4 stars

It's the nightmare in the corner of your eye when you're about to fall asleep. It's the daydream that starts out innocuous and turns sour before you realize your own train of thought. It's twisted, it's stunningly inventive in its nightmares, and the portrayal of its characters is unsettling for a purpose.Never-Contented Things is one of the darkest fantasies I've ever read--and it's not here to cater to any of your preconceptions.

Imagination: ★★★★★
Nightmare Quality: ★★★★★
Pacing: ★★★
Character Introductions:★

Sarah Porter has created a tale that is stunning in its breadth of darkness. Because of its deep dive into the unsettling, I think it's safe to say that Never-Contented Things is not for most readers. Take the charismatic, glittering world of Holly Black and remove all of the redeeming aspects of her faeries and their world--the beauty, the inherent hunt for good, and the semi-likable character traits--and you're a step closer to Porter's take.

Androgynous Ksenia is living a lackluster life with her foster brother, Josh, and their friend Lexi. Things seem normal, until Ksenia and Josh find themselves at an outdoor party and the guests are...odd. This is the arrival of the tale's brand of Fae--all cruel, and several steps away from the ethereal beauty that the genre is used to--and Josh and Ksenia soon finds themselves in an upside-down, everything-is-just-so-slightly-wrong world where the details are not like Wonderland, or Faerie, but rather a completely warped version of their mundane surroundings. It's incredibly hard to describe the concept, but suffice to say it is haunting and not at all like any other preexisting trope. I can't overemphasize enough how intensely unique Porter's vision is.

The reason Never-Contented Things stalled out at 4 stars was due to its frankly alarming character introductions for both Ksenia and Josh. They are foster siblings with hard backgrounds--which are not their fault--but due to their intensive closeness fostered out of past trauma there is the introduction of romantic feelings that have bubbled up out of their closeness. To young adults who have never experienced healthy, loving relationships, this is a confusing shade of gray. For the reader, it's incredibly hard to push through--especially at the beginning. Our entrance to the story is made doubly difficult as the plot is attempting to kick off this Fae-centered story line in a wholly unique world and, at the same time, confronts us with the nuanced and unsettling quasi-romantic feelings between two foster siblings who refer to themselves as siblings (brother, sister) while also juggling internal/external feelings of romance. It's convoluted and leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I almost considered DNF'ing it due to the unsettling relationship discussions.

BUT.

Never-Contented Things needs this convolution. Without divulging spoilers, I'll just say that by the end of the story I understood why the romantic confusion was included. I still think it was made weirder than it needed to be and probably lost quite a few readers before the plot became unputdownable, but the justification is there. It's just buried in the last sections of the plot.

Overall, I do think Never-Contented Things provides a unique slice of the Fae genre, and is extremely unique in its approach. I don't think I'll ever quite forget it...and it certainly will come to me the next time I'm in the dark.

I had really high hopes for this one, as Vassa in the Night was one of my favorite reads. But this one didn't suck me in as much as Vassa did. I just felt myself not really caring about our characters, which is sad, as they seemed intriguing on the surface (both vaguely androgynous). Plus the vaguely incest-y feelings between the two kinda raised my ick factor (I felt the same way with The Umbrella Academy, Luthor/Allison was my least favorite part). I hate that I didn't love this.

Never-Contented Things is probably Sarah Porter’s darkest book to date.

The novel follows two foster siblings: Josh and Ksenia. Their relationship is more complicated than just sibling affection. Having both come from broken homes and having spent time in the foster system they cling to each other as the only stable unchanging thing in their lives. Though the two of them believe they are in love, I would hesitate to call it that.

When Josh makes a deal with Prince and his gang, he and his foster sister are whisked away to faerie. Josh believes that he’s finally found a place where the two of them can be who they really are. The two of them can finally be together and no one will ever try to separate them. Or so he thinks.

Because Josh’s deal has a high cost. One that both he and Ksenia have to pay in more ways than they could ever think.

The center of this book is the relationship between the two siblings. You get both Josh and Ksenia as perspective characters in the story and that offers an insight into both of their mindsets. Josh and Ksenia bring out the best and worst of one another. Through their relationship Porter shows that sometimes it’s not the people who are toxic in the relationship, it’s the relationship itself. And for a book that deals with low-key incest it’s not toxic in the way you expect.

Out of the two of them, I loved and related to Ksenia the most. You learn pretty quickly that her past is a lot more complicated than Josh’s and she’s not handling it well. Over the course of the novel Ksenia has to learn to love herself and begin the process of truly healing. Unlike Ksenia, we don’t get to know Josh until after their encounter with the faeries and their influence on him has already taken hold. Porter still shows the decline of his personality as their world influences him and it’s very well done. I just wish we could have seen him before and not have to just go on Ksenia’s flawed perception of him.

I love Porter’s take on faerie. It’s completely original and unlike anything else I have ever come across. Porter breathes life into her other world by mashing up old school fairy tale rules with the american suburbs. There is still the nature horror that one comes to expect (think The Hazel Wood or Poison) but this time it takes place in an unnatural setting. The suburbs are an artificial place, completely controlled by those who inhabit them. The sense of dread Porter’s faerie-inspired suburbs evokes reminded me of films like Edward Scissorhands or The Stepford Wives.

Prince and his courtiers offer the siblings a perfect recreation of their hometown which they can run wild in. Except this new world is a ghost town which slowly begins to unnerve Ksenia. The setting works on multiple levels. By brings Ksenia here, Josh traps her in the one place she wants to escape, a world that reminds her of the place that would never accept her for who she is.

There are so many levels working in this book. Porter explores identity and how it’s effected by internalized trauma. That how we see ourselves can be conflict with the idealized version of ourselves that our loved ones have and that it can be heartbreaking. How relationships and love can define us, but how they can be used to control us. And how sometimes when you fix yourself you can put yourself back together wrong.

The further you get into this novel you start to see how Never-Contented connects to Porter’s two other stand alone novels. Never-Contented Things is full of complicated relationships, fractured personalities, the horror of the mundane and unfair magic systems. This is also the second novel of Porter’s that I have read that has dealt with a type of incest. It’s not technically incest in the traditional meaning of the word, but to quote a picture I saw online

"Anytime you have to say, it's not incest, technically, then that's not great"

But what I think makes me love this novel so much is that there are no easy answers. All of the characters have to make choices and either way there will be consequences. This adds to the tension of the book that had me uncomfortable but unable to put the book down.

If you’re a fan of Porter’s previous novels (especially When I Cast Your Shadow) then I suggest you give this one a try. Never-Contented Things is perfect for fans of The Hazel Wood or anyone who loves their fairy tales dark and twisted.

Never-Contented Things was supposed to be serving me cruel and deliciously evil fairy-goodness. How can you not interpret that given the cover and blurb that tells me it’s unrelentingly cruel?! Yet, what I actually got was a convoluted story about two incestuous foster siblings, in what read like a poorly plotted episode of Riverdale – severely scarce of faeries.

“My story won’t save anyone else. No one else will ever know it. Or if they do, that will mean it’s too late for them too.”

This book centres around three characters; foster siblings Ksenia and Josh, as well as their close friend Lexi. Despite Ksenia and Josh’s tough and traumatic childhoods, they have developed an undying love for one another that drives their every action.

With a naivety and innocence his older foster sister lacks, Josh is the favored amongst the two by his foster parents. It’s evident they will adopt him, but their lack of compassion towards Ksenia doesn’t go unnoticed by either of them. This gives both a passion to do whatever it takes to stay together. This passion is ultimately what motivates Josh to risk the freedom of his friends and Ksenia, and to make a deal with faeries.

Firstly, I never felt there was a definitive moment where we left the “introductory” phase of this novel. Although the book is denoted by ‘Parts’ 1 through 5. Probably because despite Josh’s abduction (the catalyst for this novel), his eccentric behavior and motivations following the incident is never explained. I would’ve liked the book to help me discover the mythology behind the faeries that were the cause of everything.

To add to this, the plot just continuously plateaus. The reader is on a road that leads to no strong reveals, with a novel that commits to too much, but never fully commits or sees anything through. Above I likened this book to an episode of Riverdale, because I felt as though there were a lot of aspects (particularly about the characters) crammed into this book and frankly it became annoying to read. It is ultimately really unsatisfying and was tedious to get through. It’s not shocking to see people DNFing it.

“The truth was deep nights, a lot more than one, when Mitch and Emma were fast asleep and Josh came crawling into my bed and nuzzled close and tried to get started with me. And I’d say, No, baby, it would be wrong. You’re younger. I’d feel like I was taking advantage of you.”

The characters in this book don’t make the reading experience more enjoyable unfortunately. This mostly has to do with the incestuous dynamic the author created between Josh and Ksenia. For me, this dynamic just made their story difficult to read. Particularly when they called each other ‘baby.’ I literally gagged every time. Josh continuously makes decisions based on what he believes Ksenia wants and it just drove me crazy. Perhaps this is trying to illustrate the unhealthy intensity of their relationship, but it just did not appeal to me.

“He kisses her fervently on the mouth, and I look away. Has she really stopped thinking of him as her brother? She used to be pretty clear about it.”

Lexi’s point of view is definitely more palatable than Josh and Ksenia’s. However, there’s still the issue of the really confusing world and mythology I was meant to navigate, that unfortunately I was not relieved from in her chapters. As well as the “unique” writing style, if I may put it like that. One example:

“It was late, as late as the end of the world…”

I also had trouble with the decision to split this book into five parts; whereby the POV changes between Josh, Ksenia and Lexi. I personally just didn’t like this decision and think perhaps consistently interchanging between POVs through would’ve given me some relief from more annoying characters.

I also felt the way in which the reader received information was really awkward, in that it was often second-hand. For example, hearing about Ksenia’s traumatic past is often from other characters revealing it. It never felt like the author was being really tactful about information that is supposedly important.

This evidently was not a book for me. Although it’s honestly nothing like I’ve ever read, it was too convoluted with a theatricality to it that hampered by enjoyment. Unfortunately this is my biggest disappointment of 2019 so far.

I was very excited when I got this book but unfortunately it was not my cup of tea and it failed to keep my attention.
I liked the dark and atmospheric setting, I found it hat a lot of potential but it somehow failed to deliver.
The dialogue and some situations seemed forced and unreal.
Many thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Netgalley for this ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all opinions are mine.

When I first saw the cover drop for this book on Twitter, it was hyped as 'the lipstick book.' Still to this day I want to know what lipstick the girl on the cover is wearing. Unfortunately, that is about my favorite part of Never-Contented Things.
So the book is about two foster siblings--Josh and Ksenia--and their friend Lexi. Now, Josh is the "good" child and sometimes Ksenia is put in the position of having put a bad influence on him. Afterall, she has an awful history. To make this long story short, there is much betrayal and secrets and lies between these three, but at the same time, ultimately they also relate to each other and connect with each other...sometimes a little too much. And so the plot of the story begins and we move on in our review...
On to the next (and very important) point: the faeries. What faeries? Well, they did exist. They offered their nasty, evil magic. "All magic comes at a price dearie." I was unimpressed. I guess my point is that--according to the synopsis--I expected less foster sibling (and third wheel) drama and thought there would be far more fae realm this, and legions of fairies that, etc. I guess will take the blame for casting such a strong expectation on the book, but honestly that's the vibe I got from the synopsis.
The biggest perk of this book from me, in all seriousness, was the writing. Long paragraphs, elegantly written sentences, it was just the content that fell through for me.

I really liked this book, but I’m not sure I can tell you why. It is a very dark and complex story and the ending was nothing like what I expected.

The story is split up into parts and each part is told from the perspective of one of the characters, Ksenia, Josh and Lexi. They have very complicated relationships to each other. Ksenia and Josh are foster siblings who have lived together since they were young. Josh has an unhealthy obsession with Ksenia, and this obsession is what drives the whole plot. He can’t bear that when she turns 18 she will have to leave their home, possibly the town they live in, and that it is possible that he will never see her again. This is what drives him to make the bargain with the Fairies. Ksenia loves Josh, but as a sister and although it pains her that they will be separated she can’t bring herself to let Josh down. Lexi is their friend who gets caught up in the whole situation, and who eventually saves them both.

I liked Ksenia, although she was hard to like. She doesn’t let many people in to her private life, and I can understand why. She had a hard childhood and her first forays into the foster care system did not go well. Her current home has been good if not exactly loving. She truly loves Josh, but not in the way he loves her. And even though she tells him this, she still gives him hope that when he is of age, he is 2 years younger, she would consider a relationship with him. She unwittingly feeds into his obsession with her.

Josh was harder to like, his obsession with Ksenia was creepy and so unhealthy. Plus he is the whole reason why they find themselves in the situation they are in. But by the end of the book, I at least felt sorry for him, and I wanted the best for him.

Lexi was my favorite character. She was certainly the strongest of the three. She did not put up with Josh’s obsession and called him on it more than once, about how unhealthy it was. She was also able to be objective about what was happening and was able to outwit the Fairies because of that.

The Fairies were unlike anything else I have run across. They were horribly cruel, but in such ways that it was sometimes painful to read. They took delight in pitting Josh and Ksenia against each other, and in destroying the town they lived in. The changelings were also different than other stories I read.

The plot was very original I thought. I don’t want to say to much because it is the best part of this story. It is very dark and disturbing at times, but it was also hard to put down. The world building and the writing were of course excellent.

I don’t think this book is for everyone. If you liked Vassa in the Night then definitely give this one a shot. If you like dark and disturbing then you might give this a try. But be prepared for an ending that will make you sad but will also leave you satisfied.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ya'll... YES!!! This was a 5 star for me! I was excited to find out I was approved for this via NetGalley. I have so many feels from this book! I was not let down. I highly recommend this book.

I love books about faeries so I was anticipating loving this book as well, which was why it was a shock when I didn’t. Not too much of a surprise though, I knew it wasn’t going to be the book for me by the first chapter. There are so many things that I think drag this book down, but I know that some of the things I hate most about this book will be the aspects other people love it for.

The characters are just not my cup of tea, at least Josh and Ksenia aren’t. They’re foster siblings, and Josh is madly in love with his foster sister. It’s played off as slightly taboo but never treated as gross as it felt to me. Both of the siblings are painfully quirky and different. They have tragic backstories ™ and that excuses how irritatingly clingy Josh is and what a bitch Ksenia can be.

Ksenia at least experiences some growth and change, Josh is never adequately punished for his behaviour, nor does he get any kind of real ending in the story. Lexi, their best friend, is tolerable, if a bit perfect. Xand is a caricature of a terrible boyfriend who only thinks about himself. Let’s not get into how Ksenia’s foster parents are human garbage as well.

I could handle bad characters but the world is just also…bad. The human world barely feels inhabited and faerie-land is confusing and uninteresting. There’s no hard magic system, weird stuff just happens. Anything could happen. There are no rules at all. The faeries barely get any characterisation. They’re meant to feel like monsters – and they do, but there’s nothing deeper there. They’re bad because it’s fun to be bad. They’re meant to seem clever but they can’t even manage to really trick a couple of teenagers so…

It’s just such a cynical book so devoid of any magic. Faeries don’t have to be beautiful and kind. You can do faeries who are tricky and chaotic and still have them be interesting to read about! It felt like the faeries were thrown into the weird incest romance plot as an afterthought so it could be sold as a faerie story instead of what it is. A weird story about two edgy/weird siblings being creepily obsessed with each other.

I think this is going to be an extremely hard sell for most readers. You have to push through the weird incest for quite a while before you get to the faeries and even then the scenes with them are few and far between. You never really learn anything about them, other than that they’re hot and dicks. Abusive behaviour is quickly forgiven because faerie enchantment and the incest plot is dismissed as tragic instead of the fucking creepy coping mechanism of two kids suffering from a lifetime of abuse.

This isn’t going to be for most people, and with the glut of faerie stories out right now you can certainly find one with a better crafted world and more interesting fae within a few minutes. Preferably one without incest undertones. Props for being diverse though I guess?

This book held so much promise but sadly failed to deliver. I appreciated the dark and twisty aspects to the fae - very Holly Black-esque. However, the fae aspect of the book didn’t live up to the hype of the book and there were so many forced moments. Maybe if I hadn’t read the synopsis, I’d have liked it more but alas, this book just wasn’t what I expected. The author does, however deliver some beautiful imagery and has a story that flows well.

I would provide my own synopsis, but considering others have already covered this, I will just provide insight. Being a lover of YA supernatural literature (especially fae related literature), I found this book to be lacking in many areas. I really wanted to like it because of my love of fae folklore/mythology, but unfortunately, these magical creatures take a backseat in this novel. This book focuses more on the relationship between foster-siblings Josh and Ksenia, and adds other points of view provided by friends.

Pros:
1. I love how dark the book is, and how the author describes the grotesqueness and brutality of the Fae.
2. The author writes beautifully and is very descriptive about scenarios and the thought process of her characters.

Cons:
1. The Fae take a backseat! I feel like the summary is not very honest about what the book is mainly about.
2. Dialogue by Josh seems forced and cheesy.
3. The author gets TOO into the thought process of these characters and I found myself wanting more action and less thinking!
4. Too many flashbacks and POV's from characters that we have zero connection to! I felt like I was sighing every time I knew the POV of someone new was about to begin because it was like re-reading the entire book all over again.

This book may not be for me, but it may certainly be for other people who prefer psychological thrillers, because, honestly, this is the type of book it is. It is not the typical Supernatural YA title and I would almost say that this book is geared more towards adults. I am not saying this because of the romance or LGBTQ stuff, but how the author FOCUSES on the psyche of the characters rather than the plot/action.

What do you all think?

I was really excited for this book, the cover is gorgeous and the description sounded great. Sadly it was not for me.
I would say the story is more about the slightly disturbing relationship between two teenage foster kids. One of whom takes things a bit too far, which is where the fairie involvement comes in.
Even then the “fairies” aren’t really that active in the story. Just kinda there to stir things up every once in a while.
I will say the writing was lovely and very descriptive which made it possible for me to finish the book.

*Arc provided from NetGalley in return for an honest review*
*TRIGGER WARNING- This book contains mentions of rape, suicidal thoughts, and kidnapping*

Ksenia and Josh are foster siblings that don’t fit in. Ksenia- cold, calculating,detached; and Josh- vibrant, unapologetic, and popular, have one major thing in common--their loyalty to each other. So when Josh disappears during a party full of people that don’t look fully human, Ksenia is determined to find him and bring him home. But when Josh reappears, Ksenia can’t help but feel that Josh isn’t the same, and hard as she tries to convince herself otherwise, they’ve become trapped in another world. Now Ksenia, with the help of their friend, Lexi, has to figure out how to save the whole town, before they are lost forever.

I have to be honest and say that I did not expect to enjoy this book. I love stories about the Fae, but I lean more towards Sarah J. Maas’s version, the sexy type. The Fae that Ksenia and Josh are dealing with are the pure, mythological type. They are cruel, horrible, grotesque, and they feed on grief and despair. This book was dark and twisted, and very very heavy in it’s content.

And I loved it.

If you are looking for a story of obsession, twisted love, PTSD, redemption, and lots of strong LGBTQ characters, then this is the book for you.

I loved the multiple perspectives, especially because the author would give us a snippet of a flashback from one character (enough for you to say, “Wait, WHAT?”), and then give us the full flashback from another character. I found that it provided a wonderful well-rounded view of the events and relationships that these characters were going through. Especially Lexi, I just adore her persistence and the way she stood up for herself against even the most terrifying of circumstances. Her ability to pinpoint Ksenia’s inner turmoil to find just the right thing to say was truly inspiring.

LOVE all the nods to fairy lore!!! True names, eating the food, changelings, the inability or refusal to lie, portals, the cruelty of the fae. Just wonderful.

I also loved that one of the most persistent themes was that of consent, and that each character had a different relationship with it. Ksenia struggled to understand that she needed to be asked for it, Josh struggled to request it, and Lexi made sure to demand it, in all things. My (I think only) major problem with this book is that the author didn’t follow through. We went the entire book with a persistent, recurring theme of the necessity of consent, and in the one moment when it mattered the most, it wasn’t given. That moment is the only reason that I am giving this book 4 stars instead of 5.

I found Never Contented Things difficult to put down, and any fans of Holly Black are sure to love this story.

*ARC received from NetGalley in return for an honest review*

This book was one that sadly disappointed me right from the start. With the lack of dialogue and the weird descriptions, everything felt a little off. There was no way for me to feel invested when everything was shown and not told. While the idea behind the story had so much potential, the writing itself could use quite a lot of work.

This book is a masterpiece, and it has the creepy vibe of "And the Trees Crept in" by Dawn Kurtagich. I loved the characters and will buy this book. However, I kind of wish that it was mentioned the creatures were fay and what was their world called? I also wanted to see a bit more development between the two straight girls suddenly deciding they are gay. Also, did not like the ending for Josh because I was rooting for him and Ksenzia (sorry if I spelled it wrong) to be together. Those are the only reasons it is not a five-star book in my opinion.

For my full review, please check out my blog at https://bookgirlreviewsbooks.blogspot.com.

4 out of 5 stars.

This book made me feel awkward, disturbed, and a little depressed. There was not one happy moment. Not one.

I wanted to read this book because I thought it was about the Fae. The summary hinted at having some story components to Fairie royalty. As an avid Fae/Fairie reader, I was expecting a story about either the Fairie Courts (Summer, Winter, etc) or the Seelie/Unseelie my courts. Instead, there is just a strange creature named Prince. That's it.

The words "enchanted and changling" are used, but other than that, there really isn't anything that makes you think that fae are involved. The individuals stealing kids could be any random group of psychos.

On top of that the writing style features these sophisticated ideas being told in childish terminology and lingo. Do kids still really start sentences with "Like"? It just didn't come across well. That dialougue was LIKE totally off the mark.

There are some sensitive topics covered and honestly it gave me the creeps. I'm LIKE so open minded and this LIKE totally made me feel the jeepers 😂... seriously though, I'm truly an open minded person and can enjoy a mixture of literature and art. So the fact that this story felt very creepy and weird to me means that it will probably get a worse reaction from the general public.

I can see the connections the author wants us to have with these characters, but I just don't feel it. For someone who doesn't read or listen to as many books as I do then this book might be hard to follow.

I forced myself to finish this because it was my first ever Advanced Copy from NetGalley. If not for that, I would have gone without knowing the fates of these characters and I can't even remember the last time I didn't finish a book I started.

Let me finish by saying that if you are interested in this book because you like fairie books, then you may not get what you want here. This book will fit for those who are interested in a more sinister type story. The main characters are in a toxic relationship where one is having second thoughts but scared to leave. I'm all for some real bad guys who aren't secretly nice guys trying to be bad. The bad guys aren't the problem. For me they are the only believable part of the book and they are fairies. It's the humans who say and do the unrealistic things. You may love this book, if so, we are on opposite sides of the prism. That's ok because if we all liked the same things then we wouldnt have any variety.

The synopsis/summary for this one needs to be tweaked so that it's target market is hit correctly. Otherwise the book will get a lot of negative ratings because of how and who it it currently marketed towards.

Sorry guys this is gonna be a no from me... DNF'd at ~8%.

Perhaps I should have given this book more of a chance, but it's been a couple of weeks since I started it and I have no desire to go back. Not only did I find it pretty cringe-y, but there were some problematic elements as well.

The story - what I read of it - involves two foster siblings: Josh and Ksenia. Both are upset because Ksenia is about to turn 18, and her foster parents are planning to force her to move out. Josh and Ksenia have such a strong bond that the idea of being separated has them thinking of making risky decisions.

One night, while having a "last hurrah" of sorts, Ksenia and Josh run into a group of ~mysterious~ and ~beautiful~ people having a party. Surprise surprise, they're all fairies. I guess that Josh and Ksenia are glamoured? Because everything gets really confusing (and sexual???), and when Ksenia wakes up from her daze, Josh is missing.

Not only did I have kind of a hard time following what went on with the fairies, but the dialogue was just really cheesy and cringe-worthy.

"For half a moment I thought they must be models, dancers, on break between takes of a music video, because they had the glitz and seduction of pure images."

"Pure images"?? I'm not even sure what that is supposed to mean. I had a difficult time keeping track of which fairies were which, and found their physical descriptions to be hard to follow.

Another major turn-off for me in this first part of the book I read, was a questionable sexual encounter Ksenia has with one of the fairies. During the party, one of them basically forces her up against a tree to distract her from what's happening to Josh, and she says -

"It should have been thrilling, but I wasn't sure how I felt about it."

...then later: "I was getting dizzy, and I tried to push him off."

I just thought to myself - OK, if this is gonna be a book that both glamorizes and idolizes these fairies, but also lets scenes like this occur, where there is clearly NOT consent going on... then no thanks.

The one thing that seemed initially interesting and possibly promising was the both Josh and Ksenia seemed to be queer and gender non-conforming. A scene early in the book describes Josh as usually dressing feminine, and Ksenia preferring to dress masculine - Ksenia remarks how often they are mistaken for the opposite sex, and how they enjoy it. I would have like to see this play out, but everything else about the story was just such a turn-off...

I may give this another try in the future, but for right now there are just other things I would prefer to read.

I wanted to enjoy this as the premise sounded so good, but I found the book geberally confusing , I understand we aren’t meant to know what’s going on to empathise with the characters but I just found it frustrating and it took away from my enjoyment of the book. I enjoyed the darker side of this and it was well written and a good tale I just thing the confusion of the characters loses something

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This is a hard book to enjoy, though I don't think that was its intention. I wouldn't even categorize it as YA fantasy, it was more like... allegorical, the way fairytales are? Personally, I don't mind incest-y, gothic-y relationships that are troubled and "bad" but intense (like Heathcliff and Catherine), but man, I at least want to enjoy the characters. I don't have to like them--but they should be well drawn, fascinating, engaging. I couldn't stand Josh at all. Sometimes the writing between him and Ksenia was so cringe-inducing I just skipped whole pages. On the other hand, I really liked the themes of consent throughout and found them interesting.

It’s been awhile since I finished a book and said “huh” out loud. I began Never Quiet Contented on January 30th 2019 and it took me until February 24th 2019 to read the last line. This is a hard read y’all. Tales of maniacal fae are woven into an overall theme of consent. Told from three POVS, Never Contented takes us on a long twisty journey of Ksenia-a bowler hat wearing, gender norm bending broken human. Ksenia is in the foster system with her “brother” Josh and our main character has lived a pretty terrible life by the tender age of 17.

Speaking of Josh, his POV was hard for me to read because he is SO extra. I’ve always had problems with my attention span when I can mentally hear how overly dramatic a character’s cadence is in a book. It could 100% be a personal flaw on my part, but he annoyed me to no end through out the entire story.

Back to our story, Ksenia is unwillingly pulled into a world of mystique and wrongness when Josh decides the real world wasn’t meant to host him nor Ksenia because of how different they are. Ksenia is compliant at first because she loves Josh, but as the story unfolds the reader is meticulously guided toward the realization that maybe Ksenia isn’t ok with being in this other world and the eventual realization she was taken there against her will.

“Because consent doesn’t count if you don’t know what you are agreeing to.”

When I read that quote for the first time my arms erupted in goosebumps because it is so true. Even if you love someone they still have the power to over step their boundaries and infringe on your consent.

At times this book frustrated me to no end. Other times I couldn’t put it down, especially when read from Lexi’s POV. I originally saw the cover of this book and was giddy because I’m currently on a Fae binge and the cover is GORGEOUS, but honestly the faeries took a back seat in this story. It was overall a solid read and I’m very thankful to Netgalley for providing me an advanced copy for review.