Title: Nothing But Blackened Teeth

Author: Cassandra Khaw

Publisher: Tor Nightfire 2021

Genre: Horror

Pages: 128

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fall TBR

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. Effortlessly turning the classic haunted house story on its head, Nothing but Blackened Teeth is a sharp and devastating exploration of grief, the parasitic nature of relationships, and the consequences of our actions.

What the heck did a I just read? That was incredibly short and incredibly weird. I love a good haunted house and was promised some creepy goings-on with this story. That part of the story delivers. It was the characters that I very much disliked. They are terrible and clearly all hate each other. I wanted to root for at least one of them, but found myself rooting for the ghosts and demons. Not the best foundation for a story. And then I was confused in parts as to what exactly I was supposed to be seeing in this house. I loved the premise, but didn’t quite get the execution.

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