Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

93 reviews

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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rayshell's review

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mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Really beautiful and sensory writing, particularly the descriptions and metaphors communicating the narrative perspective. Heady, hazy, woozy in the best way. The plot could be been more fleshed out and characters more developed. The juice of this story is in the feelings and reflections it inspires in the reader.

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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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readingmushrooms's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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vivaciousvaleska's review

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25


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samanthalw96's review

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

2.0


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ghouligan's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-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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noemi_qu's review

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dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0


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wrensreadingroom's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

5.0


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spadedigsbutts's review

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dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

2.75

A book that was fun to read for the visual language and descriptions, but was much weaker elsewhere. 

The main conflict is essentially a dysfunctional friend group's issues being exacerbated by a ghost haunting when they were already at the breaking point. Like in most horror media, the cast is pretty unlikable and are mainly defined by their relations to each other, without much nuance independently. This is a normal convention for this scenario in the horror genre, but I wish characters had more arcs or at least more detailed interpersonal relations than "x slept with x once" as the few details we do get just don't have much payoff in the book.
Most characters feel like they start and end the same, which may partially be the point considering it's a super toxic friend group, but it does leave you up in the air when it just comes to an end without much of a huge conclusion. If you read it hoping for some sort of character resolutions, you won't get it.

If you came for a cool japanese influenced haunted house story where interpersonal relationships come to a tragic head, you unfortunately really don't get that. I wish we'd had more time to develop things in the book as while the writing style is lush and detailed, the actual set elements and characters are flimsy. A good read for a bus ride or waiting at a doctor's office, but not much out. I doubt I'll ever reread it.  

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