Cassandra Khaw’s Nothing But Blackened Teeth simmers with tension on multiple levels beginning with its cast of characters. Cat and her friends have known each other since they were teens and have made a game out of chasing ghosts. As years have passed, however, and relationships have evolved, there is both spoken and unspoken tension between them. The ghost of relationships past is always there, along with resentment and hate, boiling just below the surface. When things begin to go awry, all bets are off and polite facades disappear, giving way to anger and chaos. The mansion the characters find themselves in is steeped in horrid tales of women buried alive year after year. Their bones have become a different kind of foundation for this mansion. The residence sits empty, waiting and wanting. As trepidation builds, the mansion feels almost sentient. It relishes the animosity building between these friends. Khaw’s writing is lyrical and descriptive, raw and haunting. Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a deliciously unnerving novella infused with Japanese folklore, in which its characters and house slowly begin to unravel, revealing the enmity underneath.

Although I didn't really enjoy Hammers on Bone, I wanted to give Khaw a second chance so I jumped at the chance to read an early copy of Nothing But Blackened Teeth. I had issues with Khaw's writing style before, but the premise of this novella sounded creepy and interesting so I thought I might enjoy it more.

I'm so sad to say that this one didn't work for me either. I've read several reviews praising the writing style, but for me it was so difficult to get though. I enjoy a good purply prose book once in a while if the purple prose adds to mood and ambiance of the novel, but I felt the writing in this novella was pretentious and obscure and distracted me from being able to visualize what I was reading.

I also had a problem with the characters and plot. Getting a bunch of friends together in a haunted house and having them encounter a creepy ghost spirit sounds like a fun time, but all the characters did was wine and argue and complain about things that happened in the past. It was like being in the room with a group of people who have known each other for years and are arguing, and trying to piece together what they're so upset about without having a lot of context or backstory.

Never was I scared while reading this book. I didn't even feel creeped out. I think it boiled down to not connecting with the characters and the hard-to-get-through prose. I did enjoy some of the mythological and Japanese folklore elements of the book, but I wish those are been a larger part of the story.

I think if you like Catherynne M. Valente's writing style, you might get along better with this book than I did. Ultimately, I was disappointed with this read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for giving me an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am very disappointed and sorry to say that I did not enjoy this book as much as I had hoped to! I absolutely love the premise, and I think Cassandra Khaw did a great job of including the Japanese folklore elements in a really interesting and creepy way. I really loved getting to learn a bit about them via this novel. Unfortunately, that was most of what I enjoyed, as I found the characters and their drama a bit overwhelming and not fleshed out, and I think a large of this was because this book was a novella. I think this would be an excellent novel, but unfortunately the novella format just did not give enough room for the development necessary nor the sort of descent into madness and despair that was needed for the events that occurred in the story. I would still love to read more of Khaw's work in the future, but unfortunately this one just wasn't for me this time.

Wow. What a great novella. This is a really quick read about a group of friends that decide to go to a haunted mansion (Heian) in Japan. Two of the group (engaged) want to be married there and the narrator lets us in on the relationships that they all have with each other (not so good) while the readers start to slowly realize what a mess everyone is in. As another reviewer put it, the real horror is the humans, not the ghosts.

"Nothing but Blackened Teeth" follows Cat as he and some of his friends get together to hold a wedding for Faiz and and Nadia at a haunted Heian mansion. For some odd reason Nadia has always wanted to be married someplace haunted. And the mansion has a dark history of a bride waiting on her husband who ends up being buried alive when it's found out he is dead. Since then multiple women have been buried alive there. You see where this could possibly be going?

I have to say that Cat at times is very exhausting. I can see why some of his friends were just like enough dude.

There's a lot going on there with him and the fractured relationship he has with Faiz and Lin.

The only American in this book, Philip, is seen as a typical rich guy, but there's something darker there with him as well.

Nadia was a mess. But I get why. You realize why she's so hostile towards Cat and vice versa as you read along.

The writing was very good. I loved the imagery of the house, the friends, the coming horror. The flow works throughout.

The mansion sounds a bit like Hill House to me in a way. When Shirley Jackson wrote how mad the house had become, you start to feel that way about this place as well.

The epilogue ties things up, but not quite neatly I thought.

The nitty-gritty: Five friends come together for a wedding in this spooky, Japanese-themed horror story. 

Nothing But Blackened Teeth certainly wins the creepy cover of the year prize, but does the story inside live up to the macabre artwork? In many ways, the answer for me is “yes.” Cassandra Khaw’s evocative writing style is perfect for a haunted house story set in Japan, and the house in question definitely gave me chills (I wouldn’t stay in this house if you paid me!) But the author also layers a lot of relationship drama into her story, which made for some very unappealing characters. Normally I would count this as a negative, but for me, this element worked with the rest of the story.

Nadia and Faiz are getting married and have invited their three closest friends to join the celebration. Nadia’s lifelong dream is to be married in a haunted house, and Faiz has lovingly set up the ultimate destination wedding by securing an old abandoned Heian-era mansion in Japan. A particularly nasty legend surrounds the mansion, revolving around a bride whose fiancé was killed before he could make it to the wedding. It’s said that her ghost haunts the mansion, waiting for her dead husband to return, and Nadia, Faiz, Cat, Lin and Phillip are determined to find evidence of the haunting and make their own wedding an event to remember.

But when everyone arrives at the mansion, it soon becomes clear to the reader that these “friends” are anything but. Nadia hates Cat because she dated Faiz at one time. Phillip and Cat used to go out until he broke it off to date Nadia. It’s all a big tangled mess, but everyone is trying to ignore these emotional undercurrents and get along, at least until the ceremony is over. 

But the ghost bride has other plans for the group, and soon after their arrival, strange things start to happen. Cat hears a woman’s voice whispering in Japanese, and the mansion seems to grow and change as they explore its vast corridors. They need to put their differences aside if they’re going to survive the night. But can they?

The story is narrated by Cat, and the reader is dropped into the middle of all the drama swirling around the characters, which makes for a very confusing opening. It took a while to figure out who was who and what their relationships were to each other, as the reader has to glean all the information through dialog and Cat’s inner thoughts. I couldn’t imagine why Cat would even be invited to the wedding because of Nadia’s obvious hatred of her, but the author gives an explanation that, while not completely satisfying, allowed her to bring these dysfunctional people together. And no, I didn’t like any of these characters. Their feelings for each other were overly dramatic, and without more background and context, it was hard to understand what was going on. But, I have to admit all the bickering added to the unsettling atmosphere, and pitting the characters against each other is a tried and true horror trope that works.

The ghostly parts were very well done. In addition to the Ohaguro-Bettari, the specific Japanese ghost that Khaw has based her story on, the walls of the mansion are covered in carvings of Japanese yōkai (spirits) who come to life during the story (or perhaps they only seem to come to life). Khaw has done plenty of research into the Ohaguro-Bettari (which I googled, and yes, she looks like the ghost on the book cover!). There’s even a real life explanation for the “blackened teeth” element which I found fascinating. Overall, I thought the spooky atmosphere was the strongest part of the story, and Khaw gives readers a gruesome climax that wasn’t completely unexpected, and yet it was shocking all the same.

The other thing I really liked was the way the author inserts wry comments about horror tropes and stereotypes  into her dialog. The characters are well versed in the ins and outs of horror, and the fact that they’ve found themselves right in the middle of one of those familiar stories was pretty funny at times:

“Cat, this is literally the part where the supporting cast dies horribly. You’re bisexual. I’m the comic relief. It’s going to be one of us.”

I can’t help but wonder what this story would have been like as a novel, though. At barely over a hundred pages, Nothing But Blackened Teeth is almost over before it’s begun. I think more character development would have made this even better, a little more delving into the supposedly horrid things the characters have done to each other, rather than the broad strokes we’re given.

Still, I did end up really enjoying this, despite the unlikable characters. This is my first book by Cassandra Khaw, and I absolutely adored her writing style. For a spooky, October read that’s oozing with atmosphere, definitely give this a read.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

I loved the spooky atmosphere and the haunted house setting..

We don’t delve deep into the characters and their history but we get a some of it. They all bring their own secrets and conflicts.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review of the book.

I am absolutely loving the wide-berth of world perspectives re-inventing the traditional English Gothic ghost story in publishing today!

This is a novella--which is the perfect genre for the ghost story. In Khaw's narrative, we see the traditional tropes of the English haunted house re-imagined and regurgitated. The setting is great: a Japanese mansion haunted by the ghost of a dead bride and all the many young women who have been buried alive over the centuries to keep her company. Into this totally creepy setting come an internationally represented smorgasbord of characters; the rich American heir has rented (sort of) the place for a small wedding. These twenty-somethings are all (I think) academics of differing sorts who have "ghost hunted" in the past. And this is the perfect place for two of them to take their nuptial vows. Of course, things go sideways pretty quickly.

It's hard to talk too much about the brilliance of the Gothic tropes and how they are re-cast without giving too much away. What I will say is that while I (like others) found myself stopping to look up the many Japanese terms used throughout the story, I was so happy to do so. This is not just a writer creating a Gothic tale for the Western reader; instead, Khaw is unapologetically writing a story from a distinctly non-Western POV, even while intentionally playing with our expectations, and forcing us into this new space not at all as familiar as we might have first anticipated. I found myself looking up terms I had known but forgotten and learning a whole bunch of new ones. Khaw also does a great job of harnessing the short story/novella plot pattern; a short story has to unfold in a very different way than a novel and readers unfamiliar with the pattern may feel characters are not rounded enough or events not filled in enough--so it's helpful to go into this one knowing what to expect. One more thing: this short work does just what a Gothic tale should do and doesn't JUST rely on the ghost story to carry us along. There's a load of interpersonal tensions running amok here and a fair dose of psychological Gothic as well. Despite the seemingly thinly sketched narrative, there's much here to sink your teeth into.

And finally, the cover is so completely disturbing--and all the more so when reading about the ohaguro-bettari appearing before the characters with her wide grin of blackened teeth. My favorite line: as two women face-off with one another and acknowledge their mutual dislike, one says to the other, "I hope this house eats you," and the other responds, "I hope the same for you."

Pick this up. It's almost Halloween. Thank me later.

If you aren’t familiar with Japanese horror terminology, have Google open and ready to go before starting this one. Having to look up so many terms definitely took me out of the story somewhat but it wouldn’t have been as creepy without knowing what all the ghosts and demons looked like so I’m happy I did it anyway. I loved the complicated history between the characters however I didn’t actually care for any of the characters themselves so when bad stuff started to happen to them I was kinda like eh…that’s what you get for being dumb. Nonetheless, it was a quick and creepy read, perfect for spooky season. And the cover is everything!

Thank you NetGalley, author and publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

So. The important is to realize what exactly this book is. It is not a book interested in building your characters, there’s no need to. It is a horror/slasher short story. I liked it for what it was. However, I would absolutely love to have this expanded to a full novel and I think a lot of readers would prefer that as well. However, given what it is, it did its job well.

The prose is nice, and I liked the ghost and atmosphere a Iot, but these characters are absolutely a pack of narcissists too wrapped up in their own messy lives to even have much to do with what's going on around them until it explodes in a too quick resolution. For all the work done to establish the haunting there is an equal amount of frustrating character interaction and limited narrative once the actual costs come to call, leaving me less than satisfied with a novella I was really looking forward to reading.

Perfect story for spook spook season! I don’t why Japan has all these creepy urban legends that are driving people to go after them like moths going for the light, but this story is another example of that for sure. They always have some brides haunting everyone breaking their sense of peace. This one has a bride too!

Five adventurous friends thought that it was the best idea to visit a mansion couple of hours from Kyoto for a bit of fun. Bride always wanted to marry in a haunted house (don’t why would anyone want that) and rich friend made that happen. There was friction between these friends even before their first night in this mansion, but things escalated way too quickly during their first night.

Hopelessness of one opened a Pandora’s box right after his bride disappeared. And of course the mansion that stands on human sacrifices asked for one more to give everyone the right answer! If you are looking for a short yet creepy story, you won’t regret picking this up.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth is Khaw's creepy haunted house tale, steeped in Japanese folklore. A group of 5 friends decide to visit a haunted mansion, where one of their friends plans to get married. Nothing morbid at all with this idea! The mansion is reportedly haunted by a jilted bride, and as expected, the visit becomes very dark.

There are some spooky elements in this story (and that cover is breathtaking). However, I found there were quite a few plot holes, the characters were initially confusing at times, and the prose was distracting. I was not well versed in Japanese folklore, and I think a knowledge of that would have created a more enjoyable read for me. This story was definitely promising but may have been better with more careful development.

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for review!

Horror isn’t a genre I normally read, but I was curious and decided to give this novella a try. Cat and her friends head to a mansion in Japan where a bride was buried alive when her husband failed to make it to their wedding because Nadia has always wanted to get married in a haunted house, and Phillip is happy to provide. There are secrets and complicated history between all the characters that adds to the tension of being in a haunted house. And most of the people there are people of color and queer, so Cat is sure she’ll be one of the first to die while Phillip, golden white boy, will be the hero and get out alive. This was a very weird story and the prose lends a quiet kind of creepy that I loved. I also really enjoyed the descriptions and the complicatedness of many years of friendship and many secrets. I don’t know that I was necessarily the best audience for this, but it was engaging and creepy and interesting.

NOTHING BUT BLACKENED TEETH is a chilling story with a classic setup: a very old mansion which the protagonists aren’t really supposed to have entered, and a variety of interpersonal tensions and allegiances which normally wouldn’t matter much to their daily existence but suddenly drive life-and-death stakes when the spooky stuff begins. The prose is exquisite, articulating the numb feeling of finding oneself the genre-savvy protagonist of a horror story but unable to change things. I love how it uses the hero’s trope-awareness to ramp up the terror and resignation as events play out to their viscera-laden conclusion.

Short and spooky with an excellent ending, make sure this is on your horror shelf.

Our full review will be available on our podcast, Genre Junkies, on the novella’s release date. As our resident horror nerd, this book was absolutely everything I crave. It was beautiful, harrowing, grotesque, and poignant. Khaw’s way with words and turns of phrase gives her a distinct voice. It makes my heart happy to support diversity in horror, and I’m grateful we have Cassandra to contribute to the mission. She is now an “auto-buy” author for me. Enjoy this short, twisted fairytale, I know I did.

A haunted house tale with disturbing details and mythology. I was impressed by the authors descriptions. My only issue was that it didn't feel finished for me.

Saw this recommended on a few lists, so I know this book will be very popular, but it wasn't for me. Did not finish it. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I really really enjoyed this novella! I'm a big fan of Khaw. Her writing is not easy, but it is very worth it. This little book has a ton packed into it: horror movie tropes, a destination wedding at a haunted mansion, multiple very complicated relationships, and lots of fascinating Japanese folklore.

There isn't much exposition here- and I really liked that choice. Not everything is explicitly spelled out for the reader. We are left to figure out what is making these characters tick, and how much of what they are experiencing is (not) in their imaginations. Khaw is not holding our hands through this.

My only complaint is a bit of uneven writing- there are some passages that absolutely stop me in my tracks they are so amazing, and then there are some that are clunky and dense with metaphor.

But please, ABSOLUTELY, keeps publishing all things Khaw. (Final note- whoever designed that cover.......SPOT. ON. AMAZING.)

Thanks to Nightfire and NetGalley for the review copy!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Y'all...I wanted to like this. It's Halloween season as I write this review, and this is a ghost story so I was here for it. Unfortunately, this just wasn't a win for me.

Let me begin by saying that a lot of people will love this. It's creepy, atmospheric, has solid representation in a way that feels natural, and the Japanese folklore was super cool. I actually would recommend this to others who were looking for a specific vibe, even though it wasn't a favorite of mine.

First, the prose is so ridiculously over the top, I couldn't take it. This sounds like an insult but it's not - the flowery, heavily metaphorically language was clearly a stylistic choice, not the mark of a poor writer. For me though, that type of writing pulls me straight out of the story.

Second, I am aware that when the same group of people have been friends for a long time, there tends to be at least a couple people who've dated, screwed around, etc. I do think Khaw took that to a extreme here, with seemingly all of the characters having been together at various points. Having so much awkward post-romance tension got old fast, and I wasn't sure why so much page time was given to these connections when it could've gone to dead brides murdering people.

My biggest complaint is that I wish this had been a full-length novel instead of a novella. It felt like there was a lot of potentials that had to be set aside to contain the premise of the story in such a short length. The premise is that a group of friends get back together for the elopement of two of their friends. But, in an atypical fashion, they are in an abandoned, haunted Heian-era mansion because the bride has always wanted to get married in a haunted house. And, as they navigate the house and its past, their own pasts create conflict amongst them.
It was a quick read, which was nice, but by the end of it, I wish I knew more about the characters. There were a lot of things that were left unanswered in terms of past relationships between the group, and also conflicts that had occurred. At the same time, there were details about the house that I would have liked to explore better given what the main character was witnessing as everything unraveled. It was creepy though. Which was very nice. So, it's perfect if you want a short, strange Japanese-style horror to read.