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njdarkish's review
3.0
A spooky ghost story with prose so indulgent as to spoil one's appetite. There is some phenomenal, creepy moments, though, and the story didn't overstay its welcome like it would if it were much longer.
beewitch's review
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
3.0
whatyoutolkienabout's review against another edition
4.0
Review: Nothing by Blackened Teeth by Cassandra KhawA horror novel set with a Japanese yurei for an antagonist, you can bet I was interested! Cassandra Khaw didn’t disappoint – for the most part at least. As usual I will avoid any major spoilers within my review apart from a few names of characters.
The premise of the novel is brilliant. A group of thrill-seeking friends are in search of a perfect wedding venue, plan to spend the night in a Heian-era mansion. Long abandoned, perhaps with good reason this mansion rests on the bones of a grief stricken bride and its walls are packed with the remains of numerous girls sacrificed to keep her company.
The planned night of good food, drinks, games and memories quickly spirals into a nightmare, as the house welcomes its newest guests. Lurking in the shadows is the ghost bride with a black smile and a hungry heart. She’s been so lonely down there in the dirt.
I want to start by saying Khaw is amazing at descriptions, the writing flows and is equally beautiful and disturbing at points, its almost lyrical. The plot and pacing was fantastic. For me the only thing I had trouble with was the characters. Cat, our main protagonist, despite seeming to suffer for mental health issues, was frustrating to say the least, Talia I hoped would be the first to go within seconds of her being introduced. Faiz and Lin were okay but that was it. The only one who I vaguely liked was Philip and even that was a stretch. Unfortunately this made it hard to be invested in their wellbeing – I won’t lie, I actually WANTED the ghost bride to wipe them all out and was more on her side from the start.
This by no way means I didn’t enjoy the book, I did. As I say the descriptions, the atmosphere, passing and horror were fantastic. Perhaps Khaw intended us to side more with the ghost bride than the group of friends. Maybe it was just me. Unfortunately I did have to deduct one star for this purely because despite the wonderful writing and storytelling I found myself routing for the wrong team and some of the tension was lost since I honestly couldn’t have cared less if they survived or not. That said I would definitely re-read this book for the descriptions and writing alone along with the antagonist. I do recommend for a good spooky read and whatsmore one with a basis of Asian culture and horror.
The premise of the novel is brilliant. A group of thrill-seeking friends are in search of a perfect wedding venue, plan to spend the night in a Heian-era mansion. Long abandoned, perhaps with good reason this mansion rests on the bones of a grief stricken bride and its walls are packed with the remains of numerous girls sacrificed to keep her company.
The planned night of good food, drinks, games and memories quickly spirals into a nightmare, as the house welcomes its newest guests. Lurking in the shadows is the ghost bride with a black smile and a hungry heart. She’s been so lonely down there in the dirt.
I want to start by saying Khaw is amazing at descriptions, the writing flows and is equally beautiful and disturbing at points, its almost lyrical. The plot and pacing was fantastic. For me the only thing I had trouble with was the characters. Cat, our main protagonist, despite seeming to suffer for mental health issues, was frustrating to say the least, Talia I hoped would be the first to go within seconds of her being introduced. Faiz and Lin were okay but that was it. The only one who I vaguely liked was Philip and even that was a stretch. Unfortunately this made it hard to be invested in their wellbeing – I won’t lie, I actually WANTED the ghost bride to wipe them all out and was more on her side from the start.
This by no way means I didn’t enjoy the book, I did. As I say the descriptions, the atmosphere, passing and horror were fantastic. Perhaps Khaw intended us to side more with the ghost bride than the group of friends. Maybe it was just me. Unfortunately I did have to deduct one star for this purely because despite the wonderful writing and storytelling I found myself routing for the wrong team and some of the tension was lost since I honestly couldn’t have cared less if they survived or not. That said I would definitely re-read this book for the descriptions and writing alone along with the antagonist. I do recommend for a good spooky read and whatsmore one with a basis of Asian culture and horror.
dliterate's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This wasn't terrible, but I am glad I was introduced to Khaw's work via 'The Salt Grows Heavy' first. Where the latter was able to balance the poetic nature of her writing with the development of its story and characters, this was more words than actual substance. And the writing was just a but too overwrought at times.
I would have preferred spending this time listening to 'The Salt Grows Heavy' again, to be honest.
I would have preferred spending this time listening to 'The Salt Grows Heavy' again, to be honest.
pilgrimgossip's review
5.0
What a beautifully written book. I would say this was.. part modern horror. It left me feeling very bittersweet. I recommend listening to the audio.
mash369's review
3.0
rounded up. Had a lot of potential but still a good story. Author used big words just for the sake of showing off.
savmdb_17's review
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
1.75
cassie_roberts's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.25