Ok, so Dawn Kurtagich is now an autobuy author for me. She is the queen of YA horror. I definitely recommend reading this book in BOTH audio and physical format AT THE SAME TIME. The audio narration is amazing, but you don't want to miss out on the pics included in this book, so use both formats. This book, like all of Dawn's books, has a super creepy/atmospheric vibe, and the audiobook plays that up to perfection. This story follows 3 main female characters, all from different time periods. We mostly get the perspectives of two the female characters, Zoey and Roan. Hermoine, the third female character, we get glimpses of her story mainly through her diary entries. It took me a long time to really get into Roan's story, but once I did I feel like the story really picked up. I'm still a little confused about the ending. It was interesting, but a little confusing. Overall, it was great and a perfect book to read during the fall season. ( )

[b:Teeth in the Mist|35115574|Teeth in the Mist|Dawn Kurtagich|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1536677007l/35115574._SY75_.jpg|56427445] was a wild, fun rollercoaster ride. I felt like the tension never let up, even switching perspectives and time periods. ( )

Creepy, entertaining, page-turning. A must-read ya horror!

I can't remember the last time I've been addicted to a horror the way I was with TEETH, but I've spent the last several days engulfed in this creepy book.

My fave parts: The dual storylines & the mixed media. This book is set in multiple timelines, but there are mainly 2 eras that are focused on. Today, with Zoey-- a girl with magical abilities and a mission to find out what made her father go mad. And 1851 with Roan-- a girl who has been brought to a evil house on a mountain... which may or may not bring out her evil side.

The mixed media is what this author does best. Her other books make use of these pictures, diary entries, letters, etc. as well and I love what these elements do to the books. Here it gave the book that extra splash of authenticity, which given that it's a horror, made it that much creepier.

The only thing I didn't love was the way it went from zero to HOLY SHIT with very little crescendo. I wanted more of a slow build to the main event, but given that the book is 400 pages, I don't think adding more to it is a good option.

I really can't say enough about how dark and compelling this book is. The way the mountain and the house felt like live characters in the book gave it the best atmosphere... or the creepiest atmosphere anyway. I also loved and cared about all (well, not Cage) the side characters. I will now go and try to power through Dawn's other books that I didn't get into. Now I know it had to be my mood and not the books!!

OVERALL: I am so glad I gave this author another try!! This book is all you could want in a horror, plus there's a cool historical timeline and present-day mystery to solve. The coolest part? All the letters, journal entries, pictures, & news articles. It gave the book that added spark. Totally recommend for horror historical lovers.

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Ooof. Trigger warnings: gory scenes, self-harm, mental illness, incest, infanticide, and religious problems.

The problems with the above: the gore is nine parts cliché (a head explodes like a melon, for example) and one part nonessential to the plot; the self-harm isn't really plot-essential either - it could have been replaced by a lot of other things - and it's unclear at the start whether cutting has been encouraged by a father and/or boyfriend (pretty easy fix there; why it didn't happen is unclear). The mental illness in the story, at least the one that involved institutionalization, combines memory loss and violence, and the main character's mother accuses her of also having it, with all the problematic implications of mental illness being a thing of which one can accuse people. The incest: not plot-essential, replaceable by thousands alternatives for the parentage of the child supposed to be the result of it.

Infanticide: No, really, what could possibly go wrong when the perpetrator is definitely supposed to be over 2100 years old, speaks a language with different sounds and symbols than English or Latin, was considered a religious heretic by at least one monastic order, and further participates in basically every anti-Semitic stereotype except the nose, which is not specifically excepted, just not mentioned?

As for religion, I personally have no objection to children reading stories that include any honest representation of an existing faith, but I strongly object to the incongruously complete lack of actual religious horror in a book in which Faust is the villain and a principal character is supposed to be both Faust's and the Devil's child. I mean, if you're going to bring pre-19th century Christian beliefs into your story, particularly regarding said Devil and also witchcraft, you really need to be prepared to engage Christian fear of damnation, not just to sort of mention it casually while also talking about a grown man flogging his small stepchild. There's also the anachronistic as well as improbable proudly-ignorant agnosticism of the 19th century British characters. They'd all have known the basic Anglican liturgy just as thoroughly as they knew how to wear clothing if they wanted to pass, as they did, in any company at all. Yes, even the one who only lived in the city as a child. It's also disconcerting that he had religious tutors but thought nothing in particular, positive or negative, about clubbing animals with sticks/rocks, sex in a not clearly consensual first time alone together situation, or sharing his childhood home with the Devil in the form of a male sheep, etc. Also, he was gently spoken but illiterate as an adult, which is just as improbable.

It was only irksome at first, when he instantly disliked but still thought "there was something about" (direct quote) the half-sister he later impregnated with one interaction, moments after overcoming months of weirdly protective loathing that smacked of stalking. Speaking of relationships that don't quite count as consenting, his daughter seduced a teen 150 years later, which is still not cool even if Edward did it in Twilight.

Why did I read it? For work. Did I like anything about it? Well... the structure was overall successful, and the idea of three women in a family being misunderstood in similar ways and strong enough to resist that misunderstanding, though usually too late, is actually interesting. The flying scene was cute, even though it ended with yet another cliché tragedy. I'm all for revisiting the Faust legend in general, though I'm pretty insistent that he should not be characterized as Jewish and probably shouldn't be confused with Ahasuerus either for the same reasons. The types of witchcraft specified as the gifts Faust's children manifested would have been interesting if one character hadn't had all of them. Specifically, if the one character who was especially pretty, internally justified, and beloved by all but the "Christian" "monk" hadn't had all of them. A diversity of characters with different powers would have been more fertile ground for a diversity of insights and descriptions, feelings and conflicts, etc.

That this challenge was left unaddressed begs a question. Where was the editor? What editor failed to say "Why don't you draw out some more romantic tension?" or "Do you see why this set of characteristics plays into a problematic stereotype?" Wouldn't an editor for a major publisher, working on the youth label, bring up just how poorly the heterosexual intercourse is written? For that matter, how did someone not ask earlier "Why did the monk really, really need to show up in the middle of the night, and why did the Irish girl decide he was romantically interesting after he scourged and branded and tried to drown the English girl, and why did the monk reciprocate the Irish girl's attentions, being a monk, or at least of a socioeconomic status unlikely to date a parentless, penniless Catholic, even if he were rebelling against the morés of his class?" or even just "Can you make a timeline for yourself showing the diminishing food and water relative to plot points so that the ongoing worry about starvation doesn't get repetitive?" and "could you have the male best friend come up with something more original to say in anger than what you have here, 'lesbian whores', which at this point in our cultural history doesn't even carry shock value and is really just there to be offensive?"

The trouble is, one character is conspicuously physically disabled at the end of the book, and I can't see how the obviously planned sequel is going to do justice to the condition given this opening act.

Editor, engage. This author can do better. Demand it. Readers, follow suit. ( )

Centuries ago, the monk Faustus learned to read the Devil's tongue and made a deal with the devil that will affect people for generations to come.

In 1583, Hermoine Smith accompanies her new husband into the wilds of the North Wales Mountains. She is following her husband's dream of building a large mill and Medwyn Mill House on a mountain that seems to have no water. The dairy pages that she leaves behind tell a story of brutality and a descent into madness.

1851, three teenage wards are sent to Medwyn Mill House to be cared for by Dr. Maudley. Roan, Seamus and Emma join the Doctor's other ward, Rapley. They learn very little about why they are there, but Roan feels that it may have something to do with the abilities she has and she feels that the others may have as well. When the storms of the mountain keep the group trapped and the disappearances begin, Roan is sure that something evil is at play.

Present day, Zoey is drawn to Medwyn Mill House after her father's powers make him forget and her own powers make her bleed. Zoey and her friend Poulton investigate the abandoned house, but they are not alone.

Teeth in the Mist is an experience, not merely a book. Combining the legend of Faust, with dark horror, magic and a touch of romance, Dawn Kurtagich creates a unique story that kept me ensnared in its grasp. The physical book offers much more than just words on a page, diary excerpts, photos, symbols and color differences make the reader feel like part of the story. I was immediately drawn into the story by the mystery of the symbols and the power that Roan and Zoey held. The point of view in the story switches between Roan, Zoey and Hermoine's diary entries with the majority of the story from Roan's point of view. Because of this, I felt the most connected to Roan as she tried to reveal the secrets of Medwyn Mill House, their purpose and powers and the evil that exists around the mountain. Since none of the characters really know what is going on with the force that is keeping them on the mountain, the reader is left in the dark as well. At moments, this was a little confusing, however the pull of the mystery was strong for me as well and kept me reading. Overall, a distinctive young adult horror that ties together many elements for an amazing reading experience.

This book was received for free in return for an honest review. ( )