'Never-Contented Things' is a very unique dark fantasy novel that will appeal to a certain audience. I want to state two things before jumping into my review. First, I try to never read reviews of the book before I read it myself. I don't want anyone else's opinion skewering mine. Second, I never believe any hype that compares a novel to any other book out there. Saying it'll be good for fans of whoever or comparable to whatever title. For instance, after I finished this one, I read a lot of reviews that said readers were expecting a story like The Cruel Prince and were horribly disappointed when it didn't end up that way. I like to go into a book with an open mind with no expectations and that's exactly what I did with this one. And I'm also a sucker for a gorgeous cover - and this definitely ticked that box!

I will say that the description doesn't tell us much about the story at all and it can be quite a shock to people who are expecting something completely different. That being said, I thought every single aspect of the book stood out in some way. The writing itself was both beautiful and strange. It had detailed descriptions and lots of vivid imagery, but the plot was very odd and hard to keep up with sometimes. The characters are incredibly complex, especially Ksenia and Josh. It's mentioned in the description that they are foster siblings, but that doesn't begin to cover their codependent and taboo relationship that unfolds throughout the story. I know a lot of people were turned off by the whole foster siblings loving each other in more than a "family" way. Although this definitely wasn't a huge plus for me, I thought it was an intriguing aspect to the characters and the plot and it definitely made this novel stand out from basically every other one out there.

The story is hard to follow at times and I did get a little confused at times, but I personally like books that are outside the box and strange. Which this definitely was, without doubt. It covers some incredibly disturbing topics like the codependent relationship between Ksenia and Josh, their personal histories before and during their time in foster care, sexual assault, gender fluid characters, and some others. To me though, these were tough but interesting. The most important thing to me was how incredibly real it made these two characters. Some people might not like to read about these types of things, and that's fine, but sadly they are a part of life that many people have to endure. Because of the first person point of views that the book is written in, we get a deep look into each of the character's inner thoughts, memories, dreams, fears, emotions, and so much more. They were raw, gritty, and totally realistic. And I loved that the author put these damaged and broken people at the center of the story. I could keep going on about how I liked the characters because of (or in spite of) their attributes, but I'd just keep going in circles. Basically, this book isn't going to be for everyone. It's a dark YA fantasy with disturbing contemporary topics and a tiny bit of fairy lore thrown in. I highly recommend it for fans that like books that are controversial, a bit outside the norm, and are dark and realistic.

The writing was a bit confusing and the story was very strange. I didn't care for this one very much.

I ended up DNFing this book early on. And did not make it very far. To me the descriptions of it felt incomplete, or as though the book is a first draft. Very beginning of the book felt more like Rave kids, rather than fairies. I don't know if that was intended or not. But it felt disconnected from the actual plot.

While the blurb for this book sounded intriguing, I didn’t enjoy “Never-Contented Things”. The storyline might’ve captured my attention if it wasn’t for the writing style. While I couldn’t pinpoint my exact issue with it, it seemed really off and - to be frank - just weird to me.

4.5 stars, rounded up after careful consideration.

This book's biggest flaw was the way it was marketed.

First things first, I loved this book. I think it might have been a 5 stars under slightly different circumstances, and if I can ever bring myself to read it again I think I will be able to give this the 5 stars it probably deserves.

Before we get into what it did right and why I liked it, let me once again do the job that the publisher* failed to do and clarify that, first of all, that blurb is totally misleading. Prince is not the protagonist of this book and he's frankly not even that important. Fairies in this book are just a clever excuse to explore humanity, or better said, some very fucked up and ugly sides of humanity. And that brings me to my second point, which you should keep in mind before even thinking about reading this book: this is fucking dark. It's ugly, it's triggering, it's maddening, and if you manage to read enough of it it has one of the most satisfying character developments and conclusion of any book I've ever read.

To put this on Netgalley without a single trigger warning, and especially to set it as "Read Now", was a huge mistake and a huge disfavor to both readers and the book itself. I'm sorry if I come off as harsh but I'm not just here to review the book, if the publisher really cares about feedback I hope they will take this into consideration for the next books they put up for review.

* (hi, publisher person that will read this when I send my review through Netgalley! please don't take this review as your cue to never approve me for your books ever, again, thank you)

This is initially a story about the codependency between two foster siblings, Josh and Ksenia. Their relationship gets about as unhealthy as you can imagine, and because for the first good chunk of the book we only get to see things through Ksenia's eyes, our reading experience can get incredibly frustrating. If you're someone who while reading needs to be told at any given moment, "This is wrong, btw," then you should stay away from this book. You know it's so, so wrong, but the book *shows* you that it is instead of telling you, because character perspective matters and that's the whole fucking point.

As the story progresses and the codependency slides pretty heavily into abuse, you get a different, healthier POV. And thank god, because reading Lexi's POV chapters are like emerging to finally take a breath after being held under water by Ksenia and Josh. And still it's a while before things can get better, because they need to get worse first.

What truly struck me about this book were two things: the writing, which is absolutely stunning and it completely captured me from page one, and the fact that Ksenia is given all the compassion, all the redemption, all the healing and forgiveness we usually bestow upon male characters. And I don't know if she's a female character, other reviewers have said she's possibly genderqueer, although this isn't explicit in the text, but she's a character I feel was missing in YA, or maybe I just haven't encountered one like her yet.

The leading theme in this book is how abuse will affect the mind and affections of a victim. How a victim is left alone, ignored, blamed even, and is left so vulnerable to the slightest hint of what they think is love. They think, this is the best I can ever hope for. This is better than it was before, so it must mean it's all I'm worth. And sometimes things really are good, but sometimes they're really fucking not, and Ksenia was unlucky enough to first read the definition of love from the dictionary of Josh, except Josh is a victim too and his definition of love is all wrong, too. This book does an amazing job at never victim-blaming anyone but also at showing the effects of your first, your second, your life-long abuse, because those things can't be ignored when we talk about abuse and especially when we talk about surviving it.

Ksenia isn't magically saved by her love for Lexi, or by Lexi's love for her, but she's given the tool to dig herself out of eighteen years of wrong, and that's the most powerful message you can send readers.

There are so many other things I loved about this book. Everyone is queer (Ksenia is possibly genderqueer and attracted to multiple genders, Josh is fat, pansexual and gender non conforming, Lexi is Black and discovers her multiple-gender-attraction throughout the novel), the writing, as I said before, is absolutely beautiful and atmospheric. The faeries are seriously creepy as fuck and I loved (hated) them. The conclusion was the best one I could hope for. But seriously, the best thing of all is everything I talked about for most of my review.

Now more than ever I encourage you to read the trigger warnings and know that it's okay if you think you can't handle them; these aren't things that are just mentioned in passing, they are very real in the novel and it WILL get super uncomfortable even if this stuff isn't usually a trigger to you. But if you think you can, give this book a try because it's so, so worth it.

Trigger Warnings: incest, codependency, abuse, sexual assault and rape, death on page, violence, body horror, parental neglect.

Where is right to start? I’ve no idea. This novel left me… not broken, because I didn’t cry or anything. But the melancholia was there and it was strong. Every page until the last one was heading towards one direction only, the one needed for having to the happy ending but the right one.

It’s better to write down some facts:

this novel is not The Cruel Prince and its half assed denounce of bullying and abuse
the faeries here aren’t Black or Maas stuff
this book is about problematic, fragile, abusive, abused and survivors’ people
It’s the third book I read by Sarah Porter, and at this point I start to see a brand that was perfectly respected into Never-Contented Things: problematic and abusive families, lack of healthy love, incest, and another good bunch of dark and twisted theme you can think of.

Am I disappointed? Not at all, because one thing I love about Porter’s books is how those situations are portrayed. I’ve seen plenty of people getting mad and writing one-star reviews (which is in their right, no one is saying the contrary) but I felt like sometimes the point was missed: none of messed up stuff is condoned. The pages just show how things are: ugly, complicated, the characters won’t reach the solution at the end of the book.

I think I’ll find myself in an enormous difficulty to explain how much the portray of abuse is fused inside the novel, in the characters and in every twisted features of the faery worlds, so it’s better to talk about it with the characters.

I loved and I hated.

I loved Lexie, because without her there wouldn’t be any hope. I loved how she was just… right? There’s a growth in her, from her moving out the shitty friend she had, to join the side of Ksenia and Josh. There’s also strength because she actually tries to save or help people, not for particulars obligations or anything else. She just knows it’s right and so she acts. And she can also see past the abusive and all the veils and shadows that the abuser tries to create. She’s not afraid to fight it back.

Ksenia… I love her so much. So much that I’m not even good to put into words. I loved how she was raw, and all corners and angles, but sadly not always for a good reason. And I was so angry at how people treated her. Everyone that was supposed to care for her, to help and guide her, they either twisted her path or manipulated her, to the point that she felt like she had nothing but Josh. Because yes, that’s his fault too. Also, I loved the moment in which she finally start to touch her past, everything that is left broken, and how she tackle one piece at the time and realize in which situation she’s in, when it’s time to help Lexi to do not end in the same place she’s in.

Now, Josh is firstly portrayed as the co-protagonist of the novel. Which he’s, but at the same time I feel like the real central character is Ksenia and Josh is… the abuser. That’s it. As yes, while is very much important to notice the abuser’s dynamics, it’s equally and a bit more to recognize Ksenia’s path in its rawness, cruelty, fragility and kindness.
I know some people will probably won’t like what I’ll say here, but I cannot feel a particular pity or anything positive for Josh.

The interesting dynamics here is that Josh and Ksenia are foster brother and sister, but their relationship often enters another side, a side that Josh push forward and forward without respecting Ksenia boundaries. Josh had his own traumas, problems, issues and… things went wrong for him. He’s his own victim.
He loves Ksenia in a sick way, if we must use the word love (which I highly hate in this context). Never-Contented Things illustrate incredibly well how much Josh and what he does go far, dynamics that in everyday life are often ignored. He’s not being mean. He’s nice, everyone loves him. But one step at the time he takes away Ksenia ability to make decisions, to move, to live outside his sphere. He traps her without asking her.

An ending note to make, is that all the characters here are probably queer. With Josh it’s explicitly stated that he’s pan. Ksenia is implied that she may be genderqueer and attracted to more than one gender, and the same is for Lexie (who, to add facts to the repsentation, is also black). In fact, the is romance between Ksenia and Lexie, but I loved how it was handled. The romance doesn’t come in to save the day, because it can’t and never will, but becomes part of stairs and part of the steps that pass under Ksenia rising up to something better.

Reviewing this from an objective view (because although I struggled through this, I was still awed by the sheer talent, and imagery incorporated into this writing, and the subjects that Porter managers to tackle).

Following a domino-esque effect, this novel kicks off with an unsolvable event, which becomes solvable after THE CRUX EVENT. Whilst the writing in this was poetic, and rife with symbolism, it was also accurate drawing from the historical pot of literacy and not applying a rose lens over the entire concept.

This is a book I did not finish.

I'm so sad this book is not working for me, especially since I originally wanted to read a copy so bad. The cover, synopsis, and author all drew me in but unfortunately—I don't think this story is for me.

The idea of a new book by Porter ( I was a fan of her YA novel, Vassa in the Night) one that blends elements of horror with dark faeries was just what I was looking for.

I actually enjoyed the writing style which is vivid and surreal at times, and it is this dreamlike wording I look forward to when picking up a Sarah Porter novel.

But in this case, it was the characters that just did not work for me nor hold my attention. I know some readers will find the darker aspect of Ksenia and Josh relationship intriguing—realistic and gritty, unfortunately, it was not for me.

Throughout the book, I found myself wanting to learn more about the faeries but instead, the focus of the story was on the relationship between Josh, Ksenia, and their friend Lexi. My expectations of dark fae threw me and the storyline did not capture my attention.

I will still be on the look-out for Porter's books, although a bit more cautiously when it comes to the synopsis.

4 1/2 stars I think and I’m trying to decide what to make my Official GR Rating™️ but we’re leaning five. This was... a LOT. on a lot of levels.

Never Contented Things follows two foster siblings who are in love, or so they think – no, this is not romanticized – and their journey after one makes a deal with faerie. And the first half of this book is deeply fucked up, but that’s the point: we see these characters hit their lows and we are forced to empathize deeply with the situation they’ve been put in. Josh and Ksenia’s relationship is codependency, one where they have been forced into a mutual relationship based on necessity; the narrative does a frankly impressive job of showing this while still sticking in what the characters actually think about each other. By 50% through, you’re rooting for both of their characters (in very different ways) but actively rooting against their relationship. Also, you are very fucking terrified of the faeries.

Here are some things we should talk about in regards to this book: gender, the idea of only loving what you want to see in someone, the fact that one of the plot points is essentially about the mortifying ordeal of being known and it made me cry, rape culture and the way in which Ksenia’s character has closed herself off due to being an unspoken victim, the narrative’s focus on healthy love as not something revolving around ownership, and the idea that no matter what your past is you can always find your way too.

Also I want to talk about the sheer fucking power of the other main relationship in the book. Topics contained in this rant may include: tenderness, the sheer romance of loving someone as your best friend before your crush and being willing to sacrifice a lot for them simply because you love them it doesn’t matter how or how they love you back, the degree to which the narrative works against romanticizing Ksenia’s self sacrificing nature even when it is technically what saves the day, tenderness again, and that one fucking line. I have to go back through my annotations but god that one line one of them says to the other at like 50%... the kindness. The respect. The tenderness of it all.

The romance is f/gq, like, in case any of you guys were just wondering what your next sapphic book should be.

The reason this probably shouldn’t be a five is that I actively did not enjoy reading the first 20%, and indeed really struggled with a lot of this book – you read because you’re almost too horrified and scared for these characters to look away. I do get why the average rating is somewhere around a 3. It’s not a fun novel. The reason this honestly is a five anyway is that it is frankly one of the most emotionally cathartic novels I’ve ever read. The narrative... the ending.

I know this seems like a review but I actually have a lot more to say about this I think the blog version of this review is going to get really long. full review to come

TW: rape and sexual assault, incest, codependency, some really creepy body horror.

Lovely spooky book! I feel that the characters were great and the plot was very well put together. This was a great ook that kept my attention during the whole read!

DNF at 50% - no rating

I really tried to read this book and I just couldn't. This book is more of a dark magical realism book than fantasy/fae. I really did appreciate that our main characters were queer and nonbinary. But the story made me uncomfortable and didn't do anything for me. Nobody is more bumped than me, so sad because this cover is gorgeous.

I love this book, its usually not my kind of Book but the world Sarah created was fantastic. It kind of reminded me Seanan McGuire wayward children series, where its modern world with creepy fairy tale esq vibes. I love how creep yet magical this world seem to be. I cant wait to own this book, its become one of my favorites

I loved the blurb of this book and was really excited to read it. Unfortunately, it archived before I could read it.

Thanks to the publishers for sharing this one. It's a very creepy read, and I liked the ending a lot. My full review appears on Weekend Notes. Edit: My apologies, that was the wrong link, I will fix it.

I struggled with this book. I adore all things faery but I just didn't connect with either Kezzer or Josh. Their choices just made me mad and I kept picking up the book and putting it down. So I ended up DNFing it.

I adored Vassa in the Night, but this book just wasn't for me.

This book wrecked my world. It's dark, lush, and gorgeous. I found this book to be one to be sipped rather than devoured, but the writing is transcendent.

I won't be publishing a review, or giving this book a rating on my blog or goodreads as I couldn't manage to finish it. I found this very difficult and uncomfortable to get through because the themes it heavily centers on are abuse manipulation and other toxic traits. I expected this to center more on the fae and how what they do influences the characters and their actions but it was more of the fae just being there and the characters being toxic on their own.

Note : The one star rating is due to the book being a dnf and the requirement of a rating to submit feedback, NOT based on personal preference.

*** Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC! ***

I felt like this one was a bit misleading. I expected a story filled with fae's and magical creatures, but for some reason if felt like that aspect of the story took a back seat.

If you’re looking for a story like The Cruel Prince you won’t find it here. This is a tale of faerie but it is not a Disney fairy-tale with beautiful magical creatures; the faerie are most definitely Unseelie, they are cruel, never-contented beings, far from human and out for the human blood and suffering on which they thrive. This story is chock-full of crazy, mind-boggling stuff and in my opinion, it leans closer to horror than to fantasy. Although the main characters Josh and Ksenia are teenagers, this didn’t feel like a run-of-the-mill YA novel and I think this may appeal more to readers of horror, than it will to those who enjoy the typical YA fantasy novels and don’t like horror. There is a bit of a love interest, but again it’s rather dark. Josh and Ksenia are both living in the same foster home and so they are technically brother and sister, although obviously not at all blood-related, so their relationship didn’t feel incestuous to me. Said relationship is quite obsessive in nature, and even more so once the faeries get involved. Josh is entrapped by the faeries and wants nothing more than to have Ksenia with him. All the while he doesn’t realise that he’s gradually being stripped of his humanity.
Never-Contented Things has its roots in Changeling lore, but not in the way that babies are taken from their families and replaced with a faerie child. Here, the faeries steal children and teens, lure them away and leave replicas in their stead, exact copies, although the keen observer might spot a difference in behaviour. These replicas serve only one purpose: to die. Consequently, the stolen ones’ families and friends believe their loved one is dead, while the real child is alive but hidden in the faerie world. Speaking of which, there is no faerie mound of any kind, it is a sort of alternate reality, a copy of the real world.
While it took me a little while to get into the story, I ended up really enjoying it and I will definitely look into Sarah Porters’ other work. I think that the less than enthusiastic reactions to this on Goodreads are from readers who went in with the wrong expectations.

It slipped my notice that Sarah Porter is also the author of Vassa in the Night, a previous Owlcrate subscription box pick. Though I never got to read Vassa I was always intrigued by it. I recall readers of Vassa mentioning that they had a hard time with the prose, and I can see glimpses of what they meant in Never-Contented Things. I did enjoy the prose for the most part. It isn’t quite flowery, I think ethereal is a better word for it. The focus of each scene is somewhat flighty. I never felt like I was spoon fed the plot, which I enjoy, but some moments did require me to reread once or twice.

“You think you have a good hold on the thread, you think you can follow it, but then it twists and winds and knots in your hands and suddenly you’re on a path you never even knew existed.”

–NEVER-CONTENTED THINGS EARC – QUOTE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

In regard to the plot, this book was not at all what I expected. Based on the synopsis, I anticipated more focus on Prince and his fae friends. Much to my surprise, Prince didn’t get a ton of page time. Unselle, the fae on the cover of the book, winds up getting a bit more exposure throughout the story. Most of the fae elements are things like changelings and some rules of fae lands like making unbreakable deals. I found these elements really interesting, and I like the new ways that Porter addressed those common themes from fae mythology.

Some other major elements of the plot involve highly complex sibling dynamics, self-love, and forgiveness. The two primary characters, Josh and Ksenia, are foster siblings who have known each other since about age 10/12. I am certainly in the camp of people who feel that family doesn’t end with blood, but it stands to be said that they are not blood relatives. Many readers felt uncomfortable with the direction of the story, when Josh starts to express strong feelings of romantic love for Ksenia. The story certainly does have incestual overtones, and for that reason it will not be for everyone. However, I felt that this aspect of the story was carefully examined after the first 20% of the book. Is is challenging? Yes, absolutely but some readers will find meaning in this challenge.

“consent doesn’t count if you don’t know what you’re agreeing to…”

NEVER-CONTENTED THINGS EARC – QUOTE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Consent is a huge theme in this book as well. Several characters make choices for people they profess to love without their knowledge or consent. I found it interesting to consider those arguments. This story really tries to make it clear that some loving relationships can be dangerous, and that drawing lines of consent is crucial.

While it wasn’t what I expected, I still feel like this story had a lot to say. I understand why some readers did not relate to the story, and I have to say I felt a certain level of distance from the main characters, but I really enjoyed the themes. If you enjoy books like Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke that are very dark and a little twisted, you might enjoy this one!

Big thanks to Tor Teen and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read this title.

CW: Themes of incest, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, & neglect.