Review: Nothing But Blackened Teeth

Quick status update: I decided at the very, very last minute that 2022 is going to be all about catching up on books that I have or have around but haven't read yet. I desperately need to clear out my KU and my library shelves and also like 100+ books I own - both physically and digitally - that are unread. So far, so good... I'm down to 3 on KU and 2 loans from the library. We'll see if I can keep it up. I'm still on my neverending quest to catch up on series that I started, so that'll be a priority as well. Otherwise I'm going easy on myself this year. Just living is challenging enough.

On to my review...

4 stars. I went in with really high hopes for this, kinda skimmed my way through it dejectedly, but then it ended with a bang that I loved and that shot my rating way up? Not sure that's ever happened before, but here we are. I absolutely adore horror novellas, and Japanese folklore, so this was right up my alley... despite some tortured writing and try-hard vibes.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth features a gathering of old friends, tangled romantic histories very present and very alive, in an ancient mansion so two of them can get married. Immediately it's clear that this web of friendships is unhealthy and tense, which sets things up perfectly for a little supernatural intervention. Okay, a lot of supernatural intervention. Things get crazy fast. Horror is inevitable. Tragedy is inevitable.

The unfurling of this plot is dragged down a bit by prose absolutely dripping - sopping wet - with metaphors (see what I did there?). But it's lightened by the occasional self-aware/meta comment by a character, and by what's left unsaid, which is a whole damn lot. A full-length version of this story might've been a lot of things: scarier, more intimate, less confusing. But the short length crisps up nicely and lets us as readers be smart enough to draw our own conclusions.

The imagery is on point if not a little repetitive, though what stands out to me is the ending. It's so difficult, maybe almost impossible, to land perfectly with horror... but the final pages of NBBT left me relieved, satisfied, and unsettled (in a good way) all at once. Not to sound too much like a weird neighbor or a toxic boss, but I'll be keeping an eye on Cassandra Khaw. This book is badass.

Nothing But Blackened Teeth on: Amazon | Bookshop.org | Goodreads