Review – Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Horror/Supernatural
Length: 114 pages
Publisher:‎ Tor Nightfire
Release Date: October 19, 2021
ASIN: ‎ B08QGL3FK7
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed eBook from Library
Rating: 3/5 stars

“A Heian-era mansion stands abandoned, its foundations resting on the bones of a bride and its walls packed with the remains of the girls sacrificed to keep her company.

It’s the perfect venue for a group of thrill-seeking friends, brought back together to celebrate a wedding.

A night of food, drinks, and games quickly spirals into a nightmare as secrets get dragged out and relationships are tested.

But the house has secrets too. Lurking in the shadows is the ghost bride with a black smile and a hungry heart.

And she gets lonely down there in the dirt.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book that I borrowed from the library. I actually didn’t realize this was the same author that wrote “Hammers on Bone” (which I also just read) until after I read this.

Thoughts: This felt pretty hollow overall. The characters were unlikable and waayy too much time was spent on their personal issues given how unengaging they are. This is a pretty classic haunted house type of story. I did enjoy all of the Japanese mythology that is in here.

I guess I really don’t have a lot to say about this. It wasn’t scary, it wasn’t interesting, it was however, a very short read so it wasn’t a huge time investment.

The writing felt both sparse and a bit ambiguous again, this is the second novella I have read by Khaw and I now realize this is just her writing style. I can solidly say I am not really a fan of Khaw’s writing style.

My Summary (3/5): Overall I feel pretty neutral about this book. It was a quick, basic, haunted house read. The inclusion of Japanese mythology was interesting. However, the plot was predictable and boring and the characters were incredibly unlikable and hard to engage with. I was kind of disappointed they didn’t all get taken by the house…but whatever. I don’t plan on reading anything else by Khaw in the future. She has some interesting ideas and elements in her novellas but her writing style just isn’t for me.