Never-Contented Things by Sarah Porter ~ a Review

by MK French

Josh and Ksenia are foster siblings that are entirely devoted to each other, though Josh has romantic feelings tangled up in that which he hopes can someday come to fruition. They're "those kids" in town, but do have friends in school that don't mind their androgynous flair and Josh's pansexuality. It's hard for others to really get close, even their best friend Lexi, so it's easy for Josh to be seduced by Prince and the other fae that he meets. Getting his wish comes at a dangerous price and one that far too many people have to pay the price for.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

March 2019; Tor Teen; 978-0765396730
audio, ebook, print (368 pages); fantasy

Never-Contented Things involves the fae of early legends. They're capricious and vicious, interested in feeding off the emotions and dramatics of humanity. Once that's not interesting any longer, they can grind humans down to their very essence to become the building blocks of Faerie itself. They don't care about human emotion or attachment and latch onto Josh because of the intensity of his feelings for Ksenia, who he calls Kezzer. She is often prickly and emotionally closed off; she's about to age out of the foster care system in days, her foster family don't like how close she is with Josh, and she has a hidden history of trauma in addition to the ones that sent her to the foster care system.

The various attractions and relationships of all the main characters are fuzzy, which feels genuine for teenagers. They feel things so deeply and intensely, so the thought of Ksenia being sent away to a group home strikes terror into Josh. It was a surprise how much Ksenia actually did love Lexi, given the distance between them in the first section of the book, but as the novel goes on, we see very clearly where it came from and the guilt Lexi harbored for trying to ease Josh into the separation triggering the entire mess.

I was surprised a few times along the way with the plot because it draws from the old tales of Faerie and how the deals worked but managed to upend a few of those tropes. Yes, there are ties that each of them has for each other, but they have to realize hard truths about themselves in order to fix the problem. It's honesty as well as love that works to undo things, and there is no easy solution. Mortals don't ever get off easy when there are deals with the fae, and magic always carries a cost. I wish them all well in this world because I grew to love them all as well as Sarah Porter obviously does.

Buy Never-Contented Things at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and golden retriever.

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