Never-Contented Things
Be wary of…
Prince and his fairy courtiers are staggeringly beautiful, unrelentingly cruel, and exhausted by the tedium of the centuries ― until they meet foster-siblings Josh and Ksenia. Drawn in by their vivid emotions, undying love for each other, and passion for life, Prince will stop at nothing to possess them.
First seduced and then entrapp ...more
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Don’t look at the average rating yet. We’ll talk about it.
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. So, yes, the first half of this bo ...more

The synopsis might make you think it is, but there's no court intrigue, no hate-to-love romance, and they are just very different stories with completely different messages. Going into this expecting them to be similar will only lead to disappointment.
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 ...more

To start, if you are looking for a book like a certain cruel, wicked, and fae driven YA series (I was), this book will NOT make you happy. If you are looking to read something that has non-traditional main characters, dark fairies as an accessory, and a very dark magical Labyrinth (yes my age is showing) feel to it, then you will LOVE this story.
The relationships are unhealthy at best. There ...more

Rather, the reason I wanted to DNF it at times is because of the way it made me feel. Parts of this book are downright messed up, and I would argue this book is only appropriate for older YA audiences, if it’s going to be marketed toward that age group at all.
First of all, I want to give a content warning for sexual assault, graphic violence, drug and alcohol use, suicide, ...more

I'm so ready. ...more

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 ...more


Y’all, I had to do myself a solid and pull the plug on this. I legitimately felt like I was on heavy drugs reading this, it’s such a weird story. Just when I thought it couldn’t get weirder it did, and not in a “this is unique” type of way, it’s a “what the fuck am I reading” type of way. The whole foster sibling / incest discussion / one is in love with the other was just a big nope.
Plus, this promised TCP vibes but where were the Fae?!?!?
Blog | Twitter | Instagram ...more

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 domi ...more

RTC. Soon cause I need to rant about this stupid shit. ...more

But I couldn't get into the story line..
This doesn't catch my interest..
DNF @ 20%
😥 ...more

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: ★★★
Chara ...more

I don’t normally do books about faeries unless they have Holly Black’s name on them, but that cover and synopsis really sucked me in. And I’m not sure how to review this book.
This story was a struggle from the beginning. I had heard poor reviews from friends, but wanted to give it a try. Pretty much from the start, I could tell there was something off about the relationship about Ksenia and Josh...and yeah it’s absolutely what you’re thinking.
Plot wise, nothing made sense. I mean, I ...more


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

Never-Contented ThingsBy Sarah Porter
Tor Teen, March 19, 2019
368 Pages, Kindle Edition
From Goodreads:
"Seductive. Cruel. Bored. Be wary of… Prince and his fairy courtiers are staggeringly beautiful, unrelentingly brutal, and exhausted by the tedium of the centuries ― until they meet foster-siblings Josh and Ksenia. Drawn in by their vivid emotions, undying love for each othe ...more

I really enjoyed this, although it was hard to get through at times. 1) The subject matter was occasionally a trifle disturbing (not necessarily a bad thing). 2) The paragraphs tended to be long, with dense, flowery writing. The descriptions were probably my favorite thing about this book, and I can't fault the writing, however much it might have slowed down my eyes sometimes.
Having read several fairy books where the evil, cruel fairies are... not evil or cruel, ...more

*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 foll ...more

DNF at 46%
I feel like I’ve been scammed. The synopsis of Never-Contented Things sells something that it’s not true: a fantasy story. So imagine my surprise when I started it and I found myself reading a contemporary book with magical realism elements. I don’t know who wrote the synopsis of this book, but they are misleading the readers. Because if I had known what I was really getting into, I wouldn’t have even requ ...more

4.25 stars
Ksenia and Josh are the odd foster kids who are a little two close for people who are being raised as siblings. When they encounter a Prince and his fairy in the forest where they usually drink and party, they are sucked into a dark and layered world of cruelty. Josh goes missing and Ksenia must pick up the pieces of his leaving. Lexie, their best friend, has to figure out what is going on and enter the dark world of the faeries to save her friends
...more
Which was a good thing. I know this sounds weird, but hear me out. This story sounded like a book about fae. It isn't though. There are fae in here, but they don't really matter. Prince is barely in the book at all. They are but a clever way to have a closer look at ...more

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 ...more

"But what would we be, my darling Ksenia, if we could not spin love into webs far stronger than spider silk?"
Never-Contented Things is a dark tale about different kinds of love, infatuation, and the lengths a person would go to realize their obsession. And it's told from three different perspectives, all queer:
➽ Ksenia Adderley, who is just days away from turning 18 and being turned out of her foster home that's she been living in for the last 6 years.
➽ Josh, age 16. He had ...more

Okay, I was so pumped to read this book, because lately I’ve been so obsessed with faeries and anything that have to do with them, so when I knew that this book was about faeries I immediately added it to my TBR, and it became one of my most anticipated releases of this year, and I have to say that it was so much different from what I expected.
The thing about this book was that when I initially picked it up, I expected a story like Th ...more

Though I'm knocking a full star-and-a-half off at LEAST for Josh. Possibly more. (view spoiler) ...more


Let's start with the characters. The cast is very small, including young people who have close ties with each other. Not only they are particular teens, with their own personality, but they also have a particular bond bet ...more

TW: incest, abusive relationships, sexual assault, suicide
dnf at 26%
Don't trust the synopsis for this book. I thought this would be like The Cruel Prince, but the fairies are only really an aesthetic to make the book's atmosphere feel even more surreal and disturbing. In reality, this is a dark contemporary about abusive relationships that has magical realism elements. That's probably someone's cup of ...more

The story is different now; that’s how it goes. 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.
Well! That was one hell of a ride. And before you ask; no, it was nothing like The Cruel Prince. I've seen a few comparisons between the two in other reviews, and can't help but wonder what some of y'all are smoking. Just kidding. Mostly. But really, besi ...more
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YA Buddy Readers'...: Never-Contented Things by Sarah Porter - Starting March 19th 2019 | 1 | 7 | Feb 26, 2019 08:40AM |
I write stories that seem to me to be quite true enough for all practical purposes. Among them are VASSA IN THE NIGHT, THE LOST VOICES TRILOGY, and the forthcoming WHEN I CAST YOUR SHADOW and TENTACLE AND WING. Realism makes little sense to me and I experience more truth in the ...more