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owlyreadsalot 's review for:
Never-Contented Things
by Sarah Porter
Okay, this one here was a tough one for me. Mainly, because I can't get enough of the creepy, eerie, supernatural realms, which Sarah Porter ventures into. But, those first chapters of this novel, had me second guessing everything I was so sure of. And, that's saying a lot, because I can fairly say that I deal with a lot, but really with some of those paragraphs about sibling/not sibling love confused and boggled the mind.
"Ever since I was a kid, people have complained about me: that I'm cold and withdrawn and unfriendly. That I'm incapable of attachment--except to Josh, and then only in a pathologically extreme form. That I don't have the first idea of what it means to truly love anyone."
I mean, really, there were moments of Ksenia saying repeatedly that Josh was her brother (which they're not and have only known each other a few years), but then would say...oh baby you know I love you. Yeah, this continued for a good chunk of the book. Like I said, very off-putting. Especially, when that's what you first get from this, not everything else that eventually comes and gives the reader the clarification they were requiring up front.
And, yes, I know, that can make a good psychological book, but this is not what many were told to expect, or genre to ready themselves for. If you came into this world, to only get the fairy parts and a magical realm, this isn't the book for you. Because, like mentioned above, it is way more than that, needing you to push past those first several chapters and get to the heart of these extremely fractured minds, which we call Ksenia and Josh.
"And then I hear Josh sob. Tender and openhearted and totally without calculation. The way he used to sound when we were both kids, long before we ever came to this place. Back when we were both--more innocent than we are now, anyway, though I would have spit at anyone who'd called me that."
It's definitely not a story without character, or shocking moments. It's because of all that, that I kept going and understood what it all meant, why it needed to be done, but also why I couldn't go through it again, or even dare put myself through something so distorted and emotionally scarring. There's just only so much a mind can deal with, especially when that's not what we were looking for as the reader when we first picked up this book.
It's only saying a little of what is all in here, because the fairies we were waiting for are a small fraction of what we get. I will say though, they really are an evil force to absolutely run away from and never look back at. Even more so, is having to know the sad truth of what those creatures cause to those (mostly) left alive. What they will have to endure, while the rest of the world moves forward like nothing ever happened, is such a sad thing to think about.
"Maybe they're right. Maybe I don't. Maybe being ready to die for my friend and my brother doesn't count as love, not in the way that normal people think of it. I'm even ready to stay trapped here forever as Prince's toy, if that's the price of Josh and Lexi's freedom, and to me that seems a lot worse than dying."
But, with all the confusion, and the back and forth, a three is what I gave it. Because, even with the weird, and unnerving tones of this book, you get so much more love, joy, and sadness you weren't expecting. If my rating now seems low, with how much I felt for the story, it's mostly due to how we were introduced to the world, as well as the genre it was placed into. Which, I really believe should've been completely different. I can say though, without a doubt, that this novel got me all kinds of wrecked.
***I was provided use of this copy through my library Portage County. All opinions are my own.***
"Ever since I was a kid, people have complained about me: that I'm cold and withdrawn and unfriendly. That I'm incapable of attachment--except to Josh, and then only in a pathologically extreme form. That I don't have the first idea of what it means to truly love anyone."
I mean, really, there were moments of Ksenia saying repeatedly that Josh was her brother (which they're not and have only known each other a few years), but then would say...oh baby you know I love you. Yeah, this continued for a good chunk of the book. Like I said, very off-putting. Especially, when that's what you first get from this, not everything else that eventually comes and gives the reader the clarification they were requiring up front.
And, yes, I know, that can make a good psychological book, but this is not what many were told to expect, or genre to ready themselves for. If you came into this world, to only get the fairy parts and a magical realm, this isn't the book for you. Because, like mentioned above, it is way more than that, needing you to push past those first several chapters and get to the heart of these extremely fractured minds, which we call Ksenia and Josh.
"And then I hear Josh sob. Tender and openhearted and totally without calculation. The way he used to sound when we were both kids, long before we ever came to this place. Back when we were both--more innocent than we are now, anyway, though I would have spit at anyone who'd called me that."
It's definitely not a story without character, or shocking moments. It's because of all that, that I kept going and understood what it all meant, why it needed to be done, but also why I couldn't go through it again, or even dare put myself through something so distorted and emotionally scarring. There's just only so much a mind can deal with, especially when that's not what we were looking for as the reader when we first picked up this book.
It's only saying a little of what is all in here, because the fairies we were waiting for are a small fraction of what we get. I will say though, they really are an evil force to absolutely run away from and never look back at. Even more so, is having to know the sad truth of what those creatures cause to those (mostly) left alive. What they will have to endure, while the rest of the world moves forward like nothing ever happened, is such a sad thing to think about.
"Maybe they're right. Maybe I don't. Maybe being ready to die for my friend and my brother doesn't count as love, not in the way that normal people think of it. I'm even ready to stay trapped here forever as Prince's toy, if that's the price of Josh and Lexi's freedom, and to me that seems a lot worse than dying."
But, with all the confusion, and the back and forth, a three is what I gave it. Because, even with the weird, and unnerving tones of this book, you get so much more love, joy, and sadness you weren't expecting. If my rating now seems low, with how much I felt for the story, it's mostly due to how we were introduced to the world, as well as the genre it was placed into. Which, I really believe should've been completely different. I can say though, without a doubt, that this novel got me all kinds of wrecked.
***I was provided use of this copy through my library Portage County. All opinions are my own.***