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katiereadsbooks23's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This kind of felt like a gossip girl ghost story, I may have based that statement off of the voice of the narrator of the audiobook but it’s a lot of personal drama with a little bit of spoopiness thrown in. If it was any longer of a book I probably would DNF it but I got through it and it was ok.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Murder, Death, Body horror, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
lilybear3's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
I wish the story had lived up to the title and the cover art. I had a lot of issues with the writing and the characters.
I felt like the writing was trying too hard to be profound and have those memorable one-liners. Nothing interesting/scary happens until halfway through the book. The story up until then had revolved around the friend drama (it doesn't stop there, it's constant to the point of annoying). For me, lack of communication in a story makes me furious so the lack of realistic dialogue wasn't great. For example,Why didn't Cat yell at Faiz, "if you cut your heart out, you will die and you won't get to be with Talia"? Basic commication avoided.
Onto the characters: they are insufferable. The only one I sort of cared for was Lin. The ending was not what I would've liked.Killing Phillip to get Talia back was a horrible trade offer, she was not worth saving. While I'm here, I did like how the yokai hung around the characters, that imagery is very cool
None of the characters were connected to this environment, so we had a group of tourists/non-native Japanese go to the house for funsies because she wanted to get married in a haunted house. It just doesn't make sense, even for a fictional story.
I had no expectations going into this, the cover made it look scary and eerie but there was so much drama between the friends and not enough spooky that I lost interest quickly.
I felt like the writing was trying too hard to be profound and have those memorable one-liners. Nothing interesting/scary happens until halfway through the book. The story up until then had revolved around the friend drama (it doesn't stop there, it's constant to the point of annoying). For me, lack of communication in a story makes me furious so the lack of realistic dialogue wasn't great. For example,
Onto the characters: they are insufferable. The only one I sort of cared for was Lin. The ending was not what I would've liked.
None of the characters were connected to this environment, so we had a group of tourists/non-native Japanese go to the house for funsies because she wanted to get married in a haunted house. It just doesn't make sense, even for a fictional story.
I had no expectations going into this, the cover made it look scary and eerie but there was so much drama between the friends and not enough spooky that I lost interest quickly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Gore, Grief, Self harm, Death, Toxic friendship, Blood, Confinement, Murder, and Cursing
kricitt's review
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Eerie and moving. Khaw brings a tight story that is truly hard to put down and impossible to forget.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Self harm
dustghosts's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
girl help the horror recs are letting me down
+ when it wasn’t too forced, the writing— particularly figurative language and sense descriptions— could be quite beautiful
+ i loooove a horror story with house-as-character, and there were times when this came off particularly eerie. i wish this had been pushed a little more, given depth, something more complicated thanmoldy books “tricking you” into (or just letting you get away with, depending on how you interpret this) killing an old friend against whom you have a grudge
+ i do think khaw captures a certain kind of former-to-forced friendship really well in this group, with twisty histories between them and palpable built up resentments
o the author often uses Japanese words and terminology that will require non-speakers to do some research. i don’t personally think this is a con, but other reviewers have mentioned it and it is worth being prepared for. not everything has to be made easy for an english-speaking audience.
- none of these characters, however, come across as particularly likeable, complex, or clever, nor do they have much development for better or for worse— and I think you need at least one of those if you want my investment. instead they all seem pared down to the most basic of their traits, and the descriptions of those wind up feeling repetitive, like we’re rarely if ever learning anything new about the characters— just finding new ways to describe the same traits that our narrator has only disdain for.
- bizarre treatment of mental illness here— the POV character has had a struggle that reads true-to-life and is still dealing with the repercussions of that in a way that’s a little painful (not necessarily in a bad way) and similarly realistic. but the way thatthe rest of the characters seem to fall apart in an abrupt mockery of ~madness~ at the climax of the story is kind of wild and doesn’t feel well-justified or true.
- pacing is a problem. at times it drones (I found it really difficult to get into), at times it skips forward too fast, at times it seems unmatched to the urgency of what’s actually happening in the scene.
- I would like to give some benefit of the doubt that some of this has to do with characterization of the narrator (cat is someone who considers herself smarter than most of the people in the room, while at the time still being a little discombobulated and learning how to person again). however. overall, I think it could have used another editing pass— often the writing seems staccato, too many half-sentences and incomplete thoughts stacked against each other. when it isn’t that, it’s often overly verbose to the point of being inaccessible, hard to parse, metaphors made too specific so as to be ineffective (distracting or abstracted, vs evocative).
- while the length made this an easy read, combined with the pacing issues, it also made everything from the climax to the end feel stilted— either too easy or not as impactful as it could be given some room to breathe. the “front” of the book feels heavier than the meat of the haunting, like we’re being set up for the characters to face something much more challenging and frightening than what actually happens.
- to that end? I feel that the resolution was too easy, too loosely-justified, and honestly a bit too blasé for what could have been the tragedy of it. and that has to do with aaaall of those other flaws. in general, the book doesn’t have any real concept of hierarchy of information— what’s important to the writer, the characters, the house, or to the reader?
+ when it wasn’t too forced, the writing— particularly figurative language and sense descriptions— could be quite beautiful
+ i loooove a horror story with house-as-character, and there were times when this came off particularly eerie. i wish this had been pushed a little more, given depth, something more complicated than
+ i do think khaw captures a certain kind of former-to-forced friendship really well in this group, with twisty histories between them and palpable built up resentments
o the author often uses Japanese words and terminology that will require non-speakers to do some research. i don’t personally think this is a con, but other reviewers have mentioned it and it is worth being prepared for. not everything has to be made easy for an english-speaking audience.
- none of these characters, however, come across as particularly likeable, complex, or clever, nor do they have much development for better or for worse— and I think you need at least one of those if you want my investment. instead they all seem pared down to the most basic of their traits, and the descriptions of those wind up feeling repetitive, like we’re rarely if ever learning anything new about the characters— just finding new ways to describe the same traits that our narrator has only disdain for.
- bizarre treatment of mental illness here— the POV character has had a struggle that reads true-to-life and is still dealing with the repercussions of that in a way that’s a little painful (not necessarily in a bad way) and similarly realistic. but the way that
- pacing is a problem. at times it drones (I found it really difficult to get into), at times it skips forward too fast, at times it seems unmatched to the urgency of what’s actually happening in the scene.
- I would like to give some benefit of the doubt that some of this has to do with characterization of the narrator (cat is someone who considers herself smarter than most of the people in the room, while at the time still being a little discombobulated and learning how to person again). however. overall, I think it could have used another editing pass— often the writing seems staccato, too many half-sentences and incomplete thoughts stacked against each other. when it isn’t that, it’s often overly verbose to the point of being inaccessible, hard to parse, metaphors made too specific so as to be ineffective (distracting or abstracted, vs evocative).
- while the length made this an easy read, combined with the pacing issues, it also made everything from the climax to the end feel stilted— either too easy or not as impactful as it could be given some room to breathe. the “front” of the book feels heavier than the meat of the haunting, like we’re being set up for the characters to face something much more challenging and frightening than what actually happens.
- to that end? I feel that the resolution was too easy, too loosely-justified, and honestly a bit too blasé for what could have been the tragedy of it. and that has to do with aaaall of those other flaws. in general, the book doesn’t have any real concept of hierarchy of information— what’s important to the writer, the characters, the house, or to the reader?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gaslighting, and Vomit
Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
faeriequeenlauren's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
“After all, isn't that the foremost commandment in the scripture of horror? They who are queer, deviant, tattooed, tongue-pierced or other must always die first.”
This was sooo good! Beautiful prose throughout and there are so many quotable passages from this book that stuck out to me. This book takes your typical horror story if the group of young naive 20-somethings who vacation at a haunted house looking for the ghosts they’ve been told dwell there and turns it on it’s head. It’s still the same story in ways, but this book tackles grief, the complexities of adult relationships, and so much more in such a short time.
When the thing happened, my jaw dropped. I was expecting something crazy, but I was still shocked by it. Highly recommend for horror fans, or those into the disturbing and macabre, otherwise, it may be a bit too horrifying. Great for spooky season and a short read.
Overall this slapped.
This was sooo good! Beautiful prose throughout and there are so many quotable passages from this book that stuck out to me. This book takes your typical horror story if the group of young naive 20-somethings who vacation at a haunted house looking for the ghosts they’ve been told dwell there and turns it on it’s head. It’s still the same story in ways, but this book tackles grief, the complexities of adult relationships, and so much more in such a short time.
When the thing happened, my jaw dropped. I was expecting something crazy, but I was still shocked by it. Highly recommend for horror fans, or those into the disturbing and macabre, otherwise, it may be a bit too horrifying. Great for spooky season and a short read.
Overall this slapped.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Death, Murder, Violence, Grief, Cursing, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Infidelity, Excrement, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, and Drug use
melodyseestrees's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The audiobook narrator ( Suehyla El-Attar) did a phenomenal job with the dark subject matter. The story gets very dark so if anything in the content warnings is close to something that will upset you proceed with caution.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Murder, and Self harm
Moderate: Mental illness, Blood, Alcohol, Infidelity, and Torture
thewereraven's review
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
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Classism, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Cursing
Minor: Excrement
lumberjacksnackpack's review
dark
mysterious
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
2.0
I was excited by the premise, but Nothing But Blackened Teeth gets bogged down by its crutches, trying to cover unlikable characters and a lagging plot with self-referential metacommentary that goes nowhere.
Cat is unlikable by design, but the novel's attempts to explain her behavior as part of her mentally-ill bisexual dark heart character with references to her past self-harming and suicidal behavior are never given much emotional depth. She claims she's trying to be better, to be with her friends, but none of this is ever supported by the characters or their behavior.
The side characters are one-dimensional, their increasingly unnecessary flavor text forcing them into Cabin in the Woods like Horror character trope boxes. Phillip is the hero/athlete, Fiaz is the nerd/scholar, Lin is the Fool, Talia is the Whore, leaving Cat the Virgin. It's overdone and lacks depth (in the epilogue we get more reasons why Phillip was a decent guy than literally anywhere else).
I did enjoy some of the horrific imagery, the yokai in the walls following them, some of Cat's fugue passages about the house were atmospheric and original, and I really enjoyed the growing obsession and even fondness Cat seems to have towards the ohaguro-bettari, it was the most intriguing part of the novella, and it fades into the background.
The plot becomes entirely contrived once they discover that Talia has been stolen by the ohaguro-bettari, with the whole "there must be a book" thing. It felt like a lazy attempt to give them some third-act goal, with no support to make it work. There's a lot of handwaving about the house having some sort of influence on them to be more horrible, violent people, but again, it doesn't go anywhere, and there's no justification. Cat wonders if they're some kind of entertainment of the yokai, and I'd love for that to be explored more. For there to be any real worldbuilding at all, instead of focusing on the vapid and petty drama of these characters.
The pacing overall is off, because there's no real plot direction that isn't forced.
Overall, I thought Nothing But Blackened Teeth had good bones, but no real foundation for a visceral, scary story.
Cat is unlikable by design, but the novel's attempts to explain her behavior as part of her mentally-ill bisexual dark heart character with references to her past self-harming and suicidal behavior are never given much emotional depth. She claims she's trying to be better, to be with her friends, but none of this is ever supported by the characters or their behavior.
The side characters are one-dimensional, their increasingly unnecessary flavor text forcing them into Cabin in the Woods like Horror character trope boxes. Phillip is the hero/athlete, Fiaz is the nerd/scholar, Lin is the Fool, Talia is the Whore, leaving Cat the Virgin. It's overdone and lacks depth (in the epilogue we get more reasons why Phillip was a decent guy than literally anywhere else).
I did enjoy some of the horrific imagery, the yokai in the walls following them, some of Cat's fugue passages about the house were atmospheric and original, and I really enjoyed the growing obsession and even fondness Cat seems to have towards the ohaguro-bettari, it was the most intriguing part of the novella, and it fades into the background.
The plot becomes entirely contrived once they discover that Talia has been stolen by the ohaguro-bettari, with the whole "there must be a book" thing. It felt like a lazy attempt to give them some third-act goal, with no support to make it work. There's a lot of handwaving about the house having some sort of influence on them to be more horrible, violent people, but again, it doesn't go anywhere, and there's no justification. Cat wonders if they're some kind of entertainment of the yokai, and I'd love for that to be explored more. For there to be any real worldbuilding at all, instead of focusing on the vapid and petty drama of these characters.
The pacing overall is off, because there's no real plot direction that isn't forced.
Overall, I thought Nothing But Blackened Teeth had good bones, but no real foundation for a visceral, scary story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Violence, Gore, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide attempt, and Self harm
cantfindmybookmark's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Self harm, and Gore
rosesofthespring's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Medical content, and Medical trauma