THIS ONE WAS MESSSSSSY, with capital letters. Full Stop.

I am so thankful to Flatiron Books, Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and Chandler Baker for granting me advanced audiobook access to this twistedly sickening read. Cutting Teeth hits shelves on July 18, 2023, and I can't wait to see what everyone else thinks.

There's something wrong with the 4-year-olds at the Little Academy... they might have weened off their mother's breast milk, but now they harbor a thirst for something else more sinister. Mary Beth's daughter Noelle has Renfield's Syndrome (which I researched and apparently it's more common in adults with fetishes, but still, odd) where each of the affected have a need and desire for drinking human blood. Yes, very odd. It's probably less common than we think, and I'm betting the mention of the illness as a whole, is meant to reference the way mothers feel as if their children are leeching from them in their early stages of life.

When a beloved pre-school teacher turns up dead and gains national attention, everyone begins to speculate these children have something to do with the bloody ordeal, but there's more at play in this scenario, deeper than one could ever imagine. What will these mothers do to protect their children? How far will they go to cover up gorey secrets? You'll just have to read more to find out!

3 stars

Parenting is a gruesome experience for most - especially birthing people, it seems - and it turns out that the kids who star in Baker's newest thriller aren't just psychologically and emotionally taxing for those who care for them; they're literally sucking the life out of them!

One of the strangest aspects of this novel is how little concern the parents of the Little Academy preschoolers have over what I can tell you right now would freak me out: their children's sudden taste for human blood. More reasons I never want to be a parent! They wonder if it's dietary, behavioral, or even learned from early environments, but most of all, they realize it's important to...COMPLY WITH THE KIDS' REQUESTS FOR BLOOD! If the kids aren't given what they want on their own terms, well, they take it violently. When even their teacher ends up dead under mysterious circumstances, it's obvious that these maniacal, bloodthirsty babies may even be capable of murder.

Anyone who needs a good dose of anecdotal birth control will get it instantly as an added bonus to reading this. It's a guarantee.

I'll admit to some surprise about how little the plot developed here. There's so much focus on the fact that there are bloodthirsty kids. It's unquestionably an interesting situation, but their parents' various shortcomings were not the fully developed storyline I was anticipating.

Baker knows how to create a creepy, perfect for summer, domestic thriller, and this is no exception. Bon Appetit, readers...!