I really wish that I could find something good to say about this book, but I truly can't. Maybe I missed the mark here, but I didn't feel like I knew any of the characters and the build up didn't do anything for me. I think a lot of my personal problems were due to the over flourished word choices and the Japanese terms. My kindle didn't have the definitions of what they were so I would have to stop and Google them because you could not infer a lot from the text on what they were leaving me very confused if I didn't. I have no problem with the use of these terms, it is just helpful to explain them a little bit more, especially for someone who is not at all knowledgeable on the Japanese culture. These two things really did me in, and I had a hard time getting into this story as a result.

I was truly anticipating this novella sine it has everything that I simply adore in horror, creepy vengeful ghosts, characters that love the macabre, and it was set in Japan, one of my fave countries. The premise of the novella was also intriguing, a girl Cat, reunites with her friends for a wedding that will take place in a haunted Heian-era mansion. And let’s not forget that with such an incredibly frightening book cover, who wouldn’t be expecting to be scared shitless, right?

Now, my issue with the novella is the excessive purple prose that was interjected throughout the whole novella. Some of the writing was beautiful, but some of it was simply too over the top that a lot of times I had to reread to know exactly what was going on, and therein lies the issue, in a horror novella you want the action to be evident, not up to interpretation!

My second issue with the novella was that all of the characters seemed to have had some past romantic connections to one another, and while that isn’t unusual is a group of young friends, it seemed really odd that every single dude had slept with one girl and so everyone had underlying resentment towards one another.

The ending was very B-rated horror movie and maybe I’d enjoy this novella more if it had been a B-rated horror movie (because I enjoy those as mindless entertainment) but what works as a bad horror movie usually doesn’t work for a book and that’s why I couldn’t enjoy it.

I know many reviewers DID enjoy this book and I’m not discouraging others from checking it out, but I must be honest about how I felt about it and for me it’s a pass.

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

First things first, I would like to start with praising the utter creepiness of the cover of this book and how much I would like to have a print of it on my wall. Simply Stunning!

I have mixed feelings about this book and I'm finding it hard to articulate exactly what my exact thoughts are upon finishing it but I will give a few of my thoughts that are somewhat organized.

I'll start with the length of the book, at a mere 209 pages it was just enough. I think any longer and the story would have lost me just due to over extending the plot when you don't have the material to do so. I really do think there could have been a much meatier plot if they author had written the story just slightly different, but given the circumstances of the novel it was meant to be a shorter story which I found suited it perfectly.

Next, The Characters - I really wanted to like these characters, I did. I mean, the main character Cat is usually what I love - smart mouthed, bisexual, and a total mess. However, I felt very annoyed by her mid way through the story and lost interest in trying to connect with her or any of them really. The dynamics between the group basically was just very lacking. The story did lay out some contention between the group but god, it was really rough to read 200 pages of people just hating each other but forced to be in the same situation. I had hoped for some moment when I could feel something for any of them, but alas it never came.

The Plot - Again, I REALLY wanted to love this. I did. I remembering reading the synopsis and thinking 'YES. This is exactly my kind of thing.' and when I actually read it I was just left wanting more! There was so much that could have been explored and I suppose due to the length of the novel it could not be but god, such a wasted opportunity. The Japanese history and lore within the house was so cool and I did love the little bits we got of it. The imagery and details the author provided when describing the ghost bride - chilling! I wanted more of that! It felt like the plot was jumping around so quickly that it was hard to really immerse because as soon as you did, it was gone and there was something else and always slightly less interesting. I suppose I had hoped for more spooky parts throughout instead of it all occurring very quickly at the and ending so suddenly. It felt like the plot was going way to quick to keep up and then it was just over. I felt like I had whiplash.

Final thoughts, I think I enjoyed this for what it was. It wasn't overly long in length where I felt burdened by the length when reading it and not enjoying it as much as I thought I would - it was short and sweet. A mere 200 pages that one could easily finish in one sitting. It had some good parts, and the creepy imagery that WAS there was in fact really good it was just so sparse and left me wanting way more.

Would I recommend this? Sure! I know that my review may sound like I didn't like this, but I did and I really do think others would love this story a lot. It just wasn't what I was hoping for when I initially checked this book out.

Give it a try, it might just be your new favourite little ghost story :)

Special thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan -Tor/ Forge for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinion.

This book is so eerie! Loved the storyline and the atmosphere. The characters are well written and i enjoyed seeing how their pasts intertwined. Thank you for letting me read this book!

I have watched quote a bit of Japanese horror films but never read one and so glad I did! One of my favorite tropes are haunted houses/mansions and this was such a dark and haunting read.

A wedding, group of friends going to this haunted mansion thinking it would be a fun way to celebrate ends up being a nightmare with a ghost bride.

Reading it at night helped set the mood and I can't wait for this to release

Thanks netgalley and NightFire for the e-arc!

I was more interested in the word choice and vocabulary then I was the story. The linguistic choices used to describe the scenes were compelling, however the story seemed to lack in plot, depth and engagement.

Not gonna lie, I know nothing about Japanese culture and I didn't even know what an "Heian" era was, (in Japanese culture, it's the period that runs from 795 to 1185),before I started this book. Now I know and I also have learned that Cassandra Khaw is a phenomenal writer!

In a famous haunted mansion from the Heian era, a young couple, for whatever twisted reason, wants to get married. Only a few friends are invited as it's a long trip and let's face it-this kind of thing is not for everyone. All the people here have history with each other, which makes for some interesting dynamics-which takes a back seat when the supernatural action starts up. Will the happy couple be able to get married without a problem? Will any of them escape with their lives? You'll have to read this to find out!

I've long said that the novella is a perfect vehicle for a horror story. It's just long enough to introduce the characters and create feelings towards them, while short enough to keep the tension high and the scares well...scary. All of the that is the case here, and more.

The prose? The prose is purply beautiful at times, while at other times, sharp as a knife. The beauty of the mansion is hidden behind the rot and corruption that have taken over and the way that Khaw describes how that came to be is gorgeous. The imagery is vivid and bright, and I had no problems picturing any of the scenes, while at the same time the sharpness of the prose could be like a knife point. For example: "I hope the house eats you." It doesn't get much sharper than that!

I think I'm going to leave this review at what I've already written. I don't want to give any part of the story away, but I will add that Cassandra Khaw is a force to be reckoned with. I can't wait to read more of her work!

My highest recommendation!

Available October, 2021.

*Thank you to Nightfire and to NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. This is it!*

A morbid tale of an ancient haunted manor, vengeful yokai, and five thrill-seeking almost-friends who rent the place out for a weekend.

The plot might sound boilerplate, but its execution is miles from it. Khaw’s writing is terse, cutting, and horrifically poetic. This story knows what it is; the narrator is self-aware of everything that’s ‘supposed to happen’ in this type of a situation, but its unavoidability adds new layers of uneasiness to the ‘this-ain’t-gonna-end-well’-o-meter.

This is a tale that has plenty of tension between its characters even without the terrifying yokai, and both story elements ramp up nicely in tandem to produce a WTF finale that horror fans will enjoy.

A wedding party at a haunted house, a house haunted by a forgotten bride-to-be, of course, this will end okay... 👀

I had so much hope for this book, but the delivery didn't live up to my standards.
This book needed to be longer to justify the characters' background story and their relationships; the hurt & disdain between some and love with others. The writing was confusing because it was trying to visually portray the horrors and supernatural things occurring and show the MC inner turmoil -unnecessary.

With more time, pace and length, this story could be the one I was super excited for. The potential is there! I did enjoy the notes on horror tropes in the book (even if it didn't follow the right advice), the representation was excellent too!

I've been having Khaw's critically acclaimed HAMMERS ON BONE on my to-read list for a long time (will be fixing that very soon now). I figured I'd give myself a teaser on what she has to offer.

A lot, apparently.

Here is a relatively simple supernatural story, but firmly grounded in its cast of live human beings. As a matter of fact, the human element of the story is so well done that the supernatural aspect is just icing on the cake.

There was a passage in there that won't spoil anything, but I can tell you that here is a situation where Khaw succinctly puts the reader in the exact state of mind for the following scenes to have optimal impact:

"This is the problem with horror movies: Everyone knows what's coming next but actions have momentum, every decision an equal and justified reaction. Just because you know you should, doesn't mean that you can, stop."

Not only is this passage a beautiful mood-setter, but it's also a perfect answer to that horror skeptic in our lives: "why do horror characters make such bad decisions?"

This is a haunting tale. One of the best of recent memory, and one that I will try to remember to recommend to readers that are into dark ghost stories.

Jason Cavallaro

Five friends gather for a destination wedding in Japan, but of course there's a hitch... The bride- and groom-t0-be want to take their vows in a haunted house, and so they've traveled to an abandoned Heian-era mansion with a sordid history. A thousand years ago, the site was meant to host a wedding, but the groom died before he could reach the mansion. The bride demanded her wedding guests to bury her alive in the house's foundation, and to sacrifice a new girl each year, so that their bones could keep the house standing until her dearly departed could find his way back to her.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth presents a rich and haunting mythology, and while it does have some welcomingly spooky moments, this slim novella is completely character driven. Cassandra Khaw unravels these friends from Cat's perspective, a young woman with a history of mental health issues and a mutual dislike for Nadia, the story's lucky present-day bride.

Khaw has arranged this web of relationships in such a way that to call these people friends feels disingenuous. They're more like factions, and this small group has within it its own cliques and minor clans that overlap, if only barely, around Cat. Cat herself is, for me, an intimately relatable character, and I greatly appreciated the subtle and plainly authentic ways Khaw writes about depression, fragmented psyches and emotions, and couches much of it within easy-to-miss euphemisms for suicidal ideation, even as Cat "does the work" of striving for better mental health. Let's just say I found a lot to connect with in terms of Cat's "terminal ennui."

Now, let's talk horror! Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a short work, but one that is wonderfully effective, right down to one particular moment that is easily prose's equivalent to a jump scare on the page. The cover artist's rendering of the bridal kimono-clad ohaguro-bettari is beautifully creepy, but somehow Khaw's written depiction of this spectral, faceless, black toothed terror is even more vivid and terrifying. She knows just the right words and sparse phrases to use to give readers the willies, and her presentation of this haunted mansion and its inhabitants are pitch perfect executions of the language of horror.

Khaw is a hell of a writer, and while I've only read a small handful from her growing body of work, this novella is her crowning jewel to date. Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a haunting exploration of lost opportunities, driven by grief. And like everything else I've read of hers, it immediately makes me want more.

This was a hands down spectacular read. It was beautifully written, it had complex characters, it had rich imagery and the sense of dread that comes with a successful horror story.

Khaw has written characters that are brooding but real, big personalities clashing in an atmosphere of quiet dread and crashing chaos.

This story was as tense as it was terrifying. A definite highlight.

The story itself was pretty interesting but the writing was very wordy and it drew my attention away from the focus of the story and unfortunately, I began to lose interest. I think I'll give this book another chance in a few months. It's a short read and has the potential to be a really great horror novella.

Lush, poetic, and haunting. One to savor to really invest in the spookiness. I look forward to what this author does next.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw was such a creepy yet beautiful story. A haunted house tale infused with Japanese folklore and gore. The setting of the story was well described and gave me the creeps. We follow a group of friends to an abandoned Heian- era mansion with an eerie history. The mansion is said to be built on the bones of a bride and the walls full of the girls sacrificed to keep her company. The couple within the group of friends wants to get married in the mansion. Which in my opinion, was just asking for trouble. So of course as the night progresses things get crazy.

I use the term "friends" loosely because they didn't seem like friends at all to me. I felt like most of the story they were hashing out a lot of drama. Which I didn't mind, but I would have like to have gotten a little more information about the ghost bride. The story was short so it was a lot of information crammed together, but the writing was so damn beautiful. I didn't feel like I was reading a story at some points; I felt like I was reading poetry. The writing is beautifully done, which is why I wanted MORE!

Overall, I enjoyed Nothing But Blackened Teeth and look forward to reading more from the author. I fell in love with her writing style and I need more. So thankful for the chance to read the story. I plan on keeping up with this authors future work.

You can also check out my review on Instagram @c.m.guidroz

This was such a creepy novella! Following Cat and a group of her friends, Nothing But Blackened Teeth tells the story of the horrors they encounter while staying at a Japanese mansion. I really liked the descriptions of the ghost: I almost wish I had saved this for a October. The only thing I had a problem with was that the first part of the novella mostly dealt with the really complicated relationships between all of the characters. I didn’t really care about the tension between them all that mostly stemmed from them all having dated each other at some point or another. So the first part dragged a bit before the ghost actually appeared, but once she did, I really enjoyed it.

This Japanese cultural horror novella is a hauntingly sharp stab of a read. In embellished prose, yet so stark with horrific elements, it is most expressive from the radically piercing cover to its livid content.

A handful of young adult friends are heading for an all-expenses-paid trip by one of them, as a gift to two of them who are getting married. Friends since school times, their group dynamic is complex due to some relationship baggage and former relationship contention.

Their destination is an abandoned imperial palace as the backdrop for the occasion, a once favored venue for beautiful weddings. There is a dark story though that surrounds the place that is built upon 206 bones for every year of the past 1000 years.

When the friends arrive and explore the 2 story palace and its many rooms, the voice of an ancient ghost lures them to play a game the ancient samurai played once to see who was the bravest.

“In one room sat terracotta monks, head weighted with an ancient regret. In another, dolls with mouths lacquered black. In another, books, or at least the corpses of books. The volumes were mulch, eaten by insects, infested; edifices, turgid with egg chambers, writhed from the rot. “

This leads them to The Hitobashira ritual, the deciding factor on how this game will go. The question is, how does this fit in with the planned wedding, and what have the ghosts in mind for these friends.

A poetic approach to horror makes this cerebral modern haunted house story a feast for the senses.

***

I fell for the cover first - that’s all I can say. Secondly, I was intrigued by the Japanese lore and the old haunted, imperial palace.

This novella reads very modernly and the reader is thrown right into the friend's dynamic. The travel from A to B, in this case, the arrival at the palace to the climax of the story accelerates steady and is very character-driven.

The writing is vastly embellished with expressive prose and I enjoyed this a lot. The author does not hold back on gruesome details, yet it doesn’t feel terrorizing or overly gruesome.

If you enjoy that bit of sizzle and crack in your horror reads, this might be to your taste.

Enjoy!

*Quotes taken from an uncorrected proof

I received a digital copy of this novella from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you.

More of my reviews here:
Through Novel Time & Distance

I love a ghost story that involves real, complicated, messy people and friendships and relationships, and this delivered on that tenfold. I also love the lore of the buried bride. My only complaint is that I feel as though the story could have been longer, should have been longer, so that everything could breathe more and we could get more in depth look at the characters, the house, and the story.

I wanted this to be sooo much better. The concept, the plot, the folklore were all amazing, but it was just too short. Everything happened way too fast—especially since both the main characters and the ghost elements had such long backgrounds. Had this been developed over a hundred or a couple hundred more pages, it could have been perfection. We don’t get time to understand how deep their relationships are or the weight of the ghost story. Disappointing.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me a free e-galley of this book in exchange for feedback.

Since I read this book in e-book form, I didn't realize how short it was until I was well into it. This was a tiny book that I finished in one sitting, right before bedtime, which is maybe not the best time, but I accept the consequences of my choices.

It was a classic haunted-house story that I can easily imagine as an upsetting movie. The settings were fantastic, and if I had to google a few Japanese things, that's good, because now I know a lot more. The web site I found said that ohaguro bettari are upsetting but not dangerous, but that didn't seem to be the case for the one in this book at all.

The writing was first-rate on a sentence level. People will read this book because they want an upsetting Japanese horror story, and they will get exactly what they want from it.