Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw

20 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

necroplasm'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

maybe someday i'll find one of these short horror reads that i actually like! anyways i honestly nearly DNF'd this bc i found the characters and their dynamic to be incredibly obnoxious, but the book was so damn short i figured i'd just finish it anyways. for something that was touted in reviews as ~Sooooo Disturbing~ there were like 2 parts that even had the POTENTIAL to be scary and literally a single kill that was admittedly kinda fucked up but not really Extreme. if this book scared you i'm sorry to say you're a total lightweight 💔

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content

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

livlamentloathe's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

3.0

I tried to listen to the audiobook a year ago and it didn’t take, so I gave it a second attempt in hardcover, and I sure finished it.

I got 30+ pgs in and was so blank on the situation. it was so caked in metaphor that i struggled to follow conversations. very over-the-top. but then i got high and the metaphors blended together in a way that it worked. By the end I was like oh okay. fuck. wait! The characters were soaked in so much vitriol, I struggled to understand why they were even friends. And their connections were so weighted with unspoken meaning that I really couldn’t follow things. Hard to decipher under all the merit of words.

This wasn’t good per say… I don’t know that I’d recommend the book. But it sure was an immersive high. So the end really hit me hard.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Drug use and Excrement

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

cursivewolf's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense 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

4.0

The visuals were so perfectly horror-esque. Elegant but dirty and got under your skin. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit and Fire/Fire injury

lordsnow's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Drug use, Mental illness, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

maelstrom712's review against another edition

dark 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? No

4.0

Overall, a very fast paced novella with an interesting take on the haunted house story. The writing style was very imaginative and invocative. I wished there was further development of the ghost before the initial meeting of said ghost. The transitions between scenes felt a little flat at times. I read the entire story in roughly 3.5 hours. 4/5, a strong writing for the protagonist and the side characters, interesting take on the haunted house trope, had stilted transitions at times.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death

Minor: Drug use, Blood, and Alcohol

vaguely_pink's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious 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? It's complicated

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Excrement, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

atlas_shruggs's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, and Alcohol