Reviews tagging 'Cultural appropriation'

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

5 reviews

ophelia_so_sad's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Murder, Blood, and Death

Minor: Cultural appropriation and Infidelity

nixieba25f's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Cultural appropriation, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Body horror, Infidelity, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

darumachan's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I agree with other reviewers that the prose is unnecessarily overwrought. The attention to unusual word choice actually took away from the character and plot development by being so self-consciously decorative, which dragged the pacing down. The tension between the characters from the start didn’t match the premise or their actions, and it got in the way of developing the setting or the really powerful influence it could have had over them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Body horror, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Suicide attempt

hannanni41's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I really thought I would like this based on the description but man, it's just not good at all. The characters are so unlikable and toxic to each other that it really makes you wonder why they're even together in the first place. I usually love Japanese mythology in horror but this started to feel borderline fetishizing, like the author just threw anything Japanese they could think of into it. I also see that this book is tagged as LGBTQIA+, but don't think it has any real representation in it. It's just 2 brief mentions of the main characters sexuality in scenes where someone goes "you can't investigate the ghost! You're bisexual so horror movie rules mean you DIE if you do!!!!" which felt like they just wanted to do the bare minimum to check if that representation box and was also very stupid both times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic friendship, Cultural appropriation, Violence, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Mental illness

misty_muskrat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Cultural appropriation