Review: Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

Title: Nothing But Blackened Teeth

Author: Cassandra Khaw

Genre: Adult, horror

Publication date: October 2021

Published by: Tor Nightfire

Source: eARC from publishers via Netgalley

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Synopsis: 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 wedding venue for a group of thrill-seeking friends.

But a night of food, drinks, and games quickly spirals into a nightmare. For 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.

My rating: ★★☆☆☆

I was really looking forward to this novella cause I’m such a huge horror fan! Books, movies... you name it! Give it ALL to me! Lol. Unfortunately, this was kind of a letdown. You look at the beautifully creepy cover and you think you’re gonna get all the scares, but nope! That was not the case.

The biggest issue for me was the writing. It was pretty, but it got old FAST. The flowery writing was just too much for me! But thanks to this book I found out what the meaning of purple prose is 😆 and I also found out that I don’t like it 🙈 It was so over the top that it made me roll my eyes and just took me out of the story. All the similes and metaphors and abundance of adjectives... JFC! It was jarring when we would switch from the purple prose to the dialogue between the characters because it was just so vastly different.

Another thing I feel was impacted by the writing is the action and the horror itself. We were supposed to follow these characters as they traipsed through this haunted mansion, but the action was just hindered by the flowery writing. By the time the book got to the point—that the character was in danger—I had lost interest. And then the horror aspect also got lost amid all the similes and metaphors.

As for the characters, I didn’t like them. ANY of them. I didn’t understand the dynamic of this friend group... Has everyone dated everyone? They don’t even seem like friends... they don’t seem to even tolerate each other! The vitriol between Nadia and Cat? Holy shit! I just didn’t get it and I didn’t care for any of them.

So, yeah. I was not a fan. The writing was too much, I didn’t care for the characters, and the scares were nonexistent. There was some gore, but the book just wasn't scary. I feel like every aspect of the book was hindered by the flowery writing. It just didn't work for me. I did like the somewhat creepy feel of the house and the setting in general. But that’s it. Oh, I was also looking forward to some Japanese folklore, which we did get some of. But I wish it would have been explored more. And maybe explained more. Lol. There were some Japanese terms that weren’t explained that left me confused. And listen, I have been studying Japanese for over two years now, but come on! My Japanese isn't that good! 😆 Lol. But yeah, this was not for me. However, if you like flowery writing with only a touch of spookiness, then this might be for you.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! 😊