A Review of Never-Contented Things
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 entrapped by the fairies, Josh and Ksenia learn that the fairies' otherworldly gifts come at a terrible price ― and they must risk everything in order to reclaim their freedom.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review through Netgalley. I originally selected this book, because the summary reminded me of The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. The title was also really intriguing and unique and the cover of the book sparked my interest. I was looking forward to diving back into the world of Fae.
The Fae world that Sarah Porter created does at times remind me of The Cruel Prince, but only because both books play on long-established rules, myths and legends about faeries. Porter has her own twists and spins on the legends, but, overall, is familiar. What interested most in terms of setting, in this book, is not the magical world, but the only Ksenia and Josh come from. It’s a small, fairly unremarkable world, but it and the people in it loom throughout the book and have a strong presence in the plot, which I really enjoyed seeing in a fantasy-based book.
Ksenia and Josh are the main characters of this book, since the plot hinges on them and they change the most through the course of the story. However, it’s hard to really call either of them protagonists. They’re both dysfunction and hard for the average person to relate to. They have a near-incestuous relationship that is difficult to read about, and an enterily unhealthy and co-dependent relationship. Josh, for me, was pretty much impossible to like, but others may feel differently. I did enjoy seeing Ksenia’s story arc and there were other characters to enjoy in the book, outside of these two, but since they are the central characters and I did not like either of them for the majority of the story, it was difficult for me to feel connected to the people in this book.
This book is beautifully written and detailed, but that makes the pacing a bit slow to start. And with this book being much longer than the others I’ve read so far, it was a struggle to get through. I did enjoy the prose, but just as it was hard for me to connect to the dysfunctional main characters, it was also difficult for me to get through more gruesome and dark aspects of this book. I had a similar issue with The Cruel Prince, but this book’s gruesome aspects were much different. While the main characters are teenaged, I’d struggle to suggest this book to most who love the YA genre, unless their big fans of dark, almost horror-like thrillers.
Never-Contented Things is a great book for older teens with a task for the dark and creepy, or adult YA readers who enjoy horror-esque tales based on legends. The book is beautifully written, but I don’t recommend it for those like me with a weak stomach. The characters are flawed and difficult to relate to, but for those who love the plot this most likely wouldn’t be a problem.