2.5 stars.

I think this is the first book all year that I read in a single day, so that's cool!

The setup was interesting and I could picture myself in the mansion, but I had a hard time with everything that followed.

I didn't connect with any of the characters and honestly I had a hard time following the plot. The writing in this felt excessive, and while I did find it beautiful from time to time, more often than not I just felt lost in it.

I do think that this book would be enjoyable to others, especially if they love horror, but this wasn't for me.

Thank you Netgalley and Tor Forge for this absolutely stunning horror novella!

I felt like I was right there with the MC, Cat, as the story quickly escalated to a crescendo that is as gory as it is scary. This short story is full of enchanting descriptions that are just as beautiful as they are absolutely disturbing. The author created such a compelling scene with these 5 unique characters that travel to have a wedding party in the most haunted house that existed at that time. This fluid story was horrifying especially due to it's attention to the terrifying (and horrible) behavior of the characters. It gave me a view into a darkness that lurks beneath the surface of human nature itself.

I definitely recommend this for a short and quick horror read! I want to add a trigger warning for disturbing imagery and gore.

The pacing was perfect for a novella. The sense of wrongness was there from the beginning and the complicated friendships and relationships worked well. The prose was lush and lyrical. The ending packed wallop. A perfect, fast horror read for any horror fan.

When a group of friends obsessed with all things haunted, decide to marry off two of them in a Heian-era mansion with the bones of a bride and the many sacrificed girls to keep her company as its foundation, what could possibly ruin such a special occasion?
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You know, this book had potential. That premise is shocking; the cover...TERRIFYING. But it's honestly, not that scary. There's a little gore, a little possession, a little crazed minds to tie it all up, but the Japanese history that could've been played up on to make it truly horrifying, never reached that point. 🤷🏻‍♀️
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Another thing to keep in mind, is that there were a lot of Japanese terms and folklore that I had to look up while I read. Unfortunately, I believe this detracted from getting into the story as much as someone who is more familiar with the language/culture would.
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With all this said, the tension between the characters is there and you're flipping pages waiting for the worst to happen to at least one of them. & There are plenty of other reviewers out there who really enjoyed it, so give it a try if you're curious enough. Personally, it just left me wanting...

Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a haunted house horror novella about a destination wedding in a historical Japanese mansion haunted by a ghost bride that demands sacrifices. It has beautiful prose, building tensions between the wedding party, a malicious ghost and a violent climax. A chilling fast read perfect for spooky season.

It’s one of the most beloved horror tropes: A group of friends travels to an abandoned building rumored to be haunted. The friends are either going to film a documentary, or just see what happens when they attempt to spend the night.

Horror ensues.

It’s tempting to believe this trope has been done too many times to promise anything original but, thankfully, horror writers disagree and keep telling the story in their own, unique voice. Nothing But Blackened Teeth is the tale of a dysfunctional group of friends who are gathering together for an experiential, destination wedding ceremony inside a Heian period mansion notorious for its ghost-bride legend.

Strong comparisons to The Ritual by Adam Nevill in the set-up, with the focus on the tense dynamic between friends in order to build tension.

The setting is rich with potential for mind-numbing horror. The author holds back at first, developing an atmosphere rife with past hurts and wrongs; soon, the book slowly begins its descent into darkness.

All the characters are self-absorbed and preoccupied with their own circumstances. They are highly sensitive people; reactive to every small offense. Much to the reader’s dismay, everyone is utterly oblivious to the nature of their surroundings as they argue over mundane things.

The drama is entertaining and Khaw’s prose is wickedly sharp, but the emphasis on the characters’ relationships is a disproportionate distraction for such a short ghost story.

Eventually, Khaw indulges in terror-inducing imagery and some seriously unsettling scenes but it was quickly upstaged by more bickering and banter.

I enjoyed the darker twists and turns but ultimately, I wanted more. This is such a tease! I’m hoping that Cassandra Khaw has a lot more horror up her sleeve. I’m here for it.

I tried so hard to read this book but ended up stopping at 49%.

The writing style just did not work for me at all which is a shame as I was really looking forward to this book.

At least there’s that horrifying cover. That’s the only redeeming part of this book.

I don’t want to be cruel, as I don’t want to hurt the author’s feelings, but I must be honest. The writing was ostentatiously juvenile. This barely-a-novella is so chockablock with similes and metaphors that I would lose my place in a sentence and forget the objective. My brain was numbed by flamboyant, incoherent imagery. It was like reading an angsty teenager begging to be noticed. If you remove the descriptions of what the main character’s amygdala is doing, you get about four pages of story. “Moonlight seeped through cuts in the trees, striping his cheeks like wounds scratched across my thigh.” What?

The best way to introduce this is to provide you a description of the characters, from my point of view:

Cat: Our protagonist. She’s a drip, and has some recently-released-from-psych-ward backstory that was completely irrelevant, and had at one time been in love with all males present.
Nadia: Essentially Tahani from “The Good Place”
Faiz: Nadia’s chubby, feckless groom.
Phillip: the golden boy WASP jock wunderkind who everyone adores and secretly wants to bang, wearing his Letterman jacket to this haunted house wedding event even though he’s in his early-to-mid 20s now.
Lin: irrelevant non-descript dude who shows up late and hates everyone.

There were umpteen bizarre Japanese words. I kept having to use Wikipedia at the bottom of the iPad to look stuff up to see what it meant. There were yokai and fox-things and dog-things and words for screens and grass floors and teeth black. What the hell. I’ve seen Spirited Away, so at least I had something to go on.

“The ohaguro-bettari began to laugh before any of us could think to scream.” Well, this would be scarier to me if I knew what the hell that is. I’m picturing an Italian sports car, and I’m sure that’s not right. I think some Japanese folklore creatures were lurking around the whole time (see fox-thing and dog-thing above), but since I didn’t know these terms I had no idea what they were doing, what they looked like, or if they were supposed to be scary.

This was an immature attempt at a creative writing prompt. I read the endorsement blurbs from authors I love and I just can't imagine any of these were genuine. If I had turned in something like this in high school, the teacher’s comments would have started with, “I see what you were trying to do here . . .”

Thanks to Nightfire publishing (an imprint of Tor) and Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for my review. Sorry I couldn’t praise this one.

1.5

I have no clue what in the hell is going on in this book. It literally goes from 0 to 100 and in between it’s peppered with purple prose which is very beautiful but it’s overdone and confusing.

I didn’t like any of the characters. Everyone seems to hate one another and the reasons are legit but they just aren’t fully developed. Also everyone is annoying.

I get a Fatal Frame vibe from this with the haunted Japanese manor and everything but sadly it’s not very well done and the ghost and it’s history seem so impossible it’s laughable.

Really quick read however and the cover is awesome. The writer is great at descriptions but sometimes less means so much more.

Thanks for a copy of this ARC all opinions are my own.

I don't know where to start. This was one of my most anticipated reads for this year. I don't know if I just hyped it up in my head too much or what, but this was kinda a let down. Don't get me wrong. It was good. But nothing like o expected. I wouldn't re-read, but I would recommend It to a friend I guess.

A short horror story to read during the haunted month of October. Five friends land first class tickets to a destination wedding in Japan paid for by wealthy Phillip to celebrate the engaged couple Faiz and Nadia. Our narrator Cat expands on the setting, telling us that there is romantic history between the group - some of it unknown to others.

The story takes off from there as spooky things transpire and conflict ratchets up between the friends. There is a meta layer to the story as each friend remarks what their probable place would be in a horror story (eg Final Girl).

If you like a quick horror story with Japanese references and undertones this is a novella for you! Thank you to Tor Books for the ARC in exchange for a fair review #TorBooks #NetGalley #NothingButBlackenedTeeth

A horrific novella, Nothing But Blackened Teeth, is every horror trope you know should never be allowed but stupid millennials never listen to good advice. How (and why?) are these fools celebrating a marriage engagement in an old Japanese (haunted) mansion? And why are they trying out strange rituals that you just KNOW are going to bring the ghosts and ghouls?
A gory mess that ends in heartache, Nothing But Blackened Teeth is creepy from beginning to end. Perfect for my favorite upcoming holiday.

*Thanks to NetGalley and NightFire for a copy of this e-arc.*

Just wanna say the cover is gorgeous and creepy

This was a very fast read and in that time I think we got to know the characters well and understand exactly what their dramas were. I'm glad I have always enjoyed Japanese lore because I would not know what some of the things mentioned in the story even were if I didn't. I thought it was an interesting read and enjoyed it.

Definitely check it out!

This was an unsettling novella featuring five friends staying in a haunted house in Japan. An unexpected read perfect for fall/spooky season. I just think the description was a bit misleading. I was expecting a chilling ghost story, but instead I got a slasher novel. Which is all well and good, except I read it for the ghosts, not the people! If it were a full length novel, maybe I would've gotten more out of it

TW: Gore, violence, friendship drama, scary images

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book: 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.
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.ReAnd she gets lonely down there in the dirt
Release Date:
Genre: Japanese horror
Pages: 128
Rating:

What I Liked:
• The cover is creepy af
• The storyline sounded scary

What I Didn't Like:
• The book feels long
• It feels so choppy

Overall Thoughts: Holy comma! That was a certain kind of read... How can such a short book feel so long? I struggled for the 128 pages to feel something for the characters but it’s hard to because the writing doesn’t flow so you never get that bonding experience. I mean we already have the obstacle of a novella then you throw in characters that you feel confused by their actions, and honestly it feels like a mess. There are so many times where I felt as though we were moving along in the plot and story only to be weighed down by random dialogue that felt misplaced. Characters would settle in to do one thing and then randomly change to doing something else; I wanted to hear the story Faiz had to tell but that was interrupted, of course.

Final Thoughts: The book just isn’t that good. It bothers me that I didn’t like it as I LOVE Japanese horror books. They usually are creepy and wtf moments but this one just annoyed me and made me want to be done with it.

Thanks to Netgalley as well as Nightfire Publicity for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

Nothing ground breaking but a quick and spooky haunted house/creepy legend story perfect for this time of year.

3.75 rounded up.

I really like the premise of this story, and the writing was at times breathtaking and haunting, but it never seemed to live up to its full potential

Wow! This cover! I might be losing sleep just by looking at it! This creepy store follows five friends that have reunited in Japan for a wedding. The twist is that the five friends grew up ghost hunting together and the destination wedding is taking place in a haunted, abandoned imperial palace. The dream wedding quickly turns into a nightmare. This story was short but was packed with Japanese folklore, horror and gore.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a bone-chilling and eerie novella. It follows a group of friends as they host a wedding ceremony in a Heian-era mansion, only for the night to rapidly spiral out of control. Old secrets are revealed, jealousy flares, and the house is watching. Tensions rise as it soon becomes clear that they are not alone in the mansion. What more do you need for an ideal wedding location?

Khaw expertly introduces the characters and cuts to the heart of their insecurities and motivations. I absolutely couldn’t look away as the group fractured and found themselves pushed to their limits. Khaw paints a clear picture using sharp and sinister language. I love intricate prose, so this was the perfect novella for me! If you’re not a fan of purple prose, this may not be the novella for you.

I have not read much horror, but this is easily one of my new favorites. I would recommend readers pick this up if they love horror stories about haunted mansions, complicated relationship dynamics, and intricate prose. Nothing But Blackened Teeth releases October 19, 2021. Thank you so much to Cassandra Khaw, Tor Nightfire, and Netgalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This short novella packs a punch, though the writing didn't really gel for me the way I'd hoped. This is very much a me issue and shouldn't dissuade anyone from reading it, though do be aware that there's mention of suicidal ideation and past attempted suicide. There's also, perhaps unsurprisingly, plenty of gore by the end in addition to the baseline horror.