I'm not sure I'd change that. Introspection and dealing with internal demons sort of fueled the resolution of the book.

Overall, this was refreshing and haunting all at once. I loved this new, back-to-the-old-stories sort of book. The mix of modern situations and lifestyles with the darkest of old-school fairy mythology really worked well.

I went into this book with high expectations. I was expecting something along the lines Cruel Prince by Holly Black, what I got was something more like Coraline. I was expecting much more representation of the fae, but the book was more focused on the main characters Ksenia, Josh, and Lexi.

I felt very uncomfortable while reading this book, in many scenes and through a multitude of plot-points, my skin crawled and I just had a deep set feeling of wrongness in my gut. I am in no way saying that this is a bad book. It was just not for me. It was much darker, disturbing, and unsettling than I ever would have thought. However, there are some people that like that feeling- there is a reason why we as humans are so interested in the macabe- just look at the popularity of dark horror films. The author did a wonderful job of creating that feeling of unease. I have never been so affected by a book in that way. It is not an easy job to give a reader that feeling, it can often end up feeling cheesy. If I can commend Porter for anything in this book, it’s the emotions she made me feel. I may not have enjoyed those emotions but I cannot deny the talent it takes to bring them out. All of that being said, I did have a hard time finishing this book because of how uncomfortable I felt while reading it.

Something I did like, however, was the representation of queer characters. Ksenia uses she/her pronouns, yet dressed androgynously and was attracted to both men and women. Josh has a more alternative style, uses he/him pronouns, and identifies as pansexual. Lexi, probably the most heteronormative of the main characters, finds herself attracted to both men and women by the end of the book. The characters were represented well, and the facets of their personalities were well-explained and eye-opening. I enjoyed a fresh perspective, and was refreshed by something other than a heterosexual relationship between the typical guy with dark hair and bright eyes and curvy blonde girl.

I really did not enjoy the relationship between Josh and Ksenia. Whenever anything romantic happened between the two I would feel my stomach turn. I’m not sure if it was the foster-sibling incesty feel, slight age gap, or extremely codependent relationship. Either way, I think there was just some sort of unbalanced power dynamic that made me extremely uncomfortable. More than just the logistics of their relationship, I felt like Josh was extremely manipulative, using their codependency and Ksenia’s need to protect him to manipulate her into a relationship and absurd situations. However, I do think that this may have been intentional on the author’s part. Because we as readers saw how bad Josh and Ksenia’s relationship was we were able to see what a healthy relationship looks like with Lexi and Ksenia. I felt that this juxtaposition was extremely intelligent on the author’s part.

The plot on this book felt extremely drawn out. Because of the main character’s unwillingness to communicate, I didn’t have any idea what was going on until I was about 1/3 of the way through the book. The initial idea of the book was brilliant, but I felt that overall, the plot was drawn out in an extremely unnecessary manner, mostly due to character flaws.

Trigger Warnings; Foster brother/sister incest, sexual assault, body horror, mentions of suicide, emotional abuse

Overall, I think this book appeals to an extremely niche genre of readers. It is dark and unsettling. This is the type of book that you will either love or hate.

I would recommend this to: Anyone who loves to feel their skin crawl and doesn’t mind dark or potentially triggering themes.

Unfortunately, I could not finish this book. I really tried, I was so excited for a new fae book. This really barely had fae and I've been told it never mentions the word once all the way through the book by a reliable source. My biggest issue is there a lot discussion on incest between two foster siblings that grew up together. One is in a more care-taking role and tells the younger one to wait a bit longer before they are intimate. It's just so uncomfortable and I'm sure the author meant for it to be that. It just made me super uncomfortable and I didn't feel like it was marketed how it actually read. It was marketed to the fae crowd that like Holly Black and I think that is very misleading. This is going to be a really polarizing book, you'll either love it or hate it. They'll be no middle ground on this one I'm sure.

I was ridiculously excited for this book, especially because I LOVED Vassa in the Night! Unfortunately for me, I could not even finish it. The plot was confusing and weird and the relationship between the two main characters made me uncomfortable. I tried to power through it in hopes it would get better, but life is short, man.

I really wanted to love this book but it just didn't work for me. The characters fell flat and the atmosphere just didn't work well. This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it just didn't do what I was hoping. The synopsis implies so much more than what the book delivered.

Never Contented Things is a take it or leave it novel. The dark and twisted take on fairies is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I loved the ride. The pacing was great and I found myself invested fully into the story and the characters.

How's that quote go from the movie Role Models? "I like the idea of it more than I actually like it." That dude was referring to soda, but I'm referring to this book.

There were certain things I enjoyed, including Ksenia's POV and her general character arc. I also appreciated the characters' diversity and how Porter covered trauma and the different ways it affects people. But I struggled with everything else.

Like in When I Cast Your Shadow, Porter delves into another weird brother-sister relationship (and by weird, I mean pretty gross), and it was like so much of the story was rehashing the codependency between Ksenia and Josh that not much else was developed. I felt nothing toward the fae-like creatures, who were supposed to be creepy and scary and strange, but they were just... strange. I think part of it was the way one of them spoke; it was like baby-esque gibberish that I couldn't take seriously.

I wanted to know how the story ended—out of curiosity rather than investment in the characters—so I skimmed quite a bit to find out. I think I just wanted a different tone for the whole book—more dread, more development into madness, and less quirkiness (which I never thought I'd say, but there it is). I do love Porter's imagination, and Vassa in the Night remains one of my favorite fantasy books, but this one was a miss for me.

This is one of those books that I don't know how to review. I can clearly see the writer's skill with prose and the characters are all achingly real. The story is immersive, but almost too much so -- difficult to read (though I couldn't put it down). Difficult to root for the flawed characters (though I wanted to see what they did next). I sped through it, grimacing the whole time.

It was far, far darker than I expected. It was also unlike anything I've read in a long time, and I give extra accolades to anything that surprises me. I'm rating it 5-stars for how well it was written, but my warning is to be prepared for a car crash you can't look away from.

No. Just couldn't finish this. I made it around 25% before I had to stop reading.

A few things lead to this decision.

First - I was completely bored. I get that you need some background and world building in the first bit, but that just dragged. You would see hints of fairies, but with a book based on fairies, I do wish they were more engaged in the first quarter of the book.

Second - The writing style was just the main character, Ksenia's, stream of thought... which was long, tedious, and rambling (and also goes with my first point). I just couldn't care how long it was taking her to figure things out, and her thoughts on her foster brother, Josh.

Third - The relationships in this book just seemed forced and cringe-worthy. Maybe near the end, it is better explained or a final decision about it is made... but, it just wasn't for me.

If anyone makes it past the %25 mark, maybe it gets better and the plot starts to move along. I do hope that is the case, I just can't make myself get past that point,

I can't write a review for this book, unfortunately. The relationship between the main character and her foster brother josh is incestuous and incredibly triggering to me, as a survivor of CSA. It made reading the book impossible and trying to sickening. Apologies.

Compared to the description and what we got I was completely disappointed and by 25% have given up. If you are planning on reading this because it is being geared towards fan of The Cruel Prince, I would suggest not too. NEVER-CONTENTED THINGS and THE CRUEL PRINCE are in two different realms content wise.Though I liked Porter's writing style that was all I could really say I did enjoy about this book. In what I read I was't expecting the strange and complex relationship that Josh and Ksenia have. For a book that is suppose to be about the fae from the 25% that I read there is no fae. None are even mentioned. Sadly this one wasn't for me.

I wasn’t aware of the hard topics that are in this book when I requested to read it. The synopsis didn’t let on that there would be these topics. I was expecting something similar to The Cruel Prince but this was MUCH darker.
After the first part, I decided that I can’t force myself to read any more of it.

3.5 “If you let yourself feel how empty the sky is, you know you’re always falling into an enormous hole.”

To start, if you are looking for a book like a certain cruel, wicked, and fae driven YA series (I was), this book will NOT make you happy. If you are looking to read something that has non-traditional main characters, dark fairies as an accessory, and a very dark magical Labyrinth (yes my age is showing) feel to it, then you will LOVE Never-Contented Things.

The relationships are unhealthy at best. There are betrayals, secrets, and lies. But at the heart of this story it’s kind of a question of forgiveness. Like how can we love someone who has wronged us? Can we forgive someone for wrongs they’ve done when they aren’t really themselves? Especially when it’s someone you can relate to so well. Someone who understands you on another level that no one else does.

“How can everything become nothing, just because someone did something wrong?”

Personally this story did not work for me. It may simply be because I had expectations from the synopsis that were in no way close to being met. I think this is a GOOD and unique story. One that hasn’t been told over and over in the YA world. I think being “fresh” works in Never-Contended Things favor. I grasp what the author was going for, and think that there is a very niche group of people who will LOVE this book. Sadly. I can’t sit at their table, because I didn’t love it.

I’m given this book a 3.5, and rounding up to 4 for goodreads because it is well written, unique, and takes you on a crazy dark (YA standard) ride. I don’t feel right rating it lower simply because it doesn’t appeal to me. That being said. I’d maybe edit the synopsis. In my opinion it is SERIOUSLY misleading to anyone who has read a certain other YA series.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Never-Contented Things by Sarah Porter is a YA Fantasy style novel set in modern times. Two foster siblings become involved in an odd group of what seem to be hippies in the forest and what ensues is a fight for soul survival.

I found this book a little too left of field for me. It was hard to engage with the characters and become involved in the story when I was constantly thinking what the? thats weird? I don't understand?

Some readers of Fantasy may enjoy this but I didn't really.

I think Sarah Porter has a very specific audience for her books. If you like sort-of incestuous romance and no particular plot to speak of, you will enjoy this book.

Reading this book was a big challenge for me. First of all, I deceived myself by believing Never-Contended Things would be similar to The Wicked King. But Never-Contended Things is a story under an absolutely different sauce. It's a tale of two foster kids Josh and Ksenia, who love each other more than anything, bordering on obsession. Faeries are just a side dish to Josh's and Ksenia's story.

Secondly, if you look deeper you'll see a story of codependents and almost-incest, though Josh and Ksenia are not blood-related, it still felt like their feelings for each other were too twisted for the average sibling relationship. Faeries were just an instrument to create a surrealistic atmosphere where everything is a turned upside down reminiscent version of our world, swirling around Josh's and Ksenia's feelings.

I was never a fan of surrealism or magic realism, so I was not able to grasp the concept of this story and to enjoy it fully. I was standing away like a passerby, observing the poisonous circle of lies, love, obsession and redemption, but I was not sympathizing with or feeling for Josh and Ksenia.

The language was lush and darkly alluring, the atmosphere electric with eeriness and magic. Sarah Porter masterly created a world full of magical and psychological references that blend together seamlessly. But in my opinion, it is a story for a narrow circle of readers who will be able to appreciate and understand the aforementioned references. Unfortunately or fortunately I am not that kind of reader.

Verdict: not my cup of tea!