Blog Tour Review with Giveaway: Never-Contented Things by Sarah Porter

Praise for NEVER-CONTENTED THINGS

“Sarah Porter is a genius. Her language is lush and dangerous, and her books burn with the beautiful, ferocious intensity of a bonfire in the darkest night. Read Never-Contented Things with the lights on. Then read it again.” ―Brittany Cavallaro, New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Charlotte

“Sarah Porter’s Never-Contented Things creates a creepy new world like none I’ve seen before. Eerie, edgy, and filled with mystery, Porter takes us to the depths of the magical and psychological.” ―Danielle Paige, New York Times bestselling author of Dorothy Must Die

Praise for WHEN I CAST YOUR SHADOW

“You’ll never think of your nightmares the same way again. Darkly seductive. Sarah Porter’s writing glitters and her storytelling stuns in this twisted tale of siblings, love, and death.” —Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of CARAVAL

“Sarah Porter’s darkly imaginative WHEN I CAST YOUR SHADOW intrigues from the start. Tragic and engrossing, filled with nightmarish dreamscapes and menacing villains, it also treads the tender terrain of family, and the strange and sometimes dysfunctional ties between siblings. Highly recommended!”  —Kendare Blake, New York Times bestselling author of THREE DARK CROWNS

Book info:

Title:  Never Contented Things
Author:  Sarah Porter
Genre:  YA fantasy
Release Date:  March 19th, 2019
Publisher: Tor Teen
Source:  Physical copy from publisher which did not influence my opinion
My rating: 4.5 stars  

Synopsis:
Seductive. Cruel. Bored.
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 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.

You can purchase Never-Contented Things at the following Retailers:

        

My Review:

I'd been intrigued by this book when I saw it back in March, but didn't get the time to fit it into my reading schedule then. So when this blog tour popped up, I decided I really should make the time to read it now.  I picked this one up and sped through it.  It was really hard to put down.  The world the author created was so vivid and creepy, exactly as this kind of story should be.  But it wasn't all just atmosphere, the characters were so well developed and had so much depth.  I wanted so bad for all of them to be redeemed, to be saved, for the ending to be as happy as possible.  But the way it ended was perfect.  While most who deserved a second chance got it, not everyone got it in the way they wanted it or the way I as the reader wanted them to have it. And then there were the deaths that there was no way around, no way to save those characters.  Again, that was the way it should be.  Even though most everyone got their redemption, there were characters that you hated from the beginning, that really didn't redeem themselves even when they had the chance.  I like that as well.  Not all characters have to become better, because that just isn't realistic.  

This was just a beautiful world that I'm so glad I got the chance to experience.  Can't wait to put in my school library and recommend to my students as well as the people who come into the bookstore where I work.

Photo Content from Sarah Porter

SARAH PORTER is the author of the Lost Voices Trilogy (Lost Voices, Waking Storms, The Twice Lost) in addition to Vassa in the Night—all for the teen audience. For over ten years she has taught creative writing workshops in New York City public schools to students in grades K-10. Porter also works as a VJ, both solo and with the art collective Fort/Da; she has played venues including Roseland, Galapagos, Tonic, Joe’s Pub, The Hammerstein Ballroom, The Nokia Theater, and the Burning Man festival. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two cats.

        

WEEK ONE
JUNE 3rd MONDAY JeanBookNerd GUEST POST
JUNE 4th TUESDAY BookHounds YA REVIEW
JUNE 4th TUESDAY The Book Enigma REVIEW
JUNE 5th WEDNESDAY Insane About Books REVIEW
JUNE 5th WEDNESDAY Rose's Book Corner EXCERPT
JUNE 6th THURSDAY Sabrina's Paranormal Palace REVIEW
JUNE 6th THURSDAY Two Points of Interest REVIEW
JUNE 7th FRIDAY Movies, Shows. & Books EXCERPT
JUNE 7th FRIDAY Gwendalyn Books REVIEW

WEEK TWO
JUNE 10th MONDAY Wishful Endings INTERVIEW
JUNE 11th TUESDAY A Dream Within A Dream REVIEW 
JUNE 11th TUESDAY Bibliobibuli YA INTERVIEW
JUNE 12th WEDNESDAY Lisa Loves Literature REVIEW
JUNE 12th WEDNESDAY A Bookish Dream REVIEW
JUNE 13th THURSDAY Nay's Pink Bookshelf REVIEW
JUNE 13th THURSDAY TTC Books and More EXCERPT
JUNE 14th FRIDAY Casia's Corner REVIEW
JUNE 14th FRIDAY Crossroad Reviews REVIEW

*JBN is not responsible for Lost or Damaged Books in your Nerdy Mail Box*


Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lisa's Looking Foward To #8 - March 19th, 2019

This is going to be the first week I do this on a Wednesday, and hopefully join in with the Waiting on Wednesday Posts, and the Can't Wait Wednesday posts hosted by Wishful Endings.  There are quite a few books coming out next week that I've got listed in my planner. So here we go!

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this one, so keep your eyes open for my review later this week!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful and well-behaved—it says so on their report cards. Under the watchful gaze of their Guardians, the all-girl boarding school offers an array of studies and activities, from “Growing a Beautiful and Prosperous Garden” to “Art Appreciation” and “Interior Design.” The girls learn to be the best society has to offer. Absent is the difficult math coursework, or the unnecessary sciences or current events. They are obedient young ladies, free from arrogance or defiance. Until Mena starts to realize that their carefully controlled existence may not be quite as it appears.

As Mena and her friends begin to uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening there—and who they really are—the girls of Innovations will find out what they are truly capable of. Because some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns.

This one is getting a lot of good reviews I hear.  I also really enjoyed the other book I read by this author, Love, Hate, and Other Filters.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Rebellions are built on hope.

Set in a horrifying near-future United States, seventeen-year-old Layla Amin and her parents are forced into an internment camp for Muslim American citizens.

With the help of newly made friends also trapped within the internment camp, her boyfriend on the outside, and an unexpected alliance, Layla begins a journey to fight for freedom, leading a revolution against the internment camp's Director and his guards.

Heart-racing and emotional, Internment challenges readers to fight complicit silence that exists in our society today.

I've already read this one and really enjoyed it.  You can check out my review HERE.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Every year for the past fifty-four years, the residents of Pinsbury Port receive a mysterious letter inviting all eligible-aged boys to compete for an esteemed scholarship to the all-male Stemwick University. Every year, the poorer residents look to see that their names are on the list. The wealthier look to see how likely their sons are to survive. And Rhen Tellur opens it to see if she can derive which substances the ink and parchment are created from, using her father’s microscope.

In the province of Caldon, where women are trained in wifely duties and men are encouraged into collegiate education, sixteen-year-old Rhen Tellur wants nothing more than to become a scientist. As the poor of her seaside town fall prey to a deadly disease, she and her father work desperately to find a cure. But when her Mum succumbs to it as well? Rhen decides to take the future into her own hands—through the annual all-male scholarship competition.

With her cousin, Seleni, by her side, the girls don disguises and enter Mr. Holm’s labyrinth, to best the boys and claim the scholarship prize. Except not everyone’s ready for a girl who doesn’t know her place. And not everyone survives the maze. 

Cool cover, synopsis sounds good.  Maybe I'll get to read it some day!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Seductive. Cruel. Bored
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 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. 

Sounds like a unique type of story.  Again, maybe I'll get the chance some day!

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
Told through the lens of a guy in love with the cosmos (and maybe two girls), The Universal Laws of Marco explores the complicated histories that bring us together and tear us apart.

In the summer before eighth grade, Marco Suarez kissed his best friend Sally Blake. This was his first spark.

And since then, whenever he’s thought about that moment, he’s traveled through a wormhole—of sorts—to relive those brief seconds when time sped up (or, rather, his view of time distorted) and he kissed her.

And then, at the end of that year, she disappeared, leaving in that way that people sometimes leave—alive and well and somewhere out there but gone, nonetheless. She never even said why.

And now in their senior year, Sally unexpectedly returns and Marco is shaken. Still, he holds tightly to his carefully choreographed life. A life that is full of reasons why first sparks don’t matter:

Reason 1: He has a girlfriend. Her name is Erika Richards.
Reason 2: He’s leaving on a full scholarship to college.
Reason 3: He’s busy with his friends and making money to help support his family.

But as Marco navigates the final days of high school, he learns that leaving home is never easy and a first spark is hard to ignore. 

I wish I'd had time to join in to a blog tour I think I saw for this one.  I just don't have time to add it into my TBR in time.  But it does sound like a good science fiction story.

Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
In an all-too-plausible future where corporate conglomerates have left the world’s governments in shambles, anyone with means has left the polluted Earth for the promise of a better life on a SpaceTech owned colony among the stars.

Maité Martinez is the daughter of an Earther Latina and a powerful Aunare man, an alien race that SpaceTech sees as a threat to their dominion. When tensions turn violent, Maité finds herself trapped on Earth and forced into hiding.

For over ten years, Maité has stayed hidden, but every minute Maité stays on Earth is one closer to getting caught.

She’s lived on the streets. Gone hungry. And found a way to fight through it all. But one night, while waitressing in a greasy diner, a customer gets handsy with her. She reacts without thinking.

Covered in blood, Maité runs, but it’s not long before SpaceTech finds her…

Arrested and forced into dangerous work detail on a volcano planet, Maité waits for SpaceTech to make their move against the Aunare. She knows that if she can’t somehow find a way to stop them, there will be an interstellar war big enough to end all life in the universe.

There’s only one question: Can Maité prevent the total annihilation of humanity without getting herself killed in the process?


Final Thoughts:
Quite a few books come out next week.  A couple I liked, a few I wish I could read soon!  How about you?  Have you read any of these yet?  Are they on your TBR?  And hey, while you're here, you should go try to win some of my ARCs from Clearing My Shelf HERE.