Nothing But Blackened Teeth
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- Create Date：2021-11-12 07:51:08
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Cassandra Khaw
- ISBN：1250759412
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Cassandra Khaw's Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a gorgeously creepy haunted house tale， steeped in Japanese folklore and full of devastating twists。
A Heian-era mansion stands abandoned， its foundations resting on the bones of a bride and its walls packed with the remains of the girls sacrificed to keep her company。
It’s the perfect wedding venue for a group of thrill-seeking friends。
But a night of food， drinks， and games quickly spirals into a nightmare。 For lurking in the shadows is the ghost bride with a black smile and a hungry heart。
And she gets lonely down there in the dirt。
A Heian-era mansion stands abandoned， its foundations resting on the bones of a bride and its walls packed with the remains of the girls sacrificed to keep her company。
It’s the perfect wedding venue for a group of thrill-seeking friends。
But a night of food， drinks， and games quickly spirals into a nightmare。 For lurking in the shadows is the ghost bride with a black smile and a hungry heart。
And she gets lonely down there in the dirt。
Reviews
Ember Mikayla
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Very good scary story。
Chad
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3。5 Stars rounded up。I really enjoyed this。 Yes is was short， but it was very well written and definitely had some creepy imagery running through my mind。 I've never read Khaw before this， but this gave me a great taste of what she is capable of。 Will definitely be looking for more。 How bout that cover！！ Creepy！ 3。5 Stars rounded up。I really enjoyed this。 Yes is was short， but it was very well written and definitely had some creepy imagery running through my mind。 I've never read Khaw before this， but this gave me a great taste of what she is capable of。 Will definitely be looking for more。 How bout that cover！！ Creepy！ 。。。more
Re •
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I honestly have no idea what was going on other than this wild ominous amount of violence。 But it honestly was the lack of as many teeth as I thought there would be。 I'm super glad I read it。 I honestly have no idea what was going on other than this wild ominous amount of violence。 But it honestly was the lack of as many teeth as I thought there would be。 I'm super glad I read it。 。。。more
Deepthy
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My God。 What did I just read？My last brush with horror stories was back in high school， specifically the Fear Street stories。 So I was not sure what to expect going in except that it had some Japanese elements and that things were about to get very， very weird and disturbing。I can't say I enjoyed the story - it was macabre and disturbing。 I felt like I was getting sucked into a swamp of dirt， algae - slowly suffocating as the story progressed。 I didn't dislike it either。 Part of it was the autho My God。 What did I just read？My last brush with horror stories was back in high school， specifically the Fear Street stories。 So I was not sure what to expect going in except that it had some Japanese elements and that things were about to get very， very weird and disturbing。I can't say I enjoyed the story - it was macabre and disturbing。 I felt like I was getting sucked into a swamp of dirt， algae - slowly suffocating as the story progressed。 I didn't dislike it either。 Part of it was the author's descriptive writing style。 I think the story was unnecessarily wordy most of the time but she was descriptive enough that the world came alive in my head。 I also liked how the story was built。The issue for me was the ending。 So anti-climatic。 So ordinary。 May be because of the way the story was set up I expected a bit more from the characters and from the ghost。。。。。。 Anyways， a solid 3 stars。 It definitely sucked me in and gave me chills but it certainly did not blow my mind。 。。。more
Addy Brady
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Yikes。"Nothing but Blackened Teeth" was one of my most anticipated books of the season。 I really dug the Japanese setting and was expecting a great gothic horror with a creepy ghost。 However， what I got were five unlikable characters set in a confusing plot with zero sense of pacing and an INCREDIBLY irritating narrator。The five people staying in the house are all absolutely terrible human beings， meaning that there is no actual sense of danger in the book。 None of the characters develop at all， Yikes。"Nothing but Blackened Teeth" was one of my most anticipated books of the season。 I really dug the Japanese setting and was expecting a great gothic horror with a creepy ghost。 However， what I got were five unlikable characters set in a confusing plot with zero sense of pacing and an INCREDIBLY irritating narrator。The five people staying in the house are all absolutely terrible human beings， meaning that there is no actual sense of danger in the book。 None of the characters develop at all， so there is zero attachment and therefore zero reason to care if they live or die。 Their dialogue reminded me of an episode of "The Bachelor" - all vapid nonsense about who slept with who and not an intelligent thought between them。 Not a single one seems to specifically like another single one and they all spew underhanded remarks and outright cruelty towards each other throughout the night spent in the house。 There is also some painfully awkward banter between them all， which comes out as especially inappropriate during the tense meeting with the ghost。 As she stands before them and every character freezes in terror， Lin cracks an innuendo about the word "fucking" and where it could be placed in a sentence。 Completely ruins any attempt at a creepy interaction with the woman with black teeth。The pacing of the novel is also all over the place。 We spend the first few chapters meeting the characters and working out their relationships to each other。 Then we get this very fast-paced jump from drunken story-telling to Talia and Faiz deciding to get married in the middle of the night in borrowed finery。 The ending with the flight and Faiz pulling a knife （out of his ass， apparently， since the knife was not brought up at all before this moment） and dismembering his friend also hits like a freight train because the scene immediately preceding it is just a quiet talk between Cat and Lin。 The whiplash of going from one event to the next is unpleasant for the reader and makes the story feel more like a rough draft than a published work; thing just sort of "happen" as you read along。Then there's the actual writing of the book。 The sole purpose of the author writing this seems to be to prove to us that She Is Very Smart。 Kappa and kitsune are namedropped with no explanation as to what these creatures are。 Anyone without a knowledge of Japanese culture would be completely lost in trying to follow along with what the character is seeing， and I felt I was spending a good portion of my time trying to google words for meaning rather than immersing myself in the story。 She also refers to the titular ghost with blackened teeth as "ohaguro-bettari" without actually explaining what that words means or equating it with the ghost woman。On top of using Japanese names of creatures that not all readers might be familiar with， the author uses insane vocabulary throughout the book。 It almost reads like the sentences were all stuck into a thesaurus and then the biggest words were chosen - like a teenager trying to sound smarter than they are。 Honestly， the fact that she couldn't say thoughts were "bouncing around in her head" and instead had to refer to it as the "amygdala" or the "cerebellum" almost send me over the edge。 There is definitely an advantage to using copiously large language instead of monosyllabic drivel， but sometimes you just need to fucking say what you mean。 Also， some of the sentences made me want to curl up and just。。。die:"Lin had a laugh like a bark， like a wound leaking sepsis。"WHAT。Seriously， go ahead and skip this one。 Please。 If you're looking for some good gothic horror， go check out Mexican Gothic and thank me later。 。。。more
Mike
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Destination weddings are a pain in the ass。
Lou
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I was excited to read a horror novella steeped in Japanese folklore， but that’s not what this is。 The folklore is merely set dressing （literally！） for the petty squabbles of a group of characters you can’t even love to hate。 At first， I expected the haunting to play off of the characters’ animosity towards each other to escalate the horror， but they come into the story at each other’s throats already。 There’s not much room for build up。And that’s where this book really fails: horror is all about I was excited to read a horror novella steeped in Japanese folklore， but that’s not what this is。 The folklore is merely set dressing （literally！） for the petty squabbles of a group of characters you can’t even love to hate。 At first， I expected the haunting to play off of the characters’ animosity towards each other to escalate the horror， but they come into the story at each other’s throats already。 There’s not much room for build up。And that’s where this book really fails: horror is all about the build up。 But the haunting alternately jumps around in intensity and simmers on the back burner to make room for the sorts of interpersonal issues that would be forgotten in such life-or-death circumstances。 And I couldn’t help but laugh along with the ghost at that。 。。。more
Potattoprincess
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Solid 4， really good， creepy read。 The only thing I was slightly disappointed was the ending。 This one worked as well， I just expected something more。。。。*redacted to avoid spoilers*
Mallory
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Full confession - I put this book on hold at the library as soon as I saw this title and cover。 It screams of horror and creepiness and I was so there for it。 The description only sold me further。 A group of 20 something horror movie cliches have gone to a creepy old house in Japan where a woman was entombed with another 200 women when her fiancé did not make it home for their wedding。 Oh did I forget to say they’re there to do a destination wedding？ I did hope for a little more of the horror fa Full confession - I put this book on hold at the library as soon as I saw this title and cover。 It screams of horror and creepiness and I was so there for it。 The description only sold me further。 A group of 20 something horror movie cliches have gone to a creepy old house in Japan where a woman was entombed with another 200 women when her fiancé did not make it home for their wedding。 Oh did I forget to say they’re there to do a destination wedding？ I did hope for a little more of the horror factor than I got and it didn’t help that the narrator’s voice had a detached tone for me。 I still enjoyed it and I would read more by Cassandra Khaw for sure。 。。。more
Marty’s
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nope。
B
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I found the story a little difficult。 None of the characters are likable and the writing is essentially all purple prose。 I love some good purple prose， but this was a bit much。 I also found the ending predictable and expected。 No twists here。 That said， I think if yokai and haunted houses are your thing， you should give this one a shot and see what you think。
Andy Whitfield
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Very short。 Worth the read if you need something scary， short， and sweet。
Sydney Rupe
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I wanted to like this but the writing was a huge turn off， it felt like every other sentence was a metaphor or simile; everything in moderation。 I also didn’t find it particularly scary as someone who reads/watched horror quite often and was kind of turned off by the horror movie references。 Some of the time it seemed like the author was using the synonym option on word to find bigger better words that just weren’t necessary。 Honestly even 20 pages out from the end I was considering a dnf。 I thi I wanted to like this but the writing was a huge turn off， it felt like every other sentence was a metaphor or simile; everything in moderation。 I also didn’t find it particularly scary as someone who reads/watched horror quite often and was kind of turned off by the horror movie references。 Some of the time it seemed like the author was using the synonym option on word to find bigger better words that just weren’t necessary。 Honestly even 20 pages out from the end I was considering a dnf。 I think the concept could go somewhere but the writing for me was a slog to get through。 The cover is super sick though！ 。。。more
Emily
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Beautiful writing， but the story falls flat。
Julia
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Creepy and clever。 Really enjoyed how the characters are familiar with horror tropes and their role in them。 Lurid descriptions， self-absorbed people yelling at each other， a smattering of Japanese folklore。。。 I had a good time。
Alex Kelts
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So this was a cover buy…。。 I really need to stop reading “horror” this was so goddamn boring and they just argued the whole time and nothing was scary。
Fran LoIacono
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It was fine？ felt a little rushed towards the end。
Billy
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3 1/2 stars“Nothing But Blackened Teeth” may not be the first book I read solely because of the cover， but it’s definitely the one where the most memorable thing is the cover。 It is about a group of young twentysomethings who travel to a Japanese haunted mansion for a wedding when Things Start to Happen。 In this way， it reminds me of Scott Smith’s “The Ruins” but this one doesn’t expound much on the mystery of the manor。 It is obvious that author Cassandra Khaw knows her Japanese folklore and a 3 1/2 stars“Nothing But Blackened Teeth” may not be the first book I read solely because of the cover， but it’s definitely the one where the most memorable thing is the cover。 It is about a group of young twentysomethings who travel to a Japanese haunted mansion for a wedding when Things Start to Happen。 In this way， it reminds me of Scott Smith’s “The Ruins” but this one doesn’t expound much on the mystery of the manor。 It is obvious that author Cassandra Khaw knows her Japanese folklore and a part of me wishes she slowed down to explain some of it to us lay people。 The characters （in her words） are not good people and I wish the ending was more satisfying。 All in all a good read。 。。。more
Liz （Quirky Cat）
，
I knew from the moment I heard Cassandra Khaw's latest novel announcement that I was going to have to read it。 Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a horror novel with paranormal elements and is part of the Nightfire line。tWould you spend the night in a haunted house？ Would you do it alone， or with friends？ One group of friends has opted to stay at a Heian-era mansion， one that suspiciously has little information available to these guests。 They don't know the name， the owners， or anything else。tThat s I knew from the moment I heard Cassandra Khaw's latest novel announcement that I was going to have to read it。 Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a horror novel with paranormal elements and is part of the Nightfire line。tWould you spend the night in a haunted house？ Would you do it alone， or with friends？ One group of friends has opted to stay at a Heian-era mansion， one that suspiciously has little information available to these guests。 They don't know the name， the owners， or anything else。tThat should have been their first red flag。 It wasn't， and so these friends – who are more frenemies in truth – are going to have one horrifying and memorable night。 One that they would probably have preferred to forget。t"After all， isn't that the foremost commandment in the scripture of horror？ They who are queer， deviant， tattooed， tongue-pierced or other must always die first"tNothing But Blackened Teeth is a dark and twisted read， one that did a fantastic job of subverting expectations and flipping traditional tropes on their heads。 For that， I very much appreciated this read。tSo， I know that it is relatively common to create unlikable horror characters – it makes it more bearable when the worst happens to them。 But I almost feel like Cassandra Khaw did too good of a job with her characters。 I didn't really like any of them。 More than that， I felt like it would have been healthier for the lot of them to go their own ways。tEspecially if they had done so before the events in this book took place。 But whatever， it's okay。 Who doesn't enjoy the occasional read surrounding frenemies？ It took some time to get their relationships established – and then the real horror began。tThis is the part where Nothing But Blackened Teeth really began to shine。 However， shine might be too bright of a term here。 Perhaps gleam would work better in this instance？ Either way， it was the horror story that sucked me into the narrative。tI should probably mention that the horror elements go pretty dark and graphic。 So don't make the same mistake I did – read this book during daylight hours。 Your sleep will thank you for it。tThanks to Tor Nightfire and #NetGalley for making this book available for review。 All opinions expressed are my own。Read more reviews at Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks 。。。more
Alari
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Absolutely not。
Rick Brose
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The best thing about this book is the cover， both creepy and cool。 Unfortunately， the novella has a lot of issues。 Khaw's writing feels so over the top。 Trying to be clever for clever's sake。 A lot of it makes no sense if you take a second to parse it， and the words become a distraction。 There is also no way that this group of people， with the interpersonal issues they have， would be the attendees at this intimate destination wedding。 It makes no sense。 The concept is fun， and some of the imager The best thing about this book is the cover， both creepy and cool。 Unfortunately， the novella has a lot of issues。 Khaw's writing feels so over the top。 Trying to be clever for clever's sake。 A lot of it makes no sense if you take a second to parse it， and the words become a distraction。 There is also no way that this group of people， with the interpersonal issues they have， would be the attendees at this intimate destination wedding。 It makes no sense。 The concept is fun， and some of the imagery is sweet， but overall， this was a letdown。 。。。more
Lukasz
，
Here's the thing about Khaw's writing。 It's dense and almost purple。 Some might call it densely poetic & descriptive and have a great time savoring it。 Unfortunately， I'm not one of them。 I'm allergic to this type of writing。I usually like flawed characters with complicated relationships， but she pushed it too far。 What else can I say？ I understand why some people love it。 I'm not saying it's a bad book。 It's just the opposite of the minimalism I like and prefer in writing。 Here's the thing about Khaw's writing。 It's dense and almost purple。 Some might call it densely poetic & descriptive and have a great time savoring it。 Unfortunately， I'm not one of them。 I'm allergic to this type of writing。I usually like flawed characters with complicated relationships， but she pushed it too far。 What else can I say？ I understand why some people love it。 I'm not saying it's a bad book。 It's just the opposite of the minimalism I like and prefer in writing。 。。。more
Steph Hayward-bailey
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A weird read。 I had no empathy for the characters and found the whole story bizarre。 I don't think I will read it again or recommend it to anyone but it was fine as a quick read。 A weird read。 I had no empathy for the characters and found the whole story bizarre。 I don't think I will read it again or recommend it to anyone but it was fine as a quick read。 。。。more
Kiersten
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i think this made for a great short story， definitely eerie on some parts。 wish it had just a teeny bit more on that， but still had fun reading it！！！
Siobhán
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Gave me nightmares even though it is kinda predictable。 I loved the setting in this ancient Japanese house and the horror elements， but the set-up for the story did not really convince。 Did they really believe that sleeping in the most haunted house ever TM would be a good ideas and they'd stay safe。。。 Well。 But well written， suspenseful， atmospheric， delightfully creepy and queer， enjoyable。 4 stars Gave me nightmares even though it is kinda predictable。 I loved the setting in this ancient Japanese house and the horror elements， but the set-up for the story did not really convince。 Did they really believe that sleeping in the most haunted house ever TM would be a good ideas and they'd stay safe。。。 Well。 But well written， suspenseful， atmospheric， delightfully creepy and queer， enjoyable。 4 stars 。。。more
itzel
，
tenía potencial pero lo único interesante fueron los últimos tres capítulos y la referencia a Taylor Swift， that’s it
Rachel
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Meh。 The writing was good and I was excited about the setting and the Japanese folklore， but I disliked all the characters and didn’t care what happened to them。 I was expecting more。
Kaila
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Awful。 Just a group of unlikeable people arguing for 120 pages and way too many overdone metaphors。 Bleh。
Sarah （thehireader）
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What a bunch of numpties。 This was…not what I had hoped it would be。 I’m giving it 2 stars because， while I absolutely hated the characters， it was entertaining enough and I really liked the basic premise， even if the story didn’t deliver。
Nora
，