I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw Published by NIghtfire on October 19 2021
Genres: Adult, Horror
Pages: 128
Format: Finished hardcover
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Five friends come together for a wedding in this spooky, Japanese-themed horror story.
Nothing But Blackened Teeth certainly wins the creepy cover of the year prize, but does the story inside live up to the macabre artwork? In many ways, the answer for me is “yes.” Cassandra Khaw’s evocative writing style is perfect for a haunted house story set in Japan, and the house in question definitely gave me chills (I wouldn’t stay in this house if you paid me!) But the author also layers a lot of relationship drama into her story, which made for some very unappealing characters. Normally I would count this as a negative, but for me, this element worked with the rest of the story.
Nadia and Faiz are getting married and have invited their three closest friends to join the celebration. Nadia’s lifelong dream is to be married in a haunted house, and Faiz has lovingly set up the ultimate destination wedding by securing an old abandoned Heian-era mansion in Japan. A particularly nasty legend surrounds the mansion, revolving around a bride whose fiancé was killed before he could make it to the wedding. It’s said that her ghost haunts the mansion, waiting for her dead husband to return, and Nadia, Faiz, Cat, Lin and Phillip are determined to find evidence of the haunting and make their own wedding an event to remember.
But when everyone arrives at the mansion, it soon becomes clear to the reader that these “friends” are anything but. Nadia hates Cat because she dated Faiz at one time. Phillip and Cat used to go out until he broke it off to date Nadia. It’s all a big tangled mess, but everyone is trying to ignore these emotional undercurrents and get along, at least until the ceremony is over.
But the ghost bride has other plans for the group, and soon after their arrival, strange things start to happen. Cat hears a woman’s voice whispering in Japanese, and the mansion seems to grow and change as they explore its vast corridors. They need to put their differences aside if they’re going to survive the night. But can they?
The story is narrated by Cat, and the reader is dropped into the middle of all the drama swirling around the characters, which makes for a very confusing opening. It took a while to figure out who was who and what their relationships were to each other, as the reader has to glean all the information through dialog and Cat’s inner thoughts. I couldn’t imagine why Cat would even be invited to the wedding because of Nadia’s obvious hatred of her, but the author gives an explanation that, while not completely satisfying, allowed her to bring these dysfunctional people together. And no, I didn’t like any of these characters. Their feelings for each other were overly dramatic, and without more background and context, it was hard to understand what was going on. But, I have to admit all the bickering added to the unsettling atmosphere, and pitting the characters against each other is a tried and true horror trope that works.
The ghostly parts were very well done. In addition to the Ohaguro-Bettari, the specific Japanese ghost that Khaw has based her story on, the walls of the mansion are covered in carvings of Japanese yōkai (spirits) who come to life during the story (or perhaps they only seem to come to life). Khaw has done plenty of research into the Ohaguro-Bettari (which I googled, and yes, she looks like the ghost on the book cover!). There’s even a real life explanation for the “blackened teeth” element which I found fascinating. Overall, I thought the spooky atmosphere was the strongest part of the story, and Khaw gives readers a gruesome climax that wasn’t completely unexpected, and yet it was shocking all the same.
The other thing I really liked was the way the author inserts wry comments about horror tropes and stereotypes into her dialog. The characters are well versed in the ins and outs of horror, and the fact that they’ve found themselves right in the middle of one of those familiar stories was pretty funny at times:
“Cat, this is literally the part where the supporting cast dies horribly. You’re bisexual. I’m the comic relief. It’s going to be one of us.”
I can’t help but wonder what this story would have been like as a novel, though. At barely over a hundred pages, Nothing But Blackened Teeth is almost over before it’s begun. I think more character development would have made this even better, a little more delving into the supposedly horrid things the characters have done to each other, rather than the broad strokes we’re given.
Still, I did end up really enjoying this, despite the unlikable characters. This is my first book by Cassandra Khaw, and I absolutely adored her writing style. For a spooky, October read that’s oozing with atmosphere, definitely give this a read.
Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.
The cover for this book led me to entertain high hopes for the story, and given that it’s the right season for spooky horror, your review just confirmed that I totally need to read this one as soon as it comes out. It will be a great way to celebrate Halloween… 😀 😀
Thanks for sharing!
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It is definitely perfect for Halloween!
I cannot even LOOK at this cover for more than a few seconds at a time. Makes me believe it’d be hard to like, read it lol. And so I’ve done no looking into it. I thought it would be longer, but I guess the author couldn’t concentrate once she decided what would grace the cover.
But I’m glad you enjoyed it!
LOL!
The cover is absolutely creepy! I didn’t realize this was a novella — I think that would frustrate me (as would the basic premise — why set your wedding at a haunted house? Sounds like just begging for trouble!). Great review — it sounds like it could be a really good read, but I don’t think I’d read it.
It’s definitely not for everyone.
Nadia’s lifelong dream is to be married in a haunted house? Ooookay girl, that’s just asking for trouble But it does sound like a good ghost story and I love the quote you shared. It made me chuckle.
Stephanie @ Bookfever recently posted…Review: White Ibis by Wendy Dalrymple
Ha ha I know, she shouldn’t be surprised by anything that happened;-)
I don’t know what’ creepier about this story, the setting or the conflict amongst old friends.
Right?? The conflict was a bit too much I thought.
There are so many Japanese spirits out there. They’ve made for some great movies and anime. Perhaps it’s time I try reading about them, too. 🙂
Yes! I loved reading about one of them, and I’d love to learn more about the others.
I like the fact that it’s self-aware and a bit ironic. I don’t like horrors that are too serious 😉
I thought it was a good mix. There are some deadly serious things that happen…
Lol! I love the quote you highlighted there. I really want to read this one too. It sounds like I’ll like it and be really creeped out too.
I hope you enjoy if you read it!
LOL yeah I couldn’t really give a crap about any of the characters either. Other than that, this wasn’t too bad!
Ha ha they were pretty awful.
I have to say that cover is so scary it almost puts me off reading but I do love your review – and it is the right month of the year to read something dark and sinister.
Lynn 😀
It’s perfect for October:-)
This really does sound like a perfect read for spooky season. I still can’t get over how creepy that cover is. Freaks me out every time I see it, lol.
The cover is giving everyone nightmares, lol.
Wow, only about 100 pages? That is short! But it sounds like it was pretty good. I’ll have to check it out!
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