Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - Nothing But Blackened Teeth

Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

107 reviews

lumenades's review

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dark 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? Yes

2.0

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megan_harper's review against another edition

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dark 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

3.5

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amris's review

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challenging dark tense 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

4.0

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stephanieluxton's review against another edition

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dark

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

2.0

This book is about a group of 20 somethings who go to a spooky haunted house and then spooky things happen.

I picked up this book because it's short and I liked the cover.

A lot of people hate this book. It has a reputation. People complain about the strange choice of words. I knew this going into it but I also wanted to see for myself. After reading it, I definitely see where people are coming from.

The use of big words and strange metephors was weird at times and distracting. It's quite over the top. Even if ti was toned down a but to the point where it was just a poetic way of writing, I don't think it works for this book because the complicated prose doesn't align with the way our characters speak.

Our charcacters are all stereotypes. We have the protagonist (humble final girl type), rich preppy guy, the mean hot girl, the nice guy, and the jokester. This book is short so there isn't time to flesh out these characters. I think the smidge of backstory we get is really interesting and I wish it was explored more.

I didn't like this book because the plot was rushed. Group goes to haunted cursed place. Group faces haunted curse. Group wants to leave. Group figures out pretty quickly how curse works from convenient library. Tensions run high as group fractures and there's drama. Suboptimal solution presents itself. Problem kind of solved. The end.

The plot line is typical and basic but it still could have been good with some effort and character development. I think I am extra mad because the way the events unfold and the problem is solved doesn't even bother me that much. I just feel like it lacked proper emotional impact because it was so rushed.

Do I recommend? Not really. Is it totally unreadable? No. The fact that its short is both a blessing and it's downfall.

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sirenesque's review

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mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.75

I loved the lore that Khaw incorporated into the text and their descriptions are incredibly macabre in a way that invokes terror, disgust, and fascination. I also really enjoyed their interpretation of the haunted mansion trope. I had a hard time following the storylines because it seemed some of the characters were more developed in personality and backstory than others including the protagonist Cat. I think this element was meant to create a sense of confusion and lack of empathy for the friend group. However, for me it just left a lot of unanswered questions for why the Cat decides to embark on this trip in the first place aside from the group’s codependency and the fascination with the supernatural. I honestly felt like the supernatural aspects of the story brought out their worst traits and this is what drove us to the conclusion, but I think there was more room to integrate how their personal demons make them prey to these spirits. Overall though, Khaw’s command of language, the vivid scenes of decay and the plots twists made this novella worth the read.

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necroplasm's review

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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

2.0

maybe someday i'll find one of these short horror reads that i actually like! anyways i honestly nearly DNF'd this bc i found the characters and their dynamic to be incredibly obnoxious, but the book was so damn short i figured i'd just finish it anyways. for something that was touted in reviews as ~Sooooo Disturbing~ there were like 2 parts that even had the POTENTIAL to be scary and literally a single kill that was admittedly kinda fucked up but not really Extreme. if this book scared you i'm sorry to say you're a total lightweight 💔

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