I'm a huge fan of Japanese horror and the cover alone gave me very high hopes for this one but in the end a lack of solid character development and an even more detrimental lack of a concrete plot left me way more confused about what in the hell was even going on then scared or particularly moved.

Idiosyncratic violence and terror are sort of hallmarks of Japanese horror. Movies like "The Grudge" and "Ringu" worry far less about how we got where we got then they do about scaring the shit out of you with a bone white little boy hanging from the ceiling screaming at you like a rabid bat. So I was prepared for a certain lack of firm world building. I think the problem is that's harder to sell in literary form.

We are thrown, flailing and blind, straight in to the deep end of the pool with five friends gathering at a huge, desiccated corpse of a mansion somewhere in an isolated Japanese forest. They're there apparently because two of the friends are getting married and, for reasons that are never explained in any kind of satisfactory way, the bride has always dreamed of being married in a haunted mansion.

We're never really placed on any firmer footing than that. Our narrator is an ambiguously mentally unwell queer woman who's recently had some sort of breakdown but, again, its never explained what happened to her. She and the bride hate each other because she encouraged the groom, her best friend, to break up with the bride when they were going through a rough patch. A LOT is made of this particular point but, again, it doesn't seem to really mean anything. A couple of the guys also don't get along, one of them is really rich, the groom is apparently marrying way up because he's kind of fugly, one of them is a really good cook. I don't know we just get served this sort of grab bag of character traits and snippets of relationships that have no foundation in anything concrete.

The weirdest thing to me is that we're apparently in a world where Japanese horror films are a thing because they get referenced periodically but we're also in a world where Yokai (Japanese spirits) are a real thing because when things go sideways, abruptly and very dramatically, everyone rolls with it. We're abruptly handed some rules that never existed up to this point that will "save" those who need saving and there's an unnecessary and rather silly murder that everyone just accepts as something that happens in these sorts of situations and then its all over.

Its a shame because author Cassandra Khaw has a genuinely lovely style and a gift for atmosphere that could have really drawn me in had I had more time to sit with it. This is a novella that needed to be a novel. I needed to have more of a sense of who these people were, what the hell they were doing in this house and who they were to each other. It just wasn't enough to go "oh well the poorer less connected guy hates the rich guy." To be completely fair there are some truly haunting moments. I was particularly taken with the paintings that fill the mansions walls of the hundreds of different Yokai and I loved the idea that they are actual spirits observing our hapless band of revelers. Again, we don't get enough time with them for any true horror to really land.

I loved the Yokai and the idea of this haunted mansion with a tragic story at its heart still trying to get to a happy ending but I didn't get a chance to enjoy it long enough before everything turns into a slasher film.

Well this novella certainly packs a punch! I know it's a bit early to review a book that comes out in October, but I couldn't resist after reading the description.

"Nothing But Blackened Teeth" was fun, fresh, & spooky, this will be the perfect read for anyone looking for a quick thrill! I really enjoyed all of the Japanese folklore elements present here - I made sure to look everything up, something that helped enhance the way I was picturing the events in the novella. The ohaguro bettari was truly a frightening presence & I just loved how creepy the atmosphere was the entire way through. Also, huge shoutout for queer rep here - a bisexual Chinese female lead, we need more of this in horror! My one critique is that this is a bit wordy at times - there's a ton of metaphors & some of them didn't really work well for me, but the story & pacing were so strong it didn't really bother me much.

I'll be revisiting this review closer to pub day, but I'd highly encourage everyone to put this on their radar - this will be perfect come October! Thank you so much to Cassandra Khaw, NetGalley, & Tor Nightfire for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“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.”

An ancient house from the Heian era, haunted by the walled-up corpses of a hundred brides. An expensive trip—a wedding gift—with plenty of booze, food, and ghost stories to tell. A thrill-seeking couple who wants to get married in that very house, surrounded by their closest friends. What could go wrong?

If Nothing but Blackened Teeth is on your radar, you are in for a ride. Cassandra Khaw, author of Hammers on Bone and These Deathless Bones, brings us this brilliant novella full of psychological horror, guts, and teeth. Thoroughly immersed in Japanese folklore, Nothing but Blackened Teeth is not only a ghost story, but also a fascinatingly illustrative dive into the Japanese literary tradition of the kaidan, as well as its myths, legends, and supernatural spirits. Following the ancient ritual of the Hyakumonogatari Kaidan, where samurais lit a hundred candles for a hundred ghost stories, Nothing but Blackened Teeth combines a hundred forms of horror in its 128 pages. Body horror, psychological horror, gore, lore, monsters, ghosts, and haunted houses, this is an absolute funhouse for the horror junkies.

A remarkable aspect of this novella is that its cultural references are not watered down to fit into the constrains of Western horror. This is magnificently unapologetic and offers the minimal explanation of terms and cultural references, so there is a gorgeous array of Japanese imagery and folklore for the unknowing reader to research and discover. Some allusions, such as the kitsune, the kappa or the tengu—the array of yōkai or malicious spirits that observe the protagonists every move—are easier to locate. Others, like the Ohaguro Bettari, are for some to uncover.

This also makes great use of the setting to create an oppressing, sinister atmosphere. The Henian house where the set of characters are meant to spend the night becomes almost a sentient entity with the passing of time. As our protagonists start to lose their sanity, we can observe how the house begins to breathe and stare and grow sharp, organic limbs to trick their minds and take a bite from their deepest fears and insecurities. But who is the ultimate orchestrator of such a nightmare? The house itself, the Ohaguro Bettari, or the secret feelings and grudges the five friends keep from each other?

All of these elements are tied up together by a gorgeous writing style that almost turns prose into poetry. Wielding the most colourful metaphors and elevated words, Khaw creates a gorgeous contrast between the daintiness of her narration and the raw harshness of the direction the plot takes. But the author doesn’t limit her prose to it, she also grabs the bull by the horns and uses the most predictable tropes of the horror genre to her advantage. In a twisted form of foreshadowing, constant horror film meta-references made by the characters themselves serve as red herrings that lead the reader on until it is too late. And this technique follows through until the climax of the story, where her wonderfully diverse cast of characters allows her to subvert one of the most common tropes of the genre—one that we will not mention to avoid major spoilers—and denounce the mistreatment of non-white characters in horror.

Even if short, Nothing but Blackened Teeth is feast for the senses. Deeply enriching, twisted, and deliciously dark, the upcoming novella is definitely worth the read. Let the Ohaguro Bettari and her army of yōkai sink their teeth into you, and try and see whether you’d be able to escape the Heian mansion alive. The adrenaline rush is definitely worth the attempt.

This one started out a bit on the slow side and I got confused a few times because of the prose the writer uses. Sometimes it was unnecessarily wordy that it verged on pretentious. However, by the halfway point I really started getting into the story and a lot more was happening. I think this is a worth a read if you are into gothic books and folklore from other countries.

Also, this is the creepiest cover ever!

Five friends gather for a destination wedding in Japan, and host the pre-wedding festivities in an abandoned and haunted house. This story was full of Japanese mythology. The writing was sharp and creepy. The story is tense and haunting and I loved every page!

A very short novella about a Japanese Haunted House. I thought this book was very creepy and eerie. When I started reading I was waiting to try to figure out how the folklore was going to come into play. I think I would have appreciated the Japanese folklore more if I had some background info on the lore itself. However, without knowing the lore I still found the take chilling. It will be a great read for horror fans this spooky season.

Over-written but still packs a punch. I wish that there was a little more meat on the bone here; more for a reader unfamiliar with the territory (specifically of Japanese folklore) to have any hand-hold. I was tired from reading a bunch of stuff for the last book I read and it turned out that this then exhausted me for this book. THAT SAID, there are some good spooky images and it flows in a flash -- even a moderate-pace reader can probably knock this out in a few days or less.

Five (mostly) friends gather to hold the wedding of two of their own in a haunted house. The house is a Heian-era building where a bride died waiting for her groom, and girls were regularly sacrificed to the structure so she wouldn't be alone. On the first night of their arrival, they drink, celebrate, bicker, tell ghost stories, and soon find they aren't alone. The long dead bride is watching them, and she's excited for new people to play with.

NOTHING BUT BLACKENED TEETH thrums with ghostly terror, lyrical prose, and rich, messy themes to unearth. Cassandra Khaw is a master of literary horror, giving you enough to sink a shovel in but trusting you to dig deeper, bones and all, yourself. Every single line in the story is carefully chosen. The shortest description propels such precise imagery, often of things lurking in the shadows, that this is a novella best read with all the lights on.

Part of the brilliance of NOTHING BUT BLACKENED TEETH is how it teases, tells to an extent, but doesn't give every detail. For the 5 friends, we get tastes of what their relationships and backstories are. We know Cat, the protagonist, is still recovering from a dark, suicidal period. We know several of the friends have dated or been intimate with each other (and not everyone knows who has been with who). And we know some are spiteful, some are more honest than they should be, and some less so. But we don't know all the how's and the why's; rather, Khaw shows us how they feel, how their emotions have twisted and twined around each other, as that is often more important than the details. In a way, this mirrors the story of the bride, the girls, and the mansion. We have the basics, but what's left are the bare bones and the haunting emotions, the desperation and need to poke and prod, because reactions are better than the silence.

Readers will find a stunning mix of physical horror, psychological terror, and prose as sharp as the smile of a ghost bride.

NOTE: I received a free preliminary, and likely unedited copy of this book from Netgalley for the purposes of providing an honest, unbiased review of the material. Thank you to all involved.

I seem to be one of the few that couldn't get into this book for whatever reason. I guess I'm more of a fan of gothic horror stories, because most contemporary ones fall flat on me. I will say that Khaw has a knack for writing dialogue, but I feel there was too much of it - when I got halfway through the rather short book, The ghost had only made one brief appearance - this time was instead filled by needless bickering amongst all of the characters. It reminded of why I was rooting for the Swedish death cult in Midsommar as they killed that cast off - none of the characters were very likable to me.

Finished this in one night. Beautiful prose and very creepy. A brittle, atmospheric tale that grabs on tight and doesn't let go..

I saw this cover and immediately hunted down an early copy of this book. Suffice to say the story more than lives up to the cover! This was everything I could possibly want in a haunted house story, and I LOVE a horror novel that's self-aware like this one is. Add in amazing characters and wrap it up in GORGEOUS lyrical writing and you have one of my favorite books of 2021!

I loved everything about this book, from the rich folklore and Japanese mythology to the gruesome chaos that ensues.

This book was very well written! I’m not one to get scared reading books but this one had me about to fight my ice maker at 2am!

Five friends plan a trip to Japan for the sole purpose of participating in an exclusive wedding ceremony. After renting a mansion with a dark history involving sacred ghosts and unbridled offerings, the stage is set, and preparations begin not only for the celebration itself, but also for an exploratory alternate ritual.

This experimentation will test superstition against reality and guide the group of friends to a destination that will change their lives forever.

In Nothing But Blackened Teeth, Cassandra Khaw pens a haunted mansion story teeming with youthful compulsions that culminates into a place of damnation. These obsessive urges become an ominous component that swirls within each chapter of the book. Introductions to five friends and how their relationships correlate with each other not only takes center stage, but quickly becomes a crucial portion of the storyline. The underlying theme of true love contorts to the point of being beyond ordinary, and the morbid historical significance surrounding these characters drives the story toward an eagerly anticipated conclusion.

The cornerstone of Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a proposed wedding that embraces spectral images lurking from behind every corner. Any such descriptive features of dark haired possessions, mouth blotted murkiness, and smudge stained eyes stand out as literary intense visions of terror. The author effectively surrounds the story with gruesome practices associated with hitobashira. These customs and rituals carry a sense of melancholy that are filled with trepidation. Khaw’s literary talent of developing ideas around a cultural way of life while simultaneously calling up the dead are written fluently. This, among additional references generate enough unsettling paranormal experiences that it becomes hard to set such a book down.

Sprinkling just enough wit and humor to round out the creepy supernatural vibe adds sufficient relaxation for the reader, only to be unprepared for what’s emanating from the shadows. In addition, the book cover art is beautiful and sets the tone for what’s to come. This creative eye candy begs to be taken from the bookstore shelves and read. From the title to its content, Nothing But Blackened Teeth is one heck of a creepy read.

Final piece of advice: Take heed when approaching an ohaguro-bettari. It may look like a beautiful woman wearing her bridal gown, but upon further inspection you may be horrified to discover… nothing but blackened teeth. God willing, it won’t follow you home.

(originally posted at mysteryandsuspense.com)
(visit me at mysteryandsuspense.com)

That was an amazing tale! Loved the cover; super creepy! Nothing to like about any of the characters, so I didn't mind the comeuppance at the end. Very fitting. Ghost stories are so wonderful when they have a basis in folklore. The back story of the buried alive bride was just awesome! Really scary short story! Who doesn't love a scary story? This one wasn't very long, but boy did it pack in the fright! Kudos Cassandra Khaw!

As a seasoned horror reader, I usually explore new authors through anthologies. I am very grateful to have Netgalley as a platform to not only read titles, but to use it to curate the library collection as well.

This book could have been about anything else and I would still have read it. I have never read anything by Cassandra Khaw and the language Khaw uses in this book elevates it to a level that I was not expecting. My Kindle version is covered with highlights and notes. The best part for me is that it gave me a chance to dive into a mythology I wasn't as familiar with so I had an opportunity to learn something new. I did not, however, need to be well versed in it to enjoy the novel.

You start thinking you are going to read a classic haunted house/celebration gone wrong horror novel and you get so much more. Terrifying and beautiful. I will certainly be rereading it over and over again.

Not a full read. There should have been more build up of characters and plot. It was rushed and disjointed.

The creepy AF cover of this book sparked my interest immediately, and reading the premise - a haunted house story based in Japanese folklore - made it a book I had to get my hands on.

The book definitely delivered on the creepiness and the Japanese folklore, but I felt that it was hampered by its novella length. The pacing felt rushed, and it seemed like there just wasn’t enough time for the author to build the tension that the book’s truly creepy imagery deserved, or to make us understand/care about the characters in a meaningful way.

While interesting and three dimensional, I found it difficult to get a firm grasp on the relationships between the characters, especially why they would all agree to gather for a destination wedding when there’s such clear enmity between them. This makes some moments that should pack an emotional punch ending up falling a little flat.

That said, Khaw clearly knows their way around a creepy story, and I look forward to reading more of their work in the future!

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for the eARC of Nothing But Blackened Teeth.

Things I really liked about this book:
The culture & folklore embedded in this short novel is really interesting.
I loved going down the Google rabbit hole to find out how to make Baked Pork Chop or to see what a Heian mansion looked like.
She clearly is writing what she knows in these sections.

Things I really didn't like about this book:
The writing style. Oof. So flowery. It's like she chose one word on each page, looked it up in the thesaurus, and chose the most obscure synonym. It drove me crazy! I don't know anyone who really speaks that way or thinks that way in their heads. It was jarring.
The ending was too quick. I think I might have issues with novellas that aren't necessarily Khaw's fault. Just when it started to get scary...BOOM! all done. I feel this way about short novels a lot, but the ending was way too sudden for me.

I would read another book (maybe a longer one?) by this author before I totally wrote her off. The idea was interesting, the setting was fantastic, and I learned a lot more about Japanese culture and folklore than I expected from a 120ish page novel, but her writing just might not be my speed.

Interesting premise and fun plot, but when you get past the first bit the writing gets very flowery and is excessive in a way that I felt detracted from the story rather than added to it. I'm not opposed to reading that requires some teeth, but this got pretty hard to digest.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw is reminiscent of the Japanese Horror, Ju-on. There is an otherworldly presence that wants to take hold and not let go. The characters in Khaw’s story, much like Ju-on, find themselves in an abandoned house/ mansion that is not exactly vacant. There is something sinister still living within the building walls, a living breathing force waiting to take hold and control any who enter. This is what I love about ghost stories; you can have something that terrifies you without having to see it or know what you are experiencing. The author can show you the characters’ feelings and give off a certain vibe of the room to make you realize something is not right.

Khaw does all this with Nothing But Blackened Teeth with the house’s vibe, the visions appearing within, and the creepiness that crawls over your skin on every page you read. I couldn’t stop reading this story; I wanted more. It was almost like a drug needing another hit of horror. I am an avid horror buff and love Japanese horror, so to read a story that brings to life that entire genre with such completeness on the written page and do it so well is just pure bliss for me as a reader.

I am keeping this review as spoiler-free as possible, so I will say that if you love horror and have a love for Japanese horror, this is guaranteed to be a perfect read for you. You will not be disappointed and might have a few nightmares after reading this; I know I did.