Welcome to Litsy!

A group of friends decides that an abandoned haunted manor, full of the ghosts of women buried alive, is the perfect place for a wedding party. The house agrees.

I really wanted more out of this. At the end of every chapter, I felt like it needed to be twice as long. I needed more set up of the friends, more set up for the climax. The descriptions were visceral & unsettling, & would have been better suited for a more gradual horror.🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑

Well... Why were these people friends in the first place? They all seemed to hate each other, so I didn't really care about them. Maybe the horror in this was too subtle, and I might should've tried to find a translation to get into this a bit better. Next time maybe.

#queerbc @PuddleJumper

Second night for #HauntedShelf word search

Team #Flerken

Creepy for #HauntedShelf word search

Team #Flerken

Read for #HauntedShelf word search

Team #Flerken

I don't get it. That was boring and not at all scary! I didn't particularly like the writing style but even ignoring that, this book was very dull and weirdly anti climatic

#HauntedShelf #Flerken

Not one of her best books but it's a light horror story. Creepy, unsettling and well-written. I'm not a big fan of the petty drama between a group of friends who aren't actually much friends at all, especially when it all boils down to who slept with who, and who's got a crush on who. But that is a personal thing of mine.
It's a light creepy read. If you're also a fan of this genre, I'd definitely give it a try.

This is not 124 pages of horror, so don‘t be fooled by the gorgeous and eerie cover. I love Japanese mythology and folklore—it‘s strange and fascinating. The author has a delicious way of describing macabre details but this story had too much of a gap for me. The pages are crawling with various types of Yokai. I wasn‘t familiar with all of them or some of the Japanese words, so I googled them. I recognized some of them when I saw the art and⬇️

another book cover that creeps me out…my #10 on #readyourkindle @CBee #readinglife #readinggoal

3.5/5⭐ I read this in the middle of the day and got creeped out by the wind making noises outside, so successful horror. I liked the vividness of the descriptive prose and the self-awareness of horror tropes.

It wasn‘t charitable but apologies didn‘t exonerate the sinner, only compelled graciousness from its recipient.

A wonderfully creepy short read.

A wonderfully creepy short read.

Downloaded and ready to go for tomorrow

For a book with such a spooky-awesome cover, the story is rather bland. I like Khaw‘s prose (most of the time; half this novella seems devoted to finding new ways to describe a person‘s smile or their breathing), and the atmosphere is right. But I feel like I‘m missing something, like the story is too simple to not be complex.

When the bride says “I‘ve always wanted to get married in a haunted house” you just know some questionable life choices are about to be made 🤣 add in a toxic - friends from college - friend group, poking a little bit of fun at horror movie tropes and Japanese folklore - and I quite enjoyed myself.

Reviews for this book are mixed, people seem to love it or hate it (and probably more of the latter) but I was entertained by this story about five friends (but not really) who decide to stay overnight in an abandoned mansion notorious for housing the remains of an abandoned bride & the girls buried alongside her to keep her company. If you think that sounds dark…it‘s only the beginning. Horrifying & often grotesque, this is a dark one.

It‘s October and apparently horror is my mood…

It's here! ⛩️🏯👻 @Dabbe @sweetkokoro @TieDyeDude (I finally gave in and ordered it online)

#Scarathlon #photochallenge #black & #ghost
@BookwormAHN @hes7 @TheBookDream @5feet.of.fury @BeckyWithTheGoodBooks @LibrarianRyan @Read-y_Picker @TheQuietQuill @TEArificbooks
#Japan #yokai #ghoststories

3✨Friends come together to celebrate an upcoming wedding. Going to a supposedly haunted location has the thrill seekers excited. They are not all friendly with each other so it really shows their character when the ghost they scoffed at turns out to be real. Beautifully creepy and gory. #BatBrigage #Scarathlon @Catsandbooks

For todays #ScarathlonPhotoChallenge “Black” I‘m going to start to read this one right now. 🧟‍♀️🦇 #BatBrigade @Catsandbooks

I really wanted to like this, but I could not. It was so pretentious. The prose was over-the-top, like the author was trying too hard. None of the characters were likable at all. Very disappointing.

Picked this up right after finishing the other Cassandra Khaw book (The Salt Grows Heavy) which I enjoyed. Unfortunately this one I did not!! Not enough characters allowed on Litsy to even begin to tell you why. Pan pan pan!

This feels raw and unfinished. The purple prose was so difficult to wade through. The characters were so flat amidst all these really complicated cultural references. I had to look up something on almost every page for at least half of the book. I'd read this if it was 3 times as long, less pretension, better character development and more description of the Japanese yokai that are casually referenced.

Slow at first but it turned out pretty good!

The cover is the best part for me.

#MayMontage
Day 12. 150-225 pages
#150-225Pages
Per the first part of the synopsis on goodreads: “Cassandra Khaw‘s Nothing But Blackened Teeth is a gorgeously creepy haunted house tale, steeped in Japanese folklore and full of devastating twists.”

This was a 3 ⭐️ read for me. I thought it was okay when I first read it back in October 2021. It didn‘t leave a huge impression on me, though. Maybe I‘ll revisit it in the future? I dunno 😅

It was ok, but not great.

In the mood for a creepy, haunted house novella.

#snowflake #snowflakes #papersnowflakes

I realize that not every story needs to give me a complete backstory, but being utterly confused the majority of the time isn‘t a good idea either…I *really* wanted to love this. The premise is great, I enjoyed her writing style, it was just a little too silly for me. I dunno. Maybe I‘ll try it again someday when I can appreciate it more?

This was fucking weird and dark! Quite short, just like a little snapshot of some people who call each other friends but seem to hate each other staying in a haunted Heian mansion in Japan and things going very wrong very quick. Very meta in terms of its use of the horror genre. Sharp writing, particularly the creepy, gross, and/or macabre metaphors, like when Khaw describes someone's words hanging out of their mouth like a body on a noose.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw is a dark and twisted tale of friendship, secrets, and resentment that all comes to a head on location of an elopement at a haunted mansion.

This is a book that you could read cover to cover in one sitting, or go slow to really steep in the inky darkness. As I have zero self control, I read right straight through. Phew.

https://www.ericarobynreads.com/book-review-nothing-but-blackened-teeth/

I am in awe.. this is my first Litsy swap ever and it was so much fun !! Thank you enormously to @HotMessJess for my gorgeous #BWS package!! It made me so giddy! And thank you to @sprainedbrain for organizing the swap! I am so grateful for the thought and effort that was put into this package. Blessed Samhain and Happy Halloween 👻 🧡🖤🔮

Previously, I‘ve only read one short story by this author, These Deathless Bones, which left an impression—I remember it still. In comparison, this one is completely forgettable; this one, with its cliché plot, its whiny characters and their petty little dramas—like a #horor B-Movie that isn‘t even funny—I couldn‘t care less about. Just one more case where the premise and a gorgeous cover had fooled me.

What a disappointment.

1.5/5

I went into this one with very low expectations (the reviews aren‘t great) and I think that helped me somewhat enjoy it. It definitely was creepy and kind of sad. However it did feel really rushed and could have been really good with some more character development and more attention given to description. 🌟🌟💫 #scarathlon2022 #teamslaughter

Listened to this on audio. Was a quick read, but even though it‘s a novella, I still found it to be rushed. #bookspinbingo #scarathlon #TeamMonsterMash #31by31 #littenlisten #spookoween2022

Just a Saturday in October at Barnes and Noble!

Short and frightening -- I mean, just look at that cover! 😱

#scream #scarathlondailyprompts #teamslaughter

I wanted to like this book so badly. The characters were so annoying I was hoping they‘d all die. There‘s 4th wall breaks that were supposed to be funny or quirky but they were just awkward and weird. Wouldn‘t recommend at all. #TeamMonsterMash #Scarathlon

Luna says “what even is that?”

Nothing for Day 2 #Scarathlondailyprompts so posting another from Day 1.

#Scarathlon #Black #TeamSlaughter

@Clwojick

A quick haunted house horror novel about five friends staying in a Japanese mansion rumored to be the final resting place of a lonely, jilted bride who longs for company. Perfect for October.

Happy spooky season y‘all 🎃

This horror story mixed with Japanese folklore is so eerily evocative and beautifully written it feels like poetry, but after awhile it‘s almost too much alliteration, individually excellent but taken together it‘s a lot. That said, I did enjoy this creepy novella with the premise of a small destination wedding in a haunted mansion.

This is a gorgeous, quick read with decadent prose. I‘m a bit ambivalent about the ending, but honestly I‘m never quite satisfied with how horror stories end so that‘s probably a personal problem.

Almost DNF‘ed this book. 5 friends want to celebrate a wedding in a haunted mansion. It‘s foundation rests on bones of a bride who is waiting for her groom. The walls are full of remains from sacrificed girls to keep her company. What could go wrong?
Not scary, story is jumpy, and keep google close by. Lots of Japanese words with no translations or footnotes to explain their meanings.

Strategically placed on-sale-with-cafe-purchase at the B&N Starbucks register. Why yes. Yes I will.

Starting off my spooky season reads with this quick tale!

Just a quick read before Spooky season!

I was glad I read this novella on my Kindle so that I could quickly look up Japanese words I was unfamiliar with. I enjoyed going down the research rabbit hole into fascinating history and legends. I found this book to be genuinely scary and I appreciate the fact that most of the characters were likeably unlikeable. I liked the author's writing style a lot and I hope she writes more.

#20in4 2nd book read @Andrew65