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Milkteeth
Not yet published
Expected 20 Oct 26From the bestselling author of The Death of Jane Lawrence comes a new, genre-bending supernatural horror about a vampire broodmother fighting against her own monstrous descent.
Beatrice is a a vampire responsible for nursing newly made fledglings through the first years of their unlife. She nests in an abandoned, isolated warren of office space beneath her patron's skyscraper, raising two fractious Gorgeous—once a heartthrob, now to all appearances a living corpse—who longs for the return of the lover who made him immortal with all the fervor of a rebellious teen, and Fortunata, the scion of Beatrice's mistress, alien and ambitious in her desires.
But when Beatrice decides to take on a third fledgling, the product of an attempted siring gone wrong, teetering between vampiric purity and ghoulish depravity, Beatrice finds herself strained to breaking between the societal and physical demands of her position, her own ravenous hunger, and an obsessive need to discover what’s happening to her—because her body is changing too, transforming her into something even more monstrous. She begins to crave the taste of flesh, something anathema to all vampires, and to swing between desperate hunger and vicious power.
Desperate to master herself once more, Beatrice courts a mortal OBGYN who might be able to unravel the secrets of her unnatural anatomy. But soon their connection threatens the secrecy of her vampiric coven as well as the safety and development of her dependent nurslings… and the humans they stand to slaughter if left to their own devices.
Beatrice is a a vampire responsible for nursing newly made fledglings through the first years of their unlife. She nests in an abandoned, isolated warren of office space beneath her patron's skyscraper, raising two fractious Gorgeous—once a heartthrob, now to all appearances a living corpse—who longs for the return of the lover who made him immortal with all the fervor of a rebellious teen, and Fortunata, the scion of Beatrice's mistress, alien and ambitious in her desires.
But when Beatrice decides to take on a third fledgling, the product of an attempted siring gone wrong, teetering between vampiric purity and ghoulish depravity, Beatrice finds herself strained to breaking between the societal and physical demands of her position, her own ravenous hunger, and an obsessive need to discover what’s happening to her—because her body is changing too, transforming her into something even more monstrous. She begins to crave the taste of flesh, something anathema to all vampires, and to swing between desperate hunger and vicious power.
Desperate to master herself once more, Beatrice courts a mortal OBGYN who might be able to unravel the secrets of her unnatural anatomy. But soon their connection threatens the secrecy of her vampiric coven as well as the safety and development of her dependent nurslings… and the humans they stand to slaughter if left to their own devices.
304 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication October 20, 2026
About the author
Caitlin Starling
12 books2,255 followersCaitlin Starling is the nationally bestselling author of The Death of Jane Lawrence, the Bram Stoker-nominated The Luminous Dead, and Last To Leave The Room. Her upcoming novels The Starving Saints and The Graceview Patient epitomize her love of genre-hopping horror; her bibliography spans besieged castles, alien caves, and haunted hospitals. Her short fiction has been published by GrimDark Magazine and Neon Hemlock, and her nonfiction has appeared in Nightmare, Uncanny, and Nightfire. Caitlin also works in narrative design, and has been paid to invent body parts. She’s always on the lookout for new ways to inflict insomnia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 154 reviews
April 12, 2026
Well, I guess I cancel my plans if becoming a vampire really is that stressful for everyone involved. You see, a simple bite is not enough to turn a mortal into an immortal being in Caitlin Starling's Milkteeth. Instead it's a long-winding process of feeding and being-fed-on that takes a sheer endless amount of blood. A new vampire is ever hungry but can't yet digest human blood or meat. If they do anyway they turn into brainless, violent creatures only driven by their hunger and not into the sophisticated beings of immortality and strength that are desired. It's the task of a broodmother to ensure the correct development of the young nurslings, to keep them safe and fed until they have matured. It's the whole life's purpose of the protagonist Beatrice. She spends her immortality in the dark and labyrinthine basement of an office building, always nursing one or two young vampires at a time. But things change when she decides to take on a third nursling, already half ghoulish by the time they meet for the first time. From that point on Beatrice is concerned about the nutrition of her blood and about how she can change her own body to give more. The depicted parallels between motherhood and vampirism were so intriguing to me and I think it quite the unique approach to a supernatural creature that is part of infinite other stories. There is also a very medical side to the plot. Before it's revealed that Beatrice is a vampire herself, we meet her as a normal young mother at a lactation group asking about physical and hormonal changes during the time of breastfeeding. She also kinda gets obsessed with the doctor who answers her questions and I was all ready for a bit of sapphic love, but this relationship really took turns I didn't expect. Apart from that it's more of a calm story. Yes, it's very bloody and violent, but Beatrice is such a steady character that her voice truly shaped the feeling of the story. Her mind is mostly focused on blood and on her nurslings and I can imagine how other readers would be bored by this, but it really made her character special for me. She was such a no-nonsense person. I really liked to read about her, even if her days were monotonous. I also simply love a protagonist who is unapologetically monstrous. She's killing people? Well, that's just what she does, deal with it. I must admit that I was a little confused near the end and I also must admit that I never read a Caitlin Starling book where I wasn't. Maybe it's just her thing. I can totally see why her books are never really that popular, but by now I know that I will always get something unusual with her books. I'm very excited to read more from her.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
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April 12, 2026I was lucky enough to receive an ARC for blurbing purposes; here's my blurb:
“In 2026, it may seem impossible for any writer to pen a truly unique vampire tale, but Caitlin Starling manages just that with Milkteeth. With its compelling plot, deft writing, and original premise, this novel will quickly seduce you, but be careful: it has teeth."
“In 2026, it may seem impossible for any writer to pen a truly unique vampire tale, but Caitlin Starling manages just that with Milkteeth. With its compelling plot, deft writing, and original premise, this novel will quickly seduce you, but be careful: it has teeth."
Want to Read
March 30, 2026New Caitlin Starling book on NetGalley??? Scooped that up SO FAST. Let's get weird!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
3,5/5 ⭐️
when i first started the book i was a little wary because aren’t all vampire stories kind of done to death at this point? but no. caitlin starling made such an interesting and intriguing take on the whole topic that i was instantly sucked into the story. this is truly unlike everything i’ve ever read before (and i’ve read my fair share of vampire stories ever since twilight haha). it had just the right amount of plot, gore, and body horror for me, and it felt really well balanced overall. i also loved the emotional beats throughout the story and the way you could somehow always connect to our narrator. the parallels between vampires and motherhood were also extremely well done and really thought-provoking. it was my first of her novels but definitely not the last, and the characters and story will stay with me for a while. my only critique is that the pacing felt a little off at times and the middle dragged a little.
when i first started the book i was a little wary because aren’t all vampire stories kind of done to death at this point? but no. caitlin starling made such an interesting and intriguing take on the whole topic that i was instantly sucked into the story. this is truly unlike everything i’ve ever read before (and i’ve read my fair share of vampire stories ever since twilight haha). it had just the right amount of plot, gore, and body horror for me, and it felt really well balanced overall. i also loved the emotional beats throughout the story and the way you could somehow always connect to our narrator. the parallels between vampires and motherhood were also extremely well done and really thought-provoking. it was my first of her novels but definitely not the last, and the characters and story will stay with me for a while. my only critique is that the pacing felt a little off at times and the middle dragged a little.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I can’t explain how this wasn’t that long and yet it still felt too long. The plot felt stretched a little thin and was kind of repetitive. This may have been more successful as a novella?
This is has a great concept and the theme is spot on; being a woman and a mother is a hard and thankless job. And it’s a cool twist that the wet nurse is feeding little vampires. But aside from that not really a lot happens. This is very character forward. Every interaction that happens is more reinforcement of those ideas. There’s very minimal world building and plot. The vampire part of the story does really shine and there’s some mild body horror to accompany it so I do feel it’s worth a read.
Thank you to Netgalley and SMP for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is has a great concept and the theme is spot on; being a woman and a mother is a hard and thankless job. And it’s a cool twist that the wet nurse is feeding little vampires. But aside from that not really a lot happens. This is very character forward. Every interaction that happens is more reinforcement of those ideas. There’s very minimal world building and plot. The vampire part of the story does really shine and there’s some mild body horror to accompany it so I do feel it’s worth a read.
Thank you to Netgalley and SMP for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
April 4, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
If you’re looking for new and interesting vampires, look no further. Gory and addicting, this new novel has some of weird twisty feelings from The Starving Saints while also being completely fresh and new. None of the characters are completely innocent, and are all compelling as they deal with the changes innate to their lives. 11/10, will be recommending to everyone.
If you’re looking for new and interesting vampires, look no further. Gory and addicting, this new novel has some of weird twisty feelings from The Starving Saints while also being completely fresh and new. None of the characters are completely innocent, and are all compelling as they deal with the changes innate to their lives. 11/10, will be recommending to everyone.
April 14, 2026
Let me start this review with the dedication:
‘𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝—𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭.’
So who is going to psychoanalyze me for always gravitating towards books that are just one long allegory on the world depending way too much on mothers/women and not giving them everything that they deserve? or will I just continue reading weird girl lit?
‘𝐀 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.’
One of the biggest feat of Caitlin Starling is the fact that she wrote a vampire book in 2026 that is completely new and fresh. In this world vampires cannot feed on human blood during their years-long transition or they run the risk of becoming unwanted monsters that do not fit in the world. Instead they have to feed on vampire blood, but most vampires cannot sustain to feed their ‘fledglings.’ And not only did they not feed on human blood during their transition, but they regressed into being almost like ‘babies’ they couldn’t really take care of themselves and didn’t remember much of anything. But Beatrice not only can sustain this, but she can feed multiple fledglings at once, as she is a broodmother. Vampires trust her with their sired and will come collect them when they can finally feed on humans. And here comes the never ending metaphors/allegories. Women for 100s of years now have been made to feel shameful if they could not breastfeed their children. As if formula is something that would somehow make kids grow up to be this unwanted, not normal, functional human being in society. It’s such a silly thing that society deemed to put shame onto. And before formula existed, and even when women could breastfeed, it was deemed ‘poor’ to breastfeed their own babies. Families would get wet nurses instead, and make these women form bonds, put way too much pressure on them and not give them nearly enough of the right resources to feed babies that were not their own.
‘𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬? 𝐇𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐝.’
Beatrice did the best she could in her situation. She never felt like she could truly love the fledglings, but she cared for them fiercely. She was not in charge of the situation in which fledglings came to her nor the environment that they had to live in together. I think that it was difficult for her to reconcile this intimacy that she formed while feeding with the fact that they would grow up and move on from her. They would go into the world and see how other people might live (people, who were their family, were much richer and could give them way more). The fledglings would always have that memory of being fed, taken care of, safe, but what else really?
‘𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐝. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐚, 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.’
As much as this story was focused on feeding someone else’s ‘baby’ this story read to me as how difficult it is to be not only be a mother, but a woman. How in this world we are ignored, not heard and even when we complain loudly we get pushed to the side. Oh it’s just ‘anxiety’ ‘are you sure you’re not on your period?’ ‘did you drink enough water?’ Or worse yet, we just keep it to ourselves because we couldn’t dare let anyone know we failed. Beatrice always knew something felt wrong, but she didn’t want anyone to know. She didn’t want to admit that maybe she couldn’t do her job anymore, or she took too much on at once or even have anyone else know what she felt. She was afraid of someone and coming to pick her apart and make it her problem instead of helping. I think today women, and especially mothers, are afraid to ask for help because we think we won’t get it and even worse we will get criticized for failing.
‘“𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐢𝐭? 𝐓𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐨. 𝐓𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞. 𝐍𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐮𝐬.”’
We put way too much pressure on new mothers. If anything were to happen, society immediately says ‘well what did the mother do?’ If we see a new mother out enjoying herself, society asks ‘who is home with the baby?’ It’s always, always on the mother. And if you have someone who even just a ‘mother figure’ like Beatrice who is these fledglings’ broodmother they still look at her at fault if anything were to happen. Not to their sire who left them in this dirty, unknown environment. Women of the world are always placed as guardians of the new generation, but are never coveted as such treasures. Men truly have the power, but if anything were to happen why aren’t they blamed?
‘“𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝—𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞,”…𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐭, 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞: 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲, 𝐧𝐨, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝.’
Again, even when women/mothers are spread way too thin, tired, tied down by other people’s responsibility, and can’t even have time to themselves we look to them for the answers. After reading the author’s notes at the end of this book and her saying she thought of this idea from the history of wet nurses, truly nothing could make more sense. This was so well written, I couldn’t stop reading it. Caitlin Starling does speculative fiction like no one else. She knows how to write in such a way where you’re always on the cusp of ‘oh I know what this means’ or ‘I know where she is going with this’ and you never are right until all of the sudden you read one single line and it hits you like a rock. The prose was beautiful and weird, and one of my favorite ways of reading a story- it was a personal love letter, a personal retelling.
‘𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐥, 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐩, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 . . . 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥.’
Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin Press for this ARC, I’m so unbelievably happy to have received this book🖤
‘𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝—𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭.’
So who is going to psychoanalyze me for always gravitating towards books that are just one long allegory on the world depending way too much on mothers/women and not giving them everything that they deserve? or will I just continue reading weird girl lit?
‘𝐀 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.’
One of the biggest feat of Caitlin Starling is the fact that she wrote a vampire book in 2026 that is completely new and fresh. In this world vampires cannot feed on human blood during their years-long transition or they run the risk of becoming unwanted monsters that do not fit in the world. Instead they have to feed on vampire blood, but most vampires cannot sustain to feed their ‘fledglings.’ And not only did they not feed on human blood during their transition, but they regressed into being almost like ‘babies’ they couldn’t really take care of themselves and didn’t remember much of anything. But Beatrice not only can sustain this, but she can feed multiple fledglings at once, as she is a broodmother. Vampires trust her with their sired and will come collect them when they can finally feed on humans. And here comes the never ending metaphors/allegories. Women for 100s of years now have been made to feel shameful if they could not breastfeed their children. As if formula is something that would somehow make kids grow up to be this unwanted, not normal, functional human being in society. It’s such a silly thing that society deemed to put shame onto. And before formula existed, and even when women could breastfeed, it was deemed ‘poor’ to breastfeed their own babies. Families would get wet nurses instead, and make these women form bonds, put way too much pressure on them and not give them nearly enough of the right resources to feed babies that were not their own.
‘𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬? 𝐇𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐞. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐝.’
Beatrice did the best she could in her situation. She never felt like she could truly love the fledglings, but she cared for them fiercely. She was not in charge of the situation in which fledglings came to her nor the environment that they had to live in together. I think that it was difficult for her to reconcile this intimacy that she formed while feeding with the fact that they would grow up and move on from her. They would go into the world and see how other people might live (people, who were their family, were much richer and could give them way more). The fledglings would always have that memory of being fed, taken care of, safe, but what else really?
‘𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐝. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐚, 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.’
As much as this story was focused on feeding someone else’s ‘baby’ this story read to me as how difficult it is to be not only be a mother, but a woman. How in this world we are ignored, not heard and even when we complain loudly we get pushed to the side. Oh it’s just ‘anxiety’ ‘are you sure you’re not on your period?’ ‘did you drink enough water?’ Or worse yet, we just keep it to ourselves because we couldn’t dare let anyone know we failed. Beatrice always knew something felt wrong, but she didn’t want anyone to know. She didn’t want to admit that maybe she couldn’t do her job anymore, or she took too much on at once or even have anyone else know what she felt. She was afraid of someone and coming to pick her apart and make it her problem instead of helping. I think today women, and especially mothers, are afraid to ask for help because we think we won’t get it and even worse we will get criticized for failing.
‘“𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐢𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐢𝐭? 𝐓𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐧𝐨. 𝐓𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞. 𝐍𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐮𝐬.”’
We put way too much pressure on new mothers. If anything were to happen, society immediately says ‘well what did the mother do?’ If we see a new mother out enjoying herself, society asks ‘who is home with the baby?’ It’s always, always on the mother. And if you have someone who even just a ‘mother figure’ like Beatrice who is these fledglings’ broodmother they still look at her at fault if anything were to happen. Not to their sire who left them in this dirty, unknown environment. Women of the world are always placed as guardians of the new generation, but are never coveted as such treasures. Men truly have the power, but if anything were to happen why aren’t they blamed?
‘“𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝—𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞,”…𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐓𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐭, 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞: 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫. 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐲, 𝐧𝐨, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝.’
Again, even when women/mothers are spread way too thin, tired, tied down by other people’s responsibility, and can’t even have time to themselves we look to them for the answers. After reading the author’s notes at the end of this book and her saying she thought of this idea from the history of wet nurses, truly nothing could make more sense. This was so well written, I couldn’t stop reading it. Caitlin Starling does speculative fiction like no one else. She knows how to write in such a way where you’re always on the cusp of ‘oh I know what this means’ or ‘I know where she is going with this’ and you never are right until all of the sudden you read one single line and it hits you like a rock. The prose was beautiful and weird, and one of my favorite ways of reading a story- it was a personal love letter, a personal retelling.
‘𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐥, 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐩, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 . . . 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥.’
Thank you so much NetGalley and St. Martin Press for this ARC, I’m so unbelievably happy to have received this book🖤
April 12, 2026
Grabbed this on read now on netgalley, I was so excited by the premise it sounded amazing. Unfortunately this one did not work for me. This was my first time reading from this author after hearing so many good things about their other novels. This book follows a vampire who is almost like a “wet nurse” to freshly turned vampire’s. They drink from her until they are ready to start feeding on their own. I just did not enjoy this; the pacing was extremely slow and I never felt invested in the characters enough to care about them. I was bored to death for the last 50% of this book and would have DNF’d, but I was still curious enough to want to see how it ends. I can see why a lot of people will enjoy this book, as it has a lot of commentary on breastfeeding and motherhood, even some dracula references. I would still recommend this for people who enjoy slow, vampire character focused books.
Read
February 27, 2026After The Starving Saints and now this, Starling is becoming one of my faves
I'm very impressed that someone can still make the vampire genre feel this fresh
I'm very impressed that someone can still make the vampire genre feel this fresh
May 8, 2026
Thanks to Netgalley and Caitlin Starling for the ARC!! I read this in one sitting, I was immersed from the very beginning. Obviously this is commentary on motherhood, but I found things regarding gender and class as well. The concept of vampire nursing was so fascinating, and I really enjoyed the character study of Beatrice as well. If you’re looking for an action packed and adventurous plot, I would keep moving. However, if you want a look into the sacrifices of motherhood and how it can turn someone monstrous if pushed far enough through the lens of vampirism, look no further! I rounded down from 4.5 for the pacing, but this was fantastic <3
April 28, 2026
ARC copy from St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
This book was very character centric. Beatrice is a vampiric wet nurse who slowly transitions into a monster as her taste and hunger for flesh increases. Her development from a soft spoken creature into a powerful being was intriguing. If you are looking for an action filled plot, this is not for you.
If you like a psychological look into the main character, definitely pick this up. Beatrice tells her story to her love from when she picks up a third fledgling. Who is her love? It remains a mystery and keeps you guessing until the very end.
Want to Read
April 2, 2026more vampires pls
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I saw this on NetGalley on a whim and decided to branch out of my normal genres, and I am so glad that I did! however, I am also absolutely horrified, and I'm still processing what I just finished.
This was the sort of book that you can't put down, I finished it in about 2 hours! Horrific and graphic with so many twists and turns, I know I'm going to have nightmares tonight but it was absolutely worth it because the plot was so unique! I mean, most vampire books are very derivative and follow the same few lines, and I was very happy that this was different. Also, I totally saw the twist that was on the last page coming, and it was very well executed.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free eARC in exchange for an unbiased review! 4.75 stars.
This was the sort of book that you can't put down, I finished it in about 2 hours! Horrific and graphic with so many twists and turns, I know I'm going to have nightmares tonight but it was absolutely worth it because the plot was so unique! I mean, most vampire books are very derivative and follow the same few lines, and I was very happy that this was different. Also, I totally saw the twist that was on the last page coming, and it was very well executed.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free eARC in exchange for an unbiased review! 4.75 stars.
May 12, 2026
4.25⭐️
i don’t know what it is about Caitlin Starling’s works, but whatever type of horror she writes, i loveee. she finds ways to bring in psyche of people and takes it to the extreme. This book for me was of toxic motherly bonds, but also of the heavy weight society puts onto women (specifically mothers). (though a HUGE part of this is of nursing, which I have 0 experience of so cannot speak to it)
‘Milkteeth’ had a fascinating new take on vampires. a more brutal, less glorious version; where being turned isn’t all fun and games to be with the one who turned you. 3+ years of having to be carefully watched over to not ingest human blood (so you don’t turn into a ghoul), losing all memory, losing your faculties, essentially being born anew— then when you finally mature again and into a whole knew “person”, the vampire who turned you most of the time wants nothing to do with the new you. crazy!
(it almost felt like commentary on how easy we’ve seen characters in vampire media be turned and how the vampire still loves the new them— because this felt (sadly) realistic, that the obsession with a human disappears while they’re apart)
this book does has sapphic undertones, as it’s heavily implied, there’s not a technical romance/relationship in this book. it’s definitely focused on bodily horror (teeth, “feeding” from different areas of the body, medical terms/scene, etc). however, it’s written as if the narrator is penning a letter telling her lover of everything that happened, which is why i undoubtedly can label this as sapphic
i also felt there was further commentary on how our main character, the narrator, is a Broodmother. she is doing her best to care for newly turned vampires, but is curious how it’ll biologically affect her the more she takes on. Cue, where our story takes off as she seeks out a doctor. a Broodmother a very rare kind of vampire who is the one to primarily feed and take care of newly turned vampires, and she is treated HORRIBLY. like she is the backbone of their society in the sense of helping new vampires grow again…. where does that seem familiar? oh! real life! where woman are praised for their wombs and abilities to give birth, use their bodies to give life, yet are predominantly are treated like second hand citizens, controlled. the ending bit to this book was SUFFOCATING, crazy, and done so well
*ARC courtesy of netgalley*
i don’t know what it is about Caitlin Starling’s works, but whatever type of horror she writes, i loveee. she finds ways to bring in psyche of people and takes it to the extreme. This book for me was of toxic motherly bonds, but also of the heavy weight society puts onto women (specifically mothers). (though a HUGE part of this is of nursing, which I have 0 experience of so cannot speak to it)
‘Milkteeth’ had a fascinating new take on vampires. a more brutal, less glorious version; where being turned isn’t all fun and games to be with the one who turned you. 3+ years of having to be carefully watched over to not ingest human blood (so you don’t turn into a ghoul), losing all memory, losing your faculties, essentially being born anew— then when you finally mature again and into a whole knew “person”, the vampire who turned you most of the time wants nothing to do with the new you. crazy!
(it almost felt like commentary on how easy we’ve seen characters in vampire media be turned and how the vampire still loves the new them— because this felt (sadly) realistic, that the obsession with a human disappears while they’re apart)
this book does has sapphic undertones, as it’s heavily implied, there’s not a technical romance/relationship in this book. it’s definitely focused on bodily horror (teeth, “feeding” from different areas of the body, medical terms/scene, etc). however, it’s written as if the narrator is penning a letter telling her lover of everything that happened, which is why i undoubtedly can label this as sapphic
i also felt there was further commentary on how our main character, the narrator, is a Broodmother. she is doing her best to care for newly turned vampires, but is curious how it’ll biologically affect her the more she takes on. Cue, where our story takes off as she seeks out a doctor. a Broodmother a very rare kind of vampire who is the one to primarily feed and take care of newly turned vampires, and she is treated HORRIBLY. like she is the backbone of their society in the sense of helping new vampires grow again…. where does that seem familiar? oh! real life! where woman are praised for their wombs and abilities to give birth, use their bodies to give life, yet are predominantly are treated like second hand citizens, controlled. the ending bit to this book was SUFFOCATING, crazy, and done so well
*ARC courtesy of netgalley*
April 10, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this ARC to read and review.
Milkteeth by Caitlin Starling is more than a vampire story. It's a story about the struggles of motherhood, and how the system set in place for mothers and their children lets them down over and over again.
Beatrice is a broodmother, or a vampire who feeds their blood to newly-turned vampires so they can properly grow into a fully-formed vampire. She has been a broodmother for a long time, and takes great pride in it and her nurslings. Her brood contains Gorgeous, who's strong-willed and melodramatic, and Fortunata, who's systematic and inquisitive. When Beatrice is presented with a third nursling who is on the verge of turning into a ghoul - a former vampire who feeds on human flesh and has no coherent thoughts - she is pushed to her limits. She must juggle caring for three hungry vampire nurslings, while also embark on a journey of her own self-discovery.
Beatrice is kept in place in a dirty labyrinth below the all-powerful Manon's corporate building. Manon exerts her power over Beatrice, trying to control her every move, but Beatrice is at a breaking point...
This story captures how motherhood is perceived in the real world. How systems of power tell women they are nothing more than breeding machines, and that they should be ashamed if they ever needed help because that is what they're made for. It's powerful and gut-wrenching while satiating the vampiric thirst we all crave 🧛
Milkteeth by Caitlin Starling is more than a vampire story. It's a story about the struggles of motherhood, and how the system set in place for mothers and their children lets them down over and over again.
Beatrice is a broodmother, or a vampire who feeds their blood to newly-turned vampires so they can properly grow into a fully-formed vampire. She has been a broodmother for a long time, and takes great pride in it and her nurslings. Her brood contains Gorgeous, who's strong-willed and melodramatic, and Fortunata, who's systematic and inquisitive. When Beatrice is presented with a third nursling who is on the verge of turning into a ghoul - a former vampire who feeds on human flesh and has no coherent thoughts - she is pushed to her limits. She must juggle caring for three hungry vampire nurslings, while also embark on a journey of her own self-discovery.
Beatrice is kept in place in a dirty labyrinth below the all-powerful Manon's corporate building. Manon exerts her power over Beatrice, trying to control her every move, but Beatrice is at a breaking point...
This story captures how motherhood is perceived in the real world. How systems of power tell women they are nothing more than breeding machines, and that they should be ashamed if they ever needed help because that is what they're made for. It's powerful and gut-wrenching while satiating the vampiric thirst we all crave 🧛
April 12, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this arc in return for an honest review. Caitlin Starling is one of my favorite authors because of the utter hallucinatory effect of all of her books I’ve read. The Starving Saints and The Graceview Patient and Now Milkteeth all have this aura of WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON??? Did I really just read that???? How did this come from your brain?????? I am in love and also horribly disgusted by you. Starling’s death scenes are amongst my favorite because she gives incredibly anatomically correct descriptions of what’s occurring and that makes my little autopsy tech brain scream in pleasure. Starling produces such vivid illustrative scenes that compose beautifully into a cinematic masterpiece. I can absolutely devour anything Starling writes because it is just perfectly out of pocket and bonkers enough yet still grounded in reality that provides a glimmer of reality and possibility. I can’t even think of anything this is possibly close to because it is truly unique!
May 2, 2026
3.25 - A vampire that is a wetnurse to newborn vampires?! FANTASTIC idea. I loved the gothic vibes in a contemporary setting, and the unapologetic gore and sexuality that naturally comes with vampiric lore. Some very nicely written prose too! I thought the relationship between Beatrice and Dr B, and actually would’ve liked to see it developed a bit further before the big event. I also struggled a bit with the names of characters, but need to accept that’s just how the vampire subgenre rolls. It was a little bit all over the place near to the end, but I still mostly enjoyed the book. My main complaints are pacing issues and repetitiveness, but these are things that could be fixed fairly easily. Will be recommending to the horror girlies, but will be emphasising that I think was dragged out quite a bit.
May 11, 2026
Netgalley ARC 2.5 ⭐
This is my first book from Caitlin Starling. I went into the book completely blind & although I don’t feel like I’m the target audience for this type of read, I am glad I applied for this ARC. It was definitely interesting.
It was a completely unique take on vampires.
It was very character driven with limited plot. But it definitely hooks you, her writing is undeniably creative.
I loved the balance of horror & gore in this.
I’m very confused by the ending though, not sure who the narrative is aimed at? 🫣 and the read did feel quite repetitive at times. But this is why I love reading and trying new genres.
This is my first book from Caitlin Starling. I went into the book completely blind & although I don’t feel like I’m the target audience for this type of read, I am glad I applied for this ARC. It was definitely interesting.
It was a completely unique take on vampires.
It was very character driven with limited plot. But it definitely hooks you, her writing is undeniably creative.
I loved the balance of horror & gore in this.
I’m very confused by the ending though, not sure who the narrative is aimed at? 🫣 and the read did feel quite repetitive at times. But this is why I love reading and trying new genres.
April 12, 2026
A fascinating read… It took me a little time to get into the writing style, I found it confusing at times but it all pulled through with the ending. I was back and forth on how I felt about the pacing. Overall, the gore filled depictions and personalities of the vampires were interesting and memorable. All of the characters were very well detailed and easy to imagine.
Thank you St. Martin’s Press for providing this advanced reader copy for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Thank you St. Martin’s Press for providing this advanced reader copy for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Milkteeth is a vampire story unlike any other. Even before taking on her third fledgeling, broodmother Beatrice has begun to struggle, feeling drained and unsated by the living blood of those she’s offered to feed on, drawn inextricably towards consuming human flesh – the greatest prohibition for a vampire, one that can change them to an unthinking, feral ghoul. Driven by desperation, she seeks assistance in the human world and connects with the obstetrician Dr Bajracharya, eventually sharing the truth of her situation. Caught between her obsession with Bajracharya (and the potential to safeguard Beatrice’s own wellbeing that connection represents), the needs of her charges and strictures imposed by her vampire overlord Mamon, Beatrice’s fraught situation serves as the core driver of the novel. Told in a first-person narrative and framed as Beatrice telling her story to a beloved infant of her own, it expertly weaves just enough exposition and tantalising hints of what’s to come with the compelling story of a mother’s trials.
Starling builds her own fascinating lore for new fledges. Once turned, a new vampire becomes like an infant – they lose most of their memories of being human, grow needle-like infant teeth that will eventually be superseded by more subtle adult dentition, and become driven by baser instincts like hunger. However, they can’t yet process human blood; instead, the species relies on broodmothers to care for and wean their offspring. Rather than a coveted or respected position, broodmothers are treated almost with disgust, even by those who were once their charges; barring their charges, they’re kept isolated (from humanity, from other vampires, and crucially from other broodmothers), often in squalid conditions. Beatrice’s every action is subject to oversight by Manon and her subordinates, including when and how much she’s fed, with Beatrice rarely permitted to leave and hunt for herself. The damning commentary on the isolation and societal exile new mothers are often subject to is clear, as is the seeming thanklessness of motherhood and struggle between a mother’s wellbeing and that of her charges.
Beatrice’s three fledgelings show the varying stages of this vampire infancy very effectively. Gorgeous, just on the brink of adulthood, pushing for independence while being consumed by worries over his appearance and fears that his sire will reject him. Fortunata, the perfect, uncanny golden child whose mimicry of Beatrice and vulnerability to compulsions illustrate her adolescence, and whose powerful sire remains a continuous threat to Beatrice and her fledgelings. Finally there’s Lu, nearly newborn, whose unsanctioned turning by her desperate lover has already imperilled her; in the struggle of her turning, she has already committed the anathema of consuming human flesh, and in her vulnerable infancy is considered an unnecessary risk to herself and others. The cast of characters is very compelling, with their own strengths and vulnerabilities, and how these develop is one of the great strengths of the novel.
I found the pacing to be effective – it’s not quite steady, but notably picks up tempo when outside the lair or dealing with Bajracharya and feels more staid when consigned to the lair. Ultimately there is a lot of her situation that is outside Beatrice’s control, and the use of this alternating pacing feels intentional to mirror how Beatrice feels trapped or held down by the restrictions imposed on her, even while she cares for the fledgelings she’s responsible for. This, combined with the mysteries of Beatrice’s capabilities she unpicks with Bajracharya, create a fraught atmosphere that’s very effective in keeping the reader engaged.
Overall, I found Milkteeth to be an incredibly enjoyable novel that both offers a wonderfully original take on vampire mythos and engages with the reality of motherhood, both in its personal struggles and as a critique of how society engages with it.
Starling builds her own fascinating lore for new fledges. Once turned, a new vampire becomes like an infant – they lose most of their memories of being human, grow needle-like infant teeth that will eventually be superseded by more subtle adult dentition, and become driven by baser instincts like hunger. However, they can’t yet process human blood; instead, the species relies on broodmothers to care for and wean their offspring. Rather than a coveted or respected position, broodmothers are treated almost with disgust, even by those who were once their charges; barring their charges, they’re kept isolated (from humanity, from other vampires, and crucially from other broodmothers), often in squalid conditions. Beatrice’s every action is subject to oversight by Manon and her subordinates, including when and how much she’s fed, with Beatrice rarely permitted to leave and hunt for herself. The damning commentary on the isolation and societal exile new mothers are often subject to is clear, as is the seeming thanklessness of motherhood and struggle between a mother’s wellbeing and that of her charges.
Beatrice’s three fledgelings show the varying stages of this vampire infancy very effectively. Gorgeous, just on the brink of adulthood, pushing for independence while being consumed by worries over his appearance and fears that his sire will reject him. Fortunata, the perfect, uncanny golden child whose mimicry of Beatrice and vulnerability to compulsions illustrate her adolescence, and whose powerful sire remains a continuous threat to Beatrice and her fledgelings. Finally there’s Lu, nearly newborn, whose unsanctioned turning by her desperate lover has already imperilled her; in the struggle of her turning, she has already committed the anathema of consuming human flesh, and in her vulnerable infancy is considered an unnecessary risk to herself and others. The cast of characters is very compelling, with their own strengths and vulnerabilities, and how these develop is one of the great strengths of the novel.
I found the pacing to be effective – it’s not quite steady, but notably picks up tempo when outside the lair or dealing with Bajracharya and feels more staid when consigned to the lair. Ultimately there is a lot of her situation that is outside Beatrice’s control, and the use of this alternating pacing feels intentional to mirror how Beatrice feels trapped or held down by the restrictions imposed on her, even while she cares for the fledgelings she’s responsible for. This, combined with the mysteries of Beatrice’s capabilities she unpicks with Bajracharya, create a fraught atmosphere that’s very effective in keeping the reader engaged.
Overall, I found Milkteeth to be an incredibly enjoyable novel that both offers a wonderfully original take on vampire mythos and engages with the reality of motherhood, both in its personal struggles and as a critique of how society engages with it.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Weird book girls, our speculative fiction patron saint Caitlin Starling has yet again blessed us. Milkteeth is a surreal, gory, and yet strangely empowering read that I flew through in one day because I literally could not put the book down; from the very first page, it sank its teeth into me and wouldn’t let me go. This story is vampires like you’ve never seen them before, both more monstrous and more human, and 100% more nasty (complimentary). I think Milkteeth is going to find its way to the genre-defining vampire fiction shelf when it publishes this fall; it’s that good.
In a world where newly changed vampires cannot feed themselves on human blood and have a years-long period of “infancy”, Beatrice is a rare being: a broodmother, a vampire capable of sustaining infant vampires with her blood until they are old enough to fledge and begin hunting mortals. Most broodmothers can only raise one infant at a time, but Beatrice is exceptional: she is raising two. Her life is limited to her nest hidden away by her patron, and the other vampires tend to avoid her; but she finds purpose in raising her infants. When an accident happens with another broodmother, Beatrice takes that infant as well, and the increased physical demands on her body drive her to experiment with new ways to feed and cope. At the same time, she begins to chafe at the limited confines of her life; she’s not a prisoner, not exactly, but like any mother, she’s an unappreciated necessity. As her children begin to creep towards strange, vampiric adulthood and Beatrices’ experimentation starts to change her on a fundamental level, she will eventually begin to consider: why is she powerless, when the ability to give and sustain life is the greatest power of all?
I loved this book so much, and for many reasons. First of all, I loved that the author somehow introduced an entirely new concept into vampire lore, which is wildly impressive about any mythical being that has been widely adapted in pop culture but especially for vampires; there are literally millions of stories about vampires, so creating something brand new is quite an accomplishment. I also loved that the main character is not only a woman, but a mother-figure; not actually a mother herself, but tasked with all the difficult, sacrificial, sometimes nasty parts of motherhood, and much of the story explores her internal struggle between her maternal feelings for the infants in her care and her desire to be free of them and have agency over herself and her body. Starling weaves so much commentary between the lines of this book, and it feels incredibly relevant to our current day. I also loved the pacing; this book reads like a supernatural thriller, and it kept me constantly turning pages till the very end. And finally, I loved the vibes of the story; it is creepy and strange and surreal. Beatrice’s nest is in an empty, winding warren of offices, where she and her infants hunt and feed and creep. The setting feels backrooms-esqe, if most of the rooms and hallways were in the dark; and this added so much to the story in terms of atmosphere. With Milkteeth, Starling invites readers into a new world of dark eeriness and monsters, and I didn’t want it to end.
I would recommend Milkteeth to fans of Nestlings by Nat Cassidy, as well as to readers who love unique vampires, horror that leans towards the weird, womanhood and motherhood as central themes, and creepy, eerie story settings.
Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the digital arc! All thoughts & opinions in the review are my own.
In a world where newly changed vampires cannot feed themselves on human blood and have a years-long period of “infancy”, Beatrice is a rare being: a broodmother, a vampire capable of sustaining infant vampires with her blood until they are old enough to fledge and begin hunting mortals. Most broodmothers can only raise one infant at a time, but Beatrice is exceptional: she is raising two. Her life is limited to her nest hidden away by her patron, and the other vampires tend to avoid her; but she finds purpose in raising her infants. When an accident happens with another broodmother, Beatrice takes that infant as well, and the increased physical demands on her body drive her to experiment with new ways to feed and cope. At the same time, she begins to chafe at the limited confines of her life; she’s not a prisoner, not exactly, but like any mother, she’s an unappreciated necessity. As her children begin to creep towards strange, vampiric adulthood and Beatrices’ experimentation starts to change her on a fundamental level, she will eventually begin to consider: why is she powerless, when the ability to give and sustain life is the greatest power of all?
I loved this book so much, and for many reasons. First of all, I loved that the author somehow introduced an entirely new concept into vampire lore, which is wildly impressive about any mythical being that has been widely adapted in pop culture but especially for vampires; there are literally millions of stories about vampires, so creating something brand new is quite an accomplishment. I also loved that the main character is not only a woman, but a mother-figure; not actually a mother herself, but tasked with all the difficult, sacrificial, sometimes nasty parts of motherhood, and much of the story explores her internal struggle between her maternal feelings for the infants in her care and her desire to be free of them and have agency over herself and her body. Starling weaves so much commentary between the lines of this book, and it feels incredibly relevant to our current day. I also loved the pacing; this book reads like a supernatural thriller, and it kept me constantly turning pages till the very end. And finally, I loved the vibes of the story; it is creepy and strange and surreal. Beatrice’s nest is in an empty, winding warren of offices, where she and her infants hunt and feed and creep. The setting feels backrooms-esqe, if most of the rooms and hallways were in the dark; and this added so much to the story in terms of atmosphere. With Milkteeth, Starling invites readers into a new world of dark eeriness and monsters, and I didn’t want it to end.
I would recommend Milkteeth to fans of Nestlings by Nat Cassidy, as well as to readers who love unique vampires, horror that leans towards the weird, womanhood and motherhood as central themes, and creepy, eerie story settings.
Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press for the digital arc! All thoughts & opinions in the review are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The first three years of a vampire's unlife are hardly romantic--memory loss from their time alive, compulsive counting, needle-thin teeth, and the inability to digest blood from a human without it having been neutralized by another vampire. This is where a broodmother comes in, a full grown vampire who helps the nurselings acclimate to their immortality and keeps them fed until they are ready to fledge. Beatrice is one such broodmother, raising two fledglings in the basement of an office building. She agrees to take on a third charge who is in danger of becoming a ghoul, but as the duty of caring for three young vampires begins weighing on her, she seeks the help of a human OBGYN to understand the limits of her immortal body.
From the author of last year's 'The Starving Saints' and 'The Graceview Patient', Caitlin Starling is back with another claustrophobic horror novel, and she's certainly taken lessons from her previous offerings to refining her craft. 'Milkteeth' is uncomfortable and cramped, with its central setting being a dilapidated basement with crusted blood on its walls and floors and its only known exit being a freight elevator. Beatrice's brood is about as charming as the location, with the angst-ridden Gorgeous going through his 'rebellious teen' phrase of maturing, the enigmatic Fortunata, the spawn of Beatrice's patron, and Lu, the feral woman on the edge of ghouldom who needs to be restrained with silver for the safety of the other vampires. Having an understandable case of cabin fever, Beatrice's excursions to the surface are not only for a change of scenery, but in search of answers for her struggles. Even when she does wrong outside or is at risk of being stranded when the sun rises, it's impossible to blame her for wanting to get out of there.
I don't like saying this in a book stacked with great female characters, but Gorgeous was by far my favorite. Vacillating between a bratty teen who is tired of being dependent on his 'mother' and a tragic man whose immortality ruined his appearance and whose sire is avoiding him since he's no longer the beautiful man he turned makes for a character who is both funny and understandable. Lu's growth as a character was also enjoyable to read, and I got a healthy chuckle out of Fortunata's compulsion for counting being a thing that vampires grow out of once they're old enough. The lore that Starling gives her vampires is both disgusting and fascinating, which helps Beatrice and her brood to be compelling characters.
'Milkteeth' is a book that I didn't want to put down, and one that had me completely enthralled with its premise and characters. It's uncomfortable and animalistic, and it's my favorite work by Caitlin Starling yet! I never thought I'd find a book about breastfeeding vampires so enjoyable.
From the author of last year's 'The Starving Saints' and 'The Graceview Patient', Caitlin Starling is back with another claustrophobic horror novel, and she's certainly taken lessons from her previous offerings to refining her craft. 'Milkteeth' is uncomfortable and cramped, with its central setting being a dilapidated basement with crusted blood on its walls and floors and its only known exit being a freight elevator. Beatrice's brood is about as charming as the location, with the angst-ridden Gorgeous going through his 'rebellious teen' phrase of maturing, the enigmatic Fortunata, the spawn of Beatrice's patron, and Lu, the feral woman on the edge of ghouldom who needs to be restrained with silver for the safety of the other vampires. Having an understandable case of cabin fever, Beatrice's excursions to the surface are not only for a change of scenery, but in search of answers for her struggles. Even when she does wrong outside or is at risk of being stranded when the sun rises, it's impossible to blame her for wanting to get out of there.
I don't like saying this in a book stacked with great female characters, but Gorgeous was by far my favorite. Vacillating between a bratty teen who is tired of being dependent on his 'mother' and a tragic man whose immortality ruined his appearance and whose sire is avoiding him since he's no longer the beautiful man he turned makes for a character who is both funny and understandable. Lu's growth as a character was also enjoyable to read, and I got a healthy chuckle out of Fortunata's compulsion for counting being a thing that vampires grow out of once they're old enough. The lore that Starling gives her vampires is both disgusting and fascinating, which helps Beatrice and her brood to be compelling characters.
'Milkteeth' is a book that I didn't want to put down, and one that had me completely enthralled with its premise and characters. It's uncomfortable and animalistic, and it's my favorite work by Caitlin Starling yet! I never thought I'd find a book about breastfeeding vampires so enjoyable.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
ARC provided via NetGalley — thank you to the publisher for the early copy!
Rating: Ashamed at how fast I devoured this; faster than those vampires devoured blood 🩸!
(4.5⭐ rounded up to 5 — half a star deducted purely because I’m embarrassed by how much I enjoyed the gore, but the writing and metaphor? Top-tier.)
Non-spoiler review:
Milkteeth by Caitlin Starling is not my usual lane, but apparently I live here now.
This follows an overworked, overlooked mother struggling to care for her sickly newborn on top of her other children – except this is horror, so “newborn” comes with fangs. Instead of becoming a monster, she already occupies a role known as a brood mother: a figure who sustains newly turned vampires who cannot yet consume human blood, feeding them from herself while guiding them through their earliest, hungriest stage.
So yes. Motherhood, but make it undead, blood-fed, and quietly terrifying.
The horror here is visceral. The gore is not shy, not subtle, and definitely not skippable, but it never feels gratuitous. It serves the story, amplifying the central metaphor of motherhood as something consuming, transformative, and at times… predatory.
And the metaphor? Executed so well. The brood mother dynamic reframes caregiving into something almost parasitic, blurring the line between nurture and depletion. It taps into themes of womanhood, maternal expectation, and the quiet erosion of self in a way that feels deliberate and deeply unsettling.
The whole “maternal power” arc could have easily tipped into cliché, but instead it feels raw, feral, and earned. It’s not about soft, glowing motherhood. It’s about hunger, sacrifice, and the terrifying elasticity of what a mother becomes when pushed too far (and what the world expects her to give).
The pacing absolutely flew. I read this in under 24 hours (with a comic break in between, because apparently I needed emotional palate cleanser cartoons), and I never felt dragged or disconnected. It grips early and just does not let you go.
No major issues on my end. The story knew exactly what it wanted to be and committed.
Also, I will absolutely be picking up Starving Saints next and hunting down that preorder incentive pin like it personally wronged me.
Who this works for:
- Readers dipping their toes into horror but ready for body horror with purpose
- Fans of motherhood-as-horror narratives
- Anyone who enjoys strong metaphor driving the entire story
- People who don’t mind gore
Final thoughts:
Yes, I deducted half a star out of sheer personal denial, but let the record show this is easily a 5⭐ reading experience. The writing is sharp, the metaphor lands, and the horror lingers.
I came in curious. I left slightly disturbed, deeply impressed, and questioning my own taste.
Would recommend with caution!
Rating: Ashamed at how fast I devoured this; faster than those vampires devoured blood 🩸!
(4.5⭐ rounded up to 5 — half a star deducted purely because I’m embarrassed by how much I enjoyed the gore, but the writing and metaphor? Top-tier.)
Non-spoiler review:
Milkteeth by Caitlin Starling is not my usual lane, but apparently I live here now.
This follows an overworked, overlooked mother struggling to care for her sickly newborn on top of her other children – except this is horror, so “newborn” comes with fangs. Instead of becoming a monster, she already occupies a role known as a brood mother: a figure who sustains newly turned vampires who cannot yet consume human blood, feeding them from herself while guiding them through their earliest, hungriest stage.
So yes. Motherhood, but make it undead, blood-fed, and quietly terrifying.
The horror here is visceral. The gore is not shy, not subtle, and definitely not skippable, but it never feels gratuitous. It serves the story, amplifying the central metaphor of motherhood as something consuming, transformative, and at times… predatory.
And the metaphor? Executed so well. The brood mother dynamic reframes caregiving into something almost parasitic, blurring the line between nurture and depletion. It taps into themes of womanhood, maternal expectation, and the quiet erosion of self in a way that feels deliberate and deeply unsettling.
The whole “maternal power” arc could have easily tipped into cliché, but instead it feels raw, feral, and earned. It’s not about soft, glowing motherhood. It’s about hunger, sacrifice, and the terrifying elasticity of what a mother becomes when pushed too far (and what the world expects her to give).
The pacing absolutely flew. I read this in under 24 hours (with a comic break in between, because apparently I needed emotional palate cleanser cartoons), and I never felt dragged or disconnected. It grips early and just does not let you go.
No major issues on my end. The story knew exactly what it wanted to be and committed.
Also, I will absolutely be picking up Starving Saints next and hunting down that preorder incentive pin like it personally wronged me.
Who this works for:
- Readers dipping their toes into horror but ready for body horror with purpose
- Fans of motherhood-as-horror narratives
- Anyone who enjoys strong metaphor driving the entire story
- People who don’t mind gore
Final thoughts:
Yes, I deducted half a star out of sheer personal denial, but let the record show this is easily a 5⭐ reading experience. The writing is sharp, the metaphor lands, and the horror lingers.
I came in curious. I left slightly disturbed, deeply impressed, and questioning my own taste.
Would recommend with caution!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Milkteeth by Caitlin Starling was one of the most poignant portrayals of the horrors and expectations of motherhood that I have read, and it has made me fall even more in love with the genre and now the author.
The story opens from the POV of a newly turned vampire. It is one of the most immediate, visceral, and engaging openings I have read in a long time. We experience exactly what she does: the confusion, the hunger, and the horror. From there, we transition into Beatrice's POV, where we remain for the rest of the story. Starling writes in first person POV, and Beatrice often breaks to speak directly to "you," as if she is narrating her story to a person. It creates such a strong sense of intimacy that it pulled me deeper into the story immediately. Throughout the novel, I found myself trying to guess who she was speaking to, and I thought it was handled incredibly well.
In this story, newly turned vampires cannot feed from a human without horrific and permanent consequences. Instead, they must feed from their own kind: broodmothers, male or female, whose sole purpose is to feed creatures they did not sire.
What made me fall in love with this book was the themes tied to motherhood. This is not only a commentary on the horrors of motherhood, but on the societal expectations placed on the mother. The concept of broodmothers is one of the most fascinating and disturbing explorations of motherhood I have read in horror. Their bodies are treated as resources first and people second. Starling uses vampirism not only as body horror, but as a way to examine obligation, sacrifice, and the expectation that mothers must continue giving from themselves no matter the personal cost.
The brilliance of this story is that it never simplifies these relationships into clean morality. There is care in this story, but it is tangled up with hunger, expectation, resentment, and survival. Milkteeth feels less interested in asking whether motherhood is beautiful or monstrous, and more interested in how society often demands that mothers become both simultaneously.
This story is for readers who love complex themes, horror, body gore, and immersive POV. This story may not work as well for readers who prefer softer stories or binary morality. Milkteeth left me deeply uncomfortable in the best possible way.
Was Beatrice a monster, or did she become who she was meant to be? Was she consumed by motherhood, or transformed by it?
Thank your Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the eARC!
The story opens from the POV of a newly turned vampire. It is one of the most immediate, visceral, and engaging openings I have read in a long time. We experience exactly what she does: the confusion, the hunger, and the horror. From there, we transition into Beatrice's POV, where we remain for the rest of the story. Starling writes in first person POV, and Beatrice often breaks to speak directly to "you," as if she is narrating her story to a person. It creates such a strong sense of intimacy that it pulled me deeper into the story immediately. Throughout the novel, I found myself trying to guess who she was speaking to, and I thought it was handled incredibly well.
In this story, newly turned vampires cannot feed from a human without horrific and permanent consequences. Instead, they must feed from their own kind: broodmothers, male or female, whose sole purpose is to feed creatures they did not sire.
What made me fall in love with this book was the themes tied to motherhood. This is not only a commentary on the horrors of motherhood, but on the societal expectations placed on the mother. The concept of broodmothers is one of the most fascinating and disturbing explorations of motherhood I have read in horror. Their bodies are treated as resources first and people second. Starling uses vampirism not only as body horror, but as a way to examine obligation, sacrifice, and the expectation that mothers must continue giving from themselves no matter the personal cost.
The brilliance of this story is that it never simplifies these relationships into clean morality. There is care in this story, but it is tangled up with hunger, expectation, resentment, and survival. Milkteeth feels less interested in asking whether motherhood is beautiful or monstrous, and more interested in how society often demands that mothers become both simultaneously.
This story is for readers who love complex themes, horror, body gore, and immersive POV. This story may not work as well for readers who prefer softer stories or binary morality. Milkteeth left me deeply uncomfortable in the best possible way.
Was Beatrice a monster, or did she become who she was meant to be? Was she consumed by motherhood, or transformed by it?
Thank your Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the eARC!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you so much to the publisher for an advanced copy! All thoughts are my own.
Milkteeth features one of the most unique takes on vampires that I have seen in a long time. These vampires are not glamorous and the process of their creation is messy, ugly, and complicated. New vampires cannot move straight to human blood after being turned; they have a period where they need to be fed by a brood mother vampire that must care for them and guide them as they mature into a more refined creature that can blend in with humans. Milkteeth follows Beatrice, a brood mother who has accepted a third fledgeling while having concerns that having that many charges is doing damage to her physicality and sense of self. We see her struggle to balance her responsibility to the helpless, but dangerous, new vampires under her care and her desire for agency, freedom, and understanding of her own nature.
Like the other books by Starling that I’ve read (The Luminous Dead, The Starving Saints), Milkteeth is both parts propulsive and confusing. Beatrice is a fascinating protagonist that I was excited to follow. Starling doesn’t let you get too close to her thought process to get comfortable with what she would do next, which created tension throughout. I did occasionally feel that the pacing was bogged down by repetitive feeding scenes and descriptions of gore and hunger. Some of these could have been paired down and replaced by more varied character interactions. I would have liked to have gotten closer to Fortunata and Lu in the way that we got to learn about and empathize with Gorgeous. He was really the only other character, aside from Beatrice, that I felt like I understood and connected with.
There are obvious themes here of motherhood, shame, responsibility, transformation, and family relationships. Starling continues to prove herself as a fantasy/horror writer who imbues her work with meaningful commentary and unforgettable monsters. Her books are definitely not for everyone but if you can live with being confused and grossed out for the majority of a book - Milkteeth is worth sticking with.
Milkteeth features one of the most unique takes on vampires that I have seen in a long time. These vampires are not glamorous and the process of their creation is messy, ugly, and complicated. New vampires cannot move straight to human blood after being turned; they have a period where they need to be fed by a brood mother vampire that must care for them and guide them as they mature into a more refined creature that can blend in with humans. Milkteeth follows Beatrice, a brood mother who has accepted a third fledgeling while having concerns that having that many charges is doing damage to her physicality and sense of self. We see her struggle to balance her responsibility to the helpless, but dangerous, new vampires under her care and her desire for agency, freedom, and understanding of her own nature.
Like the other books by Starling that I’ve read (The Luminous Dead, The Starving Saints), Milkteeth is both parts propulsive and confusing. Beatrice is a fascinating protagonist that I was excited to follow. Starling doesn’t let you get too close to her thought process to get comfortable with what she would do next, which created tension throughout. I did occasionally feel that the pacing was bogged down by repetitive feeding scenes and descriptions of gore and hunger. Some of these could have been paired down and replaced by more varied character interactions. I would have liked to have gotten closer to Fortunata and Lu in the way that we got to learn about and empathize with Gorgeous. He was really the only other character, aside from Beatrice, that I felt like I understood and connected with.
There are obvious themes here of motherhood, shame, responsibility, transformation, and family relationships. Starling continues to prove herself as a fantasy/horror writer who imbues her work with meaningful commentary and unforgettable monsters. Her books are definitely not for everyone but if you can live with being confused and grossed out for the majority of a book - Milkteeth is worth sticking with.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Milkteeth follows Beatrice, a vampire tasked with nursing newly turned fledglings through the fragile early years of their unlife. She is raising two charges, Gorgeous and Fortunata, when she takes on a third, Lu, who is an unstable fledgling whose transformation has gone horribly wrong. As Beatrice’s own body starts to change, awakening a forbidden craving for flesh, she seeks answers from a mortal doctor, risking exposure of her coven while struggling to control her hunger and protect both her nurslings and the humans around them.
What I loved most about this book was its comparison between vampirism and motherhood. The brood mother is protective, caring, and constantly trying to meet the needs of her fledglings. The medical angle added such a unique layer: trying to understand “supply,” how to increase and make the supply better, and grappling with the logistics of sustaining life as a vampire were fascinating.
The feeding scenes, the blood, the act of consumption, and the unsettling shift toward flesh, absolutely delivered. The descriptions were vivid and gory, it really created a memorable reading experience.
This is very much a character-driven story, and I found myself deeply invested in the central four, the brood mother and her three fledglings. Their relationships evolve in subtle but meaningful ways, and watching that growth unfold was one of the strongest aspects of the book. I do wish we had gotten a bit more time with Lu and Fortunata, as their presence felt slightly under-explored compared to Gorgeous.
The only thing that held this back from a full five stars for me was the pacing in the middle. The repetition of huntings and feedings slowed the book down a bit and I think they could have been shortened or something else could have been explored instead.
Overall, Milkteeth is a character-focused horror that blends gore with emotional depth in a way that feels fresh and memorable. If you enjoy body horror with strong themes, this one is definitely worth picking up.
Milkteeth follows Beatrice, a vampire tasked with nursing newly turned fledglings through the fragile early years of their unlife. She is raising two charges, Gorgeous and Fortunata, when she takes on a third, Lu, who is an unstable fledgling whose transformation has gone horribly wrong. As Beatrice’s own body starts to change, awakening a forbidden craving for flesh, she seeks answers from a mortal doctor, risking exposure of her coven while struggling to control her hunger and protect both her nurslings and the humans around them.
What I loved most about this book was its comparison between vampirism and motherhood. The brood mother is protective, caring, and constantly trying to meet the needs of her fledglings. The medical angle added such a unique layer: trying to understand “supply,” how to increase and make the supply better, and grappling with the logistics of sustaining life as a vampire were fascinating.
The feeding scenes, the blood, the act of consumption, and the unsettling shift toward flesh, absolutely delivered. The descriptions were vivid and gory, it really created a memorable reading experience.
This is very much a character-driven story, and I found myself deeply invested in the central four, the brood mother and her three fledglings. Their relationships evolve in subtle but meaningful ways, and watching that growth unfold was one of the strongest aspects of the book. I do wish we had gotten a bit more time with Lu and Fortunata, as their presence felt slightly under-explored compared to Gorgeous.
The only thing that held this back from a full five stars for me was the pacing in the middle. The repetition of huntings and feedings slowed the book down a bit and I think they could have been shortened or something else could have been explored instead.
Overall, Milkteeth is a character-focused horror that blends gore with emotional depth in a way that feels fresh and memorable. If you enjoy body horror with strong themes, this one is definitely worth picking up.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Review of advanced copy from Netgalley
Milkteeth is a story about vampires; They're overcome with a desire to feed, can't go out during the day and must not draw attention to who they are (though not sure what their opinion on garlic is.) But it's also a story about motherhood and what it does to mind, body and soul.
Beatrice is a broodmother, tasked with feeding these suckling, mewling creatures on behalf of those who created them. At the start of this story she has taken on an additional charge, an especially challenging baby vamp, and, like many mothers before her, she's drained in more ways than one.
This was a challenging read. In the typical vampire story (save Carmilla) our vampires are predominantly male, siring heirs for their own enjoyment. But Milkteeth is far less glossy and glamorous. Here we have a woman struggling to play wet nurse to these mewling, suckling bloody bundles of joy (on behalf of rich patrons), with little to no gratitude received. Her body is spent, she feels guilty about the time spent away from them/ favouring one/ taking on a new charge, she doesn't know when to let one go and bring another closer.
Reading Milkteeth felt raw and stressful; it evoked thoughts about feminism, social hierarchy and wealth now and in the past. But even just on a character level, the story is told through Beatrice's inner monologue, she is a complex, sympathetic but fairly detached and somewhat unlikeable character. However those are definitely my favourite, and I think if she were entirely without blame this would be a very tragic tale.
I enjoyed Caitlin's writing, and take on the genre, but do think that the middle section was a little longer than necessary and one of the sub plots could potentially have been dropped.
I would simultaneously recommend this to fans of the vampire genre but also to those who enjoy novels exploring the various ways female bodies are used such as The Handmaid's Tale, Annie-Bot and Tender is the Flesh.
Thanks again to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and Netgalley for this ARC.
Milkteeth is a story about vampires; They're overcome with a desire to feed, can't go out during the day and must not draw attention to who they are (though not sure what their opinion on garlic is.) But it's also a story about motherhood and what it does to mind, body and soul.
Beatrice is a broodmother, tasked with feeding these suckling, mewling creatures on behalf of those who created them. At the start of this story she has taken on an additional charge, an especially challenging baby vamp, and, like many mothers before her, she's drained in more ways than one.
This was a challenging read. In the typical vampire story (save Carmilla) our vampires are predominantly male, siring heirs for their own enjoyment. But Milkteeth is far less glossy and glamorous. Here we have a woman struggling to play wet nurse to these mewling, suckling bloody bundles of joy (on behalf of rich patrons), with little to no gratitude received. Her body is spent, she feels guilty about the time spent away from them/ favouring one/ taking on a new charge, she doesn't know when to let one go and bring another closer.
Reading Milkteeth felt raw and stressful; it evoked thoughts about feminism, social hierarchy and wealth now and in the past. But even just on a character level, the story is told through Beatrice's inner monologue, she is a complex, sympathetic but fairly detached and somewhat unlikeable character. However those are definitely my favourite, and I think if she were entirely without blame this would be a very tragic tale.
I enjoyed Caitlin's writing, and take on the genre, but do think that the middle section was a little longer than necessary and one of the sub plots could potentially have been dropped.
I would simultaneously recommend this to fans of the vampire genre but also to those who enjoy novels exploring the various ways female bodies are used such as The Handmaid's Tale, Annie-Bot and Tender is the Flesh.
Thanks again to Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and Netgalley for this ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
To start off, Milkteeth has made me learn and ponder on the facts of breastfeeding more than I ever have in my life and it’s a book centering vampires?
Milkteeth by Caitlin Starling features Beatrice, our vampire ‘mom’ or broodmother as she’s called, her three fledglings, and quite strangely a mortal OBGYN. The fledglings in this world must feed off other vampires for an unspecified amount of time before they may feast on human blood which is where Beatrice comes in.
We watch as Beatrice strives to strengthen her abilities to help raise these newly turned creatures by… attending a breastfeeding support group? There, she attracts the attention of Dr. Bajracharya who is able to help Beatrice understand how her body is changing as she works to feed these three fledglings.
This is a story of motherhood in a sense, of how breastfeeding can change your body in ways that feel unnatural and yet, all most want to do is achieve that perfect formula for their children to thrive. Beatrice’s body is constantly going through changes and trying to understand how she can improve and be the best broodmother there is even if that goes against the vampiric rules established.
The entire tale is told from Beatrice’s voice and I will definitely be listening to this story over audio once that edition releases. Her narration is just the right level of spooky and shocking. I can’t wait to see others’ reaction to this book and if anyone was able to predict who Beatrice is telling this story to. (I was tricked and made to doubt myself, but ha! I guessed it about 30% in.)
Overall, I would recommend this book for anyone craving a new twist on vampires and is tired of the beautiful sparkly vampire trope. Wink wink. The ending was a bit confusing for me with all the science involved but I think it might pay off better when I listen to it on a reread to connect all the dots!
Thank you to St Martin’s Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own
Milkteeth by Caitlin Starling features Beatrice, our vampire ‘mom’ or broodmother as she’s called, her three fledglings, and quite strangely a mortal OBGYN. The fledglings in this world must feed off other vampires for an unspecified amount of time before they may feast on human blood which is where Beatrice comes in.
We watch as Beatrice strives to strengthen her abilities to help raise these newly turned creatures by… attending a breastfeeding support group? There, she attracts the attention of Dr. Bajracharya who is able to help Beatrice understand how her body is changing as she works to feed these three fledglings.
This is a story of motherhood in a sense, of how breastfeeding can change your body in ways that feel unnatural and yet, all most want to do is achieve that perfect formula for their children to thrive. Beatrice’s body is constantly going through changes and trying to understand how she can improve and be the best broodmother there is even if that goes against the vampiric rules established.
The entire tale is told from Beatrice’s voice and I will definitely be listening to this story over audio once that edition releases. Her narration is just the right level of spooky and shocking. I can’t wait to see others’ reaction to this book and if anyone was able to predict who Beatrice is telling this story to. (I was tricked and made to doubt myself, but ha! I guessed it about 30% in.)
Overall, I would recommend this book for anyone craving a new twist on vampires and is tired of the beautiful sparkly vampire trope. Wink wink. The ending was a bit confusing for me with all the science involved but I think it might pay off better when I listen to it on a reread to connect all the dots!
Thank you to St Martin’s Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
this was my first from Caitlin Starling & i often hear her associated with "weird girl" fiction/horror. while i am one to like the dark, disturbing, & weird, Milkteeth left much to be desired.
on one hand i feel like maybe reading this straight after Coffin Moon was a bit of a disservice, i might have immediately set Milkteeth up to be a bit disappointing in comparison, on the other i was not the biggest fan of the writing style so i'm not convinced that it would have made much of a difference anyway.
in theory i like the different themes woven together throughout the story...womanhood, motherhood, vampirism, some obsession & the gore was done well but the execution was lacking for me. part of it is i like to be able to visualize when i read...visualize people, places or just the overall events taking place. it's not a necessity BUT it does take my reading experiences to the next level, it helps me connect more to the story & the characters, helps me engage more etc. i was not able to visualize MOST of Milkteeth, which resulted in me forgetting chunks of the story, often having to reread sentences & ultimately being bored outside of the gory bits.
the characters all felt distinct but i just didn't connect to any of them enough to care about anyone. i also felt like some of this was repetitive. but maybe i'm just dramatic
i can see why some might enjoy Milkteeth & i can appreciate what the author was trying to do with putting a twist on the lore of vampirism by intertwining it with motherhood, but this has also been done before maybe not exactly the same but still to a degree, so to me there's nothing exciting or new enough happening for this to standout amongst other vampirism books i've read(or even movies i've seen).
Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review
on one hand i feel like maybe reading this straight after Coffin Moon was a bit of a disservice, i might have immediately set Milkteeth up to be a bit disappointing in comparison, on the other i was not the biggest fan of the writing style so i'm not convinced that it would have made much of a difference anyway.
in theory i like the different themes woven together throughout the story...womanhood, motherhood, vampirism, some obsession & the gore was done well but the execution was lacking for me. part of it is i like to be able to visualize when i read...visualize people, places or just the overall events taking place. it's not a necessity BUT it does take my reading experiences to the next level, it helps me connect more to the story & the characters, helps me engage more etc. i was not able to visualize MOST of Milkteeth, which resulted in me forgetting chunks of the story, often having to reread sentences & ultimately being bored outside of the gory bits.
the characters all felt distinct but i just didn't connect to any of them enough to care about anyone. i also felt like some of this was repetitive. but maybe i'm just dramatic
i can see why some might enjoy Milkteeth & i can appreciate what the author was trying to do with putting a twist on the lore of vampirism by intertwining it with motherhood, but this has also been done before maybe not exactly the same but still to a degree, so to me there's nothing exciting or new enough happening for this to standout amongst other vampirism books i've read(or even movies i've seen).
Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
ms. starling thought what if vampires breastfed? and gifted us this feeding frenzy.
a newborn absolutely cannot drink the poisonous blood of humans
”she’s eaten mortal flesh,” i said, stressing the word eaten.
“to eat is to be a beast; to drink is to be something more refined. or, at least, more intelligible. a vampire drinks, a ghoul devours.”
milkteeth delves well into embodiment of immortal vampirism, womanhood, motherhood & breastfeeding!
the magnificent broodmother beatrice, a bloodsucker wet nurse responsible for nursing two fledglings with its central background in a dirty basement she’s given a third fledgling. she begins to desperately crave flesh straining between her ravenous hunger & maternal feelings for the infants.
sustaining newborn vampires in their earliest most helpless stage of life and the numerous lengths she would go to feed & guard them. they need an “inbetween” source of blood to help them transition into a mature bloodsucker.
i kinda got backrooms vibes.
the empowering, visceral body horror had me locked in by the end.
this was quite a different take in comparison to any other vampire stories i’ve read. this one in particular has many modern parallels to motherhood & maternal expectation.
the beautiful framing dynamics of being a freshly made immortal. it’s not normal bites oh noo think more monstrous bites!
i’m excited to read more from caitlin starling’s unique brain.
she introduced an entirely new concept to vampire lore and i will be adding her other books to my tbr
”i would prefer you grow up to be more like me. able to accept what we are. to inhabit it fully. we do not need fine things. we do not need respectability. we can take joy in the darkness, in the blood, in the death and resurrection of our bodies day after day.”
thank you netgalley & st. martin’s press for providing the arc in exchange for my honest review!~
a newborn absolutely cannot drink the poisonous blood of humans
”she’s eaten mortal flesh,” i said, stressing the word eaten.
“to eat is to be a beast; to drink is to be something more refined. or, at least, more intelligible. a vampire drinks, a ghoul devours.”
milkteeth delves well into embodiment of immortal vampirism, womanhood, motherhood & breastfeeding!
the magnificent broodmother beatrice, a bloodsucker wet nurse responsible for nursing two fledglings with its central background in a dirty basement she’s given a third fledgling. she begins to desperately crave flesh straining between her ravenous hunger & maternal feelings for the infants.
sustaining newborn vampires in their earliest most helpless stage of life and the numerous lengths she would go to feed & guard them. they need an “inbetween” source of blood to help them transition into a mature bloodsucker.
i kinda got backrooms vibes.
the empowering, visceral body horror had me locked in by the end.
this was quite a different take in comparison to any other vampire stories i’ve read. this one in particular has many modern parallels to motherhood & maternal expectation.
the beautiful framing dynamics of being a freshly made immortal. it’s not normal bites oh noo think more monstrous bites!
i’m excited to read more from caitlin starling’s unique brain.
she introduced an entirely new concept to vampire lore and i will be adding her other books to my tbr
”i would prefer you grow up to be more like me. able to accept what we are. to inhabit it fully. we do not need fine things. we do not need respectability. we can take joy in the darkness, in the blood, in the death and resurrection of our bodies day after day.”
thank you netgalley & st. martin’s press for providing the arc in exchange for my honest review!~
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