[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.

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 was sent an eARC of this novel from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. This does not change my view in any shape or form.

This was such a "fun" book to pick up during my birthday week. Admittedly, I've been in one of those greedy "give me all the fairy" books as of late. (Which seems to be a theme in the book community!) When I saw Never-Contented Things on NetGalley, I actually didn't read the synopsis I just saw the genre and the cover and went a little request/click happy.

Plus, that cover is GORGEOUS. I think it might be one of the prettiest (and somehow: spookiest) I've seen so far this year. It reminds me of Lumière by Jacqueline Garlick to a degree. It's not identical or even fully similar it's just... the vibes feel similar to me! I wonder if they were designed by the same person.


I don't know, I saw it and I was like... really feeling it in general. Also, give me that lip colour. It's not spot-on/mirror like in terms of design but the position and design just really, really reminds me of my much-beloved Lumière and, well, you get it! I'm making grabby hands at how beautiful it is and need (NEED!!!) a physical copy ASAP. This is the type of novel that begs to be photographed and I'm in awe over it.

A lot of readers seem to be put-off by the synopsis (it's true that it doesn't necessarily fit the novel all too well) and the fact that it wasn't another The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. That is absolutely the biggest mistake you can make as a reader. While the synopsis does lead us into thinking one way, the story is *not* going to live up to false expectations. So, ditch that the very second you pick up Never-Contented Things because you're only ruining the book for yourself. This is much less of a fun and intriguing and morally gray fantasy novels and more of a horror based novel.

The fantasy elements are more like background noise. It adds a layer to the atmosphere but it's not... wholly in depth.

Somethings do tie into a similar tone to The Cruel Prince, and other like novels, but Never-Contented Things is like that shadowy section of the genre. It's messy and creepy. There are subtle and not-so-subtle cruelties.

This is the type of book that can be difficult to get into. It's not going to be for everyone. The story is something that will either repulse you or intertwine itself into you. The first half is a bit slower than the last half. Once you stick with it, though, it's worth it.

I will also say that this book has representation but it's of a darker variety. This might press buttons for many. I'm not really going to go over the potential controversies--especially since the release date is so far off.

Instead, my review is going to zero in on the positives involving Never-Contented Things. One, it is delicious and dark and really well-written. I liked that most of the characters were... not always likable? And the relationships in this weren't always ones that are healthy or appealing. It's not a clean-cut novel and has some triggering things in it.

I can't explain it without spoiling it, but these characters aren't going to always be for the faint of heart. And honestly? I liked them all the more for it. I also had some distinct V.C. Andrews vibes about it, when it came to the negatives and characteristics in it.

In short, I enjoyed this book a lot. I thought there was a lot of toxicity in it and there was something disturbing about it. It's because of this, and the synopsis, that Never-Contented Things won't be for everyone. There's something unique and atmospheric about this book, though, and I really found myself basking in its darkness.

I liked the amount of LGBT+ representation in this book; I thought these characters were portrayed well and with respect. My favourite was definitely Ksenia! However, I am disappointed to say that I overall did not enjoy this book. There was a lot of discussion of incest between two of the characters - Ksenia and Josh - and this made me very uncomfortable... It felt like a very codependent and dysfunctional relationship, not a healthy relationship at all. I would have preferred it if the book focused more on world-building and the fae characters and setting, which are currently hard to engage with.

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.

I enjoyed reading this book, but it was very different to what I had been expecting, and I think in the end, I found it a little too weird. There were good elements to this book, but the entire story line was based on these weird elements. I think this book is going to be very polarising - you will either love or hate it, and I fell more onto the "dislike" side of things.

The book follows, primarily, Josh and his sister Ksenia, who are foster kids, brother and sister but not related by blood. We also have their best friend Lexi, who plays a larger part later in the story. Josh is pansexual, and Ksenia's sexuality is not as clear, but she isn't straight. Lexi also begins to question her sexuality later on in the book. This diversity was really great to see, especially as all of the POV characters were queer. But I liked that this wasn't the ONLY element of their personality - they all had well developed backgrounds and their thoughts and feelings were very well written.

I liked the writing style as well, and I thought it worked really well with the story. Although the plot isn't the strongest, I think that was actually better in this book, because it is more about Prince (a faerie, I think) manipulating and playing with Ksenia and Josh's emotions, and the darker sides of them that they don't really want to face. Josh was a very interesting character, and the dynamic between him, Ksenia and Prince - how he thought he was in power but really wasn't - was also interesting.

Overall, I think this book had many interesting parts to it and wasn't necessarily bad, but I just found it far too weird and was quite slow moving. Unfortunately this wasn't really for me.

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.

If you are looking for gorgeous faeries and being dazzled by faerie court and intrigue, then Never-Contented Things is not for you.

Don't get me wrong, there are faeries in this book, but they are not the kind you fall in love with. 

Josh and Ksenia are foster siblings. They were placed in the same house at ages 10 and 12, with Ksenia being the older sibling. When the story starts, she's about to age out as an adult and she isn't sure what she is going to do with her life.

It's clear from the start, Josh has some serious co-dependency issues regarding Ksenia. He's desperately in love with her, and while she loves him, Ksenia's is a familial love. However, her love for him is also desperate and she's afraid to be without him. And I think this is because he's really the only person/family who loves her (so she thinks) and she's afraid to lose that.

That said, it makes for an uncomfortable read, but not a bad read by any means.

There's a lot going on in this story and it mainly centers around a lot of bad decisions and unhealthy love. Josh takes it upon himself to make decisions on Ksenia's behalf and because of this, they're now living in some sort of faerie realm that looks identical to their neighborhood and house, but it isn't.

It really, really reminded me of the scene in The Labyrinth where Sarah wakes up in her bedroom and it all looks normal, but upon further inspection it really isn't normal and she isn't really home. As a child, that scene gave me a crushing sense of panic, and I felt the same way reading this story with Ksenia's confusion about her surroundings.

The faeries don't play a huge role in this book, but of the faeries, Unselle is the scariest thing ever. She's the one featured on the cover of the book. Unselle is gorgeous and creepy and honestly I felt like she made Prince look angelic. 

The main arc of this story is about healing, and the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships. Because on one side we have Josh, who thinks he has the ability and power to know what's best for Ksenia, and on the other side we have Lexie, who wants Ksenia to discover and learn her truths for herself.

Lexie is one of my most favorite characters in this book. She is strong and she reminds Ksenia to be strong for herself, not for anyone else. 

Obviously, I sincerely dislike Josh. I realize that the faeries tricked him, but on the other hand, he made some really shitty decisions and I just couldn't find it in me to like him.

This is one of those books that I literally have spent days thinking about, because there's so many elements and themes in this story that I needed time to digest them all. At first when I finished it, I told myself it was too uncomfortable of a read and I'd likely not read it again. But as I've sat and thought more and more about this book, I know without a doubt I'd re-read this one.

As a trigger warning, there are discussions of rape in this book. Also, the relationship between Josh and Ksenia can be considered incestuous, even though they aren't technically related in any way besides being placed in the same house as kids.

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.