Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

25 reviews

chelbelle122's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Incredibly lyrical...but not much of a plot to care about. Novellas can suck you in as much as a 400 page book when done well, but sadly, this wasn't it for me. I wanted my first read of spooky season to be a good ghost story, alas, I am disappointed. 

Premise was off to a good start...but that's about it. No good plot twist, not enough tension and story building. Just a lot of angst and meh? 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

uncreativeoops's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This was somehow too aware of its genre. I get that we're all annoyed by horror story protagonists making stupid decisions but these had a few comments too many about being in a haunted house story and what one has to do to not be the first kill.  Being this meta is also kinda a different subgebre of horror than the atmospheric haunted castle Khaw created as a setting and they don't work together. And while I liked the visuals it wasn't particularly scary, especially the ghost didn't have the creeping effect she was supposed to. The characters were a bit thin (though with this length that's basically unavoidable) and the ending felt less ominous and more uninspired. And again one of those instances where the development from characters having regular relationships and conversations to... that climax came out of nowhere and wasn't really believeable. Really enjoyed the overflowy purple prose though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gore, Violence, and Blood

Minor: Infidelity, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment

marina_michelle's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Great premise that could have used a lot more polish

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

beanaroni's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really liked Khaw's prose but I think that the story could've benefited from another hundred pages or so. the ending wasn't what I expected, nor hoped, it would be, and it came far too soon. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement and Mental illness

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

spadedigsbutts's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

A book that was fun to read for the visual language and descriptions, but was much weaker elsewhere. 

The main conflict is essentially a dysfunctional friend group's issues being exacerbated by a ghost haunting when they were already at the breaking point. Like in most horror media, the cast is pretty unlikable and are mainly defined by their relations to each other, without much nuance independently. This is a normal convention for this scenario in the horror genre, but I wish characters had more arcs or at least more detailed interpersonal relations than "x slept with x once" as the few details we do get just don't have much payoff in the book.
Most characters feel like they start and end the same, which may partially be the point considering it's a super toxic friend group, but it does leave you up in the air when it just comes to an end without much of a huge conclusion. If you read it hoping for some sort of character resolutions, you won't get it.

If you came for a cool japanese influenced haunted house story where interpersonal relationships come to a tragic head, you unfortunately really don't get that. I wish we'd had more time to develop things in the book as while the writing style is lush and detailed, the actual set elements and characters are flimsy. A good read for a bus ride or waiting at a doctor's office, but not much out. I doubt I'll ever reread it.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Confinement and Misogyny

karmapen's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This book feels like a promising first draft— desperately in need of some editing. The characters are obnoxious. Too many things are hinted at but not explained, while other things are TOO detailed. I was disappointed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Alcohol

Moderate: Drug use

Minor: Confinement, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

pizzaisjesus98's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Excrement, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Confinement, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Fire/Fire injury

lynxpardinus's review against another edition

dark tense

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Confinement, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol

Minor: Biphobia

_morgreads's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail