dark and haunting. horrifying in both "mundane" (but awful and real) ways and in magically horror ways. tysm for the arc. 5 stars.

The cover for my attention. The headline and the message behind it was what kept me going. BAT EATER and Other names of Cora Zeng. If you missed or skipped the part after Cora's sister gets pushed in front of a moving train based on hate, then maybe the one where this man pulls her Cora's mask and SPITS on her face, because he recognized she was ASIAN, you completely missed the point of this truly important story. It is deeper than her complete unraveling for the loss of her sister and her mental state. We all saw and still see ASIAN HATE in our society. These happened during and after pandemic. BRAVO, to Kylie Lee Baker and Thank You to Netgalley for the honor of this arc. As a member of a "minority" group, this was one that will be with me for along time. #ourstories

This book is beautifully horrific for so many reasons just to name a few we have the pandemic we have asian violence and just murder. It was a lot but also just a really good read.

The cover art is fantastic and Baker is clearly a talented writer. I enjoyed the hungry ghost culture and history. But this story is terrible. Very anti-white, anti-police and romanticizes the restrictions during the pandemic. The acknowledgements were particularly misinformed--I know it's the author's opinion but the statements were very close-minded and poorly researched. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC

Damn! This book is the first I’ve seen that tackles the COVID pandemic and subsequent attacks against Asian Americans in the US. Cora was such a fascinatingly imperfect character and her view of the world sucked me in throughout the book. Absolutely tragic, raw, and fully of guts and blood

I had to DNF this one. I had heard such great things about it and it sounded so ini. After trying to get into in multiple times, I just wasn't drawn into the story. It just felt tok slow moving and the characters didn't have any depth.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

As Cora tries to maintain her sanity, she encounters disturbing bat carcasses at her crime scenes and the looming dread of the Hungry Ghost Festival1
. Baker's novel masterfully blends elements of horror, suspense, and cultural folklore, creating a chilling and emotionally resonant story that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

What an absolutely horrific, twisted and BRILLIANT take on being Asian in NYC during the pandemic. Bat Eater is all of our (AAPI) nightmares come true, and yet - and yet, I couldn’t love this more. Baker’s ability to let her mind go to such gruesome places with a topic that hits so close to home for her is admirable and fascinating.

The visuals she created of slaughtered victims and hungry ghosts lept from the pages and had me audibly gasping. Although racism can be such a tough topic to surround a story around, I found this beyond therapeutic. Although it’s a bit niche and many might not understand the catalyst for this story, it felt so needed. Perfectly haunting with a satisfying ending to match.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cora is a crime scene killer and while she cleans gruesome scenes, it’s nothing compared to watching her sister being pushed in front of a train as a man yelled “bat eater” at her. As she begins finding bats at crime scenes, she notices the recent cleanups have all been Asian women.

This is a creepy horror that has a lot more to it than spooks and gore (but it does have that). Taking place in NYC during the COVID pandemic, it shows the reality of Asian-American racism during the time period. I loved the Chinese folklore that was behind the story. The author’s note at the end was meaningful and I particularly loved her note to “not let your empathy stop at the borders of your own community.”

“Closing your eyes doesn’t stop monsters from devouring you.”

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng comes out 4/29.

‼️👁️ Don’t go any further else you’ll be adding more books to your shelves and carts ‼️👁️

“The woman stiffens, head bobbing on her needle neck like a withered dandelion, and turns to face Cora.”

Kylie Lee Baker.... where the hell have you been all my life?! Wow.... this was an absolute gem of a book to read.

I’m not even sure how to do this review justice in how much I loved this book.

Pure Chinese American horror.... this is what I loved THE most. I’ve always been fascinated by learning more about different cultures and their spiritual beliefs. Baker you sure as hell delivered here girl. I could not get ENOUGH.

Baker is one of those writers where you just KNOW how much of a master storyteller she truly is. The words pierce and hang off the pages edging closer to your heart. I devoured this book and it sure devoured my heart.

I was creeped out a few times in this one but it was a SUPER good creep factor. The combination of culture, horror, and a horror we all know to well racism at it’s core. This is one that will leave a special place in my heart and easily one of my top reads of 2024.

Let me leave you with this

“There is a woman in her living room. Her throat is needle thin, no more than a whispered silver thread. Her eyes are deep chasms of black, skin a translucent tarp pulled taut over her cheekbones, the knife edge of her jaw, her withered black lips.”

Ahh... yes don’t you need this book in your life! Do it! You won’t be disappointed.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

Thank you so much to @htp_hive @kylieleebaker @netgalley for my copy.

Mark those shelves this beauty comes out
4/25/25

This book had a very interesting premise and what I felt was a fresh take on horror. However, I completely lost interest in the book at about 40% and ended up not finishing it. It ended up not being the right book for me. I'm giving 3 stars because the writing itself with descriptions and imagery was great.

The first few chapters of this were so completely and totally knock-out beautiful, that I didn’t want to do anything else but keep reading.

Unfortunately, it unraveled more and more as the story went on.

The premise, as well as the reflection from a devastating period in our recent history is timely, powerful and necessary. There were also some truly terrifying horror moments in here.

But I think it just dragged a little bit too much in places for me to have been immersed, from start to finish.

This was ok! I thought this was a really cool book to read before halloween. It was ok! Reminded me of "The Grudge:. Kinda dragged on a bit without the effect of building the story or suspense.


Also, the author put a warning note of "if you receive this without a cover. That means it's stolen.." and then proceeds to send the arc out through Netgalley with no cover. To have a warning like that and then to do yourself just kinda a red flag and should have been put off until release.

DNFed at 34%

This book is definitely gloomy and somber, but it wasn’t what I was expecting. First of all, it takes place in the modern time, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic. Second of all, I’m sure there are ghosts and such coming up in the rest of the book, but I wanted it to be more paranormal quicker. I find Cora to be really uninteresting and not fun to follow. She seems to have little personality or emotions and doesn’t even really grieve the death of her sister? Overall, not my type of book though I love the cover.

10/10. I want to give author Kylie Lee Baker a forehead smooch and commend her on an amazing novel. I could not put this down. It was like this book was injected into my brain and just hung on there until after I finished. I still think about this book.... This book touches on religion, spiritual beliefs, Chinese culture, racism, and so much more. This truly is a captivating horror novel but not in an over the top way, I would recommend time and time again!

A true gem of a book. I loved every single second of reading about Cora and her journey. She is someone that paves the way for readers that see themselves in her.

This book opened with an awful, devastating event that really set the tone for the story — immediately readers understand the internal struggle and unraveling that Cora will go through. This book regularly turned my stomach as I was reading — both at the graphic, visceral descriptions of gore but also at the horrifying and persistent acts of racist hatred Cora and others suffered. The writing was sharp and immersive and the pacing kept me hooked. The author has created a really fascinating exploration of grief, faith, identity and more within the contexts of a horror novel.

One of the scariest and most thought-provoking books I've read in years. That's a compliment.This book was nothing like what I expected and is better for it—Cora Zeng will be lingering in my head for a long time to come.

This book was absolutely FANTASTIC!!
Such a unique take on horror! I was enthralled until the very end.

Mind your triggers for:
Religion, Covid, Racism, Grief

In light of former President Trump's comments regarding the Hatian population of Springfield, Oh, I have found it necessary to update this review because this book is *exactly* why we don't do what Trump did. Americans over the last week have had a front row seat to the consequences of demonizing one group of people for any reason. Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng touches on examples of the consequences of spreading hateful and malicious false information about one group of people for any reason. While this is a work of fiction, the consquences are very real as we have seen; thousands of Asian Americans during the pandemic and now Hatian Americans are facing real world threats that have ranged from Schools in Springfield being closed due to threats, the city hall had to shut down due to bomb threats, and for Asian Americans people were literally beat and murdered. I implore any American, hell at this point, anyone living in the U.K. as well, given the recent rise of hate against its Muslim population, to read this book. We are and should be better than this. Instead of buying into fear mongering, we should be lifting these communities up that have been targeted and saying "No more." What Baker describes in Cora Zeng was intolerable in 2020, and it is just as intolerable in 2024. We owe it to ourselves, our children, and these communities to recognize this and be a far louder voice than those who would spew hate for political gain.


I have not read every book Baker has written, but I believe that this will be the best book she will ever write. And I am not saying that she doesn't have the ability to write a better one, not at all. I am saying that Baker has produced something so raw, so personal, and yet it somehow encompasses each of us who lived through the Pandemic that Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng will always be the most important book she will write. And to be fair, I hope it is, because I certainly do not want to give her a reason to write another book like this.

Overall, I have read many, many books this year. 104 or something. This is it. This is the one you should read. I cried at the end of the first chapter. I bawled my eyes out through the last one? Two? I'm not sure. It was hard to read through the tears. I can say one thing, though by the end, I had never been more proud of a fictional character in my life.

And I genuinely want to say thank you to Kylie Lee Baker for sharing this with us. I don't write books, so I can not say for certain, but after reading it, I can imagine this being the hardest book to write while simultaneously being the easiest one.


As always, thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Publishing for the eArc!