The concept and the lore were absolutely fabulous. The problem was that I wanted more. More backstory, just more. The writing was beautiful and I absolutely devoured the book.

Yikes. I really didn't like this book. There was some creepy imagery, but the characters were so unlikeable that I just couldn't wait to be done with the book.

This one didn't fully do it for me and I'm still not quite sure why? I listened to it on audiobook and just felt myself zoning out at times. The story was interesting too, so I think I need to put the blame on the writing style which wasn't pulling me in the same way that it needed to. With such a short book and a punchy premise, you would think that I would speed right through it but zoning out like I did meant that I couldn't pay attention and therefore have the great connection to it that I wanted to.

This read was a quick, spooky novella. It was a little predictable, and a little more literary than what I was hoping for when I picked it up.
But I do love the cultural elements and the setting. I was hoping for something a little darker and a little scarier. Overall, this is a nice appetizer.

While I found the overall premise and writing of the book very interesting and well done, I really felt like it could have been longer. We're told (and only told) over and over that these characters are friends and have been through a lot of drama with one another - but we're shown almost none of it and even the "telling" doesn't really give us enough information for the characters to seem fleshed out and real. The descriptions of the ghosts and the haunted house itself are incredibly well done, but for what's supposed to seem like a character-driven story, it just feels unfinished.

A fun, but underwhelming horror story.

I wanted to be scared, I mean - wouldn't you expect to have chills running down your spine with a cover like this? There was so much build up to the characters that the scary story at the center of this haunting took a backseat and stayed there way beyond its final destination. The MC was internally struggling throughout, referencing the horror genre and her place in it, while the ghost bride hovered in the background, taking possession of the only other female character, but ... not doing much other than descriptively looking terrifying.

The ending was unsatisfying with an inkling of the past lingering within the MC, which sure is cool and expected BUT doesn't really leave a lasting impression.

I've only had the pleasure of reading Cassandra Khaw's short stories before now, and while I loved those too, I now consider myself irrevocably hooked. Whatever Cassandra writes, I don't think I'll need a premise or a blurb; I'm sold on the way their dark and twisted prose has dug deep into my mind and won't leave.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth starts off with a refreshing twist on a favorite trope: a group of slightly estranged friends escaping off to a secluded spot for a reunion (in this case, a wedding). This is one of my favorite horror setups, but Khaw makes it shiny and new (or, should I say, moldy and decaying) by setting it in a legendary, decrepit manor in rural Japan. Our cast of characters are all immensely flawed, some downright unbearable whether due to cruelty or cowardice, but the protagonist had my heart from page one (a fellow chronically depressed bi person, how could I not love Cat?).

The atmosphere is palpable; every moment, I felt as though I could turn around and find myself in one of these rotting rooms. The scares are unique, bizarre, and unsettling in the sense that the spirits' motives feel at times entirely unhinged. There's an element of brutality that had me in awe, and a suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat. Truly, I adored everything about Khaw's storytelling and I know this is a book I'm going to be recommending to anyone who will listen for a long time to come.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

This was all right, the horror parts were entertaining and good and creepy. The relationships between the characters was odd and never entirely flushed out, I guess they had all been together with each other at one point or another. Parts of this novel were far too detailed in areas that it didn't make sense and other parts (like the horror bits) seemed a bit rushed. However, quick read and if it had been any longer than it was, I likely would not have finished it.

I was really excited to start this, but it was not such a good book when I started reading it. It had so much potential as a horror book in the synopsis, everything was there, but it was NOT at all what I was expecting.

Really enjoyed this!

I will update the review with the link to on our blog as soon as I can.

I'd like to thank the publisher Macmillan-Tor/Forge and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

When I saw Cassandra Khaw’s Nothing But Blackened Teeth available to read on Netgalley, I jumped on the chance to get a copy. Books set in Japan (whether modern-day or historical) are appealing to me. And if there happens to be a mystery and/or a horror element added in? Bonus!

I was so looking forward to reading this book and when I was finally able to I was so disappointed! So much about this book is simply awful!

I know horror can be difficult to write; good horror that keeps you on the edge of your seat doubly so. The juggling of characters, setting, and plot can be quite demanding. Even the most prolific of writers can have trouble. And while Khaw certainly tried with Nothing But Blackened Teeth, it was in my opinion an ultimate failure.

The cast of characters is an unlikeable group of twenty-somethings. Throughout the story, we are told they are friends and have been for some time – hard to believe considering the way they almost constantly bicker. Almost the entire book is like this with them fighting about past grudges and who might still have feelings for who. It added nothing to the story and only made it difficult for me to actually care when something happened to someone.

Because the story is set in Japan and because it is supposed to be a ghost story, Khaw apparently felt it necessary to throw in terms like ohaguro-bettari and shiromoku but without giving any translation or context. Readers who are familiar with Japanese ghost stories will likely recognize the terms – a female demon with no face and a mouth of black teeth and a pure white wedding kimono respectively – but the average readers will not. And without that context or translation, the words mean nothing and add nothing.

The writing for Nothing But Blackened Teeth is just as bad. Khaw’s prose is so purple at times it comes across as ridiculous. In some passages it isn’t purple, it’s ultraviolet. It is excessive and so over the top that I have no words to really describe it. And like in so many novels that have that overly flowery type of writing, it doesn’t add to the story but detracts from it.

I will be honest my dear reader, I did not enjoy reading Nothing But Blackened Teeth. The stilted writing and horrid characters made it difficult to even finish the story. I know there are reviewers who absolutely loved this book and there are readers who like me did not. My only advice is to read it and judge for yourself.

This was a really strange reading experience. The writing was very odd. Uncommon words that didn't quite fit were often used, along with metaphors and phrases that aren't used or common were frequent. I couldn't keep track of what was happening and the story was difficult to follow. I also didn't understand all of the relationships between characters -- the relationships were briefly mentioned and then not elaborated on. I also didn't quite understand the setting either, I could not picture it at all.

This was such a unique concept, I love the idea of a wedding in a haunted house. Although this was a novella it did a great job making you feel the connection and relationships of the characters even though we are dropped in years into their friendship.

I enjoyed the folklore aspect to this book, but what I didn’t enjoy is the characters themselves and their depressing bad attitudes. What I did enjoy was that the haunted houses’s viciousness. I only hoped that there was to be no survivors.
I say give it a read if you don’t need to get invested into characters and like some gore.

So creepy! Khaw is a master at building characters and atmosphere. After reading this, I had to go and devour everything she's written. I can't wait to read her next work. A new master of horror.

I think when it comes down to it, writing novellas and short stories that are compelling in a condensed amount of time is a really difficult skill to acquire and polish. I try to be nice to novellas that miss the mark because I understand how hard it can be, but there's only so much leeway I can give before a book turns out to be not worth the time. (At least novellas aren't much time to begin with!)

Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a book about messy people making stupid decisions and reaping the consequences. Nadia has always dreamed of getting married in a haunted house, so when she and Faiz decide to tie the knot, golden boy Phillip rents a Heian-era mansion with a blood-soaked history of girls being buried alive for their venue. Cat, our main character and narrator, and Lin are invited along as well, but the night turns sour when the bride buried beneath the mansion's walls awakens and begins to stalk the thrill-seekers.

I think when it comes down to it, this is yet another novella that suffered from a lack of development due to page constraints. The characters were one-dimensional and fueled by their messy choices, and sometimes as if we couldn't remember their one (1) personality trait, Cat saw the need to beat these traits over our heads in flowery language. If I can't pick up that Phillip is a ditzy rich white boy at 80%, that's a problem with the writing. In a novella, every word is crucial since you don't have as much room to work with, and I felt a lot of space that could have been used to craft a more spooky atmosphere was wasted on telling instead of showing character traits.

Regarding the writing, I think this book would have benefitted from a consistent writing style and tone. Again, due to the condensed nature of a novella, switching from haunting, poetic descriptions to basically the complete opposite was a constant stream of whiplash. Cat is fresh from a suicide attempt and in-patient hospital stay, so as a dramatic depressed person I gave her a pass, but at some point, you go from Sylvia Plath to a middle grader's notebook when it comes to the level and quality of the prose. I value books where each sentence seems intentional and not a word is wasted, but here I was frequently taken out of scenes by Cat waxing poetic about Phillip's wonderbread behavior. In a horror story, tone and immersion are everything, and I did not end this book properly spooked, which was a disappointment!

If you are a fan of prose that edges towards purple and can overlook character development and quality to appreciate a very spooky setting and plot, you may enjoy this much more than I did! Fans of Japanese folklore will at least get a bit of a kick out of this.

The author worked hard to throw the reader off their feet and keep you disoriented but it actually felt more hastily pulled together than skilled technique. It also ended very, very abruptly. And I get it, killing off the white guy is a nice turn on the classic way of things. Maybe it was just my mindset when I read it but it really felt like it both rushed through too much and dwelled on other aspects far too often.

Cassandra Khaw’s Nothing but Blackened Teeth was one of the most buzzed about novellas in Horror circles from the intriguing and haunting cover and being one of the initial titles in the launch of Tor’s new Nightfire imprint. Based on the reactions I’ve seen, it is also one of the most polarizing titles of 2021. However, I absolutely LOVED Nothing but Blackened Teeth and I’m going to check out anything and everything Khaw publishes in the future.

Khaw puts their own unique spin on the haunted house genre in this terrifying tale inspired by Japanese folklore. Packed with plenty of haunting, hallucinatory scenes, I felt this novella was a breath of fresh air for this style of Horror. I love a good haunted house story and I was not disappointed with the eerie and frightening way Khaw unleashed the horrors they created on unsuspecting readers. Your enjoyment may vary, but I applaud the bold direction Khaw took in Nothing But Blackened Teeth. They write in a variety of genres and I already have The All- Consuming World in my TBR, but I can’t wait to read another straight-up Horror novel from Khaw.

A book that takes on Japanese lore I thought I'd like this, but overall it was too blah. A short story with a totally creepy and gory ending but it made no sense at times. I really thought the premise would lead to some disturbing and inventive scenes, but instead it's a lot of dull set-up culminating in some run-of-the-mill gore.

The cover terrified me and I was like I must read this. It was short and terrifying and I loved it. I think the cover alone definitely sells it!