I really, really wanted to like this more. The premise sounds fantastic, the buzz was hot, and the cover was worth the price of admission alone. Unfortunately, while Khaw achieves a healthy balance of minimalist description and creepy vibes, it all becomes bogged down in far too much purple prose (or in this case, violent violet prose). I don’t think there is a single sentence in this slim novella that doesn’t have some sort of metaphor or allegory, and in a story that is already short, it becomes just too much. If all of that flowery description were to be removed, we’d have been left with a decent story, but a very short one at that. Overall, rather disappointing.

Thanks to Edelweiss and Tor Nightfire for a free digital review copy.

3.5/5 stars

I was drawn to this book because I love the cover and I love Japanese horror, unfortunately the story didn't quite do it for me. I wish this had been a full length novel rather than a novella; its short length meant that I did not get a chance to connect with the characters (who are interesting, complex, and flawed) and thus did not really care what happened to them. That being said the ghost is genuinely terrifying and the "decrepit mansion" gives the book a spine-tingling claustrophobic feel. I would definitely recommend this to readers who are looking for a good ghost story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for sending me an advanced copy.

I really wanted to like this book. Look at that cover! Best horror cover of the year. As another reviewer said, I’m not here to discourage anyone from reading this book, but I’m not the right reader here. Unfortunately I did not care about any of the characters and their drama. I’m definitely going to look for future books by this author but this one didn’t do it for me.

omg this book was such a wild ride, and I'm still not sure I totally understand what happened by the end of it, but WOW it had me on the edge-of-my-seat. it was short, but it packed a punch. I'm excited to read more by this author.

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

Nadia, her fiancé, Faiz, and friends Philip and Cat have flown to Japan. They’ve gathered in a Heian-era mansion where Lin will shortly join them. According to Japanese folklore, a jilted bride [whose groom died on the way to the wedding ceremony] haunts the mansion, waiting for her groom to arrive.

And Nadia, it seems, has always dreamed of being married in a haunted house . . . .

Cue the madness and mayhem.

Will there be a wedding? Who will survive their night in the ghost-riddled mansion?

“Nothing but Blackened Teeth” is most definitely creepy, definitely grim, gruesome, and gory, filled with horror movie tropes. The interplay between the characters often suggests some over-the-top drama that remains largely unexplained; this tension tends to overwhelm the telling of the tale, pushing the horror aspects of the narrative into a secondary position. Since the dynamic between the characters lies at the heart of this narrative, some more information on their histories might help to strengthen the reader/character relationship.

The characters feel a bit like caricatures, none of them even remotely likable. To a person, they are mean-spirited and self-absorbed, the epitome of grandiloquent that may leave the reader rooting for the ohaguro-bettari. Perhaps with some backstory for each of the dysfunctional friends, their being here together might have made more sense.

The Japanese folklore component of the narrative gives the story a unique, appealing perspective. However, although the flowery, flowing writing is lovely, the author has a tendency to be overly excessive in using descriptors, a writing style that often pulls the reader out of the telling of the tale. Nevertheless, the book would stand as a promising addition to the horror genre.

However, the dialogue in this book, with its less-than-auspicious start, is extremely abhorrent. The use of an offensive, unnecessary expletive in the very first sentence is particularly off-putting . . . and this invective peppers a multitude of ordinary conversations throughout the narrative . . . seven times within four paragraphs on one page, six times in one paragraph on another page.
It is the overuse of this objectionable expletive that becomes a deal-breaker and lowers the rating for this book.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley
#NothingButBlackenedTeeth #NetGalley

What initially drew me to it was the cover- There’s a woman with no eyes and a red slash for a mouth with claw like hands- you’ll have to look it up because it’s creepy as hell. This is a haunted house tale thats infused with Japanese folklore.

What I loved about this is that you are dropped into the action immediately. Four friends have traveled to Japan to visit an abandoned mansion. They’re there because two of their friends are getting married- friends who have a taste for things that are creepy, because the bride’s dream was to get married somewhere haunted. They picked the right place- local lore says that the foundation of this mansion is resting on the bones of a bride and that its walls are packed with the remains of the girls that were sacrificed to keep her company.

You have two things going on- the creepy setting itself sure, but you also have this group of friends who clearly need to work through their own history. The narrator and the bride are frenimies at best, and the friend that is set to marry the couple has slept with the bride, unbeknownst to the groom. It was such a fun juxtaposition of actual horror and petty friend drama. Like things are getting VERY spooky and theye’re still arguing! This is a short book- 128 pages- and reading it definitely got me into the fall mood. The writing style is very unusual- it’s stylish and sparse- and the pacing is different. You would have sections with a lot of rumination, and then only a couple of paragraphs with action. In between all of this, you have dialogue between the characters that unexpectedly made me laugh. It’s about relationships, history, mental illness, and the price of love. This is a very original story- it wont be on my favorite of the year list, but I did enjoy it.

This creepy, terrifying novel kept me turning the pages - and checking the locks! It will appeal to fans of classic horror by the likes of Stephen King.

I was looking for a good halloween read, and started reading this book. I didn't even make it through the first chapter. It's too creepy for me. It is well written (the part I read) and a great premise, but it was so much darker than I expected. If you like horror, go for it! I prefer not to have nightmares I love the fact that it deals with a culture that I'm unfamiliar with, but that wasn't enough for me to finish it. I would recommend this book to those who love horror!

I hated this. The cover drew me in and when Netgalley offered this to review I jumped at the chance. Huge letdown.
It truly felt like the author was trying to make the prose desperately clever, but instead it was just a jumbled mess, using unnecessarily large words that cluttered it up. The amount of astonishingly bad metaphors is ample. This was a novella so you would think in its brevity, we would get a clearer picture of the character group and their motivations early on. No. The characters felt devoid of life and personality. There are also no scares nor any build up that would lead to a tense paranormal atmosphere. So…it can’t even properly pay tribute to the genre.
This honestly really read like a bad creative writing story assignment. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone, unless they want a headache.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing the ebook for review.

Where do I start with this? The characters immediately drew me in. They have very complicated relationships with each other and that conflict was intriguing. The setting was also fantastic - an ancient manor, slowly falling to pieces. With the added twist of the myth of the bride who had been buried alive, I really thought this would possibly become a favorite. However once the story took off things seemed to get really messy. It felt very frantic, I had to go back and reread pages over and over again, like I could not grasp exactly what the author was trying to convey to me. The way the characters reacted to things confused me. And then end seemed so abrupt. While this was gruesome and intriguing, it felt like it lacked something I can't quite put my finger on.

This is not a bad book by any means. Khaw's prose is lush and descriptive. The horrors, when they appear, are palpable. I think the reason I didn't love this book as much as I wanted to is because all of the characters were total and complete jerks. By design, I think.

I know that having horrible characters doesn't make a book horrible, but I was actively rooting for something bad to happen to them. And that could have been purposeful too! I just had a hard time hoping for their safety and well-being and maybe that makes me the villain of the book...

CW: alcohol use, folklore involving being buried alive, stabbing, blood/gore

With lush, lyrical prose — the kind of stuff that just begs to be read aloud — and some truly horrifying imagery — things that’ll stick with you long after you close the back cover — Nothing But Blackened Teeth is everything I want in a haunted house story. Set in a Heian-era mansion on the eve of a modern-day wedding which is about to suffer disastrous consequences, it’s about how relationships change over time, about what we do or don’t owe each other, and about how our own pasts can haunt us — and much more.

The title comes from the yokai running the show in the mansion: Its name translates into English as “nothing by blackened teeth.” But that isn’t the only presence in the mansion; indeed, Nothing But Blackened Teeth is rich with Japanese folklore and kaidan — the wedding party even plays a game of hyakumonogatari kaidankai, which may or may not be a catalyst for much of what follows afterwards. There are so many layers here; peel one away and you’ll find another, and another, and another.

Because it’s a novella, it is entirely possible that you’ll be able to finish it in one sitting. I’ve done that — twice. But be sure to give it some time. Sit with it for a while. Let it work its terrifying and eerie magic. It landed even more deeply for me — really dug itself into my chest and took up residence there — the second time ‘round.

If you want a book to keep you up at night, this is the one for You! Books don't typically scare me but this one definitely had me flinching at sudden noises.
I loved the novella length of this! I didn't feel like I was missing information and it wasn't too wordy. It was the perfect length for this plot.
I had to do a bit of looking information up but it left me feeling like I was not only scared but learned something. Know that if you don't look up definitions of words, the book will still make sense but I think you would be missing out.
This is not for the faint of heart and would reccomend this to all of the ghost story lovers!

This story was short but very tense and scary. I finished the story in one sitting, I needed to know what was going to happen. It had a lot of Japanese culture that wasn't explained that i had to look up, but that wasn't bad and I learned more, The story in the haunted house keeps you on the edge of your seat. Warning for blood , gore, and violence

Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a decadent word salad that shifts between horror and uber-literary. I always appreciate when an author showcases their ability as a word-smith, but the flowery-ness of the writing is ultimately a distraction from the horror.

It's also difficult to find anything or anybody to care about, the characters are assholes and for a group of so called "friends" there is more hate than love among them.

The cover of this book is what ultimately attracted me to it and while the horror aspects are good, the constant bickering of the characters and the overly ornate writing style were near constant distractions.

Story was scary, the writing was amazing, and it was a good read overall. The author's command of language was outstanding. There were so many phrases and passages that were just so beautifully written I could barely stand it. However, the overall story and character development didn't stand up to the writing. Gorgeous prose, weak plot. Can't wait to see what she writes next though. I'm here for it!

This book was much more literary than I expected, by which I mean I expected a much more straightforward ghost story than what I got. Rather than being scared, the end story was much more haunting than your typical ghost story might be, focusing less on the actual supernatural and more on the psychological states of five codependent people each with their own complex histories. The descriptions were beautiful and the characters realistically flawed, and overall I enjoyed it quite a bit!

"A whisper, so quiet the cerebellum wouldn't acknowledge its receipt. The words were drowned by the reverb of Faiz's voice calling, an afterimage, an impression of teeth on skin. We exited teh room, the future falling into place behind us. Like a wedding veil, a mourning caul. Like froth on the lip of a bride drowning on soil."

2.5 stars.

Somewhere inside <I>Nothing But Blackened Teeth</I> there is a dread-filled horror story with an exciting premise and terrific setting. But it's absolutely buried underneath excessive, constant metaphors and lyrical, purple prose expressions which are so numerous that I honestly missed the first time that the novella's ghost bride first shows up, because the writing was so lost in its expressive metaphors that I didn't get it.

Sometimes the expressions are nonsensical to the point that they do nothing but pull your mind away from the narrative. There are pockets where the writing here is truly <I>beautiful</I> and builds a sense of tension and decay and haunting to the story. But the effect of Khaw's moments of great prose is lost when the next 4 sentences are just more of the same lyrical style, laying it all on too thick.

I wanted to love this, the cover is absolutely stunning and evocative, and the premise is oozing with possibility. But the execution was too heavy-handed, rich on rich on rich, like (if I may use my own lyrical expression) dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate filling and dark chocolate frosting covered in dark chocolate roses. You'll need cold water to to drink after.

<I>[I received a copy of this work from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]<I>

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4245397481

Just the haunted tale I was looking for to start off the fall! Haunted house, malevolent spirits, complicated relationships, it ticks all the boxes. It manages to use the normal cliches but has its own essence that draws you into the world. It does have a bit of gore at the end to add to the horror of the supernatural. This is a very quick read but just long enough to sink you in and also feel satisfied at the conclusion.

Have you ever disliked the humans in a story so much that you're rooting for the ghosts? Five people go to a haunted mansion in Japan for a wedding. None of them like each other, or barely like each other, yet they're the only five people (including the bride and groom) invited to the wedding. I can see if 300 people are invited to a wedding that a few might be horrid guests, but there are only 3 invitees and the bride despises everybody but the groom. And then a ghost of a bride buried alive and a bunch of little animal/monster thingies invite themselves. Still, the humans bickered, fought with each other, and got drunk. Meanwhile, the bride/ghost and the spooky critters moved ever closer.

If there were not ghosts and animal/monster thingies, this would be a typical story. A pity-party of "You weren't there when I needed you" stuff. Thank goodness for the little beasties and the ghost because they were the most fascinating characters in the book. The broken dolls were cool, too.

In fact, I'm thinking of inviting them to my wedding. The ghost, the critters, and the broken dolls. Dancing at the reception ought to be interesting.

Thank you to Tor and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review Nothing But Blackened Teeth.