DNF at 20%.

This was a promising premise, but after giving the story a fair chance, it wasn't for me.

This is a very dark fantasy told in a contemporary setting. It has codependency and often was disturbing to read. I skimmed around, after reading consistently for 20%, just to see if the story picks up or if I connect to it a bit better.

While I admire the message that was trying to be relayed, I did not connect to the characters and essentially the story. Others would say that it compares to TCP, but I also don't think that's fair.

Trigger warning for unhealthy and codependent relationships, in all sense of those terms.

*Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.*

This book was a wild ride of confusion. It's well written, but to what end? Maybe I'm just biased against it because I'm just really not into incest at all, not even from people who are technically not related. If you have to add the "technically" to justify it, then the relationship is probably creepy. But maybe that was the point? I really disliked Josh's character, but I think I was supposed to. He was annoying, emotionally abusive, and kind of coercive. I tolerated Ksenia, but I don't see why anyone would be so obsessed with her. The only two characters I liked were Lexi (in her first POV chapter) and Kay.

The author can clearly write, and the different POVs were distinct enough that I wasn't confused. However, the plot just kind of gave me anxiety, and it dragged on a bit. The book description on NetGalley doesn't really prepare you for what it is, which is a clusterf**k of cruel fairies with little background or world building explained. The entire first paragraph of the description talks about Prince, even though he's probably only in the book like 5% of the time. When do we even see that he and his courtiers are "exhausted by the tedium of the centuries"? When do we even learn about Faery? I think this book disappointed me and confused me largely because from the description I expected something a bit more like The Cruel Prince, which is not at all what I got.

A note about representation: Both MCs seem to be nonbinary or gender fluid (at the very least, androgynous), and there is plenty of lgbt rep. The author touches on how their identities make them feel isolated, but it's in a very obvious and dramatic way, as a warning.

Trigger warnings: sexual assault, incest, abuse

DNF'd @ 25%

I thought this sounded fantastic, but unfortunately I just couldn't get into the story or the characters in the least. It just wasn't for me. Thanks anyway, NetGalley.

I was the one who said the magic words, and now we're all living under a spell.

This is one of those ratings where I'm being objective, because though it's not an easy, or entirely enjoyable read for me, I was still very much in awe of some of the writing here, and the subjects tackled.

In a small town near Buffalo, beautiful and untamed Josh goes missing after partying with a group of beautiful strangers. His foster-sister, Ksenia, was there but even she can't find him - until one day when a domino falls and kicks off a bigger chain reaction than anyone could have predicted.

Firstly, the good points - the writing here is lush and poetic, and will absolutely resonate with it's audience. The book wraps some ugly and weighty subjects up in those pretty words, but they're things teenagers have to think about, and for the right reader this book is going to feel like a revelation and validation all in one. Add to that faeries done right - full of teeth and torments - and you've got yourself a dark opera of a book, emotions always front and centre and everything tinged with pain, but lifted by the ever-present promise of escape.

For me, being a few years past the teenage/twenties emotional minefield, it was always on the verge of edging into too much. But I'm not yet far enough away that I've forgotten how it felt back then, and for a teenager going through a hard time, this book might just be that everything to escape into that some of our characters so desperately needed.

Overall a very good book, even if I'm no longer it's target.

My Review: First off this is NOT ANYTHING like the Cruel Prince!!
When I started this one I thought I was going to DNF it. It was weird and felt kind of choppy to me. But I held out and I am so glad that I did because this is by far Porter's best book yet!!

If you are looking for an old tale about the Fey then look no further. This one kind of reminded me of Vip Ran Winkle where he was enthralled by the Fey. I have to say that this was nothing like The Cruel Prince and it was something totally new. As the Fey are not the main theme of this title.

This is one dark and messed up title about two kids in foster care. Where one is getting ready to age out the other one is stuck with their foster family for another two years.

I have to say that this title had a great message of hope. That no matter what has happened to you, you can always have hope.

The relationship Josh and Ksenia was both heartbreaking and very messy. Although they are not blood related for Ksenia, Josh is her brother not her lover etc. But Josh doesn't see her that way. He wants them to be together forever. It was a twist that I didn't know what to do with when I read it. It was like at every turn these two chose the wrong thing to stay together.

I have to say that in the end this was so worth the read and I am totally glad that I did read it. It had some very hard parts to get through about roles within relationships and at times it was very very dark. But it had a few great messages about hope and getting out of poison relationships and learning to choose the right thing.

Go Into This One Knowing: LGBT, Dark, Fey, Bad Relationships

I honestly expected and wanted to like this book more than I ultimately ended up rating it. It seemed so promising at first- with there being fairies (and presumably a fairy court) and an exploration of toxic, obsessive, incestuous love. Unfortunately, I felt like the book fell flat in its execution. The pacing was slow until the end where everything just becomes fast-paced and chaotic and the ending felt rushed. By the end, I half didn’t know what just happened and how it became like that.

Never-Contented Things is more like a magical realism book. Fairies were barely present in the novel despite the blurb implying they’d play a major part. They do- in a way, but it’s mostly off-screen and just referenced in conversation. Most of the novel really explores the toxic dynamic between Josh and Ksenia.

I don’t like either of them. They’re both kind of flat and rather uninteresting and often unlikable characters. I get that the author tried to make them more interesting by making them queer and eccentric (and in the case of Josh, a bit of a libertine) but it doesn’t make up for their personalities-or lack thereof. Honestly, I feel like the execution was just messy all-around. They could have been more interesting, but they just weren’t aside from the fact that they’re creepily obsessed with each other.

I appreciate the fact that this centers around Ksenia trying to break free from a toxic relationship which is also gross and incestuous but it was executed in a way that I couldn’t fully appreciate it. I couldn’t really grasp Ksenia as a well-rounded character- heck, I couldn’t grasp any of them as well-rounded characters. Josh was just…there. Like, his entire character consists of him being pretty and obsessed with his sister.

I won’t deny that the author has some pretty lovely turns of prose here and there, hence the two star rating. I did enjoy how she describes things and her writing was good. However, good writing can’t really save a messy plot and even messier characterization. I wished this had been straight-up fantasy instead.

Overall, I’m honestly pretty disappointed with Never-Contented Things. I don’t know if I can recommend it, but I’m sure there are some who’d like it. I’d suggest reading more reviews if you’re on the fence and taking my opinions with a grain of salt.

Oh, Never Contented Things, I had such high hopes for you, with your dreadfully wonderful cover and summary that whispered of dark faeries. And yet, I was let down. I actually almost DNF this, but I pushed through because of said high hopes.
The best, but also most disappointing, thing about this book was the Holly Black Tithe and Marissa Marr Wicked Lovely vibes I got from it. Like those two series, Never Contented Things seeks to capture the malevolent nature of Faerie. Unlike those two series, Never Contented Things takes it in a slightly different direction. Instead of being dark and serious, it has a strange childlike feel to the story. Especially the faeries. They don’t really do much, besides watch the main characters and occasionally taunt them.
However, Porter does manage to use a lot of typical faerie elements in her stories, like that fact that you shouldn’t eat or drink in the faerie realm unless you want to be trapped there, the idea of changelings, the power of names, and the strange passing of time between the human and faerie worlds, to name a few. It’s rare these days to find faerie stories that still talk of the old ways of dealing with the fae, so it’s nice to see in Never Contented Things.
As I said before, the faeries aren’t really active characters in the story. You have two main ones: Prince, who seems so dark and dangerous in the summary, and Unselle, whose name must be a tribute to the Unseelie fae. While Prince is set up to be a wonderful villain, and he certainly acts and responds to the humans like I would expect a faerie to do, he falls really flat. There is not nearly enough of him in the book, and the scenes we do have him in just have him be amused by Ksenia. Unselle, on the other hand, we see a lot of. She’s certainly twisted, but she also contributes to the childish vibes I get from this story. She acts like Victoria from Bravely Default, and I really don’t like that in a main villain (because who else would be the main villain?).
If I’m talking about characters, I should probably mention Josh, Ksenia, and Lexi too. Bluntly: I don’t like Josh because of the way he acts, Ksenia is weird (and she’s supposed to be), but Lexi is pretty cool. The biggest part of my reaction to them is Ksenia and Josh’s relationship, which is WAY too close to incest and a bit too rapey for me. That’s gonna be a no from me. After all, they are foster siblings who grew up in the system together. Ksenia doesn’t even want to be with Josh, until she reluctantly gives in. And he keeps calling her “baby” and “Kezzers” (a nickname I hate for her) and it makes me want to through up.
I wasn’t sure what I wanted from this book’s ending. After all, the build-up to this point just teetered on the edge of good and bad, so I knew the ending would determine how I really felt about the book. And honestly? I still don’t know whether it was good or bad. I liked a lot of the elements of this story, I just really don’t like the characters and the way they interact. I’m not sure who the target audience of this book would be, but I don’t think it is me.

This is one of the strangest books that I have ever read, and at times it felt almost as if I had fallen asleep reading and then had nightmares surrounding the characters and the world but no that was the actual book. For the most part I did really enjoy the uniqueness of the book but it also was a bit of a downfall in ways. I really loved the complex characters especially Josh I thought he was really well done. Kezzer is probably the most fleshed out because we spend the most time in her perspective but I loved how we learn more and more about her as time goes on. She is known throughout the book as keeping people at arms lengths and I feel even when we are reading from her POV, we are also kept at arms lengths. The way the fae in this world were described and portrayed in this world was very intriguing and definitely gave me The Cruel Prince (But that is the only thing about it that did. Do not go into this expecting A Cruel Price type romance.) The things I didn't like in this book were sometimes it seemed it was trying so hard to be different than everything else that you felt you were imaging the shit yourself because sometimes it was just really out there and some things don't really make sense. Also while I did enjoy the character of Lexi, I think having her POV for so long was unnecessary and we would have benefited more from having more time with Josh or even having a POV from Prince. Lastly while I did enjoy the romance at the end I think it was far too rushed and would have been better suited as just being implied to, or having them say yeah I like you but I need time.Verdict: All in all this book was a pretty fun time, (but it did take me a week to read and I very much thought of DNFING it multiple times.) The characters are definitely the highlight of this story and their interactions. I gave this a rating of 3.5/5 and would recommend it for people who are die-hard into dark fae stories, and/or who like characters that push gender bounds, and/or that love LGBTQIA+ stories.

Unfortunately, this did not work at all for me.

My biggest issue with this book was the writing and how odd it was. I'm not easily put off by a weird story, but this....just didn't work. When I thought things couldn't get any weirder or more disturbing I was so very wrong. 99.9% of the time I was uncomfortable reading this because of the toxic co-dependent / foster sibling incest discussions this story contained. I also found that the writing did not make me care about any of the characters as well. The world-building was just not there, everything was just bland in the human world and confusing in the faerie realm. There was little magic, lots of confusion, and that's basically it.

This book was pitched to make it seem like the faeries would be a huge part of the plot and it just didn't seem that way at all.

3 stars

*Thank you to the author and NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

This book...makes me feel soconflicted. The premise is something that I am always drawn to - seductive and dangerous fae who like to play games. *cough* Cardan *cough*

And that's what I got. To some extent.

The book starts off strong, and I thought "This is great! I don't want to stop reading!" But somewhere along the line, everything became kind of...weak.

This book was staged as following Prince and his posse of bored faeries, seeking to play and manipulate the lives of humans for their own pleasure and entertainment. They've discovered their next target, and won't desist from their games until they are under their complete possession.

However, this all seems to be taking place behind closed doors, because we hardly get a glimpse of the fairies in action. I could count on one hand how many interactions they actually have with the main characters, so don't be expecting a lot of page-time with them. I was left really dissatisfied with the lack of scenes and interplay they had in this book. If I pick up a book about fairies I want fairies on every page, dammit!

The other thing is that the book felt very rushed, yet so painfully slow at times. I don't know how that works...

This book really missed the mark with me. I was so excited to read this, and don't get me wrong, it was really enjoyable at times. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I was left unfulfilled at the end of it.
4 likes

I believe the synopsis to NEVER-CONTENTED THINGS was kinda misleading. I can handle the relationship between the two primary characters as they are foster siblings who have romantic feelings for each other. I can also handle the other dark content within the book. I think it is important to expose teenaged readers to such topics. However, for the book to be marketed as a "fae" book, there weren't a lot of "fae" in it, which was very disappointing. Sarah Porter's prose is hard-hitting and engrossing, but the actual plot and frequency of "fae" doesn't come until much later in the book. If you're patient enough and have a strong stomach for heavy topics then give it a-go.

2.8/5 stars, but I'll round it up to a 3.

I think what I loved most about this book was that the teenagers were not perfect angels. They were messed up with a lot of co-dependency and unhealthy relationships. Just like the real world. The cover is what immedietly drew me to this book. Followed by the synopsis since I am in a bit of a fairy kick. However there isn't really to much of a mention of fae in this.
I will warn you that this is a very dark book, there is a lot of material that is explicit and it is not for someone looking for a light sunny read. Some of the subject can be triggering.

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.

I wanted to love this so much. The main character reminded me of Allison from Splintered (which I adore) but for whatever reason I could not get into this story. I appreciated how it tackled controlling relationships but it never went as far as I wanted it too. While the world sounded intriguing and dark it lacked the depth that I expected. Overall I fell like this book was too ambitious, hence my two star rating. It tried to do too many things and ended up not doing any of them all that well. I did like the unexpected romance though. That was cute.

Overall I just found the story to be ill-paced, and un-intriguing, even if some of the writing was excellent and there were a few characters I liked. At the end of the day the bad outweighed the good for me.

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.

DNF at 27%.

I really hate DNFing books, especially ARCs, and especially books I was highly anticipating. Unfortunately, I just couldn't do it on this one. There were a few reasons for this.

1. Incest. This isn't spoilery, because they get into it in the very first chapter. This story follows two foster children - which in the beginning I was excited about this, because I LOVE sibling stories. Unfortunately...these siblings also had some sort of romantic relationship. I realize it isn't REAL incest since they aren't actual siblings, but it was close enough and felt just as skeevy.

2. The writing. The writing and storyline is just altogether weird. I feel like the synopsis almost bamboozled me - I went in expecting something along the lines of The Cruel Prince, and instead I was just confused and in this weird rabbit hole from page 1. This style was just not for me.

3. Despite all of this, I tried to persevere, even though it was so not what I was expecting, and I really wasn't enjoying it. And then I came to a line that had me immediately closing the book and moving on to something else. I do not want to give spoilers, but this line (about suicide) was super insensitive and the most distasteful thing I've ever read (I am being purposely vague). I recognize this line was to purposely make someone look like a rude and terrible person, but I don't care. This was the last straw for me.

It honestly hurts my soul to have hated a book I was so looking forward to anticipating, and this book just may not have been the style for me. I hope you like it more than I did.

Because I DNF the book, I will not be posting a review on my blog as I don't think it's fair to judge a book on only 27% of it. I will only be posting my reasons for DNF on goodreads and will not be reviewing the 27% I read.

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.