I have never picked up an arc quicker, I started it as soon as possible after being approved and I'm so glad I did as this was phenomenal.
I completely fell in love with these characters, with Sorcha our main character who I understood and saw myself in from page one. I also loved her friendship group, Agnes, and even the unlikeable characters were so well developed and intriguing. This was perfect for a character-driven reader like me. I also learned a lot about Nova Scotia through the lush description of setting, as well as the language of Scottish Gaelic.
I was fully immersed and invested in the story arc, it was difficult to put this book down. There is so much humour and heart and heartbreak poured into these pages, it was a very emotional but healing read.
This book is no less than 5 stars, one of the easiest I've ever given out and it has made it into my top 10 favourite books of all time, in 6th place! I am very much looking forward to buying a physical copy for my own bookshelves and I will reread this in the future as there are so many beautiful quotations I want to annotate. I would highly highly recommend this book but please, as always, check trigger warnings as this delves into some sensitive topics.
5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Nimbus Publishing and Jaime Burnet for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy.

Review posted to Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

I’m not sure why a novel would not be offered as a kindle read, but the ARC for this was only offered to read online or via the netgalley app in two page spreads with a tiny font. I found that to be an impossibly unpleasant way to try to read an entire novel. I simply scanned the book to get a feel for it and it seems well written and compelling, but I won’t be able to publicly review it since I could not read it through.

this book shook me and cracked me open. it crawled up under my skin and inside my chest, LITERALLY MAKING ME GASP FOR AIR. i devoured this novel in one sitting, my heart pounding, my breath catching, my eyes brimming with tears—because Milktooth is not just a story my friend, it's a reckoning....

the story was about survival. about how love—real, deep, aching love can be twisted into something unrecognizable, and how the hardest thing in the world isn’t always leaving, but believing you deserve to. Sorcha’s journey from yearning to entrapment to escape is written with such raw intimacy that it physically hurt to read. Chris is the kind of abuser who thrives in the shadows, manipulating with sweetness, controlling with love—until that love turns violent. the insidious nature of queer abuse, so rarely explored in fiction, is handled with brutal honesty and heartbreaking clarity. it's the kind of story that forces you to confront the ways we rationalize harm, the lies we tell ourselves to survive.

but this isn’t just about destruction—it’s about rebuilding. how love can still be a refuge, even after it’s been used as a weapon. Sorcha’s journey to the Scottish Highlands, her tentative reconnection with Aunt Agnes, the fierce loyalty of her friends—these moments glowed with hope. the prose is stunning, lyrical yet sharp-edged, weaving together trauma and tenderness with haunting beauty. and the found family element? i sobbed. i sobbed so hard. because at the end of it all, it isn’t just about breaking free—it’s about creating something new. something stronger. something your own.

this book wrecked me in the best way. it's fearless, devastating, and darkly funny in a way that only the best stories are. if you’ve ever clawed your way out of something you thought would consume you, if you’ve ever yearned for a love that doesn’t destroy, if you’ve ever wondered whether you were strong enough to begin again—this book is for you.

well deserving of the 5 ⭐️ thank you so much @nimbuspub & Jaime Burnet for the ARC!